Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
(e) On June 9, 2022, Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) held its 2022 annual meeting of stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”). At the Annual Meeting, stockholders of the Company approved the Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), pursuant to which 1,100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, plus (i) the number of shares of common stock remaining available for grant under the Company’s 2016 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2016 Plan”) and (ii) the number of shares of common stock underlying any award granted under the 2016 Plan that expires, terminates, or is canceled or forfeited without such shares of common stock having been issued (subject to adjustment as described in the Plan) are available for issuance as equity incentives to its employees, consultants and directors.
You can find a summary of the principal features of the Plan in the definitive proxy statement for the Annual Meeting, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2022 (the “Proxy Statement”), under the heading “Proposal 3 – Approval of the Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Stock Incentive Plan”. The summary of the Plan contained in the Proxy Statement is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Plan, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
The Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved the Plan on April 8, 2022, subject to stockholder approval, and also approved on that date the form of Notice of Stock Option Grant and Award Agreement, filed as Exhibit 10.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
The following proposals were voted upon at the Annual Meeting and the final voting results with respect to each such proposal are set forth below.
At the Annual Meeting, stockholders elected directors to the Board for a one-year term expiring in 2023, or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, based on the following votes:
Members | | For | | | Withheld | | | Broker Non-Votes | |
June Almenoff | | | 14,350,845 | | | | 794,600 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Steven Boyd | | | 14,972,603 | | | | 172,842 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Michael Davidson | | | 14,980,810 | | | | 164,635 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Declan Doogan | | | 14,971,708 | | | | 173,737 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Christopher T. Giordano | | | 14,972,540 | | | | 172,905 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Robyn M. Hunter | | | 14,973,560 | | | | 171,885 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Keith Maher | | | 14,972,190 | | | | 173,255 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Gerald T. Proehl | | | 14,937,288 | | | | 208,157 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
Stuart Rich | | | 14,970,986 | | | | 174,459 | | | | 3,698,286 | |
The stockholders also approved an amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation, as amended, to authorize a reverse stock split of each issued and outstanding share of the Company’s common stock by a ratio of not less than one-for-three (1:3) and not more than one-for-twenty (1:20), with the exact ratio to be set at a number within this range as determined by the Board in its sole discretion, and permit the Board to implement or abandon this amendment no later than June 9, 2023. The vote for this proposal was 16,995,084 shares for, 1,846,588 shares against, 2,059 shares abstaining, and no broker non-votes.
Stockholders also approved the Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Stock Incentive Plan, as described in Item 5.02 above. The vote for this proposal was 13,966,375 shares for, 1,132,950 shares against, 46,120 shares abstaining, and 3,698,286 broker non-votes.
Stockholders also voted on a nonbinding resolution approving, on an advisory basis, the Company’s 2021 named executive officer compensation as disclosed in the Proxy Statement. The vote on the resolution was approved with 13,901,272 shares for, 1,123,419 shares against, 120,754 shares abstaining, and 3,698,286 broker non-votes.
Lastly, stockholders ratified the selection of Cherry Bekaert LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2022. The vote for such ratification was 18,690,740 shares for, 96,224 shares against, 56,767 shares abstaining, and no broker non-votes.