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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

 

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.     )

 

Filed by the Registrant  o

 

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  o

 

Check the appropriate box:

o

Preliminary Proxy Statement

o

Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

x

Definitive Proxy Statement

o

Definitive Additional Materials

o

Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12

 

ConforMIS, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

 

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

x

No fee required.

o

Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

 

(1)

Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 

 

 

(2)

Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 

 

 

(3)

Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

 

 

 

 

(4)

Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

 

 

 

 

(5)

Total fee paid:

 

 

 

o

Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

o

Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

 

(1)

Amount Previously Paid:

 

 

 

 

(2)

Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

 

 

 

 

(3)

Filing Party:

 

 

 

 

(4)

Date Filed:

 

 

 

 



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April 21, 2016

 

Dear ConforMIS, Inc. Stockholder:

 

You are cordially invited to our 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or Annual Meeting, on Thursday, June 2, 2016, beginning at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, at the offices of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, 60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, United States.

 

The enclosed notice of annual meeting of stockholders sets forth the proposals that will be presented at the meeting, which are described in more detail in the enclosed proxy statement.  Our board of directors recommends that you vote “FOR” Proposals 1 and 2, as set forth in the proxy statement.

 

All stockholders are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting.  We are providing proxy material access to our stockholders via the internet at www.proxyvote.com.  Internet distribution of our proxy materials conserves natural resources, lowers the cost of the Annual Meeting, and expedites receipt by stockholders.  The matters to be acted upon at this Annual Meeting are described in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you will receive in the mail.  Please give the proxy materials your careful attention.

 

You may vote via the internet or by telephone by following the instructions on your Notice of Internet Availability.  In order to vote via the internet or by telephone, you must have the stockholder identification number which is provided in your Notice.  If you requested a proxy card by mail, you may vote by signing, voting and returning the proxy card in the envelope provided.  If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may vote at the meeting even if you previously returned your proxy card or voted via the internet or by telephone.  Please review the instructions for each voting option described in the Notice of Internet Availability and in the proxy statement.  Your prompt cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

GRAPHIC

 

 

 

Philipp Lang, M.D.

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

 



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ConforMIS, INC.
28 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730

 

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
to be held on Thursday, June 2, 2016

 

To the Stockholders of ConforMIS, Inc.

 

The 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of ConforMIS, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), will be held on Thursday, June 2, 2016, beginning at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, at the offices of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, 60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, United States.   The purpose of the meeting is to consider and act upon the following matters:

 

1.              To elect two class I directors of our board of directors to serve until the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified;

 

2.              To ratify the selection of Grant Thornton LLP as ConforMIS’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016; and

 

3.              To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

 

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 7, 2016 will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

 

All stockholders are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting.  We are providing proxy material access to our stockholders via the internet at www.proxyvote.com.  The matters to be acted upon at this Annual Meeting are described in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you will receive in the mail.  Please give the proxy materials your careful attention.

 

In addition to their availability at www.proxyvote.com, this proxy statement and our 2015 annual report to stockholders are available for viewing, printing and downloading at ir.conformis.com.

 

 

 

By Order of the Board of Directors,

 

 

 

GRAPHIC

 

 

 

Philipp Lang, M.D.

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

Bedford, Massachusetts
April 21, 2016

 



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YOU MAY OBTAIN ADMISSION TO THE ANNUAL MEETING BY IDENTIFYING YOURSELF AT THE ANNUAL MEETING AS A STOCKHOLDER AS OF THE RECORD DATE.  IF YOU ARE A RECORD OWNER, POSSESSION OF A COPY OF A PROXY CARD WILL BE ADEQUATE IDENTIFICATION.  IF YOU ARE A BENEFICIAL (BUT NOT RECORD) OWNER, A COPY OF AN ACCOUNT STATEMENT FROM YOUR BANK, BROKER OR OTHER NOMINEE SHOWING SHARES HELD FOR YOUR BENEFIT ON APRIL 7, 2016 WILL BE ADEQUATE IDENTIFICATION.

 

WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING, PLEASE COMPLETE, DATE AND SIGN THE ENCLOSED PROXY CARD AND MAIL IT PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE IN ORDER TO HELP ENSURE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR SHARES AT THE ANNUAL MEETING.  NO POSTAGE NEED BE AFFIXED IF THE PROXY CARD IS MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES.  ALTERNATIVELY, YOU MAY SUBMIT YOUR VOTE VIA THE INTERNET OR BY TELEPHONE BY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS SET FORTH ON THE ENCLOSED PROXY CARD.

 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

1

 

 

Votes Required

3

 

 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

4

 

 

Board of Directors

4

 

 

Board Committees

10

 

 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

13

 

 

Board Meetings and Attendance

13

 

 

Board Processes

13

 

 

Board Policies

16

 

 

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

20

 

 

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

21

 

 

Summary Compensation Table

21

 

 

Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table

22

 

 

Outstanding Equity Awards at Year End

23

 

 

Agreements with Named Executive Officers

24

 

 

Stock Option and Other Compensation Plans

26

 

 

401(k) Plan

32

 

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

33

 

 

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

34

 

 

Summary Compensation Table

34

 

 

Director Compensation Arrangements

35

 

 

AUDIT-RELATED MATTERS

37

 

 

Audit Committee Report

37

 

 

Audit Fees and Services

37

 

 

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

38

 

 

MATTERS TO BE VOTED ON

38

 

 

Proposal 1: Election of Class I Directors

38

 

 

Proposal 2: To Ratify the Selection of Grant Thornton LLP as ConforMIS’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2016

39

 

 

OWNERSHIP OF COMMON STOCK

40

 



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Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

43

 

 

OTHER MATTERS

44

 

 

Solicitation of Proxies

44

 

 

Householding of Annual Meeting Materials

44

 

 

Deadline for Submission of Stockholder Proposals for 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

44

 



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CONFORMIS, INC.
28 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730

 

PROXY STATEMENT FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

 

Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

This proxy statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the board of directors (the “board of directors” or the “board”) of ConforMIS, Inc. (“ConforMIS,” “we” or “us”) for use at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) to be held on Thursday, June 2, 2016, beginning at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, at the offices of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, 60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, United States, and at any adjournment or postponement thereof.  On April 7, 2016, the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, there were outstanding and entitled to vote an aggregate of 41,764,813 shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (“common stock”).  Each share of common stock entitles the record holder thereof to one vote on each of the matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

 

Your vote is important no matter how many shares you own.  Please take the time to vote.  Take a moment to read the instructions below.  Choose the way to vote that is easiest and most convenient for you, and cast your vote as soon as possible.

 

If you are the “record holder” of your shares, meaning that you own your shares in your own name and not through a bank, broker or other nominee, you may vote in one of four ways:

 

(1)                                 You may vote over the internet.  You may vote your shares by following the “Vote by Internet” instructions on the enclosed proxy card.  If you vote over the internet, you do not need to vote by telephone or complete and mail your proxy card.

 

(2)                                 You may vote by telephone.  You may vote your shares by following the “Vote by Phone” instructions on the enclosed proxy card.  If you vote by telephone, you do not need to vote over the internet or complete and mail your proxy card.

 

(3)                                 You may vote by mail.  You may vote by completing, dating and signing the proxy card delivered with this proxy statement and promptly mailing it in the enclosed postage-paid envelope.  If you vote by mail, you do not need to vote over the internet or by telephone.

 

(4)                                 You may vote in person.  If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may vote by delivering your completed proxy card in person or you may vote by completing a ballot at the Annual Meeting.  Ballots will be available at the Annual Meeting.

 

All proxies that are executed or are otherwise submitted over the internet or by telephone will be voted on the matters set forth in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders in accordance with the stockholders’ instructions.  However, if no choice is

 

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specified on a proxy as to one or more of the proposals, the proxy will be voted in accordance with the board of directors’ recommendations on such proposals as set forth in this proxy statement.

 

After you have submitted a proxy, you may still change your vote and revoke your proxy prior to the Annual Meeting by doing any one of the following things:

 

·                  submitting a new proxy by following the “Vote by Internet” or “Vote by Phone” instructions on the enclosed proxy card up until 11:59 p.m., Eastern time, the day before the Annual Meeting;

 

·                  signing another proxy card and either arranging for delivery of that proxy card by mail prior to the start of the Annual Meeting, or by delivering that signed proxy card in person at the Annual Meeting;

 

·                  giving our General Counsel a written notice before or at the Annual Meeting that you want to revoke your proxy; or

 

·                  voting in person at the Annual Meeting.

 

Your attendance at the Annual Meeting alone will not revoke your proxy.

 

If the shares you own are held in “street name” by a bank, broker or other nominee record holder, which we collectively refer to in this proxy statement as “brokerage firms,” your brokerage firm, as the record holder of your shares, is required to vote your shares according to your instructions.  In order to vote your shares, you will need to follow the directions your brokerage firm provides you.  Many brokerage firms also offer the option of voting over the internet or by telephone, instructions for which, if available, would be provided by your brokerage firm on the voting instruction form that it delivers to you.  Because most brokerage firms are member organizations of the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, the rules of the NYSE will likely govern how your brokerage firm would be permitted to vote your shares in the absence of instruction from you.  Under the current rules of the NYSE, if you do not give instructions to your brokerage firm, it will still be able to vote your shares with respect to certain “discretionary” items, but will not be allowed to vote your shares with respect to certain “non-discretionary” items.  The ratification of Grant Thornton LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2) is considered to be a discretionary item under the NYSE rules, and your brokerage firm will be able to vote your shares with respect to that proposal even if it does not receive instructions from you, so long as it holds your shares in its name.  The election of class I directors (Proposal 1) is a “non-discretionary” item, meaning that if you do not instruct your brokerage firm on how to vote with respect to Proposal 1, your brokerage firm will not vote your shares with respect to that proposal and your shares will be counted as “broker non-votes.” “Broker non-votes” are shares that are held in “street name” by a brokerage firm that indicates on its proxy that it does not have or did not exercise discretionary authority to vote on a particular matter.

 

If your shares are held in street name, you must bring an account statement from your brokerage firm showing that you are the beneficial owner of the shares as of the record date

 

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(April 7, 2016) in order to be admitted to the Annual Meeting.  To be able to vote your shares held in street name at the Annual Meeting, you will need to obtain a proxy card from the holder of record.

 

Votes Required

 

The holders of a majority of the shares of our common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the Annual Meeting.  Shares of common stock represented in person or by proxy (including shares which abstain or do not vote with respect to one or more of the matters presented for stockholder approval) will be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the Annual Meeting.  If a quorum is not present, the meeting may be adjourned until a quorum is obtained.  The following votes are required for approval of the proposals being presented at the Annual Meeting:

 

Proposal 1: To Elect Two Class I Directors.  The two nominees for director receiving the highest number of votes “FOR” election will be elected as directors.  This is called a plurality.

 

Proposal 2: To Ratify the Selection of Grant Thornton LLP as ConforMIS’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2016.  The affirmative vote of the holders of shares of common stock representing a majority of the votes cast on the matter and voting affirmatively or negatively is required for the ratification of the selection of Grant Thornton LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year.

 

Shares that abstain from voting as to a particular matter and shares held in “street name” by brokerage firms who indicate on their proxies that they do not have discretionary authority to vote such shares as to a particular matter will not be counted as votes in favor of such matter, and will also not be counted as shares voting on such matter.  Accordingly, abstentions and “broker non-votes” will have no effect on the voting on the proposals referenced above.

 

This proxy statement, the enclosed proxy card and our 2015 annual report to stockholders were first made available to stockholders on or about April 21, 2016.

 

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials
for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to Be Held on June 2, 2016:
This proxy statement and our 2015 annual report to
stockholders, which includes our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2015, are available at www.conformis.com
for viewing, downloading and printing.

 

A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, except for exhibits, will be furnished without charge to any stockholder upon written or oral request to ConforMIS, Inc., 28 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730, Attention: Oksana Bradley, Investor Relations, Telephone: (781) 345-9001.

 

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

Board of Directors

 

Members of Our Board of Directors

 

Set forth below are the names and certain biographical information about each member of our board of directors as of March 31, 2016.  The information presented includes each director’s principal occupation and business experience for the past five years and the names of other public companies of which he has served as a director during the past five years.  We believe that all of our directors possess the attributes and characteristics described in “—Board Processes—Director Nomination Process.”

 

Name

 

Age

 

Position(s)

Philipp Lang, M.D.(4)

 

53

 

President and Chief Executive Officer and Director

Kenneth Fallon III(3)

 

76

 

Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors

Bradley Langdale(1)(2)

 

51

 

Director

Colm Lanigan(2)

 

50

 

Director

Richard Meelia(2)

 

67

 

Director

Michael Milligan(1)(3)

 

52

 

Director

Frank Mühlenbeck, Ph.D.(3)(5)

 

45

 

Director

Aditya Puri(2)(4)

 

45

 

Director

Laurent Souviron(1)(5)

 

49

 

Director

 


(1)   Member of audit committee.

(2)   Member of compensation committee.

(3)   Member of the nominating and corporate governance committee.

(4)   Member of the Asia strategy committee.

(5)   Term to expire at the Annual Meeting and not standing for re-election.

