Good morning, welcome to Quaker Houghton 2026 Annual Shareholders Meeting. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Barry, Chair of Quaker Houghton.
Thank you and good morning, everyone. On behalf of the entire board, our executive leadership team, and colleagues, I'd like to thank you for attending our annual meeting of shareholders. We are pleased to once again conduct our annual meeting virtually via the internet, as we believe the virtual meeting provides expanded shareholder access and participation and improved communications while affording shareholders the same rights as if the meeting were held in person, including the ability to vote shares electronically during the meeting and ask questions in accordance with the rules of conduct for the meeting. Please note that this meeting is being recorded. However, no one who is attending via webcast is permitted to use any audio recording device. As is our custom, we will conduct the business portion of our meeting first and answer questions at the end of the meeting.
However, shareholders may submit questions at any time during this meeting in the space provided in the virtual meeting screen. During the annual meeting, questions from shareholders should only pertain to the proposals being considered at the time. I call the meeting to order. As Chair, I will act as the presiding officer of the meeting. Rob Traub, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the corporation, will act as Secretary of the meeting. I am pleased to welcome all of our board members to our virtual meeting. Detailed information about their service on Quaker Houghton's board and relevant business experience is available in the company's proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the investor relations portion of the company's website at investors.quakerhoughton.com.
I'd now like to introduce Anna Hagberg-Cito, a representative of Broadridge Financial Solutions, the company's proxy distribution agent, who has been appointed to serve as Judge of Election for today's meeting and any adjournment. Ms. Hagberg-Cito has executed and presented the customary oath of Judge of Election. Lastly, A.J. Conti and Shana Gatter, representatives of PwC, Quaker Houghton's independent registered public accounting firm, are in attendance as well. At this meeting, we may make forward-looking statements which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information on the risks that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. This meeting has been called pursuant to the notice dated March 31st, 2026, and sent to all shareholders of record as of close of business on March 2nd, 2026.
The notice stated the date, time, meeting purpose, along with the web address for participating in today's virtual meeting. The Judge of Election has advised us that based on proxies presented before the meeting, a quorum exists for each matter to be voted upon. I therefore declare this meeting duly convened. A copy of the notice, proxy statement, and the form of proxies, as well as the affidavit of distribution of Broadridge Financial Solutions, shall be made part of the record of this meeting. It is now appropriate to proceed with the items of business set forth in the notice of the annual meeting of shareholders dated March 31st, 2026. To save time, I will present the items of business to be voted on and ask that you refrain from comment until all proposals have been presented.
First, the election of directors, namely Nandita Bakhshi, Joseph Berquist, and Charlotte Henry as Class 1 directors, each to serve a term of three years, ending with the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in 2029 as a director of the corporation until their successor is duly elected and qualified. Second, the approval on a non-binding basis of the company's compensation of our named executive officers as described in the compensation discussion and analysis section and the accompanying compensation tables and narrative disclosures contained in the proxy statement. Third, the ratification of the appointment of PwC as the corporation's independent registered accounting firm for 2026. The board of directors has recommended that shareholders vote in favor of each of these proposals. Each is explained in detail in the proxy statement, and in quarterly, I will dispense with any preliminary explanation.
If any shareholder would like to make a comment regarding any of the items of the business, please submit your comment through the web portal. As a reminder, if a shareholder has not already submitted a proxy and wishes to vote their share, they may do so now by clicking on the Vote Here button. At this point, the polls are now closed. I now ask the Judge of Election to report the preliminary results of the voting.
I report the results of the voting as follows. I declare that Nandita Bakhshi, Joseph Berquist, and Charlotte Henry have been duly elected as Class 1 directors to serve as directors for a term of three years that ends with the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in 2029. The shareholders have approved on a non-binding basis the company's compensation of our named executive officers as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section and the accompanying compensation tables and narrative disclosures contained in the proxy statement. The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the corporation's independent registered public accounting firm for the year 2026 has been approved and confirmed.
Thank you for attending today's meeting. The Judge of Election will execute a certificate as to the results of the voting that will be filed along with the minutes of this meeting. The final voting results will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a Form 8-K. I would now like to make some additional remarks, and we'll open things up for shareholder questions. Before I do so, since there's no further business for the annual meeting, this part of the meeting is adjourned. First, I want to let our shareholders know that later today, I will be retiring from the board in my role as Chairman and a Director, effective at the conclusion of today's regularly scheduled board meeting. I've been fortunate enough to be on the board for nearly 18 years and Chairman for the past 17 years.
It has been 4.5 years since I retired as CEO, and I felt now was the proper time to retire from the board. I believe Quaker Houghton is in a really strong place right now under the leadership of Joe Berquist, with whom I have worked closely for over 20 years. Joe is the ideal leader for this company going forward, given his intimate knowledge of the businesses, product lines, employees, and customers, and his strategic vision to take Quaker Houghton into the future. I've been very impressed with Joe's leadership since becoming CEO 1.5 years ago. He has taken actions that are positioning the company well for future growth, including numerous strategic initiatives that will create value for our shareholders as well as for all stakeholders, including our customers and employees.
It's been 28 years since I walked in the door of Quaker Houghton. I love this company. As of today, I will continue to be a shareholder of this great company like all of you. I'm looking forward to the significant value creation that I believe will take place. Now we would like to open things up for shareholder questions. We will take shareholder questions entered on the web portal and answer questions as time allows. Only questions germane to the meeting will be addressed. As there are no questions germane to the meeting, I want to thank everybody for joining us today at Quaker Houghton's 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Please have a good day.
Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude the meeting. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.