UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
(RULE 14a-101)
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN
PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
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the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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American Superconductor Corporation
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(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other than Registrant)
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
114 East Main Street
Ayer, Massachusetts 01432
Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders to
be Held on Friday, July 30, 2021
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the Annual Meeting) of American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) will be held via a completely virtual format through a live audio-only webcast hosted online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021 on Friday, July 30, 2021 at 10:30 a.m., Eastern Time. The Annual Meeting will be held exclusively online and you will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically. You will be able to vote your shares electronically and submit questions during the meeting by logging into the website listed above using the 16-digit control number included in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, on your proxy card or on the instructions that accompanied our proxy materials. Online check-in will begin at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time and should allow ample time for the check-in procedures.
At the Annual Meeting, AMSCs stockholders will consider and act upon the following matters:
1. | To elect Vikram S. Budhraja, Arthur H. House, Barbara G. Littlefield, Daniel P. McGahn and David R. Oliver, Jr. as directors of AMSC for a term of office expiring at the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders. |
2. | To ratify the appointment by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of RSM US LLP as AMSCs independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year. |
3. | To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any continuation, postponement or adjournment thereof. |
Stockholders of record at the close of business on June 4, 2021 will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting or any continuation, postponement or adjournment thereof. A complete list of these stockholders will be open to the examination of any stockholder at our principal executive offices at 114 East Main Street, Ayer, MA 01432 for a period of ten days prior to the Annual Meeting and will be available on the bottom of your screen during the Annual Meeting after entering the 16-digit control number included on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or proxy card or on the materials provided by your bank or broker. The Annual Meeting may be continued or adjourned from time to time without notice other than by announcement at the Annual Meeting.
By Order of the Board of Directors,
John R. Samia, Secretary
Ayer, Massachusetts
June 17, 2021
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR SHARES BE REPRESENTED AT THE VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING. THEREFORE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PROXY (1) OVER THE INTERNET, (2) BY TELEPHONE, OR (3) BY MAIL. FOR SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS BEGINNING ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THE PROXY STATEMENT AND THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PROXY CARD RELATING TO THE VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING.
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Summary of Board Nominee Qualifications, Experience and Diversity |
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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table for Fiscal 2020 |
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Employment Agreements and Severance Agreements with Executive Officers |
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Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Our Equity Compensation Plans |
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RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM (PROPOSAL 2) |
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Important Notice Regarding Delivery of Security Holder Documents |
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
114 East Main Street
Ayer, Massachusetts 01432
PROXY STATEMENT
For the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be Held on Friday, July 30, 2021
This proxy statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors, or Board, of American Superconductor Corporation, or AMSC, for use at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or Annual Meeting, to be held via a completely virtual format through a live audio-only webcast hosted online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021 on Friday, July 30, 2021, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, and at any continuation, postponement or adjournment of the Annual Meeting. On or about June 18, 2021, we are releasing this proxy statement together with our annual report, consisting of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, or 2020 Annual Report, and other information required by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to our stockholders of record on the record date for the meeting. Our 2020 Annual Report is provided without exhibits. Exhibits will be provided, at no charge, upon written request addressed to American Superconductor Corporation, 114 East Main Street, Ayer, MA 01432, Attention: Investor Relations.
Our fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. When we refer to a particular fiscal year, we are referring to the fiscal year ended or ending on March 31 of the following year. For example, fiscal 2020 refers to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials
for the Stockholder Meeting to be Held on July 30, 2021
AMSCs proxy statement and annual report are available at
www.proxyvote.com
The following proxy materials are available for review at www.proxyvote.com:
| our 2021 proxy statement; |
| our 2020 Annual Report; and |
| any amendments or supplements to our proxy materials that are filed with the SEC. |
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PROXY STATEMENT
Why you received this proxy statement. You are viewing or have received these proxy materials because AMSCs Board is soliciting your proxy to vote your shares at the Annual Meeting. This proxy statement includes information that we are required to provide to you under the rules of the SEC and that is designed to assist you in voting your shares.
Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. As permitted by SEC rules, AMSC is making this proxy statement and its 2020 Annual Report available to certain of its stockholders electronically via the Internet. On or about June 18, 2021, we mailed to these stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, or Internet Notice, containing instructions on how to access this proxy statement and our 2020 Annual Report and vote online. If you received an Internet Notice by mail, you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy materials in the mail unless you specifically request them. Instead, the Internet Notice instructs you on how to access and review all of the important information contained in the proxy statement and 2020 Annual Report. The Internet Notice also instructs you on how you may submit your proxy over the Internet. If you received an Internet Notice by mail and would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials, then you should follow the instructions for requesting such materials contained on the Internet Notice.
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Printed Copies of Our Proxy Materials. Some of our stockholders received printed copies of our proxy statement, 2020 Annual Report and proxy card. If you received printed copies of our proxy materials, then instructions regarding how you can vote are contained on the proxy card included in the materials.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING AND VOTING
What is the purpose of the Annual Meeting?
At our Annual Meeting, stockholders will act upon the matters outlined in the accompanying notice of meeting, including the election of the directors named in this proxy statement and the ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm. Stockholders may also consider such other business as may properly come before the meeting. We are not aware of any other business to be brought before the meeting. If any other business is properly brought before the meeting, the designated officers serving as proxies will vote in accordance with their best judgment.
Who is entitled to vote?
You are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, or any continuation, postponement or adjournment of the Annual Meeting, only if you were a stockholder of record at the close of business on the record date, June 4, 2021, or if you hold a valid proxy for the Annual Meeting. The number of stockholders of record as of the June 4, 2021 record date was 178. Holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share.
Why is AMSC hosting the Annual Meeting in a virtual meeting format only?
In light of ongoing public health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this years Annual Meeting will be held in a virtual meeting format only, via a live audio-only webcast. There is no physical location for the Annual Meeting. A virtual meeting also enables increased stockholder attendance and participation because stockholders can participate from any location around the world. The virtual Annual Meeting has been designed to provide the same rights to participate as you would have at an in-person meeting. Because our Annual Meeting is being held virtually over the internet, when we refer to in person for aspects pertaining to the Annual Meeting, we mean live virtual attendance through the means described in this proxy statement.
How do I attend the virtual Annual Meeting?
Stockholders of record as of June 4, 2021 will be able to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online by accessing www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021. To join the Annual Meeting, you will need to have your 16-digit control number which is included on your Internet Notice or your proxy card (if you received a printed copy of the proxy materials).
Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting online, we recommend that you also vote by proxy as described herein so that your vote will be counted if you subsequently decide not to attend the Annual Meeting.
Access to the Audio Webcast of the Annual Meeting. The live audio webcast of the Annual Meeting will begin promptly at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on July 30, 2021. We encourage our stockholders to access the meeting website prior to the start time. Online access to the audio webcast will open approximately 30 minutes prior to the start of the Annual Meeting to allow time for you to log in and test the computer audio system.
Log in Procedures. To attend the virtual Annual Meeting, visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021 to log in. Stockholders will need their unique 16-digit control number included in your Internet Notice (printed in the box and marked by the arrow), proxy card or the instructions that accompanied the proxy materials. If your shares are held in street name (through a bank, broker or other nominee), you should contact your bank, broker or other nominee as soon as possible to obtain your 16-digit control number or otherwise vote through the bank, broker or other nominee.
If you lose your 16-digit control number, you may join the Annual Meeting as a Guest but you will not be able to vote, ask questions or access the list of stockholders as of the record date.
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Technical Assistance. Beginning 30 minutes prior to the start of and during the virtual Annual Meeting, we will have technicians ready to assist stockholders with any technical difficulties they may have accessing or hearing the virtual meeting. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the virtual meeting during the check-in or meeting time, please call the technical support number that will be posted on the annual meeting website log-in page.
Will there be a question and answer session during the Annual Meeting?
As part of the Annual Meeting, we will hold a live questions and answers session, during which we intend to answer questions submitted online during the meeting that are pertinent to AMSC and the meeting matters, for up to fifteen minutes following the completion of the Annual Meeting. Only stockholders that have accessed the Annual Meeting as a stockholder (rather than a Guest) by following the procedures outlined above in How do I attend the virtual Annual Meeting? will be permitted to submit questions during the Annual Meeting. Each stockholder is limited to two questions in order to allow us to answer questions from as many stockholders as possible. Questions should be succinct and only cover a single topic. We will not address questions that are, among other things:
| irrelevant to the business of AMSC or to the business of the Annual Meeting; |
| related to material non-public information of the Company, including the status or results of our business since we filed our Annual Report on Form 10-K on June 2, 2021; |
| related to any pending, threatened or ongoing litigation; |
| related to personal grievances; |
| derogatory references to individuals or that are otherwise in bad taste; |
| substantially repetitious of questions already made by another stockholder; |
| in excess of the two question limit; |
| in furtherance of the stockholders personal or business interests; or |
| out of order or not otherwise suitable for the conduct of the Annual Meeting as determined by the Chair of the Annual Meeting or Secretary in their reasonable judgment. |
Questions and answers may be grouped by topic, and we may group substantially similar questions together and answer them once. If there are matters of individual concern to a stockholder and not of general concern to all stockholders, or if a question posed was not otherwise answered, we encourage stockholders to contact us separately after the Annual Meeting.
Additional information regarding the question and answer session will be available in the Rules of Conduct available on the Annual Meeting webpage for stockholders that have accessed the Annual Meeting as a stockholder (rather than a Guest) by following the procedures outlined above in How do I attend the virtual Annual Meeting?.
What constitutes a quorum?
The holders of a majority of the shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the Annual Meeting. Shares of common stock represented in person or by proxy (including shares that abstain or do not vote with respect to one or more of the matters presented for stockholder approval) will be counted as present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the Annual Meeting. As of the June 4, 2021 record date, 28,209,916 shares of our common stock were outstanding and entitled to vote.
How do I vote?
If you are a stockholder of record, meaning your shares are registered in your name, you may vote:
(1) Over the Internet: Go to the website of our tabulator, Broadridge, at www.proxyvote.com. Use the vote control number printed on your Internet Notice or proxy card to access your account and vote your shares. You
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must specify how you want your shares voted or your Internet vote cannot be completed and you will receive an error message. Your shares will be voted according to your instructions.
(2) By Telephone: Call 1-800-690-6903, toll free from the U.S. and Canada, and follow the instructions on your proxy card. You must specify how you want your shares voted and confirm your vote at the end of the call or your telephone vote cannot be completed. Your shares will be voted according to your instructions.
(3) By Mail: Complete and sign your proxy card and mail it in the accompanying postage prepaid envelope to Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717. Your shares will be voted according to your instructions. If you do not specify how you want your shares voted, they will be voted as recommended by our Board of Directors.
(4) In Person during the Virtual Annual Meeting: You may attend the virtual Annual Meeting and vote during the meeting even if you have already voted by proxy. To vote during the meeting, visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021 on the day of the meeting; you will need the 16-digit control number provided on your Internet Notice or proxy card.
If your shares are held in street name, meaning they are held for your account by a bank, broker or other nominee, you may vote:
(1) Over the Internet or by Telephone: You will receive instructions from your bank, broker or other nominee if they permit Internet or telephone voting. You should follow those instructions.
(2) By Mail: You will receive instructions from your bank, broker or other nominee explaining how you can vote your shares by mail. You should follow those instructions.
(3) In Person during the Virtual Annual Meeting: If your shares are not registered in your own name and you would like to vote your shares electronically at the Annual Meeting, you should contact your bank or broker to obtain your 16-digit control number or instructions on how to vote at the meeting through the bank or broker.
Can I change my proxy after I return my proxy card?
Yes. You may revoke your proxy and change your vote at any time before the Annual Meeting. To do so, you must do one of the following:
(1) Vote over the Internet or by telephone as instructed above. Only your latest Internet or telephone vote is counted.
(2) Sign a new proxy card and submit it as instructed above. Only your latest dated proxy card will be counted.
(3) Attend the Annual Meeting, request that your proxy be revoked and vote in person as instructed above. Attending the Annual Meeting will not revoke your proxy unless you specifically request it.
Will my shares be voted if I dont return my proxy?
If your shares are registered directly in your name, your shares will not be voted if you do not vote over the Internet, by telephone, by returning your proxy card or voting at the Annual Meeting. If your shares are held in street name by a bank, broker or other nominee, that person, as the record holder of your shares, is required to vote your shares according to your instructions. Your bank, broker or other nominee will send you directions on how to vote those shares. Under applicable stock exchange rules, if you do not give instructions to your bank, broker or other nominee, it will still be able to vote your shares with respect to certain discretionary items, such as the ratification of the appointment of RSM US LLP (RSM) as our independent registered public accounting firm, but will not be allowed to vote your shares with respect to certain non-discretionary items, such as the election of directors. In the case of non-discretionary items, shares for which your bank, broker or other nominee does not receive voting instructions will be treated as broker non-votes.
What is the vote required to approve each matter?
(1) Election of Directors. Directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election. This means that the five nominees receiving the most affirmative votes will be
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elected as directors at the Annual Meeting. Votes withheld and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors.
(2) Ratification of the Appointment of our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock voting on the matter is required for the ratification of the appointment by the Audit Committee of RSM as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year. Abstentions will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal. Because brokers have discretionary authority to vote on the ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm, we do not expect any broker non-votes in connection with this proposal.
Who will count the votes?
Our Board of Directors has appointed a representative of Broadridge Financial Solutions to serve as the inspector of elections at the Annual Meeting and to tabulate the votes.
