Welcome to Stryker's Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This meeting is being recorded. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that the discussions during the meeting will include forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the company's most recent filings with the SEC. Also, the discussions will include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the slides for the meeting posted on stryker.com. And now I'll turn the meeting over to Mr. Kevin Lobo, Chair and Chief Executive Officer.
Good morning. On behalf of Stryker's Board of Directors, welcome to the 46th Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I have the honor to serve as the Chair and CEO of Stryker. Tina French, Vice President, Corporate Secretary, is also participating in this meeting, and Jenny Braga, Director, Communications and Public Relations, is assisting with Q&A. So that I can officially call this meeting to order, I'll ask Tina to establish that this meeting has been duly called and that a quorum is present.
Thank you, Kevin, and good morning. With me, I have an affidavit related to the mailing of the Notice of the Meeting and Proxy Materials on March 25th, 2025, to all shareholders of record as of March 10th, 2025, the record date fixed by the Board of Directors. A certified list of the shareholders of record of the company as of March 10th, 2025, and the minutes of the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are available for inspection by any shareholder upon request. Bill Berry, Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, has been appointed to serve as Inspector of Election. Based on the proxies received, the Inspector has reported to me that a majority of the 381,688,836 shares of Common Stock entitled to vote are represented at the meeting either in person or by proxy. A quorum of Common Stock is therefore present, and the meeting may proceed.
Thank you, Tina. On the basis of the Secretary's report, this meeting is duly constituted. I would like to start by recognizing two iconic individuals who embody and helped shape Stryker's rich culture and history of performance. John Brown, our Chairman Emeritus, led the company for over three decades, and his imprint is still very visible in our company today. Director Emeritus Howard Cox devoted over 44 years of service as a Director and made innumerable contributions to the company's growth and success during his tenure. They are both great ambassadors of Stryker, and I am fortunate to continue to connect with them and benefit from their wisdom. I would also like to acknowledge Allan Golston, who is retiring from our board after 14 years of exemplary service.
Allan made many contributions to the board over the years, and we thank him for his strategic guidance and steadfast support of our growth ambitions. Next are the individuals who serve as Directors of the company and stand for re-election. They are in attendance online today. Starting at the top of the photo from left to right, Sheri McCoy is former CEO of Avon Products and also former Vice Chair of Johnson & Johnson. She is our Lead Independent Director. Mary Brainerd is former President and CEO of HealthPartners, a large U.S. healthcare organization. Mary chairs our Governance and Nominating Committee. Giovanni Cafforio is Chair of the Board of Novartis AG. He served as Bristol-Myers CEO until October 2023. Rachel Ruggeri is former Chief Financial Officer of Starbucks Corporation. Andy Silvernail is CEO of International Paper and former Chair and CEO of IDEX Corporation. Andy chairs our Audit Committee.
Lisa Skeete Tatum is founder and CEO of Landit, a technology platform created to increase the success and engagement of women and diverse groups in the workplace. Rhonda Stryker serves on the boards of Greenleaf Trust and Spelman College. She is the granddaughter of Dr. Homer Stryker, the founder of the company, and daughter of Lee Stryker, a former President of the company. Rajiv Suri is Chair of Digicel Group, a leading digital provider across the Caribbean and Central America, and former CEO of Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company. We are pleased to have identified an extremely well-qualified director candidate, Manny Maceda, who is nominated for election at this meeting. Manny is the Chair and former CEO and worldwide managing partner of Bain & Company. I will now move to our Executive Leadership Team. We recently announced two transitions.
First is with respect to communications, where Kim Montagnino was appointed Chief Communications Officer and replaces Yin Becker, who retired from her role as Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer in April. Thank you, Yin, for your contributions and dedication to Stryker and for your leadership over the past 36 years. Next, Preston Wells was promoted to Vice President, Chief Financial Officer this April. Preston replaces Glenn Boehnlein, who retired from his role as Vice President, CFO in April. Thank you, Glenn, for your contributions and dedication to Stryker and for your leadership over 22 years. This is our current Leadership Team, in addition to Kim, Preston, and me. Katie Fink is our Chief Human Resources Officer. Rob Fletcher is our Chief Legal Officer. Viju Menon is Group President, Global Quality and Operations. Andy Pierce is Group President of our MedSurg and Neurotechnology businesses.