 

Philipp Lang, M.D. is our founder and has served on our board of directors since March 2004, including as Chairman of our board of directors from March 2004 to February 2015.  He has also served as our Chief Executive Officer since January 2008.  He was also the founder of ImaTx, Inc., one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, which focuses on osteoporosis screening.  He previously held positions as the director of the Division of Musculoskeletal Radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School from September 2001 to September 2008 and as Distinguished Weissman Chair from May 2006 to September 2008.  Dr. Lang has an M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management and an M.D. from Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg School of Medicine in Germany.  Dr. Lang has provided strategic leadership as an inventor of technology underlying more than 500 patents and patent applications in the United States and abroad.  We believe that Dr. Lang is uniquely qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his institutional knowledge of our company as its founder as well as his extensive experience in the medical device industry.

 

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Kenneth Fallon III has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2005, including as Chairman of our board of directors since February 2015.  Mr. Fallon retired from active employment in March 2003.  From time to time between March 2004 to June 2009, Mr. Fallon served as an advisor to Kairos Partners, an investment firm.  Mr. Fallon retired as the chairman of the board of Axya Medical, Inc., a medical device company, in March 2003.  Prior to that, Mr. Fallon also served as the chief executive officer of Axya Medical, Inc.; as president of the surgical business at Haemonetics Corporation, a manufacturer of blood processing technology; as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of UltraCision, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of ultrasonically powered surgical instruments; as president and chief executive officer of American Surgical Technologies Corporation, a company that manufactures laparoscopic viewing systems; as president, U.S. operations of Zimmer, Inc., a joint replacement company and then a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; as president of Zimmer’s Orthopaedic Implant Division and as its vice president of marketing and positions of significant responsibility with the Codman and Orthopaedic Divisions of Johnson & Johnson, a global healthcare company.  Mr. Fallon also served as a member of the board of directors of Osteotech, Inc., a company that produces bone graft materials for spinal procedures, between 1995 and 2010, including serving as chairman from April 2005 to August 2010, until it was acquired by Medtronic, Inc.  Mr. Fallon has a B.B.A. degree in marketing from the University of Massachusetts and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University.  We believe that Mr. Fallon is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in the medical device industry, particularly his experience serving as the chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of several medical device companies.

 

Bradley Langdale has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2008.  From February 1996 until his retirement from active employment in December 2007, Mr. Langdale served in various roles at Masimo Corporation, a noninvasive monitoring technology company, including executive vice president, chief financial officer and executive vice president, chief marketing officer.  In addition, Mr. Langdale previously served as director of finance for CareLine, Inc., an emergency medical services provider; manager of financial forecasting for Sunrise Company, a private real estate development company; and as a senior accountant for Price Waterhouse & Company LLP (now PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP), a global professional services organization.  Mr. Langdale is a Certified Public Accountant and has a B.A. in Economics/Business from the University of California, Los Angeles.  We believe that Mr. Langdale is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive management, accounting and business experience.

 

Colm Lanigan has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2013.  Since October 2012, Mr. Lanigan has been a senior investment professional at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a global institutional investor and parent company of Procific.  From February 2006 to July 2011, Mr. Lanigan served as the chief executive officer at Tara Technologies Corporation, a manufacturing company in the semiconductor, aerospace, energy and medical markets, which was subsequently acquired by EnPro Industries, Inc.  His prior experience includes service as Managing Director at Caxton-Iseman Capital, a private equity fund, and as a managing partner at Tara Capital Management, an investment management company.  Mr. Lanigan has a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto and a J.D./L.L.B. from the University of Toronto Law School.  We believe that Mr. Lanigan is qualified to serve on our

 

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board of directors due to his extensive investment and capital raising experience across multiple industries.

 

Richard Meelia has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2015.  Since July 2011, Mr. Meelia has served as a principal of Meelia Ventures, LLC, a private equity firm focused on early stage healthcare companies.  From July 2007 to July 2011, Mr. Meelia served as president and chief executive officer of Covidien plc, a global healthcare products company, which was formerly known as Tyco Healthcare prior to its separation from Tyco International, a healthcare and security company, in June 2007.  From January 1995 through its separation from Tyco International in June 2007, Mr. Meelia served as the president of Tyco Healthcare.  From January 1991 to January 1995, Mr. Meelia served as the group president of Kendall Healthcare Products Company, a medical products manufacturer and the foundation of the Tyco Healthcare business.  Since July 2011, Mr. Meelia has served as chairman of the board of directors of Haemonetics Corporation, a global provider of blood and plasma supplies and services.  He also currently serves as chairman of the board of Apollo Endosurgery Inc., a private company focused on the development of devices that advance therapeutic endoscopy, and as a member of several charitable boards, including Tufts Medical Center and St. Anselm College.  In addition, Mr. Meelia served as chairman of the board of directors of Covidien plc from October 2008 to March 2012.  Mr. Meelia has a B.A. from Saint Anselm College and an M.B.A. from Boston College.  We believe Mr. Meelia is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his years of leadership experience in the global healthcare industry.

 

Michael Milligan has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2011.  Since October 2002, Mr. Milligan has served as president and chief executive officer at Axel Johnson Inc., a private industrial and investment company.  Prior to joining Axel Johnson Inc., Mr. Milligan spent 17 years as a partner and member of the board of directors of Monitor Group, a global consulting and merchant banking firm.  In addition, Mr. Milligan is chairman of the board of directors of Sprague Resources L. P., a supplier of energy and materials handling services in the Northeast United States and is a member of the board of directors of Cadence Inc., a supplier of advanced products, technologies and services to medical, life science, automotive, and industrial companies, Decisyon Inc., an enterprise software company, Kinetico Incorporated, a residential and commercial water treatment systems provider, Parkson Corporation, a provider of engineered solutions for municipal and industrial water treatment, and Walk2Campus Holdings, LLC, a real estate investment company providing student housing in proximity to public universities.  Mr. Milligan has an A.B. from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.  We believe that Mr. Milligan is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive business and investment experience across a broad range of disciplines and industry sectors.

 

Frank Mühlenbeck, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2009.  Since October 2015, Dr. Mühlenbeck has served as a managing director at EMBL Ventures.  Prior to joining EMBL Ventures, Dr. Mühlenbeck served as a managing director at aeris CAPITAL, a private investment office advising high-net-worth individuals from November 2006 through September 2015.  At aeris he headed up a team responsible for private and public equity investments in life sciences companies.  In this capacity, Dr. Mühlenbeck served on different boards of life science companies in Europe and the United States, including Affimed N.V., an antibody-drug development company, Solstice Biologics Inc., a ribonucleic acid

 

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interference therapeutics company, and Curetis AG, a molecular diagnostics company.  Dr. Mühlenbeck earned a Ph.D. in cell biology and immunology from Stuttgart University.  We believe that Mr. Mühlenbeck is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his diverse business background with life sciences companies and wealth management. Dr. Muhlenbeck’s term as a director expires at the Annual Meeting, and he is not standing for re-election.

 

Aditya Puri has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2011.  Since October 2012, Mr. Puri has served as an investments director at Xeraya Capital, a firm that invests in life sciences exclusively, and is responsible for investments in that sector for Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Malaysian government’s strategic investment fund.  Previously, he was a director in Khazanah Nasional’s Life Sciences group since November 2011.  Prior to joining Khazanah, Mr. Puri was in the greater Boston area, and consulting part-time for various healthcare and cleantech startups affiliated with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT.  His professional experience includes finance responsibility and leadership positions at Yankee Group, a global technology research and consulting company, as well as International and Corporate Development roles at Boston Scientific, a Fortune 500 medical device manufacturer.  Mr. Puri serves on several boards of directors of private healthcare companies and also serves on the board of directors of Viewray Incorporated, a medical device company, as well as life sciences investment funds; these companies and funds include entities both in the US and abroad.  Mr. Puri has a B.S. from the University of Southern Maine and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.  We believe Mr. Puri is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in life sciences and other areas of growth investment.

 

Laurent Souviron has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2011.  Since September 2009, Mr. Souviron has served as managing director of AGC Equity Partners, an alternative investment firm.  Prior to joining AGC Equity Partners, Mr. Souviron was a managing director at Morgan Stanley, a financial services corporation, in London and started his career with Morgan Stanley in New York.  He also previously served as a managing director with the SUN Group, a private equity company.  Mr. Souviron has a B.S. in Operations Research and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University.  We believe Mr. Souviron is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive international finance and capital raising experience.  Mr. Sourviron’s term as a director expires at the Annual Meeting, and he is not standing for re-election.

 

Board Composition

 

Our board of directors currently consists of nine members.  In February 2016, our board of directors determined, upon the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, not to nominate Frank Mühlenbeck and Laurent Souviron as class I directors of the Company following the expiration of their terms at the Annual Meeting. The decision not to nominate Dr. Mühlenbeck or Mr. Souviron was not a result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices. In accordance with our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws, which provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors, our board of directors also reduced the size of our board of directors to seven members, effective as of the Annual Meeting.

 

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In conjunction with its decision not to nominate two class I directors and to reduce the size of the board of directors effective as of the Annual Meeting, our board of directors, upon the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, nominated Kenneth Fallon III to stand for election as a class I director at the Annual Meeting.  The nomination of Mr. Fallon to stand for election as a class I director was intended to achieve a more equal balance of membership among the Company’s classes of directors in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated by-laws. In connection with the board of director’s decision to nominate him as a class I director, Mr. Fallon notified the Board of his intention to resign as a class III director at the Annual Meeting, contingent upon his election as a class I director at such meeting. Mr. Fallon’s decision to resign as a class III director was solely to facilitate his election as a class I director at the Annual Meeting and was not a result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.

 

In accordance with the terms of our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws, our board of directors is divided into three classes, class I, class II and class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms.  Upon the expiration of the term of a class of directors, directors in that class will be eligible to be elected for a new three-year term at the annual meeting of stockholders in the year in which their term expires.

 

Prior to the Annual Meeting, the members of the classes are follows:

 

·                  the class I directors are Richard Meelia, Frank Mühlenbeck and Laurent Souviron, and their term will expire at the Annual Meeting;

 

·                  the class II directors are Colm Lanigan, Michael Milligan and Aditya Puri, and their term will expire at the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders; and

 

·                  the class III directors are Kenneth Fallon III, Philipp Lang and Bradley Langdale, and their term will expire at the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

 

At the Annual Meeting, the terms of Dr. Mühlenbeck and Mr. Souviron will expire, and Mr. Fallon will be eligible for election as a class I director.  Contingent and effective upon Mr. Fallon’s election as a class I director by our stockholders at the Annual Meeting, Mr. Fallon will resign as a class III director.   For all purposes, Mr. Fallon’s service on our board of directors, including his service as the Chairman of our board of directors and as chair of the Company’s nominating and corporate governance committee, will continue uninterrupted.

 

We have entered into a Sponsor Designee Recommendation Agreement with Procific, or the Procific Agreement, which became effective upon the closing of our initial public offering in July 2015.  The Procific Agreement provides that, in the event that Colm Lanigan should cease to serve as a member of our board of directors prior to the expiration of his term upon the commencement of our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, then, prior to filling such vacancy, Procific will have the opportunity to recommend to our nominating and corporate governance committee an individual to fill such vacancy and to serve for the balance of Mr. Lanigan’s term.  Procific will no longer have rights under the Procific Agreement at such time as Procific and its affiliates no longer beneficially own at least 5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock.  In addition, the Procific Agreement will terminate upon the earlier to occur of (a) a change of

 

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control, as defined in the Procific Agreement, (b) Procific’s delivery of written notice to us requesting termination and (c) the commencement of our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

 

Our directors hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified or until the earlier of their resignation or removal. Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws provide that our directors may be removed only for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the votes that all our stockholders would be entitled to cast in an annual election of directors, and that any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.

 

Board Leadership Structure

 

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee shall periodically assess the board of director’s leadership structure, including whether the offices of chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors should be separate.  Our guidelines provide the board of directors with flexibility to determine whether the two roles should be combined or separated based upon our needs and the board of directors’ assessment of its leadership from time to time.  We currently separate the roles of chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors.  Our president and chief executive officer is responsible for setting the strategic direction for our company and the day-to-day leadership and performance of our company, while our chairman of the board of directors presides over meetings of the board of directors, including executive sessions of the board of directors, and performs oversight responsibilities.  The board of directors has not appointed a lead independent director.  Our board of directors has three standing committees that currently consist of, and are chaired by, independent directors, as well as an Asia strategy committee that also is chaired by an independent director.  Our board of directors delegates substantial responsibilities to the committees, which then report their activities and actions back to the full board of directors.  We believe that the independent committees of our board of directors and their chairpersons promote effective independent governance.  We believe this structure represents an appropriate allocation of roles and responsibilities for our company at this time because it strikes an effective balance between management and independent leadership participation in our board of directors proceedings.

