Committee assists the Sunlight Board with its oversight of and identification of individuals qualified to become members of the Sunlight Board, consistent with criteria approved by the Sunlight Board and the Investor Rights Agreement (as defined below), and selects, or recommends that the Sunlight Board select, director nominees, develops, evaluates and recommends to the Sunlight Board any changes to the Company’s corporate governance guidelines, and oversees the evaluation of the Sunlight Board, committees and management.
Considerations in Evaluating Director Nominees
The Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee is responsible for determining the qualifications, qualities, skills and other expertise required to be a director, which shall include consideration of factors such as business experience and diversity in professional background, education, skill and other individual qualities and attributes that contribute to the total mix of viewpoints and experience represented on the Board, and to develop, and recommend to the Board for its approval, criteria to be considered in selecting nominees for director. Candidates for director nominees are reviewed in the context of the current composition, organization and governance of the Board and its committees.
The Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee evaluates the performance of individual members of the Board eligible for re-election and evaluates the independence of directors and director nominees against the independence requirements of the NYSE listing standards, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, and other applicable laws, and makes recommendations related to the determination thereof to the Board.
The Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee will consider director candidates recommended by stockholders. The policy adopted in the Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee’s charter provides that candidates recommended by stockholders are given appropriate consideration in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations and the provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Second A&R Charter”) and Bylaws.
Stockholder Recommendations for Nominations to the Board of Directors
The Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee will consider director candidates recommended by stockholders. The Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee does not alter the manner in which it evaluates candidates, including the minimum criteria set forth above, based on whether or not the candidate was recommended by a stockholder. However, the Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee has the power and authority to establish procedures for submission of director nominees to the Board, including stockholder nominees, as approved by the Board in the Company’s policies and procedures for director candidates and to review and evaluate any stockholder nominees for director submitted in accordance with our Bylaws and any candidates, for the Board recommended by stockholders in accordance with the Company’s policies and procedures for director candidates.
Subject to advance notice provisions contained in our Bylaws, a stockholder may propose the nomination of someone for election as a director at our annual meeting of stockholders by timely written notice to our Secretary. Stockholders who wish to recommend individuals for consideration by the Nominating, Governance & ESG Committee to become nominees for election to the Board may do so by delivering a written notice to Sunlight’s Corporate Secretary at 101 N. Tyron Street, Suite 1000, Charlotte, NC, 28246 not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting. As discussed in our Bylaws, the notice must set forth: (A) certain information as to each nominee such stockholder proposes to nominate at the meeting as set forth in our Bylaws, including such person’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected, and (B) certain information as to, and certain representations and certifications from, the stockholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is being made, as set forth in our Bylaws. In addition to satisfying the foregoing requirements under our Bylaws, to comply with the universal proxy rules, stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Company’s nominees must provide notice that sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act no later than June 12, 2024.
Communicating with the Board of Directors
The Nominating Governance & ESG Committee oversees the Company’s process for stockholder communications with the Board. As outlined in the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, available on the Company’s website at https://ir.sunlightfinancial.com/leadership-governance/board-of-directors under “Governance Documents”, stockholders and any interested party may communicate with the Board, any committee of the Board, the Chairperson of the Board, the lead independent director, or any other director by sending written communications containing the information specified in the Corporate Governance Guidelines to the attention of the Company’s Corporate Secretary at Sunlight Financial Holdings Inc., 101 N. Tryon Street, Suite 1000, Charlotte, NC 28246. The Corporate Secretary will, in consultation with appropriate directors as reasonably necessary, review and forward proper communications to the Board, a Board committee, the Chairperson of the