Organon & Co.
For the period ended Jun 4, 2024. Filed Apr 25, 2024.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
What shareholders are asked to vote on at a company's meeting. It is where to find what directors and top executives are paid, and who owns the most shares.
Jun 4, 2024 · Filed Apr 25, 2024
Contents
Proxy Statement Summary
The accompanying proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) for use at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Organon & Co. (“Organon,” the “company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). Please review the entire proxy statement and Organon’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”) before voting. The voting items expected to be proposed at the meeting are listed below along with the Board’s voting recommendations.
2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
| Time | Meeting Date | Location |
| 9:00 a.m.(Eastern Daylight Time) | Tuesday June 4, 2024 Record Date April 8, 2024 | Via webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/OGN2024 |
| Voting Matters · Page · Board’sRecommendation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal 1 | Election of the Four Class III Directors Named Herein | 30 | FOR each Nominee |
| Proposal 2 | Approval, on a Non-Binding Advisory Basis, of the Compensation of Organon’s Named Executive Officers | 45 | FOR |
| Proposal 3 | Ratification of the Appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Organon’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for 2024 | 85 | FOR |
Proxy Statement Summary
Who We Are
Organon is a global healthcare company formed with the vision to improve the health of women. We are the only global company of our size focused on women’s health. Organon has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas.
We focus on three key areas to achieve our vision of a better and healthier every day for every woman:
Women’s Health We believe that women are the foundation of a healthier world, and we know that women need more choices when it comes to their health care. We plan to continue building on our strengths in reproductive health and fertility as we assemble a suite of health options that help address the areas of high unmet needs for women.
Biosimilars Biosimilars, which are approved by regulators as being highly similar to approved biologic medicines, are used to treat a range of serious conditions. They offer patients more treatment options and reduce costs compared to biologics—potentially helping expand access to biologic medicines.
Established Brands Our established brands include well-known products, which generally are beyond market exclusivity, across a range of therapeutic areas including respiratory, cardiovascular, dermatology, non-opioid pain management, and more.
Led by the women’s health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon’s products produce strong cash flows that will support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.
Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, and world-class commercial capabilities. As of December 31, 2023, Organon had approximately 10,000 employees worldwide and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.
On June 2, 2021, Organon separated from Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”; known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada) as a result of a pro rata distribution of Organon’s common stock to shareholders of Merck. We refer to this transaction as the “spinoff.” Since 2021, Organon has been a standalone public company with common stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “OGN.” Organon is also a member of the S&P SmallCap 600 index.
| 3 | 2024 Proxy Statement |
Executive Compensation Highlights (Page 50)
The Talent Committee oversees our executive compensation program, which is designed to support our executive compensation philosophy and objectives, align executive pay with shareholder interests and promote our ongoing business strategy. The Talent Committee will review and consider modifications to our executive compensation program to reflect our business strategy, performance, and evolving corporate governance practices.
Our executive compensation practices demonstrate our commitment to responsible pay and governance principles. For additional information on the components of our 2023 executive compensation, please refer to the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”), beginning on page 50.
Say-on-Pay Advisory Vote (Page 53)
In 2023, shareholders demonstrated their support for our executive compensation program with approximately 93% of the votes cast voted in favor of thesay-on-pay proposal. Consistent with Organon’s strong interest in shareholder engagement and ourpay-for-performance approach, the Talent Committee continues to evaluate our executive compensation program to promote alignment between the respective interests of our executives and shareholders.
We ask that our shareholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers (“NEOs”) as further described in Proposal 2 on page 45.
Proxy Statement Summary
Corporate Governance Highlights (Page 9)
We actively monitor our corporate governance practices to ensure we continue to manage our business in accordance with high standards of ethics, business integrity, and corporate governance. Our corporate governance practices empower the Board to set objectives and monitor performance, and strengthens the accountability of the Board and management. For this reason, we devote considerable time and resources to making sure that:
· our policies reflect our values and business goals;
· we operate in an open, honest, and transparent way; and
· we have an effective corporate governance structure.
We highlight some significant aspects of our corporate governance practices and policies below.
