CEO Michael J. Bender was paid $9,044,466 in fiscal year 2025, the 9th percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001104659-26-041769 ↗): 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.
$9,582,736 Ashley Buchanan total, FY2025 Former Chief Executive Officer — highest-paid officer; CEO Michael J. Bender: $9,044,466 | 9th CEO (Michael J. Bender) pay percentile vs peers | 593:1 CEO-to-median pay ratio | 94.27% Say-on-pay support, latest vote |
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KSS's next annual pay disclosure, estimated April 23, 2027.est. Filing ↗
| Named executive officer | Salary | Bonus | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Pension / NQDC | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Buchanan | $368,750 | $0 | $9,000,005 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $213,981 | $9,582,736 |
| Former Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Michael J. Bender | 1,111,837 | 0 | 3,775,003 | 0 | 3,641,818 | 0 | 515,808 | 9,044,466 |
| Interim Chief Executive Officer | ||||||||
| Nick Jones | 900,000 | 0 | 2,299,993 | 0 | 2,336,040 | 0 | 121,075 | 5,657,108 |
| Chief Merchandising Officer | ||||||||
| Jill Timm | 950,000 | 0 | 2,299,993 | 0 | 2,289,690 | 0 | 105,910 | 5,645,593 |
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||||
| Fred Hand | 900,000 | 0 | 2,000,003 | 0 | 2,169,180 | 0 | 83,312 | 5,152,495 |
| Senior Executive Vice President, Director of Stores | ||||||||
| Christie Raymond | 725,000 | 0 | 1,500,002 | 0 | 1,478,565 | 0 | 77,363 | 3,780,930 |
| Chief Marketing Officer | ||||||||
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.
| Named executive officer | FY2025 total | FY2024 total | FY2023 total | Δ FY2024→2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Buchanan | $9,582,736 | $20,907,736 | — | ↓ −11,325,000 |
| Michael J. Bender | 9,044,466 | — | — | — |
| Nick Jones | 5,657,108 | 3,435,074 | 5,062,396 | ↑ +2,222,034 |
| Jill Timm | 5,645,593 | 3,804,703 | 6,159,138 | ↑ +1,840,890 |
| Fred Hand | 5,152,495 | 3,020,844 | 4,089,419 | ↑ +2,131,651 |
| Christie Raymond | 3,780,930 | 2,300,432 | — | ↑ +1,480,498 |
Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.
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One page per director: the seat, the committees and the fee table, read for one person at a time.
| Director | Role | FY2025 total |
|---|---|---|
| Adolfo Villagomez | Independent Director | $270,000 |
| Adrianne Shapira | Former director (through FY2025) | $35,027 |
| Christine Day | Former director (through FY2025) | $31,937 |
| H. Charles Floyd | Independent Director | $270,000 |
| John E. Schlifske | Chair of the Board | $470,000 |
| Jonas Prising | Independent Director | $295,000 |
| Robbin Mitchell | Independent Director | $270,000 |
| Thomas A. Kingsbury | Former director (through FY2025) | $585,780 |
| Wendy Arlin | Independent Director | $325,000 |
| Yael Cosset | Independent Director | $290,000 |
No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.
| Executive | Award | Grant date | Threshold | Target | Granted | Maximum | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Buchanan | PSU | 2025-03-31 | 233,834 | 623,557 | — | 1,558,893 | $5,400,004 |
| Michael J. Bender | RSU | 2025-05-16 | — | — | 441,005 | — | 3,775,003 |
| Ashley Buchanan | RSU | 2025-03-31 | — | — | 440,098 | — | 3,600,001 |
| Fred Hand | PSU | 2025-03-31 | 51,963 | 138,568 | — | 346,420 | 1,199,999 |
| Christie Raymond | PSU | 2025-03-31 | 38,972 | 103,926 | — | 259,815 | 899,999 |
| Christie Raymond | RSU | 2025-03-31 | — | — | 73,350 | — | 600,003 |
| Jill Timm | RSU | 2025-03-31 | — | — | 112,469 | — | 919,996 |
| Nick Jones | RSU | 2025-03-31 | — | — | 112,469 | — | 919,996 |
| Nick Jones | PSU | 2025-03-31 | 59,757 | 159,353 | — | 398,383 | 1,379,997 |
| Jill Timm | PSU | 2025-03-31 | 59,757 | 159,353 | — | 398,383 | 1,379,997 |
| Fred Hand | RSU | 2025-03-31 | — | — | 97,800 | — | 800,004 |
| Named executive officer | Time-vested (RSU) | Performance-vested (PSU) | Options / SARs | % performance-vested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Buchanan | $3,600,001 | $5,400,004 | $0 | 60.0% |
| Michael J. Bender | 3,775,003 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Fred Hand | 800,004 | 1,199,999 | 0 | 60.0% |
| Christie Raymond | 600,003 | 899,999 | 0 | 60.0% |
| Jill Timm | 919,996 | 1,379,997 | 0 | 60.0% |
| Nick Jones | 919,996 | 1,379,997 | 0 | 60.0% |
% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.
