CONAGRA BRANDS INC
For the period ended Sep 18, 2024. Filed Aug 7, 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.
Sep 18, 2024 · Filed Aug 7, 2024
Contents
Proxy Voting Summary
Proposal 1: Election of Directors** (▶ page19)**
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| | Our Board recommends that you vote FOR ALL of the nominees under this proposal 1. | |
Our business is managed under the direction of the Board, and you are being asked to vote to elect the members of the Board to hold office until the Conagra Brands 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and until their successors have been elected and qualified. The Board hasnominated the 11 current directors, all listed below, for election at the Annual Meeting. The Board believes that the combined nominee group reflects a broad range of skills, education, experiences, qualifications, age, tenure, and other characteristics that are valuable to our Company. As a result of the Board’s robust refreshment processes, our Board currently includes 5 directors with fewer than 5 years of service on our Board (who joined our Board in 2021, 2022, and 2023) and the average tenure of our directors is 7 years. The following table provides a summary of certain information about our director nominees including the year each joined our board, current age, primary occupation, independence, committee membership, and service on the boards of other publicly-traded companies.
| · · · · · · · · · · Standing Committee Membership · · # of Other Public Company Boards | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and Primary Occupation · Age · Director Since · Independent · Audit /Finance · Human Resources · Nominating & Corporate Governance | |||||||||||||||
| Anil AroraSenior PartnerThe TIFIN Group | 63 | | 2018 | | | | | | | 1 | |||||
| | Thomas “Tony” K. BrownRetired Group Vice President, Global PurchasingFord Motor Company | | 68 | | 2013 | | | | | | | 1 | |||
| | Emanuel “Manny” ChiricoRetired Exec. Chairman and CEOPVH Corp. | | 67 | | 2021 | | | | | | | | 1 | ||
| | Sean M. ConnollyPresident and CEOConagra Brands, Inc. | | 58 | | 2015 | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | George DowdieRetired Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain Starbucks Corporation | | 68 | | 2022 | | | | | | | | 0 | ||
| | Francisco FragaEVP Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer McKesson Corporation | | 51 | | 2023 | | | | | | | | | 0 | |
| | Fran HorowitzChief Executive OfficerAbercrombie & Fitch Co. | | 60 | | 2021 | | | | | | | | 1 | ||
| | Richard H. LennyRetired Chair, President and CEOThe Hershey Company | 72 | | 2009 | | | * | | | | 1 | ||||
| | Melissa LoraRetired President, Taco Bell International, part of Yum! Brands, Inc. | | 62 | | 2019 | | | | | | | 1 | |||
| | Ruth Ann MarshallRetired President of the Americas MasterCard International, Inc. | | 70 | | 2007 | | | | | | | 2 | |||
| | Denise A. PaulonisPresident and CEOSally Beauty Holdings, Inc. | | 52 | | 2022 | | | | | | | | 1 | ||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Non-Executive Chair of the Board | | | Committee Chair | | | Committee Member | | | Audit Committee Financial Expert |
| * | As Board Chair, Mr. Lenny is also deemed an ex-officio member of the Audit / Finance Committee. |
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CONAGRA BRANDS 2024 PROXY STATEMENT 15
BOARD NOMINEE DEMOGRAPHICS SNAPSHOT
Our Board values diversity and through its nomination process strives to build a group of nominees that delivers diverse views, perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.
| Independent Chair of the Board | 5 new independent directors added to our Board in 2021, 2022, and 2023 | | |||
| | 2 female (1 LGBTQ+) committee Chairs | | | 5 nominees with <5 years of service on our Board | |
| | 73% diverse Board | | | 10 of 11 directors are independent (all except our CEO) | |
BOARD SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE SNAPSHOT
When selecting nominees for our Board, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has identified the below skills as relevant to our Company.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience and Skills | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public company board experience | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | | | 9/11 | ||
| | Active or former C-suite executive | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | 11/11 | |
| | Market-facing experience | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | 10/11 | |
| | International experience | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | 11/11 | |
| | Finance/capital management expertise | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | | | | | 8/11 | |
| | M&A experience | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | 10/11 | |
| | Technology expertise | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | | | | | 8/11 | |
| | Risk management expertise | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | 10/11 | |
| | Human capital management experience | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | 11/11 | |
| | Sustainability expertise | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5/11 | |
16 CONAGRA BRANDS 2024 PROXY STATEMENT
Proposal 2: Approval of an Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to Provide for Officer Exculpation (▶ page 41)
| | Our Board recommends that you vote FOR the amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to provide for officer exculpation consistent with Delaware law under this proposal 2. | |
Shareholders are being asked to vote on a proposed amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to provide for exculpation of certain of our officers as permitted by law in light of recent amendments to Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, effective April 1, 2022. The proposed amendment is consistent with Delaware law and:
Only permits limitation of officer liability for direct claims (not derivative claims made by shareholders)
Doesnot apply to breaches of the duty of loyalty, acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, or any transaction in which the officer derived an improper personal benefit
Would enhance the Company’s ability to attract and retain talented officers
The full text of the proposed Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation is attached as Appendix B hereto.
