Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2023 · Filings through 2026-04-24

Kellanova (K)

Fiscal year 2023 executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$17,038,641
Steve Cahillane total, FY2023
70th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
322:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
95.77%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against K
13 companies name K as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses K in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named K in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2023

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Steve Cahillane$1,338,462$0$10,995,985$1,524,318$2,829,600$0$350,276$17,038,641
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Amit Banati840,76903,199,238313,7831,283,5000153,7615,791,051
Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer
Chris Hood851,92303,348,574474,087889,2400176,1955,740,019
Senior Vice President & President, Kellanova North America
Gary Pilnick594,75002,406,967474,683797,395456,000152,8974,882,692
Former Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer
David Lawlor614,25601,769,070184,006901,489433,000215,2414,117,062
Senior Vice President & President, Kellanova Europe
Shumit Kapoor634,23401,725,71545,256919,4340218,0003,542,639
Senior Vice President & President, Kellanova AMEA

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2023 totalFY2022 totalFY2021 totalΔ FY20222023
Steve Cahillane$17,038,641
Amit Banati5,791,051
Chris Hood5,740,019
Gary Pilnick4,882,692
David Lawlor4,117,062
Shumit Kapoor3,542,639

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2023

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Amit BanatiPSU2023-02-172528,96057,920$1,980,285
David LawlorPSU2023-02-172515,69031,3801,072,882
Shumit KapoorPSU2023-02-172515,69031,3801,072,882
Steve CahillanePSU2023-02-172599,810199,6206,825,008
Chris HoodPSU2023-02-172530,17060,3402,063,025
Gary PilnickPSU2023-02-172522,93045,8601,567,953
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Amit Banati$0$1,980,285$0100.0%
David Lawlor01,072,8820100.0%
Shumit Kapoor01,072,8820100.0%
Steve Cahillane06,825,0080100.0%
Chris Hood02,063,0250100.0%
Gary Pilnick01,567,9530100.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2023

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Amit BanatiOption057.96
Chris HoodRSU38,2982,141,241
Steve CahillaneOption050.18
Chris HoodOption050.18
Amit BanatiRSU68,0363,803,893
David LawlorRSU24,7161,381,872
Amit BanatiOption050.18
Steve CahillaneOption057.96
Chris HoodOption061.62
Chris HoodOption056.69
Chris HoodOption057.96
Gary PilnickOption064.48
Gary PilnickOption057.96
Chris HoodOption066.8
Gary PilnickRSU36,7132,052,624
Shumit KapoorOption9,84851.23
Shumit KapoorRSU21,7421,215,595
Amit BanatiOption056.69
Gary PilnickOption061.62
David LawlorOption061.62
Amit BanatiOption064.48
Amit BanatiOption061.62
David LawlorOption056.69
Gary PilnickOption050.18
Steve CahillaneRSU234,48413,110,000
Amit BanatiRSU35,5791,989,222
Amit BanatiRSU48,8842,733,104
Chris HoodOption22,37551.23
Chris HoodRSU49,4122,762,625
David LawlorOption11,18951.23
David LawlorRSU21,4631,199,996
Gary PilnickOption17,00851.23
Gary PilnickRSU20,1261,125,245
Shumit KapoorRSU18,8171,052,058
David LawlorRSU36,8602,060,843
Shumit KapoorRSU36,8602,060,843
Amit BanatiRSU41,5062,320,600
David LawlorOption057.96
Chris HoodOption064.48
Gary PilnickOption056.69
David LawlorOption064.48
David LawlorOption050.18
Steve CahillaneOption061.62
Steve CahillaneOption110,65251.23
Steve CahillaneRSU183,23210,244,501
Steve CahillaneRSU164,2329,182,211
Amit BanatiOption066.8
Gary PilnickOption066.8
Shumit KapoorRSU25,5131,426,432
David LawlorRSU32,8501,836,644
Gary PilnickRSU37,5542,099,644
Amit BanatiOption18,79851.23
Steve CahillaneRSU78,1914,371,659
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

We believe that our executive compensation program for our NEOs should be designed to: Provide a competitive level of total compensation necessary to attract and retain key talent to help deliver successful business performance; Appropriately motivate our NEOs to contribute to our near and long-term success; and Help drive long-term total return for our Shareowners.

