Company: AAOI
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-036344
Chunk: 21

Company: APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 21
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 including the nomination deadline described under the heading “Stockholder Proposals or Nominations to Be Presented at Next Annual Meeting” elsewhere in this Proxy Statement. Communications with the Board Stockholders and other interested parties who wish to communicate with our Board, including our independent or non-management directors as a group, our independent lead director, or any other individual director, may do so by submitting a written communication to our Chief Legal Officer at 13139 Jess Pirtle Blvd., Sugar Land, TX 77478, with a request to forward the communication to the intended recipient or recipients. In general, any stockholder communication delivered to our Chief Legal Officer for forwarding to our Board or specified Board member or members will be forwarded in accordance with the stockholder’s instructions. However, our Chief Legal Officer reserves the right not to forward to Board members any abusive, threatening or otherwise inappropriate materials. Stockholder Engagement Historically, our management team has interacted with stockholders primarily in connection with industry conferences, investor updates, and fundraising activity. In past outreach efforts, we heard that some stockholders may be interested in more disclosure regarding succession planning and other governance practices to improve stockholder access. In addition, our Board recognizes that stockholders may have differing opinions with respect to classified or staggered boards of directors. Our Board has maintained its classified structure that was established prior to our initial public offering because a staggered board can enhance stability and continuity by ensuring that each director possesses the experience and background to understand our complex business, including our management’s strategy for growth. A classified board also encourages directors to have a long-term perspective and reduces vulnerability to invasive and coercive takeover tactics that do not benefit stockholders and may divert valuable management resources. We value our stockholders’ perspective on these matters and others and look forward to the information that we will be able to gather through additional stockholder engagement. 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS Management Succession Planning A primary responsibility of the Board is planning for Chief Executive Officer succession and overseeing identification and development of other members of the senior leadership team. The Board and the compensation committee work with the Chief Executive Officer to plan for succession. For the Chief Executive Officer, the succession plan covers identification of internal candidates, and professional and leadership development plans for internal candidates. The Board from time to time reviews the Chief Executive Officer succession plan. The criteria used to assess potential Chief Executive Officer candidates are formulated based on the Company’s business strategies, and include strategic vision, leadership, and operational execution. The Board maintains an emergency succession contingency plan that is reviewed on an