Are there other matters to be voted on at the meeting?
As of the date of this proxy statement, our Board of Directors does not know of any other matters which may come before the meeting, other than the matters described in this proxy statement. Should any other matter requiring a vote of our stockholders arise and be properly presented at the Annual Meeting, the proxy for the Annual Meeting confers upon the persons named in the proxy and designated to vote the shares discretionary authority to vote, or otherwise act, with respect to any such matter in accordance with their best judgment.
Our Board encourages stockholders to attend the virtual Annual Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend, you are urged to submit your proxy. Prompt response will greatly facilitate arrangements for the meeting and your cooperation will be appreciated. Stockholders who attend the virtual Annual Meeting may vote their stock personally even though they may have sent in their proxies.
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STOCK OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of June 4, 2021, or such earlier date as indicated below, by:
| Each person, or group of affiliated persons, who is known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock; |
| Each of our directors; |
| Each of our named executive officers (as defined in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of this proxy statement); and |
| All directors and executive officers as a group. |
Unless otherwise provided, the address of each individual listed below is c/o American Superconductor Corporation, 114 East Main Street, Ayer, Massachusetts 01432.
Name of Beneficial Owner |
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Number of Shares Beneficially Owned (1) |
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Percentage of Common Stock Outstanding (2) |
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Five Percent Stockholders |
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Invesco Ltd. (3) |
1,895,162 | 6.7 | % | |||||
1555 Peachtree Street NE Suite 1800, Atlanta, GA 30309 |
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BlackRock, Inc. (4) 55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
1,864,031 | 6.6 | % | |||||
Directors |
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Daniel P. McGahn (5) |
745,334 | 2.6 | % | |||||
Vikram S. Budhraja |
54,694 | * | ||||||
Arthur H. House (6) |
34,193 | * | ||||||
Barbara G. Littlefield (7) |
14,077 | * | ||||||
David R. Oliver, Jr. |
36,534 | * | ||||||
Other Named Executive Officers |
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John W. Kosiba, Jr. (8) |
250,746 | * | ||||||
All directors and executive officers as a group (6 persons) (9) |
1,135,578 | 4.0 | % |
* | Less than 1%. |
(1) | The inclusion of any shares of common stock deemed beneficially owned does not constitute an admission of beneficial ownership of those shares. In accordance with the rules of the SEC, each stockholder is deemed to beneficially own any shares subject to stock options that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after June 4, 2021, and any reference below to shares subject to outstanding stock options held by the person in question refers only to such stock options. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe that the persons and entities named in the table above have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws. |
(2) | To calculate the percentage of outstanding shares of common stock held by each stockholder, the number of shares deemed outstanding includes 28,209,916 shares outstanding as of June 4, 2021, plus any shares subject to outstanding stock options or warrants currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after June 4, 2021 held by the stockholder in question. |
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(3) | Information is derived from the Schedule 13G filed on February 16, 2021 by Invesco Ltd. and is as of December 31, 2020. According to the Schedule 13G, Invesco Ltd. has sole voting power with respect to 1,893,714 shares and sole dispositive power over all 1,895,162 shares. |
(4) | Information is derived from the Schedule 13G/A filed on January 29, 2021 by BlackRock, Inc. and is as of December 31, 2020. According to the Schedule 13G/A, Blackrock, Inc. has sole voting power with respect to 1,837,177 shares and sole dispositive power over all 1,864,031 shares. |
(5) | Includes 28,499 shares subject to outstanding stock options, 447,083 shares subject to certain restrictions on transfer and a risk of forfeiture in favor of AMSC and 8,056 shares held indirectly through AMSCs 401(k) plan. Mr. McGahn has sole voting power over 745,334 of such shares and sole dispositive power over 731,084 of such shares. 14,250 shares subject to outstanding options are subject to a domestic relations agreement pursuant to which they will be transferred upon the occurrence of certain events. Therefore, Mr. McGahn does not have dispositive power over these shares. |
(6) | Includes 9,703 shares subject to outstanding stock options. |
(7) | Includes 5,939 shares subject to outstanding stock options. |
(8) | Includes 6,699 shares subject to outstanding stock options, 201,584 shares subject to certain restrictions on transfer and risk of forfeiture in favor of the Company and 5,262 shares held indirectly through AMSCs 401(k) plan. |
(9) | Includes 50,840 shares subject to outstanding stock options, 648,667 shares subject to certain restrictions on transfer and risk of forfeiture in favor of the Company and 13,318 shares held indirectly through AMSCs 401(k) plan. |
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Our Board has long believed that good corporate governance is important to ensure that AMSC is managed for the long-term benefit of our stockholders. This section describes key corporate governance guidelines and practices that we have adopted. Complete copies of our committee charters, corporate governance guidelines and code of business conduct and ethics described below have been posted in the Corporate Governance section of the Investors page of our website at www.amsc.com. Alternatively, you can request a copy of any of these documents by writing our Investor Relations department at 114 East Main Street, Ayer, Massachusetts 01432 or by calling (978) 399-8344.
Set forth below, for each director, are his or her name and age, his or her positions (if any) with us, his or her principal occupation and business experience during at least the past five years, the names of other public companies of which he or she has served as a director during at least the past five years and the year of the commencement of his or her term as a director of AMSC. Each of the individuals named below is a nominee for election to our Board at the Annual Meeting. There are no family relationships among any of our directors and executive officers.
Vikram S. Budhraja, age 73, has been president and chief executive officer of Electric Power Group, LLC, a Pasadena, California-based privately held firm that provides smart grid synchrophasor technology applications and electric power grid control center monitoring systems to the electric power industry, since January 2000. From 1977 to January 2000, Mr. Budhraja served in key executive and senior management positions at Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, including: president of Edison Technology Solutions; senior vice president and head of the Power Grid Business Unit of Southern California Edison responsible for all transmission assets, budgets, and control center operations; and vice president of System Planning, Fuels and Operations of Southern California Edison. Mr. Budhraja has previously served as a director of several organizations, including the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which manages Californias power transmission system, and SoftSwitching Technologies, which provides scalable power quality and monitoring solutions. We believe Mr. Budhrajas qualifications to sit on our Board include his extensive operational knowledge of, and executive level management experience in, the electric power industry. Mr. Budhraja has been a director of our company since 2004.
Arthur H. House, age 78, has been a partner at Cybersecurity Risk Associates, LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company, that advises clients on improving their cybersecurity, compliance and privacy programs since May 2020. Mr. House also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut since March 2020. From April 2020 to December 2020, he served as a cybersecurity policy advisor to the Secretary of State of the State of Connecticut. From October 2016 to October 2019, Mr. House served as Chief Cybersecurity Risk Officer for the State of Connecticut. From June 2012 until October 2016, he was chairman of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. From January 2009 until May 2012, Mr. House served as Director of Communications of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and as head of internal and external communications for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a combat support agency for the U.S. Department of Defense. From January 2002 until January 2009, he served as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Connecticut-based Webster Bank, a bank that provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, insurance, trust and investment services. Mr. House has also previously served in various positions at the World Bank, the National Security Council and the U.S. Senate. We believe Mr. Houses qualifications to sit on our board include his extensive experience in the utility industry, his international business and government relations experience and work in both internal and external corporate communications. Mr. House has been a director of our company since September 2016.
Barbara G. Littlefield, age 63, has been Chairwoman and Lead Operating Director at Resilient Infrastructure Group, a developer of a full range of distributed water and wastewater solutions as a service for private and municipal clients that solve site-specific treatment needs, since February 2021. From August 2014 to May 2020, she served as chief financial officer of Poseidon Water LLC, a leading developer of water infrastructure projects in North America. From September 2013 until August 2014, Ms. Littlefield served as
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senior vice president, strategy and corporate development, of Poseidon Water LLC. From February 2011 until May 2013, she was senior vice president of corporate development and a board member of Drax Biomass International Inc., an enterprise securing upstream biomass supply for large British electricity generators. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Littlefield was an executive vice president and chief financial officer of Verenium Corporation, a joint venture company formed to commercialize second generation biofuels technology. We believe Ms. Littlefields qualifications to sit on our Board include her extensive financial and strategic management experience and her particular knowledge of large infrastructure projects. Ms. Littlefield has been a director of our company since May 2019.
Daniel P. McGahn, age 49, has been our chairman of the Board since July 2018, chief executive officer since June 2011 and president since December 2009. Mr. McGahn also served as our chief operating officer from December 2009 until May 2011, as senior vice president and general manager of our AMSC Superconductors business unit from May 2008 until December 2009 and vice president of our AMSC Superconductors business unit from January 2008 to May 2008. Previously, Mr. McGahn was our vice president of strategic planning and development from December 2006 to January 2008. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. McGahn served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Konarka Technologies, which develops and commercializes Konarka Power Plastic®, a material that converts light to electricity. We believe Mr. McGahns qualifications to sit on our Board include his extensive experience with our company, including serving as our president since December 2009 and our chief executive officer since June 2011, experience in the power electronics industry and with technology companies, and strategic planning expertise gained while working in senior management and as a consultant for other public and private companies. Mr. McGahn has been a director of our company since June 2011.
David R. Oliver, Jr., age 79, is currently an independent consultant. He served as a strategic advisor, mergers and acquisitions, for European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company North America (EADS NA), a European aerospace corporation, from January 2012 until July 2013. From January 2008 until December 2011, Mr. Oliver served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for EADS NA. Mr. Oliver also served as chief executive officer of the defense division of EADS NA for most of the four years preceding January 2008 except when he was running the EADS portion of the capture effort for the Air Force Tanker program. Before joining EADS NA, Mr. Oliver was stationed in Baghdad as Director of Management and Budget for the Coalition Forces. Prior to that, he served as the United States Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. Mr. Oliver also previously held management positions at both Westinghouse Electric and Northrop Grumman. In the Navy, he commanded diesel and nuclear submarines as well as two submarine groups during the Cold War. His last Navy appointment was as Principal Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Rear Admiral (retired) Olivers military decorations include the Defense and Navy Distinguished Service Medals as well as six awards of the Legion of Merit. We believe Mr. Olivers qualifications to sit on our Board include his extensive leadership, management and budgeting experience gained while serving as a senior officer in the United States Navy and at EADS, NA, and his valuable corporate governance experience gained while serving as a director for other public and private companies. Mr. Oliver has been a director of our company since September 2006.
Summary of Board Nominee Qualifications, Experience and Diversity
In addition to the director qualifications described in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the following chart highlights certain qualifications and experience that are relevant to our long-term strategy and thus relevant when considering candidates for election to our Board. Our Board did not assign specific weights to any of these attributes or otherwise formally rate the level of a nominees attribute relative to the rating for any other potential nominee. The type and degree of experience, qualification, attribute and skill listed below may vary among members of the Board.
The absence of a mark for an attribute does not necessarily mean that the nominee does not possess that attribute, it means only that when the Board considered that nominee in the overall context of the composition of our Board, that attribute was not a key factor in the determination to nominate that individual.
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Further information on each nominees qualifications and relevant experience is provided in the individual biographical descriptions above.
Qualification/Experience |
Budhraja | House | Littlefield | McGahn | Oliver | |||||
Accounting/Finance/Financial Reporting |
● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||
Capital Markets/Project Financing/ Investor Relations |
● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||
Chief Executive Officer/Senior Executive/Leader of Significant Operations |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Corporate Governance |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Diversity |
● | ● | ||||||||
Environmental/Sustainability/Corporate Responsibility |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Global Business/International Affairs |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Government/Regulatory/Public Policy |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Human Capital/Talent Management/Compensation |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Information Technology and Cybersecurity |
● | ● | ● | ● | ||||||
Manufacturing and Industry Experience |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Risk Oversight and Management |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
Strategic Planning |
● | ● | ● | ● |
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Our Board has adopted corporate governance guidelines to assist in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities and to serve the best interests of AMSC and our stockholders. These guidelines, which provide a framework for the conduct of our Boards business, provide that:
| The principal responsibility of our directors is to oversee the management of our company; |
| A majority of the members of our Board shall be independent directors; |
| The independent directors meet regularly in executive session; |
| Our Board, in conjunction with the Compensation Committee, is responsible for reviewing and approving a management succession plan, including succession planning for our chief executive officer; |
| Directors have full and free access to management and, as necessary and appropriate, independent advisors; |
| Management will provide an orientation program for new directors and additional educational sessions for all directors as appropriate; and |
| At least annually, our Board and its committees will conduct a self-evaluation to assess whether they are functioning effectively. |
Board Determination of Independence
Under applicable Nasdaq rules, a director will only qualify as an independent director if, in the opinion of our Board, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our Board has determined that each of Mr. Budhraja,
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Mr. House, Ms. Littlefield and Mr. Oliver does not have any relationships that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of these directors is an independent director as defined under Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Listing Rules.
The process followed by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to identify and evaluate director candidates includes requests to Board members and others for recommendations, meetings from time to time to evaluate biographical information and background material relating to potential candidates, and interviews of selected candidates by members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and our Board.
In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate for inclusion in our Boards slate of recommended director nominees, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee applies the criteria set forth in our corporate governance guidelines, such as the candidates integrity, business acumen, knowledge of our business and industry, experience, interest and ability to understand conflicting interests of our various constituencies and ability to act in the interests of all stockholders. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not assign specific weights to particular criteria and no particular criterion is a prerequisite for each prospective nominee. We believe that the backgrounds and qualifications of our directors, considered as a group, should provide a composite mix of experience, knowledge and abilities that will allow our Board to fulfill its responsibilities.
Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not have a formal policy with respect to diversity, but believes that our Board, taken as a whole, should embody a diverse set of skills, experiences and backgrounds.
Stockholders may recommend director candidates for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board by submitting the stockholders name, address and number of shares of our stock held, and the candidates name, age, address and resume to our Corporate Secretary at American Superconductor Corporation, 114 East Main Street, Ayer, Massachusetts 01432. Our Board will evaluate stockholder-recommended candidates using the criteria described above. If our Board decides to nominate a stockholder-recommended candidate, then we will include his or her name in the proxy statement and proxy card for the next annual meeting.
Stockholders also have the right under our bylaws to directly nominate director candidates, without any action or recommendation on the part of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee or our Board, by following the procedures set forth under Stockholder Proposals for 2022 Annual Meeting. Candidates nominated by stockholders in accordance with the procedures set forth in our bylaws will not be included in our proxy statement or proxy card for the next annual meeting.
Our Board met nine times during fiscal 2020, either in person or by teleconference. During fiscal 2020, each director attended 100% of the aggregate number of Board meetings and meetings held by all committees on which he or she then served.
Director Attendance at Annual Meeting of Stockholders
Each of our directors attended the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that directors are expected to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Mr. Daniel McGahn, our chief executive officer, has served as chairman of the Board since July 27, 2018. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee with flexibility to assess our leadership structure on an ongoing basis and determine whether the positions of chief executive officer and chairman of the Board should be separate. In July 2018, our Board, upon the
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recommendation of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, determined that, after almost eight years of having the positions of chief executive officer and chairman of the Board being separate, it was in the best interests of our company and our stockholders to have the same individual serve as chief executive officer and chairman of the Board for the following reasons:
| Our chief executive officer is more familiar with our business and strategy than a non-employee chairman would be and is thus better positioned to focus our Boards agenda on the key issues facing our company; |
| A single chairman and chief executive officer provides strong and consistent leadership for our company, without risking overlap or conflict of roles; |
| Oversight of our company is the responsibility of our Board as a whole, and the Board chairman responsibility can be properly discharged by our chief executive officer; and |
| Our Lead Director can provide similar benefits to those associated with an independent chairman. |
In the event that the chairman of the Board is not an independent director, our corporate governance guidelines provide that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may recommend an independent director to serve as Lead Director, who shall be approved by a majority of independent directors. The Lead Director has the following duties:
| Chair any meeting of the Board at which the chairman of the Board is not present, including any executive sessions of the independent directors; |
| Have the authority to call an executive session of the independent directors; |
| Meet with any director who is not adequately performing his or her duties as a member of the Board or any committee; |
| Facilitate communications between other members of the Board and the chairman of the Board and/or the chief executive officer; however, each director is free to communicate directly with the chairman of the Board and with the chief executive officer; |
| Work with the chairman of the Board to determine the frequency and length of the Board meetings and determine the need for special meetings of the Board; |
| Provide input to the agenda for each Board meeting to the chairman of the Board; and |
| Otherwise consult with the chairman of the Board and/or the chief executive officer on matters relating to corporate governance and Board performance. |
On July 30, 2020, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee recommended, and all of our independent directors approved, the appointment of Mr. House as Lead Director. Mr. House will serve as Lead Director until the Annual Meeting.
Our Board has established three standing committees Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance each of which operates under a charter that has been approved by our Board. Current copies of each committees charter are posted in the Corporate Governance section of the Investors page of our website, www.amsc.com. Our Board has determined that all of the members of each of our Boards three standing committees are independent as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, including, in the case of all members of the Audit Committee, the independence requirements contemplated by Rule 10A-3(c) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and, in the case of all members of the Compensation Committee, the independence requirements specific to compensation committee members under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
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Audit Committee
The Audit Committees responsibilities include:
| Sole and direct responsibility for appointing, compensating, evaluating, retaining and, when necessary, terminating the engagement of our independent registered public accounting firm; |
| Taking, or recommending that the full Board take, appropriate action to oversee the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm; |
| Sole and direct responsibility for overseeing the work of our independent registered public accounting firm, including resolution of disagreements between our management and independent registered public accounting firm regarding financial reporting; |
| Reviewing and discussing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, and approving, our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures; |
| Monitoring our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures, and code of business conduct and ethics; |
| Discussing policies with respect to our assessment and management of risk (both financial and non-financial), including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which our exposure to risk is monitored, controlled and reported; |
| Overseeing our internal audit function; |
| Establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of accounting-related complaints and concerns; |
| Meeting independently with our internal auditing staff, independent registered public accounting firm and management; |
| Reviewing and approving or ratifying related person transactions; and |
| Preparing the Audit Committee Report required by SEC rules (which is included beginning on page 15 of this proxy statement). |
The current members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Oliver (chairman), Mr. Budhraja and Ms. Littlefield. The Audit Committee met five times during fiscal 2020. Our Board has determined that each of Mr. Oliver and Ms. Littlefield is an audit committee financial expert as defined in applicable SEC rules.
Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committees responsibilities include:
| Reviewing and making a recommendation to our Board with respect to the chief executive officers compensation; |
| Reviewing and approving the compensation of our other executive officers; |
| Overseeing an evaluation of our senior executives; |
| Overseeing and administering our incentive compensation and equity-based plans; |
| Retaining, in its sole discretion, and being directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any compensation consultant, legal counsel, or other advisors as it deems necessary or appropriate to carry out its responsibilities; |
| Reviewing and making recommendations to our Board with respect to director compensation; |
| Reviewing and making recommendations, upon our Boards request, to our Board relating to management succession planning; |
| Reviewing and discussing annually with management our Compensation Discussion and Analysis, which is included beginning on page 17 of this proxy statement; and |
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| Preparing the Compensation Committee Report, if required by SEC rules, which is included on page 37 of this proxy statement. |
Consistent with the requirements of applicable law and our companys equity-based plans, the Compensation Committee has the authority to delegate to one or more executive officers of our company the power to grant rights or options to acquire shares of our companys common stock to employees of our company who are not directors or executive officers of our company.
The current members of the Compensation Committee are Mr. Budhraja (chairman) and Mr. House. The Compensation Committee met seven times during fiscal 2020.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees responsibilities include:
| Identifying individuals qualified to become Board members, consistent with criteria approved by our Board and recommending to our Board the persons to be nominated for election as directors at any meeting of stockholders and the persons to be elected by our Board to fill any vacancies on our Board; |
| Recommending to our Board the persons to be elected to each of our Boards committees; |
| Developing and recommending to our Board a set of corporate governance guidelines applicable to us; |
| Periodically assessing our Boards leadership structure, including whether the offices of chairman of the Board and chief executive officer should be separate; and |
| Overseeing the evaluation of our Board. |
The current members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are Mr. House (chairman) and Mr. Oliver. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met five times during fiscal 2020.
Our Board oversees our risk management processes directly and through its committees. Our management is responsible for risk management on a day-to-day basis. The role of our Board and its committees is to oversee the risk management activities of management. In accordance with its charter, our Audit Committee discusses policies with respect to our assessment and management of risk (both financial and non-financial), including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which our exposure to risk is monitored, controlled and reported, and reports regularly to the Board on these matters. In general, our Board focuses its oversight on risk management activities relating to business strategy, acquisitions, capital allocation, organizational structure and certain operational risks. Our Compensation Committee oversees risk management activities relating to our compensation policies and practices and management succession planning. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees risk management activities relating to Board composition. Each committee reports to the full Board on a regular basis, including reports with respect to the committees risk oversight activities as appropriate. Our Board does not believe that its role in the oversight of our risks affects the Boards leadership structure.
Executive Compensation Process
The Compensation Committee has implemented an annual performance review program for our executives, under which annual performance objectives are determined and set forth in writing during the first quarter of each fiscal year for AMSC as a whole and for each executive individually. Annual corporate objectives are proposed by management and reviewed by our Compensation Committee and approved by our Board. These corporate objectives target the achievement of specific operational milestones. Annual individual objectives focus on contributions that facilitate the achievement of the corporate objectives and are typically set during the first quarter of each fiscal year. Individual measurable objectives, if any, are proposed by each executive, reviewed by the chief executive officer, and formed on the basis of recommendations to our Compensation Committee and our Board (in the case of our chief executive officer) with regard to executive compensation. Annual salary levels, annual bonuses, and annual equity awards to our executives are tied to the achievement of these corporate and individual performance objectives.
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Our Board has delegated to a committee of the Board, designated as the Awards Committee, which consists solely of our chairman of the Board, president and chief executive officer, Mr. McGahn, the authority to grant options and award restricted stock, subject to the terms and conditions of our 2007 Stock Incentive Plan and any other limitations set by the Board, to employees other than executive officers.
Our Compensation Committee has the authority to retain compensation consultants and other outside advisors to assist in the evaluation of executive officer compensation.
Our Board has adopted an Insider Trading Compliance Policy, which applies to all of our directors, officers and employees. The policy prohibits our directors, officers and employees, their family members and any entities they control from purchasing financial instruments, such as prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds, or otherwise engaging in transactions that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of the Companys equity securities, whether such securities were granted as compensation or are otherwise held, directly or indirectly.
Communicating with the Independent Directors
Our Board will give appropriate attention to written communications that are submitted by stockholders, and will respond if and as appropriate. Our Corporate Secretary is primarily responsible for monitoring communications from stockholders and for providing copies or summaries to the directors as he considers appropriate.
Under procedures approved by a majority of the independent directors, communications are forwarded to all directors if they relate to important substantive matters and include suggestions or comments that our Corporate Secretary considers to be important for the directors to know. In general, communications relating to corporate governance and long-term corporate strategy are more likely to be forwarded than communications relating to ordinary business affairs, personal grievances and matters as to which we tend to receive repetitive or duplicative communications.
Stockholders who wish to send communications on any topic to our Board should address such communications to our Board c/o Corporate Secretary, American Superconductor Corporation, 114 East Main Street, Ayer, Massachusetts 01432.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a written Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial and accounting officer, or persons performing similar functions. We have posted a current copy of the code in the Corporate Governance section of the Investors page of our website, www.amsc.com. In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law or Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of our code.
The Audit Committee has reviewed AMSCs audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and has discussed these financial statements with management and RSM, AMSCs independent registered public accounting firm.
Management is responsible for AMSCs internal control over financial reporting and the financial reporting process, and for the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP. AMSCs independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an audit of AMSCs financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and issuing a report on those financial statements. As appropriate, the Audit Committee reviews and evaluates, and discusses with AMSCs
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management, internal accounting, financial and auditing personnel, and the independent registered public accounting firm, the following:
| The plan for, and the independent registered public accounting firms report on, the audit of AMSCs financial statements; |
| AMSCs financial disclosure documents, including all financial statements and reports filed with the SEC or sent to shareholders; |
| Changes in AMSCs accounting practices, principles, controls or methodologies; |
| Significant developments or changes in accounting rules applicable to us; and |
| The adequacy of AMSCs internal control over financial reporting and accounting, financial and auditing personnel. |
Management represented to the Audit Committee that AMSCs financial statements had been prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The Audit Committee also discussed with RSM the matters required to be discussed by the applicable rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from RSM required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding RSMs communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with RSM its independence.
Based on its discussions with management and RSM, and its review of the representations and information provided by management and RSM, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors of AMSC that the audited financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.
By the Audit Committee of the Board.
David R. Oliver, Jr., Chair
Vikram S. Budhraja
Barbara G. Littlefield
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INFORMATION ABOUT EXECUTIVE AND DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
Introduction
This Compensation Discussion and Analysis, or CD&A, describes the principles of our executive compensation program, how we applied those principles in compensating our named executive officers for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, or fiscal 2020, and how our compensation program drives performance.
Our named executive officers for fiscal 2020 are:
| Daniel P. McGahn, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer; and |
| John W. Kosiba, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. |
In this CD&A, we first provide an executive summary of our compensation program for fiscal 2020. We then describe our compensation philosophy and the objectives of our executive compensation program and how the Compensation Committee of our Board oversees our compensation program. We discuss the compensation determination process and describe how we determine each element of compensation.
Executive Summary
Business Overview
We believe that fiscal 2020 was a year of continued progress towards the successful execution of our strategy of growth though our Grid business unit in order to diversify revenues and to establish what we expect to be a more predictable, re-occurring business. We believe that our executive management team has positioned our company well to continue to execute on our strategy and to respond effectively by (i) diversifying our base of customers and market geographies for our products and services, (ii) developing and introducing new products, and (iii) streamlining various functions of the business.
Our Board and Compensation Committee have been focused on retaining our key talent at the executive level and throughout our entire organization. This has not been an easy task, especially as the economy overall has improved and employees find themselves with opportunities elsewhere.
Over the past few years, the Compensation Committee, with the help of management and its independent compensation consultant, has:
| Awarded limited base salary increases to our executive officers. In fiscal 2020, the base salaries of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer were increased. For our chief executive officer, it was the first time his base salary had been increased since May 1, 2012. |
| Maintained our performance-based annual cash bonus program while attempting to balance our ability to pay with our desire to use cash as an incentive payout when performance warrants compensation. |
| Managed our equity compensation program as efficiently as possible, taking into account fluctuations in the value of our companys stock price and, in periods where the price has declined, the corresponding declining value of our equity program and our limited pool of available shares for grant. |
| Provided an overall compensation package, including bonuses (when earned) and equity awards, for each executive officer, being mindful of the balance between the need to retain critical talent to successfully navigate our company through a challenging business environment, and our companys financial position. |
The remainder of this executive summary and report outlines our fiscal 2020 business accomplishments and our pay decisions, which reflect what we believe to be appropriate for our business and our stockholders.
