DEF 14A: Definitive proxy statements
Published on March 15, 2024
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
Filed by the Registrant ☒
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐
Check the appropriate box:
☐ |
Preliminary Proxy Statement |
☐ |
Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
☒ |
Definitive Proxy Statement |
☐ |
Definitive Additional Materials |
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Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12 |
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):
☒ |
No fee required |
☐ |
Fee paid previously with preliminary materials |
☐ |
Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11 |
TTM Technologies 2024 Annual Meeting Proxy Statement May 8, 2024 Inspiring innovation
Proxy Statement Summary
This summary highlights information generally contained elsewhere in this proxy statement. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider, and you should read the entire proxy statement carefully before voting your shares. For more complete information regarding the Company’s 2023 performance, please review the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2024, which we refer to in this proxy statement as the 2023 Form 10-K.
Annual Meeting Information
Date & Time |
Location |
Record Date |
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 |
The URL address is: |
Record holders as of |
8:30 a.m. Pacific Time |
https://web.lumiagm.com/208900745 Password: ttm2024 |
March 13, 2024 are entitled to Notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting |
Summary of Matters to be Voted Upon at the Annual Meeting
Proposal No. |
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Description of Proposals |
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Required Vote for Approval |
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TTM Board’s Recommendation |
1 |
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To elect Rex D. Geveden, Pamela B. Jackson and John G. Mayer to serve as class III directors For more information, see page 6 |
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For each director, a plurality of the votes cast |
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FOR✓ Each Nominee |
2 |
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To approve an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to provide for the exculpation of officers For more information, see page 62 |
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Majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓
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3 |
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To approve an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to provide that stockholders may remove any or all directors with or without cause For more information, see page 64 |
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80% of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓
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4 |
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To approve an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to eliminate the requirement that certain amendments thereto be approved by at least 80% of the outstanding shares |
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80% of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓ |
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For more information, see page 65 |
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5 |
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To approve amendments of our bylaws arising from the Special Board Resolution adopted by the Board of Directors For more information, see page 67 |
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80% of shares entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓
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TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
i |
6 |
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To approve amendments of our bylaws to provide (a) modifications to the advance notice requirements applicable to director nominations submitted by stockholders, (b) a majority approval standard for uncontested elections of directors, (c) that stockholders may remove directors with or without cause, and (d) miscellaneous amendments to our bylaws |
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80% of shares entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓ |
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For more information, see page 69 |
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7 |
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To approve an amendment of our bylaws to eliminate the requirement that certain amendments thereto be approved by at least 80% of the shares entitled to vote For more information, see page 72 |
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80% of shares entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓ |
8 |
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To approve on an advisory, non binding basis, the compensation of our named executive officers |
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Majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓ |
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For more information, see page 74 |
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9 |
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To ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm |
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Majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the proposal |
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FOR✓ |
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For more information, see page 75 |
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TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
ii |
About TTM
TTM Technologies, Inc. (“TTM”) is a leading global manufacturer of technology solutions, including mission systems, radio frequency (“RF”) components/RF microwave/microelectronic assemblies, quick-turn and technologically advanced printed circuit boards (“PCBs"). TTM stands for time-to-market, representing how TTM’s time-critical, one-stop manufacturing services enable customers to shorten the time required to develop new products and bring them to market. We strive to provide customers with market leading, differentiated solutions and an extraordinary customer experience. We are a leading competitor in the PCB industry, with significant market presence in each of our end market segments. TTM also designs and develops engineered systems, RF components and sub-assemblies using our own engineering talent and intellectual property.
TTM generated approximately $2.2B revenue in fiscal year 2023. We currently operate a total of 24 specialized manufacturing facilities in North America and Asia. TTM continues to focus on growing faster than the industry as a whole in those submarkets that are strategic to TTM’s business model. TTM has established a global, customer-focused organization within each business unit chartered to become experts in their markets, strengthen existing customer relationships and develop new customers in growing areas of each market.
TTM has operational and engineering teams that have helped deliver solid financial results and have established a focus on developing leading edge technology positions, integrated supply chain management and burgeoning best practice sharing which form the foundation for future margin improvement.
Our Vision
Inspire innovation as a global preeminent technology solutions company.
Our Mission
Provide customers with market leading, differentiated solutions and an extraordinary customer experience.
Our Strategy
TTM’s intention is to be opportunistic and to align with strategic customers in an industry projecting moderate growth and increasing competition. Our strategy is to provide value primarily through intense focus in four areas:
Investment |
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• Enhance TTM’s overall value proposition to our customers with disciplined investment in differentiated capabilities and business processes
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Performance |
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• Lead our industry in customer experience, operational and engineering excellence and financial performance
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Appeal |
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• Improve and communicate the elements that make TTM a desirable employer; attract, retain and develop outstanding talent
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Values |
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• Integrity, Teamwork, Clear Communication, Performance Excellence
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The foundation of TTM’s strategic vision is its corporate culture and our values which emphasize integrity, teamwork, clear communication, and performance excellence. We encourage our employees to always do the right thing and we demonstrate the importance we place on these values by, among other things, providing ethics training to our employees every year.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
iii |
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
200 East Sandpointe, Suite 400
Santa Ana, CA 92707
NOTICE OF 2024 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 8, 2024
The 2024 annual meeting of stockholders of TTM Technologies, Inc. will be held at 8:30 a.m., Pacific Time, via video conference accessed through the URL address https://web.lumiagm.com/208900745:
We are pleased to take advantage of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) rule allowing companies to furnish proxy materials to their stockholders over the Internet. We believe that this e-proxy process expedites stockholders’ receipt of proxy materials, saves us the cost of printing and mailing these materials, and reduces the environmental impact of our annual meeting by conserving natural resources.
Stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 13, 2024 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the annual meeting and any postponement or adjournment thereof. Whether or not you expect to participate in our annual meeting, please vote your shares via the Internet by following the instructions in this proxy statement. If you received a paper copy of this proxy statement you may also vote by signing, dating, and returning the enclosed proxy card in the enclosed pre-addressed envelope. No postage is required if mailed in the United States.
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By Order of the Board of Directors |
Santa Ana, California |
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March 15, 2024 |
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Daniel J. Weber, Secretary |
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR
THE STOCKHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON MAY 8, 2024
The proxy statement and annual report to stockholders and the means to vote via the Internet are available at https://investors.ttm.com/news-events/annual-stockholders-meeting. Your Vote is Important — Please vote as promptly as possible by using the Internet or by signing, dating, and returning the proxy card if you received a paper copy of this proxy statement.
All stockholders are invited to attend the annual meeting. Stockholders who vote their proxy online or by executing a proxy card may nevertheless attend the meeting, revoke their proxy, and vote their shares at the meeting.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1 |
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6 |
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22 |
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23 |
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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT |
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25 |
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29 |
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Compensation Overview – Alignment of Compensation and Performance |
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29 |
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32 |
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32 |
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34 |
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49 |
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50 |
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50 |
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51 |
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51 |
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52 |
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53 |
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53 |
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54 |
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56 |
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57 |
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61 |
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62 |
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64 |
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65 |
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67 |
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69 |
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72 |
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PROPOSAL EIGHT – ADVISORY APPROVAL OF NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION |
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74 |
PROPOSAL NINE – RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM |
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75 |
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76 |
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77 |
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ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY OF PROXY STATEMENT AND 2023 ANNUAL REPORT |
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77 |
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77 |
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
2023 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
PROXY STATEMENT
This proxy statement contains information related to our annual meeting of stockholders to be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, beginning at 8:30 a.m., Pacific Time, via video conference, and at any adjournments or postponements of the meeting. The purpose of this proxy statement is to solicit proxies from the holders of our common stock for use at the meeting. On or about March 15, 2024, we began mailing a notice containing instructions on how to access this proxy statement and our annual report via the Internet, and we began mailing a full set of the proxy materials to stockholders who had previously requested delivery of the materials in paper form. For information on how to vote your shares, see the instructions included on the proxy card and under “How to Vote” below. This solicitation is being made by the Board of Directors of TTM Technologies, Inc.
General Information
ABOUT THE MEETING
Matters To Be Considered At The Meeting
The matters to be considered and voted upon at the meeting will be:
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
1 |
Voting Recommendations of The Board
Each of the recommendations of our Board of Directors is set forth together with the description of each item in this proxy statement. In summary, our Board of Directors recommends a vote (1) “FOR” the election of each of its three nominees for class III directors; (2) “FOR” approval of an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to provide for the exculpation of officers; (3) “FOR” approval of an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to provide that stockholders may remove any or all directors, with or without cause; (4) “FOR” approval of an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to eliminate the requirement that certain amendments thereto be approved by at least 80% of the outstanding shares; (5) “FOR” approval of amendments of our bylaws arising from the Special Board Resolution; (6) “FOR” approval of amendments of our bylaws to provide (a) modifications to the advance notice requirements applicable to director nominations submitted by stockholders, (b) a majority approval standard for uncontested elections of directors, (c) that stockholders may remove directors with or without cause, and (d) miscellaneous amendments to our bylaws; (7) “FOR” approval of an amendment of our bylaws to eliminate the requirement that certain amendments thereto be approved by at least 80% of the shares entitled to vote; (8) “FOR” approval on an advisory, non-binding basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers; and (9) “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 30, 2024. If you sign and return your proxy card but do not specify how you want your shares voted, the persons named as proxy holders on the proxy card will vote in accordance with the recommendations of our Board of Directors.
Our Board of Directors does not know of any other matters that may be brought before the meeting nor does it foresee or have reason to believe that the proxy holders will have to vote for a substitute or alternate board nominee for director. In the event that any other matter should properly come before the meeting or any nominee for director is not available for election, the proxy holders will vote as recommended by the Board of Directors or, if no recommendation is given, in accordance with their best judgment.
Who May Vote
Only stockholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2024, the record date for the annual meeting, are entitled to receive notice of the meeting and to vote the shares of our common stock that they held on that date at the meeting, and any postponements or adjournments of the meeting. Each outstanding share of common stock entitles its holder to cast one vote on each matter to be voted upon at the annual meeting.
How To Vote
Stockholder of Record. If you are the stockholder of record (that is, the shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company), you may vote your proxy in one of two convenient ways:
Via the Internet: Go to www.voteproxy.com and follow the instructions. You will need the 11-digit control number that appears on your proxy card included with this proxy statement. This method of voting will be available starting April 1, 2024, and through 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 7, 2024.
By mail: If you wish to vote by traditional proxy card and did not receive one along with this proxy statement, you can receive a full set of materials at no charge through the Internet at https://investors.ttm.com/news-events/annual-stockholders-meeting, by telephone at (888) 776-9962, by sending an e-mail to help@equiniti.com (the subject line of your e-mail should contain the 11-digit control number that appears in the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials you received) or go to https://us.astfinancial.com/OnlineProxyVoting/ProxyVoting/RequestMaterials. If you vote by traditional proxy card, mark your selections on the proxy card, date the card, and sign your name exactly as it appears on the card, then mail it in the postage-paid envelope enclosed with the materials. You should mail the proxy card in plenty of time to allow delivery to our transfer agent prior to the meeting.
Street Name Shares. If your shares are held in an account at a bank, broker or other institution, you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name,” and the Notice is forwarded to you by that institution. The institution holding your account is considered the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the annual
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
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meeting. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to instruct that institution on how to vote the shares held in your account. You must instruct that institution in order for your shares to be voted, and that bank, broker or other institution is required to vote those shares in accordance with your instructions.
