Thank you for standing by, and welcome to Leonardo DRS, Inc. annual meeting. I will now turn the call over to Frances Townsend. Please go ahead.
Good morning, everyone. I am Frances Townsend, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Leonardo DRS. Thank you for joining us today for our 2026 annual meeting of stockholders. On behalf of the board and the management team, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our meeting. It is now 9:00 A.M., and I am calling the meeting to order. Joining me today are members of the senior management team. Also joining the meeting are my colleagues, the directors who currently serve on the board and are standing for re-election. Their full biographies are available in our proxy statement, but allow me to briefly introduce each of them individually. John Baylouny. Mr. Baylouny, our President and Chief Executive Officer, has served as a director since the beginning of the year. Gail Baker. Ms. Baker has served as a director since 2021.
Previously, she was a senior executive for a major U.S. defense and aerospace company. Dr. Reggie Brothers. Dr. Brothers has served as a Director since early 2023. He has held senior technical and leadership roles in the government, including as Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research at the Department of Defense. He is also the former Chief Executive of an artificial intelligence company. General George W. Casey, Jr. General Casey has served as a Director since 2020 and is currently serving as the Chair of our Government Security Committee. General Casey has had a distinguished career as an officer in the U.S. Army, including four years as its 36th Chief of Staff. He also commanded the multinational force in Iraq, a coalition of more than 30 countries.
Mary E. Gallagher. Ms. Gallagher has served as a Director since 2021 and currently serves as the Chair of the DRS Audit Committee. Mary has held several senior financial roles in the aerospace and defense industry. Reuben Jeffery. Mr. Jeffery began serving on our board earlier this year. He brings decades of leadership in finance and government, including as a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs. Ken Krieg. Mr. Krieg has served as a Director since 2009 and currently serves as the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. He served in several positions within the Department of Defense, including as Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Finally, Eric Salzman. Mr. Salzman has served as a Director since 2022.
He has extensive experience as a corporate director and has served on more than 25 public and private company boards over the past few decades. Finally, allow me to further introduce myself. As I mentioned earlier, my name is Frances Townsend. I have been serving as a board member here since 2009 and as its Chair since earlier this year. In addition, I also chair the Compensation Committee. Over the course of my career, I have held a wide array of financial industry and government roles, including as Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Chair of the Homeland Security Council. I will now turn the floor over to Mark Dorfman, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, to whom I've delegated authority to supervise the remainder of this meeting. Mark.
Thanks, Fran. It's a privilege to join you in leading our annual stockholders meeting. Allow me to take a moment to address some administrative matters. We will follow the agenda and be governed by the rules and procedures of conduct that have been posted in the virtual meeting portal. Stockholders as of the meeting record date who enter their control number can participate online and by remote communication through the meeting portal. Others without a control number will be able to listen only. Lou Larsen, agent for Broadridge, is participating via teleconference as our Inspector of Elections and will assist us in certifying the voting results for our proposals. The record date for this annual meeting was March 20, 2026. A list of stockholders as of our record date is available on the website that you logged on to have accessed this meeting.
Mr. Larsen has informed us that a quorum is represented in person or by proxy at this meeting. Because proper notice was given and a quorum is present, this meeting is duly convened to transact such business as may properly come before it. The polls for voting on the agenda items open today at 9:00 A.M. Eastern. We will now present the matters to be voted on. All stockholders entitled to vote at this meeting can do so online until the closing of the polls. However, if you have previously voted by proxy, it is not necessary to vote again unless you wish to change your vote. You are entitled to 1 vote for each share registered in your name.
After we have answered any questions regarding the proposals to be voted on and any other procedural matters related to the meeting, we will close the polls, and the Inspector of Elections will provide his preliminary report. The first item of business today is to elect the nine nominees named in the company's proxy statement for election to our Board of Directors, who will serve until the 2027 annual meeting of stockholders. Frances Townsend, Gail Baker, John Baylouny, Louis R. Brothers, George Casey, Mary Gallagher, Reuben Jeffery, Kenneth Krieg, and Eric Salzman have each been nominated. The Board recommends that you vote for the election of each nominee. The second item on the agenda is an advisory vote on the company's executive compensation, as set forth in more detail in the company's proxy statement.
This vote is being conducted pursuant to the requirements of Section 14A of the Exchange Act. While the vote is advisory and not binding on the board, it will provide information to the board and its Compensation Committee regarding investor sentiment about our executive compensation program and practices. The board recommends that you vote for the approval of the company's executive compensation set forth in the proxy statement. The third item on the agenda is a ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2026. I'd like to acknowledge Jim Dlugasch, audit partner at Ernst & Young, who is participating via teleconference. The board recommends that you vote for the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2026.
As we have not received any questions regarding the proposals being voted on and the procedures of the meeting, we will proceed. All matters to be voted on have now been presented. The polls are about to close, so if you've not yet voted, please do so. Thank you for your participation. The polls are now closed. I will now announce the preliminary voting results. Ms. Townsend, Ms. Baker, Mr. Baylouny, Dr. Brothers, General Casey, Ms. Gallagher, Mr. Jeffery , Mr. Krieg, and Mr. Salzman have all been elected directors of the company. The director's executive compensation programs and policies have been approved. The appointment of Ernst & Young to act as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2026 has been ratified. Certified results regarding the foregoing will be released shortly following the conclusion of this meeting.
I will now turn the meeting back over to our Board Chair, Frances Townsend, for final remarks.
Thank you, Mark. In closing, I want to thank our stockholders for your time and your continued trust in our mission. I also want to highlight and express the board's appreciation for the tireless efforts of the more than 7,000 talented Leonardo DRS employees. Their dedication is the engine behind the company's continuing success. Finally, on behalf of the board, I want to recognize our President and CEO, John Baylouny. John is driving a culture of operational speed and agility that is already delivering results. We are confident that under John's exceptional leadership, the company remains well-positioned to support our customers and deliver long-term value to our shareholders. As there is no further business to address at this time, I now declare the meeting adjourned at 9:09 A.M. Thank you for attending and for your ongoing support and interest in the company. This concludes our meeting.
This concludes today's meeting. You may now disconnect.