Company: AOS
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001193125-25-037641
Chunk: 20

Company: SMITH A O CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 20
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 Smith Family Voting Trust, representation of Mark Smith on our Board works to align the interests of our largest stockholder with those of the Board, through his exposure to the company’s strategic and operational planning and decision-making, and his active participation in the governance of the company. To balance our three longer-tenured independent directors, we will have six independent directors (assuming Mr. Peace, the new director nominee, is elected at the Annual Meeting) who joined our Board within the last four years. They have brought new skills, fresh perspectives and diversity to our Board. For all these reasons, we believe that our Board has struck the right balance as to director tenure.

2025 Proxy Statement13

Governance of Our Company

Board Information and Stockholder Communications.We are committed to making our corporate governance information accessible to stockholders and other interested parties. Accordingly, on our website, www.aosmith.com, under the “Investors” heading, and then “Governance” subheading, we have published the A. O. Smith Corporation Guiding Principles and the Financial Code of Ethics and provided a link entitled “Stockholder Contacts” to communicate with directors. Likewise, under “Investors,” “Governance” and then “Board of Directors,” we have provided a list of the members of our Board of Directors. Further, under the “Board Committees and Charters” subheading, we have Committee Assignments; the Charters for the Audit, Nominating and Governance, and Personnel and Compensation Committees; Corporate Governance Guidelines and Criteria for Selecting Board of Director Candidates. Finally, SEC filings, including our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K, Proxy Statement and Section 16 filings, are available for review on this website under the heading “Investors” and then “SEC Filings” subheading. Stockholders may also request that these documents be mailed by sending their request to the address provided below.

We encourage communication with our directors. Any interested party may communicate with a particular director, all directors, nonmanagement or independent directors as a group or the Presiding Director by mail or courier addressed to him/her or the entire Board in care of the Corporate Secretary at the following address:

c/o James F. Stern, Corporate Secretary

A. O. Smith Corporation

11270 West Park Place

Milwaukee, WI 53224

The Corporate Secretary will forward this communication unopened to the addressed director.

Procedure for Review of Related Party Transactions.Potential conflicts of interest must be approved in advance, including related