If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and do not provide the institution that holds your shares with specific voting instructions, under the rules of the Financial Industry Regularity Authority, the institution that holds your shares may generally vote on routine matters but cannot vote on non-routine matters. If you do not provide your bank, broker or other nominee with instructions on how to vote your street name shares on a non-routine matter, the institution that holds your shares will inform the inspector of election that it does not have the authority to vote on that matter with respect to your shares. This is generally referred to as a “broker non-vote.”
How To Change Or Revoke Your Vote
You may change your vote at any time before the vote at the meeting. If you are a stockholder of record, you may revoke your proxy and change your vote at any time before the annual meeting by (i) submitting to our corporate secretary at our corporate offices a notice of revocation or a duly executed proxy bearing a later date (or by subsequently voting via the Internet) by the deadline noted above or (ii) virtually attending the annual meeting and voting online during the annual meeting. Participation in the meeting will not itself revoke a previously granted proxy.
If you hold your shares in street name, you may change your vote any time before the annual meeting by submitting new voting instructions to your bank, broker, or other holder of record by following the instructions they provided.
What To Do If You Received More Than One Notice
This means that your shares are registered differently and are held in more than one account. To ensure that all shares are voted, please either vote each account over the internet, or sign and return by mail all proxy cards. We encourage you to register all of your shares in the same name and address by contacting the Shareholder Services Department at our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, at (800) 937-5449. If you hold your shares through an account with a bank or broker, you should contact your bank or broker and request consolidation of your accounts.
Meeting Admission
All stockholders as of the record date, or their duly appointed proxies, may attend the virtual meeting. Please note that if you hold shares in street name, you will need to have a copy of a brokerage statement to present to the operator reflecting your stock ownership as of the record date.
Meeting Quorum
The presence in person or by proxy at the meeting of the holders of a majority of all outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote at the meeting on the record date will constitute a quorum, permitting the conduct of business at the meeting. As of the record date, 101,775,162 shares of our common stock were outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be included in the calculation of the number of shares considered to be present at the meeting.
If less than a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote are represented at the meeting, a majority of the shares present at the meeting may adjourn the meeting to another date, time, or place, and notice need not be given of the new date, time, or place if the new date, time, or place is announced at the meeting before an adjournment is taken.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
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Required Vote
Proposal One — Election of Directors. The three persons receiving the largest number of “for” votes of our common stock present in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote (a plurality) will be elected as directors. Stockholders do not have the right to cumulate their votes for directors.
Proposal Two — Approval of an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to provide for the exculpation of officers as permitted by Delaware law. The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our common stock outstanding as of the record date for the annual meeting and entitled to vote on the matter will be required for approval of Proposal Two.
Proposal Three – Approval of an amendment of our certificate of incorporation to provide that stockholders may remove any or all directors, with or without cause, as permitted by Delaware law. The affirmative vote of 80% of the shares of our common stock outstanding as of the record date for the annual meeting and entitled to vote on the matter will be required for approval of Proposal Three.
Proposal Four – Approval of amendment of our certificate of incorporation to eliminate the requirement that certain amendments thereto be approved by at least 80% of the outstanding shares of all capital stock. The affirmative vote of 80% of the shares of our common stock outstanding as of the record date for the annual meeting and entitled to vote on the matter will be required for approval of Proposal Four.
Proposal Five – Approval of amendments of our bylaws arising from the Special Board Resolution adopted by the Board of Directors in February 2023. The affirmative vote of 80% of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote on the matter will be required for approval of Proposal Five.
Proposal Six – Approval of amendments of our bylaws to provide (a) modifications to the advance notice requirements applicable to director nominations submitted by stockholders, (b) a majority approval standard for uncontested elections of directors, (c) that stockholders may remove any or all directors, with or without cause, and (d) miscellaneous amendments to our bylaws. The affirmative vote of 80% of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote on the matter will be required for approval of Proposal Six.
Proposal Seven – Approval of an amendment of our bylaws to eliminate the requirement that certain amendments thereto be approved by at least 80% of the shares entitled to vote upon such amendment. The affirmative vote of 80% of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote on the matter will be required for approval of Proposal Seven.
Proposal Eight — Advisory, Non-Binding Vote on Named Executive Officer Compensation. The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our common stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote will be required for approval of the advisory, non-binding vote on the compensation of our named executive officers. Because this vote is advisory, it will not be binding upon our Board of Directors. However, the Human Capital and Compensation Committee and our Board of Directors will take into account the outcome of the vote when considering future executive compensation arrangements.
Proposal Nine — Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our common stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote will be required to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 30, 2024
Other Matters. For each other matter, the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our common stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on such matter will be required for approval.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
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Broker Non-Votes, Abstentions and Withhold of Authority
If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in "street name" and you do not provide your broker or other nominee with instructions on how to vote your street name shares, your broker or nominee will not be permitted to vote them on “non-routine” matters (and, therefore, there may be broker non-votes on such matters).
Proposal One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven and Eight are considered non-routine matters under applicable rules. Please note that brokers may not vote your shares on these proposals in the absence of your specific instructions as to how to vote. We encourage you to provide instructions to your broker regarding the voting of your shares.
Broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of Proposals One and Eight. Broker non-votes will have the effect of votes against Proposals Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven.
The ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 30, 2024 (Proposal Nine) is considered a routine matter under applicable rules. A broker or other nominee may generally vote on routine matters, and therefore no broker non-votes are expected to exist in connection with Proposal Nine.
Abstentions will have no effect on Proposal One. Abstentions will be treated as being present and entitled to vote on Proposals Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine and therefore will have the effect of votes against such Proposals.
With respect to Proposal One (the election of directors), you may vote “FOR ALL NOMINEES,” “WITHHOLD AUTHORITY FOR ALL NOMINEES,” or “FOR ALL EXCEPT” one or more of the nominees (which will have the effect of withholding your vote for the designated nominees). Votes that are withheld will not be included in the vote tally for the election of directors (Proposal One) and will not affect the results of that vote.
Cost of Proxy Solicitation
We will bear the expense of soliciting proxies, including the expense of preparing, printing and mailing this proxy statement and the proxies we solicit. In addition to the use of mail, our employees may solicit proxies personally, by e-mail, facsimile, and by telephone. We do not intend to retain a proxy solicitor in connection with the annual meeting. Our employees will receive no compensation for soliciting proxies other than their regular salaries. We may request banks, brokers, and other custodians, nominees, and fiduciaries to forward copies of the proxy materials to the beneficial owners of our common stock and to request authority for the execution of proxies, and we may reimburse such persons for their expenses incurred in connection with these activities.
Our principal executive offices are located at 200 East Sandpointe, Suite 400, Santa Ana, California 92707, and our telephone number is (714) 327-3000. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting will be available at our offices for a period of 10 days prior to the meeting and at the meeting itself for examination by any stockholder.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
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PROPOSAL ONE – ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Directors and Nominees
Our Board of Directors is currently comprised of nine directors. Our Board of Directors is divided into three classes with each class of directors serving for a three-year term or until successors of directors serving in that class have been elected and qualified. Each director elected at the 2024 annual meeting will serve for a term expiring at the 2027 annual meeting or until a successor has been duly elected and qualified. At this annual meeting, our stockholders will be asked to elect three class III directors.
Our Board of Directors has nominated Rex D. Geveden, Pamela B. Jackson and John G. Mayer as class III directors. Mr. Geveden, Ms. Jackson and Mr. Mayer currently serve as class III directors. Mr. Geveden, Ms. Jackson and Mr. Mayer will stand for re-election at the 2024 annual meeting.
Thomas T. Edman and Chantel E. Lenard serve as class I directors and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of stockholders in 2025. Kenton K. Alder, Julie S. England and Philip G. Franklin serve as class II directors and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of stockholders in 2026. In addition, pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Dov S. Zakheim, who currently serves as a class I director, must submit his resignation and retire from our Board of Directors at the 2024 annual meeting. Because Dr. Zakheim will have attained the mandatory retirement age of 75, our Board of Directors may no longer defer and is obligated to accept his resignation. Our nominating and corporate governance committee is currently identifying and evaluating qualified individuals to be considered and ultimately recommended to the Board as the candidate to fill the vacancy that will be created by Dr. Zakheim's resignation and retirement from the Board.
As a natural mechanism to ensure continuity of our Board of Directors, to satisfy our obligations under the Special Board Resolution (the "SBR”) adopted by the Board and as required by the United States Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (the “DCSA”), TTM has continued the practice of providing for staggered elections of three classes of board members to serve three-year terms, such that our Board is comprised entirely of U.S. Citizens, and at least three such members maintain national security clearance or would be eligible to be cleared by the United States Government to receive classified information and maintain oversight of TTM’s classified operations. In addition, per the terms of the SBR, no foreign citizen is allowed to sit on TTM's Board in the future.
TTM is a significant supplier of electronic assemblies, radar and microelectronic systems and printed circuit boards that are eventually integrated into products purchased by the United States Department of Defense. As such, over 425 TTM employees and Board members are cleared by the United States Government to receive confidential or secret classified information. Because TTM has been identified by the government of the United States as a key supplier in the electronics eco-system, TTM has engaged DCSA for approval of facility security clearances at a number of its facilities. This clearance allows the DCSA to conduct audits and provide broad oversight to parts of TTM’s operation. As a condition of such clearance, and in connection with our engagement with the DCSA, in February of 2023, our Board of Directors adopted the SBR, replacing the Special Security Agreement (“SSA”) that the Company had entered into with the DCSA in 2010. The replacement of the SSA with the SBR was the result of the significantly reduced foreign ownership of TTM. As agreed between the Company and the DCSA, the Company plans to maintain much of the robust infrastructure developed during the adoption of and compliance with the SSA. The SBR Agreement with DCSA codifies the standing Government Security Committee of TTM’s Board of Directors, consisting of at least 3 Board members that hold a National Security Clearance. In addition, the SBR dictates that TTM will maintain its policies and procedures that have been established pursuant to the provisions of the SSA to mitigate risks to TTM’s operations that serve the national security of the United States, including the maintenance of its cybersecurity plan that meets the requirements of NIST 800-171. DCSA will continue to review TTM’s compliance with the terms of the SBR annually at each of TTM’s sites which operate under a U.S. Department of Defense security clearance.
Our Board of Directors has no reason to believe that any of its nominees standing for election will refuse or be unable to accept election. However, if any nominee is unable to accept election or if any other unforeseen
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contingencies should arise, our Board of Directors may designate a substitute nominee. If our Board of Directors designates a substitute nominee, the persons named as proxies will vote for the substitute nominee designated by our Board of Directors.
Our Board of Directors recommends a vote “FOR” the nominees for Class III directors.
