Cognizant paid $3.8 million in severance payments to ex-CEO

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. paid about $3.8 million in severance payments to its former chief Brian Humphries, which is well within the board’s newly instilled policy of capping severance payment to 2.99 times the sum of base pay and bonus. Humphries’ severance payout included two components - Swiss franc 1.15 million in 12 months’ pay and Swiss franc 2.3 million as a separation bonus, according to the company’s regulatory filings. Cognizant, which follows a January-December financial year, disclosed that it had paid a bonus of about British pound 1.85 million for 2022 and a base salary of $1.24 million to Humphries. “It is the policy of the board of directors of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. that the company and its subsidiaries will not enter into any new employment agreement or severance or separation arrangement or agreement with any senior executive of the company, or establish any new severance plan or policy covering any senior executive of the company, in each case, that provides for cash severance benefits exceeding 2.99 times the sum of the senior executive’s base salary plus target bonus, without seeking stockholder approval of such severance arrangement,” said a 6 March filing made by Cognizant to the Nasdaq.