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Companies Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry (KFY): executive pay, fiscal 2026

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CEO total pay$16,117,290CEO Gary Burnison · source
Say-on-pay support86.28%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers80th pct.Of 13 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio134:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $12,097,658FY2024
  • $14,671,340FY2025
  • $16,117,290FY2026

CEO total pay was $16,117,290 in fiscal 2026, up from $14,671,340 in fiscal 2025.

FY2026: salary $1,000,000 · bonus $0 · stock awards $11,982,027 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Korn Ferry in fiscal 2026?
As disclosed, Gary Burnison (President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Korn Ferry in fiscal 2026, with total compensation of $16,117,290.
How does Korn Ferry's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Gary Burnison's total compensation ranked at the 80th percentile of Korn Ferry's disclosed peer group.
What is Korn Ferry's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Korn Ferry's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 134:1.
How did shareholders vote on Korn Ferry's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 86.28% of shareholders supported Korn Ferry's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Korn Ferry spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2026?
As disclosed, Korn Ferry reported total board compensation of $2,664,710 for fiscal 2026.

Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
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 FY2025→2026
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.

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
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2026

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Gary BurnisonRSU2025-07-11——67,960—$4,999,817
Michael DistefanoPSU2025-07-113,39813,590—27,1801,396,237
Michael DistefanoRSU2025-07-11——13,590—999,816
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU2025-07-11——13,590—999,816
Jeanne MacDonaldPSU2025-07-113,39813,590—27,1801,396,237
Robert RozekPSU2025-07-116,28825,150—50,3002,583,911
Lesley UrenRSU2025-07-11——8,500—586,585
Lesley UrenPSU2025-07-112,1258,500—17,000873,290
Gary BurnisonPSU2025-07-1116,99067,960—135,9206,982,210
Robert RozekRSU2025-07-11——25,150—1,850,286

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.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2026

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU845—$56,142
Lesley UrenRSU1,013—67,304
Michael DistefanoRSU1,268—84,246
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU1,990—132,216
Lesley UrenRSU2,235—148,493
Lesley UrenRSU3,068—203,838
Robert RozekRSU5,068—336,718
Michael DistefanoRSU7,895—524,544
Lesley UrenRSU8,500—564,740
Michael DistefanoRSU9,090—603,940
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU9,090—603,940
Michael DistefanoRSU13,590—902,920
Jeanne MacDonaldRSU13,590—902,920
Robert RozekRSU13,820—918,201
Gary BurnisonRSU14,355—953,746
Robert RozekRSU15,915—1,057,393
Lesley UrenPSU17,000—1,129,480
Robert RozekRSU25,150—1,670,966
Michael DistefanoPSU27,180—1,805,839
Jeanne MacDonaldPSU27,180—1,805,839
Gary BurnisonRSU33,555—2,229,394
Michael DistefanoPSU35,770—2,376,559
Michael DistefanoPSU36,380—2,417,087
Jeanne MacDonaldPSU36,380—2,417,087
Gary BurnisonRSU40,920—2,718,725
Robert RozekPSU50,300—3,341,932
Robert RozekPSU62,590—4,158,480
Robert RozekPSU63,660—4,229,570
Gary BurnisonRSU67,960—4,515,262
Gary BurnisonPSU135,920—9,030,525
Gary BurnisonPSU152,010—10,099,544
Gary BurnisonPSU163,680—10,874,899
Director compensation
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 · Compensation113,000199,784——83,588396,372
Matthew J. EspeIndependent · Audit · Compensation125,000199,784——16,923341,707
Angel R. MartinezIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Nominating/Governance107,000199,784——16,923323,707
Laura M. BishopIndependent · Audit · Compensation107,000199,784——9,182315,966
Russell A. HageyIndependent0294,535——9,886304,421
Lori J. RobinsonIndependent · Nominating/Governance95,000199,784——5,331300,115
Peter A. ShimerIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Newly elected57,751108,033——913166,697
Debra J. PerryIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair) · Departed during FY00——21,37221,372
Charles L. HarringtonIndependent · Compensation · Nominating/Governance · Departed during FY00——7,6467,646
Gary D. BurnisonEmployee director · Nominating/Governance (Chair)—————0

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

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.

Peer group, and who names Korn Ferry as a peer

Companies that benchmark against KFY

7 companies name KFY as a compensation peer

The list of companies that name KFY as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.

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.

