Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-04-03
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-031671
Chunk: 9

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-03
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 9
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 Board Leadership Structure The Board has a non-executive Chairman. This position is independent from management. The Chairman leads the Board meetings as well as meetings of the independent Directors. The Chief Executive Officer is a member of the Board and participates in its meetings. The Board believes that this leadership structure is appropriate for the Company at this time because it allows for independent oversight of management, increases management accountability and encourages an objective evaluation of management’s performance relative to compensation. In addition, the Board recognizes that acting as Chairman of the Board is a particularly time-intensive responsibility. Separation of the roles of Chairman and CEO allows the CEO to focus solely on his duties, which the Board believes better serves the Company. Separating these 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS roles also promotes risk management, enhances the independence of the Board from management, and mitigates potential conflicts of interest between the Board and management. The Company has a policy set forth in its Corporate Governance Guidelines providing that each non-executive Chairman may serve for a term of not more than nine (9) consecutive years, subject to the requirement that he or she be re-elected as Chairman annually by the Board. The Nominating Committee has proposed, and the Board has agreed, that pending his re-election, H. Patrick Hackett, Jr. will continue to serve as non-executive Chairman of the Board following the Annual Meeting. The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight Our Board has an active and ongoing role in the management of the risks of our business. This role has two fundamental elements: (1) ensuring that management of the Company has implemented an appropriate system to manage risks by identifying, assessing, mitigating, monitoring and communicating about risks; and (2) providing effective risk oversight through the Board and its committees. The Board believes the first element of its risk oversight role is fulfilled through the Company’s extensive risk assessment and management program designed to identify, monitor, report and control the Company’s risks, which are broken down into various categories deemed relevant to the Company and its business operations. The Enterprise Risk Management Program is administered by the Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, who provides reports to the Board, the Audit Committee and the Risk Management Committee on a regular basis and other committees of the Board as needed. The second element of the Board’s oversight role is fulfilled primarily by the full Board regularly receiving written and oral reports from management on the status of various categories of Company risk, including cybersecurity risks and industry-specific risks, and on the Company’s overall risks as well as any material changes or developments in risk