 

Board Determination of Independence

 

Rule 5605 of the NASDAQ Listing Rules requires a majority of a listed company’s board of directors to be composed of independent directors within one year of listing.  In addition, the NASDAQ Listing Rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance 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, or 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 of directors, 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,

 

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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: (1) accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries; or (2) be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries.  In addition, in affirmatively determining the independence of any director who will serve on a company’s compensation committee, Rule 10C-1 under the Exchange Act requires that a company’s board of directors consider all factors specifically relevant to determining whether a director has a relationship to such company which is material to that director’s ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a compensation committee member, including, but not limited to: (1) the source of compensation of the director, including any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee paid by such company to the director; and (2) whether the director is affiliated with the company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.

 

In 2016, our board of directors undertook a review of the composition of our board of directors and its committees and the independence of each director.  Based upon information requested from and provided by each director concerning his background, employment and affiliations, including family relationships, our board of directors has determined that each of our directors, with the exception of Dr. Lang, is an “independent director” as defined under Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules.  Our board of directors also determined that Bradley Langdale, Michael Milligan and Laurent Souviron, who currently constitute our audit committee, and Richard Meelia, whom we expect to join our audit committee as of the Annual Meeting, and Bradley Langdale, Colm Lanigan, Richard Meelia and Aditya Puri, who constitute our compensation committee, satisfy the independence standards for such committees established by the SEC and the NASDAQ Listing Rules, as applicable.  In making such determinations, our board of directors considered the relationships that each such non-employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our board of directors deemed relevant in determining independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock by each non-employee director.

 

There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

 

Board Committees

 

Our board of directors has established an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which operates under a charter that has been approved by our board.  Copies of the charters of these committees are posted under the heading “Corporate Governance” on the Investor Relations section of our website, which is located at www.ir.conformis.com.  Our board also has established an Asia strategy committee which, unless extended by our board, will remain in existence until July 7, 2017, the second anniversary of the closing our initial public offering.

 

Audit Committee

 

Prior to the Annual Meeting, the members of our audit committee are Bradley Langdale, Michael Milligan and Laurent Souviron.  Mr. Langdale is the chair of the audit committee.  Mr. Souviron’s term as a member of our board of directors will expire at the Annual Meeting, at

 

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which point he will no longer be a member of our audit committee.  Contingent and effective upon his re-election as a class I director at the Annual Meeting, Mr. Meelia will join the audit committee.

 

Our audit committee’s responsibilities include:

 

·                  appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our registered public accounting firm;

 

·                  overseeing the work of our independent registered public accounting firm, including through the receipt and consideration of reports from such firm;

 

·                  reviewing and discussing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm our quarterly financial statements and related disclosures;

 

·                  monitoring our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and code of business conduct and ethics;

 

·                  overseeing our internal audit function, if any;

 

·                  discussing our risk management policies;

 

·                  establishing procedures for the receipt and retention of accounting related complaints and concerns;

 

·                  meeting independently with our internal auditing staff, if any, our independent registered public accounting firm and management;

 

·                  reviewing and approving or ratifying any related-person transactions; and

 

·                  preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules.

 

All audit services to be provided to us and all non-audit services, other than de minimis non-audit services, to be provided to us by our registered public accounting firm must be approved in advance by our audit committee.

 

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Langdale is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.  We believe that the composition of our audit committee meets the requirements for independence under current NASDAQ and SEC rules and regulations.

 

The audit committee met five times during 2015.

 

Compensation Committee

 

The members of our compensation committee are Bradley Langdale, Colm Lanigan, Richard Meelia and Aditya Puri.  Mr. Langdale is the chair of the compensation committee.  Our compensation committee’s responsibilities include:

 

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·                  reviewing and approving, or recommending for approval by our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation as well as the compensation of our other executive officers;

 

·                  overseeing the evaluation of our Chief Executive Officer;

 

·                  reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to our incentive-compensation and equity-based compensation plans;

 

·                  overseeing and administering our equity-based plans;

 

·                  reviewing and making recommendations to our board with respect to director compensation;

 

·                  reviewing and discussing with management our “Compensation Discussion and Analysis;”

 

·                  reviewing and approving disclosure to the extent such disclosure is required by SEC rules; and

 

·                  preparing the compensation committee report if and to the extent required by SEC rules.

 

The compensation committee met six times during 2015.

 

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

 

Prior to the Annual Meeting, the members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Kenneth Fallon III, Michael Milligan and Frank Mühlenbeck.  Mr. Fallon is the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.  Dr. Mühlenbeck’s term as a member of our board of directors will expire at the Annual Meeting, at which point he will no longer be a member of our nominating and corporate governance committee.  Contingent and effective upon his re-election as a class I director at the Annual Meeting, Mr. Meelia will join the nominating and corporate governance committee.

 

Our nominating and corporate governance committee’s responsibilities include:

 

·                  identifying individuals qualified to become members of our board;

 

·                  recommending to our board the persons to be nominated for election as directors and to each of our board’s committees;

 

·                  reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to management succession planning;

 

·                  developing and recommending to our board corporate governance principles; and

 

·                  overseeing a periodic evaluation of our board.

 

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The nominating and corporate governance committee met four times during the year.

 

Asia Strategy Committee

 

The members of our Asia strategy committee are Aditya Puri and Philipp Lang.  Mr. Puri is the chair of the Asia strategy committee.  The Asia strategy committee has the authority to oversee and advise on business development activities in Asia.  Unless extended by the board, it will remain in existence until July 7, 2017, the second anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering.

 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

 

At various times in 2015, Kenneth Fallon III, Bradley Langdale, Colm Lanigan and Aditya Puri sat on our compensation committee.  The current members of our compensation committee are Bradley Langdale, Colm Lanigan, Richard Meelia and Aditya Puri.  None of our directors who sat on our compensation committee in 2015 is an officer or employee of ConforMIS, Inc., nor have they ever been an officer or employee of ConforMIS, Inc.  None of our executive officers serves, or in the past has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee, or other committee serving an equivalent function, of any entity that has one or more executive officers who serve or served as members of our board of directors or our compensation committee in 2015.

 

Board Meetings and Attendance

 

Our board of directors met seventeen times during 2015 and took action by written consent one time.  During 2015, each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the number of board meetings and the number of meetings held by all committees of the board on which he then served. Richard Meelia attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of board meetings and the number of meetings held by all committees of the board on which he then served since his election to the board of directors in June 2015.

 

Our directors are expected to attend our annual meetings of stockholders. In 2015, we did not hold an annual meeting of stockholders.

 

Board Processes

 

Oversight of Risk

 

Our board oversees our risk management processes directly and through its committees.  Our management is responsible for risk management on a day-to-day basis.  The role of our board and its committees is to oversee the risk management activities of management.  They fulfill this duty by discussing with management the policies and practices utilized by management in assessing and managing risks and providing input on those policies and practices.  In general, our board oversees risk management activities relating to business strategy, acquisitions, capital raising and allocation, organizational structure and certain operational risks; our audit committee oversees risk management activities related to financial controls and legal and compliance risks; our nominating and corporate governance committee oversees risk management activities relating to board composition and management succession planning; and

 

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our compensation committee oversees risk management activities relating to our compensation policies and practices.  Each committee reports to the full board on a regular basis, including reports with respect to the committee’s risk oversight activities as appropriate.  In addition, since risk issues often overlap, committees from time to time request that the full board discuss particular risks.

 

Director Nomination Process

 

The process followed by our nominating and corporate governance committee to identify and evaluate director candidates may include requests to board members and others for recommendations, evaluation of the performance on our board and its committees of any existing directors being considered for nomination, consideration of biographical information and background material relating to potential candidates and, particularly in the case of potential candidates who are not then serving on our board, interviews of selected candidates by members of the committee and our board.

 

In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate for inclusion in our board’s slate of recommended director nominees, our nominating and corporate governance committee applies the criteria set forth in our corporate governance guidelines described below under “—Corporate Governance Guidelines.”  Our priority in selection of board members is identification of members who will further the interests of our stockholders through his or her established record of professional accomplishment, the ability to contribute positively to the collaborative culture among board members, knowledge of our business and understanding of the competitive landscape.

 

Our nominating and corporate governance committee does not have a policy (formal or informal) with respect to diversity, but believes that our board, taken as a whole, should embody a diverse set of skills, experiences and backgrounds. In this regard, the nominating and corporate governance committee also takes into consideration the diversity (with respect to gender, race and national origin) of our board members. The nominating and corporate governance committee does not make any particular weighting of diversity or any other characteristic in evaluating nominees and directors.

 

All of the director nominees are currently members of our board of directors.  The nominee biographies under “—Board of Directors—Members of Our Board of Directors” indicate the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of each of our current directors that led our nominating and corporate governance committee and our board to conclude each of the nominees should continue to serve as a director of ConforMIS.  Our nominating and corporate governance committee and our board believe that each of the nominees has the individual attributes and characteristics required of each of our directors, and that the nominees as a group possess the skill sets and specific experience desired of our board as a whole.

 

Stockholders may recommend individuals for consideration as potential director candidates by submitting their names, together with appropriate biographical information and background materials, and information with respect to the stockholder or group of stockholders making the recommendation, including the number of shares of common stock owned by such stockholder or group of stockholders, to our General Counsel at ConforMIS, Inc., 28 Crosby

 

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Drive, Bedford, MA 01730, Attention: David Cerveny, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel.  The specific requirements for the information that is required to be provided for such recommendations to be considered are specified in our by-laws and must be received by us no later than the date referenced below in “Other Matters—Deadline for Submission of Stockholder Proposals for 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.” Assuming that appropriate biographical and background material has been provided on a timely basis, the nominating and corporate governance committee will evaluate stockholder-recommended candidates by following substantially the same process, and applying substantially the same criteria, as it follows for candidates submitted by others.

 

Communications with Stockholders

 

Our management will give appropriate attention to written communications that are submitted by stockholders, and will respond if and as appropriate.  Stockholders may communicate with our management by writing to our General Counsel at ConforMIS, Inc., 28 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730, Attention: David Cerveny, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, or by calling (781) 345-9001.  Additional information about contacting ConforMIS is posted under the heading “IR Contacts” on the Investor Relations section of our website, which is located at www.ir.conformis.com

 

In addition, stockholders who wish to communicate with our entire board may do so by writing to Kenneth Fallon III, Chairman of the Board, c/o ConforMIS, Inc., 28 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730.  Communications will be forwarded to other directors if they relate to substantive matters that the Chairman of the Board considers appropriate for attention by the other directors.  In general, communications relating to corporate governance and long-term corporate strategy are more likely to be forwarded than communications relating to ordinary business affairs, personal grievances or matters as to which we tend to receive repetitive or duplicative communications.

 

Corporate Governance Guidelines

 

Our board of directors has adopted corporate governance guidelines to assist in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities and to serve the best interests of ConforMIS and our stockholders.  The guidelines provide that:

 

·                  our board’s principal responsibility is to oversee the management of ConforMIS;

 

·                  except as may otherwise be permitted by the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules, a majority of the members of our board must be independent directors;

 

·                  the independent directors meet in executive session at least twice a year;

 

·                  directors have full and free access to management and, as necessary, independent advisors;

 

·                  new officers and directors may participate in an orientation program and all directors are expected to participate in continuing director education on an ongoing basis; and

 

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·                  our nominating and corporate governance committee will oversee a periodic self-evaluation of the Board to determine whether the Board and its committees are functioning effectively.

 

A copy of the corporate governance guidelines is posted under the heading “Corporate Governance” on the Investor Relations section of our website, which is located at www.ir.conformis.com.

 

Board Policies

 

Related-Person Transactions

 

Our board of directors has adopted written policies and procedures for the review of any transaction, arrangement or relationship in which we are a participant, the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and one of our executive officers, directors, director nominees or 5% stockholders (or their immediate family members), each of whom we refer to as a “related person,” has a direct or indirect material interest.

 

If a related person proposes to enter into such a transaction, arrangement or relationship, which we refer to as a “related-person transaction,” the related person must report the proposed related-person transaction to our Chief Financial Officer or General Counsel.  The policy calls for the proposed related-person transaction to be reviewed and, if deemed appropriate, approved by the audit committee of our board of directors.  Whenever practicable, the reporting, review and approval will occur prior to entry into the transaction.  If advance review and approval is not practicable, the committee will review and, in its discretion, may ratify the related-person transaction.  The policy also permits the chairman of the audit committee to review and, if deemed appropriate, approve proposed related-person transactions that arise between committee meetings, subject to ratification by the committee at its next meeting.  Any related-person transactions that are ongoing in nature will be reviewed annually.

 

A related-person transaction reviewed under the policy will be considered approved or ratified if it is authorized by the committee after full disclosure of the related person’s interest in the transaction.  As appropriate for the circumstances, the committee will review and consider:

 

·                  the related person’s interest in the related-person transaction;

 

·                  the approximate dollar value of the amount involved in the related-person transaction;

 

·                  the approximate dollar value of the amount of the related person’s interest in the transaction without regard to the amount of any profit or loss;

 

·                  whether the transaction was undertaken in the ordinary course of our business;

 

·                  whether the terms of the transaction are no less favorable to us than terms that could have been reached with an unrelated third party;

 

·                  the purpose of, and the potential benefits to us of, the related-person transaction; and

 

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·                  any other information regarding the related-person transaction or the related person in the context of the proposed transaction that would be material to investors in light of the circumstances of the particular transaction.