The following table, together with the accompanying text, sets forth certain information with respect to each of our directors and director nominees as of the date of this Proxy Statement:
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Age |
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Class |
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Proposed Position(s) to be Held After Meeting |
Kenton K. Alder |
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74 |
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II |
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Director |
Thomas T. Edman |
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61 |
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I |
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Chief Executive Officer, President and Director |
Julie S. England |
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66 |
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II |
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Director |
Philip G. Franklin |
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72 |
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II |
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Director |
Rex D. Geveden |
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63 |
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III |
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Chair of the Board |
Pamela B. Jackson |
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71 |
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III |
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Director |
Chantel E. Lenard |
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54 |
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I |
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Director |
John G. Mayer |
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73 |
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III |
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Director |
Dov S. Zakheim |
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75 |
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I |
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Director |
Kenton K. Alder has served as a director since March 1999. Mr. Alder also served as our President from March 1999 to January 2013 and as our Chief Executive Officer from our founding in 1998 through December 2013. Mr. Alder served on a part-time basis as a consultant and advisor to Mr. Edman for one year commencing on January 1, 2014 and provided counsel on strategy, attended certain meetings, and was involved in special projects. From January 1997 to July 1998, Mr. Alder served as Vice President of Tyco Printed Circuit Group, Inc., a PCB manufacturer. Prior to that time, Mr. Alder served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ElectroStar, Inc., previously a publicly held PCB manufacturing company, from December 1994 to December 1996. From January 1987 to November 1994, Mr. Alder served as President of Lundahl Astro Circuits Inc., a predecessor company to ElectroStar, Inc. In addition, Mr. Alder is a member of the Board of Directors of Campbell Scientific, Inc., and is Chairman of the Compensation Committee. Mr. Alder serves on the Utah State University Board of Trustees and a member of the Executive Committee for the Utah State University Board of Trustees. Mr. Alder also serves as a member of the audit and risk committee and chairman of the Statewide Mission and Campus and Oversight Committee for the Utah State University Board of Trustees. Mr. Alder also serves on the board of Blendtec, Inc. and Honeyville, Inc. Mr. Alder holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Utah State University.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Alder is an independent director. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Alder's past experience as our Chief Executive Officer enables him to provide the board with insight based on his extensive knowledge about the Company and because of his significant operational expertise.
Thomas T. Edman has served as a director of our Company since September 2004, as President of our Company since January 2013, and as our Chief Executive Officer since January 2014. From early 2011 to December 2012, Mr. Edman served as Group Vice President and General Manager of the AKT Display Business Group, which is a division of Applied Materials Inc., a publicly held provider of nanomanufacturing technology solutions. From 2006 to 2011, Mr. Edman served as Corporate Vice President of Corporate Business Development of Applied Materials, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Edman served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Films Corporation from May 1998 until Applied Materials, Inc., acquired Applied Films Corporation in July 2006. From June 1996 until May 1998, Mr. Edman served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Applied Films Corporation. From 1993 until joining Applied Films, Mr. Edman served as General Manager of the High Performance Materials Division of Marubeni Specialty Chemicals, Inc., a subsidiary of a major Japanese trading corporation. Since June 2015, Mr. Edman has served on the Board of Ultra Clean
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Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCTT), and is presently Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. Since March 2016, Mr. Edman has served on the Board of the IPC, an electronic industries association and is currently serving on its executive committee as Vice Chairman. Mr. Edman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies (Japan) from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Edman is an employee director. Mr. Edman was previously nominated to the Board of Directors because of his proven business acumen and experience in the technology industry, having served in numerous senior executive roles with sizeable technology companies, including as the Chief Executive Officer of a public company. Mr. Edman also has extensive experience in Asia and with compensation-related matters, which have proven valuable to our Board of Directors.
Julie S. England has served as a director of our Company since October 2016. Ms. England is presently retired. Prior to her retirement in 2009, she served in various capacities with Texas Instruments Inc., most recently as Vice President and General Manager of the Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) division. She also served as Vice President of its microprocessor division from 1998 to 2004 and as Vice President of Quality for the Semiconductor Group from 1994 to 1998. Earlier, she held various engineering, manufacturing, quality, and business management positions. Ms. England is an experienced independent corporate director serving on both private and public company boards in the USA and Europe. Ms. England has served as a director of Smartrac Technology Group, N.V. from 2014 until May 2018. From 2010 until its acquisition by CCL Industries in May 2016, she served as a director of Checkpoint Systems, Inc., and chaired its Governance Committee. Ms. England served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1997 to 2003 and as a director of Intelleflex Corporation from 2010 to 2013. Ms. England served on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum until July 2017, and served on the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (“NACD”). Ms. England served on the board of directors of McMillen Jacobs Associates from June 2021 until June 2022. Ms. England joined the board of directors of the Electricity Council of Texas (“ERCOT”) in January 2022. She has served on trade associations in the electronics industry including the American Electronics Association and AIM Global. Ms. England holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and graduate studies in business from Texas Tech University complemented with executive education at Harvard University and Stanford University. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art in 2018 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Ms. England is an independent director. Our Board of Directors believes that Ms. England's extensive background in the technology industry and her experience serving on the boards of both private and public companies in the United States and Europe provides the Company with insight as she serves on our board. As a result of Ms. England’s significant involvement in director professionalism education, Ms. England has been designated a NACD Governance Fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Philip G. Franklin has served as a director of our Company since November 2010. Mr. Franklin is presently retired. From 1998-2016, Mr. Franklin served in various capacities with Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFUS), a designer, manufacturer, and seller of circuit protection devices for use in electronics, automotive and electrical markets, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Littelfuse, Inc., Mr. Franklin was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for OmniQuip International, a construction equipment manufacturer, which he helped take public. Prior to that, Mr. Franklin served as Chief Financial Officer of Monarch Marking Systems and Hill Refrigeration. Mr. Franklin is a Trustee of XFLT, a below-investment-grade credit fund, where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Franklin is also on the board of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara where he serves on the Executive Committee and the Investment Committee. From 2014 to 2021, Mr. Franklin served as a director of Tribune Publishing where he chaired the Audit Committee and later served as non-executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Franklin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
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Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Franklin is an independent director and an “audit committee financial expert” as described in applicable SEC rules. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Franklin's finance experience provides our Board with valuable financial and accounting expertise, including a deep understanding of accounting principles, financial reporting rules and regulations, and knowledge of audit procedures.
Rex D. Geveden has served as a director of our Company since May 2018. The Company appointed Mr. Geveden as Chair of our Board of Directors effective after the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders upon the retirement of Robert E. Klatell, our former Chair. Mr. Geveden has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2017, and served as Chief Operating Officer from October 2016 until December 2016 of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT), a nuclear industrial conglomerate headquartered in Lynchburg, VA. Previously, Mr. Geveden was Executive Vice President at Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, a provider of electronic subsystems and instrumentation for aerospace, defense and other uses. He led two of Teledyne’s four operating segments from 2013 through 2016, and concurrently served as President of Teledyne DALSA, Inc., a Teledyne subsidiary, since 2014. Mr. Geveden also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Teledyne Scientific and Imaging, LLC from 2011 to 2013 and President of both Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. and Teledyne’s Engineered Systems Segment from 2007 to 2011. Mr. Geveden is a former Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”), where he was responsible for all technical operations within the agency’s $16 billion portfolio and served in various other positions with NASA in a career spanning 17 years. Mr. Geveden holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Murray State University.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Geveden is an independent director. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Geveden's extensive experience in the aerospace and defense industry as well as his proven track record as an outstanding leader qualify him to serve as the Chair of our Board of Directors.
Pamela B. Jackson has served as an independent director of our Company since her appointment to the Board of Directors in June 2021. She is a retired Vice President, Technology of Emerson Electric Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Ms. Jackson was with Emerson from April 2001 until October 2017 where her responsibilities included corporate oversight of technology development initiatives related to new and lean product development, portfolio and product life cycle management, and Emerson’s centers of excellence for software and human-centered design. She also served on the management boards for the Emerson Pune, India Innovation Center and the Emerson Xi’an, China Engineering Center. Over her career, Ms. Jackson led a breadth of global, technology intensive manufacturing businesses that included power supplies, energy systems, thin film hybrid integrated circuits, PCBs and other electronic components and assemblies. Before joining Emerson, Ms. Jackson worked at Lucent, AT&T and Western Electric for over twenty years where she held positions in research, engineering, operations, and marketing, eventually serving as Vice President and General Manager of several electronic component businesses including Lucent’s MicroPower division in Austin, Texas. Ms. Jackson received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University. She has served on several non-profit boards, including Ranken Technical College, in St Louis, Missouri where she chaired and currently serves on the Investment and Diversity Committees. Ms. Jackson is a member of Sigma Xi, Beta Gamma Sigma, the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is a Life Member of the Society of Women Engineers.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Ms. Jackson is an independent director. Our Board of Directors believes that Ms. Jackson's extensive experience and knowledge in the electronics, engineering and technology markets, where she has spent the vast majority of her exceptional career, qualify her to serve on our Board.
Chantel E. Lenard has served as a director of our Company since September 2018. Ms. Lenard presently serves as a Lecturer of Marketing in the Master of Business Administration program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Ms. Lenard retired from Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) in 2017, having served as the top marketing executive for Ford in both the U.S. and Asia. From 2013 to 2017, Ms. Lenard held the position of U.S. Chief Marketing Officer, leading the organization’s pricing, promotions, media, digital marketing, product
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strategy, and consumer experience activities. From 2010 to 2013, Ms. Lenard was based in Shanghai, China, as Vice President of Marketing for Ford’s Asia Pacific and Africa operations, where she led the marketing activities for 11 countries across the region. In addition to her marketing roles, Ms. Lenard held a number of leadership positions in strategy, sales, finance, and purchasing during her 25 year career with Ford. Ms. Lenard currently serves as a director and member of the Audit and Compensation Committees of LSI Industries (NASDAQ: LYTS), and a director and member of the Audit and Compensation Committees of Charge Enterprises (NASDAQ: CRGE). From 2020 until its acquisition by LKQ Corporation in August 2023, she served as a director and member of the Human Resources and Compensation and Governance Committees of Uni-Select, Inc. (TSX: UNS). Ms. Lenard holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University. In 2023, she completed the National Association of Corporate Directors’ CERT Certification in Cyber-Risk Oversight Program.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Ms. Lenard is an independent director. Our Board of Directors believes that Ms. Lenard's extensive background in the automobile industry and her lengthy and diverse experience in international marketing qualify her to serve on our Board.
John G. Mayer has served as a director of our Company since September 2000. Mr. Mayer is presently retired. From January 1997 to November 1999, Mr. Mayer served as Vice President of Tyco Printed Circuit Group, Inc., a PCB manufacturer. Mr. Mayer served as Chief Operating Officer of ElectroStar, Inc., previously a publicly held PCB manufacturing company, from December 1994 to December 1996. From April 1986 to November 1994, Mr. Mayer served as President of Electro-Etch Circuits, Inc., a predecessor company to ElectroStar, Inc. Mr. Mayer served on the board of trustees of the Cottonwood Gulch Foundation from 2008 to 2017. Mr. Mayer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, the arts and letters from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Mayer is an independent director. Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Mayer's extensive experience in the PCB business and demonstrated depth of business experience in our company’s industry, particularly in technology and operations, qualifies him to serve on our Board.
Dov S. Zakheim has served as a director of our Company since July 2010. Dr. Zakheim is currently a Senior Fellow at CNA, a federally funded think tank, and a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From May 2004 to July 2010, Dr. Zakheim served as Vice President and subsequently as Senior Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm, where he was a leader in the firm’s global defense practice. From May 2001 to April 2004, Dr. Zakheim was Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the United States Department of Defense. From October 2002 to April 2004, Dr. Zakheim served as the United States Department of Defense’s coordinator of civilian programs in Afghanistan. Dr. Zakheim serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Secure Federal Operations LLC (previously Sprint Federal Operations LLC). Dr. Zakheim previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Standard Aero Corp. from 2008 until 2015, and was a member of their Audit Committee from 2012 to 2015. In addition, Dr. Zakheim has served as a member of ISO Group, Inc.’s Board of Directors from 2010 to 2014. Dr. Zakheim also served as a board member of Chemonics International and was a member of their Audit Committee from 2013 to 2019. Dr. Zakheim also serves as a board member of the American Jewish Committee, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Center for the National Interest, U.S. Naval Academy Athletic Association, and the American University of Iraq/Sulaimani. Dr. Zakheim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College at Columbia University, was a General Course student at the London School of Economics, and holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Dr. Zakheim is an independent director and an “audit committee financial expert” as described in applicable SEC rules. Dr. Zakheim was previously nominated to the Board of Directors because of his substantial financial and accounting experience acquired in the course of acting as Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Department of Defense, his expertise and leadership skills in global defense, and his national security qualifications. Pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Dr. Zakheim will retire from the Board of Directors and his term of office will conclude at the 2024 annual meeting.
