CompBrief BY VELARION

Companies Kohls Corp

Kohls (KSS): executive pay, fiscal 2025

Free brief. Every figure links to the company’s own filing.

Velarion Intel: free for 3 days, no card →

Email me Kohls Corp’s executive pay brief as a PDF

You get it on this page the moment you ask, and a copy by email. Every figure is cited to its filing.

After the PDF, up to three short notes on the deeper reports for this company. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.

Also free: The Pay Desk, the weekly executive pay briefing.
CEO total pay$9,044,466CEO Michael J. Bender · source
Say-on-pay support94.27%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers9th pct.Of 11 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio593:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $9,044,466FY2025

CEO total pay was $9,044,466 in fiscal 2025; the brief holds no earlier figure for this CEO.

FY2025: salary $1,111,837 · bonus $0 · stock awards $3,775,003 · option awards $0

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Kohls Corp in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Ashley Buchanan (Former Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Kohls Corp in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $9,582,736.
How does Kohls Corp's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Michael J. Bender's total compensation ranked at the 9th percentile of Kohls Corp's disclosed peer group.
What is Kohls Corp's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio?
As disclosed, Kohls Corp's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 593:1.
How did shareholders vote on Kohls Corp's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 94.27% of shareholders supported Kohls Corp's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Kohls Corp spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Kohls Corp reported total board compensation of $2,842,744 for fiscal 2025.

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
Ashley Buchanan$368,750$0$9,000,005$0$0$0$213,981$9,582,736
Former Chief Executive Officer
Michael J. Bender1,111,83703,775,00303,641,8180515,8089,044,466
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Nick Jones900,00002,299,99302,336,0400121,0755,657,108
Chief Merchandising Officer
Jill Timm950,00002,299,99302,289,6900105,9105,645,593
Chief Financial Officer
Fred Hand900,00002,000,00302,169,180083,3125,152,495
Senior Executive Vice President, Director of Stores
Christie Raymond725,00001,500,00201,478,565077,3633,780,930
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.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Ashley Buchanan$9,582,736$20,907,736—↓ −11,325,000
Michael J. Bender9,044,466———
Nick Jones5,657,1083,435,0745,062,396↑ +2,222,034
Jill Timm5,645,5933,804,7036,159,138↑ +1,840,890
Fred Hand5,152,4953,020,8444,089,419↑ +2,131,651
Christie Raymond3,780,9302,300,432—↑ +1,480,498

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

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

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 consultantNot explicitly named in provided text (referred to only as 'independent compensation consultant')
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Ashley BuchananPSU2025-03-31233,834623,557—1,558,893$5,400,004
Michael J. BenderRSU2025-05-16——441,005—3,775,003
Ashley BuchananRSU2025-03-31——440,098—3,600,001
Fred HandPSU2025-03-3151,963138,568—346,4201,199,999
Christie RaymondPSU2025-03-3138,972103,926—259,815899,999
Christie RaymondRSU2025-03-31——73,350—600,003
Jill TimmRSU2025-03-31——112,469—919,996
Nick JonesRSU2025-03-31——112,469—919,996
Nick JonesPSU2025-03-3159,757159,353—398,3831,379,997
Jill TimmPSU2025-03-3159,757159,353—398,3831,379,997
Fred HandRSU2025-03-31——97,800—800,004

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Ashley Buchanan$3,600,001$5,400,004$060.0%
Michael J. Bender3,775,003000.0%
Fred Hand800,0041,199,999060.0%
Christie Raymond600,003899,999060.0%
Jill Timm919,9961,379,997060.0%
Nick Jones919,9961,379,997060.0%

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

No outstanding equity awards are on file for this fiscal year.

Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
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)125,000345,0000—0470,000
Wendy ArlinIndependent · Finance · Executive125,000200,0000—0325,000
Jonas PrisingIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Nominating and ESG · Executive125,000170,0000—0295,000
Yael CossetIndependent · Compensation · Nominating and ESG · Executive125,000165,0000—0290,000
H. Charles FloydIndependent · Audit · Compensation125,000145,0000—0270,000
Adolfo VillagomezIndependent · Audit · Compensation125,000145,0000—0270,000
Robbin MitchellIndependent · Audit · Nominating and ESG · Finance125,000145,0000—0270,000
Adrianne ShapiraIndependent · Not standing for re-election · Departed during FY35,02700—035,027
Christine DayIndependent · Not disclosed prior to departure · Departed during FY31,93700—031,937
Michael J. BenderEmployee director · Finance · Executive000—00

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

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$5

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
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.

Peer group, and who names Kohls as a peer

Companies that benchmark against KSS

11 companies name KSS as a compensation peer

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

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

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

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Kohls Corp 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 Kohls Corp.