Overview of Fiscal 2020 Accomplishments and Financial Performance
Business Accomplishments
Our strategy is focused on growing our Grid business unit in order to diversify our revenues and to position our company to generate sustainable revenue growth.
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As described in more detail below, we believe that fiscal 2020 was a year of continued progress towards the successful execution of our strategy and the establishment of what we expect to be a more predictable, re-occurring business.
Fiscal 2020 revenues grew 36% to $87.1 million, compared to $63.8 million in fiscal 2019. Net loss was $22.7 million in fiscal 2020, or $0.95 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $17.1 million in fiscal 2019, or $1.03 per diluted share.
For the sixth consecutive year, we grew Grid business unit revenues. Our Grid business unit revenues grew 42% to $70.5 million in fiscal 2020, compared to $49.6 million in fiscal 2019. This increase in Grid business unit revenues was driven by growth from SPS, D-VAR® and D-VAR VVO® product lines. Additionally, our NEPSI product line contributed to our revenue growth in both our 3rd and 4th quarters of fiscal 2020. Grid business unit revenues represented 81% of our total fiscal 2020 revenues, where as recently as four years ago our Grid business unit revenues were only approximately 37% of our total revenues. Our Grid business unit alone is now larger than our entire business was just two fiscal years ago.
In July 2020, we announced that Commonwealth Edison Company, or ComEd, a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation and one of the nations largest electric utilities, began construction on its Resilient Electric Grid, or REG, system, which is expected to become a permanent asset within Chicagos electric power grid. We delivered the REG system project hardware to the Chicago site on time in December 2020.
In July 2020, we entered into a delivery contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries through its Ingalls Shipbuilding division for a high temperature conductor, or HTS, based ship protection system, or SPS, to be deployed on the San Antonio class of amphibious transport dock ship, LPD 31.
In September 2020, we completed our first production order for Electrical Control Systems from our South Korean partner, Doosan Heavy Industries Construction Co., Ltd., or Doosan, for its 5.5 Megawatt wind turbines. We continue to focus on expanding our addressable market to additional off-shore applications.
In October 2020, we announced the acquisition of Northeast Power Systems, Inc., or NEPSI, a New York-based manufacturer of capacitor banks and harmonic filters. The acquisition of NEPSI directly aligns with our strategic priorities to accelerate profitable growth independent of our wind business, broaden our product offerings and expand both market reach and market share.
In January 2021, we entered into a delivery contract with the U.S. Navy for an HTS-based SPS to be deployed on the San Antonio class of amphibious transport dock ship, LPD 29. This order represents our fourth SPS contract for the San Antonio Class Amphibious ship platform.
Forward-Looking Statements
This proxy statement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), including statements regarding our expectation that successful execution of our strategy will establish a more predictable, re-occurring business; and our strategy, products and future plans and prospects. Without limiting the foregoing, the words believes, anticipates, plans, expects, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent managements current expectations and are inherently uncertain. There are a number of important factors that could materially impact the value of our common stock or cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include: our history of operating losses and negative operating cash flows, which may continue in the future and require additional financing; our operating results may fluctuate significantly and fall below expectations; we may be required to issue performance bonds or provide letters of credit; risks related to changes in exchange rates; failure to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and may lead investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial data; not realizing all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts; U.S. government contracts being subject to audit, modification or termination; changes in U.S. government defense spending and reduction in revenue due to lack of government funding; the COVID-19 pandemic could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations; reliance on third-
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party manufacturers, suppliers, subcontractors and collaborators; uncertainty surrounding our prospects and financial condition may have an adverse effect on our customer and supplier relationships; difficulties re-establishing our HTS wire production capability in our Ayer, Massachusetts facility; dependence upon attracting and retaining qualified personnel; historically, a significant portion of our revenues have been derived from a single customer and if this customers business is negatively affected, it could adversely impact our business; our success in addressing the wind energy market is dependent on the manufacturers that license our designs; failure or security breach of our information technology infrastructure; failure to comply with evolving data privacy and data protection laws and regulations or to otherwise protect personal data; failure to implement our business strategy successfully; problems with product quality or product performance; risks from customers outside of the United States that may be either directly or indirectly related to governmental entities and risks associated with anti-bribery laws; limited success marketing and selling our superconductor products and system-level solutions; failure to realize anticipated benefits from acquisitions; dependence on the success of the commercial adoption of the REG system, which is currently limited; adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions could adversely affect our operating results; our reliance on emerging markets; changes in Indias political, social, regulatory and economic environment may affect our financial performance; the intense competition that our products face; risks related to operations in foreign countries; dependence of the growth of the wind energy market on government subsidies, economic incentives and legislative programs; lower prices for other fuel sources may reduce the demand for wind energy development; risks related to our intellectual property; risks related to our technologies; risks related to our legal proceedings; risks related to our common stock; risks related to our common stock; and other risks and uncertainties such those identified under the caption Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, which among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein. Any such forward-looking statements represent managements estimates as of the date of this proxy statement. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this proxy statement.
Overview of Our Executive Compensation Program
The Compensation Committee of our Board has designed our executive compensation program to attract and retain superior employees in key positions to enable our company to succeed in the highly competitive market for talent, while simultaneously maximizing stockholder value. We intend to continue to provide a competitive compensation package to our executives, tie a significant portion of pay to performance and utilize components that best align the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders.
The following is a summary of important aspects of our executive compensation program discussed later in this CD&A:
Key Elements of Our Compensation Program. Our compensation program is designed to achieve these objectives through a combination of the following types of compensation:
| Base salary; |
| Performance-based annual cash bonuses; |
| Long-term equity incentives; and |
| Severance and change-in-control benefits. |
Each element of our executive compensation program is discussed in greater detail below.
| We Intend to Pay for Performance. A significant portion of our named executive officers total compensation, as shown below, ties compensation directly to the achievement of corporate and individual objectives. We emphasize pay for performance in order to align executive compensation with our business strategy and the creation of long-term stockholder value. |
| Our Compensation Program Supports Our Corporate Objectives and Stockholder Interests. Our compensation program is designed to align executive officer compensation with the achievement of our |
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short- and long-term business objectives and building long-term stockholder value by rewarding successful execution of our business plan and by tying a portion of total compensation opportunities to equity incentives. |
Fiscal 2020 Compensation Programs and Decisions
In line with our executive compensation programs emphasis on pay for performance, we believe the compensation awarded to our named executive officers for fiscal 2020 properly reflected the achievement of our operating goals, our financial results and overall compensation philosophy:
| Adjustments to Base Salary. For fiscal 2020, management recommended, and the Compensation Committee and the Board (in the case of our chief executive officer) agreed, that (i) our chief executive officers base salary be increased from $500,000 to $525,000 and (ii) our chief financial officers base salary be increased from $300,000 to $325,000. The base salary increases for our named executive officers were based on a review of their performance during fiscal 2019 relative to both the executives and our companys goals and competitive salary data provided by our Compensation Committees independent compensation consultant. |
| Performance-Based Annual Cash Bonuses. For fiscal 2020, our company continued to focus on operating cash flow, revenues and operating expenses as objectives in our annual cash bonus program. The Compensation Committee focused solely on the achievement of corporate goals for our annual bonus program for fiscal 2020, and viewed these corporate objectives as key for our companys short-term sustainability and long-term growth. In fiscal 2020, each named executive officer received a cash bonus payment equal to 149% of target bonus opportunity based on achieving (i) between target- and maximum-level performance on the operating cash flow objective, (ii) between target- and maximum-level performance on the revenues objective, and (iii) between threshold- and target-level performance on the operating expenses objective. See the section entitled Performance-Based Annual Cash Bonuses below for a description of these metrics. |
| Long-Term Equity Incentive. The Compensation Committee recommended, and the Board approved, annual long-term equity awards to our named executive officers in fiscal 2020 based on such factors as: (i) performance and contribution during the prior fiscal year, (ii) competitive market practices, (iii) the overall compensation package for each executive officer, and (iv) the level of difficulty our company would face if we were to have to replace any executive officer if he or she were to voluntarily leave our company. The fiscal 2020 long-term equity awards granted to our named executive officers consisted of time-based awards that will vest over three years after grant and performance-based awards that will vest based upon our attainment of performance goals tied to cumulative organic Grid revenues and cumulative organic total revenues after a three year performance period. In fiscal 2020, 60% of our chief executive officers long-term equity awards were performance-based awards. See the section entitled Long-Term Equity Incentives below for a description of these long-term equity awards. |
We believe that management continued to make progress in fiscal 2020 on our companys strategy to grow its Grid business unit in order to diversify its revenues and to establish what we expect to be a more predictable, re-occurring business. The Compensation Committee believes that the named executive officers fiscal 2020 compensation was appropriate given the performance and steps taken by management to position our company to implement and realize its strategy, as noted by the business accomplishments described above.
Compensation Program Philosophy and Objectives
The Compensation Committee of our Board oversees our executive compensation program, pursuant to authority established in the Compensation Committee Charter. The Compensation Committee reviews and approves all compensation decisions relating to our executive officers, except for the chief executive officer. The Compensation Committee reviews the compensation for our chief executive officer and makes a recommendation to our Board, and our Board then determines the compensation of our chief executive officer.
Our executive compensation program is designed to meet three principal objectives:
| Attract and retain executive officers who contribute to our long-term success; |
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| Align compensation with our short-and long-term business objectives; and |
| Incentivize the executive officers to provide superior performance that will build long-term stockholder value. |
These objectives collectively seek to link executive compensation to our overall company performance, which helps to ensure that the interests of our executives are aligned with the interests of our stockholders.
The Compensation Committees decisions regarding executive compensation during fiscal 2020 were based on achieving the above objectives, with an emphasis on:
| Increasing long-term stockholder value by decreasing operating cash burn; |
| Improving operational performance by increasing revenue and decreasing operating expenses; |
| Taking into account the nature and scope of the executive officers position and responsibilities, including considerations of pay equity among the executive officers and retention concerns; and |
| Paying reasonable and fair compensation. |
In setting executive compensation for fiscal 2020, the Compensation Committee established salary levels and established an executive incentive cash bonus plan with performance metrics that reflected our annual operating plan and strategic priorities for fiscal 2020. For fiscal 2020, the Compensation Committee established operating cash flow and financial objectives relating to revenues and operating expenses to promote our short-term and long-term business success. In setting objectives for each of the foregoing metrics, the Compensation Committee considered multiple factors so that its decisions were informed and equitable and that our executive compensation program achieved its objectives.
Stockholder Say-On-Pay Votes
At our Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on July 31, 2020, we provided our stockholders with the opportunity to cast an advisory vote on executive compensation, and in future years such advisory vote will occur triennially. Over 93% of the votes cast on the say on pay vote at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on July 31, 2020 were voted in favor of the proposal. We have considered the results of such vote and believe the support of our stockholders for the vote proposal indicates that our stockholders are generally supportive of our approach to executive compensation. Thus, we did not make changes to our executive compensation arrangements in response to the vote. In the future, we will continue to consider the outcome of our say on pay votes when making compensation decisions regarding our named executive officers.
The Compensation Committees Process
The Compensation Committee has a process to help ensure that our executive compensation program meets its principal objectives. In making compensation decisions, the Compensation Committee considers a wide variety of information, including how each compensation decision ties to its total compensation philosophy, market data and recommendations provided by the Compensation Committees independent compensation consultant, information from our general counsel, who also manages our human resources function and the thoughts of our chief executive officer and other Board members.
Role of Independent Compensation Consultant. The Compensation Committee has engaged Radford, part of the Rewards Solutions practice of Aon plc, or Radford, since October 2016 as its independent outside compensation consultant to advise it and develop an executive compensation strategy, to assess the competitiveness of our executive compensation and to provide recommendations with respect to both the levels and structure of compensation for our executives. In fiscal 2020, Radford assessed the competitiveness of executive compensation through comparisons with peer groups and survey sources while additionally assessing our performance to ensure compensation levels were appropriately tied to performance. During fiscal 2020, Radford advised the Compensation Committee on compensation matters for all officers and directors and met with the Compensation Committee in executive sessions without the presence of management, as requested by the Compensation Committee. Radford did not perform services for our company that were unrelated to Compensation Committee matters during fiscal 2020.
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The Compensation Committee regularly reviews the services provided by its compensation advisers and believes that Radford is independent in providing executive compensation consulting services. The Committee conducted a specific review of its relationship with Radford in fiscal 2020 and determined that its work for the Compensation Committee did not raise any conflicts of interest, consistent with the guidance provided under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, and by the SEC and the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The Compensation Committee continues to monitor the independence of its compensation consultant and any conflicts of interest related to services thereby on a periodic basis.
