Company: DLX
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000027996-25-000107
Chunk: 31

Company: DELUXE CORP
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 31
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 one of the various performance metrics we utilize in our incentive plans, as both the AIP and the PSUs include various other performance metrics for a balanced approach (e.g., EBITDA, EPS, free cash flow, relative TSR) 
 We have provided more fulsome disclosure in this Proxy Statement regarding why we consider revenue an important metric and how the Committee evaluates our executives’ performance against it(seepages 30 and 35)                                             |
| CEO Pay Quantum                                                                                                                                 
 (investors requested more explanation of pay changes)                                                                                           |     | Our CEO’s long-term incentive target was increased by $1 million in 2023 over 2022 to recognize leadership through our transformation and to better align compensation with peers                                                                             
 Our CEO's 2024 target total direct compensation, including base salary, target bonus, and target long-term incentives, remained unchanged from 2023 and approximately aligned with the 25th percentile of our peer group                                      
 We are committed to providing fulsome disclosures about our rationale for CEO pay changes, as we have done for other NEOs, within this Proxy Statement                                                                                                        |
| Proxy Disclosure                                                                                                                                
 (investors stated their preference for clearer and more concise disclosure, improving transparency)                                             |     | We incorporated several enhancements to our disclosures in this Proxy Statement to ensure information is clearly presented and easily understood, including the items discussed in this table                                                                 |

#### Considerations in Setting Pay

#### Benchmarking Process
Based on FW Cook's recommendation, the Committee used two sources of data to benchmark compensation: (1) data from the publicly-available proxy statements of a peer group of companies (Peer Group) which the Committee believes, after consultation with FW Cook, are of comparable size range in various industries that share common business traits with us; and (2) market data drawn from published, broad-based, third-party general industry survey data from Aon Radford and Willis Towers Watson General Industry Survey. Data selected from the surveys are scoped based on our revenue.

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#### Our Company's Peer Group
The Committee used Peer Group data to assist in determining the compensation of NEOs to the extent those NEO positions are comparable to the named executive officer positions at other companies within our Peer Group. FW Cook, the Committee's independent advisor, compiles a list of recommended peers annually for review based on an objective selection criteria as approved by the Committee, as follows:

| 1 |     | Start with all public companies in Standard & Poor's database listed on major U.S. exchanges and