Guidelines
The Board of Directors of Brown-Forman Corporation (the "Company") has adopted these Corporate Governance Guidelines to assist the Board in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities and to serve the best interests of the Company and its stockholders. The Guidelines should be applied in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, regulations and listing requirements, as well as the Company's Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws. The Guidelines provide a framework for the conduct of the Board's business.
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Responsibilities of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors has the ultimate responsibility for the financial well-being of the
Company and its business success. The Board of Directors is a policy-making body that acts
primarily through management of the Company, which develops and proposes strategies that the
Board approves and oversees and that officers and employees of the Company then execute. The
Board of Directors, acting directly or through one or more committees, has the following primary
responsibilities:
Hire and oversee competent management to run the Company.
Ensure that management proposes appropriate business strategies for Board approval.
Oversee the implementation of business strategies by management and encourage change if that is warranted.
Oversee the Company’s overall financial condition; review and approve the Company’s annual operating and capital plans; approve major acquisitions, divestitures and capital expenditures; and monitor the health of the Company’s brands.
Oversee the Company’s executive compensation policies and practices.
Assess the Company’s culture to ensure that the Board and management embody the
Company’s core values of integrity, respect, trust, teamwork and excellence.
Ensure that management is providing sufficient and appropriate information to the Board
to enable the Board to fulfill its responsibilities.
Review, and advise management regarding, major opportunities and challenges facing the Company.
Review and approve significant corporate actions.
Ensure processes are in place for maintaining the integrity of the Company, including the
accuracy and completeness of its financial statements, the effectiveness of its internal
controls, its processes for the management of enterprise risk, its compliance with law and
ethics, and the integrity of its relationships with its stakeholders.
Nominate directors, appoint committee members, and shape effective corporate governance.
Retain the Chairman of the Board (such position is currently referred to as “Presiding
Chairman of the Board”) and the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and evaluate his, her
or their performance.
Plan for the succession of the Chairman of the Board and the CEO and periodically
evaluate other senior leadership of the Company.
Election of Directors
Director candidates are nominated by the Board upon recommendation from the
Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. All Company directors stand for election at
each Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Size of the Board
The By-laws provide that the Board shall consist of not less than three nor more than
seventeen directors. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee periodically
considers and recommends to the Board the size at which the Board should be fixed. The Board
should strive to ensure that the size of the Board at any time is small enough to promote good
discussion and decision making, but sufficiently large to include a range of opinions.
Director Qualifications
Individual Membership Criteria. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee
is responsible for evaluating potential director candidates for Board approval. As a general
matter, the Company seeks directors who will represent the best long-term interests of the
Company and its stockholders. Directors should have an attitude that is consultative, positive and
growth-oriented. Directors should also possess the highest personal and professional ethics and
integrity, and values reflective of the Company’s. Additional factors to be considered include
judgment, candor, independence, civility, business courage, the lack of possible conflicts of
interest, experience with businesses or other organizations of comparable or larger size and
character, and the interplay of the candidate’s experience and approach to addressing business
issues with the experience and approach of incumbent directors and other new director
candidates.
Board Composition. The Board’s goal is to maintain a well-balanced Board membership
that combines a variety of experience, backgrounds, and skills to enable the Company to pursue
its strategic objectives. Experience has shown that it is constructive for the Board to have at least
two management directors. In addition, it is useful and necessary for the Board to have Brown
family members as directors, as collectively the Brown family owns a majority of the voting
stock of the Company. As with all other directors, Brown family directors should represent the
best interests of all stockholders. In addition, family directors should evidence a strong interest
in Brown-Forman Corporation and its long-range health and prosperity. They should be willing
and able ambassadors to other family members, helping to ensure that family stockholders
understand the Company’s business and strategies. While not every family director, nor indeed
any director, will have all of the qualities that make an “ideal” director, a director should
supplement the existing talent pool within the Board and help make the Board a well-balanced
and smoothly functioning body.
Independence. The Board of Directors has determined that Brown-Forman is a
“controlled company”, and therefore it is unnecessary to mandate a majority of independent
directors. However, the Board and the Company clearly benefit from the presence of
independent directors. No director will qualify as independent unless the Board affirmatively
determines that the director meets the standards of independence established by the New York
Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and any other
applicable governmental or regulatory body. The Board reviews annually the independence of
each director, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Corporate Governance and
Nominating Committee. Directors have an affirmative obligation to inform the Board of any
material changes in their circumstances or relationships that may impact their designation by the
Board as independent.
Stock Ownership. Each director is expected to own (either directly or beneficially)
Brown-Forman stock. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee may adopt and
periodically review a policy with respect to minimum stock ownership requirements for
directors. In addition, in order to more closely align director compensation with corporate
performance, the Board believes that a meaningful portion of each non-employee director’s
compensation for Board service should be provided in the form of Brown-Forman securities.
