Document

DEF 14A 1 workivaproxy2021.htm DEF 14A Document

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

___________________________________

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

___________________________________

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¨			Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

WORKIVA INC.

_____________________________________________________________

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

_____________________________________________________________

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

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2900 University Blvd.

Ames, IA 50010

Telephone: (888) 275-3125

April 19, 2021

Fellow Stockholders:

You are cordially invited to attend our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders which will be held virtually via live webcast on Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (Central Time).

All Workiva stockholders of record at the close of business on April 5, 2021 are welcome to attend the Annual Meeting, but it is important that your shares are represented at the Annual Meeting whether or not you plan to attend. To ensure that you will be represented, we ask you to vote by telephone, by mail or over the Internet as soon as possible.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and our leadership team, I would like to express our appreciation for your continued interest in the business of Workiva.


						Sincerely,
						Martin J. Vanderploeg President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Workiva Inc.

2900 University Blvd.

Ames, IA 50010

___________________________________________________

Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders

___________________________________________________

Thursday, June 3, 2021

10:00 a.m. Central Time

The principal business of the Annual Meeting will be to:

1.Elect two Class I directors for a three-year term;

2.Approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers;

3.Ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP ("EY") as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021; and

4.Transact any other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

You can vote at the Annual Meeting in person or by proxy if you were a stockholder of record at the close of business on April 5, 2021 by visiting www.meetingcenter.io/235139085 and entering the 15 digit control number on the Proxy Card, Email or Notice of Availability of Proxy Materials you previously received and the meeting password: WK2021. You may revoke your proxy at any time prior to its exercise at the Annual Meeting.

We are electronically disseminating Annual Meeting materials to our stockholders, as permitted under the "Notice and Access" rules approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stockholders who have not opted out of Notice and Access will receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials containing instructions on how to access Annual Meeting materials via the Internet. The Notice also provides instructions on how to obtain paper copies if preferred.


						By Order of the Board of Directors
						Brandon E. Ziegler Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

April 19, 2021

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the

Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 3, 2021:

The Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and our 2020 Annual Report to Stockholders

are available electronically at www.envisionreports.com/wk

Table of Contents


Questions and Answers						1
Proposal No. 1 - Election of Directors						9
Corporate Governance						13
Director Compensation						19
Ownership of Common Stock						21
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports						23
Executive Officers						24
Executive Compensation						26
Compensation Discussion and Analysis						26
Compensation Tables						42
Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control						46
CEO Pay Ratio						50
Equity Compensation Plan Information						51
Certain Relationships and Related-Party and Other Transactions						51
Proposal No. 2 - Advisory Vote to Approve Named Executive Officer Compensation						52
Audit Committee Report						53
Proposal No. 3 - Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm						54
Availability of Annual Report on Form 10-K						55
Other Business						55


Proposal	Vote Required	Broker Discretionary Voting Allowed?
Election of directors	Plurality of votes cast	No
Advisory approval of the compensation of our named executive officers	Majority of votes cast	No
Ratification of appointment of independent registered public accounting firm	Majority of votes cast	Yes


Name	Age	Director Since
Class I Directors - Term Expiring at the 2021 Annual Meeting
Robert H. Herz	67	December 2014
David S. Mulcahy	68	December 2014
Class II Directors - Term Expiring at the 2022 Annual Meeting
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	64	December 2014
Brigid A. Bonner	60	October 2018
Suku Radia	69	December 2014
Class III Directors - Term Expiring at the 2023 Annual Meeting
Michael M. Crow, Ph.D.	65	December 2014
Julie Iskow	59	January 2021


Name	Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($)(1)	Stock Awards ($)(2)	All Other Compensation ($)	Total ($)
Brigid A. Bonner	62,500	185,000	—	247,500
Michael M. Crow, Ph.D.	67,500	185,000	—	252,500
Robert H. Herz	65,000	185,000	—	250,000
Eugene S. Katz	75,000	185,000	—	260,000
David S. Mulcahy	97,289	185,000	—	282,289
Suku Radia	75,000	185,000	—	260,000


