Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai gets raise, plus a $240M pay package

The pay bump comes after Pichai took over Google’s parent company.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is getting a raise. The leader of Google’s parent company will receive a $240 million pay package, as well as $2 million in annual salary, the company said Friday in an SEC filing.

The pay bump comes after Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin earlier this month said they’re stepping down as leaders of Alphabet, leaving Pichai to run the entire conglomerate. The company said in the filing that the pay increase is in recognition of Pichai’s “expanded role” at Google and Alphabet. Pichai’s total compensation in 2018 was $1.9 million, according to the Bloomberg Pay Index. 

But even though Page and Brin relinquished formal executive roles, they maintain voting control over the company’s board. 

Pichai’s salary increase will take effect Jan. 1, 2020. The $240 million pay package in stock grants will be awarded over three years if Pichai hits performance targets. He could receive an additional $90 million in stock grants if Alphabet’s shares outperform the S&P 100 Index, according to Bloomberg.

The announcement comes as Alphabet faces intense turmoil, which Pichai will have to manage. The relationship between company management and rank-and-file employees has become strained, as workers protest everything from Google’s work with the military to the company’s handling of sexual assault allegations. Google is also facing multiple antitrust investigations from both federal and state officials. 

Pichai will also have to deal with changes he’s made to the company’s historically open culture. Last month, Pichai said Google would scale back its TGIF town hall meetings, a long-standing company tradition. He said the meetings will be held monthly, instead of weekly or biweekly, because of a “coordinated effort” to leak comments made at the internal meetings.