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There are no family relationships among any of our directors, director nominees, or executive officers.
Board Diversity Matrix*
The Company’s Board Diversity Matrix identifies each director’s self-identified diversity characteristics, as follows:
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Board Diversity Matrix (As of March 15, 2024) |
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Total Number of Directors |
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9 |
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Female |
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Male |
Gender |
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Directors |
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3 |
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6 |
Number of Directors Who Identify in Any of the Categories Below: |
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African American or Black |
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1 |
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0 |
Alaskan Native or Native American |
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0 |
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0 |
Asian |
|
|
0 |
|
|
0 |
Hispanic or Latinx |
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|
0 |
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0 |
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander |
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|
0 |
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0 |
White |
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|
2 |
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|
6 |
Two or More Races or Ethnicities |
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0 |
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0 |
LGBTQIA+ |
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0 |
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0 |
* As of March 15, 2024. There have been no changes to this information since the publication of the Board Diversity Matrix dated as of March 16, 2023, which is included in our definitive proxy statement for our 2023 annual meeting, as filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023.
Information Relating to Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors has determined, after considering all the relevant facts and circumstances, that Messrs. Alder, Franklin, Geveden and Mayer, Mses. Jackson, England and Lenard, and Dr. Zakheim are independent directors, as “independence” is defined by the listing standards of the NASDAQ Stock Market (referred to as NASDAQ) and by the SEC. Accordingly, a majority of the members of our Board of Directors are independent. Mr. Edman is not considered to be an independent director as a result of his position as an executive officer of our Company.
Our bylaws authorize our Board of Directors to appoint its members to one or more committees, each consisting of one or more directors. Our Board of Directors has established four standing committees: an audit committee, a human capital and compensation committee, a nominating and corporate governance committee and a government security committee. Each of our committees, with the exception of the government security committee (of which Mr. Edman is a member), is comprised entirely of independent directors, as “independence” is defined by the listing standards of NASDAQ and by the SEC. The Chair of our Board of Directors offers to hold executive sessions following most board meetings at which the independent directors are able to meet without the presence or participation of management.
Our Board of Directors has adopted charters for the audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees describing the authority and responsibilities delegated to each committee by the Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors has also adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines, a Whistle Blower Policy, a Code of Business Conduct for all employees and a supplemental Code of Ethics for our Chief Executive Officer and senior financial officers.
We post on our website, at https://investors.ttm.com/corporate-governance, the charters of our audit, human capital and compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees; our Corporate
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Governance Guidelines; our Whistle Blower Policy; our Code of Conduct for all employees, our Code of Ethics for our Chief Executive Officer and senior financial officers, and any amendments or waivers thereto. These documents are also available in print to any stockholder requesting a copy in writing from our corporate secretary at 200 East Sandpointe, Suite 400, Santa Ana, California 92707.
Interested parties may communicate with our Board of Directors or specific members of our Board of Directors, including the members of our various board committees, by submitting a letter addressed to the Board of Directors of TTM Technologies, Inc., c/o any specified individual director or directors, at 200 East Sandpointe, Suite 400, Santa Ana, California 92707. We will forward any such letters to the indicated directors.
Environmental, Social & Governance (“ESG”) Overview
At TTM, we strive to provide customers with market leading, differentiated solutions and an extraordinary customer experience. In line with our mission and corporate values, we aim to operate all of our sites around the globe in a safe and responsible manner that respects the environment and protects the safety and health of our employees, our customers and our communities.
We are committed to conducting our business in an ethical manner in every culture and geography that we operate. Our corporate values emphasize integrity, clear communication, teamwork and performance excellence throughout our employee base. Our Board of Directors ultimately oversees our ESG compliance and initiatives through regular engagement with our senior management team. Our lasting commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) goes beyond regulatory compliance and is an integral part of our corporate culture and our way of doing business. We are committed to making our workforce inclusive, our business sustainable and friendly to the environment and our stakeholders engaged by maintaining strong environmental, social and governance practices. The publication of the CSR Report in August of 2022 was another critical milestone on our important journey to be a responsible corporate citizen to the customers we serve and the communities where we preside. For more information regarding our CSR initiatives, please visit our website at https://www.ttm.com/en/about-ttm/who-we-are/sustainability to review our full report. We intend to publish an updated CSR Report in the first half of 2024. Some highlights contained in the CSR Report dated August of 2022 are included below.
TTM Sustainability
As a global organization, TTM recognizes our opportunity to positively impact the world around us by managing our operations in a sustainable manner. We believe that sustainable practices are essential to the long-term success of our business and that we have a responsibility to consider how our business interacts with society, impacts the environment, and can affect the global economy in line with our corporate values of teamwork, integrity, clear communication, and performance excellence. TTM expects our employees, suppliers, and business partners to use this Corporate Sustainability Policy as guiding principle in their respective roles.
TTM’s Leadership and employees are committed to:
Environmental:
Social:
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Governance:
Commitment to Values and Ethics. The foundation of TTM’s strategic vision is our corporate culture and its way of doing business with integrity, teamwork, clear communication, and performance excellence. We demonstrate the importance we place on these values through our goal setting and performance management process as well as providing ethics training to employees every year. Along with the TTM Values and our Leadership Principles, we discuss and act in accordance with, and provide annual training for, our Code of Conduct, which outlines our expectations and provides guidance for all employees. Our Code of Conduct includes topics such as anti-corruption, discrimination, harassment, privacy, appropriate use of company assets, protecting confidential information, and reporting Code of Conduct violations. Our Code of Conduct reinforces the importance of fostering an open, welcoming environment in which all employees have a voice and a confidential outlet to raise concerns regarding potential violations.
In addition, the Company maintains high standards for all employees worldwide which include reasonable work hours and time off, no child labor, no forced labor, equal opportunity employment, and a professional work environment that does not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. The Company and its employees strive to achieve and maintain a positive work environment. In addition, the Company emphasizes health and wellness programs targeted to educate employees on healthy lifestyles and promote fitness plans. We review employee turnover rates paying particular attention to new hires, supervisor and technical retention. We believe the emphasis we place on selecting and training new hires as well as and coaching supervisors positively impacts the work environment. Our leadership principles of results, communications, collaboration and career development are designed to improve the employee experience and strengthen working relationships. Through internal surveys, it is clear our employees value their relationships with their supervisors, career opportunities and the corporate culture.
Management Policies and Communication. How we manage and leverage our human capital is essential in executing our strategy. At TTM, a key differentiator is our culture, which has been shaped through considerable thought and energy. Our culture has served us well as we integrate acquired companies and optimize our organizational structures and teams to better serve our customers. The following elements underpin our culture:
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Cybersecurity
In order to protect the data of our Company, business partners, U.S. national security, and defense-related items, TTM has invested in robust data security and privacy protections. TTM follows industry-standard recommendations for data security such as those outlined in the NIST SP 800-171 and evolving Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) frameworks. TTM has developed detailed cybersecurity policies and procedures, including a data classification system to ensure the protection of critical data. In addition to periodic internal review, TTM also employs external auditors and cybersecurity testing firms to review our cybersecurity posture. The Board of Directors and the Board's Government Security Committee review cybersecurity risk with TTM's Senior Vice President of Information Technology on a regular basis and assesses the cybersecurity risks that TTM faces while providing oversight of TTM’s cybersecurity protective systems, policies and procedures. TTM maintains a CIRT, or Cybersecurity Incident Response Team, and conducts periodic tests with this team to maintain readiness and resiliency, while regularly reviewing its policies in the interest of protecting data security. The regular training of employees, at least annually, on the ever-present threat of cybersecurity helps maintain data security.
Corporate Governance
A key component of our success is a strong foundation of Corporate Governance practices and policies that promote transparency, accountability and engagement exemplified by our Board of Directors. We maintain our Corporate Governance Guidelines to provide direction to our Board of Directors and Senior Management on topics such as board member qualifications, the evaluation process for the CEO and board members and reporting conflicts of interest. In addition to these Guidelines and the strong governance practices that we employ that are described throughout this Proxy Statement, TTM also maintains a Code of Ethics for the CEO and Senior Financial Officers. Further, each committee of the Board of Directors has a charter. All of these documents are available on TTM’s website at https://investors.ttm.com/corporate-governance.
Meetings of the Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors held five meetings (regular and special) during 2023. All of our directors attended more than 75% of the aggregate of (i) the total number of meetings of the Board of Directors held during 2023, and (ii) the total number of meetings held by all committees of our Board of Directors on which such person served during 2023. We have adopted a policy encouraging each of our directors to attend each annual meeting of stockholders and, to the extent reasonably practicable, we regularly schedule a meeting of the Board of Directors on the same day as the annual meeting of stockholders. All of our directors attended the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders.
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Committees of the Board of Directors
As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the members and nominees of our Board of Directors and the committees of our Board of Directors on which they serve, are identified below:
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Audit Committee |
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Human |
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Nominating |
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Government |
Kenton K. Alder |
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Member |
Thomas T. Edman |
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Member |
Julie S. England |
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Chair |
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Member |
Philip G. Franklin |
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Chair |
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Rex D. Geveden |
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Chair |
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Member |
Pamela B. Jackson |
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Member |
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Member |
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Chantel E. Lenard |
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Member |
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Member |
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John G. Mayer |
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Member |
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Member |
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Dov S. Zakheim |
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Member |
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Chair |
* Pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Dr. Zakheim will retire from the Board of Directors and his term of office will conclude at the 2024 annual meeting.
Audit Committee. Our Audit Committee provides assistance to the Company’s Board of Directors in fulfilling its responsibility to stockholders, the investment community and governmental agencies that regulate the activities of the Company with respect to oversight of: (i) the integrity of the Company’s accounting and financial reporting process, financial statements and financial statement audits; (ii) the Company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; (iii) the independent auditor’s qualifications, independence and performance; (iv) the performance of the Company’s internal audit function; and (v) the performance of the Company’s internal accounting controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and internal control over financial reporting. Our audit committee actively consults with our management and our independent registered public accounting firm regarding the preparation of financial statements and, as appropriate, initiates inquiries into aspects of our financial affairs. In addition, our audit committee has the responsibility to consider and recommend the appointment of, and to pre-approve services provided by, and fee arrangements with, our independent registered public accounting firm. The current members of our audit committee are Messrs. Franklin (chair) and Mayer, Ms. Jackson and Dr. Zakheim, each of whom is an independent director under NASDAQ listing standards as well as under SEC rules. The Board of Directors has determined that each of Mr. Franklin and Dr. Zakheim is “financially sophisticated” under NASDAQ rules and qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. Our audit committee held four meetings during 2023.
Our audit committee has a written charter that delineates its responsibilities, a full copy of which is posted on our website at https://investors.ttm.com/corporate-governance.
Human Capital and Compensation Committee. Our human capital and compensation committee provides a general review of our employee compensation and benefit plans to ensure that they meet our corporate objectives. The human capital and compensation committee reviews and determines, or recommends to our Board of Directors, the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and all other individuals designated by our Board of Directors as executive officers of our Company. In addition, our human capital and compensation committee reviews and approves our corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation for our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers, including annual performance objectives, and evaluates the performance of our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers in light of these goals and objectives. The human capital and compensation committee reviews and makes recommendations to our Board of
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Directors with respect to compensation and “people” related matters, monitors talent and career development and retention of our employees and oversees the promotion of diversity and inclusion within the organization. In addition, the human capital and compensation committee approves our incentive compensation plans and equity-based plans, and activities relating to those plans. The human capital and compensation committee also establishes and periodically reviews policies in the area of perquisites for executive officers. The human capital and compensation committee may, from time to time, delegate any or all of its responsibilities to a subcommittee.
