Ahead of its Rs 2,600-crore initial public offering, Pine Labs has peeled back the curtain on how much do the fintech firm’s top executives earn and how they will gain — even more — once the company lists.
The draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), filed on June 26, outlines a mix of fixed pay, bonuses, and equity that would likely bring a windfall for the leadership team.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Amrish Rau has been approved for a gross annual salary of Rs 5.8 crore, effective March 2025. This includes a Rs 3.8 crore base salary, Rs 1.9 crore in performance-based incentives and another Rs 97 lakh in employer retirement contributions.
The company has listed no extra perquisites but he is eligible for severance pay, insurance, leave benefits and business reimbursements under policy.
While his Indian salary for FY24 hasn’t been disclosed, he did receive Rs 3.76 crore in FY25 from Pine Labs Singapore and its holding entity, primarily as a bonus for FY24 performance.
Stock options and shareholding
Rau is also cashing in a portion of his holdings in the IPO, selling up to 32.06 lakh shares through the offer-for-sale (OFS) route. But that’s only a small slice of his total ownership. He holds 1.77 crore shares, translating to a 2.35 percent stake, on a fully diluted basis.
If Pine Labs is valued at $4–5 billion, as expected, he is looking at a Rs 800–1,000 crore payday, at least.
Rau has 72 lakh vested employee stock options (ESOPs) from earlier grants. In June, the board initially proposed granting him 1.10 crore stock options under the newly launched ESOP 2025 scheme. The final ESOP table in the DRHP, however, shows Rau has been granted 2.31 crore options, subject to shareholder approval, indicating an expanded award.
Separately, Rau has disclosed his intent to sell up to 18.15 lakh equity shares, arising from exercised options, within three months of the company’s listing.
Other compensations
Chief business officer (CBO) Kush Mehra, reappointed for another five-year term in May, has been sanctioned a total annual compensation of Rs 3 crore. This includes Rs 1 crore in basic salary, Rs 60 lakh in housing allowance, Rs 20 lakh in conveyance and special allowances and a Rs 1-crore bonus.
Recently, Mehra, who was appointed the director on September 9, 2018, was made the executive director, president and CBO, digital infrastructure and transaction platform.
In FY25, he received Rs 2.29 crore, which includes a performance-linked bonus for FY24. Mehra is also participating in the OFS, offering up to 4.45 lakh shares.
Mehra holds 40.7 lakh equity shares, representing a 0.43 percent stake. He also has nearly 5 lakh vested stock options from earlier ESOP grants. As part of the company’s new ESOP 2025 scheme, Mehra has been given 5.26 lakh additional stock options, subject to shareholder approval.
Separately, he has indicated plans to sell up to 3 lakh shares, within three months of the IPO.
The DRHP does not specify Director Lokvir Kapoor’s annual salary or FY25 compensation. However, it says he owns a 1.97 percent stake and is among the major shareholders participating in the OFS, offloading a part of his stake.
Top executives earnings
Among Pine Labs’ top executives, chief financial officer (CFO) Marc Kay Mathenz received Rs 3.69 crore in FY25. The compensation was paid by Pine Labs Singapore and its holding company, with no direct remuneration reported from the Indian entity during the year.
Neerav Mehta, the company secretary and compliance officer, earned Rs 56.5 lakh in FY25 for overseeing corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
In senior management:
- Anand Raisinghani (President, & CBO at Setu) drew Rs 1.57 crore
- Navin Chandani (CBO, Issuing platform) earned Rs 2.73 crore
- Sameer Maheshwary (Chief Capital Markets Officer) received Rs 2.26 crore (also leads Pine Labs’ investor relations and fundraising initiatives).
- Sanjeev Kumar (CTO, Digital Infra) was paid Rs 1.47 crore
- Sumit Chopra (COO, Digital Infra) earned Rs 2.12 crore
- Vijayalakshmi Swaminathan (Chief People Officer) received Rs 2.02 crore
These figures exclude perquisites, gratuity provisions, employee stock options, and other benefits. Most of these executives have also been granted ESOPs, which could significantly add to their earnings once the IPO is launched.
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