with CoreStates Bank where he focused on the retail industry, with a specialty in supermarket lending. The board concluded that Stephen F. Rooney should continue to serve as a Director of the Company due to his strong financial background and past lending experience with the retail industry.
Prasad Pola has a distinguished career spanning over two decades, encompassing key leadership roles across the retail, e-commerce, and healthcare sectors. Mr. Pola previously served as the Chief Technology Officer at Plated, a food-tech company acquired by Albertsons, where he led the product, engineering, data science and customer service teams. Prior to Plated, Mr. Pola held product and technology leadership roles at Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary Quidsi, Provide Commerce and Tommy Hilfiger Corp. The Board concluded that Prasad Pola should continue to serve as a Director of the Company due to his extensive knowledge and experience in e-commerce, retail, technology infrastructure and digital transformation
The Board recommends that the shareholders vote FOR all the nominees named above for election to the Board of Directors. With respect to the election of directors (Proposal 1), directors are elected by a plurality of the voting power of the shares of our capital stock present or represented by proxy and entitled to vote, and the director nominees who receive the greatest number of votes at the Annual Meeting (up to the total number of directors to be elected) will be elected. As a result, abstentions, withheld votes and “broker non-votes”, if any, will not affect the outcome of the vote on the first proposal.
The Certificate of Incorporation includes a provision that no director shall be personally liable for monetary damages to the Company or its shareholders for a breach of any fiduciary duty except for: (i) breach of a director’s duty of loyalty; (ii) acts and omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; and (iii) any transaction from which a director derived an improper personal benefit.
INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ITS COMMITTEES
The Company is a “controlled company” under the corporate governance rules of NASDAQ. Therefore the Company is not required to and does not have (1) a majority of independent directors; (2) a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors to identify and recommend nominees to the Board of Directors; or (3) a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors. The Company qualifies as a controlled company due to the ownership by the Sumas Family Group of shares allowing it to cast more than 50% of the votes eligible to be cast for the election of directors. The Board of Directors has determined that each non-management director is independent as defined by the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the listing standards of NASDAQ.
The Board of Directors held five meetings in fiscal 2024. All directors attended at least 75% of the meetings of the Board of Directors, and meetings of committees of the Board of Directors on which the director served, during the time such director served on the Board of Directors or relevant committee thereof.
The Company has a policy of requiring all directors standing for election at an annual meeting of shareholders to attend such meeting, unless unforeseen circumstances arise. All ten directors attended the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders of the Company held on December 15, 2023.
The Executive Committee, which consists of Robert Sumas, John P. Sumas, John J. Sumas and Nicholas J. Sumas II meets on call and is authorized to act on all matters pertaining to corporate policies and overall Company performance.
Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors reviews its leadership structure in light of the Company’s then current needs, governance trends, and other factors. The Board of Directors reviews and considers whether the positions of Chairman and CEO should be combined or separated as part of an ongoing review of the effectiveness of the Company’s governance structure. As a result, the roles of Chairman and CEO have been split from time to time to facilitate leadership transitions, while at other times the roles have been combined.
Effective December 15, 2017, the Board of Directors separated governance responsibilities between the Chairman and CEO roles. These roles are currently combined on an interim basis due to the passing of William P. Sumas, Chairman of the Board, in July 2024. The Company will separate these roles with its planned appointment of John J. Sumas as Chief Executive Officer and Nicholas J. Sumas II as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors effective December 13, 2024. The Board of Directors believes that this structure provides an effective balance between strong Company leadership and appropriate safeguards and oversight at this time.