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
2Insperity, Inc.2025Paul Sarvadi1,206,00014,558,89301,019,68416,813,013
3Korn Ferry2026Gary Burnison1,000,00011,982,02703,000,00016,117,290
4Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated2025Christian Ulbrich1,042,8899,930,776—3,666,00014,675,352
5Verisk Analytics, Inc.2025Lee Shavel1,000,0008,800,0862,199,8811,500,00013,540,847
6Manpower Group, Inc.2025Jonas Prising1,300,00010,893,6190967,90913,268,466
7TriNet Group, Inc.2025Michael Simonds1,000,0008,250,00401,272,00010,552,055
8FTI Consulting, Inc.2025Steven Gunby1,000,0007,450,94301,805,15210,273,735
9Cushman & Wakefield Plc2025Michelle MacKay1,243,2695,687,40802,500,0009,469,699
10Huron Consulting Group Inc.2025C. Mark Hussey1,021,8754,612,52501,515,9757,198,354
11ICF International, Inc.2025John Wasson1,003,0964,715,91801,122,3326,857,678
12Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.2024Thomas Monahan900,0004,233,37601,482,4076,636,483
13Robert Half International Inc.2025M. Keith Waddell500,0004,532,9480839,3306,073,178

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.

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 60 · RSU 40Yes — Relative TSRPearl Meyer
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50not disclosedSemler Brossy
Huron Consulting Group Inc.not disclosedPSU 70 · RSU 30not disclosedMercer (US) LLC
ICF International, Inc.86.41%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoAon Human Capital Solutions Practice
Insperity, Inc.not disclosedPSU 65 · RSU 35not disclosedFW Cook
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated122.2%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoExequity LLP
Manpower Group, Inc.46.5%not disclosedYes — relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR)Mercer
Robert Half International Inc.59.1%PRSU 100NoFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
TriNet Group, Inc.84.8%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoMeridian
Verisk Analytics, Inc.not disclosedPSU 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.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
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.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)134 : 1
CEO total compensation—
Median employee compensation—
Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (46 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, Gary Burnison. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 16,117,290. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Robert Rozek. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 6,644,902. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Jeanne MacDonald. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 4,529,182. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Michael Distefano. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 3,893,920. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Lesley Uren. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026, 2025, and 2024 Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 3,040,296. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Gary Burnison RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Michael Distefano PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Michael Distefano RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Jeanne MacDonald RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Jeanne MacDonald PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Robert Rozek PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Lesley Uren RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Lesley Uren PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Gary Burnison PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Robert Rozek RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Fiscal Year 2026 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 134 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Jerry P. Leamon. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 486,707. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Doyle N. Beneby. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 396,372. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Matthew J. Espe. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 341,707. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Angel R. Martinez. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 323,707. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Laura M. Bishop. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 315,966. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Russell A. Hagey. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 304,421. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Lori J. Robinson. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 300,115. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Peter A. Shimer. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 166,697. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Debra J. Perry. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 21,372. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Charles L. Harrington. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 7,646. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Gary D. Burnison. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-09-23. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 86.28% (votes for as printed: 39,860,719). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-09-27. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.99% (votes for as printed: 44,308,300). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2023 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2023-09-22. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.25% (votes for as printed: 45,100,196). View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 874,751 + equity 1,601,272 + all other 188,687 = 2,664,710, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • CoStar Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in CoStar Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 36,431,936. View filing ↗
  • Insperity, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-14. CEO total compensation as printed in Insperity, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 16,813,013. View filing ↗
  • Korn Ferry (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-08-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Korn Ferry's own proxy. As printed: 16,117,290. View filing ↗
  • Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-17. CEO total compensation as printed in Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated's own proxy. As printed: 14,675,352. View filing ↗
  • Verisk Analytics, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-03. CEO total compensation as printed in Verisk Analytics, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 13,540,847. View filing ↗
  • Manpower Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-23. CEO total compensation as printed in Manpower Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 13,268,466. View filing ↗
  • TriNet Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-15. CEO total compensation as printed in TriNet Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,552,055. View filing ↗
  • FTI Consulting, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-21. CEO total compensation as printed in FTI Consulting, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,273,735. View filing ↗
  • Cushman & Wakefield Plc, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-03. CEO total compensation as printed in Cushman & Wakefield Plc's own proxy. As printed: 9,469,699. View filing ↗
  • Huron Consulting Group Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-20. CEO total compensation as printed in Huron Consulting Group Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,198,354. View filing ↗
  • ICF International, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in ICF International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,857,678. View filing ↗
  • Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-11. CEO total compensation as printed in Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,636,483. View filing ↗
  • Robert Half International Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Robert Half International Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 6,073,178. View filing ↗
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