| Independent Leadership • The Chairman of the Board is independent. • Eleven of our 12 directors are independent. • Our independent directors hold regular executive sessions. • All three of our standing Board committees are composed solely of independent directors. Director Accountability • Directors are elected by majority vote. • Directors who do not receive a majority vote are required to submit their offer to resign from the Board for the Board’s consideration. • Annual election of all directors starting at Organon’s 2025 annual meeting of shareholders. Best Practices • We conduct Board, Board committee and individual director evaluations annually. • The Board actively engages in succession planning for the CEO. • Directors may not stand for re-election after age 75. • We have an overboarding policy that limits the number of public company boards on which directors may serve. • The Board is diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, experience, and skills. • Our Principles of Corporate Governance include a comprehensive Diversity Policy. • The Board and its committees have a robust risk oversight program. Alignment with Shareholder Interests • We have a proxy access provision in our Bylaws whereby shareholders who own 3% of Organon common stock for at least three years may nominate up to 20% of the members of our Board, subject to compliance with Bylaw provisions. • We do not have a shareholder rights plan (also known as a poison pill). | • We do not have any supermajority voting provisions. • Directors and executive officers are subject to stock ownership guidelines. • We have an active shareholder engagement program, as described more fully on page 25. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) • Proactive management of ESG risks and opportunities is integrated into our long-term business strategy. • The Board’s committees have robust, independent oversight of various ESG topics, including the Audit Committee’s oversight of cybersecurity and compliance matters, the Talent Committee’s oversight of human capital management, and the ESG Committee’s oversight of governance, product quality, corporate reputation and other sustainability matters. • We have established clear and measurable ESG initiatives and are taking action to make progress toward them over time. For information about our efforts and progress on these initiatives, please visit our website at www.organon.com/about-organon/environmental-social-governance. • We actively engage shareholders and other stakeholders to understand their ESG priorities and address any questions or concerns. • Our second ESG Report was published in June 2023. We are preparing our third ESG Report, which we expect to publish in Summer 2024. |
|---|
| 5 | 2024 Proxy Statement |
Our Continuing Directors and Director Nominees (Page 31)
Our directors and director nominees possess broad expertise, skills, experience, and perspectives to provide the strong oversight and strategic direction required to govern Organon’s business and strengthen and support senior management. As illustrated by the following charts, our directors and director nominees consist of individuals with expertise in fields that align with Organon’s business and long-term strategy and reflect the Board’s commitment to diverse perspectives.
The following provides summary information about each director nominee and continuing director. Detailed information about each individual’s background, skill sets, and areas of expertise can be found beginning on page 31.
| Committee Memberships | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Age | DirectorSince | TermExpiring | Primary Occupation | Audit | Talent | ESG |
| Class III Directors Standing for Election at the Annual Meeting | |||||||
| Kevin Ali | 63 | 2021 | 2024 | Chief Executive Officer, Organon & Co. | |||
| Martha E. McGarry | 72 | 2021 | 2024 | Partner, Mayer Brown LLP | ● | ||
| Philip Ozuah, M.D., Ph. D. | 61 | 2021 | 2024 | President and Chief Executive Officer, Montefiore Medicine | ● | ||
| Shalini Sharp | 49 | 2021 | 2024 | Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | ● | ||
= Committee Chair● = Committee Member
Proxy Statement Summary
| Committee Memberships | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name(1) | Age | DirectorSince | TermExpiring | Primary Occupation | Audit | Talent | ESG |
| Directors Continuing in Office | |||||||
| Robert Essner | 76 | 2021 | 2025 | Former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | ● | ||
| Rochelle “Shelly” B. Lazarus | 76 | 2021 | 2025 | Chairman Emeritus of Ogilvy & Mather | ● | ||
| Cynthia M. Patton | 62 | 2021 | 2025 | General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Tessera Therapeutics | ● | ||
| Grace Puma | 61 | 2021 | 2025 | Former Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, PepsiCo, Inc. | ● | ||
| Carrie S. Cox Board Chairman | 66 | 2021 | 2025 | Former Chief Executive Officer of Humacyte, Inc., former EVP of Schering-Plough and current Chairman of Solventum Corporation and Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. | ● | ● | |
| Alan Ezekowitz, M.D. | 70 | 2021 | 2025 | Advisory Partner, Third Rock Ventures, LLC, Former CEO and Co—Founder of Abide Therapeutics, and Former SVP and Franchise Head Merck Research Laboratories | ● | ||
| Helene Gayle, M.D. | 68 | 2021 | 2025 | President of Spelman College | ● | ||
| Deborah Leone | 59 | 2021 | 2025 | Former Partner & Chief Operating Officer, Investment Management, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | ● | ||
= Committee Chair● = Committee Member
| (1) | Ma. Fatima de Vera Francisco, who is currently serving as a Class III director, is not being nominated for re-election at this Annual Meeting, and, as such, she is not standing for re-election at this Annual Meeting. Her term will expire at this Annual Meeting, at which time the size of the Board will be automatically reduced to twelve directors. |
| 7 | 2024 Proxy Statement |
Director Qualifications and Expertise
Our continuing directors and director nominees are responsible for overseeing the company’s business consistent with their fiduciary duties. This significant responsibility requires highly skilled individuals with various qualities, attributes, and professional experiences. We believe the Board is well-rounded, with a balance of relevant perspectives and experience, as illustrated by the following chart.
| Executive Leadership /CEO Experience | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 100% |
| Financial / Accounting | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 92% |
| Global Healthcare | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 83% |
| Marketing, Sales orPublic Relations | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 42% |
| Public Policy / Regulatory | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 92% |
| Public Company Board Experience | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 100% |
| Global Business Experience | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 100% |
| Human Capital Management | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 100% |
| Manufacturing/Operational | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 33% |
| Mergers & Acquisitions/Business Development | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 83% |
| Research & Development/Scientific Experience | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 50% |
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.