Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-04-27

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (KREF)

Fiscal year 2025 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.

$802,386
Kendra Decious total, FY2025
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurerhighest-paid officer; CEO Matthew Salem: $688,188
CEO (Matthew Salem) pay percentile vs peers
CEO-to-median pay ratio
96.05%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against KREF
4 companies name KREF as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses KREF 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 KREF 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 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Kendra Decious$183,133$401,190$203,280$0$0$0$14,783$802,386
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Matthew Salem00688,1880000688,188
Chief Executive Officer
W. Patrick Mattson00622,5450000622,545
President, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary
Kelly Galligan0055,055000055,055
Former General Counsel and Secretary

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 officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY20242025
Kendra Decious$802,386$725,391$996,917+76,995
Matthew Salem688,188915,6881,027,088−227,500
W. Patrick Mattson622,545828,345922,695−205,800
Kelly Galligan55,05539,445+15,610

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

Every insider equity transaction reported on Form 4 after the 2025 proxy statement — acquisitions, dispositions, exercises, and withholdings — and therefore not reflected in any table in that document.

InsiderRoleTransaction dateCodeSharesPriceValueSecuritySource
Terrance R. AhernDirector2026-04-14A16,691$0$0CommonForm 4 ↗
Jonathan A. LangerDirector2026-04-14A16,69100CommonForm 4 ↗
Paula MadoffDirector2026-04-14A16,69100CommonForm 4 ↗
Irene M. EstevesDirector2026-04-14A16,69100CommonForm 4 ↗
Deborah H. McAnenyDirector2026-04-14A16,69100CommonForm 4 ↗
Matthew A. SalemDirector2026-04-24A60,0006362,472CommonForm 4 ↗
W. Patrick MattsonPresident, COO and Secretary2026-04-24A40,0006241,072CommonForm 4 ↗

Transaction codes per Form 4: A acquisition · S open-market sale · F tax withholding · M option exercise · G gift. Value = shares × price as reported. Dividend-equivalent and fractional-share accrual rows (derivative Class A, under $10,000 and under 2,000 shares) are aggregated per date; every row appears in full below.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
W. Patrick MattsonRSU2025-12-1873,500$622,545
Matthew SalemRSU2025-12-1881,250688,188
Kendra DeciousRSU2025-12-1824,000203,280
Kelly GalliganRSU2025-12-186,50055,055
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
W. Patrick Mattson$622,545$0$00.0%
Matthew Salem688,188000.0%
Kendra Decious203,280000.0%
Kelly Galligan55,055000.0%

% 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 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
W. Patrick MattsonRSU145,334$1,194,645
Kelly GalliganRSU8,83372,607
Matthew SalemRSU160,8341,322,055
Kendra DeciousRSU48,000394,560
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

These awards are designed to align the interests of our Named Executive Officers with those of our stockholders, by allowing our Named Executive Officers to share in the creation of value for our stockholders through capital appreciation and dividends.

CEO STI target (% of salary)
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantFerguson Partners Consulting, L.P. (FPL)
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-04-1437,405,1841,539,699119,17596.05%Passed
20252025-04-2544,235,8622,294,862138,63595.07%Passed
20242024-04-1944,007,7981,340,659159,19397.04%Passed
20232023-04-2145,472,6311,561,265174,90596.68%Passed
20222022-04-2241,350,1151,156,378138,65797.28%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
20262026-04-1496.05%a
20252025-04-2595.07%b
20242024-04-1997.04%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “With respect to the non-binding vote on executive compensation (Proposal 3), you may vote "FOR," "AGAINST" or "ABSTAIN." For Proposal 3, abstentions and "broker non-votes" are not considered votes cast and will not affect the outcome of this proposal.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “With respect to the non-binding vote on executive compensation (Proposal 3), you may vote "FOR," "AGAINST" or "ABSTAIN." For Proposal 3, abstentions and "broker non-votes" are not considered votes cast and will not affect the outcome of this proposal.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “With respect to the non-binding vote on executive compensation (Proposal 3), you may vote "FOR," "AGAINST" or "ABSTAIN." For Proposal 3, abstentions and "broker non-votes" are not considered votes cast and will not affect the outcome of this proposal.”.

