Director Independence
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The Board has determined that all of the Company’s current Directors and Directors who served during 2021, with the exception of Mr. Douglas L. Peterson (the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer), have met the independence requirements of the NYSE based upon the application of objective categorical standards adopted by the Board. To be considered independent, a Director must have no material relationship (other than as a Director) with the Company, or any of its subsidiaries, either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a material relationship with the Company or any of its subsidiaries. In making independence determinations, the Board broadly considers all relevant facts and circumstances.
In addition, members of the Audit Committee must also satisfy the SEC and NYSE independence requirements, which provide that they may not be affiliates and may not accept directly or indirectly any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than their directors’ compensation. The Board evaluated each member of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee (the “Compensation Committee”) under the additional SEC and NYSE compensation committee member standards and also determined that these members qualify as “non-employee directors” (as defined under Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).
Additional Information Regarding Director Independence
In making its independence determinations with respect to our Directors, the Board considered the following transactions that the Company engages in from time to time with organizations in which our independent Directors serve as executive officers or otherwise have a material interest:
- Lockheed Martin Corporation. Ms. Stephanie C. Hill is the EVP, Rotary and Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin Corporation. In 2021, the Company and its divisions provided Lockheed Martin Corporation the following products and services: data subscriptions and licensing of publications, credit rating services and index services.
- Snam S.p.A. Mr. Marco Alverà is the Chief Executive Officer of Snam S.p.A. In 2021, the Company and its divisions provided Snam S.p.A. data subscriptions, licensing of publications and credit rating services.
All of these transactions are entered into in the ordinary course of business and on terms that are substantially equivalent to those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with other similarly situated customers or vendors of the Company. None of the transactions described above exceeds 1% of the Company’s consolidated revenue or that of such other company. In making its independence determinations with respect to our Directors, the Board reviews the materiality of these transactions not only from the standpoint of the applicable Director but also from the standpoint of the organizations in which they serve. Based on this review, the Board has concluded that these transactions do not interfere with the ability of each such Director to exercise independent judgment in carrying out his or her Board responsibilities.
Source: S&P Global’s Proxy Statement, filed with the SEC on March 22, 2022
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