Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2026 · Filings through 2026-08-07

Korn Ferry (KFY)

Fiscal year 2026 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.

$16,117,290
Gary Burnison total, FY2026
89th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
134:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
86.28%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against KFY
8 companies name KFY as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses KFY 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 KFY 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 2026

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Gary Burnison$1,000,000$0$11,982,027$0$3,000,000$19,522$115,741$16,117,290
President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Rozek625,00004,434,19701,500,000085,7056,644,902
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Officer
Jeanne MacDonald550,00002,396,0530819,5000763,6294,529,182
Chief Executive Officer, RPO
Michael Distefano550,00002,396,0530855,80013,23378,8343,893,920
Chief Executive Officer, PSI
Lesley Uren607,04601,459,8750925,137048,2383,040,296
Chief Executive Officer, Consulting

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 officerFY2026 totalFY2025 totalFY2024 totalΔ FY20252026
Gary Burnison$16,117,290$14,671,340$12,097,658+1,445,950
Robert Rozek6,644,9026,288,3035,422,656+356,599
Jeanne MacDonald4,529,1824,803,6632,115,343−274,481
Michael Distefano3,893,9203,956,1573,584,322−62,237
Lesley Uren3,040,2961,561,643+1,478,653

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 2026

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Gary BurnisonPSU2025-07-1116,99067,960135,920$6,982,210
Gary BurnisonRSU2025-07-1167,9604,999,817
Michael DistefanoPSU2025-07-113,39813,59027,1801,396,237
Michael DistefanoRSU2025-07-1113,590999,816
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU2025-07-1113,590999,816
Jeanne MacDonaldPSU2025-07-113,39813,59027,1801,396,237
Robert RozekRSU2025-07-1125,1501,850,286
Robert RozekPSU2025-07-116,28825,15050,3002,583,911
Lesley UrenPSU2025-07-112,1258,50017,000873,290
Lesley UrenRSU2025-07-118,500586,585
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Gary Burnison$4,999,817$6,982,210$058.3%
Michael Distefano999,8161,396,237058.3%
Jeanne MacDonald999,8161,396,237058.3%
Robert Rozek1,850,2862,583,911058.3%
Lesley Uren586,585873,290059.8%

% 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 2026

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Gary BurnisonRSU67,960$4,515,262
Gary BurnisonPSU163,68010,874,899
Gary BurnisonPSU152,01010,099,544
Gary BurnisonPSU135,9209,030,525
Robert RozekPSU63,6604,229,570
Robert RozekPSU62,5904,158,480
Robert RozekPSU50,3003,341,932
Gary BurnisonRSU40,9202,718,725
Michael DistefanoPSU36,3802,417,087
Jeanne MacDonaldPSU36,3802,417,087
Michael DistefanoPSU35,7702,376,559
Gary BurnisonRSU33,5552,229,394
Michael DistefanoPSU27,1801,805,839
Jeanne MacDonaldPSU27,1801,805,839
Robert RozekRSU25,1501,670,966
Lesley UrenPSU17,0001,129,480
Robert RozekRSU15,9151,057,393
Gary BurnisonRSU14,355953,746
Robert RozekRSU13,820918,201
Michael DistefanoRSU13,590902,920
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU13,590902,920
Michael DistefanoRSU9,090603,940
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU9,090603,940
Lesley UrenRSU2,235148,493
Lesley UrenRSU8,500564,740
Michael DistefanoRSU7,895524,544
Lesley UrenRSU3,068203,838
Robert RozekRSU5,068336,718
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU1,990132,216
Michael DistefanoRSU1,26884,246
Lesley UrenRSU1,01367,304
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU84556,142
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

Korn Ferry's compensation philosophy focuses on attracting, retaining, and properly rewarding the right candidates by aligning executive pay with stockholder interests through a pay-for-performance model. The program emphasizes a substantial majority of target pay in equity to align long-term value with stock price performance, while ensuring total direct compensation is competitive with the peer group.

