NEW YORK, October 26 — The head of US tech giant Microsoft Corp has been awarded a 63 per cent pay rise in 2024, reported German Press Agency (dpa) based on a regulatory filing yesterday.

Most of chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella’a pay package is in Microsoft shares. Meanwhile, the cash incentive was more than 50 per cent lower than Nadella would have been awarded, following his request for a reduction amid recent security issues.

According to the regulatory filing, Nadella received US$79.11 million worth of compensation for fiscal 2024, higher than last year’s US$48.51 million. The pay package included a US$2.5 million salary, while US$71.24 million was in stock awards, and US$5.2 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation.

The significantly higher payment, which is said to be his highest so far since he was paid US$84 million in 2014, comes amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, as the company is focused on ensuring the world benefits from the broad technological shift to AI, while mitigating its risks.

In the filing, the Compensation Committee noted that it has executed a pay for performance philosophy. Over 95 per cent of the annual target compensation opportunity for the chief executive is performance-based.

Nadella had requested a reduction in the cash incentive portion of his pay due to the recent security issues. Based on the assessment of operational and financial performance, Nadella would be eligible for a cash incentive of US$10.66 million for fiscal year 2024.

Meanwhile, the committee approved a fiscal year 2024 cash incentive of US$5.2 million, which represents a more than 50 per cent reduction compared to what he would have been awarded based on the combined assessment of strong financial and operational performance.

Among others, Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, received US$25.8 million in 2024, higher than the prior year’s US$19.9 million. Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, received US$23.05 million, compared to US$16.2 million in the prior year. — Bernama-dpa