 

The audit committee may approve or ratify the transaction only if the audit committee determines that, under all of the circumstances, the transaction is not inconsistent with our best interests.  The audit committee may impose any conditions on the related-person transaction that it deems appropriate.

 

In addition to the transactions that are excluded by the instructions to the SEC’s related-person transaction disclosure rule, the board of directors has determined that the following transactions do not create a material direct or indirect interest on behalf of related persons and, therefore, are not related-person transactions for purposes of this policy:

 

·                  interests arising solely from the related person’s position as an executive officer of another entity (whether or not the person is also a director of such entity) that is a participant in the transaction, where (a) the related person and all other related persons own in the aggregate less than a 10% equity interest in such entity; (b) the related person and his or her immediate family members are not involved in the negotiation of the terms of the transaction and do not receive any special benefits as a result of the transaction; (c) the amount involved in the transaction equals less than the greater of $1 million dollars or 2% of the annual gross revenues of the other entity that is a party to the transaction; and (d) the amount involved in the transaction equals less than 2% of our annual gross revenues; and

 

·                  a transaction that is specifically contemplated by provisions of our charter or by-laws.

 

The policy provides that transactions involving compensation of executive officers shall be reviewed and approved by the compensation committee in the manner specified in its charter.

 

We did not have a written policy regarding the review and approval of related-person transactions prior to our initial public offering.  Nevertheless, with respect to such transactions, it was the practice of our board of directors to consider the nature of and business reasons for such transactions, how the terms of such transactions compared to those which might be obtained from unaffiliated third parties and whether such transactions were otherwise fair to and in the best interests of, or not contrary to, our best interests.

 

Other than the compensation arrangements for our named executive officers and directors, which are described elsewhere in the “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation” sections of this proxy statement, set forth below is a description of transactions since January 1, 2015 to which we were or will be a party, and in which

 

·                  the amounts involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000; and

 

·                  any of our directors, executive officers, nominees for director or holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or any member of the immediate family of, or person sharing

 

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the household with, the foregoing persons, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

 

We believe the terms obtained or consideration that we paid or received, as applicable, in connection with the transactions described below were comparable to terms available or the amounts that would be paid or received, as applicable, from unrelated third parties.

 

Sponsor Designee Recommendation Agreement with Procific

 

In May 2015, we entered into a Sponsor Designee Recommendation Agreement with Procific, or the Procific Agreement, which became effective upon the closing of our initial public offering.  See “Corporate Governance—Board of Directors—Board Composition” for the material terms of the Procific Agreement.

 

Registration Rights Agreement with Certain Stockholders

 

In June 2015, we entered into an amended and restated information and registration rights agreement, which we refer to as the Registration Rights Agreement, with holders of our preferred stock prior to the conversion of our preferred stock into common stock immediately following the closing of our initial public offering in July 2015, including some of our 5% stockholders and their affiliates and entities affiliated with our directors.  The Registration Rights Agreement provides these holders the right, subject to certain limitations, to demand that we file a registration statement and request that their shares be covered by a registration statement that we are otherwise filing.

 

Subject to specified limitations set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement, the holders of at least 25% of the then outstanding registrable shares may at any time demand in writing that we register all or a portion of the registrable shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, on a Form other than Form S-3 for an offering of at least 20% of the then outstanding registrable shares or a lesser percent of the then outstanding registrable shares provided that it is reasonably anticipated the aggregate offering price, net of selling expenses, would exceed $20 million.  We are not obligated to file a registration statement pursuant to this provision on more than two occasions.  In addition, after such time as we are eligible to use Form S-3, subject to specified limitations set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement, the holders of at least 25% of the then outstanding registrable shares may at any time demand in writing that we register all or a portion of the registrable shares under the Securities Act on Form S-3 for an offering of at least 25% of the then outstanding registrable shares having an anticipated aggregate offering price to the public, net of selling expenses, of at least $5 million, which we refer to as a Resale Registration Statement.  We are not obligated to effect a registration pursuant to a Resale Registration Statement on more than one occasion.

 

If we propose to file a registration statement to register any of our common stock under the Securities Act in connection with a public offering of such common stock, other than pursuant to certain specified registrations, the holders of our registrable shares are entitled to notice of registration and, subject to specified exceptions, including market conditions, we will be required, upon the holder’s request, to register their then held registrable shares.  In the event that any registration in which the holders of registrable shares participate pursuant to our

 

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Registration Rights Agreement is an underwritten public offering, we agree to enter into an underwriting agreement for such offering.

 

Other than these registration rights described above, the rights granted to holders of our preferred stock under the Registration Rights Agreement terminated upon the closing of our initial public offering.

 

Revenue Share Agreement with Dr. Lang

 

In September 2011, we entered into an amended and restated revenue share agreement with Philipp Lang, M.D., our Chief Executive Officer, which amended and restated a similar agreement entered into in 2008 when Dr. Lang stepped down as chair of our scientific advisory board and became our Chief Executive Officer.  This agreement provides that we will pay Dr. Lang on an annual basis 1.33% of our net revenues up to and including $125 million and 1.1667% of our net revenues in excess of $125 million with respect to our iTotal CR, iTotal PS and iTotal Hip products, as well as other hip and shoulder replacement products we may develop in the future and patient-specific, revision-implant instrumentation we may develop in the future.  This agreement also provides that we will pay Dr. Lang on an annual basis 1.0% of our net revenues up to and including $125 million and 0.875% of our net revenues in excess of $125 million with respect to our iUni and iDuo products, as well as certain other knee replacement or resurfacing products, modifications to any of our knee, hip or shoulder products made by us with Dr. Lang’s assistance in the future and patient-specific, non-revision-implant instrumentation we may develop in the future.  For years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, our obligation to pay Dr. Lang applies only to those of our products that are covered by a valid claim of a patent assigned to us in the country in which we sell those products and on which Dr. Lang is a named inventor.  Our payment obligations expire on a product-by-product basis on the last to expire of patents owned by us on which Dr. Lang is a named inventor that claim the applicable product.  These payment obligations survive any termination of Dr. Lang’s employment with us.  Under this agreement, we incurred obligations to pay Dr. Lang $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

 

Our board of directors has adopted a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions.  A copy of the code of business conduct and ethics is posted under the heading “Corporate Governance” on the Investor Relations section of our website, which is located at .  In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law or the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of our code of business conduct and ethics.

 

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

 

The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers as of March 31, 2016:

 

Name

 

Age

 

Position(s)

Philipp Lang, M.D.

 

53

 

President and Chief Executive Officer and Director

Paul Weiner

 

52

 

Chief Financial Officer

Daniel Steines, M.D., M.S.

 

47

 

Chief Technology Officer

David Cerveny

 

49

 

Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel

Robert Law III

 

52

 

Senior Vice President, Sales

 

In addition to the biographical information for Dr. Lang, which is set forth above under “Corporate Governance—Board of Directors—Members of Our Board of Directors,” set forth below is certain biographical information about our other executive officers and significant employees.  Our executive officers are elected by, and serve at the discretion of, our board of directors.

 

Paul Weiner has served as our Chief Financial Officer since April 2014.  Prior to joining us, Mr. Weiner spent 18 years at Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc., or Palomar, a company engaged in research, development, manufacturing and sales of medical laser devices for aesthetic treatments, prior to its acquisition by Cynosure, Inc.  He served in a number of roles at Palomar, including corporate controller, vice president of finance and, finally, chief financial officer, a position he held for 11 years.  Prior to Palomar, Mr. Weiner was the chief financial officer at Hygenetics Environmental Services, Inc., an environmental consulting company, and worked in public accounting for Ernst & Young and Wolf & Company.  Mr. Weiner is a Certified Public Accountant and has a B.S. in Accounting from Bryant University.

 

Daniel Steines, M.D., M.S. has served as our Chief Technology Officer since June 2014.  From July 2004 to June 2014, he was our Senior Vice President of Research & Development.  Prior to joining us, he served as the Senior Vice President of Research & Development for ImaTx, Inc., one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, from September 2001 to July 2004, where he was responsible for the development of image analysis applications for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.  Prior to that, he held research positions at Stanford University and The Charité, Universitätsmedizin in Berlin, working in the areas of new imaging techniques to assess osteoarthritis and articular cartilage as well as novel medical video applications.  Dr. Steines has an M.S. in computer science from the Technical University and an M.D. from the Technical University of Aachen.

 

David Cerveny has served as our Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel since October 2008.  Prior to joining us, Mr. Cerveny was the chief intellectual property counsel for Palomar, where he managed an extensive patent portfolio, active patent litigation and licensing strategy.  He also was previously a partner at Hale and Dorr LLP, now Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, and an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP.  Prior to law school, Mr. Cerveny worked as

 

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a systems engineer developing flight control systems for McDonnell Douglas Corporation, an aerospace manufacturing corporation now part of The Boeing Company.  Mr. Cerveny has a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Marquette University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

 

Robert Law III has served as our Senior Vice President, Sales since January 2012.  From February 2008 to January 2012, he served as our Vice President of Sales, U.S. Western Region, and since April 2007, has served as a member of our sales management team.  Before joining us, Mr. Law was a partner in CORE Outpatient Services, a medical device distributor.  Mr. Law began his medical device career at SportsWorld Orthopedics, Inc., a medical device and post-surgical rehabilitation product distributor, where he held various senior executive roles including vice president of sales.  Mr. Law has a B.S. with an emphasis in Kinesiology from Kansas State University.

 

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

Our “named executive officers” for the year ended December 31, 2015 were as follows: Philipp Lang, M.D., our President and Chief Executive Officer; Paul Weiner, our Chief Financial Officer; and Daniel Steines, M.D., M.S., our Chief Technology Officer.

 

Summary Compensation Table

 

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to our named executive officers during the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014.

 

Name and
principal position

 

Year

 

Salary
($)

 

Stock
Awards
($)(1)

 

Option
Awards
($)(2)

 

Nonequity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(3)

 

All Other
Compensation
($)

 

Total
($)

 

Philipp Lang, M.D.(4)

 

2015

 

387,500

 

349,985

 

 

109,500

 

724,466

(5)

1,571,451

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

2014

 

365,000

 

 

720,539

 

 

584,128

(6)

1,669,067

 

Paul Weiner

 

2015

 

322,500

 

249,999

 

 

66,500

 

4,850

(7)

643,849

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

2014

 

231,923

(8)

 

145,636

 

 

3,250

(7)

1,380,809

 

Daniel Steines

 

2015

 

275,438

 

249,999

 

 

58,500

 

6,024

(7)

589,961

 

Chief Technology Officer

 

2014

 

230,063

 

 

393,021

 

 

4,808

(7)

627,892

 

 


(1)   The amounts reported in the “Stock Awards” column reflect the aggregate grant date fair value of stock-based awards granted during the year or in connection with the year’s performance, computed in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718. See Note M to our audited financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2016, regarding assumptions underlying the valuation of equity awards.

 

(2)   The amounts reported in the “Option Awards” column reflect the aggregate fair value of share-based compensation awarded during the year computed in accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting

 

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Standards Board Accounting Standard Codification Topic 718. See Note M to our audited financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2016, regarding assumptions underlying the valuation of equity awards.

 

(3)   The aggregate amounts reported in the “Nonequity Incentive Plan Compensation” column represent discretionary bonuses earned in 2015 under our 2015 annual cash bonus and equity grant plan and paid in 2016.

 

(4)   Dr. Lang serves as a member of our board of directors but does not receive any additional compensation for his service as a director.

 

(5)   Such amount consists of $718,942 that Dr. Lang was entitled to receive for 2015 pursuant to a revenue share agreement, $4,924 that we contributed to our 401(k) plan and $600 group term life insurance premiums that we paid in respect of Dr. Lang.

 

(6)   Such amount consists of $578,810 that Dr. Lang was entitled to receive for 2014 pursuant to a revenue share agreement, $4,718 that we contributed to our 401(k) plan and $600 in group term life insurance premiums that we paid in respect of Dr. Lang.

 

(7)   Includes the amounts we contributed to our 401(k) plan and group term life insurance premiums that we paid in respect of the applicable named executive officer.

 

(8)   Mr. Weiner joined us on March 24, 2014 and had an annualized base salary of $300,000, which was prorated in 2014.

 

Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table

 

We review compensation annually for all employees, including our executives. In setting executive base salaries and bonuses and granting equity incentive awards, we consider compensation for comparable positions in the market, the historical compensation levels of our executives, individual performance as compared to our expectations and objectives, our desire to motivate our employees to achieve short- and long-term results that are in the best interests of our stockholders, and a long-term commitment to our company. We do not target a specific competitive position or a specific mix of compensation among base salary, bonus or long-term incentives.

 

Our board of directors has historically determined our executives’ compensation. Our compensation committee typically reviews and discusses management’s proposed compensation with our Chief Executive Officer for all executives other than our Chief Executive Officer. Based on those discussions and its discretion, the compensation committee then recommends to our board of directors the compensation for each executive officer, and Chief Executive Officer, including equity-based awards. The compensation committee has the authority to approve the cash compensation of our executive officers, but has historically made recommendations to our board of directors regarding such compensation. Our board of directors, without members of management present, discusses the compensation committee’s recommendations and ultimately approves the compensation of our executive officers, including our Chief Executive Officer. We engaged Frederic W. Cook & Co. as our independent compensation consultant to review our executive compensation peer group and program design and assess our executives’ compensation relative to comparable companies.