Compensation Analysis. With the assistance of Radford, in May 2020, the Compensation Committee reviewed the compensation levels of our executive officers against compensation levels at peer group companies that were selected based on the following criteria:
| Companies within the same Global Industry Classification Standard code, Electrical Components and Equipment, and related industries; |
| Companies with a 30-day trailing market capitalization of approximately three-tenths to three times our market capitalization; and |
| Companies with four quarters of trailing revenues of under $170 million. |
For the analysis of our fiscal 2020 executive compensation packages, the Compensation Committee utilized the peer group approved by the Compensation Committee in February 2020, which consisted of the following twenty companies:
Peer Group Companies
Allied Motion Technologies, Inc. |
Park Aerospace Corp. | |
AZZ |
Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. | |
Ballard Power Systems |
Plug Power Inc. | |
Capstone Turbine Corp. | Powell Industries Inc. | |
Energous Corp. |
Preformed Line Products Company | |
Frequency Electronics Inc. |
Servotronics, Inc. | |
FuelCell Energy Inc. |
Thermon Group Holdings, Inc. | |
Iteris, Inc. |
Twin Disc Inc. | |
Orion Energy Systems, Inc. |
Ultralife Corp. | |
PAR Technology Corp. |
Vicor Corp. |
The Compensation Committee utilized the peer group to provide context for its compensation decision-making. The compensation paid by peer group companies to their respective executive officers does not factor into the Compensation Committees determination of the peer group. After the peer group companies were selected in February 2020, Radford prepared and presented a report to the Compensation Committee summarizing the competitive data and comparisons of our executive officers to the comparable company market data utilizing publicly available data from the comparable companies and broad survey data (reflecting companies of similar size in the general and high-technology industries). We use the broad survey data in conjunction with peer group data in evaluating our executive compensation practices. The Compensation Committee does not rely upon data from any individual company participating in any of these surveys in making compensation decisions and uses the general survey data as only a reference point for evaluating our executive compensation practices, as opposed to benchmarking our executive compensation practices against the general survey data. Each of our elements of compensation is reviewed as part of this analysis and evaluation.
The above review provided the Compensation Committee with general affirmation that its compensation decisions are aligned with the marketplace and our compensation program was achieving the Compensation Committees objectives, as described above.
The Compensation Committee may, in its discretion, review and/or modify the selection criteria for our peer group and the peer group companies from year to year as it determines appropriate, depending on, among other
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factors, changes in the marketplace, acquisitions, divestitures and the business focus of us and/or our peer group companies.
Other Compensation Information. Our general counsel, who also manages our human resources function, regularly attended Compensation Committee meetings in fiscal 2020 to provide information regarding our executive compensation program. Among other things, he performed internal analyses of marketplace practices for executive pay, made recommendations to our chief executive officer on compensation matters for all officers (other than our chief executive officer) and compiled other relevant data at the request of the Compensation Committee.
Our chief executive officer is actively involved in the executive compensation process. Our chief executive officer reviews the performance of each of the executive officers (other than his own) and makes recommendations to the Compensation Committee regarding the salary and long-term incentive awards for executive officers other than himself, as well as the executive compensation programs impact on attracting, retaining and motivating the level of executive talent necessary to achieve and exceed our company goals. The Compensation Committee is not bound by such recommendations, but generally takes them into consideration before making final determinations about the compensation of executive officers other than our chief executive officer.
The Compensation Committee reviews the compensation for our chief executive officer and makes a recommendation to the full Board. The full Board determines the compensation of our chief executive officer.
The Compensation Committee also considers information relevant to each executives specific situation including the executives marketability and the availability or scarcity of other qualified candidates, inside and outside our company, who could replace the executive should he or she leave our company.
In determining equity compensation, the Compensation Committee considers levels of past performance, performance potential, retention risk and the value of the equity compensation needed to keep the total compensation opportunity level competitive and consistent with our compensation philosophy.
Risk Considerations in our Compensation Program
Our Compensation Committee does not believe that any risks arising from our compensation policies and practices are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company. Our Compensation Committee believes that any risks arising from our compensation policies and practices are mitigated by:
| The multiple elements and mix of our compensation packages, including base salary, annual bonus programs and, for many of our employees, equity awards vesting over multiple years, that are intended to motivate employees to take a long-term view of our business; |
| The structure of our annual cash bonus program, which (i) is based on a number of different performance measures (including operating cash flow, revenues and operating expenses) to avoid employees placing undue emphasis on any particular performance metric at the expense of other aspects of our business, (ii) is based on performance targets that we believe are somewhat aggressive yet reasonable and should not require undue risk-taking to achieve, and (iii) includes caps on the maximum payouts eligible under the program; and |
| Management process, controls and decision authorities established for different types and levels of decisions. |
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Compensation Mix
The Compensation Committee relies upon its judgment and not upon rigid guidelines or formulas in determining the amount and mix of compensation elements for each executive officer. We seek to achieve our executive compensation objectives through the use of four compensation components, which are summarized in the table below.
Compensation Component |
Principal Contributions to Compensation Objectives |
Comments | ||
Base salary |
Attracts and retains talented executives with annual salary that reflects the executives performance, skill set and opportunities in the marketplace. |
Only component of compensation that is guaranteed.
Comprised 18% to 24 % of total compensation for our named executive officers in fiscal 2020. | ||
Performance-based annual cash bonuses |
Focuses executives on annual financial and operating results, as well as on individual performance criteria.
Aligns compensation with our short-term business objectives and builds longer-term stockholder value by rewarding successful execution of our business plan.
Enables total cash compensation to remain competitive within the marketplace for executive talent. |
Payout target for named executive officers ranges from 55% to 100% of base salary and depends upon operating cash flow, revenues and operating expenses.
0% to 200% of target payout can be achieved. | ||
Total cash compensation (base salary plus performance-based annual cash bonus) comprised 43% to 44 % of total compensation for our named executive officers in fiscal 2020.
Performance-based annual cash bonus brings at risk fiscal 2020 cash compensation to a range of 20 % to 27 % of total compensation for our named executive officers. | ||||
Long-term equity incentives |
Retains critical talent needed to successfully navigate our company through a challenging business environment.
Aligns compensation with our long-term business objectives and builds long-term stockholder value by rewarding successful execution of our business plan. |
Time-based and performance-based restricted stock awards were granted in fiscal 2020.
60% of our chief executive officers long-term equity incentives were performance-based restricted stock awards in fiscal 2020.
Long-term equity incentives comprised 55% to 56% of total compensation for our named executive officers in fiscal 2020.
Long-term equity incentives combined with performance-based annual cash bonus brings at risk fiscal 2020 total compensation to a range of 75 % to |
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Compensation Component |
Principal Contributions to Compensation Objectives |
Comments | ||
82 % of total compensation for the named executive officers. | ||||
Severance and change-in-control benefits |
Helps to attract and retain talented executives with benefits that are comparable to those offered by companies with whom we compete for talent.
Incentivizes management to maximize stockholder value. |
Each severance agreement provides for certain severance benefits, primarily salary, health benefits and, in certain cases, prorated cash bonus, in the event that the executives employment is terminated under certain circumstances. The severance periods range from 18 months to 24 months.
The restricted stock awards granted to our executive officers provide for full acceleration of vesting upon a change in control of our company. |
While the Compensation Committee independently evaluates each of the compensation components discussed in the above table, it places greater emphasis on the sum of base salary, performance-based annual cash bonuses and long-term equity incentives rather than any one component because of their combined greater potential to influence our named executive officers performance. The Compensation Committee believes, and our pay mix is designed to reflect, that a substantial portion of the compensation for our named executive officers should be at risk and aligned with our stockholders interests.
Base salary
Base salaries are set once per year as part of the compensation review process. In May 2020, the Compensation Committee reviewed the base salary levels for Messrs. McGahn and Kosiba. Management recommended, and the Compensation Committee and the Board (in the case of our chief executive officer) agreed, (i) to increase Mr. McGahns base salary from $500,000 to $525,000, and (ii) to increase Mr. Kosibas base salary from $300,000 to $325,000. Such changes to base salary were effective as of April 1, 2020. The base salary increases for Messrs. McGahn and Kosiba were based on a review of their respective performance during fiscal 2019 relative to both their and our companys goals and competitive salary data provided by our Compensation Committees independent compensation consultant, Radford. Prior to Mr. McGahns base salary increase in fiscal 2020, his last base salary increase was on May 1, 2012.
The Compensation Committee considered the base salary levels for these executives to be appropriate in light of each executives level of job responsibility and individual performance, overall company performance and the competitiveness of these executives salaries with salaries paid to executive officers in similar positions, industries and geographic locations.
Performance-Based Annual Cash Bonuses
The Compensation Committee believes cash bonuses are an important factor in rewarding and motivating our executive officers. The Compensation Committee establishes a cash incentive plan for our executive officers on an annual basis, typically early in the fiscal year.
On May 21, 2020, the Compensation Committee and the Board (in the case of our chief executive officer) approved an executive incentive plan for fiscal 2020 covering all of our executive officers. Under our executive incentive plan for fiscal 2020, the Compensation Committee established operating cash flow; and other financial objectives relating to revenues and operating expenses as the performance metrics for the payment of cash bonus awards for fiscal 2020. For each executive officer, the Compensation Committee assigned the following weighting to each such metric:
| Our companys operating cash flow for fiscal 2020 as compared to the established target 50%; |
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| Our companys revenues for fiscal 2020 as compared to the established target 25%; and |
| Our companys operating expenses for fiscal 2020 as compared to the established target 25%. |
Under the terms of the fiscal 2020 executive incentive plan, the Compensation Committee and the Board (in the case of our chief executive officer) designated for each named executive officer a target cash bonus amount between 55% and 100% of such named executive officers then current base salary. The amount of the target cash bonus award paid to each named executive officer could have been less than or greater than the executives target cash bonus incentive, with the amount capped at 200% of the target cash bonus amount. If less than the threshold performance level was achieved for a particular quantitative objective, no payment was received with respect to that objective in the bonus plan.
The following table sets forth each named executive officers annual cash bonus award opportunities for fiscal 2020 at minimum, threshold, target and maximum:
Annual Cash Bonus Award Opportunity | Annual Cash Bonus Award Opportunity ($) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name |
Minimum | Threshold (% of Target) |
Target (% of Base Salary) |
Maximum (% of Target) |
Minimum | Threshold | Target | Maximum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel P. McGahn |
0 | % | 30 | % | 100 | % | 200 | % | $ | 0 | $ | 157,500 | $ | 525,000 | $ | 1,050,000 | ||||||||||||||||
John W. Kosiba |
0 | % | 30 | % | 55 | % | 200 | % | $ | 0 | $ | 53,625 | $ | 178,750 | $ | 357,500 |
The Compensation Committee is responsible for determining the cash payout under the plan to each executive officer other than the chief executive officer. Our Board determines the cash payout under the plan for the chief executive officer, taking into account the recommendation of the Compensation Committee.
The following summarizes the cash bonus opportunity for the named executive officers under each performance metric under the fiscal 2020 executive incentive plan.
Milestones and achievement for the operating cash flow (50%) bonus measure: All of the named executive officers were subject to the same operating cash flow threshold that had to be met before payout could be earned. The fiscal 2020 milestones and achievement levels for our companys operating cash flow measure are shown below. An executives payout on this measure was determined through a numerical calculation based on our companys operating cash flow so the Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) did not apply discretion.
Fiscal 2020 Milestones and Achievement for Operating Cash Flow Metric | ||||||||||||||
Threshold (30%) |
Target (100%) |
Maximum (200%) |
||||||||||||
Operating Cash Flow |
Operating Cash Flow Milestones: | $ | (16.3M | ) | $ | (13.6M | ) | $ | (6.8M | ) | ||||
Operating Cash Flow Result: | $ | (8.7M | ) | |||||||||||
Bonus Opportunity |
Achievement (% of Target): | 135 | % | |||||||||||
% of Target Bonus Opportunity for Metric: | 172 | % |
Our companys operating cash flow for fiscal 2020 was higher than target-level expectations, resulting in a bonus payout that was 172% of the target bonus opportunity for this measure. The Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) awarded bonuses under the operating cash flow measure to each named executive officer as follows:
Name |
Target Bonus for Metric |
Total Payout for Metric |
% of Target Bonus Opportunity for Metric |
|||||||||
Daniel P. McGahn |
$ | 262,500 | $ | 451,500 | 172 | % | ||||||
John W. Kosiba |
$ | 89,375 | $ | 153,725 | 172 | % |
Other financial objectives (50%): For fiscal 2020, the Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) continued to place a greater emphasis on the achievement of the same corporate goals as opposed to individual goals for each executive officer under this measure, viewing these corporate goals
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as key for our companys short-term sustainability and long-term growth. The Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) awarded bonuses under this measure to each named executive officer as follows:
Financial Objective (1) |
Threshold | Target | Maximum | Achievement (% of Target) |
Daniel P. McGahn Payout for Metric |
John W. Kosiba Payout for Metric |
% of Target Bonus Opportunity for Metric |
|||||||||||||||||||||
AMSC Revenues (25%) |
$ | 60.0M | $ | 75.0M | $ | 93.8M | 115 | % | $ | 215,250 | $ | 73,288 | 164 | % | ||||||||||||||
Operating Expenses (25%) |
$ | 39.4M | $ | 32.9M | $ | 24.6M | 96 | % | $ | 115,500 | $ | 39,325 | 88 | % | ||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Total Payout |
$ | 330,750 | $ | 112,613 | 126 | % |
(1) | Operating expenses under the bonus plan is defined as operating expenses less (i) stock compensation expense, and (ii) restructuring and impairment expenses. |
Overall payout results: In June 2021, the Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) approved the following payouts under the fiscal 2020 executive incentive plan:
Name |
Fiscal 2020 Target Cash Bonus |
Fiscal 2020 Total Cash Payout |
% of Target Bonus Opportunity |
|||||||||
Daniel P. McGahn |
$ | 525,000 | $ | 782,250 | 149 | % | ||||||
John W. Kosiba |
$ | 178,750 | $ | 266,338 | 149 | % |
Long-Term Equity Incentives
The Compensation Committee uses stock-based awards to retain executive officers and align their interests with those of our stockholders. Historically, the Compensation Committee granted stock-based awards to our executive officers purely in the form of stock options that vested in installments over multiple years, with an exercise price equal to the closing market price of our common stock on the date of grant. Over the past six fiscal years, the Compensation Committee has relied exclusively on the award of shares of restricted stock to our executive officers. The Compensation Committee awards both time-based and performance-based restricted stock awards. A time-based restricted stock award typically will vest in equal annual installments over a three-year period. A performance-based restricted stock award typically will vest upon the achievement of specific objectives relating to our performance within a specified period. The Compensation Committee believes shares of restricted stock provide a more motivating form of incentive compensation, minimize stock compensation expenses and reduce the potential dilution of our shares.