Director Tenure. The Board does not believe that arbitrary term limits on director
service are appropriate, nor does it believe that directors should expect automatically to be renominated
until they reach the mandatory retirement age. No director may stand for re-election
to the Board after he or she has reached the age of 71. However, upon recommendation from the
Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, the Board can request a director to remain
on the Board until a given date, if it finds that such service would be of significant benefit to the
Company. Such extended service requires a special vote by the Board, with two-thirds of
directors approving, without the vote or participation of the affected director.
Change in Director Occupation. If a director’s principal occupation or business
association changes substantially during his or her tenure as a director, that director must tender
his or her resignation for consideration by the Corporate Governance and Nominating
Committee. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee will recommend for Board
approval what action, if any, should be taken with respect to the resignation.
Director Service on Other Public Boards. The Board recognizes that its members
benefit from service on the boards of other companies. The Board encourages that service, but
also desires to ensure that its directors have adequate time to devote to their service on the
Company’s Board. It is the Board’s expectation that any director who serves full-time as an
officer or employee of the Company or any other business entity should not serve on more than
two boards of public companies in addition to the Company’s Board (this includes the board of
any public company at which the director may be employed), and other directors should not
serve on more than three boards of public companies in addition to the Company’s Board.
Board Meetings
Conduct of Meetings. Meetings are chaired by the Chairman of the Board. All directors
are encouraged to participate in discussions where their counsel will benefit the Board.
Decisions are by majority vote, except on matters where the By-laws require a higher affirmative
vote.
Number of Meetings. The Board of Directors meets at six regularly scheduled meetings
each year. The Board also meets at special meetings as needed, in person or through remote
technology.
Meetings of the Non-Management and Independent Directors. There should be at least
two regularly scheduled meetings of the non-management directors, and two regularly scheduled
meetings of the independent directors, per year, each presided over by the Chair of the Corporate
Governance and Nominating Committee. A non-management or independent director may
request that an executive session of the non-management or independent directors be included in
the agenda of any meeting of the Board of Directors.
Meeting Materials. Information and materials that facilitate the Board’s or a committee’s
discussion, are typically distributed in advance of those meetings. Directors are expected to
review these materials in preparation for the meeting. Certain items to be discussed at Board or
committee meetings may be extremely confidential or time-sensitive however, in which case
advance distribution of materials may not be appropriate or practicable.
Meeting Attendance.Absent an appropriate reason, attendance is expected for the full
meeting by all directors at the Company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders, at all meetings of the
Board of Directors of the Company, and at all meetings of each committee of which a director is
a member. The Board believes that transparency in procedures and decision-making is a
hallmark of good governance. Directors are welcome to attend as guests meetings of committees
on which they do not sit, and are requested to provide reasonable prior notice to the relevant
committee chair or secretary.
Board Committees
The Board has established four principal standing committees of the Board: the Audit
Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Corporate Governance and Nominating
Committee and the Executive Committee. The purpose of the committees of the Board of
Directors is to help the Board fulfill its responsibilities effectively and efficiently, although the
committees do not displace the oversight responsibilities of the Board as a whole. Committees
consist of Board members but may have other, non-voting members, such as a committee
secretary. Each Board committee shall have a written charter. The Audit, Compensation and
Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees shall conduct an annual self-evaluation.
The full Board will review the performance of the Executive Committee periodically, giving
consideration to the frequency and character of actions the committee has been called upon to
review since the most recent assessment.
Audit Committee. The Audit Committee has the responsibilities set forth in its Charter
with respect to: the quality and integrity of the Company’s financial statements; the Company’s
compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; the Company’s guidelines and policies to
monitor and control its major financial risk exposures; the qualifications, independence and
retention of the independent auditor; the performance of the Company’s internal audit function
and independent auditors; oversight of the Company’s Corporate Compliance Program and other
issues related to Company and employee ethics; and the preparation of the annual Report of the
Audit Committee to be included in the Company’s proxy statement.
Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee has the responsibilities set
forth in its Charter with respect to: determining the compensation of the CEO; reviewing and
approving the compensation of the Chairman of the Board; reviewing and approving the
compensation of other executive officers whose compensation it determines to be within its
purview; producing a report on executive compensation for inclusion in the annual proxy
statement or annual report as required by applicable SEC rules and regulations; and leading the
evaluation of the performance of the CEO and the Chairman of the Board.
Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. The Corporate Governance and
Nominating Committee has the responsibilities set forth in its Charter with respect to:
identifying, recruiting and recommending to the Board, for their recommendation to
stockholders, appropriate candidates to serve as directors; reviewing the Company’s and Board’s
governance and apprising the Board of developments and best practices, taking into account the
long-term best interests of all of the Company’s stockholders and the Company’s controlledcompany
status under the NYSE rules.
Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has the responsibilities set forth in its
Charter. Except as otherwise required by law, rule, regulation or By-laws of the Company, the
Executive Committee may exercise all of the powers of the Board of Directors over the
management and control of the business of the Company during intervals between meetings of
the Board of Directors. Traditionally, the Executive Committee acts only when (a) exercising a
power previously delegated by the Board; (b) there is an emergency; or (c) the action is merely
pro forma, and does not warrant the attention of the full Board. This statement is not intended as
a limitation on the Executive Committee’s authority. Further, it should be clarified that these
references are to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, which is separate from
management executive committees that may exist from time-to-time.
