ITEM 1.
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Three Class I directors are to be elected at the meeting. The Board of Directors, at its meeting on April 29, 2026, upon the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, selected Mr. Thomas D. Hull III, Mr. David S. Rhind, and Mr. John D. Russell as the nominees for re-election as directors at the annual meeting, to serve for a three-year term. The nominees are serving as directors as of the date of this Proxy Statement. The nominees receiving the greatest number of votes at the annual meeting will be elected directors. Unless a stockholder indicates otherwise on the proxy card and the proxy card is validly executed and returned, the stockholder’s shares will be voted for the election of the nominees named below. If due to circumstances not now foreseen, the nominees become unavailable for election, the proxies will be voted for such other person or persons as the Board of Directors may select, or the Board will make an appropriate reduction in the number of directors to be elected.
Information on the current nominees for Class I directors and the current Class II and III directors are shown below.
Class I directors nominated for re-election to serve until the annual meeting of stockholders in 2029:
THOMAS D. HULL III, 50, was elected President and Chief Executive Officer and appointed a member of the Board in March 2019. He joined the Company in November 2015 as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Hull was the Vice President of Finance, Accounting and Information Technology of ATI Specialty Materials, a subsidiary of ATI Inc. (formerly Allegheny Technologies Incorporated), a world leader in the production of nickel-based superalloys, titanium-based alloys, and specialty steels for the aerospace, oil and gas, and medical industries, from August 2011 to October 2015. From January 1998 to July 2011, Mr. Hull held several management positions with Ernst & Young. Mr. Hull is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive status), has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Joseph M. Katz School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from LaRoche College. We believe Mr. Hull is well suited to serve on our Board due to his extensive experience serving public companies while at Ernst & Young, his broad industry experience, his education and his knowledge of the business and markets in which the Company competes.
DAVID S. RHIND, 63, was elected a director of the Company in April 2008. Mr. Rhind is an attorney-at-law. From June 2012 to March 2015, Mr. Rhind served as Deputy General Counsel for Hudson Global, Inc. (formerly Hudson Highland Group, Inc.) of New York, New York, a leading provider of specialized professional recruitment, recruitment outsourcing, talent management, and related staffing services and solutions. From July 2003 to June 2012, Mr. Rhind was General Counsel, North America, for Hudson. From October 1995 to June 2003, he was Associate General Counsel at Technology Solutions Company of Chicago, a technology consulting and systems integration company. We believe Mr. Rhind is well suited to serve on our Board due to his many years of experience in legal matters, his overall business acumen, and his understanding of the long-term interests of the Company and its stockholders.
JOHN D. RUSSELL, 73, was elected a director of the Company in May 2011. Since May 2023, Mr. Russell has served as Chairman of Morton Buildings, a construction company headquartered in Morton, Illinois. From November 2015 to April 2023, Mr. Russell has served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Morton Buildings. From September 2012 to November 2015, Mr. Russell was a Managing Director of ForteONE, a Chicago-based consulting firm focused on growing revenues and profitability of middle market companies. From June 2006 until March 2014, Mr. Russell was a business consultant and a Board Member for Strategic Materials Incorporated, the largest glass recycling business in North America. From September 2007 to May 2010 he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Maysteel LLC, a precision metal fabricator in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. From April 2002 to April 2006 he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Neoplan USA, a manufacturer of heavy duty transit buses. Prior to April 2002, Mr. Russell held various executive positions with Brunswick Corporation where he was a Corporate Officer, and he was a partner at McKinsey and Company. Mr. Russell earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and is currently a Governance Fellow and Leadership Fellow with the NACD. We believe Mr. Russell is well suited to serve on our Board due to his experience as chief executive officer of three different companies, his other executive management experience, his experience as a director of another company, his business education, and his accreditations with the NACD.
Class III directors continuing in office to serve until the annual meeting of stockholders in 2028:
MARGARET B. PYLE, 74, was elected a director of the Company in February 1995. Ms. Pyle serves as Vice Chairman and CEO of The Pyle Group, a financial services and investment company, where she had previously served as Chief Legal Counsel and Vice Chair from 2007 to 2020. Ms. Pyle is also Chair of the Board of Uniek, Inc., a home