| Executive | Award | Shares unvested | Exercise price | Market value unvested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Hand | RSU | 725,000 | — | $12,542,500 |
| Jill Timm | RSU | 950,000 | — | 16,435,000 |
| Nick Jones | RSU | 900,000 | — | 15,570,000 |
| Fred Hand | RSU | 875,000 | — | 15,137,500 |
The Committee has designed our compensation program to reflect its philosophy that executive compensation should be directly linked to company performance, with the ultimate goal of increasing long-term shareholder value. Each key component of our executive compensation program is tied to company performance.
| CEO STI target (% of salary) | — |
|---|---|
| CEO LTI target (% of salary) | — |
| Independent consultant | Not explicitly named in provided text (referred to only as 'independent compensation consultant') |
| Clawback policy | True |
| Anti-hedging | True |
| Anti-pledging | True |
| Meeting year | Meeting date | For | Against | Abstain | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 66,512,423 | 4,040,026 | 400,937 | 94.27% | Passed |
| 2025 | 2025-05-14 | 26,847,609 | 21,735,883 | 511,627 | 55.26% | Passed |
| 2024 | 2024-05-15 | 67,443,157 | 5,535,291 | 258,558 | 92.42% | Passed |
| 2023 | 2023-05-10 | 73,072,970 | 4,791,676 | 248,209 | 93.85% | Passed |
| 2022 | 2022-05-11 | 82,962,496 | 22,759,387 | 2,887,828 | 78.47% | Passed |
| 2021 | 2021-05-12 | 114,083,440 | 4,213,454 | 2,528,443 | 96.44% | 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.
| Meeting year | Meeting date | Approval — company's computation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-05-20 | 94.27%a |
| 2025 | 2025-05-14 | 55.26%b |
| 2024 | 2024-05-15 | 92.42%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.
| Ratio (CEO : median employee) | 593 : 1 |
|---|---|
| CEO total compensation | $9,407,629 |
| Median employee compensation | $15,859 |
| Director | Cash fees | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | All other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas A. KingsburyNot independent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY | $0 | $0 | $0 | — | $585,780 | $585,780 |
| John E. SchlifskeIndependent · Board Chair · Nominating and ESG · Finance · Executive (Chair) | 125,000 | 345,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 470,000 |
| Wendy ArlinIndependent · Finance · Executive | 125,000 | 200,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 325,000 |
| Jonas PrisingIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and ESG · Executive | 125,000 | 170,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 295,000 |
| Yael CossetIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and ESG · Executive | 125,000 | 165,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 290,000 |
| H. Charles FloydIndependent · Audit · Compensation | 125,000 | 145,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 270,000 |
| Adolfo VillagomezIndependent · Audit · Compensation | 125,000 | 145,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 270,000 |
| Robbin MitchellIndependent · Audit · Nominating and ESG · Finance | 125,000 | 145,000 | 0 | — | 0 | 270,000 |
| Adrianne ShapiraIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY | 35,027 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 35,027 |
| Christine DayIndependent · Not disclosed prior to departure · Departed during FY | 31,937 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 31,937 |
| Michael J. BenderEmployee director · Finance · Executive | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Annual cash retainer | $125,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer | $145,000 |
| Per board meeting fee | — |
| Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov) | 30,000 / 25,000 / 20,000 |
| Stock ownership guideline | $625,000 |
| Component | FY2025 |
|---|---|
| Cash retainers and fees | $941,964 |
| Equity awards (grant-date value) | $1,315,000 |
| All other compensation | $585,780 |
| Total cost of the board | $2,842,744 |
Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.
Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company's own proxy statement.
| Rank | Company | FY | Chief executive | Salary | Stock awards | Option awards | Non-equity incentive | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kohls | 2025 | Michael J. Bender | $1,111,837 | $3,775,003 | $0 | $3,641,818 | $9,044,466 |
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.
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.
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.
| # | Supports | Document | Filed | Accession | Location in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 01, Ashley Buchanan | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 9,582,736. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r23 · c16 · span 3003658–3003667 |
| 2 | Section 01, Michael J. Bender | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 9,044,466. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r10 · c16 · span 2935762–2935771 |
| 3 | Section 01, Nick Jones | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,657,108. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r17 · c16 · span 2972321–2972330 |
| 4 | Section 01, Jill Timm | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,645,593. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r11 · c16 · span 2941047–2941056 |
| 5 | Section 01, Fred Hand | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,152,495. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r14 · c16 · span 2956667–2956676 |
| 6 | Section 01, Christie Raymond | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 3,780,930. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r20 · c16 · span 2987952–2987961 |
| 7 | Section 03, Ashley Buchanan PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3367847–3367856 |
| 8 | Section 03, Michael J. Bender RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3267981–3267990 |
| 9 | Section 03, Ashley Buchanan RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3374976–3374985 |
| 10 | Section 03, Fred Hand PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3303542–3303551 |
| 11 | Section 03, Christie Raymond PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3346353–3346360 |
| 12 | Section 03, Christie Raymond RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3353495–3353502 |
| 13 | Section 03, Jill Timm RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3289284–3289291 |
| 14 | Section 03, Nick Jones RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3332090–3332097 |
| 15 | Section 03, Nick Jones PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3324945–3324954 |
| 16 | Section 03, Jill Timm PSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3282173–3282182 |
| 17 | Section 03, Fred Hand RSU | DEF 14A | 1900-01-01 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 3310686–3310693 |
| 18 | Section 07, pay ratio | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 593 : 1. Filing ↗ |
| 19 | Section 08, Thomas A. Kingsbury | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 585,780. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r8 · c6 · span 1762521–1762661 |
| 20 | Section 08, John E. Schlifske | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 470,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r11 · c8 · span 1770989–1771172 |
| 21 | Section 08, Wendy Arlin | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 325,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r4 · c8 · span 1752482–1752665 |
| 22 | Section 08, Jonas Prising | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 295,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r10 · c8 · span 1768396–1768579 |
| 23 | Section 08, Yael Cosset | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 290,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r5 · c8 · span 1755069–1755252 |
| 24 | Section 08, H. Charles Floyd | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 270,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r7 · c8 · span 1760333–1760516 |
| 25 | Section 08, Adolfo Villagomez | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 270,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r13 · c8 · span 1776518–1776701 |
| 26 | Section 08, Robbin Mitchell | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 270,000. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r9 · c8 · span 1765807–1765990 |
| 27 | Section 08, Adrianne Shapira | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 35,027. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r12 · c2 · span 1771903–1772085 |
| 28 | Section 08, Christine Day | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 31,937. Filing ↗machine: t234 · r6 · c2 · span 1755980–1756162 |
| 29 | Section 08, Michael J. Bender | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗ |
| 30 | Section 06, 2026 vote | Form 8-K | 2026-05-21 | 0001193125-26-234927 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.27% (votes for as printed: 66,512,423). Filing ↗ |
| 31 | Section 06, 2025 vote | Form 8-K | 2025-05-14 | 0001193125-25-119951 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 55.26% (votes for as printed: 26,847,609). Filing ↗ |
| 32 | Section 06, 2024 vote | Form 8-K | 2024-05-15 | 0001193125-24-139419 | Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 92.42% (votes for as printed: 67,443,157). Filing ↗ |
| 33 | Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed) | Computed | — | — | Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1) |
| 34 | 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).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio |
| 35 | Section 09b board cost (computed) | Computed | — | — | Cash 941,964 + equity 1,315,000 + all other 585,780 = 2,842,744, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 2,842,744 |
| 36 | Kohls (subject), Section 10b CEO total | DEF 14A | 2026-04-10 | 0001104659-26-041769 | CEO total compensation as printed in Kohls's own proxy. As printed: 9,044,466. Filing ↗machine: t495 · r10 · c16 · span 2935762–2935771 |
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