The Board believes that failing to adopt the proposed amendment could impact our ability to recruit and retain exceptional officer candidates.
Proposal 3: Advisory Vote to Approve Named Executive Officer Compensation (▶ page 43)
| | Our Board recommends that you vote FOR this proposal 3, on an advisory basis, to approve our named executive officer compensation. | |
Approve, on a nonbinding advisory basis (Say-on-Pay vote), the compensation paid to our named executive officers (NEOs). As more fully described in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section of this Proxy Statement, for fiscal 2024, the Human Resources (HR) Committee established an executive compensation program that was designed to promote attainment of our fiscal 2024 operating plan and long-term goals.
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| 94% | | 6x | | 81% |
| Percentage of our CEO’s fiscal 2024compensation opportunity tied to Conagra’sperformance | | Our CEO’s stock ownership requirement, asa multiple of his base salary | | Percentage of our other NEOs’ fiscal 2024 compensation opportunity tied to Conagra’s performance |
| · | ||||
| NO | | YES | | FULLY INDEPENDENT |
| Hedging or pledging of Company stockpermitted for employees or members of theBoard | | Clawback Policy in place to recoupunwarranted incentive compensation | | The HR Committee’s compensationconsultant performs no work for management |
In designing the 2024 fiscal year program, the HR Committee chose to include a mix of compensation types (salary, benefits, cash-based incentives, and equity-based awards) and a mix of performance periods (single-year and multi-year) to promote long-term, strategic decision-making. The HR Committee sought to provide a significant percentage of our CEO’s and NEOs’ compensation in the form of performance-based compensation with the greatest percentage of the performance-based opportunity in the form of long-term compensation payable in shares of our common stock. The HR Committee believes that the emphasis on stock-based compensation is the best method to align management interests with those of our shareholders and also to minimize the likelihood that our executives would be motivated to pursue overly risky initiatives or unsustainable results.
CONAGRA BRANDS 2024 PROXY STATEMENT 17
FISCAL 2024 COMPENSATION OPPORTUNITY MIX (AT TARGET)*
| * | Includes retention grants made to Messrs. Connolly and Marberger. See “Retention Awards Granted in fiscal 2024” and “Long-Term Incentive Plan Overview—Fiscal 2024 LTI Plan Target Opportunity and Retention Awards” under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” below. |
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| Annual Incentive Program | Long-Term Incentive Plan | |||||||||||
| ·Based on a single year of performance results·Performance measures are aligned to our annual operating plan | | ·Based on multi-year results or service·Payouts are generally over 3 years | ||||||||||
| 2024 AIP | | 2024 LTI Plan | ||||||||||
| Weighted Metrics | | Performance Shares | | Restricted Stock Units | ||||||||
| 50% | | | Operating Profit,adjusted for itemsimpacting comparability(Adjusted OperatingProfit) | | 60% of Opportunity | | | 40% of Opportunity | | | ||
| ·Opportunity to earn shares of our common stock if we achieve pre-set performance goals over a three-year period·Weighted metrics:* | | ·Opportunity to earn shares of our common stock if the employee generally remains with Conagra over the three-year vesting period of the award·Rewards stock price appreciation and tenure | ||||||||||
| 25% | | | Net Sales, adjusted foritems impactingcomparability (AdjustedNet Sales) | | | |||||||
| 25% | | | Free Cash Flow, adjusted foritems impactingcomparability (Adjusted Free Cash Flow) | | ·Payouts will ultimately range from 0% to 200% of target | | | |||||
| ·Payouts will ultimately range from 0% to 200% of target | | |||||||||||
Proposal 4: Ratification of the Appointment of KPMG LLP as our Independent Auditor for Fiscal 2025 (▶ page 89)
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| | Our Board recommends that you vote FOR this proposal 4, the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent auditor for fiscal 2025. |
KPMG LLP has served as our independent auditor since fiscal 2006 providing KPMG with significant experience with our financial statements, processes, procedures, and financial controls. The Audit / Finance Committee evaluates and ensures the rotation of the lead audit partner at our independent auditor. Five different partners of KPMG have served as the lead audit partner for our account. The Audit / Finance Committee has appointed KPMG LLP as our independent auditors for fiscal 2025.
18 CONAGRA BRANDS 2024 PROXY STATEMENT
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.