Company: KD
Filing Date: 2025-06-16
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001140361-25-022676
Chunk: 15

Company: Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-06-16
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 15
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 After review of all relevant facts and circumstances, our Board has affirmatively determined that each of Dominic J. Caruso, John D. Harris II, Stephen A.M. Hester, Shirley Ann Jackson, Janina Kugel, Denis Machuel, Rahul N. Merchant, Jana Schreuder and Howard I. Ungerleider is independent under the guidelines for director independence set forth in the Board Corporate Governance Guidelines and under all applicable NYSE rules, including with respect to committee membership. |

In making its independence determinations, our Board reviewed all information known to it (including information identified through annual directors’ questionnaires), including the various commercial transactions and relationships between us and our subsidiaries and the entities with which certain of our directors are or have been affiliated. The Board determined that the transactions identified were not material and did not affect the independence of any of our non-employee directors under either our Board Corporate Governance Guidelines or the applicable NYSE rules. Board Leadership Structure

| MARTIN SCHROETER          |     | STEPHEN A.M. HESTER       |
| Chairman of the Board and 
 Chief Executive Officer   |     | Lead Independent Director |

Selecting a company’s leadership structure is one of the most important tasks of any Board. There is not a one-size-fits-all model for board leadership, which is why our Bylaws provide that the Board has an annual duty to elect a Chairman of the Board from among its members. The Board believes that Kyndryl and its stockholders are best served by maintaining this flexibility and that a permanent leadership policy is not in the best interests of the Company. Therefore, our governing documents enable the Board to determine the appropriate Board leadership structure for the Company and allow the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer to be filled by the same or different individuals. Additionally, our Board Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that the Company will have a Lead Independent Director whenever the Chairman of the Board is a non-independent director. Currently, Mr. Schroeter serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Combining the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at this time ensures that the Chairman has significant experience in the technology services business and ongoing executive responsibility for the Company. In the Board’s view, this approach enables the Board to better understand the Company and work with management to

| KYNDRYL2025 PROXY STATEMENT|17 |

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enhance stockholder value. In addition, the Board believes that this structure enables it to better fulfill its risk oversight