Who is SN Subrahmanyan, L&T Chairman Who Wants 90-Hour Workweek?

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman, SN Subrahmanyan, recently sparked controversy with his comments advocating for employees to work 90 hours per week, including Sundays. This has sparked significant backlash from various public figures, including Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone , entrepreneur Harsh Goenka, and badminton player Jwala Gutta.

Who is SN Subrahmanyan?

Sekharipuram Narayanan Subrahmanyan was born on March 16, 1960, in Chennai. He pursued civil engineering at Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, followed by an MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management in Pune.

In 1984, Subrahmanyan began his career with L&T as a Project Planning Engineer and later completed an Executive Management Program at the London Business School. Over the years, he was promoted to several leadership roles, eventually becoming the Managing Director and CEO of L&T. In October 2023, he was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of L&T.

Subrahmanyan is also the honorary chairperson of the Board of Governors at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, and was appointed Chairman of the National Safety Council by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2021.

Throughout his career, Subrahmanyan has garnered several accolades, including the "Eminent Engineer" award from the Engineering Council of India in 2024.

As per reports, Subrahmanyan is among India's highest-paid executives. In the financial year 2023–24, his total compensation amounted to ₹51 crore, a 43.11% increase from the previous year. Multiple reports state his salary package includes ₹3.6 crore as base salary, ₹1.67 crore in perquisites, ₹35.28 crore as commission, and ₹10.5 crore in retirement benefits. His pay in 2023–24 was 534.57 times the median salary of L&T employees.