CEO STI target (% of salary)160%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantSemler Brossy Consulting Group
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20232023-04-28262,794,05110,388,4021,212,92495.77%Passed
20222022-04-29260,414,7987,940,5841,418,35397.04%Passed
20212021-04-30259,229,1287,938,165905,66897.03%Passed
20202020-04-24268,621,8288,434,502836,41896.96%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year's compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company's computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company's computation
20232023-04-2895.77%a
20222022-04-2997.04%b
20212021-04-3097.03%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Shares present but not voted because of abstention will have the effect of an "against" vote on Proposals 2, 4, 5, and 6 and will have no effect on the outcome of Proposals 1 and 3.”.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

Approval percentages are the company's own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)322 : 1
CEO total compensation$17,038,641
Median employee compensation$52,936
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2023

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Donald KnaussIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit · Compensation and Talent Management · Nominating and Governance (Chair)$154,937$155,063$0$0$0$310,000
Stephanie A. BurnsIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Nominating and Governance129,937155,063000285,000
Mary LaschingerIndependent · Compensation and Talent Management (Chair) · Nominating and Governance124,937155,063000280,000
La June Montgomery TabronIndependent · Manufacturing · Social Responsibility and Public Policy (Chair)119,937155,063000275,000
Zack GundIndependent · Compensation and Talent Management · Nominating and Governance · Manufacturing (Chair)119,937155,063000275,000
Rod GillumIndependent · Manufacturing · Social Responsibility and Public Policy104,937155,063000260,000
Mike SchlotmanIndependent · Audit · Social Responsibility and Public Policy104,937155,063000260,000
Erica MannIndependent · Audit · Social Responsibility and Public Policy104,937155,063000260,000
Carolyn TastadIndependent · Compensation and Talent Management · Nominating and Governance · Manufacturing104,937155,063000260,000
Carter CastIndependent · Manufacturing · Social Responsibility and Public Policy104,937155,063000260,000
Rick DreilingIndependent · Departed during FY26,250000026,250
Steve CahillaneEmployee director · Board Chair00000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$105,000
Annual equity retainer$155,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)25,000 / 20,000 / 20,000
Stock ownership guideline5x annual cash retainer ($525,000)
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2023
Cash retainers and fees$1,200,620
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,550,630
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$2,751,250

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2023

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Kellanova names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Kellanova.

10b

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company's own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Starbucks2025Brian Niccol$1,599,998$19,881,585$0$1,971,000$30,992,773
2YUM! Brands, Inc.2025David Gibbs1,380,76912,459,2263,750,0123,024,00020,861,526
3McDonald's Corporation2025Christopher Kempczinski1,550,0008,000,2158,000,0662,367,16020,574,525
4Kellanova2023Steve Cahillane1,338,46210,995,9851,524,3182,829,60017,038,641
5Colgate-Palmolive Co.2025Noel Wallace1,500,0008,005,1523,570,0162,455,95016,478,196
6Kimberly-Clark Corporation2025Michael Hsu1,500,00011,499,98901,596,42415,320,405
7The Clorox Company2025Linda Rendle1,307,6929,754,75301,696,00013,333,032
8Whirlpool Corporation2025Marc Bitzer1,355,0009,449,86101,084,00012,773,816
9Church & Dwight2025Richard Dierker986,5801,770,9735,313,1001,472,6569,799,678
10Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc.2025Timothy Cofer1,331,9235,125,51401,719,2348,217,032
11Hormel Foods Corporation2025James Snee1,050,0002,000,0131,999,7701,453,0007,395,224

Each peer's compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer's figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Kellanova111%PSU 75 · RSU 25NoSemler Brossy Consulting Group
Church & Dwight125%Options 75 · PSU 15 · RSU 10NoSemler Brossy Consulting Group
Colgate-Palmolive Co.93.6%PSU 50 · Options 30 · RSU 20NoFW Cook
Hormel Foods Corporation66%PSU 50 · Options 25 · RSU 25Yes — Relative TSRPearl Meyer
Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc.86%RSU 75 · PSU 25NoFW Cook
Kimberly-Clark Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedSemler Brossy Consulting Group
McDonald's Corporationnot disclosedPRSU 50 · Option 50not disclosedSemler Brossy Consulting Group LLC
Starbucks54.8%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoPay Governance
The Clorox Company80%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoFW Cook
Whirlpool Corporation50%PSU 70 · RSU 30NoFW Cook
YUM! Brands, Inc.68%PSU 50 · RSU 25 · Options 25Yes — TSR relative to S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary IndexMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC

Read from each company's Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company's filing does not state the item.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Steve CahillaneDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 17,038,641. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c33 · span 884851–884861
2Section 01, Amit BanatiDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,791,051. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c33 · span 896228–896237
3Section 01, Chris HoodDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,740,019. Filing ↗machine: r8 · c33 · span 906981–906990
4Section 01, Gary PilnickDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 4,882,692. Filing ↗machine: span 934451–934460
5Section 01, David LawlorDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 4,117,062. Filing ↗machine: r11 · c33 · span 918555–918564
6Section 01, Shumit KapoorDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 3,542,639. Filing ↗machine: r14 · c33 · span 927706–927715
7Section 03, Amit Banati PSUDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t120 · r6 · c2 · span 954151–954160
8Section 03, David Lawlor PSUDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t120 · r12 · c2 · span 963781–963790
9Section 03, Shumit Kapoor PSUDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t120 · r14 · c2 · span 967061–967070
10Section 03, Steve Cahillane PSUDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t120 · r2 · c2 · span 949175–949184
11Section 03, Chris Hood PSUDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t120 · r9 · c2 · span 958965–958974
12Section 03, Gary Pilnick PSUDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t120 · r15 · c2 · span 968803–968812
13Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A0000055067-24-000010Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 322 : 1.machine: span 1739231–1739239
14Section 08, Donald KnaussDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 310,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r7 · c11 · span 612532–612539
15Section 08, Stephanie A. BurnsDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 285,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r2 · c11 · span 599421–599428
16Section 08, Mary LaschingerDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 280,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r8 · c11 · span 615219–615226
17Section 08, La June Montgomery TabronDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 275,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r10 · c11 · span 620598–620605
18Section 08, Zack GundDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 275,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r6 · c11 · span 609847–609854
19Section 08, Rod GillumDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r5 · c11 · span 607166–607173
20Section 08, Mike SchlotmanDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r11 · c11 · span 623284–623291
21Section 08, Erica MannDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r9 · c11 · span 617901–617908
22Section 08, Carolyn TastadDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r12 · c11 · span 626372–626379
23Section 08, Carter CastDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 260,000. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r3 · c11 · span 602104–602111
24Section 08, Rick DreilingDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 26,250. Filing ↗machine: t90 · r4 · c1 · span 602787–602793
25Section 08, Steve CahillaneDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
26Section 06, 2023 voteForm 8-K2023-05-020001628280-23-014868Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.77% (votes for as printed: 262,794,051). Filing ↗
27Section 06, 2022 voteForm 8-K2022-05-030001628280-22-011991Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.04%. Filing ↗
28Section 06, 2021 voteForm 8-K2021-05-060001628280-21-009313Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.03%. Filing ↗
29Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
30Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 1,200,620 + equity 1,550,630 + all other 0 = 2,751,250, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 2,751,250
31Starbucks, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-01-260001213900-26-007780CEO total compensation as printed in Starbucks's own proxy. As printed: 30,992,773. Filing ↗machine: span 2373800–2373810
32YUM! Brands, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-142078CEO total compensation as printed in YUM! Brands, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 20,861,526. Filing ↗machine: t86 · r7 · c11 · span 1988224–1988234
33McDonald's Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-070001193125-26-145548CEO total compensation as printed in McDonald's Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 20,574,525. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c25 · span 2683025–2683035
34Kellanova (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2024-03-040000055067-24-000010CEO total compensation as printed in Kellanova's own proxy. As printed: 17,038,641. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c33 · span 884851–884861
35Colgate-Palmolive Co., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-250001308179-26-000136CEO total compensation as printed in Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s own proxy. As printed: 16,478,196. Filing ↗machine: t137 · r1 · c18 · span 723853–723863
36Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-230001628280-26-020404CEO total compensation as printed in Kimberly-Clark Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 15,320,405. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 1086894–1086904
37The Clorox Company, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-070001552781-25-000311CEO total compensation as printed in The Clorox Company's own proxy. As printed: 13,333,032. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c9 · span 683061–683071
38Whirlpool Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-100001193125-26-100387CEO total compensation as printed in Whirlpool Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 12,773,816. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c35 · span 934743–934753
39Church & Dwight, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-190001193125-26-115994CEO total compensation as printed in Church & Dwight's own proxy. As printed: 9,799,678. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c38 · span 2534673–2534682
40Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-240001193125-26-177266CEO total compensation as printed in Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,217,032. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c27 · span 672692–672701
41Hormel Foods Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-12-170000048465-25-000074CEO total compensation as printed in Hormel Foods Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 7,395,224. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c27 · span 586269–586278
42Section 10a, Hormel Foods Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A0000048465-25-000074Hormel Foods Corporation's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kellanova. Filing ↗
43Section 10a, Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-177266Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. names Kellanova in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
44Section 10a, YUM! Brands, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0000950170-25-051113YUM! Brands, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kellanova. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, Starbucks reciprocityDEF 14A0001213900-26-007780Starbucks's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kellanova. Filing ↗
46Section 10a, Whirlpool Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-100387Whirlpool Corporation names Kellanova in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