Good morning, welcome to Expand Energy's 2026 annual meeting of shareholders. I am Mike Wichterich, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Interim President and CEO of Expand Energy. This year's meeting is being held virtually, giving shareholders the ability to participate without having to travel to attend in person. At this time, I'll call the meeting to order. Before we turn to the formal business of the meeting, I want to recognize John Gass, who is retiring from the board effective at the conclusion of this meeting. On behalf of the board, I want to thank John for his many years of dedicated service to the company. John played an instrumental role in the creation of Expand Energy, helping us build North America's largest natural gas producer with an advantaged platform to supply rapidly growing demand centers and markets in need.
While John will be missed, we remain confident that the board's current composition provides the right experience and skill set to oversee the company's strategy and risk profile. As strong boards do, we're actively focused on identifying and evaluating director candidates whose skill set and expertise enhances the board's current composition and strengths. Turning back to the business of our meeting today, Cynthia Skoglund of Broadridge will serve as our Inspector of Elections. Jody Prost, our engagement partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, is in attendance and is available to answer any questions. I would now like to introduce our general counsel, Chris Lacy, who will serve as the secretary of the meeting.
Thanks, Mike. Good morning. All requirements to conduct this meeting have been met. All shareholders of record at the close of business on April 6th, 2026, are entitled to vote. Ms. Skoglund has advised me that a majority of shares entitled to vote at this meeting are present in person or by proxy, so we have a quorum. It is now 10:02 A.M., and the polls are open. Shareholders of record who wish to vote or change their prior vote may do so by clicking on the Vote Here link on the right-hand side of their monitor. There are three matters to be voted on during today's meeting. The first item is the election of nine directors.
Your board recommends a vote for each of the following director nominees: Tim Duncan, Ben Duster, Sarah Emerson, Matt Gallagher, Chip Johnson, Kathy Kehr, Shameek Konar, Brian Steck, and Mike Wichterich, who serves as Chairman of the Board. The second matter for consideration is an advisory vote to approve our named executive officer compensation for 2025. Your board recommends a vote for this proposal for the reasons stated in the proxy statement. The third voting item is the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2026. Your board recommends a vote for this proposal for the reasons stated in the proxy statement. We will now welcome questions from shareholders.
Questions should be limited to matters related to the three proposals I have described and otherwise adhere to the rules of conduct for the meeting, which can be found on the meeting website. We may not get to every question, we'll do our best to respond to as many questions as possible. Please type your questions in the Ask a Question box on the left-hand side of your monitor and click on Submit. We will pause for a few moments while the questions are gathered. There being no questions, I would note that our investor relations team is always available to answer questions that you may have. You can reach them via email at ir@expandenergy.com or via telephone at 405-935-8870. The polls will close in approximately one minute, at which time we will finalize voting.
Please cast your vote by clicking on the Vote Here link on the right-hand side of your monitor. We will pause for a few moments while votes are cast. It is now 10:05 A.M., and the polls have closed. The Inspector of Election will now review the votes. Based on proxies and votes cast, shareholders have voted in favor of all of the nominees for election to the board of directors. Shareholders also voted in favor of each of proposals two and three. The company will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission an 8-K disclosing the results. Back to you, Mike.
Thanks, Chris. This concludes Expand Energy's 2026 annual meeting of shareholders. The meeting is adjourned.