We generally grant shares of restricted stock to executive officers and other employees (i) upon their initial hire, (ii) in connection with a promotion, and (iii) annually based on merit. To determine the amount of stock-based awards granted to executive officers, our Compensation Committee considers the performance of the individual and our company, historic stock-based awards and the awards made to those in similar positions at comparable companies.
Our Board and Compensation Committee typically meet in or around May to review company performance for the prior fiscal year. At such time, the Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) also reviews the performance of the executive officers over the prior fiscal year and grants equity awards, if any, to the executive officers. In fiscal 2020, the Compensation Committee and Board met in May and awarded time-based and performance-based restricted stock awards to Messrs. McGahn and Kosiba under our 2007 Stock Incentive Plan.
In fiscal 2020, when considering equity grants to our executive officers, the Compensation Committee (or, in the case of our chief executive officer, our Board) considered:
| Each executive officers performance and contribution during the prior fiscal year; |
| Recommendations made by our management (except as to our chief executive officer); |
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| Competitive practices; |
| The overall compensation package for each executive officer; |
| The overall retention concerns and level of difficulty our company would face if we were to have to replace any executive officer if he or she were to voluntarily leave our company; and |
| The availability of shares to grant to our employees and executive officers given our limited share pool. |
Based on such considerations, the Compensation Committee recommended, and the Board awarded shares of time-based restricted stock and performance-based restricted stock to each executive officer. Messrs. McGahn and Kosiba received time-based restricted stock awards of 100,000 and 66,667 shares, respectively, each of which vests as to 20% on May 21, 2021, 40% on May 21, 2022 and 40% on May 21, 2023, subject to the executive officers continued employment.
Messrs. McGahn and Kosiba also received performance-based restricted stock awards of 150,000 and 50,000 shares, respectively. The performance measures on which vesting of these performance-based shares is contingent relate to cumulative organic Grid revenues (weighted at two-thirds of each executives award) and cumulative organic total revenues (weighted at one-third of each executives award), each over the three fiscal year period beginning April 1, 2020 and ending March 31, 2023, or the Performance Period. Vesting of these performance-based shares is also subject to the executive officers continued employment through the Boards determination of performance following the end of the Performance Period. The Compensation Committee recommended and the Board approved the application of these performance measures for the fiscal 2020-2022 performance cycle because they believe that such measures are aligned with maximizing long-term stockholder value.
For these performance-based restricted stock awards, we defined (i) cumulative organic Grid revenues as our companys gross Grid revenues during the Performance Period, excluding the effects of acquired revenues, product discontinuances and divestitures, and subject to other adjustments as deemed necessary or advisable by our Board in good faith to achieve the purposes of the award, and (ii) cumulative organic total revenues as our companys gross total revenues during the Performance Period, excluding the effects of acquired revenues, product discontinuances and divestitures, and subject to other adjustments as deemed necessary or advisable by our Board in good faith to achieve the purposes of the award.
These performance-based restricted stock awards will vest based upon our attainment of the performance goals for the Performance Period. If the performance goals are met at maximum performance levels, then each executive officer will earn 100% of the performance-based shares awarded. The amount of performance shares that will vest based on threshold, target or maximum performance, as applicable, are set forth in the table below. When the result of either the cumulative organic Grid revenues performance measure or the cumulative organic total revenues performance measure lands between two goals (for example, between target and maximum), then the number of performance-based shares that will vest will be calculated on a linear basis (rounded to the nearest whole share).
The performance measures and goals pertaining to the fiscal 2020 performance-based restricted stock awards and the number of shares eligible to vest based on such performance measures and goals are as follows:
Performance Measure |
Threshold | Target | Maximum | |||||||||||||
Cumulative Organic Grid Revenues for Fiscal 2020-2022 |
< $ | 110,000,000 | $ | 110,000,000 | $ | 130,000,000 | $ | 150,000,000 | ||||||||
Number of McGahn Performance Shares Eligible to Vest |
0 | 50,000 | 70,000 | 100,000 | ||||||||||||
Number of Kosiba Performance Shares Eligible to Vest |
0 | 16,667 | 23,333 | 33,333 |
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Performance Measure |
Target | Maximum | ||||||||||
Cumulative Organic Total Revenues for Fiscal 2020-2022 |
<$ | 177,500,000 | $ | 177,500,000 | $ | 210,000,000 | ||||||
Number of McGahn Performance Shares Eligible to Vest |
0 | 30,000 | 50,000 | |||||||||
Number of Kosiba Performance Shares Eligible to Vest |
0 | 10,000 | 16,667 |
Benefits
We offer a comprehensive benefits package to all full-time employees, including health and dental insurance, life and disability insurance and a 401(k) plan. Executive officers are eligible to participate in all of our employee benefit plans. The 401(k) plan includes a matching component where we will match $0.50 on each dollar of an employees contribution up to a maximum of 6 percent of his or her wages in the form of our stock. The employee contributions are subject to the maximum limitations as set forth in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code.
Severance and Change-in-Control Benefits
We have entered into agreements with each of our executive officers that provide them with severance benefits in the event of the termination of their employment under specified circumstances, including termination following a change in control of our company. In addition, the restricted stock awards we grant to our executive officers provide for full acceleration of vesting upon a change in control of our company. These agreements, along with estimates of the value of the benefits payable under them, are described below under the caption Employment Agreements and Severance Agreements with Executive Officers. We believe providing these benefits helps us compete for and retain executive talent and that our severance and change-in-control benefits are generally in line with those provided to executives by comparable companies.
Tax Considerations
The Internal Revenue Service, pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code, generally disallows a tax deduction for all compensation in excess of $1,000,000 paid to certain current or former executive officers at our company. The Compensation Committee believes that stockholder interests are best served by not restricting the committees flexibility in structuring compensation plans and reserves the right to pay compensation that will not be deductible as a result of Section 162(m) of the Code.
Prohibitions on Hedging, Pledging and Short Sales
Our Board has adopted an Insider Trading Policy, which applies to all of our directors, officers, including our named executive officers, and employees, certain of their family members and any entities they control. The policy prohibits the purchase of financial instruments such as prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds, or otherwise engaging in transactions that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of our companys equity securities. In addition, the policy prohibits (x) the pledging of our companys securities as collateral for a loan except in limited circumstances where a person wishes to pledge our companys securities as collateral for a loan and clearly demonstrates the financial capacity to repay the loan without resort to such pledged company securities, and (y) short sales of our companys equity securities.
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Fiscal 2020 Summary Compensation Table
The following table contains information with respect to the compensation for fiscal 2020 of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer.
Name and Principal Position |
Fiscal Year (1) |
Salary | Bonus (2) | Stock Awards (3) |
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation (4) |
All Other Compensation (5) |
Total | |||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel P. McGahn |
2020 | $ | 525,000 | | $ | 1,627,500 | $ | 782,250 | $ | 10,558 | $ | 2,945,308 | ||||||||||||||||
President and Chief Executive |
2019 | 500,000 | | 978,750 | 622,500 | 10.258 | 2,111,508 | |||||||||||||||||||||
2018 | 500,000 | 1,000,000 | 974,700 | 411,000 | 9,958 | 2,895,758 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
John W. Kosiba |
2020 | 325,000 | | 759,502 | 266,338 | 10,393 | 1,361,233 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Senior Vice President, Chief |
2019 | 300,000 | | 356,265 | 186,750 | 10,430 | 853,445 | |||||||||||||||||||||
2018 | 250,000 | | 803,480 | 132,250 | 9,323 | 1,195,053 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) | Refers to the fiscal years ended March 31, 2021 (fiscal 2020), March 31, 2020 (fiscal 2019) and March 31, 2019 (fiscal 2018). |
(2) | Represents a special bonus paid to Mr. McGahn earned in fiscal 2018. |
(3) | The amounts shown reflect the grant date fair value of awards granted during the applicable fiscal year computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. A discussion of the assumptions used in calculating the amounts in this column may be found in Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2020 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on June 2, 2021. |
(4) | The included amounts in this column reflect cash bonuses paid under our executive incentive plans for fiscal 2020, fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2018. See Compensation Discussion and Analysis Compensation Mix Performance-Based Annual Cash Bonuses above for a description of the plan for fiscal 2020. |
(5) | All Other Compensation is comprised of the following amounts: |
Name |
Fiscal Year | Life Insurance Premiums (1) |
Defined Contributions for 401(k) Stock Match |
|||||||||
Daniel P. McGahn |
2020 | $ | 2,008 | $ | 8,550 | |||||||
2019 | 2,008 | 8,250 | ||||||||||
2018 | 2,008 | 7,950 | ||||||||||
John W. Kosiba |
2020 | $ | 1,843 | $ | 8,550 | |||||||
2019 | 1,843 | 8,587 | ||||||||||
2018 | 1,823 | 7,500 |
(1) | The life insurance premium amounts in the table above reflect premiums paid by us for life insurance for which the named executive officer is the named beneficiary. |
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Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table for Fiscal 2020
The following table contains information concerning potential future payouts under our fiscal 2020 executive incentive plan to the named executive officers. As discussed in Compensation Discussion and Analysis Compensation Mix Long Term Equity Incentives above, we granted awards of restricted stock to our named executive officers in fiscal 2020.
Estimated Future Payouts |
Estimated Future Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards |
All Other Stock Awards: Number of Shares of Stock or Units (#) |
Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards (10) |
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Name |
Grant Date |
Threshold $ (2) |
Target $ (3) |
Maximum $ (4) |
Threshold # (5) |
Target # (6) |
Maximum # (7) |
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Daniel P. McGahn |
5/21/2020 | 157,500 | 525,000 | 1,050,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5/21/2020 | 100,000(9) | $651,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5/21/2020 | 50,000 | (8) | 100,000 | (8) | 150,000 | (8) | $976,500 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John W. Kosiba |
5/21/2020 | 53,625 | 178,750 | 357,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5/21/2020 | 66,667(9) | $434,002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5/21/2020 | 16,667 | (8) | 33,333 | (8) | 50,000 | (8) | $325,500 |
(1) | Reflects the threshold, target and maximum cash bonus amounts under our executive incentive plan for fiscal 2020. See Compensation Discussion and Analysis Compensation Mix Performance Based Annual Cash Bonuses above for a description of this plan. The amounts actually paid to the named executive officers under this plan are shown above in the Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation column of the Summary Compensation Table. |
(2) | Reflects the total minimum amount that would have been earned if the minimum targets for all of the annual metrics had been achieved. |
(3) | Reflects the total amount that would have been earned if the targeted annual metrics had been achieved. |
(4) | Reflects the total maximum amount that would have been earned if the maximum targets for all of the annual metrics had been achieved. |
(5) | Reflects the total minimum amount of shares that will vest if the minimum performance targets are achieved. |
(6) | Reflects the total amount of shares that will vest if the targeted performance metrics are achieved. |
(7) | Reflects the total maximum amount of shares that will vest if the maximum performance targets are achieved. |
(8) | Performance-based stock award which vests upon the attainment of specified cumulative organic Grid revenues and cumulative organic total revenues, each over the three fiscal year period beginning April 1, 2020 and ending March 31, 2023, subject to the executive officers continued employment throughout the performance period and until the Board determines whether the performance goals have been attained. |
(9) | Restricted stock award vests as follows: 20% vests on May 21, 2021, 40% vests on May 21, 2022 and 40% vests on May 21, 2023, subject to the executive officers continued employment through each applicable vesting date. |
(10) | Grant date value represents the FASB ASC Topic 718 value of the restricted stock award as of the grant. A discussion of the assumptions used in calculating the amounts in this column may be found in Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2020 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on June 2, 2021. |
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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table for Fiscal 2020
The following table contains information regarding unexercised stock options and unvested restricted stock awards held by our named executive officers as of March 31, 2021.