In discharging its responsibilities, our human capital and compensation committee is empowered to investigate any matter of concern that it deems appropriate and has the sole authority, without seeking approval from the entire Board of Directors, to retain outside consultants for this purpose, including the authority to approve any terms of retention. Additional information regarding the role of compensation consultants and executive officers in assisting our human capital and compensation committee in determining the amount or form of executive compensation may be found in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” below. The current members of our human capital and compensation committee are Messrs. Geveden (chair), Ms. Jackson and Ms. Lenard, each of whom is an independent director under NASDAQ listing standards as well as under SEC rules. The human capital and compensation committee held five meetings during 2023.
Our human capital and compensation committee has a written charter that delineates its responsibilities, a full copy of which is posted on our website at https://investors.ttm.com/corporate-governance.
Our human capital and compensation committee retained Exequity as our compensation consultant for 2023 to provide an independent review of the Company’s board and executive compensation programs, including an analysis of the competitive market. Our human capital and compensation committee assessed the independence of Exequity pursuant to SEC and NASDAQ rules and concluded that Exequity is independent and that their work has not raised any conflict of interest. For further discussion of the work conducted by our compensation consultants, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Role of the Human Capital and Compensation Committee.”
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The nominating and corporate governance committee oversees the selection and composition of our Board of Directors and oversees the management continuity planning processes. It establishes, monitors, and recommends the purpose, structure, and operations of the various committees of our Board of Directors, the criteria and qualifications for membership of each board committee, and recommends whether rotations or term limits are appropriate for the chair or committee members of the various committees. In addition, the nominating and corporate governance committee recommends individuals to stand for election as directors and recommends directors to serve on each committee as a member or as chair of the committee. The nominating and corporate governance committee reviews director compensation and recommends changes in director compensation to our Board of Directors with the support of our compensation consultant. The nominating and corporate governance committee reviews and makes recommendations regarding our governing documents (including our certificate of incorporation and bylaws) and our environmental, social and corporate governance principles, policies and practices. The nominating and corporate governance committee is also responsible for considering policies relating to the meetings of our Board of Directors and considers questions of independence and possible conflicts of interest of members of our Board of Directors and executive officers. Finally, the nominating and corporate governance committee oversees the evaluation of our Board of Directors and management.
The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider persons recommended by stockholders for inclusion as nominees for election to our Board of Directors if the information required by our current bylaws is submitted in writing in a timely manner and addressed and delivered to our Company’s secretary at 200 East Sandpointe, Suite 400, Santa Ana, California 92707. Under our current bylaws, a stockholder who intends to recommend a nominee to our Board of Directors must provide (a) all information relating to the individual subject to the nomination that is required to be disclosed in opposition proxy statements for election of directors filed by stockholders, at their own expense, in a contested election, or as otherwise required under Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (referred to
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
16 |
as the Exchange Act), and (b) the individual’s written consent to being named in a proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected. The stockholder making the nomination must also provide the information required by our current bylaws relating to such stockholder, including information pertaining to ownership of our capital stock, and must make certain representations relating to voting intent and delivery of proxies. The stockholder’s nominee must also deliver to our secretary a written questionnaire with respect to the background and qualification of such person and the background of any other person or entity on whose behalf the nomination is being made. The questionnaire is available from our secretary upon written request and upon the requesting person’s providing certain written representations required by our current bylaws.
The nominating and corporate governance committee identifies and evaluates nominees for our Board of Directors, including nominees recommended by stockholders, based on numerous factors it considers appropriate, some of which may include strength of character, mature judgment, career specialization, relevant technical skills, diversity, and the extent to which the nominee would fill a present need on our Board of Directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates nominees for director in the same manner, regardless of whether the nominee is recommended by a stockholder or other person or entity. At least annually, the nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates the skills and experience of its current members of the Board of Directors which help inform the Board of the attributes and experience it may seek in the potential selection of future members of the Board. The skills matrix used by the nominating and corporate governance committee is set forth below.
Board Qualifications Review. *
|
|||||||||
|
Kenton K. Alder |
Thomas T. Edman |
Julie S. England |
Philip G. Franklin |
Rex D. Geveden |
Chantel E. Lenard |
John G. Mayer |
Dov S. Zakheim |
Pamela B. Jackson |
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
|
|||||||||
Finance and Accounting |
I |
S |
I |
E |
I |
S |
S |
I |
I |
Capital Markets |
I |
I |
|
I |
I |
|
|
|
|
Technology |
I |
S |
E |
S |
E |
I |
E |
I |
E |
IT/Cybersecurity |
|
S |
S |
|
S |
|
I |
S |
S |
Electronics Manufacturing Ops |
I |
S |
E |
S |
I |
|
E |
|
E |
Asia Experience |
|
E |
S |
|
S |
E |
S |
E |
I |
HR/Org & People Dev. |
I |
I |
S |
S |
S |
I |
S |
I |
S |
Corporate Governance |
S |
I |
I |
I |
I |
I |
I |
I |
S |
M&A |
I |
E |
I |
E |
E |
|
S |
S |
I |
Executive Comp. |
I |
E |
S |
I |
E |
S |
S |
I |
S |
Sales and Marketing |
I |
E |
I |
|
|
E |
I |
|
I |
P&L Experience |
I |
I |
I |
I |
E |
I |
I |
I |
E |
Supply Chain Mgmt. |
I |
S |
S |
I |
S |
S |
E |
|
S |
Government and Regulatory |
S |
S |
|
|
E |
S |
S |
E |
|
Aerospace/Defense |
I |
S |
I |
|
E |
|
S |
E |
|
Environmental Experience |
|
S |
|
|
|
|
I |
|
S |
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
17 |
Board Qualifications Review. *
|
|||||||||
|
Kenton K. Alder |
Thomas T. Edman |
Julie S. England |
Philip G. Franklin |
Rex D. Geveden |
Chantel E. Lenard |
John G. Mayer |
Dov S. Zakheim |
Pamela B. Jackson |
Demographics |
|
||||||||
Race/Ethnicity |
|
||||||||
African American |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
Asian/Pacific Islander |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
White/Caucasian |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Hispanic/Latino |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Native American |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Language |
|
Japanese |
Some German |
Some French |
|
Some Mandarin French |
French, Spanish |
French, German, Hebrew |
Some German |
Citizenship |
U.S. |
U.S. |
U.S. |
U.S. |
U.S. |
U.S. |
U.S. |
U.S. |
US |
Gender |
|
||||||||
Male |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
Female |
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
Board Tenure |
|
||||||||
Elected to the Board |
March, 1999 |
September, 2004 |
October, 2016 |
November, 2010 |
May, 2018 |
September, 2018 |
September, 2000 |
July, 2010 |
June, 2021 |
S - Some experience = though not directly related to prior responsibilities, maintaining a general understanding due to prior experience |
|
||||||||
I – Intermediate experience = experience that is directly related to prior responsibilities, an advanced subject matter understanding due to prior responsibilities for such area or field |
|
||||||||
E – Expert experience = a subject matter expert |
|
* Self-reported by each Director
In evaluating Director candidates, our nominating and corporate governance committee bears in mind that the foremost responsibility of a director is to represent the interests of our stockholders as a whole. Directors are expected to exemplify the highest standards of personal and professional integrity and to constructively challenge management through their active participation and questioning. In consideration of these expectations, the nominating and corporate governance committee seeks directors with established strong professional reputations and expertise in areas relevant to the strategy and operations of our business. The activities and associations of candidates are reviewed for any legal impediment, conflict of interest, or other consideration that might prevent service on our Board of Directors.
The charter of our nominating and corporate governance committee provides that the value of diversity on our Board of Directors should be considered, and the nominating and corporate governance committee includes diversity as one of its criteria for board composition. While we do not have a formal policy outlining the diversity standards to be considered when evaluating director candidates, our objective is to foster diversity of thought on our Board of Directors. To accomplish that objective, the nominating and corporate governance committee considers ethnic and gender diversity, as well as differences in perspective, orientation, professional experience, education, national security qualifications, skill and other qualities in the context of the needs of our Board of Directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates its effectiveness in achieving diversity on the Board of Directors through its annual review of board member composition, which includes an assessment of directors’ ethnicity, gender, and industry experience, prior to recommending nominees for election.
The current members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Mses. England (chair) and Lenard and Mr. Mayer, each of whom is an independent director under NASDAQ listing standards as well as under SEC rules. The nominating and corporate governance committee held five meetings during 2023.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
18 |
Our nominating and corporate governance committee has a written charter that delineates its responsibilities, a full copy of which is posted on our website at https://investors.ttm.com/corporate-governance.
Government Security Committee. As previously disclosed in our filings with the SEC, a portion of our business consists of manufacturing defense and defense-related items for various departments and agencies of the U.S. government, including the U.S. Department of Defense, which requires that we maintain facility security clearances under the National Industrial Security Program (“NISP”). The NISP requires that a corporation maintaining a facility security clearance take steps to mitigate foreign ownership, control, or influence (referred to as FOCI). In February of 2023, our Board of Directors passed a Special Board Resolution (“SBR”), replacing the Special Security Agreement (“SSA”) that we entered into in with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (“DCSA”) in 2010. The replacement of the SSA with the SBR is a result of the significantly reduced foreign ownership of TTM. The effective date of the SBR is February 2, 2023. The SBR codifies the maintenance of the Government Security Committee of the Board to oversee our compliance and cybersecurity efforts and to put into place best practices in our facilities in the U.S. and overseas to insure that we maintain robust security practices and policies as we serve the interests of our customers in the Aerospace and Defense market. Our Government Security Committee of our Board of Directors, consists of at least 3 Board members that hold a National Security Clearance. The DCSA will continue to review TTM’s compliance with the terms of the SBR annually at each of TTM’s sites which operate under a U.S. DoD security clearance. In addition, all of TTM’s Board is currently comprised of U.S. citizens and per the terms of the SBR, in the future, no foreign citizen will be allowed to sit on TTM’s Board. The current members of our government security committee are Ms. England, Dr. Zakheim (chair), and Messrs. Alder, Edman, and Geveden. The government security committee held four meetings during 2023.
Board Leadership Structure. We believe it is our Chief Executive Officer’s responsibility to manage our Company’s operations and the Chair’s responsibility to lead our Board of Directors. Given the significant responsibilities with which our Chair is tasked and his active role in our governance, we believe it is beneficial to have an independent chair who is dedicated to leading the Board of Directors for the Company. To this end, our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that our Chief Executive Officer may not be our Chair, and that our Chair will be selected from our independent directors. In making its decision to separate the Chief Executive Officer and Chair roles, our Board of Directors considered the time that Mr. Edman is required to devote to the Chief Executive Officer position, particularly given the demands imposed on our global Company. By segregating the role of the Chair, we reduce any duplication of effort between the Chief Executive Officer and the Chair. We believe this provides strong leadership for our Board of Directors, while also positioning our Chief Executive Officer as the leader of the Company in the eyes of our customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
Our Board of Directors currently has eight independent members and one non-independent member, specifically Mr. Edman, our President and Chief Executive Officer. A number of our independent board members are currently serving or have served as members of senior management of other public companies or governmental agencies and have served as directors of other public companies. We believe that the number of independent, experienced directors that make up our board, along with the independent oversight of the Board of Directors by a non-executive chair, benefits our Company and our stockholders.