	Shares Beneficially Owned				% of total voting power
	Class A Common Stock		Class B Common Stock
Name of Beneficial Owner	Number	%	Number	%

Named Executive Officers and Directors:
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.(1)	634,393	1.5	2,762,665	35.3	23.4
Julie Iskow	—	*	—	*	*
J. Stuart Miller(2)	48,134	*	—	*	*
Jeffrey Trom, Ph.D.(3)	281,019	*	1,938,665	24.8	16.3
Brandon E. Ziegler	8,252	*	—	*	*
Scott Ryan	—	*	—	*	*
Michael M. Crow, Ph.D.(4)	23,943	*	—	*	*
Robert H. Herz(5)	104,520	*	—	*	*
David S. Mulcahy	195,168	*	—	*	*
Suku Radia	24,875	*	—	*	*
Brigid A. Bonner	516	*	—	*	*
All executive officers and directors as a group (13 persons)(6)	1,413,348	3.3	4,701,330	60.1	40.0


Name						Title1
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.						Chief Executive Officer and President ("CEO")
Julie Iskow						Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
J. Stuart Miller						Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Jeffrey Trom, Ph.D.						Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Brandon E. Ziegler2						Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Scott Ryan						Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer


Alteryx, Inc.	Cloudera, Inc.	Q2 Holdings, Inc.
AppFolio, Inc.	Coupa Software Incorporated	Rapid7, Inc.
Apptio, Inc.	FireEye, Inc.	RingCentral, Inc.
Aspen Technology, Inc.	HubSpot, Inc.	Smartsheet
Avalara, Inc.	Imperva, Inc.	Twilio, Inc.
Benefitfocus, Inc.	New Relic, Inc.	Zendesk, Inc.
BlackLine, Inc.	Paycom Software, Inc.	Zuora, Inc.
Box, Inc.	Paylocity Holding Corporation


Named Executive Officer						2020 Base Salary ($)
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.						690,000
Julie Iskow						575,000
J. Stuart Miller						400,000
Jeffrey D. Trom, Ph.D.						450,000
Brandon E. Ziegler						370,000
Scott Ryan						450,000


Performance Metric	Target			Weighting
Revenue Growth	15.4		%	60	%
Non-GAAP Operating Loss	$	(34,972)		20	%
Operating Cash Flow	$	14,881		20	%


Named Executive Officer	2020 Target Bonus3
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	125	%
Julie Iskow	100	%
J. Stuart Miller	75	%
Jeffrey D. Trom, Ph.D.	100	%
Scott Ryan	100	%


			Threshold		Target		Maximum
Performance	<80	%	80	%	100	%	>120	%
Payout	—	%	50	%	100	%	150	%


	Shares Beneficially Owned				% of total voting power
	Class A Common Stock		Class B Common Stock
Name of Beneficial Owner	Number	%	Number	%

5% Stockholders:
The Vanguard Group(7)	3,884,580	9.2	—	*	3.2
BlackRock, Inc.(8)	2,890,608	6.9	—	*	2.4
FMR LLC(9)	2,563,456	6.1	—	*	2.1
Brown Advisory Inc.(10)	2,410,859	5.7	—	*	2.0
Matthew M. Rizai, Ph.D.(11)	546,825	1.3	2,512,395	32.1	21.2
M. Rizai Grantor Trust(12)	—	*	489,113	6.3	4.1


COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

Ms. Brigid A. Bonner (Chair)
Mr. Suku Radia
Mr. David S. Mulcahy


				Estimated Possible Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards(1)			All Other Stock Awards: Number of Shares of Stock or Units (#)(3)	Grant Date Fair Value of Stock Awards ($)(4)
Name	Grant Date(2)		Award Date(2)	Threshold ($)	Target ($)	Maximum ($)
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	02/03/2020	(5)	01/15/2020	—	—	—	52,318	2,414,999
	02/13/2020			431,250	862,500	1,293,750	—	—
Julie Iskow	02/03/2020	(5)	01/15/2020	—	—	—	47,660	2,199,986
	02/13/2020			287,500	575,000	862,500	—	—
J. Stuart Miller	02/03/2020	(5)	01/15/2020	—	—	—	38,995	1,800,009
	02/13/2020			150,000	300,000	450,000	—	—
Jeffrey D. Trom, Ph.D.	02/03/2020	(5)	01/15/2020	—	—	—	35,095	1,619,985
	02/13/2020			225,000	450,000	675,000	—	—
Brandon E. Ziegler	04/01/2020	(6)	03/26/2020	—	—	—	64,683	1,999,998

Scott Ryan	02/03/2020	(5)	01/15/2020	—	—	—	35,095	1,619,985
	02/13/2020			225,000	450,000	675,000	—	—


	Option Awards						Stock Awards
Name	Option/Stock Award Grant Date		Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable	Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable	Option Exercise Price ($)	Option Expiration Date	Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (#)	Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested ($)(1)
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	08/12/2014	(2)	178,200	—	15.83	08/11/2024	—	—
	02/01/2016	(3)	168,421	—	14.74	01/31/2026	—	—
	02/01/2017	(3)	200,204	—	12.40	01/31/2027	—	—
	02/01/2018	(4)	—	—	—	—	29,676	2,718,915
	02/01/2019	(3)	—	—	—	—	38,461	3,523,797
	02/03/2020	(3)	—	—	—	—	52,318	4,793,375
Julie Iskow	10/01/2019	(3)	—	—	—	—	92,251	8,452,037
	02/03/2020	(3)	—	—	—	—	47,660	4,366,609
J. Stuart Miller	02/01/2016	(3)	31,469	—	14.74	01/31/2026	—	—
	02/01/2017	(3)	37,407	—	12.40	01/31/2027	—	—
	02/01/2018	(4)	—	—	—	—	11,985	1,098,066
	02/01/2018	(5)	—	—	—	—	134,831	12,353,216
	02/01/2019	(3)	—	—	—	—	28,667	2,626,471
	02/03/2020	(3)	—	—	—	—	38,995	3,572,722
Jeffrey D. Trom, Ph.D.	08/12/2014	(2)	178,200	—	15.83	08/11/2024	—	—
	02/01/2016	(3)	21,212	—	14.74	01/31/2026	—	—
	02/01/2017	(3)	25,215	—	12.40	01/31/2027	—	—
	02/01/2018	(4)	—	—	—	—	11,236	1,029,442
	09/04/2018	(5)	—	—	—	—	100,000	9,162,000
	02/01/2019	(4)	—	—	—	—	25,800	2,363,796
	02/03/2020	(3)	—	—	—	—	35,095	3,215,404
Brandon E Ziegler	04/01/2020	(6)	—	—	—	—	64,683	5,926,256
Scott Ryan			—	—	—	—	—	—


Performance Metric	Target			Actual Results			Achievement of Target
Revenue Growth	15.4		%	18.0		%	116.9	%
Non-GAAP Operating Loss	$	(34,972)		$	7,969		222.8	%
Operating Cash Flow	$	14,881		$	33,243		223.4	%


Executive	2020 Base Salary ($)	2020 Target Bonus ($)	2020 Target Bonus (%)		2020 Calculated Bonus ($)	2020 Approved Bonus Payout ($)	Approved Bonus Payout as a % of Base Salary
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	690,000	862,500	125	%	1,247,664	412,500	60	%
Julie Iskow	575,000	575,000	100	%	831,776	575,000	100	%
J. Stuart Miller	400,000	300,000	75	%	433,970	300,000	75	%
Jeffrey D. Trom, Ph.D.	450,000	450,000	100	%	650,955	450,000	100	%


