Independence. Except as may otherwise be permitted by NYSE rules, a majority of the members of the Board shall be independent directors. To be considered independent: (1) a director must not fall within a category set forth in Section 303A.02(b) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and (2) in the Board’s judgment, the director must not have a material relationship with the Company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company).
The Board has established guidelines to assist it in determining whether a director has a material relationship with the Company. Under these guidelines, a director will be considered to have a material relationship with the Company if he or she falls within one or more of the categories set forth in Section 303A.02(b) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. The following relationships will not be considered to be material relationships that would impair a director’s independence:
- (i) the director is an executive officer of another company which is indebted to the Company, or to which the Company is indebted, unless the total amount of either company’s indebtedness to the other is more than 1% of the total consolidated assets of the company he or she serves as an executive officer; or
- (ii) the director serves as an officer, director or trustee of a tax exempt organization, unless the Company’s discretionary contributions to such organization in a single fiscal year are more than the greater of $1 million or 2% of that organization’s consolidated gross revenues. (The Company’s automatic matching of employee charitable contributions will not be included in the amount of the Company’s contributions for this purpose.)
In addition, ownership of the Company’s stock, by itself, does not constitute a material relationship.
For relationships not covered by the guidelines set forth above, the determination of whether a material relationship exists shall be made by the other members of the Board who are independent as defined above.
Selection of New Director Candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible for (i) identifying individuals qualified to become Board members, consistent with these guidelines, the terms of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter and the Director Succession Plan, and other criteria approved by the Board, and (ii) recommending to the Board the persons to be nominated for election as directors at any meeting of stockholders and the persons to be elected by the Board to fill any vacancies on the Board consistent with these guidelines and the terms of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter and the Director Succession Plan.
Director nominees shall be considered for recommendation by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in accordance with these Guidelines, the policies and principles in its charter, the Director Succession Plan and the other criteria adopted by that committee and approved by the Board. It is a goal of the Board to strive for an appropriate mix of skills, experience, qualifications, backgrounds and viewpoints to ensure that directors, as a group, possess the necessary experience, knowledge and abilities to enable the board to effectively oversee the Company’s operations.
In addition, consistent with the terms of the Director Succession Plan and its charter, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall take into account a number of criteria in the selection of director nominees including, but not limited to, qualification as independent under the NYSE rules and these Guidelines, depth and experience within the Company’s industry and otherwise, specialized expertise, educational background, business judgement, leadership ability, character and reputation for integrity, outside time commitments and past performance (for incumbent directors).
It is expected that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will have direct input from the Chair of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer and, if one is appointed, the Lead Director. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall consider candidates properly proposed by stockholders.