The SBR, as required by the DCSA, establishes certain criteria for the qualifications of our directors and the composition of our Board of Directors, and also requires that a certain number of directors have strong national security qualifications and that all Directors be U.S. citizens. Our current Board of Directors meets the composition criteria and our board has determined to maintain a classified Board of Directors in part because of these critical requirements set by the government of the United States.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
19 |
We believe that we have a strong corporate governance structure that ensures independent discussion among, evaluation of, and communication with and access to, senior management. With the exception of our government security committee of which Mr. Edman is a member, all of our board committees are composed solely of independent directors, which provide independent oversight of management. Also, our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that our independent directors will have the opportunity to meet in executive session not less frequently than quarterly.
Risk Management and Oversight Process. While our management is primarily responsible for managing risk, our Board of Directors and each of its committees play a role in overseeing our risk management practices. Our full Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for risk oversight, and it discharges this responsibility by, among other things, receiving regular reports from our management, including an annual enterprise risk assessment conducted by our internal audit function based on the feedback received from our internal leadership team, concerning our business and the material risks that our Company faces. Our Board of Directors annually reviews key enterprise risks identified by management, such as financial, reputational, safety and security, cybersecurity, operational, revenue, social responsibility, environmental and compliance risks, and it monitors key risks through reports and discussions regarding key risk areas at meetings of our Board of Directors and in committee meetings. Our Board of Directors also focuses on specific strategic and emerging risks in periodic strategy reviews. Our Board of Directors annually reviews and approves our corporate strategy and goals and our capital budgets, and in connection with that review, it considers risks associated with our Company.
Our Board of Directors allocates responsibility for overseeing risk management for our Company among the full board and each of its committees. Specifically, the full board oversees significant risks primarily relating to operations, strategy, and finance, environmental, health and cybersecurity and safety matters, liability insurance programs, and compliance with environmental legal and regulatory and social responsibility requirements. In addition, each of our committees considers risks within its area of responsibilities, as follows:
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
20 |
Through the activities of our audit, compensation, nominating and corporate governance, and government security committees, as well as the full Board of Directors’ interactions with management concerning our business and the material risks that may impact our Company, the Board of Directors and each respective committee is able to monitor our risk management process and offer critical insights to our management.
Our Insider Trading Policy prohibits our employees from engaging in certain transactions involving TTM’s securities, including but not limited to the use of financial instruments such as puts, calls, derivatives, zero-cost collars, and forward sales contracts, short sales, pledging TTM securities as collateral for a loan, or subject to margin call or other involuntary sales, or otherwise engage in transactions, that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of our equity securities. Our officers and directors are also further prohibited from engaging in these types of hedging transactions. See “Director Compensation – Stock Ownership, Hedging and Pledging Policies” and “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Compensation Overview – Alignment of Compensation and Performance – Compensation Practices.”
Related Person Transaction Policies and Procedures. It is the responsibility of our full Board of Directors and our audit committee to review and approve related party transactions. It is our management’s responsibility to bring such related party transactions to the attention of our Board of Directors and members of our audit committee. From time to time, our nominating and corporate governance committee, in accordance with its charter, will also review potential conflict of interest transactions involving members of our Board of Directors and our executive officers. In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines, any monetary engagement (other than director or employee compensation or transactions which would not require disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K) (a) between a director (including any entity of which the director is a director or executive officer and any member of a director’s family as defined in NASDAQ rules) and our Company or any of its affiliates or members of senior management or their families, and (b) between executive officers of our Company (as designated by our Board of Directors) and our Company or any of its affiliates, is subject to the approval of our audit committee or our independent directors. Each of our directors and executive officers must notify our Board of Directors in advance of entering into any such transaction.
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines task our Board of Directors, in consultation with our nominating and corporate governance committee, with reviewing annually the relationships that each director has with us, directly or indirectly. Further, our nominating and corporate governance committee is tasked with periodically reviewing the compensation arrangements and other business relationships between our directors and our Company in order to monitor the independence of our directors. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines also provide that if an actual or potential conflict of interest develops, a director should report the matter immediately to the full Board of Directors and our audit committee for evaluation and appropriate resolution. If a director has a personal interest in a matter before our Board of Directors, the director must disclose the interest to the full Board of Directors and our audit committee, must recuse themselves from participation in the related discussion, and must abstain from voting on the matter.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
21 |
Stock Ownership Guidelines, and Hedging and Pledging Policies. Our Board of Directors recognizes that stock ownership by directors may strengthen their commitment to the long-term future of our Company and further align their interests with those of our stockholders. Accordingly, our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that our independent directors are prohibited from selling the shares that they are awarded under the Company’s Long Term Equity Incentive Plans until such time as they retire from our Board and are expected over time to beneficially own shares of our common stock (including shares owned outright, unvested shares, restricted stock units, and stock options) having a value of at least five times their annual cash retainer, and as our directors are subject to our insider trading policy, they are prohibited from pledging or hedging their shares. All of our Board members meet the stock ownership guidelines as of the Record Date. In addition, the Company has adopted stock ownership guidelines for the Chief Executive Officer and his direct reports. For a full description of such guidelines, see page 47.
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
Commencing with the second quarter of 2023, our non-employee directors receive the following cash compensation on an annual basis: an annual cash retainer of $75,000, an annual cash retainer of $9,000 for each board committee of which such director is a member (except for the government security committee), and reimbursement of expenses relating to attendance at board and board committee meetings. In addition, the Chair of the Board receives an annual cash retainer of an additional $70,000, and the chairs of our various board committees receive annual cash retainers as follows: $22,000 to our audit committee chair, $17,000 to our human capital and compensation committee chair, $15,000 to our government security committee chair, and $17,000 to our nominating and corporate governance committee chair. Annually, our nominating and corporate governance committee, in consultation with our compensation consultant, reviews our board compensation against the board compensation of our peer companies to develop a reasonable board compensation package.
In addition, commencing with the second quarter of 2023, our non-employee directors are granted the following equity compensation on an annual basis: the Chair of the Board receives restricted stock units (“RSUs”) having a value on the award date of $210,000 and each non-employee director receives restricted stock units having a value on the award date of $160,000, in each case based upon the average closing price of our common stock over the six-month period preceding the grant date. In the instance where a Board Member serves a portion of the year, the compensation granted is prorated for the time served that year. The RSUs awarded to the non-employee directors vest in full on the first anniversary of the grant date; however, in an effort to further align Board Members’ interests with those of our stockholders, delivery of the shares of common stock underlying the RSUs is deferred until retirement from the Board of Directors (or until one year after retirement in the case of certain prior grants).
Mr. Edman is not compensated for his service as a director. Mr. Edman’s compensation as our Chief Executive Officer and President is described below under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and “Executive Compensation”.
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation. Our directors are permitted to defer 5% to 100% of annual director fees into our Executive and Director Deferred Compensation Plan. One of our directors participated in the Executive and Director Deferred Compensation Plan in 2023.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
22 |
Director Summary Compensation Table for Fiscal Year 2023
The following table sets forth the compensation earned by our non-employee directors in respect of their services as such during 2023.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Name |
|
|
Fees Earned or Paid in Cash(1) |
|
|
RSU Awards ($)(2) |
|
Total |
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Kenton K. Alder |
|
|
|
$ |
75,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
210,446 |
|
|
|
Julie S. England |
|
|
|
$ |
101,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
236,446 |
|
|
|
Philip G. Franklin |
|
|
|
$ |
106,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
241,446 |
|
|
|
Rex D. Geveden |
|
|
|
$ |
171,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
177,779 |
|
|
|
$ |
348,779 |
|
|
|
Pamela B. Jackson |
|
|
|
$ |
93,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
228,446 |
|
|
|
Chantel E. Lenard |
|
|
|
$ |
93,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
228,446 |
|
|
|
John G. Mayer |
|
|
|
$ |
93,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
228,446 |
|
|
|
Dov S. Zakheim(3) |
|
|
|
$ |
99,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
135,446 |
|
|
|
$ |
234,446 |
|
|
|
Outstanding Equity Awards Held by Non-Employee Directors at Fiscal 2023 Year End
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
|
RSUs Outstanding at Fiscal Year End |
|
|
Number of RSUs that Have Not Vested(1) |
|
|
Options Outstanding at Fiscal Year End(2) |
|
|
Number of Options that Have Not Vested |
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kenton K. Alder |
|
|
|
102,518 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Julie S. England |
|
|
|
72,522 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Philip G. Franklin |
|
|
|
127,111 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Rex D. Geveden |
|
|
|
69,243 |
|
|
|
|
14,778 |
|
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Pamela B. Jackson |
|
|
|
29,887 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Chantel E. Lenard |
|
|
|
56,425 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
John G. Mayer |
|
|
|
147,337 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Dov S. Zakheim(3) |
|
|
|
130,902 |
|
|
|
|
11,259 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
23 |
Compensation Consultant and its Affiliates
Exequity was retained by our human capital and compensation committee to provide an independent review of the Company’s executive compensation programs, including an analysis of the competitive market for 2023. In addition, Exequity assisted the human capital and compensation committee with its evaluation of the risks associated with our compensation programs, and executive director compensation data. Exequity also furnished the human capital and compensation committee with reports on peer company practices relating to the following matters: short-term and long-term compensation program design; equity compensation; vesting practices and ownership guidelines; target incentive opportunities; and compensation trends for board management and committee members. During 2023, the human capital and compensation committee also engaged Aon/Principal for services rendered in connection with the administration of our deferred compensation plan, computation of total stockholder return (“TSR”) relative to our TSR Peer Group, and for compensation survey data. A summary table for Exequity and Aon/Radford is included below.
Consultant |
|
|
Scope/Project |
|
|
2023 Fees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aon/Radford |
|
|
Computation of total stockholder return (TSR) |
|
|
$ |
16,000 |
|
|
Aon/Principal |
|
|
Deferred Compensation Program Administration |
|
|
$ |
28,500 |
|
|
Exequity |
|
|
Executive Compensation Consulting |
|
|
$ |
69,318 |
|
|
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
24 |
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
The following table shows the amount of each class of common stock beneficially owned as of March 13, 2024 by (a) each of our directors and named executive officers; (b) all of our directors and executive officers as a group; and (c) each person known by us to own beneficially more than five percent of our outstanding common stock.
|
|
|
Beneficial Ownership |
|||||
|
|
|
Number |
|
|
|
Percentage(2) |
|
Thomas T. Edman(3) |
|
|
|
669,749 |
|
|
|
* |
Daniel L. Boehle |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
* |
Catherine A. Gridley |
|
|
|
89,758 |
|
|
|
* |
Todd B. Schull |
|
|
|
280,332 |
|
|
|
* |
Douglas L. Soder |
|
|
|
204,199 |
|
|
|
* |
Philip Titterton |
|
|
|
88,563 |
|
|
|
* |
Kenton K. Alder(4) |
|
|
|
40,116 |
|
|
|
* |
Julie S. England(5) |
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
* |
Philip G. Franklin(6) |
|
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
|
* |
Rex D. Geveden(7) |
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
* |
Pamela B. Jackson(8) |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
* |
Chantel E. Lenard(9) |
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
* |
John G. Mayer(10) |
|
|
|
9,167 |
|
|
|
* |
Dov S. Zakheim(11) |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
* |
All directors and executive officers as a group (23 persons) |
|
|
|
1,777,639 |
|
|
|
1.7% |
5% or Greater Beneficial Owners(12) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackRock, Inc.(13) |
|
|
|
18,082,852 |
|
|
|
17.8% |
The Vanguard Group(14) |
|
|
|
13,547,047 |
|
|
|
13.3% |
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (15) |
|
|
|
8,601,858 |
|
|
|
8.5% |
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP(16) |
|
|
|
8,299,477 |
|
|
|
8.2% |
* Represents less than 1% of our outstanding common stock.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
25 |
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
26 |
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Biographical information regarding these officers is set forth below, except for Mr. Edman, whose biography is set forth above with our other directors.