Option Awards | Stock Awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable |
Option Exercise Price ($) |
Option Expiration Date |
Number of Shares of Stock That Have Not Vested (#) |
Market Value of Shares of Stock That Have Not Vested ($) (12) |
Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares That Have Not Vested (#) |
Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares That Have Not Vested ($) (12) |
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Daniel P. McGahn |
| | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
8,999 | (1) | | 102.50 | 5/23/2021 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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12,500 | (2) | | 40.90 | 5/9/2022 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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15,999 | (3) | | 25.10 | 7/31/2023 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| | | | 33,750 | (6) | 639,900 | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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33,333 | (8) | 631,994 | 25,000 | (9) | 474,000 | ||||||||||||||
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50,000 | (10) | 948,000 | |||||||||||
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100,000 | (11) | 1,896,000 | | | |||||||||||||||
John W. Kosiba |
| | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
449 | (4) | | 116.30 | 5/11/2021 | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1,500 | (5) | | 46.60 | 9/26/2021 | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1,999 | (2) | | 40.90 | 5/9/2022 | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3,200 | (3) | | 25.10 | 7/31/2023 | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | 14,750 | (6) | 279,660 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | 16,667 | (7) | 316,006 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17,333 | (8) | 328,634 | 6,500 | (9) | 123,240 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16,667 | (10) | 316,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
66,667 | (11) | 1,264,006 |
(1) | These options were granted on May 23, 2011 and were fully vested on May 23, 2014. |
(2) | These options were granted on May 9, 2012 and were fully vested on May 9, 2015. |
(3) | These options were granted on July 31, 2013 and were fully vested on July 31, 2016. |
(4) | These options were granted on May 11, 2011 and were fully vested on May 11, 2014. |
(5) | These options were granted on September 26, 2011 and were fully vested on September 5, 2014. |
(6) | These awards were granted on June 28, 2018, vest in equal annual installments over a 3-year period, and will be fully vested on June 28, 2021. |
(7) | These awards were granted on November 1, 2018, vest in equal annual installments over a 3-year period, and will be fully vested on November 1, 2021. |
(8) | These awards were granted on October 31, 2019, vest in equal installments over a 3-year period, and will be fully vested on October 31, 2022. |
(9) | These awards were granted on October 31, 2019, vest upon the attainment of specified cumulative organic Grid revenues and cumulative organic total revenues, each over the three fiscal year period beginning April 1, 2019 and ending March 31, 2022, subject to the named executive officers continued employment through the Boards determination of performance following the end of the performance period. The number of shares herein reflects the total number of shares subject to these awards assuming threshold performance. |
(10) | These awards were granted on May 21, 2020, vest upon the attainment of specified cumulative organic Grid revenues and cumulative organic total revenues, each over the three fiscal year period beginning April 1, 2020 and ending March 31, 2023, subject to the named executive officers continued employment through the Boards determination of performance following the end of the performance period. The number of shares herein reflects the total number of shares subject to these awards assuming threshold performance. |
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(11) | These awards were granted on May 21, 2020, vest as to 20% on May 21, 2021, 40% on May 21, 2022 and 40% on May 21, 2023, and will be fully vested on May 21, 2023. |
(12) | Based on $18.96 per share, the closing sale price of our common stock on March 31, 2021. |
Option Exercises and Stock Vested Table for Fiscal 2020
The following table contains information concerning the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock awards for each named executive officer during fiscal 2020.
Option Awards | Stock Awards | |||||||||||||
Name |
Number of Shares Acquired on Exercise |
Value Realized on Exercise |
Number of Shares Acquired on Vesting |
Value Realized on Vesting (1) |
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Daniel P. McGahn |
| $ | 125,417 | $ | 1,139,413 | |||||||||
John W. Kosiba |
| $ | 64,083 | $ | 671,562 |
(1) | Value realized upon vesting is based on the closing sales price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the vesting date. |
Employment Agreements and Severance Agreements with Executive Officers
We are party to severance agreements with each of our named executive officers. Each severance agreement provides for certain severance benefits from the company to the executive in the event that such executives employment is terminated:
| By us without cause (other than due to death or disability) in the absence of a change in control of the company (as such terms are defined in the severance agreement); or |
| By us without cause (other than due to death or disability) or by the executive for good reason (as defined in the severance agreement) within 12 months following a change in control of the company; or |
| By us without cause (other than due to death or disability) more than 12 months following a change in control of the company (each such termination referenced herein as a qualifying termination). |
These benefits consist primarily of the continuation of the executives salary and employee benefits for a specified period of time following employment termination. These periods are as follows: Mr. McGahn 24 months; and Mr. Kosiba 18 months. In addition, upon termination by us without cause (other than due to death or disability) or by the executive for good reason within 12 months following a change in control of our company, the terminated executive is also entitled to a lump sum payment equal to a prorated portion of his or her target bonus for the year of termination.
The restricted stock awards we grant to our executive officers provide for full acceleration of vesting upon a change in control of our company.
The following table describes the potential payments and benefits that would be received by the named executive officers pursuant to these severance agreements, assuming that a qualifying termination of employment occurred on March 31, 2021. Actual amounts payable to each executive listed below upon his employment termination can only be determined definitively at the time of an executives actual termination.
Name |
Salary Continuation Payments |
Employee Benefits (1) |
Prorated Bonus (2) |
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Daniel P. McGahn |
$ | 1,050,000 | $ | 52,650 | $ | 525,000 | ||||||
John W. Kosiba |
$ | 487,500 | $ | 39,476 | $ | 178,750 |
(1) | Calculated based on the estimated cost to us of providing these benefits at March 31, 2021. |
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(2) | Calculated based on prorated amount as of March 31, 2021, which represents 100% of the executives target bonus for fiscal 2020. Prorated bonus is only paid upon a qualifying termination of employment within 12 months of a change in control of the company. |
The following table describes the value to the named executive officers pursuant to the acceleration-of-vesting provisions in his restricted stock awards, assuming that a change in control of our company occurred on March 31, 2021. The actual value of such acceleration to each executive listed below can only be determined definitively at the time of an executives actual termination. All options held by our named executive officers were fully vested as of March 31, 2021.
Name |
Value of Restricted Stock Acceleration (1) |
|||
Daniel P. McGahn |
$ | 7,433,894 | ||
John W. Kosiba |
$ | 3,506,026 |
(1) | Represents the number of shares of restricted stock that would accelerate, multiplied by $18.96 (the closing sale price of AMSC common stock on March 31, 2021). |
Pursuant to Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act and Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, we are required to disclose the ratio of the annual total compensation of our principal executive officer to the annual total compensation of our median employee. During fiscal 2020, the principal executive officer of AMSC was our chairman of the Board, president and chief executive officer, Mr. Daniel P. McGahn. For fiscal 2020, the annual total compensation of Mr. McGahn, for purposes of this pay ratio disclosure, was $2,945,308, and for our median employee was $105,488, resulting in a pay ratio of approximately 28:1.
For fiscal 2020 we identified the median employee as of February 28, 2021 by (i) aggregating for each applicable employee (A) annual base salary for salaried employees (or hourly rate multiplied by actual hours worked, for hourly employees), in each case, annualized with respect to newly hired permanent employees, and (B) target cash compensation, and (ii) ranking this compensation measure for our employees from lowest to highest. This calculation was performed for all employees of AMSC, excluding Mr. McGahn, as of February 28, 2021. After applying our methodology, we identified the two median employees that resulted because our employee population is an even number. We used our reasonable judgment to determine which employee better represents the median of our overall employee population and selected the individual who is a United States employee and who had the longer tenure. After identifying the median employee, we calculated the annual total compensation for fiscal 2020 for such employee using the same methodology we used for our named executive officers as set forth in the Fiscal 2020 Summary Compensation Table earlier in this section. Neither the Compensation Committee nor our management used our CEO Pay Ratio measure in making compensation decisions.
We consider the pay ratio reported above to be a reasonable estimate, calculated in a manner intended to be consistent with Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K based on our internal records and the methodology described above. Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K allows companies to adopt a variety of methodologies, apply certain exclusions, and make reasonable estimates and assumptions that reflect their employee populations and compensation practices. Therefore, the pay ratio reported by other companies may not be comparable to the pay ratio reported above, as other companies have different employee populations and compensation practices and may utilize different methodologies, exclusions, estimates, and assumptions in calculating their own pay ratios.
Our Compensation Committee is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations to our Board with respect to the compensation paid to our non-employee directors.
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For fiscal 2020, non-employee directors received cash compensation as follows:
| Each non-employee director received $35,000 as an annual cash retainer and no per meeting fee; |
| The non-employee Lead Director received an additional annual cash retainer of $12,000; |
| The chairman of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee received an additional annual cash retainer of $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000, respectively; and |
| The members of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (other than the chairmen of such committees) received an additional annual cash retainer of $12,000, $9,000 and $6,000, respectively. |
In addition to cash compensation, each non-employee director is granted an award of shares of common stock under the 2007 Director Plan with an aggregate grant date value equal to $40,000 three business days following the last day of each fiscal year, subject to proration for any partial fiscal year of service. Further, each non-employee director is granted an option to purchase shares of common stock under the 2007 Director Plan with an aggregate grant date value equal to $40,000 upon his or her initial election to the Board with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of the grant. These options vest in equal annual installments over a two-year period. Each option granted under the 2007 Director Plan becomes exercisable in full in the event of an acquisition of the company. The term of each option granted under the 2007 Director Plan is 10 years, provided that, in general, an option may be exercised only while the director continues to serve as a director or within 60 days thereafter.
In May 2021, the Compensation Committee engaged Radford to assess the competitiveness of our director compensation through comparisons with peer groups and to provide recommendations with respect to both the levels and structure of the compensation for our directors. The peer companies used for this non-employee director compensation are the same companies that will be used when assessing named executive officer compensation for fiscal 2021. The compensation data indicated that our Boards total cash compensation aligned with the median of our peer group and equity compensation aligned with the 25th percentile. In order to provide non-employee directors with equity incentives which are competitive with the marketplace, Radford recommended an increase to the Boards equity compensation package that would be aligned with the median of our peer group, and as a result, would also align our Boards total compensation with the median of our peer group.
On May 20, 2021, based on Radfords recommendations, the Compensation Committee recommended, and the Board approved, amendments to our 2007 Director Stock Plan which provide that grant date value of the annual equity award granted to each non-employee director be increased from $40,000 to $50,000. Such amendments shall effect annual equity awards that each non-employee director will be granted beginning in fiscal 2022. Except for such amendments to our 2007 Director Stock Plan, the structure of the compensation for our directors remains the same.
The compensation packages for directors are intended to attract and retain high-quality individuals to provide oversight to our management team. Directors who are employees of the company receive no additional compensation for their service as directors.
Name* |
Fees Earned or Paid in Cash |
Stock Awards (1)(2) | Total | |||||||||
Vikram S. Budhraja |
$ | 62,000 | $ | 39,573 | $ | 101,573 | ||||||
Arthur H. House |
$ | 66,000 | $ | 39,573 | $ | 105,573 | ||||||
Barbara G. Littlefield |
$ | 47,000 | $ | 33,843 | $ | 80,843 | ||||||
David R. Oliver, Jr. |
$ | 61,000 | $ | 39,573 | $ | 100,573 |
* | Excludes Mr. McGahn, who has served as our chief executive officer and as a director since June 1, 2011. Mr. McGahn received no compensation for his service as a director in fiscal 2020. Mr. McGahns |
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compensation as an executive is reported in the Summary Compensation Table included in this proxy statement. |
(1) | The amounts shown reflect the grant date fair value computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 of each directors annual award of 7,092 fully-vested shares of common stock, or for Ms. Littlefield a pro-rated award of 6,065 fully-vested shares of common stock, granted on April 3, 2020, pursuant to the 2007 Director Stock Plan. A discussion of the assumptions used in calculating the amounts in this column may be found in Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2020 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on June 2, 2021. |
(2) | Based on stock price of $5.58 on the grant date of April 3, 2020. |
(3) | As of March 31, 2021, each non-employee director held options for the following aggregate number of shares of common stock: |
Name |
Number of Shares |
|||
Vikram S. Budhraja |
| |||
Arthur H. House |
9,703 | |||
Barbara G. Littlefield |
5,939 | |||
David R. Oliver, Jr. |
|
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Our Equity Compensation Plans
The following table provides information about the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans as of March 31, 2021.
Plan category |
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (a) |
Weighted- average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b) |
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) (c) |
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Equity compensation plans approved by security holders |
127,165 | (1) | $ | 44.37 | 1,062,500 | (2) |
(1) | Excludes shares issuable under our 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan in connection with the current offering period which ends on September 30, 2021. Such shares are included in column (c). |
(2) | In addition to being available for future issuance upon exercise of options that may be granted after March 31, 2021, 793,499 shares available for issuance under our 2007 Stock Incentive Plan may instead be issued in the form of restricted stock, unrestricted stock, stock appreciation rights, performance shares or other equity-based awards. There were also 81,133 shares available under the 2007 Director Plan to be issued in the form of stock options or other stock awards. There were 187,868 shares available under the 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan on March 31, 2021. |
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
The current members of the Compensation Committee are Mr. Budhraja (Chairman) and Mr. House. No member of the Compensation Committee who served during fiscal 2020 was at any time during fiscal 2020, or formerly, an officer or employee of ours or any subsidiary of ours, nor has any member of the Compensation Committee who served during fiscal 2020 had any relationship with us requiring disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act.
No executive officer of our company has served as a director or member of the Compensation Committee (or other committee serving an equivalent function) of any other entity, one of whose executive officers served as a director of AMSC or member of our Compensation Committee.
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The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the preceding Compensation Discussion and Analysis section with management. Based on that review and discussion, the Compensation Committee has recommended to our Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section be included in our proxy statement.
By the Compensation Committee of the Board.
Vikram S. Budhraja, Chairman
Arthur H. House
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Our Board has adopted written policies and procedures for the review of any transaction, arrangement or relationship in which we are a participant, the amount involved exceeds the lesser of (1) $120,000, or (2) 1% of the average of the our total assets at fiscal year-end for the last two completed fiscal years, and one of our executive officers, directors, director nominees or 5% stockholders (or their immediate family members), each of whom we refer to as a related person, has a direct or indirect material interest.
