LAUSANNE, Switzerland & NEWARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Logitech International (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI) today outlined a number of proposals, approved by its board of directors, on which it will ask shareholders to vote at the Company’s annual general meeting (AGM). The proposals include:
- The election to the board of Guy Gecht, former chief executive officer of Electronics for Imaging Inc. (EFI), and Michael Polk, former president and chief executive officer of Newell Brands Inc.
- The election of Wendy Becker as Logitech’s new chairperson following the 2019 AGM. This follows a decision by Guerrino De Luca not to stand for re-election as chairperson when his current term ends. Guerrino De Luca will remain on the board, subject to his re-election as a member of the board.
- A 10 percent annual increase for Logitech’s FY 2019 dividend.
Logitech’s AGM will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 4, 2019.
New Board Directors
Logitech’s board of directors will ask shareholders at the 2019 AGM to approve the election to the board of Guy Gecht, former chief executive officer of Electronics for Imaging Inc. (EFI), and Michael Polk, former president and chief executive officer of Newell Brands Inc.
Lung Yeh has decided not to stand for re-election to the board at the 2019 AGM when his current term ends. Lung Yeh has been a non-executive member of Logitech's board of directors since September 2015 and serves on Logitech's Audit Committee and Technology and Innovation Committee. Logitech communicated last week that Dimitri Panayotopoulos, a non-executive member of Logitech's board of directors since December 2014, had resigned for personal reasons, effective immediately. Dimitri Panayotopoulos served on Logitech’s Compensation Committee.
Guerrino De Luca, executive chairperson of Logitech, commented: “We send our gratitude and warm wishes to Lung, as we did to Dimitri, for his dedicated service to Logitech. He has been an integral part of the team that saw Logitech transform into a growth company and we wish him well for the future.
“For three decades, Guy Gecht has held senior roles in engineering and business strategy, in public companies and start-ups based in Silicon Valley and Israel. A former long-tenure chief executive officer of Electronics for Imaging, he led the transformation of EFI into a global leader in digital imaging and is currently a board member of Check Point Software Technologies. Michael Polk has spent more than thirty years in senior leadership roles in consumer multi-brand, multi-category companies like Unilever, Kraft Foods and, most recently, Newell Brands. He also serves on the board of Colgate-Palmolive Company. His global business acumen and strong background in companies with a portfolio of consumer brands will be a real asset. We are fortunate to have two such highly qualified and experienced nominees for the board. We warmly welcome them both at this exciting time for the team.”
New Logitech Chairperson
After more than twenty years serving Logitech, of which ten years were as executive chairperson of Logitech’s board of directors, Guerrino De Luca has decided not to stand for re-election as chairperson at the 2019 AGM when his current term ends. Now that Bracken Darrell has been chief executive officer for more than five years, Guerrino, with the agreement of the board, has identified this as the right time for change, allowing for a smooth transition of Guerrino’s role as chairperson. Logitech is executing on its strategy to be a design-focused, multi-brand, multi-category company and has delivered six consecutive years of innovation and growth. Guerrino will continue to serve Logitech as an executive member of the board, subject to his re-election.
The board of directors will ask shareholders at the 2019 AGM to elect Wendy Becker as Logitech’s new chairperson. Wendy Becker has been a non-executive member of Logitech's board of directors since September 2017, is the current chair of Logitech's Compensation Committee and serves on Logitech's Nominating Committee. Wendy has deep experience in strategy, brand marketing and design from her senior leadership roles, as well as diverse board and trustee leadership positions.
“It’s impossible to measure the contribution Guerrino has made to Logitech, over his first decade as CEO and his second as executive chairperson,” said Bracken Darrell, Logitech president and chief executive officer. “Under Guerrino’s direct leadership as CEO, Logitech had remarkably innovative and successful years. And then he did what many retiring CEOs consider impossible: he took a long-term view of the company’s potential and agreed to step into the role of chairperson. As chairperson he has been a highly constructive partner for me. In classic Guerrino fashion, he is again thinking long term and starting the transition to a new chairperson for the future. I’m delighted that Guerrino will remain with us as an executive board member.
“I am equally excited to continue my collaboration with Wendy - she is a great partner to me and has provided incredible value and insight during her time on the board. A global citizen, she brings a rare depth and breadth of senior experience in retail, technology, consumer goods and non-profit sectors, as a leader, consultant and board member. Logitech benefits from her unique track record of bringing large company experience to small companies, and the best of small companies to large ones. We will continue to benefit from her impressive leadership and broad global experience.”
Increased Annual Dividend
Logitech’s board of directors has approved and proposes an annual dividend for Fiscal Year 2019 of approximately CHF 0.73 per share* – an approximately 10 percent increase compared to Fiscal Year 2018. The gross aggregate dividend is subject to shareholder approval at Logitech's AGM in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 4, 2019.
If the dividend proposal is approved by shareholders at the Company's AGM, the approximate payment date for the dividend is expected to be September 20, 2019.
Logitech expects to publish its annual report to shareholders and its invitation for its 2019 AGM in July 2019. The Company also intends to file its preliminary proxy statement, which includes additional information regarding the nominees and other proposals for the AGM, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and post it on the Company's website at http://ir.logitech.com in July 2019.
About Logitech
Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people's lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. More than 35 years ago, Logitech started connecting people through computers, and now it’s a multi-brand company designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video and computing. Brands of Logitech include Logitech, Ultimate Ears, Jaybird, Blue Microphones, ASTRO Gaming and Logitech G. Founded in 1981, and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Find Logitech at www.logitech.com, the company blog or @Logitech.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding: the election of new directors and chairperson, dividends, the timing of dividend payments, the timing of the AGM, and the timing of various filings. The forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Logitech's actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: if our product offerings, marketing activities and investment prioritization decisions do not result in the sales, profitability or profitability growth we expect, or when we expect it; the demand of our customers and our consumers for our products and our ability to accurately forecast it; if we fail to innovate and develop new products in a timely and cost-effective manner for our new and existing product categories; if we do not successfully execute on our growth opportunities or our growth opportunities are more limited than we expect; if sales of PC peripherals are less than we expect; the effect of pricing, product, marketing and other initiatives by our competitors, and our reaction to them, on our sales, gross margins and profitability; if our products and marketing strategies fail to separate our products from competitors’ products; if we do not fully realize our goals to lower our costs and improve our operating leverage; if there is a deterioration of business and economic conditions in one or more of our sales regions or operating segments, or significant fluctuations in exchange rates; we cannot ensure that we will continue to increase our dividend payments or to pay dividends at all; the effect of changes to our effective income tax rates. A detailed discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in Logitech's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, available at www.sec.gov, under the caption Risk Factors and elsewhere. Logitech does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
Logitech and other Logitech marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Logitech Europe S.A and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s website at www.logitech.com.
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* Based on the number of shares outstanding as of March 31, 2019. The actual number may change as of the record date.