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)
CEO total compensation
Median employee compensation
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Deborah H. McAnenyIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit Committee (Chair) · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee · Affiliate Transaction Committee$165,000$110,000$0$0$275,000
Paula MadoffIndependent · Audit Committee · Compensation Committee · Affiliate Transaction Committee (Chair)137,500110,00000247,500
Irene M. EstevesIndependent · Audit Committee · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (Chair) · Affiliate Transaction Committee135,000110,00000245,000
Jonathan A. LangerIndependent · Compensation Committee · Affiliate Transaction Committee130,000110,00000240,000
Terrance R. AhernIndependent · Compensation Committee · Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee117,500110,00000227,500
Christen E.J. LeeEmployee director00000
Matthew A. SalemEmployee director00000
Ralph F. RosenbergEmployee director · Board Chair00000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$105,000
Annual equity retainer$110,000
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)20,000 / 15,000 / 10,000
Stock ownership guideline3x annual cash retainer
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$685,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$550,000
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,235,000

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

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
1KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.2025Matthew Salem$0$688,188$0$0$688,188

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.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. in fiscal 2025?
The highest-paid executive at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. in fiscal 2025 was Kendra Decious, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, with total compensation of $802,386.
How does KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.'s chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
The CEO pay percentile of disclosed peers is not disclosed in this extract.
What is KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.'s CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
The CEO-to-median employee pay ratio is not disclosed in this extract.
How did shareholders vote on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.'s executive compensation?
Shareholders provided 96.05% support in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
The company reported total board compensation for fiscal 2025 as $1,235,000.

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.

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, Kendra DeciousDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 802,386. Filing ↗machine: r10 · c27 · span 404575–404582
2Section 01, Matthew SalemDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 28. As printed: 688,188. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 361601–361608
3Section 01, W. Patrick MattsonDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 28. As printed: 622,545. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c27 · span 381637–381644
4Section 01, Kelly GalliganDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 28. As printed: 55,055. Filing ↗machine: r14 · c27 · span 421507–421513
5Section 03, W. Patrick Mattson RSUDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Grants of Plan Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t60 · r3 · c9 · span 439786–439793
6Section 03, Matthew Salem RSUDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Grants of Plan Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t60 · r2 · c9 · span 438050–438057
7Section 03, Kendra Decious RSUDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Grants of Plan Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t60 · r4 · c9 · span 441788–441795
8Section 03, Kelly Galligan RSUDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t60 · r5 · c9 · span 443496–443502
9Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: —. Filing ↗
10Section 08, Deborah H. McAnenyDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 275,000. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r7 · c9 · span 269823–269830
11Section 08, Paula MadoffDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 247,500. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r6 · c9 · span 268226–268233
12Section 08, Irene M. EstevesDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 245,000. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r3 · c9 · span 262888–262895
13Section 08, Jonathan A. LangerDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 240,000. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r4 · c9 · span 264755–264762
14Section 08, Terrance R. AhernDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 227,500. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r2 · c9 · span 261293–261300
15Section 08, Christen E.J. LeeDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r5 · c9 · span 266338–266340
16Section 08, Matthew A. SalemDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
17Section 08, Ralph F. RosenbergDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r8 · c9 · span 271581–271583
18Section 02, Terrance R. Ahern 2026-04-14Form 42026-04-160001140361-26-015159Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
19Section 02, Jonathan A. Langer 2026-04-14Form 42026-04-160001140361-26-015162Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
20Section 02, Paula Madoff 2026-04-14Form 42026-04-160001140361-26-015160Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
21Section 02, Irene M. Esteves 2026-04-14Form 42026-04-160001140361-26-015163Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
22Section 02, Deborah H. McAneny 2026-04-14Form 42026-04-160001140361-26-015161Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
23Section 02, Matthew A. Salem 2026-04-24Form 42026-04-270001140361-26-017128Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
24Section 02, W. Patrick Mattson 2026-04-24Form 42026-04-270001140361-26-017127Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
25Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-04-160001140361-26-015156Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 96.05% (votes for as printed: 37,405,184). Filing ↗
26Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-05-010001140361-25-016926Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 95.07% (votes for as printed: 44,235,862). Filing ↗
27Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-04-250001140361-24-022033Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 97.04% (votes for as printed: 44,007,798). Filing ↗
28Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
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 685,000 + equity 550,000 + all other 0 = 1,235,000, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,235,000
31KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-030001140361-26-007573CEO total compensation as printed in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 688,188. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c27 · span 361601–361608