 

We use base salaries to recognize the experience, skills, knowledge and responsibilities required of all our employees, including our named executive officers. None of our named executive officers is currently party to an employment agreement or other agreement or arrangement that provides for automatic or scheduled increases in base salary.

 

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In 2015, we paid base salaries of $387,500 to Dr. Lang, $322,500 to Mr. Weiner and $275,438 to Dr. Steines.  In 2014, we paid base salaries of $365,000 to Dr. Lang, $231,923 to Mr. Weiner and $230,063 to Dr. Steines. Mr. Weiner’s employment began on March 24, 2014 and, as a result, the amount shown in the “Salary” column of the Summary Compensation Table for 2014 reflects payments made to him from the period between March 24, 2014 and December 31, 2014. For 2014, Mr. Weiner’s annualized base salary was $300,000.

 

Our board of directors has, in its discretion, awarded cash bonuses and granted equity awards in the form of restricted stock or stock options as bonuses to our executive officers from time to time in the past, and may award cash bonuses and grant equity awards as bonuses to our executive officers in the future.  For 2015, we adopted a 2015 annual cash bonus and equity grant plan.  Pursuant to this plan, for 2015 we awarded cash bonuses to our named executive officers as follows:  Dr. Lang: $109,500; Mr. Weiner: $66,500; and Dr. Steines: $58,500, and we awarded shares of restricted common stock to our named executive officers as follows:  Dr. Lang: 15,230 shares of common stock; Mr. Weiner: 10,879 shares of common stock; and Dr. Steines: 10,879 shares of common stock.  The shares of restricted stock we awarded to our named executive officers vest as to 25% of the shares on October 15, 2016, with the remainder vesting in equal installments annually thereafter through October 15, 2019.  See “—Stock Option and Other Compensation Plans—2015 Annual Cash Bonus and Equity Grant Plan” for a description of our cash and equity bonus plan for 2015.

 

As part of our annual compensation-setting process, in February 2016, our compensation committee recommended, and our board of directors approved, a 2016 employee bonus and stock incentive plan. Pursuant to this plan, in February 2016 we awarded shares of restricted common stock to our named executive officers as follows:  Dr. Lang: 38,888 shares of common stock; Mr. Weiner: 27,777 shares of common stock; and Dr. Steines: 37,777 shares of common stock.  See “—Stock Option and Other Compensation Plans—2016 Employee Bonus and Stock Incentive Plan” for a description of our cash and equity bonus plan for 2016.

 

Outstanding Equity Awards at Year End

 

The following table sets forth information regarding outstanding stock options and unvested restricted stock held by our named executive officers as of December 31, 2015.

 

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Option awards

 

Stock awards

 

Name

 

Number of 
Securities 
Underlying
Unexercised 
Options(#) 
Exercisable

 

Number of 
Securities 
Underlying 
Unexercised 
Options (#) 
Unexercisable

 

Option 

Exercise 
Price ($)

 

Option 
Expiration 
Date

 

Number of 
Shares or 
Units of 
Stock That 
Have Not 
Vested (#)

 

Market 
Value of 

Shares or 
Units of 
Stock That 
Have Not 
Vested ($)

 

Philipp Lang, M.D. 

 

34,369

 

48,131

(1)

10.96

 

8/3/2024

 

15,230

 

263,327

(5)

President and Chief

 

34,369

 

48,131

(1)

8.96

 

8/3/2024

 

 

 

Executive Officer

 

7,613

 

 

5.50

 

3/26/2022

 

 

 

 

 

187,500

 

 

5.50

 

3/27/2022

 

 

 

 

 

246,008

 

 

5.26

 

9/26/2021

 

 

 

 

 

18,231

 

 

5.26

 

9/26/2021

 

 

 

 

 

125,000

 

 

4.32

 

9/30/2020

 

 

 

 

 

222,694

 

 

1.22

(2)

2/8/2018

 

 

 

 

 

363,636

 

 

1.22

(2)

2/8/2018

 

 

 

 

 

125,000

 

 

1.10

 

12/22/2016

 

 

 

Paul Weiner

 

111,052

 

142,800

(3)

8.96

(4)

8/3/2024

 

10,879

 

188,098

(5)

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel Steines, M.D., M.S. 

 

18,747

 

26,253

(1)

10.96

 

8/3/2024

 

10,879

 

188,098

(5)

Chief Technology Officer

 

18,747

 

26,253

(1)

8.96

 

8/3/2024

 

 

 

 

 

4,297

 

 

5.50

 

3/27/2022

 

 

 

 

 

27,500

 

 

5.50

 

3/26/2022

 

 

 

 

 

27,500

 

 

5.26

 

9/26/2021

 

 

 

 

 

5,531

 

 

5.26

 

9/26/2021

 

 

 

 

 

97,500

 

 

4.32

 

9/30/2020

 

 

 

 


(1)   The unvested awards are scheduled to vest in equal monthly installments through April 1, 2018.

(2)   The original exercise price was $1.21 and was later amended to $1.22.

(3)   This option provides for vesting as to 25% of the shares on March 23, 2015, with the remainder vesting in approximately equal monthly installments through March 23, 2018.

(4)   The original exercise price was $10.96 and was later amended to $8.96.

(5)   These shares of common stock are issuable pursuant to awards of restricted stock that vest in four annual installments, with 25% vesting on October 15, 2016 and with the remainder vesting annually thereafter through October 15, 2019.

 

Agreements with Named Executive Officers

 

We entered into an amended and restated employment agreement with Dr. Lang in January 2015, which agreement was amended, effective in July 2015.  In May 2015, we entered into amended and restated employment agreements with Mr. Weiner and Dr. Steines.  Each of these agreements provides that the named executive officer’s employment will continue until either we or the executive provides written notice of termination in accordance with the terms of the agreement.  In addition, we have agreements with each of our named executive officers that prohibit the executive from disclosing confidential information and from competing with us during the term of his employment and for a specified time thereafter, where permitted under applicable law, and that provides for the assignment of intellectual property rights to us, subject in the case of Dr. Lang to exclusions specified therein.  For additional information regarding the assignment of intellectual property rights by Dr. Lang to us, see “Corporate Governance—Governance Board Policies—Related-Person Transactions—Amended and Restated Employee Confidential Information, Inventions and Non-competition Agreement with Dr. Lang.”

 

Pursuant to their respective employment agreements, each of these executives is entitled to receive an annual base salary as follows: Dr. Lang $395,000; Mr. Weiner: $330,000; and Dr. Steines: $290,000.  Each of these executives is also eligible, in the sole discretion of the compensation committee of our board of directors, to receive an annual bonus.  In the case of Dr. Lang, his employment agreement provides that Dr. Lang will be eligible for a cash bonus each year of at least 30% of his annual base salary.  However, under our 2015 annual cash bonus and equity grant plan, the target annual cash bonus for 2015, as a percentage of annual base salary, for Dr. Lang was 55%.  Dr. Lang’s target cash bonus for 2016 will be a percentage of his annual base salary as determined by the compensation committee, subject to approval by our board of directors.  For additional information regarding annual cash bonuses and annual equity grants, see “—Stock Option and Other Compensation Plans—2015 Annual Cash Bonus and

 

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Equity Grant Plan” and “—Stock Option and Other Compensation Plans—2016 Employee Bonus and Stock Incentive Plan.”

 

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control Transaction

 

Each of our named executive officers will be entitled to severance payments if his employment is terminated under specified circumstances.

 

Termination During Change of Control Period.  If we terminate the executive’s employment other than for cause, or if the executive terminates his employment with us for good reason, during a change of control period, as described below, we are obligated to:

 

·                                          continue to pay the executive’s base salary for a period of twelve months;

 

·                                          pay to the executive any bonus that has been approved by the board prior to the date of termination but not yet paid;

 

·                                          to the extent allowed by applicable law and the terms of the applicable policies, continue to provide such executive and certain of his dependents with group health insurance for a period of twelve months; and

 

·                                          provide that any outstanding equity awards held by the executive will become fully vested and exercisable or free from forfeiture or transfer restrictions.

 

A change of control period is the period beginning three months immediately preceding and ending twelve months immediately following a change of control.  The terms “termination for cause,” “termination for good reason” and “change of control” are defined in each executive’s employment agreement.

 

Termination Outside of Change of Control Period.  If we terminate the named executive officer’s employment other than for cause or if the executive terminates his employment with us for good reason other than during a change of control period, we are obligated to:

 

·                                          continue to pay the executive’s base salary, in the case of Dr. Lang, for a period of twelve months, and in the case of our other executives, for a period of six months;

 

·                                          pay to the executive any bonus that has been approved by the board prior to the date of termination but not yet paid;

 

·                                          to the extent allowed by applicable law and the terms of the applicable policies, continue to provide the executive and certain of his dependents with group health insurance, in the case of Dr. Lang, for a period of twelve months, and in the case of our other executives, for a period of six months; and

 

·                                          to the extent we previously paid such executive any bonus in the form of a stock option (or, in the case of Dr. Lang, any type of equity award) that has not fully vested as of the date of termination of employment, accelerate the vesting of such award with respect to such number of shares that would have vested had such executive

 

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continued to be employed by us, in the case of Dr. Lang, for a period of twelve months and, in the case of our other executives, for a period of six months.

 

Each of our executives other than Dr. Lang is required to execute a release of claims as a condition precedent to receipt of the severance payments described above.

 

Termination Resulting from Death or Disability.  In the event that the named executive officer’s employment terminates as a result of his death or disability, as defined in his employment agreement, we are obligated to:

 

·                                          pay to the executive (or his estate) an amount equal to, in the case of Dr. Lang, one year of his base salary in the event of a termination as a result of his death or disability and, in the case of our other executives, six months of such executive’s base salary in the event of a termination as a result of his death;

 

·                                          pay to the executive (or his estate) any bonus that has been approved by the board prior to the date of his death or termination for disability but not yet paid; and

 

·                                          to the extent we previously paid the executive any bonus in the form of a stock option (or, in the case of Dr. Lang, any type of equity award) that has not fully vested as of the date of his death or termination for disability, accelerate the vesting of such award with respect to such number of shares that would have vested had the executive continued to be employed by us, in the case of Dr. Lang, for a period of one year and, in the case of our other executives, for a period of six months.

 

Stock Option and Other Compensation Plans

 

The three equity compensation plans described in this section are our 2004 Stock Option Plan, or 2004 Plan; our 2011 Stock Option Plan/Stock Issuance Plan, or 2011 Plan; and our 2015 Stock Incentive Plan, or 2015 Plan.  Prior to our initial public offering, which closed on July 7, 2015, we granted awards to eligible participants under the 2011 Plan.  Following the closing of our initial public offering, we ceased granting awards under the 2011 Plan and started granting awards to eligible participants under the 2015 Plan.

 

2004 Stock Option Plan

 

Our 2004 Stock Option Plan, or 2004 Plan, was adopted by our board of directors and approved by our stockholders in June 2004.  Our 2004 Plan was amended in October 2005, August 2007, May 2008 and September 2009.  A maximum of 3,792,943 shares of common stock was authorized for issuance under the 2004 Plan.

 

The 2004 Plan is administered by our board of directors.  The 2004 Plan provided for the grant of incentive stock options and nonqualified stock options. Our employees, directors and consultants, and employees, directors and consultants of our parent or subsidiary corporations, were eligible to receive awards under the 2004 Plan.  However, incentive stock options could only be granted to employees.  The terms of awards are set forth in the applicable award agreements.

 

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Awards under the 2004 Plan are subject to appropriate adjustments in the event of a stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend, or recapitalization, combination or reclassification with respect to our stock.

 

Upon a merger of our company with or into another corporation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, in addition to any rights provided in an applicable award agreement:

 

·                  all outstanding awards shall be assumed, or substantially equivalent awards shall be substituted, by the successor corporation or a parent or subsidiary thereof; and

 

·                  if not assumed or substituted, all outstanding awards will become exercisable in full for a period of 15 days following our notice to a participant, and any unexercised options will terminate upon expiration of such 15-day period.

 

Upon a liquidation or dissolution, we must notify participants at least 30 days prior to such action, and all outstanding awards will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such liquidation or dissolution, unless previously exercised by the participant.

 

With participant consent, our board of directors may modify or amend, or defer the exercise date of, any awards under the 2004 Plan.  Subject to applicable stockholder approval requirements, our board of directors may amend or alter the 2004 Plan at any time, except that no amendment or alteration may adversely affect outstanding awards without participant consent except as expressly permitted under the 2004 Plan.

 

Effective upon the adoption of our 2011 stock option/stock issuance plan, or 2011 Plan, we ceased making awards under the 2004 Plan.  Following the adoption of our 2011 Plan, any shares of common stock subject to awards originally granted under the 2004 Plan that expired, terminated, or were otherwise surrendered, canceled, forfeited or repurchased without having been fully exercised or resulting in any common stock being issued were available for issuance under the 2011 Plan.