Daniel L. Boehle, 52, became our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in September 2023 after having joined our company as Executive Vice President of Finance in August 2023. Mr. Boehle served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (“Aerojet”) from August 2020 to August 2023. From August 2017 to July 2020, Mr. Boehle was Vice President, Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer for Aerojet. Before joining Aerojet, Mr. Boehle served in various leadership roles across corporate accounting, financial reporting, and financial planning and analysis at Northrop Grumman Corporation. Before joining Northrop Grumman Corporation, he held positions at KPMG LLP and KPMG Australia Ltd. Mr. Boehle earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in finance and entrepreneurship from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Thomas Clapprood, 54, has served as the President of the Radar Systems and Sensors Business Unit for TTM Technologies Aerospace & Defense Business Sector since January 1, 2023. Prior to Mr. Clapprood's current role, he served as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for TTM’s North America Business Unit from December 13, 2010 to December 31, 2022. From 1995 through 2004, Mr. Clapprood served as Regional Business Director for Northrop Grumman Corporation. Mr. Clapprood then joined Tyco Printed Circuit Group, now TTM Technologies, Inc., where he held several management positions including Director of Sales and Business Director for the Specialty Assembly group until 2012. Mr. Clapprood graduated from Elon University with a bachelor's degree in business management.
Robert Farrell, 52, has served as President of the Communication and Computing Business Unit since January 2023. From January 2020 to January 2023, Mr. Farrell served as our Vice President of Sales - Networking and Computing. Mr. Farrell joined TTM in September 2010 as South East Regional Sales Director. Since that time and prior to his current assignment, he also served as Senior Director of Sales for EMS and Vice President of Sales for Communication and Computing. Mr. Farrell has 30 years of experience in the electronics industry. He held positions of New Account Development Manager and European Account Manager with Advance Circuits, Global Account Manager with Topsearch, and Senior Supply Chain Manager with Flex. Mr. Farrell holds a Bachelor Degree of Business Administration at Montreat College.
Catherine A. Gridley, 54, has served as the Executive Vice President and President of the Aerospace & Defense Sector (“A&D”) since 2021. In January 2020, Ms. Gridley was promoted to Senior Vice President of A&D. She joined TTM in 2019 from Northrop Grumman Corporation, where she most recently served as the Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Defense Services Division. Prior to Northrop Grumman, Catherine held P&L leadership positions with DynCorp International, GE Aviation Systems and Goodrich. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Ithaca College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Binghamton University.
Jeffrey S. Jankowsky, 64, has served our President, C4ISR + Space Business Unit since January 2023. Mr. Jankowsky also served as President, Communications and Computing Business Unit starting in July of 2018. Since 2001, he also held positions as General Manager - Shanghai BPA, Director of Materials PCB Assembly Operations, Vice President - Operational Excellence, General Manager - Redmond PCB, Vice-President Process Transformation and Chief of Staff to the CEO. Mr. Jankowsky received both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University.
Dale Knecht, 61, has served as Senior Vice President of Global Information Technology since January 2014. From January 1988 to December 2013, Mr. Knecht served as our Vice President of Information Technology. Prior to joining TTM, Mr. Knecht served as Vice President of Information Technology for the Tyco Electronics Printed Circuit Group from 2001 to 2006. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Knecht served in a dual role as Director of IT Regional Governance - North America for Tyco Electronics. Prior to that, Mr. Knecht served from 1998 to 2001 as
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
27 |
Manager, SAP Global Support, and from 1993 to 1998 as Regional Systems Manager - Latin America & Canada for AMP Inc. Mr. Knecht holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Lafayette College, and an executive master degree in cybersecurity from Brown University.
Shawn Powers, 50, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since June 2021. From February 2015 to June 2021, Mr. Powers served as our Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Mr. Powers joined TTM in early 2014 as Vice President of Human Resources for our North America Business Unit. Prior to joining TTM, Mr. Powers was the Global Vice President of Human Resources with Kleinfelder, an engineering and sciences company, from 2012 to 2014. Before Kleinfelder, Mr. Powers was the Senior Director of Global Human Resources with IMI plc, a FTSE 100 manufacturing company, from 2006 to 2012. Mr. Powers began his career in the U.S. Military, serving as an Army Aviation Officer. Mr. Powers holds both a Master of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University. Additionally, he has earned the Global Professional of Human Resources (GPHR) and the Society of Human Resources Professional - Senior Certified Professional (SCP) certifications.
Antonio J. Sanchez, 57, has served as Vice President and Corporate Controller since 2007. Prior to joining TTM, Mr. Sanchez has been Corporate Controller at various public companies. He started his career at Deloitte LLP where he earned his CPA. Mr. Sanchez holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration in finance from University of Southern California. He also earned a Master of Taxation from Golden Gate University.
Anthony J. Sandeen, 52, serves as our Senior Vice President of AMI&I and Global Sales beginning January 2024. He served as our President of AMI&I from June 2020 through January 2024. From May 2017 through May 2020, Mr. Sandeen served as Chief Commercial Officer for Beyonics Technology Ltd., Ying Shing Enterprises Limited, Ying Hao and Fischer Technology. Mr. Sandeen received a bachelor’s degree in English from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Douglas L. Soder, 63, has served as our Executive Vice President and President of the Commercial Sector since July 2018. Mr. Soder joined TTM in November 2006 as Executive Vice President with responsibility for Global Sales. Since that time and prior to his current assignment, he also served as President of the North America Business Unit and President of the Communications & Computing Business Unit. Before joining our Company, Mr. Soder held the position of Executive Vice President for Tyco Electronics—Printed Circuit Group. During a 23-year career at Tyco Electronics, Mr. Soder served in a variety of sales, sales management, and business leadership positions at its AMP Incorporated and Tyco Printed Circuit Group (PCG) subsidiaries. Mr. Soder holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Dickinson College.
Philip Titterton, 58, has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since January 2020. Mr. Titterton also served as Senior Vice President and President of the Aerospace & Defense / Specialty Business Unit from January 2016 until December 2019 and as Vice President of Operations, North America since 2006. He also held positions as Vice President of Operations and General Manager for Tyco Electronics Printed Circuit Group from 1992 until our acquisition of that company in October 2006. Mr. Titterton received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University.
Daniel J. Weber, 52, has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary since December 2020. From December 2016 through December 2019, Mr. Weber served as our Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He leads the Office of the General Counsel, which includes the contracts and administration function. He is also responsible for TTM’s government relations activities which manages TTM’s political action committee and its government outreach and advocacy. Before joining TTM in 2015, Mr. Weber served as the General Counsel for Viasystems for approximately 11 years and had served as in-house counsel for Viasystems Group, Inc. for over 15 years. Mr. Weber previously also served as Vice President and General Counsel of Courtesy Corporation, a plastic molding manufacturer based in the United States, and as General Counsel of International Wire Group, Inc., a multinational insulated and bare copper wire manufacturer. Prior to embarking on his in-house legal career, Mr. Weber worked in private practice at Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C. in the corporate and securities group. From January 2022 to December 2023, Mr. Weber served as the
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
28 |
Chairman of the Government Relations Committee of the IPC, an electronics industries association. Mr. Weber currently serves on the board of Encompass Digital Media, a global managed service provider for TV networks, broadcasters, sports leagues, and OTT platforms. Mr. Weber completed his undergraduate work from the University of Kansas and received his law degree from St. Louis University.
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Compensation Discussion and Analysis, or CD&A, describes and analyzes our executive compensation philosophy and program in the context of the compensation paid during the last fiscal year to our named executive officers, or our NEOs. For the fiscal year 2023, our NEOs were:
Name |
Position(s) Held |
Thomas T. Edman |
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director |
Daniel L. Boehle |
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer(1) |
Todd B. Schull |
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer(2) |
Catherine A. Gridley |
Executive Vice President and President A&D Sector |
Douglas L. Soder |
Executive Vice President and President Commercial Sector |
Philip Titterton |
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer |
This CD&A is organized into four sections:
Compensation Overview – Alignment of Compensation and Performance
Our primary goal is to tie Company Executive's compensation closely with performance. The information below provides an executive summary of our Company’s financial performance for fiscal year 2023 and how pay is aligned with performance.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2023
TTM’s commitment to its strategy of diversification, differentiation and discipline led to TTM’s continued financial strength in 2023. Due to disciplined operations and cost controls, we generated Non-GAAP net income of $139.5 million in 2023. For a discussion explaining the use of the Non-GAAP metrics, a presentation of comparable financial measures calculated and reported in accordance with GAAP, and a reconciliation to those audited GAAP metrics, see Annex A attached hereto.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights from 2023
The Company achieved solid financial performance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
29 |
ALIGNMENT OF PAY AND PERFORMANCE
TTM’s executive compensation is strongly aligned to Company performance and measurable financial metrics. The following charts show metrics that we track related to our financial performance over the past three years. (1)
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
30 |
The charts below measure the total compensation for the CEO and the average total compensation for our NEOs for the past three years.
These charts demonstrate consistent alignment in performance-based compensation for the three-year period with the Company’s performance over such three-year period. The Company’s performance and the price of the Company’s common stock on the NASDAQ directly impacts total compensation realized by our executives.
2023 SAY ON PAY VOTE
At our 2023 annual meeting, our stockholders overwhelmingly approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our NEOs described in our 2023 proxy statement. Approximately 98.8% of the votes cast on the matter were voted “For” such advisory “Say-on-Pay” approval, thereby providing the human capital and compensation committee with verification that its compensation practices align the interests of the Company’s executives with those of the Company’s stockholders.
COMPENSATION PRACTICES
We continually review the Company’s executive compensation program to maintain compensation practices that are in the best interests of our stockholders. Some of our key policies are summarized below:
WHAT WE DO: |
|
WHAT WE DON’T DO: |
•
We tie pay to performance, including through the use of performance share units
•
We use double triggers in our severance agreements and our equity awards
•
We maintain significant stock ownership guidelines for our NEOs
•
We have a robust clawback policy
|
|
•
We do not maintain pension plans or other executive retirement plans
•
We do not provide tax gross up payments for any amounts considered to be excess parachute payments
•
We do not allow hedging or pledging of our stock
|
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
31 |
•
The human capital and compensation committee engages an independent compensation consultant
•
We conduct annual compensation risk assessments
|
|
•
We do not permit the repricing of stock options without prior stockholder approval
•
We do not provide excessive perquisites
|
Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives
Our executive compensation philosophy, which is established by the human capital and compensation committee of our Board of Directors, is intended to attract, motivate, and retain executives and reward the creation of stockholder value. We seek to provide executive compensation packages that are competitive with comparable companies and reward the achievement of short-term and long-term performance goals.
We use a combination of fixed and variable compensation programs to reward and incentivize strong performance, as well as to align the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders. We generally target total compensation around the 50th percentile of comparable companies. We believe that this philosophy will continue to enable us to remain competitive in attracting and retaining qualified executive officers while avoiding paying amounts in excess of what we believe is necessary to attract and retain such executive officers. However, our human capital and compensation committee’s decisions on target compensation for specific individuals are also influenced by a variety of additional factors, including compensation practices of businesses acquired by us, and Company and individual performance.
