CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
General
We believe that good corporate governance is important to ensure the long-term benefit of our stockholders. This section describes key corporate governance practices that we have adopted, including our Code of Business Ethics policy, which applies to all of our officers, directors and employees, Corporate Governance Principles, and charters for our Board of Directors’ Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Governance Committee. We have posted copies of our Code of Business Ethics policy as well as each of our committee charters, under the heading “Corporate Governance” in the “Investors” section of our website, www.nutexhealth.com, which you can access free of charge. Information contained on the website is not incorporated by reference in, or considered part of, this proxy statement. We intend to disclose on our website any amendments to, or waivers from, our Code of Business Ethics policy that are required to be disclosed by law or the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”). We will also provide copies of these documents as well as our other corporate governance documents, free of charge, to any stockholder upon written request to Nutex Health Inc., 6030 S. Rice Ave, Suite C, Houston, TX 77081, Attention: Investor Relations.
Director Independence
Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq Listing Rules requires a majority of a listed company’s board of directors to be comprised of independent directors. In addition, the Nasdaq Listing Rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s Audit, Compensation and Nominations Committees be independent and that Audit Committee members also satisfy independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
Under Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of our Board, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In order to be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act, a member of an Audit Committee of a listed company may not, other than in his or her capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of directors, or any other board committee, accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries or otherwise be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries.
Ms. Cheryl Grenas, R.N., M.S.N. and Messrs. Mitchell Creem, MHA, Michael Reed MPH and Scott J. Saunders, MPPM each qualify as “independent” in accordance with the listing requirements of NASDAQ. The NASDAQ independence definition includes a series of objective tests, including that the director is not, and has not been for at least three years, one of our employees and that neither the director nor any of his family members has engaged in various types of business dealings with us.
In addition, as required by Nasdaq Listing Rules, our Board has made an affirmative determination as to each independent director that no relationships exist, which, in the opinion of our Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In making these determinations, our Board reviewed and discussed information provided by the directors and us with regard to each director’s business and personal activities and relationships as they may relate to us and our management, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock by each director.
Messrs. Thomas T. Vo, M.D., MBA and Warren Hosseinion, M.D. are not considered independent because they are officers of the Company. Mr. Kevin Spears, M.D. is not considered independent because since 2017, he has been a Physician Partner, Chief Medical Director and ED Director at Alexandria Emergency Hospital in Alexandria, LA., a hospital affiliate of the Company. Our Board also determined that each non-employee director who serves as a member of the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating Committees satisfies the independence standards for such committee established by the SEC and NASDAQ, as applicable. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
Board Leadership Structure
Our Second Amended and Restated Bylaws provide our Board with flexibility to combine or separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in accordance with its determination