 

As of December 31, 2015, there were options to purchase an aggregate of 2,025,663 shares of common stock outstanding under the 2004 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of $2.48 per share.  Following the adoption of our 2015 Plan any shares of common stock subject to awards originally granted under the 2004 Plan that expire, terminate, or are otherwise surrendered, canceled, forfeited or repurchased without having been fully exercised or resulting in any common stock being issued will be available for issuance under the 2015 Plan, up to a specified number of shares.

 

2011 Stock Option Plan/Stock Issuance Plan

 

Our 2011 Plan was adopted by our board of directors in February 2011 and approved by our stockholders in March 2011.  Our 2011 Plan was amended in March 2012 and July 2013.  A maximum of 6,630,242 shares of our common stock are authorized for issuance under the 2011 Plan.

 

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The 2011 Plan is administered by our board of directors and provides for the grant of incentive stock options within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code, non-statutory stock options and stock awards.  Our employees, directors and independent contractors, and employees, directors and independent contractors of our parent or subsidiary corporations, are eligible to receive awards under the 2011 Plan.  However, incentive stock options may only be granted to our employees.  The terms of awards are set forth in the applicable award agreements.

 

Awards under the 2011 Plan are subject to appropriate adjustments in the event of a stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, combination of shares, exchange of shares or other change affecting our outstanding common stock as a class without our receipt of consideration.

 

Upon a change of control, as defined in the 2011 Plan:

 

·                  all outstanding option awards will become exercisable in full immediately prior to the effective date of the change of control, except to the extent such options are (1) assumed, or equivalent options substituted, by the successor corporation, or parent thereof, or otherwise continued in full force and effect pursuant to the terms of the change of control transaction, (2) replaced by a cash incentive program that provides for a subsequent payout of the spread existing on the unvested option shares as of the date of such change of control, to be paid in accordance with the same vesting schedule applicable to those unvested option shares, or (3) our board of directors subjects such acceleration to other limitations; and

 

·                  all outstanding repurchase rights in favor of us with respect to shares of our common stock issued upon exercise of options or as stock awards shall terminate automatically, and such shares shall become vested, except to the extent (1) those repurchase rights are assigned to a successor corporation, or parent thereof, or otherwise continued in effect pursuant to the terms of the change of control transaction, (2) the property, including cash payments, issued with respect to the unvested shares are placed in escrow and released in accordance with the vesting schedule in effect for such shares, or (3) such accelerated vesting is precluded by other limitations imposed by our board of directors.

 

Our board of directors has the discretion, exercisable either at the time an award is granted or at any time while an award remains outstanding, to provide that such award will become fully vested upon the occurrence of a change of control or other specified event or the participant’s involuntary termination, as defined in the 2011 Plan, within a designated period following a specified event.

 

Subject to any applicable stockholder approval requirements pursuant to applicable laws and regulations, our board of directors may amend or terminate the 2011 Plan or any awards under the Plan in any or all respects, except that no amendment or termination may adversely affect the rights and obligations with respect to outstanding awards without participant consent.  Our board of directors has the authority, with the consent of the affected participants, to cancel any or all outstanding options under the 2011 Plan and grant in substitution therefor new options covering the same or a different number of shares of our common stock.

 

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As of December 31, 2015, there were options to purchase an aggregate of 3,186,416 shares of common stock outstanding under the 2011 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of $7.33 per share.  Following the adoption of our 2015 Plan, any shares of common stock subject to awards originally granted under the 2011 Plan that expire, terminate, or are otherwise surrendered, canceled, forfeited or repurchased without having been fully exercised or resulting in any common stock being issued will be available for issuance under the 2015 Plan, up to a specified number of shares.

 

2015 Stock Incentive Plan

 

Our board of directors adopted, and our stockholders approved, our 2015 Plan, which became effective in June 2015.  The 2015 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and other stock-based awards.  The number of shares of our common stock that are reserved for issuance under the 2015 Plan are the sum of: (1) 2,000,000; plus (2) 259,403 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the 2011 Plan and the number of shares of our common stock subject to outstanding awards under the 2011 Plan or under the 2004 Plan that expire, terminate or are otherwise surrendered, canceled, forfeited or repurchased by us at their original issuance price pursuant to a contractual repurchase right; plus (3) an annual increase, to be added on the first day of each fiscal year, beginning with the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 and continuing until, and including, the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, equal to the least of (a) 3,000,000 shares of our common stock, (b) 3% of the number of shares of our common stock outstanding on the first day of such fiscal year and (c) an amount determined by the Board.

 

Our employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisors are eligible to receive awards under the 2015 Plan.  Incentive stock options, however, may only be granted to our employees.

 

Pursuant to the terms of the 2015 Plan, our board of directors (or a committee delegated by our board of directors) administers the plan and, subject to any limitations in the plan, selects the recipients of awards and determines:

 

·                  the number of shares of our common stock covered by options and stock appreciation rights and the dates upon which those awards become exercisable;

 

·                  the type of options to be granted;

 

·                  the duration of options and stock appreciation rights, which may not be in excess of ten years;

 

·                  the exercise price of options and measurement price of stock appreciation rights, both of which must be at least equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant; and

 

·                  the number of shares of our common stock subject to the terms of any restricted stock awards, restricted stock units or other stock-based awards and the terms and

 

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                        conditions of such awards, including conditions for repurchase, issue price and repurchase price and performance conditions, if any.

 

If our board of directors delegates authority to an executive officer to grant awards under the 2015 Plan, the executive officer will have the power to make awards to all of our employees, except executive officers, subject to any limitations under the 2015 Plan.  Our board of directors will fix the terms of the awards to be granted by such executive officer, including the exercise price of such awards, which may include a formula by which the exercise price will be determined, and the maximum number of shares subject to awards that such executive officer may make.

 

Effect of Certain Changes in Capitalization

 

Upon the occurrence of any stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, combination of shares, reclassification of shares, spin-off or other similar change in capitalization or event, or any dividend or distribution to holders of our common stock other than an ordinary cash dividend, our board of directors shall equitably adjust:

 

·                  the number and class of securities available under the 2015 Plan;

 

·                  the share counting rules under the 2015 Plan;

 

·                  the number and class of securities and exercise price per share of each outstanding option;

 

·                  the share and per-share provisions and the measurement price of each outstanding stock appreciation right;

 

·                  the number of shares subject to, and the repurchase price per share subject to, each outstanding restricted stock award; and

 

·                  the share and per-share related provisions and the purchase price, if any, of each outstanding restricted stock unit award and each other stock-based award.

 

Effect of Certain Corporate Transactions

 

Upon a merger or other reorganization event, as defined in our 2015 Plan, our board of directors may, on such terms as our board determines, except to the extent specifically provided otherwise in an applicable award agreement or other agreement between the participant and us, take any one or more of the following actions pursuant to the 2015 Plan as to some or all outstanding awards, other than restricted stock:

 

·                  provide that all outstanding awards shall be assumed, or substantially equivalent awards shall be substituted, by the acquiring or successor corporation, or an affiliate thereof;

 

·                  upon written notice to a participant, provide that all of the participant’s unvested and/or unexercised awards will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of

 

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                        such reorganization event unless exercised by the participant, to the extent then exercisable;

 

·                  provide that outstanding awards shall become exercisable, realizable or deliverable, or restrictions applicable to an award shall lapse, in whole or in part, prior to or upon such reorganization event;

 

·                  in the event of a reorganization event pursuant to which holders of shares of our common stock will receive a cash payment for each share surrendered in the reorganization event, make or provide for a cash payment to the participants with respect to each award held by a participant equal to (1) the number of shares of our common stock subject to the vested portion of the award, after giving effect to any acceleration of vesting that occurs upon or immediately prior to such reorganization event, multiplied by (2) the excess, if any, of the cash payment for each share surrendered in the reorganization event over the exercise, measurement or purchase price of such award and any applicable tax withholdings, in exchange for the termination of such award; and/or

 

·                  provide that, in connection with a liquidation or dissolution, awards shall convert into the right to receive liquidation proceeds, if applicable, net of the exercise, measurement or purchase price thereof and any applicable tax withholdings.

 

Our board of directors does not need to take the same action with respect to all awards, all awards held by a participant or all awards of the same type.

 

In the case of certain restricted stock units, no assumption or substitution is permitted, and the restricted stock units will instead be settled in accordance with the terms of the applicable restricted stock unit agreement.

 

Upon the occurrence of a reorganization event other than a liquidation or dissolution, the repurchase and other rights with respect to outstanding awards of restricted stock will continue for the benefit of the successor company and will, unless the board of directors may otherwise determine, apply to the cash, securities or other property into which shares of our common stock are converted or exchanged pursuant to the reorganization event.  Upon the occurrence of a reorganization event involving a liquidation or dissolution, all restrictions and conditions on each outstanding award of restricted stock will automatically be deemed terminated or satisfied, unless otherwise provided in the agreement evidencing the restricted stock award or any other agreement between the participant and us.

 

At any time, our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, provide that any award under the 2015 Plan will become immediately exercisable in full or in part, free of some or all restrictions or conditions, or otherwise realizable in whole or in part as the case may be.

 

No award may be granted under the 2015 Plan on or after the June 30, 2025.  Our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate the 2015 Plan at any time, except that stockholder approval may be required to comply with applicable law or stock market requirements.

 

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As of December 31, 2015, there were options to purchase an aggregate of 36,250 shares of common stock outstanding under the 2015 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of $22.43 per share.

 

2015 Annual Cash Bonus and Equity Grant Plan

 

In May 2015, our board of directors adopted an annual cash bonus and equity grant plan for 2015.  Pursuant to such plan, each of our executive officers was eligible to receive an annual cash bonus, which was based on the achievement of individual and corporate performance objectives, calculated as a percentage of the executive’s annual base salary, and which was determined by the compensation committee of our board of directors, in its sole discretion.  The target annual cash bonus for 2015, as a percentage of annual base salary for each of our named executive officers, was as follows: Dr. Lang: 55%; Mr. Weiner: 40%; and Dr. Steines: 40%.

 

In addition, each of our executives was eligible to receive an annual equity grant, which was based on the achievement of individual and corporate performance objectives, and which was determined by the compensation committee of our board of directors, in its sole discretion.  We believe that equity grants provide our executives with a strong link to our long-term performance, create an ownership culture and help to align the interests of our executives and our stockholders.  In addition, we believe that equity grants with a time-based vesting feature promote executive retention because this feature incentivizes our executive officers to remain in our employment during the vesting period.  The target annual equity grant for 2015, by value as determined using the Black-Scholes pricing model in the case of stock options, for each of the named executive officers was as follows: Dr. Lang: $350,000; Mr. Weiner: $250,000; and Dr. Steines: $250,000.

 

2016 Employee Bonus and Stock Incentive Plan

 

As part of our annual compensation-setting process, in February, 2016, our compensation committee recommended, and our board of directors approved an employee bonus and stock incentive plan for 2016.  Each of the Company’s executive officers, including Dr. Lang, Mr. Weiner and Dr. Steines are eligible to receive an annual cash bonus and an equity grant award pursuant to such plan.  The target annual cash bonus is based on the achievement of individual and corporate performance objectives, including achieving revenue and gross margin performance targets determined by our compensation committee.  The target cash bonus for 2016 will be a percentage of annual base salary for each of Dr. Lang, Mr. Weiner and Dr. Steines and will be determined by our compensation committee in its sole discretion, subject to approval by our board of directors in the case of Dr. Lang.

 

In addition, each of the executive officers is eligible to receive an annual equity grant pursuant to such plan.  The target annual equity grant for 2016 for each of Dr. Lang, Mr. Weiner and Dr. Steines was determined by our compensation committee and approved by our board of directors.

 

401(k) Plan

 

We maintain a 401(k) retirement plan that is intended to be a tax-qualified defined contribution plan under Section 401(k) of the Code.  In general, all of our employees are eligible

 

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to participate, beginning on the first day of the month following commencement of their employment.  The 401(k) plan includes a salary deferral arrangement pursuant to which participants may elect to reduce their current compensation by up to the statutorily prescribed limit, equal to $18,000, or $24,000 for participants 50 years of age or older, in 2015 and 2016, and have the amount of the reduction contributed to the 401(k) plan.  Currently, we match 50% of employee contributions up to 2% of the employee’s salary in total, subject to the statutorily prescribed limit.  The match vests over a period of five years.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

 

The following table contains information about our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2015.  As of December 31, 2015, we had three equity compensation plans, each of which were approved by our stockholders: the 2004 Plan, the 2011 Plan and the 2015 Plan.

 

Plan category

 

Number of
securities to be
issued upon exercise
of outstanding
options, warrants
and rights

 

Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights

 

Number of
securities
remaining
available for future
issuance under
equity
compensation plans
(excluding
securities reflected
in column(a))

 

 

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders

 

5,248,329

 

$

5.56

 

2,131,792

 

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

 

 

 

 

Total

 

5,248,329

 

$

5.56

 

2,131,792

 

 

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DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

 

Summary Compensation Table

 

The following table sets forth a summary of the compensation earned by our directors for the year ended December 31, 2015, with the exception of Dr. Lang, who does not receive compensation for service on our board of directors and whose compensation is included in the “Summary Compensation Table” above under “Executive Compensation.”

