Company: GWW
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-015730
Chunk: 24

Company: W.W. GRAINGER, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 24
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 on the Company’s organizational needs, leadership potential and succession plans for key managers and plans for future development and emergency situations. To supplement these efforts, the senior management team, as well as a broader array of executives throughout our businesses, make presentations to the Board and its Committees and also interact in more informal settings with the Directors. This engagement gives our Directors meaningful insight into our current pool of talent, attraction and retention strategies for our executives, and the Company’s culture. Board’s Role in Risk Oversight The Board has overall responsibility for risk oversight, with its Committees assisting the Board in performing this function based on their respective areas of expertise. The Board’s role is to oversee the Company’s ERM programs, including risk assessment and risk management processes and policies used by the Company to identify, assess, monitor and address both present and potential strategic, operational, financial, environmental, social, cybersecurity, compensation, legal and compliance risks on an enterprise-wide basis. This oversight includes working with the Company’s internal audit team in its consultation with external advisors to identify and prioritize key risks based on factors including their materiality and the timeframe in which such risks may be realized. The Directors’ involvement helps the Company anticipate future trends and risks. The Board focuses on material risks that may present near-term challenges and on longer-term risks that may require early preparation due to either their materiality or complexity. As part of this oversight, the Board receives regular reports from management on key risks across these and other subject matters, which gives the Board broad visibility over risks within the organization and the Company’s efforts to mitigate such risks. The Board and/or the applicable Committee also receives advice from time to time from external advisors on specific risk matters. The Lead Director discusses and coordinates with the CEO and applicable Committee Chairs on key risks and facilitates discussion as appropriate at Board meetings. The Committees support the Board in the risk oversight process. The BANC and Compensation Committee Charters specifically assign risk reviews of the Company’s ESG programs and reporting to the BANC and the Company’s human capital management programs and policies to the Compensation Committee. Members of management regularly provide reports to the BANC and Compensation Committee on relevant risk topics. In addition, as part of its existing oversight responsibility, the Compensation Committee assesses the relationship between potential risk created by the Company’s compensation programs and their impact on long-term shareholder value. The Audit Committee assists the Board in its oversight of the Company’s ERM program and processes, including as to business continuity, cybersecurity, privacy, legal, compliance and other risks as determined by the Board.