Company: NGVC
Filing Date: 2025-01-24
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001437749-25-001800
Chunk: 19

Company: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-24
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 19
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 effect and provides the Isely family with control over the election of directors. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions-Stockholders Agreement” in this Proxy Statement for a description of this agreement. Directors can be removed from our Board only for cause, as defined in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Vacancies on our Board, and any new director positions created by the expansion of our Board, can be filled only by a majority vote of the remaining directors then in office.

Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

The Chairman of our Board is also a Co-President of the Company. Because of his knowledge of and insight into our business, we believe Mr. Kemper Isely is in the best position to focus the attention of our independent directors on matters that are the most critical to our Company. We also believe that Mr. Kemper Isely’s effectiveness in promoting the Company and forming new business relationships is significantly enhanced by his role as both the Chairman and a Co-President. We do not currently have a lead independent director. Mr. Rooney currently serves as the presiding director at executive sessions of the Board at which only non-management directors are present.

Our Board and audit committee are responsible for overall supervision of our risk management activities and oversight of the material risks facing the Company. Our Board administers its risk oversight function primarily through the audit committee, which oversees our risk management practices (with the exception of cybersecurity risk, which is overseen by the full Board, as described further below). The audit committee is responsible for, among other things, discussing with management our major risk exposures and actions taken to monitor and mitigate these exposures. To this end, management provides regular reports to the audit committee regarding the risks facing the Company and the steps taken to address those risks. The audit committee also discusses with management our guidelines, policies and business practices that govern the risk assessment and management process.

The Board receives presentations throughout the year from various business department leaders that include, as appropriate, discussion of significant risks. At each Board meeting, Mr. Kemper Isely, our Chairman and Co-President, addresses matters of particular importance to the Company, including any significant areas of risk that require Board attention. Further, our independent directors, in executive sessions, address significant areas of risk outside the presence of Company employees.

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We have identified cybersecurity as a critical part of the Company’s risk management activity. Our Board is responsible for oversight of cybersecurity risk and has appointed the Operating Company’s Vice President of Information Technology as the point person for bi