 

Name

 

Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash
($)(1)

 

Stock
Awards ($)(4)

 

Option Awards
($)(6)

 

Total
($)

 

Kenneth Fallon III

 

103,752

(2)

 

137,000

 

240,752

 

Bradley Langdale

 

77,167

(2)

 

137,000

 

214,167

 

Colm Lanigan

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Meelia

 

27,135

(3)

219,990

(5)

 

247,125

 

Michael Milligan

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Mühlenbeck, Ph.D.

 

 

 

 

 

Aditya Puri

 

 

 

 

 

Laurent Souviron

 

 

 

 

 

 


(1)   Only the directors indicated were entitled to receive compensation for service on our board of directors for fiscal year 2015.

(2)   Includes prorated fees for service on our private company board of directors from the period beginning January 1, 2015 until June 30, 2015, the effective date of our registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering, and prorated fees for service on our public company board of directors from the period beginning July 1, 2015 until December 31, 2015.

(3) Includes prorated fees for service on our public company board of directors from the period beginning July 1, 2015, the effective date of our registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering,  until December 31, 2015.

(4)   The amounts reported in the “Stock Awards” column reflect the aggregate grant date fair value of stock-based awards granted during the year or in connection with the year’s performance, computed in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718.  See Note M to our audited financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2016, regarding assumptions underlying the valuation of equity awards.

(5) As of December 31, 2015, Mr. Meelia held 14,666 shares of restricted common stock under our 2015 Plan, which shares will vest with respect to 100% of the shares on the second anniversary of the grant date, and such vesting will accelerate in full upon a change of control.

(6)   The amounts reported in the “Option Awards” column reflect the aggregate fair value of share-based compensation awarded during the year computed in accordance with the provisions of FASB Accounting Standard Codification Topic 718.  See Note M to our audited financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2016, regarding assumptions underlying the valuation of equity awards.  As of December 31, 2015, Mr. Fallon and Mr. Langdale each held stock options to purchase an aggregate of 385,000 shares of our common stock, of which 370,406 shares were vested. Unvested shares underlying Messrs. Fallon and Langdale’s options are scheduled to vest in equal monthly installments ending June 10, 2016.

 

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For the period beginning January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015, the effective date of our registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering, we paid Messrs.  Fallon and Langdale an annual fee of $40,000, which was prorated for their period of service on our board of directors from January 1, 2015 until June 30, 2015.  In association with our initial public offering, we adopted a new compensation structure for our directors effective as of July 1, 2015 under which we paid annual fees monthly and on a prorated basis for service on our board of directors from July 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015.  Under the new compensation structure, we paid Mr. Fallon annual fees of $50,000 for serving as a member of our board of directors, $50,000 for serving as Chairman of our board of directors, and $10,000 for serving as chair of our nominating and corporate governance committee.  Under the new compensation structure, we paid Mr. Langdale annual fees of $50,000 for serving as a member of our board of directors, $20,000 for serving as chair of our audit committee, and $11,000 for serving as chair of our compensation committee.

 

Following the effective date of our registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering, our directors were entitled to compensation pursuant to the director compensation arrangement described below, prorated for the period July 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015.

 

Director Compensation Arrangements

 

Since the closing of our initial public offering in July 2015, our non-employee directors who are not associated with an institutional investor that, singularly or collectively with any affiliates, holds 2% or more of the outstanding common stock of the Company, which currently includes Kenneth Fallon III, Bradley Langdale and Richard Meelia, each a “Compensated Director”, are entitled to compensation for their services on our board of directors as follows:

 

·                                          each new Compensated Director will receive an initial grant under our 2015 Plan equal to such number of shares of our restricted common stock as is equal to $220,000 divided by the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date of such grant;

 

·                                          each Compensated Director who has served on our board of directors for at least six months will receive an annual grant under our 2015 Plan equal to such number of shares of our restricted common stock as is equal to $110,000 divided by the fair market value of our common stock on the date of the board meeting held in connection with each annual meeting of stockholders;

 

·                                          each Compensated Director will receive an annual cash fee of $50,000, except that the Chairman of our board of directors will receive an annual cash fee of $100,000;

 

·                                          each Compensated Director who is a member of the audit committee will receive an additional annual cash fee of $10,000 for service on such committee, except that the chair of such committee will receive an annual cash fee of $20,000 for serving in such capacity;

 

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·                                          each Compensated Director who is a member of the compensation committee will receive an additional annual cash fee of $5,000 for service on such committee, except that the chair of such committee will receive an annual cash fee of $11,000 for serving in such capacity;

 

·                                          each Compensated Director who is a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee will receive an additional annual cash fee of $5,000 for service on such committee, except that the chair of such committee will receive an annual cash fee of $10,000 for serving in such capacity; and

 

·                                          each Compensated Director who is a member of any other committee of our board of directors that may be established from time to time by our board of directors, including our Asia strategy committee, will receive an additional cash fee of $5,000 for serving on such committee.

 

Unless otherwise provided at the time of grant, subject to the Compensated Director’s continued service as a director, the initial grant of our restricted common stock referred to in the first bullet above will vest with respect to 100% of the shares upon the two year anniversary of the grant date, and each annual grant of our restricted common stock referred to in the second bullet point above will vest with respect to 100% of the shares upon the earlier of the first anniversary of the grant date or the date of the first annual meeting of stockholders after the grant date.  In the case of each of such initial grants and such annual grants, in the event of a change in control, the vesting schedule of the shares subject to each grant will accelerate in full.

 

Each annual cash fee will be payable in arrears in twelve equal monthly installments.  The amount of each payment will be prorated for any portion of a month that a director is not serving on our board or committee, as applicable.

 

Each non-employee director is entitled to reimbursement for reasonable travel and other expenses incurred in connection with attending meetings of the board of directors and any committee on which he or she serves.

 

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AUDIT-RELATED MATTERS

 

Audit Committee Report

 

The audit committee of the board of directors of ConforMIS, Inc. has reviewed ConforMIS’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and discussed them with ConforMIS’s management and Grant Thornton LLP, ConforMIS’s independent registered public accounting firm.

 

The audit committee has received from, and discussed with, Grant Thornton LLP various communications that Grant Thornton LLP is required to provide to the audit committee, including the matters required to be discussed by Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T.

 

The audit committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from Grant Thornton LLP required by Rule 3526 of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (Communications with Audit Committees Concerning Independence), and has discussed with ConforMIS’s independent registered public accounting firm its independence.

 

Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the audit committee recommended to ConforMIS’s board of directors that the audited financial statements referred to above be included in ConforMIS’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

By the audit committee of the board of directors of ConforMIS, Inc.

 

Bradley Langdale
Michael Milligan
Laurent Souviron

 

Audit Fees and Services

 

The following table summarizes the fees of Grant Thornton LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, billed to us for each of the last two fiscal years.

 

Fee Category

 

2015

 

2014

 

Audit Fees(1)

 

$

300,210

 

$

227,334

 

Audit-Related Fees(2)

 

$

450,131

 

$

 

Tax Fees(3)

 

$

44,650

 

$

29,630

 

All Other Fees

 

$

7,875

 

$

7,875

 

Total Fees

 

$

804,881

 

$

264,839

 

 


(1)   This category includes fees for professional services performed by Grant Thornton LLP for the audit of our annual financial statements in 2015 and 2014.  Included in 2015 are also the fees related to the review of condensed financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

 

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(2) This category includes fees for professional services performed by Grant Thornton LLP for the audit related fees related to the registration statement on Form S-1 filed in connection with our initial public offering.  Audit-related fees for 2015 also consist of fees related to the filing of a registration statement on Form S-8.

(3)   This category consists of fees for professional services rendered by Grant Thornton LLP for tax compliance services for 2015 and 2014.

 

All such accountant services and fees were pre-approved by our audit committee in accordance with the “Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures” described below.

 

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

 

Our audit committee has adopted policies and procedures relating to the approval of all audit and non-audit services that are to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm.  This policy generally provides that we will not engage our independent registered public accounting firm to render audit or non-audit services unless the service is specifically approved in advance by our audit committee or the engagement is entered into pursuant to a de minimis exception in accordance with applicable SEC rules.

 

MATTERS TO BE VOTED ON

 

Proposal 1: Election of Class I Directors

 

In accordance with the terms of our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws, our board of directors is divided into three classes, class I, class II and class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms.  Upon the expiration of the term of a class of directors, directors in that class will be eligible to be elected for a new three-year term at the annual meeting of stockholders in the year in which their term expires. At each annual meeting of stockholders, directors are elected for a full term of three years to succeed those directors whose terms are expiring.

 

Richard Meelia, Frank Mühlenbeck and Laurent Souviron are current directors whose terms expire at the Annual Meeting.  In February 2016, our board of directors determined, upon the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, not to nominate Dr. Mühlenbeck and Mr. Souviron as class I directors of the Company following the expiration of their terms at the Annual Meeting.  Upon the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, our board of directors nominated Kenneth Fallon III and Richard Meelia for election as class I directors of the Company, each with a term ending in 2019. Contingent and effective upon Mr. Fallon’s election as a class I director, Mr. Fallon’s resignation as a class III director will be effective.

 

Unless otherwise instructed in the proxy, all proxies will be voted “FOR” the election of Kenneth Fallon III and Richard Meelia to a three-year term ending in 2019, each such nominee to hold office until his successor has been duly elected and qualified.  Stockholders who do not wish their shares to be voted for any or all of the nominees may so indicate by striking out the name of such nominee(s) on the proxy card.  Each of the nominees has indicated his willingness to serve on our board, if elected.  If any nominee should be unable to serve, the person acting under the proxy may vote the proxy for a substitute nominee designated by our board.  We do not contemplate that either of the nominees will be unable to serve if elected.

 

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OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE ELECTION OF EACH OF THE NOMINEES AS DIRECTORS.

 


 

Proposal 2: To Ratify the Selection of Grant Thornton LLP as ConforMIS’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2016

 

The audit committee of our board of directors has selected the firm of Grant Thornton LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.  Grant Thornton LLP has served as our independent registered public accounting firm since the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.  Although stockholder approval of the selection of Grant Thornton LLP is not required by law or NASDAQ rules, our audit committee believes that it is advisable and has decided to give our stockholders the opportunity to ratify this selection.  If this proposal is not approved at the Annual Meeting, our audit committee may reconsider this selection.

 

Representatives of Grant Thornton LLP are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting and will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so.  It is also expected that they will be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

 

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE SELECTION OF GRANT THORNTON LLP AS CONFORMIS’ S INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2016.

 

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OWNERSHIP OF COMMON STOCK

 

The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 31, 2016 by:

 

·                  each of our directors;

 

·                  each of our named executive officers;

 

·                  all of our directors and executive officers as a group; and

 

·                  each person, or group of affiliated persons, who is known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our common stock.

 

The percentages in the columns entitled “Shares Beneficially Owned” are based on a total of 41,753,306 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2016.  The information set forth in the columns entitled “Shares Beneficially Owned” do not give effect to the issuance of any additional shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding options or warrants as of March 31, 2016.

 

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and includes voting or investment power with respect to our common stock.  Shares of our common stock subject to options or warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2016, are considered outstanding and beneficially owned by the person holding the options or warrants for the purpose of calculating the percentage ownership of that person but not for the purpose of calculating the percentage ownership of any other person.  Except as otherwise noted, the persons and entities in this table have sole voting and investing power with respect to all of the shares of our common stock beneficially owned by them, subject to community property laws, where applicable.  Except as otherwise set forth below, the address of the beneficial owner is c/o ConforMIS, Inc., 28 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730.

 

Beneficial ownership representing less than one percent of our outstanding common stock is denoted with an “*.”

 

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Number of

 

Percentage of

 

 

 

shares

 

shares

 

 

 

beneficially

 

beneficially

 

Name and Address of beneficial owner

 

owned

 

owned

 

5% Stockholders

 

 

 

 

 

Wellington Management Group and affiliated entities(1)

 

 

 

 

 

280 Congress Street

 

 

 

 

 

Boston, MA 02210

 

5,279,789

 

12.6

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P.(2)

 

 

 

 

 

c/o Avalon Trust & Corporate Services, Ltd.