Each year our human capital and compensation committee, together with our senior management, establishes performance targets for short-term and long-term incentive plans that require the achievement of significant financial results. Each year our human capital and compensation committee determines compensation by assessing prior year performance against these established financial targets, as well as other factors such as the compensation paid by comparable companies, achievement of strategic objectives, improvements in market share and the professional development and potential of individual officers. Ultimately, the amount of compensation awarded to our executives is determined based on performance and what our human capital and compensation committee believes is in the best interests of our stockholders.
We believe that our use of restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units, together with an annual incentive bonus program that is based on various combinations of global operating income, sector operating income, and global cash flow from operations as a percentage of revenue shows that we have closely linked executive officer pay to performance. Our pay mix consists primarily of base salary, annual performance-based cash bonuses, performance-based equity incentives and time-based equity incentives. We have no executive retirement plans except our 401(k) plan and deferred compensation plan available to North America employees; the company does not contribute to the deferred compensation plan.
Role of the Human Capital and Compensation Committee
Our human capital and compensation committee, which is currently comprised of three independent members of our Board of Directors, as discussed in greater detail under “Information Relating to Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors,” is responsible for, among other things:
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
32 |
Our human capital and compensation committee, in consultation with the outside executive compensation consultant retained by our human capital and compensation committee, also helps analyze the reasonableness and effectiveness of our overall executive compensation packages.
While our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers may attend meetings of the human capital and compensation committee or our Board of Directors from time to time, the ultimate decisions regarding executive officer compensation are made solely by the members of our human capital and compensation committee and, in the case of compensation decisions for our Chief Executive Officer, the non-employee members of our Board of Directors. These decisions are based not only on our human capital and compensation committee’s deliberations, but also on input requested from outside advisors, including our human capital and compensation committee’s outside compensation consultant, with respect to, among other things, market data analyses. The final decisions relating to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation have historically been based on recommendations of our human capital and compensation committee and included discussions with and approval by all of our non-employee directors without the presence of our Chief Executive Officer or other management. Our human capital and compensation committee typically discusses proposals for our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation package with him but always makes final decisions regarding his compensation when he is not present. Decisions regarding other executive officers have typically been made by our human capital and compensation committee after considering recommendations from our Chief Executive Officer.
Our human capital and compensation committee has historically engaged the services of an outside compensation consultant to provide independent advice in connection with making executive compensation determinations. The chair of our human capital and compensation committee, in consultation with other committee members, defines the scope of any consultant’s engagement and related responsibilities. These responsibilities may include, among other things, advising on issues of executive compensation and equity compensation structure and assisting in the preparation of compensation disclosure for inclusion in our SEC filings. In fulfilling its responsibilities, the outside compensation consultant may interact with management or our other outside advisors to the extent necessary or appropriate.
More specifically, the Compensation Consultant evaluated our selected peer companies and provided competitive compensation data and analysis relating to the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and our other senior officers. The Compensation Consultant also furnished the human capital and compensation committee with reports on peer company practices relating to the following matters: short-term and long-term compensation program design; equity compensation, vesting practices and ownership guidelines; retention value of current equity holdings; target incentive opportunities; and compensation trends for board and committee members. In addition, the Compensation Consultant assisted the human capital and compensation committee with its evaluation of the risks associated with our compensation programs and provided our nominating and corporate governance committee with an assessment of our directors’ compensation.
The Compensation Consultant provides analyses and recommendations that inform the committee’s decisions, but it does not decide or approve any compensation decisions. The Compensation Consultant reviews various proposals presented to the committee by management, and provides updates on market trends and the regulatory environment as it relates to executive compensation. The Compensation Consultant reports directly to our human capital and compensation committee and not to management. Our human capital and compensation committee assessed the independence of the Compensation Consultant pursuant to SEC and NASDAQ rules and concluded that the Compensation Consultant is independent and that the work of the Compensation Consultant has not raised any conflicts of interest.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
33 |
Compensation Levels and Benchmarking. Overall compensation levels for executive officers are determined based on one or more of the following factors: the individual’s duties and responsibilities within our global Company; the individual’s experience and expertise; the compensation levels for the individual’s peers within our Company; compensation levels for similar positions in the electronics industry or in the technology industry more generally; performance of the individual and our Company as a whole; and the levels of compensation necessary to recruit new executive officers. Our human capital and compensation committee reviewed the compensation of our officers and compared it with that of both our peer group companies and broader, composite global market survey data provided by our Compensation Consultant.
Peer Groups. The human capital and compensation committee reviews the peer groups regularly and makes adjustments to account for events such as acquisitions, mergers and the like. For 2023, Exequity recommended, and the committee adopted, the same approach to our Executive Compensation Peer Group using the same criteria used in 2021 including (i) North America based companies with revenues between $1.0 billion and $5.0 billion, and (ii) companies with market capitalization between $250 million and $2.5 billion.
For the fiscal year ended January 1, 2024, our revenue was $2.2 billion and our market capitalization was approximately $1.6 billion. For 2023, Exequity further recommended refinements to our Executive Compensation Peer Group, to account for companies who have substantially changed as a result of a transaction. As a result, one company was removed: ON Semiconductor, while five were added: Littelfuse, Teledyne, Trimble, Hexcel and IPG Photonics Corp for industry fit. This resulted in a peer group that included the companies listed on the chart below, which along with the broader survey discussed below, were used for benchmarking purposes.
Our human capital and compensation committee believes that the selected TSR Peer Group is more appropriate for determining TSR under our PRU program as it provides a comparison of our Company’s stock price performance against our global competitors. For a discussion regarding how the TSR Peer Group affects executive compensation, please see the “Long- Term Equity Awards” section on page 42.
Members of our human resources and finance departments work with our Chief Executive Officer to recommend changes to existing compensation plans and programs, to define financial and other targets to be achieved under those programs, to prepare analyses of financial data and other briefing materials to assist the human capital and compensation committee in making its decisions and, ultimately, to implement the decisions of our human capital and compensation committee.
Our Chief Executive Officer is actively engaged in setting compensation for other executives through a variety of means, including recommending for committee approval the financial goals and the annual salaries and variable pay amounts for members of the executive team. He works closely with other members of executive management in analyzing relevant market data to determine base salary and annual target bonus opportunities for senior management and to develop targets for our short-term and long-term incentive plans. Our Chief Executive Officer is generally subject to the same financial performance goals as our other executive officers, all of which are ultimately determined and approved by our human capital and compensation committee.
Compensation Structure
Although the final structure may vary from year to year and officer to officer, our human capital and compensation committee utilizes three main components for executive officer compensation: base salary, annual incentive bonus and long-term equity incentives.
In determining the allocation each year among base salary, annual incentive bonus, and long-term equity incentive compensation, our human capital and compensation committee considers the following factors: our short-term and long-term business objectives, competitive trends within our industry, and the importance of creating a performance-based environment that ties a significant portion of each executive officer’s compensation to the achievement of performance targets and corporate objectives. When considering a
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
34 |
proposed compensation package for an executive officer, our human capital and compensation committee considers the compensation package as a whole, including each element of total compensation. We have no pre-established policy for allocating between either cash and non-cash or short-term and long-term compensation.
Our human capital and compensation committee believes that the particular elements of compensation identified above produce a well-balanced mix of stock-based compensation, retention value, and at-risk compensation that collectively provides each executive officer with both short-term and long-term performance incentives. Base pay provides the executive officer with a measure of security as to the minimum level of compensation to be received while the annual and long-term incentive components motivate the executive officer to focus on the business metrics that will maximize company performance over the long term. Our human capital and compensation committee believes that this approach should lead to an increase in stockholder value, provide an appropriate reward for our executive officers, and assist with the retention of our executive officers.
While each element of our compensation program is intended to motivate and encourage employees at all levels to drive performance and achieve superior results for our stockholders, there is a different emphasis on the three primary elements based on an employee’s position and ability to impact our financial results. In general, the percentage of performance-based pay, or at-risk pay, increases with job responsibility. This is intended to offer an opportunity for gain in the event of successful performance, matched with the prospect of less compensation when performance falls short of established financial and/or stockholder return targets.
The charts below show the mix of base salary, actual annual incentive, and the grant date fair value of equity grants for the CEO and other NEOs in 2023. Consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy, the largest portion of compensation (approximately 63% for our CEO) is tied to variable or performance-based annual and long-term incentives.
Base Salary. Base salaries for our executive officers are determined based on the level of the position within our Company, the individual’s performance in recent periods, and the executive’s potential for continued development within our global organization. The base salary levels, and any changes to those levels for each executive officer, are reviewed and approved each year by our human capital and compensation committee. Such adjustments may be based on factors such as the overall performance of our Company, new roles and responsibilities assumed by the executive, the performance of the executive officer’s area of responsibility, the executive officer’s impact on strategic goals, or revisions to our compensation philosophy. However, there is no specific weighting applied to any one factor in setting the level of base salary, and the process ultimately relies on the subjective exercise of our human capital and compensation committee’s judgment. We believe that providing base salaries around the median of our peer group and the broader market survey provided by our Compensation Consultants will enable us to remain competitive for qualified executive officers.
TTM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
35 |
Base Salaries for 2023. Our normal cadence for compensation review takes place on July 1 of each year. But, the Company determined to delay salary increases for senior executives until market conditions improved later in the year. Mr. Edman recommended, which was approved by the human capital and compensation committee, the following changes to base salaries as of December 1, 2023.
The table below outlines base salaries for all NEOs:
|
|
|
Base Salary |
|||||||||
Name |
|
2022 |
|
2023 |
|
Y/Y Change |
||||||
Thomas T. Edman |
|
|
$848,000 |
|
|
|
$900,000 |
|
|
|
6% |
|
Daniel L. Boehle (1) |
|
|
-- |
|
|
|
$540,000 |
|
|
|
0% |
|
Catherine A. Gridley |
|
|
$455,500 |
|
|
|
$470,000 |
|
|
|
3% |
|
Todd B. Schull (2) |
|
|
$550,000 |
|
|
|
$550,000 |
|
|
|
0% |
|
Douglas L. Soder |
|
|
$515,000 |
|
|
|
$530,000 |
|
|
|
3% |
|
Philip Titterton |
|
|
$550,000 |
|
|
|
$560,000 |
|
|
|
2% |
|
Annual Incentive Bonus Plan. Our human capital and compensation committee believes that annual performance-based cash bonuses play an important role in providing incentives to our executive officers to achieve near-term financial metrics and individual goals. The financial metrics comprise 90% while the individual goals are 10% of each NEO’s bonus plan.
To support collaboration within our senior management team, our human capital and compensation committee rewards all of our executive officers for company-wide performance by tying bonus awards to our operating income and operating cash flow, and rewards executives responsible for sector performance by also tying awards to sector performance. The human capital and compensation committee believes operating income and operating cash flow are good indicators for capturing our success given the market in which we compete and are measures that management can easily track and communicate to employees throughout the performance period. In addition, individual performance goals ensure that other important areas of our business are measured and emphasized. They may include but are not limited to customer satisfaction, market positioning and growth, structural and organizational improvements, specific organizational talent actions, and critical projects and assignments.
In response to the recommendations of management, our human capital and compensation committee based the Company’s incentive bonus plan on several metrics that the committee believed most closely aligned the executive’s incentive pay with metrics that the executive is responsible for managing. For 2023, the below chart reflects the weight of each performance metric.
|
|
Global |
|
Global Cash |
|
Business Unit |
|
Individual |
||||||||
Thomas T. Edman |
|
|
70% |
|
|
|
20% |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
10% |
|