CEO STI target (% of salary)
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantPearl Meyer
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20252025-09-1839,860,7196,339,627284,09786.28%Passed
20242024-09-2544,308,3001,373,115295,70096.99%Passed
20232023-09-2145,100,1961,273,059231,25897.25%Passed
20222022-09-2246,285,7661,093,835457,35297.69%Passed
20212021-09-2915,659,87433,917,039413,17731.59%Failed
20202020-09-2346,989,8091,439,84895,25797.03%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
20252025-09-1886.28%a
20242024-09-2596.99%b
20232023-09-2197.25%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

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)134 : 1
CEO total compensation
Median employee compensation
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2026

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Jerry P. LeamonIndependent · Board Chair · Audit · Compensation$270,000$199,784$16,923$486,707
Doyle N. BenebyIndependent · Audit · Compensation113,000199,78483,588396,372
Matthew J. EspeIndependent · Audit · Compensation125,000199,78416,923341,707
Angel R. MartinezIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Nominating/Governance107,000199,78416,923323,707
Laura M. BishopIndependent · Audit · Compensation107,000199,7849,182315,966
Russell A. HageyIndependent0294,5359,886304,421
Lori J. RobinsonIndependent · Nominating/Governance95,000199,7845,331300,115
Peter A. ShimerIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Newly elected57,751108,033913166,697
Debra J. PerryIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) · Departed during FY0021,37221,372
Charles L. HarringtonIndependent · Compensation · Nominating/Governance · Departed during FY007,6467,646
Gary D. BurnisonEmployee director · Nominating/Governance (Chair)0
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$95,000
Annual equity retainer$200,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)30,000 / 25,000 / 18,000
Stock ownership guideline$3
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2026
Cash retainers and fees$874,751
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,601,272
All other compensation$188,687
Total cost of the board$2,664,710

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

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2026

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 Korn Ferry 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 Korn Ferry.

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
1CoStar Group, Inc.2025Andrew Florance$1,000,000$28,318,400$3,425,382$3,000,000$36,431,936
2Korn Ferry2026Gary Burnison1,000,00011,982,02703,000,00016,117,290
3Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated2025Christian Ulbrich1,042,8899,930,77603,666,00014,675,352
4Verisk Analytics, Inc.2025Lee Shavel1,000,0008,800,0862,199,8811,500,00013,540,847
5Manpower Group, Inc.2025Jonas Prising1,300,00010,893,6190967,90913,268,466
6TriNet Group, Inc.2025Michael Simonds1,000,0008,250,00401,272,00010,552,055
7FTI Consulting, Inc.2025Steven Gunby1,000,0007,450,94301,805,15210,273,735
8Cushman & Wakefield Plc2025Michelle MacKay1,243,2695,687,40802,500,0009,469,699
9ICF International, Inc.2025John Wasson1,003,0964,715,91801,122,3326,857,678
10Robert Half International Inc.2025M. Keith Waddell500,0004,532,9480839,3306,073,178
Huron Consulting Group Inc.not in coverage universe
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.not in coverage universe
Insperity, Inc.not in coverage universe

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
Korn Ferrynot disclosedPRSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedPearl Meyer
CoStar Group, Inc.200%RSU 45 · PSU 40 · Options 15NoWillis Towers Watson
Cushman & Wakefield Plc100%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative TSRPay Governance LLC (through September 2025); Meridian Compensation Partners (from September 2025 forward)
FTI Consulting, Inc.not disclosedPSU 67 · RSU 33Yes — Company Relative TSRPearl Meyer
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Huron Consulting Group Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
ICF International, Inc.86.41%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoAon Human Capital Solutions Practice
Insperity, Inc.not disclosedPSU 65 · RSU 35not disclosedFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated122%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoExequity LLP
Manpower Group, Inc.46.5%PSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR)Mercer
Robert Half International Inc.59.1%PSU 100NoFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
TriNet Group, Inc.84.8%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoMeridian
Verisk Analytics, Inc.100%PSU 60 · RSU 20 · Options 20Yes — Relative TSR versus S&P 500 Index constituentsFW Cook