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
1The TJX Companies, Inc.2026Ernie Herrman$1,700,000$14,300,173$0$8,386,100$26,603,537
2Ross Stores, Inc.2025James Conroy1,450,00010,650,10004,233,13017,406,705
3Best Buy Co., Inc.2026Corie Barry1,300,00013,699,94702,185,82017,346,126
4Gap, Inc.2025Richard Dickson1,400,00010,891,24204,435,63817,185,636
5Burlington Stores, Inc.2025Michael O'Sullivan1,519,53510,842,76804,771,34117,149,564
6Ulta Beauty, Inc.2025Kecia Steelman1,350,0034,792,8774,792,5564,383,97215,403,663
7Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.2025Lauren Hobart1,393,26911,000,16602,438,22115,103,545
8Dollar Tree, Inc.2025Michael Creedon, Jr.1,300,0009,443,15503,166,80014,775,215
9Macy’s, Inc.2025Tony Spring1,337,5009,007,86803,241,62014,104,067
10Foot Locker, Inc.2024Mary Dillon1,431,25011,000,0470012,501,074
11Kohls Corp2025Michael J. Bender1,111,8373,775,00303,641,8189,044,466
12Nordstrom, Inc.2023Erik Nordstrom773,0871,592,8451,061,9011,061,9004,540,362

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
Kohls Corpnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedNot explicitly named in provided text (referred to only as 'independent compensation consultant')
Best Buy Co., Inc.84.07%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — total shareholder return (TSR) relative to the S&P 500 Index constituentsnot disclosed
Burlington Stores, Inc.157%PSU 65 · RSU 35NoMeridian Compensation Partners LLC
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50NoWillis Towers Watson
Dollar Tree, Inc.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50NoMeridian Compensation Partners
Foot Locker, Inc.not disclosedPSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — rTSRCompensation Advisory Partners
Gap, Inc.158%PRSU 60 · RSU 40NoFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
Macy’s, Inc.120.06%PSU 50 · RSU 50Yes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR)Semler Brossy Consulting Group LLC
Nordstrom, Inc.70%PSU 60NoSemler Brossy
Ross Stores, Inc.145.97%not disclosedNoExequity, LLP
The TJX Companies, Inc.180.7%PSU 54 · RSU 35 · LRPIP 11NoPearl Meyer LLC
Ulta Beauty, Inc.not disclosedOption 50 · RSU 50not disclosedPay Governance 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.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-2066,512,4234,040,026400,93794.27%Passed
20252025-05-1426,847,60921,735,883511,62755.26%Passed
20242024-05-1567,443,1575,535,291258,55892.42%Passed
20232023-05-1073,072,9704,791,676248,20993.85%Passed
20222022-05-1182,962,49622,759,3872,887,82878.47%Passed
20212021-05-12114,083,4404,213,4542,528,44396.44%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.

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

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-05-2094.27%a
20252025-05-1455.26%b
20242024-05-1592.42%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.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)593 : 1
CEO total compensation$9,407,629
Median employee compensation$15,859
Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (57 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, Ashley Buchanan. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 9,582,736. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Michael J. Bender. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 9,044,466. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Nick Jones. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,657,108. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Jill Timm. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,645,593. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Fred Hand. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 5,152,495. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Christie Raymond. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Summary Compensation Table”. As printed: 3,780,930. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Ashley Buchanan PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Michael J. Bender RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Ashley Buchanan RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Fred Hand PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Christie Raymond PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Christie Raymond RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Jill Timm RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Nick Jones RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Nick Jones PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Jill Timm PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Fred Hand RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2025” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 593 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Thomas A. Kingsbury. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 585,780. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, John E. Schlifske. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 470,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Wendy Arlin. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 325,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Jonas Prising. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 295,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Yael Cosset. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 290,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, H. Charles Floyd. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 270,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Adolfo Villagomez. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 270,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Robbin Mitchell. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 270,000. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Adrianne Shapira. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 35,027. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Christine Day. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 31,937. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Michael J. Bender. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-05-21. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 94.27% (votes for as printed: 66,512,423). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-05-14. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 55.26% (votes for as printed: 26,847,609). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2024 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2024-05-15. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 92.42% (votes for as printed: 67,443,157). 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 941,964 + equity 1,315,000 + all other 585,780 = 2,842,744, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • The TJX Companies, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in The TJX Companies, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 26,603,537. View filing ↗
  • Ross Stores, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Ross Stores, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,406,705. View filing ↗
  • Best Buy Co., Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Best Buy Co., Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,346,126. View filing ↗
  • Gap, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-27. CEO total compensation as printed in Gap, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,185,636. View filing ↗
  • Burlington Stores, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-02. CEO total compensation as printed in Burlington Stores, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,149,564. View filing ↗
  • Ulta Beauty, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 15,403,663. View filing ↗
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-05-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 15,103,545. View filing ↗
  • Dollar Tree, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-05-01. CEO total compensation as printed in Dollar Tree, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,775,215. View filing ↗
  • Macy’s, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-31. CEO total compensation as printed in Macy’s, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 14,104,067. View filing ↗
  • Foot Locker, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Foot Locker, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 12,501,074. View filing ↗
  • Kohls Corp (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Kohls Corp's own proxy. As printed: 9,044,466. View filing ↗
  • Nordstrom, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2024-04-11. CEO total compensation as printed in Nordstrom, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,540,362. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Gap, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Gap, Inc. names Kohls Corp in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Nordstrom, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Nordstrom, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kohls Corp. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Dollar Tree, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Dollar Tree, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kohls Corp. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Best Buy Co., Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Best Buy Co., Inc. names Kohls Corp in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Macy’s, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Macy’s, Inc. names Kohls Corp in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Burlington Stores, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Burlington Stores, Inc. names Kohls Corp in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Ross Stores, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Ross Stores, Inc. names Kohls Corp in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kohls Corp. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Foot Locker, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Foot Locker, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kohls Corp. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Ulta Beauty, Inc. reciprocity. DEF 14A. Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Kohls Corp. View filing ↗
Get the full report — $500