Company: BHE
Filing Date: 2025-04-04
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-051057
Chunk: 18

Company: BENCHMARK ELECTRONICS INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-04
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 18
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, our process is for directors to be elected annually by the shareholders and hold office until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Our Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) provide for a Board of Directors comprised of five to nine members as determined from time to time by the Board. The Board has set the number of current directors at nine, but plans to reduce the number of directors to eight at the end of Messrs. Gopalakrishnan and McCreary’s terms and the anticipated election of Ms. Bryan, in each case, to the Board at the Annual Meeting. All current directors other than Messrs. Gopalakrishnan and McCreary are nominees for election at the Meeting.

NYSE rules require the Company to have a majority of independent directors. No director qualifies as independent under the rules unless the Board affirmatively determines they have no material relationship with the Company or its subsidiaries—directly, or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company. In evaluating each director’s independence, the Board considers the NYSE rules as well as all facts and circumstances deemed relevant. As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the Board has determined that each nominee, other than Mr. Benck, our President and CEO, is independent. The Board determined that no independent director has a material relationship with the Company or management, other than as a director or shareholder, and that none of the express disqualifications contained in the NYSE rules apply to any of them. In making this determination, the Board considered any relevant transaction, relationship and arrangement as required by the NYSE listing requirements.

The Board oversees an enterprise-wide approach to risk management. The Board seeks not only to understand the risks facing the Company and management’s approach to address them, but also actively decides on the levels of risk appropriate for the Company when designing and implementing its business strategy. In this process, risk is assessed throughout the business, focusing on six primary areas: financial, legal/compliance, operational/transactional, customer services/reputation, information technology/security and inherent (other) risks. In addition to reviewing risk with the Audit Committee at least annually, the independent directors discuss risk management during non-management executive sessions led by the Chair of the Board.

While the Board has ultimate oversight responsibility for the risk management process, committees of the Board have also been entrusted with responsibility for risk management. In particular, the Audit Committee focuses on assessing and mitigating financial reporting risk including internal controls as well as enterprise risk management