Corporate Governance Guidelines
As of September, 2007
The following Corporate Governance Guidelines have been adopted by the
Board of Directors of WESCO International, Inc. These guidelines are
established to assist directors in fully understanding and effectively
implementing their functions while assuring the Company's ongoing commitment
to high standards of corporate conduct and compliance. It is the responsibility
of the Board's Nominating and Governance Committee to annually review
and assess these Corporate Governance Guidelines and to recommend any
necessary changes to the Board of Directors.
Although each of our directors is expected to fulfill his or her duties
in an overall spirit of good corporate conduct, these Guidelines are
intended to provide a framework for our system of corporate governance
and to address specific issues pertaining to the Company's policies
or programs, including:
- Director Qualifications;
- Director Responsibilities;
- Committees of the Board;
- Director Access to Officers and Employees;
- Director Compensation;
- Director Succession;
- Director Orientation and Continuing Education;
- Evaluation of the CEO; and
- Annual Performance Evaluations.
New and continuing members of the Board are encouraged to periodically
review these guidelines and to continue to foster a corporate culture
focused on efficient and ethical management and governance.
Director Qualifications
Significant Changes in Job Responsibilities of Directors
Elected Term
Director Responsibilities
Committees of the Board
Meetings in Executive Session
Director Access to Officers and Employees
Director Compensation
Succession Strategy
Director Orientation and Continuing Education
Evaluation of the CEO
Annual Performance Evaluation
Director Qualifications
The Board will consist of a majority of directors who qualify as "independent"
directors within the meaning of the NYSE Listed Company Corporate Governance
Standards and the Company's independence standards. The Nominating and
Governance Committee will review with the Board at least annually the
qualifications of new and existing Board members, considering the level
of independence of individual members, together with such other factors,
including overall skills and experience. This affirmative determination
of independence will be disclosed in the Company's public filings. The
Board will also disclose in its public filings the standards by which
it determines that a director is independent. The Nominating and Governance
Committee will also assess the Company's on-going compliance with the
independence and other standards set by NYSE rules. We expect our Directors
to abstain from voting or commenting on any issue(s) that might be perceived
as a potential conflict of interest.
Significant Changes in Job Responsibilities
of Directors
Company employees who are also directors of the Company are expected
to resign from the Board at the time that they relinquish their corporate
officer position with the Company. The Board expects other directors
who change the principal employment positions they held when they became
members of the Board to promptly notify the Chairman of the Board of
such change. The Chairman will refer the change in status to the Nominating
and Governance Committee who will determine whether or not to seek the
director's resignation in light of the particular circumstances (including
the director's new employment position (if any) and its impact on the
director's independence).
Elected Term
We have determined as a Board to elect Directors to a three-year term
with no limits with regard to length of service on the Board. Our Board
is organized into three classes, each standing for re-election every
third year. The Directors standing for election or re-election will
be recommended to the full Board as director nominees by the Nominating
and Governance Committee. In recommending nominees, the Nominating and
Governance Committee will annually review the composition of the Board
affording each director whose term is expiring the opportunity to continue
to serve on the Board to the extent deemed appropriate by the Committee
and desirable to the individual director. The Board of Directors has
the authority to increase or decrease the number of directors and has
the power to fill any vacancies that may occur. As of age 70, directors
will not be considered for re-election to the Board.
Director Responsibilities
The basic responsibility of each director is to act on the basis of
his or her informed business judgment in a manner such director reasonably
believes to be in the best interests of the Company. In discharging
their obligations to the Company, members of the Board are expected
to rely, to the extent reasonable, on the honesty and integrity of the
Company's management and its outside auditors and advisors.
As part of their fiduciary duty to the Company, members of the Board
are expected to prepare for and attend, either in person or telephonically,
as applicable, all meetings of the Board and any committee of the Board
on which they serve. It is each Director's duty to assure that such
meetings are scheduled and held in a manner and with such frequency
that is sufficient to provide for the efficient and responsible oversight
of the Company.
The Chairman of the Board or applicable committee of the Board will
prepare and distribute in advance an agenda of the topics to be reviewed,
discussed and/or acted upon at Board or Committee meetings. Individual
directors are free to request additions to the agenda or otherwise raise
questions regarding the agenda either prior to or during any such meeting.
Information and data that are important to the directors' understanding
of the business to be conducted at any such meeting should, to the extent
practicable, be distributed to the appropriate directors sufficiently
in advance of any such meeting, and each director should endeavor to
fully review any such materials prior to attending the meeting.
