New York (AFP)

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, will significantly increase the annual salary of its new boss Sundar Pichai and offer it shares in an amount that may exceed $ 200 million, according to a document filed with the American stock market policeman on Friday.

Mr. Pichai, who took the reins of Alphabet in early December, will receive $ 2 million next year.

According to the Bloomberg agency, he was paid $ 650,000 when he was CEO of Google, a position he will also keep.

He can also claim $ 90 million in shares based on the performance of the internet giant and can recover shares, spread over time, for an amount of up to $ 120 million.

The value of shares based on the group's results may vary from 0% to 200%, depending on Alphabet's performance compared to the S&P 100 index, which is made up of the 100 largest stocks listed in the broad S&P 500 index. , for the next two years.

The engineer of Indian origin was propelled to the head of Alphabet at a thorny moment for the number one of the search engines, harshly criticized by activists, politicians and some of his own employees.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have stepped down, but retain control of the Alphabet board through their actions, which give them the majority of votes.

In his new role, Pichai will have to face increased pressure from governments and regulators who accuse Google of bad practices in terms of personal data management, respect for competition or financial schemes to evade taxes.

Internally, the group is regularly criticized for having largely deviated from the ideals engraved in the early code of conduct, which included the phrase "don't be evil", that is to say "do not be malicious".

The reproaches of employees or ex-employees relate to various subjects, from the company's relations with the American or Chinese governments to accusations of having stifled cases of sexual harassment.

In December, Mr. Pichai kept calm during a testimony to the US Congress against legislators who accused Google of being politically biased and intrusively collecting personal data.

"We manufacture our products in a neutral manner," said Mr. Pichai in particular.

© 2019 AFP