 

 

 

 

 

Landmark Sq, 1st Floor

 

 

 

 

 

64 Earth Close, PO Box 715

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Cayman, KY1-1107, Cayman Islands

 

 

 

 

 

SGR Sagittarius Holding AG

 

 

 

 

 

Brügglistrasse 2

 

 

 

 

 

8852 Altendorf, Switzerland

 

3,874,913

 

9.2

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority(3)

 

 

 

 

 

211 Corniche Street, P.O. Box 3600

 

 

 

 

 

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 3600

 

 

 

 

 

Procific

 

 

 

 

 

Willow House, Cricket Square

 

 

 

 

 

P.O. Box 709

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Cayman, British West Indies KY1-1107

 

3,125,000

 

7.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baron Capital Group and related entities(4)

 

 

 

 

 

767 Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor

 

 

 

 

 

New York, NY 10153

 

2,963,446

 

7.1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Veron International Ltd.(5)

 

 

 

 

 

35-38/F, Nina Tower

 

 

 

 

 

8 Yeung UK Road

 

 

 

 

 

Tsuen Wan K3 852

 

 

 

 

 

N.T., Hong Kong

 

2,942,177

 

7.0

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasik Temenggor Investments (Cayman Islands) Limited(6)

 

 

 

 

 

c/o Xeraya Capital

 

 

 

 

 

SDN BHD, 26.03-26.08, Level 26, G Tower

 

 

 

 

 

199 Jalan Tun Razak

 

 

 

 

 

Kuala Lumpur N8 50400

 

2,385,669

 

5.7

%

 

Named Executive Officers and Directors

 

 

 

 

 

Philipp Lang, M.D.(7)

 

2,443,794

 

5.7

 

Paul Weiner(8)

 

176,147

 

*

 

Daniel Steines, M.D., M.S.(9)

 

557,985

 

1.3

%

Kenneth Fallon III(10)

 

192,497

 

*

 

Bradley Langdale(11)

 

191,454

 

*

 

Colm Lanigan

 

 

 

Richard Meelia(12)

 

14,666

 

*

 

Michael Milligan

 

 

 

Frank Mühlenbeck, Ph.D

 

 

 

Aditya Puri, M.S.

 

 

 

Laurent Souviron

 

 

 

All current executive officers and directors as a group (13 persons)

 

4,069,031

 

9.2

%

 


*Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1% of our outstanding stock.

 

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(1)         Based solely on information provided in a Schedule 13G/A filed jointly by Wellington Management Group LLP (“WMG LLP”), Wellington Group Holdings LLP (“WGH LLP”), Wellington Investment Advisors Holdings LLP (“WIAH LLP”) and Wellington Management Company LLP (“WMC LLP”) on February 10, 2016.  WMG LLP, WGH LLP and WIAH LLP reported shared voting power of 4,675,385 shares of common stock and shared dispositive power of 5,279,789 shares of common stock.  WMC LLP is an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and reported shared voting power of 4,620,085 shares of common stock and shared dispositive power of 4,995,037 shares of common stock. These securities are owned of record by clients of one or more investment advisers directly or indirectly owned by Wellington Management Group LLP. Those clients have the right to receive, or the power to direct the receipt of, dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, such securities. No such client is known to have such right or power with respect to more than five percent of this class of securities.

 

(2)         Based solely on information provided in a Schedule 13G filed jointly by aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P. and SGR Sagittarius Holding AG on February 12, 2016. Aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P. reported sole voting and dispositive power of  (a) 1,462,640 shares of common stock and (b) 208,331 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016.  SGR Sagittarius Holding AG reported sole voting and dispositive power of (a) 1,912,277 shares of common stock held and (b) 291,665 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016.  Voting and investment power over the shares held by SGR Sagittarius Holding AG is exercised by the Board of Directors of SGR Sagittarius Holding AG, Dr. Martin Hess, Sonja Frech and Dr. Johann Irsigler.  Voting and investment power over the shares held by aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P. is exercised by the Board of Directors of aeris CAPITAL Archer Ltd., its general partner, and such Board of Directors is comprised of Greg Link and Ralph Woodford, each of whom may be deemed to share voting and investment power over the shares held aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P., each of whom disclaim beneficial ownership of the shares held by aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P., except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein.  SGR Sagittarius Holding AG disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P. and aeris CAPITAL Archer L.P. disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by Sagittarius Holding AG.

 

(3)         Based solely on information provided in a Schedule 13G filed jointly by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”) and Procific on February 10, 2016.  Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Procific reported shared voting power and shared dispositive power of 3,125,000 shares of common stock.  Procific, a Cayman Island exempted company with limited liability, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADIA, a public institution established by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.  ADIA’s Investment Committee, which is chaired by the Managing Director, is responsible for managing and overseeing investment-related matters for ADIA, including authority over the exercise of investment and voting powers with respect to investments.  The Investment Committee consists of: H.H. Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Managing Director), H.E. Khalil Mohammed Sharif Foulathi, H.E. Hareb Masood Hamad Rashed Aldarmaki, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahhyan, H.E. Hamad Mohammed Al Hurr Al Suwaidi, Mohamed Ahmed M. Bandouq Alqamzi, Obaid Murad Hassan Abdulla Alsuwaidi, Nasser Shotait Salem Rashed Al Ketbi, Khalifa Matar Khalifa Qaroona Almheiri, Majed Salem Khalifa Rashed Alromaithi, Hamad Shahwan Surour Shahwan Aldhaheri, Juma Klamis Mugheer Jaber Alkhyeli and Salem Mohamed Hela Rashed Almazroueid.

 

(4)         Based solely on information provided in a Schedule 13G filed jointly by Baron Capital Group, Inc. (“BCG”), BAMCO, Inc. (“BAMCO”), Baron Capital Management, Inc. (“BCM”) and Ronald Baron on February 16, 2016.  BAMCO reported shared voting power of 2,671,719 shares of common stock and shared dispositive power of 2,832,838 shares of common stock.  BCG and Ronald Baron reported shared voting power of 2,802,327 shares of common stock and shared dispositive power of 2,963,446 shares of common stock.  BCM reported shared voting and dispositive power of 130,608 shares of common stock.   BAMCO and BCM are investment advisers registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  The advisory clients of BAMCO and BCM have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, such securities in their accounts. No such person is known to have such interest relating to more than 5% of the outstanding class of securities.

 

(5)         Based solely on information provided in a Schedule 13G filed by jointly by Veron International Ltd. (“Veron”), Milestone Management Limited (“Milestone”), Kam Por Chan (“Chan”), and Sunny Kwong Yeung (“Yeung”) on March 17, 2016.  Veron, Milestone, Chan and Yeung reported shared voting and dispositive power of

 

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                        2,942,177 shares of common stock.  Voting and investment power over the shares held by Veron Veron is controlled by Veron’s board of directors consisting of Joseph Leung Wing Kong, Yeung and Milestone, which is wholly-owned by the estate of Kung Nina.  Each of Joseph Leung Wing Kong and Yeung, as directors of Veron, and Jong Yat Kit, Chan Wai Tong Christopher and Wong Tak Wai, as Joint and Several Administrators of the Estate of Kung Nina, may be deemed to have voting and investment power with respect to the shares held by Veron.

 

(6)         Based solely on information provided in a Schedule 13G filed jointly by Tasik Temenggor Investments (Cayman Islands) Limited (“Tasik”) and Pulau Manukan Ventures Labuan Ltd. (“Pulau”) on March 25, 2016. Tasik and Pulau reported shared voting and dispositive power of 2,385,669 shares of common stock.  Pulau, organized under the laws of Labuan, Malaysia, is the holding company of Tasik, which is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

 

(7)         Consists of (a) 118,788 shares of common stock held by Dr. Lang, including 54,118 shares of restricted common stock, (b) 1,381,604 shares of common stock issuable to Dr. Lang upon the exercise of options exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016, (c) 930,904 shares of common stock held by the NP Irrevocable Trust udt dated 12/28/12 for which Dr. Hans-Ulrich Dueff is trustee and Dr. Lang’s children are beneficiaries and (d) 12,498 shares of common stock held by Dr. Lang’s children.  Dr. Lang disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by the NP Irrevocable Trust udt dated 12/28/12 and by his children.

 

(8)         Consists of (a) 38,656 shares of restricted common stock and (b) 137,491 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016.

 

(9)         Consists of (a) 211,915 shares of common stock held by Dr. Steines, including 48,656 shares of restricted common stock, (b) 216,070 shares of common stock issuable to Dr. Steines upon the exercise of options exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016 and (c) 130,000 shares of common stock held by the Steines 2011 Family Trust for which Dr. Steines’ spouse is the trustee and his children are beneficiaries.  Dr. Steines disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by the Steines 2011 Family Trust, except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein.

 

(10) Consists of (a) 25,000 shares of common stock and (b) 167,497 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016.

 

(11) Consists of 191,454 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable within 60 days after March 31, 2016.

 

(12) Consists of 14,666 shares of restricted common stock.

 

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

 

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors, executive officers and holders of more than 10% of our common stock to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership of our common stock and other equity securities on a Form 3 and reports of changes in such ownership on a Form 4 or Form 5.  Directors, executive officers and holders of more than 10% of our common stock are required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.  To our knowledge, based solely on a review of our records and representations made by our directors and officers regarding their filing obligations, all Section 16(a) filing requirements were satisfied with respect to 2015.

 

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OTHER MATTERS

 

Our board of directors does not know of any other matters that may come before the Annual Meeting.  However, if any other matters are properly presented to the Annual Meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote, or otherwise act, in accordance with their judgment on such matters.

 

Solicitation of Proxies

 

This proxy is solicited on behalf of our board of directors.  We will bear the expenses connected with this proxy solicitation. We expect to pay banks, brokers and other nominees their reasonable expenses for forwarding proxy materials and annual reports to principals and obtaining their voting instructions. In addition to the use of the mails, our directors, officers and employees may, without additional remuneration, solicit proxies in person or by use of other communications media.

 

Householding of Annual Meeting Materials

 

Some brokers and other nominee record holders may be “householding” our proxy materials. This means a single notice and, if applicable, the proxy materials, will be delivered to multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received. We will promptly deliver a separate copy of the notice and, if applicable, the proxy materials and our 2015 annual report to stockholders, which consists of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, to you if you write or call us at ConforMIS, Inc., 28 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730, Attention: David Cerveny, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, or by calling (781) 345-9001.  If you would like to receive separate copies of our proxy materials and annual reports in the future, or if you are receiving multiple copies and would like to receive only one copy for your household, you should contact your bank, broker, or other nominee record holder, or you may contact us at the above address and telephone number.

 

Deadline for Submission of Stockholder Proposals for 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

 

Proposals of stockholders intended to be presented at our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders pursuant to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Exchange Act must be received by us at our principal offices, 28 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730, Attention: David Cerveny, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, no later than December 22, 2016, the date that is 120 days prior to the first anniversary of the date of this proxy statement, in order to be included in the proxy statement and proxy card relating to that meeting.

 

If a stockholder wishes to present a proposal (including director nominations) at our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, but does not wish to have the proposal considered for inclusion in our proxy statement and proxy card, pursuant to the advance notice provision in our by-laws, such stockholder must give written notice to our Secretary at our principal executive offices at the address noted above.  The Secretary must receive such notice no earlier than February 2, 2017, and no later than March 4, 2017, provided that if the date of the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is advanced by more than 20 days, or delayed by more than 60 days, from the first anniversary of the Annual Meeting, such notice must instead be received by the Secretary no

 

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earlier than the 120th day prior to the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and not later than the close of business on the later of (i) the 90th day prior to the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and (ii) the tenth day following the day on which notice of the date of the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders was mailed or public disclosure of the date of the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders was made, whichever occurs first.

 

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Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:

 

The Notice and Proxy Statement and 2015 Annual Report are available at www.proxyvote.com.

 

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VOTE BY INTERNET - www.proxyvote.com Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern time the day before the cut-off date or meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form. CONFORMIS INC 28 CROSBY DRIVE BEDFORD, MA 01730 ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF FUTURE PROXY MATERIALS If you would like to reduce the costs incurred by our company in mailing proxy materials, you can consent to receiving all future proxy statements, proxy cards and annual reports electronically via e-mail or the Internet. To sign up for electronic delivery, please follow the instructions above to vote using the Internet and, when prompted, indicate that you agree to receive or access proxy materials electronically in future years. VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903 Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern time the day before the cut-off date or meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions. VOTE BY MAIL Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717. TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS: E10260-P77714 KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED. CONFORMIS INC The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following: 1.To elect two class I directors of our board of directors to serve until the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders: Nominees: 01) Kenneth Fallon III 02) Richard Meelia For Withhold AllAll For All Except To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “For All Except” and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below. The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following proposal: For Against Abstain 2.To ratify the selection of Grant Thornton LLP as ConforMIS's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. NOTE: To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. For address changes and/or comments, please check this box and write them on the back where indicated. Please indicate if you plan to attend this meeting. Yes No Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer. Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX] Date Signature (Joint Owners) Date

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Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting: The Notice and Proxy Statement and Form 10-K are available at www.proxyvote.com. E10261-P77714 CONFORMIS INC Annual Meeting of Stockholders June 2, 2016 4:00 PM This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors The stockholder(s) hereby appoint(s) Paul S. Weiner and David J. Cerveny, or either of them, as proxies, each with the power to appoint his substitute, and hereby authorize(s) them to represent and to vote, as designated on the reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of common stock of CONFORMIS INC that the stockholder(s) is/are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held at 4:00 PM, Eastern time, on Thursday, June 2, 2016, at the offices of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, 60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, and any adjournment or postponement thereof. The proxies are further authorized to vote, in their discretion, upon such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein. If no such direction is made, this proxy will be voted in accordance with the Board of Directors' recommendations. (If you noted any Address Changes/Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.) Continued and to be signed on reverse side Address Changes/Comments:

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