Director Compensation
The Company annually reviews director compensation in comparison to compensation
paid to directors at other similarly situated companies and makes recommendations to the
Compensation Committee of the Board. The Compensation Committee reviews the Company’s
recommendations, and in turn makes recommendations to the full Board. The Board of Directors
has the ultimate responsibility for setting director compensation. Board compensation may be
paid in cash and/or equity interests in the Company, and may consist of annual retainers, meeting
fees and such other components as it deems appropriate. In making its recommendations on
director compensation, the Company should consider the following goals:
Directors should be fairly compensated for the work involved in overseeing the
management of a company the size and scope of the Company;
Director compensation should be competitive with director compensation at other U.S.
companies of comparable size and scope as the Company; and
Director compensation should align Board members’ interests with the long-term
interests of the Company’s stockholders.
Directors who are employees of the Company will not receive additional compensation
for their service as Directors, unless the Board determines otherwise.
Director Orientation and Continuing Education
The Company will arrange for new directors to meet with senior managers of the
Company in order for the new director to become knowledgeable of the Company’s strategic
plans, financial statements, brands, properties, people and status as a family-controlled public
company. This orientation should begin as soon as practicable after the new director is elected.
In addition, from time to time, the Company will provide Board members with presentations
from Company and/or third party experts on topics that will assist Board members in carrying
out their responsibilities. In addition, the Company will arrange for periodic site visits to
Company facilities.
Board Access to Management
Directors have full access to the officers of the Company. Management directors have
the responsibility to see that there is regular interaction between Company personnel and the
Board of Directors, such as when officers and other employees appear from time to time before
the Board in regular session to report on the business or request Board action, or less formally,
such as at a Board dinner held in connection with a scheduled Board meeting.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, members of the Compensation
Committee have free and unimpeded access to members of the Human Resources Department
for purposes of obtaining information relating to executive compensation or other matters
relevant to their responsibilities. Members of the Audit Committee have free and unimpeded
access to members of the Finance Department, including the Chief Financial Officer, members
of the Internal Audit Department, the Legal Department (including the General Counsel), and the
Disclosure Controls Committee to obtain information relating to their review of the Company’s
financial reporting and disclosure practices or other matters relevant to their responsibilities.
Members of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee have free and unimpeded
access to members of the Legal Department (including the General Counsel) for purposes of
obtaining information relating to corporate governance or other matters relevant to their
responsibilities.
Non-management directors seeking additional access to management outside of the
channels indicated above should arrange such access through the CEO or his or her designees.
Directors should use their best judgment to ensure that such meetings do not interfere with
business or inadvertently create the impression that the employee should take instructions from
the director.
Board Access to Independent Advisors
The Board of Directors and each of its committees may retain and terminate such
independent advisors, including attorneys, accountants, investment bankers and other
consultants, as it deems necessary or appropriate to the performance of its duties from time to
time. The Board or committee, as the case may be, has the sole authority to approve the fees and
other retention terms of such independent advisors.
Management Succession
On an ongoing basis (no less frequently than annually), the Board should plan for
succession to the positions of CEO and Chairman of the Board. The CEO should periodically
review with the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee the succession plan for the
other most senior management positions of the Company.
Annual Performance Evaluation of the Board
The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee assists the Board in the conduct
of an annual self-evaluation to determine whether it and its committees are functioning
effectively. An independent third party may be engaged to ensure the integrity and robustness of
the assessment. The self-evaluation may include anonymous comments in respect of the
performance of specific directors, in the context of the criteria applicable to their membership on
the Board. It is a collective responsibility of the Board to see that: all Board members contribute
to the success of the Company and its long-term well-being, have a continuing interest in the
Company’s business, and act in the best interests of the Company’s stockholders.
Effect of Corporate Governance Guidelines
These Corporate Governance Guidelines are intended as one of the components of the
flexible framework within which the Board of Directors and its committees direct and oversee
the affairs of the Company. While these Guidelines should be interpreted in the context of
applicable laws, regulations and listing requirements, as well as in the context of the Company’s
Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws, they are not intended to establish by their own force
any legally binding obligations.
Amendment of Corporate Governance Guidelines
The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee should review these Guidelines
from time to time as necessary or appropriate (but not less frequently than every three years), and
should report to the full Board for its consideration and adoption any recommendations for
amendment. The Board may amend, modify or make exceptions to these Guidelines from time
to time in its discretion and consistent with its duties and responsibilities to the Company and its
stockholders.
Publication of Corporate Governance Guidelines
Consistent with NYSE listing requirements, these Corporate Governance Guidelines will
be posted on the Company’s public website, and will be made available in print to anyone who
requests them.
Dated January 2006; most recently amended May 28, 2009
Corporate Governance Guidelines