In addition to any other regularly scheduled meetings of the Board,
the non-management members of the Board will meet in executive session
at least twice annually. The non-management directors will choose one
non-management member of the Board to preside at such executive sessions,
and the Company will disclose the identity of such presiding director(s)
in its annual Proxy Statement.
As necessary or appropriate in connection with the discharge of its
duties, the Board and each committee thereof will be entitled and empowered
to engage and seek the advice of outside legal, financial and other
advisors.
Committees of the Board
As provided in the Company's Bylaws, the Board may from time to time
establish such committees as it deems appropriate. However, in accordance
with NYSE rules, the Company will at all times have an Audit Committee,
a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Governance Committee.
These three committees are referred to as standing committees. The members
of these committees will meet the applicable independence and other
qualifications established by the NYSE rules and will be appointed to
serve on such committees by the Board on the recommendation of the Nominating
and Governance Committee. The Nominating and Governance Committee will
also recommend a Chairman for each committee who will be principally
responsible for administering the committee and ensuring compliance
with the committee's applicable charter (as discussed below). Committee
Chairman positions will be rotated or reassigned approximately every
five years.
Each standing committee of the Board shall have its own charter setting
forth the purpose, goals and responsibilities, the manner in which the
committee is to function, and the qualifications required of its members.
Each committee shall be required to perform an annual evaluation of
its own performance.
The Board will also maintain an Executive Committee, and the Board,
as well as its Committees, has the power to create other special purpose
committees or subcommittees.
Meetings in Executive Session
In addition to regularly scheduled Committee meetings, the Board will
also hold meetings in Executive Session, where only the outside directors
participate. Employee directors will not participate. The independent
directors will designate a Presiding Director who will serve as Chairman
of meetings held in Executive Session. Among the topics that may be
discussed in Executive Session are strategic direction and performance,
financing and capitalization alternatives, management performance and
evaluations, succession planning for the CEO and other key executives,
and Board of Directors and Committee performance assessments.
Director Access to Officers and Employees
Members of the Board will have full and free access to officers and
employees of the Company. Officers and other employees of the Company
may be invited by the Chairman of the Board to attend and/or make presentations
at meetings of the Board from time to time to further the Board's familiarity
with management personnel and to discuss pertinent detail of agenda
topics and any other aspects of overall operations that are of interest
to members of the Board of the Company, as deemed appropriate.
Director Compensation
The form and amount of director compensation will be determined and
reviewed from time to time by the Compensation Committee in accordance
with its charter and applicable NYSE and other rules and guidelines.
The Compensation Committee will consider whether a directors' independence
may be jeopardized if the Company enters into consulting contracts with
or otherwise provides any form of indirect compensation to a director
or any organization with which such director is affiliated.
Succession Strategy
The Chief Executive Officer shall periodically discuss with the Board succession strategy planning for
certain senior officers of the Company assessing senior managers and their potential to succeed the
Chief Executive Officer and other senior management positions.
Director Orientation and Continuing Education
All new and continuing directors are encouraged to review orientation
materials prepared by the Company. A Director Orientation meeting will
be held within three months following any new director's appointment
or election to the Board. This meeting will provide an understanding
of the Company, its business, operations, and key personnel, and it
may consist of management presentations and other reference materials,
and programs describing the Company and its activities. Topics such
as the following may be covered: markets, competitive position and strategies,
significant financial, accounting and risk management issues, compliance
programs and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, key personnel of independent
auditors and outside legal, financial and other advisory firms. In addition, Directors are encouraged to
participate in continuing education programs.
Evaluation of the CEO
The Compensation Committee will conduct an annual review of the CEO's
performance and compensation, as set forth in its charter, and will
present its findings to the Board, which will consider the report of
the Compensation Committee with a view toward ensuring that the CEO
provides continuing leadership in a manner serving the best interests
of the Company.
Annual Performance Evaluation
The Board will conduct an annual review of its own performance to assure
that the duties of the Board as a whole continue to be discharged in
a manner consistent with overall Board objectives, NYSE rules and other
applicable rules and guidelines. The Presiding Director is charged with
the responsibility of overseeing the Board evaluation program. The Board
will discuss areas in which its performance may be improved and the
actions which may be taken over the coming year to facilitate such improvement.
In addition, each standing committee will evaluate and report on its
performance in relationship to the responsibilities established in its
charter.