Outlook Business Desk
A TRB (Total Rewards Benchmarking) report by xto10x, shared by MoneyControl, shows that tech leaders in domains like engineering, product, design, and data science can command compensation up to 80% higher than in HR, marketing, and other non-technical functions.
Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) earn a median fixed salary of Rs 1.77 crore, with 85% of their pay being fixed and 15% variable, the report said. Fintech and Edtech firms offer 10% higher salaries for architects to build scalable systems, while D2C startups pay 21% less to developers and managers due to lower technical requirements.
Senior Vice Presidents (VPs) in product roles earn a median fixed salary of Rs 1.72 crore, with 85% of their pay being fixed and 15% variable.
Brand marketing heads earn Rs 80.6 lakh, with 25-50% of their pay being variable. In B2C and D2C startups, marketing heads make 10-20% more than those in other industries due to brand-driven sales strategies.
VP-Sales in B2B SaaS earns Rs 85.1 lakh, with 50% of the pay tied to performance.
Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) earn Rs 95.2 lakh. In talent-focused startups, HR leaders now receive salaries comparable to business heads as companies emphasize culture and employee experience.
Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) earn Rs 1.1 crore. Previously, they received 10-15% of their salary as variable pay but some startups now offer fundraising-based incentives, where a portion of the funds raised is given as performance-linked pay to CFOs and finance teams.
Operations team salaries vary quick commerce employees receive Rs 60,000-70,000 annually in performance incentives, while D2C startups, which mostly outsource fulfillment, provide minimal incentives.