Name and Principal Position	Year	Salary ($)	Bonus ($)		Stock Awards ($)(1)	Option Awards ($)	Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)	All Other Compensation ($)		Total ($)
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	2020	690,000	—		2,414,999	—	412,500	52,693	(2)	3,570,192
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director	2019	690,000	—		2,414,987	—	1,188,179	59,744		4,352,910
	2018	690,000	—		1,980,873	—	1,104,000	52,424		3,827,297
Julie Iskow	2020	575,000	—		2,199,986	—	575,000	19,763	(3)	3,369,749
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Director	2019	143,750	875,000		5,999,983	—	—	4,551		7,023,284
J. Stuart Miller	2020	400,000	—		1,800,009	—	300,000	19,161	(4)	2,519,170
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer	2019	400,000	—		1,799,980	—	413,280	21,563		2,634,823
	2018	400,000	—		3,799,989	—	360,000	13,875		4,573,864
Jeffrey Trom, Ph.D.	2020	450,000	—		1,619,985	—	450,000	21,800	(5)	2,541,785
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer	2019	450,000	—		1,619,982	—	619,920	26,087		2,715,989
	2018	416,667	—		4,550,003	—	405,000	20,311		5,391,981
Brandon E. Ziegler (6)	2020	294,576	185,000	(7)	1,999,998	—	—	—		2,479,574
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Scott Ryan	2020	126,136	—		1,619,985	—	—	1,196,693	(8)	2,942,814
Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer	2019	450,000	—		1,619,982	—	619,920	19,832		2,709,734
	2018	450,000	—		3,999,994	—	540,000	13,564		5,003,558


Name	Executive Contributions ($)(1)	Aggregate Earnings ($)(2)	Aggregate Withdrawal/Distributions ($)	Aggregate Balance at December 31, 2020 ($)(3)
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	2,661,530	10,986,037	—	20,660,035
Julie Iskow	—	—	—	—
J. Stuart Miller	1,265,398	5,657,120	—	10,623,339
Jeffrey Trom, Ph.D.	1,549,604	4,644,800	—	8,795,154
Brandon E. Ziegler	—	—	—	—
Scott Ryan	5,530,254	3,523,051	(9,534,946)	—


Named Executive Officer	Compensation	Termination on Death or Disability ($)	Termination without Cause or for Good Reason ($)	Termination Without Cause or for Good Reason in connection with a Change in Control ($)
Martin J. Vanderploeg, Ph.D.	Cash Severance (1)	2,740,679	5,845,679	5,520,000
	RSU Acceleration (3)	11,036,087	11,036,087	11,036,087
	Benefit Continuation (4)	—	25,182	25,182
	Total	13,776,766	16,906,948	16,581,269

Julie Iskow	Cash Severance (2)	2,025,000	3,175,000	4,025,000
	RSU Acceleration (3)	12,818,646	12,818,646	12,818,646
	Benefit Continuation (4)	—	19,850	19,850
	Total	14,843,646	16,013,496	16,863,496

J. Stuart Miller	Cash Severance (2)	1,113,280	1,813,280	2,400,000
	RSU Acceleration (3)	19,650,474	19,650,474	19,650,474
	Benefit Continuation (4)	—	10,686	10,686
	Total	20,763,754	21,474,440	22,061,160

Jeffrey Trom, Ph.D.	Cash Severance (2)	1,519,920	2,419,920	3,150,000
	RSU Acceleration (3)	15,770,642	15,770,642	15,770,642
	Benefit Continuation (4)	—	25,177	25,177
	Total	17,290,562	18,215,739	18,945,819

Brandon E. Ziegler	RSU Acceleration (2) (3)	5,926,256	—	5,926,256
	Total	5,926,256	—	5,926,256


Plan Category	Number of Securities to be Issued upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights(2)	Weighted Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options ($)(2)(3)	Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans(4)
Equity Compensation Plans Approved By Stockholders(1)	6,371,387	14.48	6,104,630
Total	6,371,387	14.48	6,104,630


	2020		2019
Audit Fees (1)	$	756,000	$	931,000
Audit-Related Fees	—		—
Tax Fees	—		—
All Other Fees	—		—

SEC Form DEF 14A filed by Workiva Inc.