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, Gary BurnisonDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 16,117,290. Filing ↗machine: span 732392–732402
2Section 01, Robert RozekDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 6,644,902. Filing ↗machine: span 739010–739019
3Section 01, Jeanne MacDonaldDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 4,529,182. Filing ↗machine: span 752175–752184
4Section 01, Michael DistefanoDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 3,893,920. Filing ↗machine: span 745557–745566
5Section 01, Lesley UrenDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 3,040,296. Filing ↗machine: span 758771–758780
6Section 03, Gary Burnison PSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 779388–779397
7Section 03, Gary Burnison RSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 777353–777362
8Section 03, Michael Distefano PSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 791656–791665
9Section 03, Michael Distefano RSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 789636–789643
10Section 03, Jeanne MacDonald RSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 795773–795780
11Section 03, Jeanne MacDonald PSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 797793–797802
12Section 03, Robert Rozek RSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 783501–783510
13Section 03, Robert Rozek PSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 785523–785532
14Section 03, Lesley Uren PSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 803918–803925
15Section 03, Lesley Uren RSUDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 801899–801906
16Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 134 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 1022494–1022497
17Section 08, Jerry P. LeamonDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 486,707. Filing ↗machine: span 1114243–1114250
18Section 08, Doyle N. BenebyDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 396,372. Filing ↗machine: span 1107136–1107143
19Section 08, Matthew J. EspeDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 341,707. Filing ↗machine: span 1109977–1109984
20Section 08, Angel R. MartinezDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 323,707. Filing ↗machine: span 1115666–1115673
21Section 08, Laura M. BishopDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 315,966. Filing ↗machine: span 1108556–1108563
22Section 08, Russell A. HageyDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 304,421. Filing ↗machine: span 1111398–1111405
23Section 08, Lori J. RobinsonDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 300,115. Filing ↗machine: span 1118507–1118514
24Section 08, Peter A. ShimerDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 166,697. Filing ↗machine: span 1119909–1119916
25Section 08, Debra J. PerryDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 21,372. Filing ↗machine: span 1116725–1116731
26Section 08, Charles L. HarringtonDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 7,646. Filing ↗machine: span 1112463–1112468
27Section 08, Gary D. BurnisonDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
28Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-09-230001193125-25-213338Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 86.28% (votes for as printed: 39,860,719). Filing ↗
29Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-09-270001193125-24-227943Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.99% (votes for as printed: 44,308,300). Filing ↗
30Section 06, 2023 voteForm 8-K2023-09-220001193125-23-240470Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.25% (votes for as printed: 45,100,196). Filing ↗
31Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
32Section 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
33Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 874,751 + equity 1,601,272 + all other 188,687 = 2,664,710, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 2,664,710
34CoStar Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-300001193125-26-197205CEO total compensation as printed in CoStar Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 36,431,936. Filing ↗machine: t304 · r4 · c34 · span 1267602–1267613
35Korn Ferry (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-08-070001308179-26-000388CEO total compensation as printed in Korn Ferry's own proxy. As printed: 16,117,290. Filing ↗machine: span 732392–732402
36Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-170001037976-26-000099CEO total compensation as printed in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated's own proxy. As printed: 14,675,352. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c39 · span 1021535–1021545
37Verisk Analytics, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-030001193125-26-141398CEO total compensation as printed in Verisk Analytics, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 13,540,847. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c28 · span 887453–887463
38Manpower Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-230001193125-26-119922CEO total compensation as printed in Manpower Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 13,268,466. Filing ↗machine: t214 · r4 · c28 · span 2695592–2695602
39TriNet Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-150000937098-26-000018CEO total compensation as printed in TriNet Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,552,055. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c24 · span 896611–896621
40FTI Consulting, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-210001193125-26-165147CEO total compensation as printed in FTI Consulting, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,273,735. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c18 · span 1110308–1110318
41Cushman & Wakefield Plc, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-030001628369-26-000046CEO total compensation as printed in Cushman & Wakefield Plc's own proxy. As printed: 9,469,699. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 986050–986059
42ICF International, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-220001140361-26-016102CEO total compensation as printed in ICF International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,857,678. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c19 · span 1792780–1792789
43Robert Half International Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-100000315213-26-000010CEO total compensation as printed in Robert Half International Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,073,178. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c21 · span 645431–645440
44Section 10a, TriNet Group, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0000937098-26-000018TriNet Group, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, CoStar Group, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-197205CoStar Group, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
46Section 10a, Verisk Analytics, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-141398Verisk Analytics, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
47Section 10a, Cushman & Wakefield Plc reciprocityDEF 14A0001628369-26-000046Cushman & Wakefield Plc's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
48Section 10a, ICF International, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001140361-26-016102ICF International, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
49Section 10a, Insperity, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001000753-26-000043Insperity, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
50Section 10a, Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated reciprocityDEF 14A0001037976-26-000099Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
51Section 10a, Manpower Group, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-119922Manpower Group, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗
52Section 10a, FTI Consulting, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-165147FTI Consulting, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Korn Ferry. Filing ↗