If a related person proposes to enter into such a transaction, arrangement or relationship, which we refer to as a related person transaction, the related person must report the proposed related person transaction to our general counsel. The policy calls for the proposed related person transaction to be reviewed and, if deemed appropriate, approved by the Audit Committee. Whenever practicable, the reporting, review and approval will occur prior to entry into the transaction. If advance review and approval is not practicable, the Audit Committee will review, and, in its discretion, may ratify the related person transaction. The policy also permits the chairman of the Audit Committee to review and, if deemed appropriate, approve proposed related person transactions that arise between committee meetings. If the chairman of the Audit Committee approves the proposed related person transaction, the transaction will be presented to the full Audit Committee at the next meeting of the Audit Committee, and the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, ratify the transaction. Any related person transactions that are ongoing in nature will be reviewed annually.
A related person transaction reviewed under the policy will be considered approved or ratified if it is authorized by the Audit Committee after full disclosure of the related persons interest in the transaction. The Audit Committee will review and consider such information regarding the transaction as it deems appropriate under the circumstances.
The Audit Committee may approve or ratify the transaction only if the Audit Committee determines that, under all of the circumstances, the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent with, our best interests. The Audit Committee may impose any conditions on the related person transaction that it deems appropriate.
In addition to the transactions that are excluded by the instructions to the SECs related person transaction disclosure rule, our Board has determined that the following transactions do not create a material direct or indirect interest on behalf of related persons and, therefore, are not related person transactions for purposes of this policy:
| Interests arising solely from the related persons position as an executive officer of another entity (whether or not the person is also a director of such entity), that is a participant in the transaction, where (a) the related person and all other related persons own in the aggregate less than a 10% equity interest in such entity, (b) the related person and his or her immediate family members are not involved in the negotiation of the terms of the transaction and do not receive any special benefits as a result of the transaction, and (c) the amount involved in the transaction equals less than the greater of $200,000 or 5% of the annual gross revenues of the company receiving payment under the transaction; and |
| A transaction that is specifically contemplated by provisions of our charter or bylaws. |
The policy provides that transactions involving compensation of executive officers shall be reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee in the manner specified in its charter.
There were no related person transactions during fiscal 2020 or fiscal 2019.
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(PROPOSAL 1)
At the Annual Meeting, our stockholders will elect five directors to serve until our next annual meeting of stockholders, and until their respective successors are elected and qualified. The candidates listed below were nominated by the Board based on the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The nominees must be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election. This means that the five nominees receiving the most affirmative votes will be elected as directors at the Annual Meeting. Votes withheld and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors. All of the nominees have indicated their willingness to serve, if elected, but if any of them should be unable to serve or for good cause will not serve, proxies may be voted for a substitute nominee designated by our Board, or the Board may elect to reduce the size of the Board. Information about each nominee is included under Corporate Governance Members of the Board beginning on page 8 of this proxy statement.
The Board recommends a vote FOR the election of Mr. Budhraja, Mr. House, Ms. Littlefield, Mr. McGahn and Mr. Oliver, as directors.
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RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
(PROPOSAL 2)
The Audit Committee has appointed RSM as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2021, and has directed that we submit this appointment for ratification by the stockholders at the Annual Meeting. Although stockholder ratification is not required, the appointment of RSM is being submitted for ratification at the Annual Meeting because AMSC believes it is a good corporate governance practice. If this proposal is not approved at the Annual Meeting, the Audit Committee may reconsider its appointment of RSM. Even if the appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accountant at any time during the fiscal year if it determines that such a change would be in the best interest of AMSC and its stockholders.
Representatives of RSM are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting, will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and will also be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.
Ratification of the appointment by the Audit Committee of RSM as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock voting on the matter. Abstentions will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal. Because brokers have discretionary authority to vote on the ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm, we do not expect any broker non-votes in connection with this proposal.
The Board recommends a vote FOR ratification of the Audit Committees appointment of RSM as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms Fees
The following table summarizes the fees charged by RSM and its affiliates for the services rendered to us with respect to each of the last two fiscal years:
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, | ||||||||
Fee Category |
2021 | 2020 | ||||||
Audit Fees (1) |
$ | 592,320 | $ | 675,240 | ||||
Audit-Related Fees |
| | ||||||
Tax Fees (2) |
20,000 | | ||||||
All Other Fees |
| | ||||||
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|
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Total Fees |
$ | 612,320 | $ | 675,240 | ||||
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(1) | Audit fees consist of fees for the audit of our annual financial statements, the review of the interim financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other professional services provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements. Fiscal 2019 audit fees also consist of fees for the audit of our internal control over financial reporting. We are a smaller reporting company, and as such, no audit of our internal control over financial reporting was required or undertaken in fiscal 2020 in accordance with SEC rules. |
(2) | Tax fees consist of fees for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning services. |
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The Audit Committee has adopted policies and procedures relating to the approval of all audit and non-audit services that are to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm. This policy generally provides that we will not engage our registered public accounting firm to render audit or non-audit services unless the service is specifically approved in advance by the Audit Committee or the engagement is entered into pursuant to one of the pre-approval procedures described below. All services provided to us by RSM and its affiliates in each of fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 were approved in accordance with this policy.
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From time to time, the Audit Committee may pre-approve specified types of services that are expected to be provided to us by our registered public accounting firm during the next 12 months. Any such pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or type of services to be provided and is also generally subject to a maximum dollar amount.
The Audit Committee has also delegated to the chairman of the Audit Committee the authority to approve any audit or non-audit services to be provided to us by our registered public accounting firm. Any approval of services by a member of the Audit Committee pursuant to this delegated authority is reported on at the next meeting of the Audit Committee.
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We will bear the costs of soliciting proxies. In addition to solicitations by mail, our directors, officers and employees may, without additional pay, solicit proxies by telephone, facsimile, e-mail and personal interviews. We will also request brokerage houses, custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to forward copies of the proxy materials to the persons for whom they hold shares and request instructions for voting the proxies. We will reimburse the brokerage houses and other persons for their reasonable expenses in connection with this distribution.
Stockholder Proposals for 2022 Annual Meeting
Stockholder Proposals Included in Proxy Statement
To be considered for inclusion in the proxy statement relating to our 2022 Annual Meeting pursuant to Rule 14a-8, stockholder proposals must be received by our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices no later than February 18, 2022, which is 120 calendar days before the anniversary of the date our proxy statement was released to stockholders in connection with this years Annual Meeting. If the date of next years annual meeting is changed by more than 30 days from the anniversary date of this years Annual Meeting on July 30, then the deadline is a reasonable time before we begin to print and mail proxy materials. Upon receipt of any such proposal, we will determine whether or not to include such proposal in the proxy statement and proxy in accordance with SEC regulations governing the solicitation of proxies.
Stockholder Proposals Not Included in Proxy Statement
We must receive other proposals of stockholders (including director nominations) intended to be presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting, but not included in our proxy statement, by May 1, 2022, but not before April 1, 2022, which is not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of this years Annual Meeting. However, in the event the 2022 Annual Meeting is scheduled to be held on a date before July 10, 2022 or after September 28, 2022, which is 20 days before or 60 days after the anniversary date of this years Annual Meeting, then your notice may be received by us at our principal executive office not earlier than the 120th day prior to the 2022 Annual Meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of (1) the 90th day before the scheduled date of such annual meeting or (2) the 10th day after the day on which we first make a public announcement of the date of such annual meeting. Any proposals we do not receive in accordance with the above standards will not be voted on at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Each stockholders notice for a proposal must be timely given to our Corporate Secretary at our corporate headquarters located at 114 East Main Street, Ayer, MA 01432. Each notice is required to set forth as to each matter proposed to be brought before an annual meeting certain information and must meet other requirements specified in our bylaws, as determined by us, including (1) a brief description of the business the stockholder desires to bring before the meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting, (2) the name and address, as they appear on our stock transfer books, of the stockholder proposing such business, (3) the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by the stockholder making the proposal, (4) a description of all arrangements or understandings between such stockholder and any other persons in connection with the proposal and any material interest of the stockholder in such business, (5) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting to bring such business before the meeting and (6) a representation whether the stockholder intends or is part of a group which intends to deliver a proxy statement or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of our outstanding capital stock required to approve or adopt the proposal or otherwise to solicit proxies from stockholders in support of such proposal.
For director nominations, a stockholders notice to our Corporate Secretary must set forth information specified in our bylaws, as to each person proposed to be nominated, including (1) the name, age, business address and, if known, residence address of such person, (2) the principal occupation or employment of such person, (3) the number of shares of our common stock which are beneficially owned by such person on the date of such stockholder notice, (4) the consent of each nominee to serve as a director if elected and (5) any other
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information concerning such person that must be disclosed as to nominees in proxy solicitations pursuant to the rules of the SEC. The notice must also set forth as to the stockholder giving the notice (1) the name and address, as they appear on our transfer books, of such stockholder and of any beneficial owners of our capital stock registered in such stockholders name and the name and address of other stockholders known by such stockholder to be supporting such nominee(s), (2) the number of shares of our common stock held of record, beneficially owned or represented by proxy by such stockholder, (3) a description of all arrangements or understandings between such stockholder and any other persons in connection with the nomination, (4) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting to nominate the person(s) named it its notice and (5) a representation whether the stockholder intends or is part of a group which intends to deliver a proxy statement or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of our outstanding capital stock required to elect the nominee or otherwise to solicit proxies from stockholders in support of such nomination.
Important Notice Regarding Delivery of Security Holder Documents
We have adopted the cost saving practice of householding proxy statements, annual reports and Internet Notices. Some banks, brokers and other nominee record holders are also householding proxy statements, annual reports, and Internet Notices for their customers. This means that only one copy of our proxy statement, annual report or Internet Notice may have been sent to multiple shareholders in your household unless we have received instructions otherwise. We will promptly deliver a separate copy of any of these documents to you if you write our Investor Relations department at 114 East Main Street, Ayer, Massachusetts 01432 or call (978) 399-8344. If you want to receive separate copies of the annual report, proxy statement or Internet Notice in the future, or if you are receiving multiple copies and would like to receive only one copy for your household, you should contact your bank, broker, or other nominee record holder, or you may contact us at the above address or phone number.
Electronic Delivery of Stockholder Communications
If you received your Annual Meeting materials by mail, we encourage you to conserve natural resources, as well as significantly reduce our printing and mailing costs, by signing up to receive your stockholder communications via e-mail. To sign up for electronic delivery, visit www.proxyvote.com. Your electronic delivery enrollment will be effective until you cancel it, which you may do at any time by following the procedures described at the website listed above. If you have questions about electronic delivery, please write our Investor Relations department at 114 East Main Street, Ayer, Massachusetts 01432 or call (978) 399-8344.
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VOTE BY INTERNET Before The Meeting - Go to www.proxyvote.com Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information. Vote by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 29, 2021 for shares held directly and by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 27, 2021 for shares held in a Plan. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting 114 EAST MAIN STREET instruction form. AYER, MA 01432 During The Meeting - Go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021 You may attend the meeting via the Internet and vote during the meeting. Have the information that is printed in the box marked by the arrow available and follow the instructions. VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903 Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions. Vote by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 29, 2021 for shares held directly and by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 27, 2021 for shares held in a Plan. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions.VOTE BY MAIL Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717. TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS: D54903-P58527 KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED. DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION For Withhold For All To withhold authority to vote for any individual All All Except nominee(s), mark For All Except and write the The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below. The following: ! ! ! 1. Election of Directors Nominees: 01) Vikram S. Budhraja 04) Daniel P. McGahn 02) Arthur H. House 05) David R. Oliver, Jr. 03) Barbara G. Little field The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR proposal 2. For Against Abstain 2. To ratify the appointment by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of RSM US LLP as AMSCs independent registered public accounting firm ! ! ! for the current fiscal year. NOTE: To transact such other business as may properly come before the annual meeting or any continuation, postponement or adjournment thereof. Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer. Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX] Date Signature (Joint Owners) Date
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held via a completely virtual format through a live audio-only webcast hosted online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021 on Friday, July 30, 2021 at 10:30 a.m., Eastern Time. Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting: The Notice and Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available at www.proxyvote.com AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION 114 East Main Street Ayer, Massachusetts 01432 Proxy for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Friday, July 30, 2021 This Proxy is Solicited on Behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company The undersigned stockholder(s) of American Superconductor Corporation (the Company), revoking all prior proxies, hereby appoint(s) Daniel P. McGahn, John W. Kosiba, Jr. and John R. Samia, and each of them, with full power of substitution, as proxies to represent and vote, as designated herein, all shares of common stock of the Company which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if virtually present at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company to be held virtually via live webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AMSC2021, on Friday, July 30, 2021, at 10:30 a.m., Eastern Time, or at any continuation, postponement or adjournment thereof (the Meeting). This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein by the undersigned stockholder(s). If no direction is given, this proxy will be voted FOR the election of all nominees for director and FOR proposal 2. Attendance of the undersigned at the Meeting will not be deemed to revoke this proxy unless the undersigned shall revoke this proxy in writing or shall deliver a subsequently dated proxy to the Secretary of the Company or shall vote electronically at the Meeting. The proxies, in their discretion, are further authorized to vote (i) for the election of any person to the Board of Directors if any nominee named herein becomes unable to serve or for good cause will not serve, (ii) on any matter that the Board of Directors did not know would be presented at the Meeting by a reasonable time before the proxy solicitation was made, and (iii) on any other matters that may properly come before the Meeting or any continuations, adjournments or postponements thereof. Continued and to be signed on reverse side