Spencer Stiles is Group President of our Orthopaedics business. We are fortunate to have a talented and experienced Leadership Team that lives our mission and values every day. In addition, I want to recognize our other Corporate Officers who are pictured on this slide. We had two changes in 2024. Tina French was appointed Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and Jill Duffy was appointed Vice President, Assurance and Risk Advisory. Noted on this slide is our independent accounting firm, Ernst & Young, represented by Jay Preston. Tina will now introduce the proposals included in the Proxy Statement.
Thank you, Kevin. There are seven proposals included in the Proxy Statement. Any shareholder of record who is logged in as such on the meeting website may vote online. If you have previously granted a proxy, your vote today will automatically revoke your proxy. Voting will be tabulated after the proposals have been presented. If any shareholder would like to ask a question related to a specific proposal, please submit your question on the meeting website. General questions will be addressed later in the meeting. The first proposal is the election of 10 Directors. The nominees for election as Directors are Mary Brainerd, Giovanni Cafforio, Kevin Lobo, Emmanuel Maceda, Sheri McCoy, Rachel Ruggeri, Andy Silvernail, Lisa Skeete Tatum, Rhonda Stryker, and Rajiv Suri. As there have been no other nominations during the designated nominating period, and in accordance with our bylaws, the nominations are now closed.
The second proposal to come before the meeting is ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2025. Under SEC rules, the responsibility for the appointment and oversight of the company's auditors resides with the Audit Committee. However, today we continue our practice of asking shareholders to ratify this appointment. The third proposal to come before the meeting is approval of the 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan as amended and restated. This approval will increase the number of shares available for issuance pursuant to awards made under the plan and will also extend the duration of the plan from April 30th, 2027, to May 8th, 2035. The fourth proposal to come before the meeting is approval of the 2011 Performance Incentive Award Plan as amended and restated.
This approval will increase the number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the plan and will also extend the term to permit awards to be made with respect to performance for any year through 2034. The fifth proposal to come before the meeting is approval of the 2008 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as amended and restated. This approval will increase the number of shares that may be issued under the plan and will also permit new purchase periods to be designated through May 8, 2035. The sixth proposal to come before the meeting is an advisory vote to approve the compensation of the company's named executive officers, as disclosed in detail in the Proxy Statement under Compensation Discussion and Analysis and Executive Compensation. The seventh proposal to come before the meeting is a shareholder proposal related to support of transparency in political spending.
John Chevedden will present this proposal to the meeting. It appears that neither Mr. Chevedden nor his qualified representative is in attendance to present Proposal 7. As a result, Proposal 7 has not been properly brought before the meeting and will be dismissed without a vote. Our corporate bylaws do not require motions and seconds. All of the proposals on the agenda are now before the meeting. As previously mentioned, any shareholder of record who is logged in as such on the meeting website may vote online. If you have previously granted a proxy, your vote today will automatically revoke your proxy. Jenny, do we have any questions on the proposals?
We have one question on compensation. The calculation of the CEO Compensation Actually Paid total in the Pay Versus Performance table for the past several years can dramatically differ from the CEO total compensation amount in the Summary Compensation Table. How does the Compensation Committee use the Compensation Actually Paid total compensation figures in its calculation of the CEO target total compensation award for the upcoming year?
As Chair and CEO, I can't really speak on behalf of the Compensation Committee, but what I can say is that realized pay is a result of the performance of the stock price over time, and when, as CEO, I choose to exercise stock options or realize the shares that are granted to me. And so when the Compensation Committee does their analysis, they have an outside advisor that helps them set the compensation that is to be granted. But realized pay is something that depends on the performance of the stock, which is a risky thing that's granted. So most of the pay for the CEO is at risk, and when I choose to exercise those payments. So that is not really a large consideration in the granting of compensation.
Thank you. We have no other questions on the voting items.
Thank you, Jenny. Voting is currently open on the meeting website. Voting has been open on the meeting website since the meeting commenced. We are currently allowing additional time for any shareholder wishing to vote at this time. After voting ends and we close the polls, the Inspector will complete the vote count, and we will announce the preliminary results later in the meeting. While the Inspector is completing the vote count, Kevin will share a review of Stryker's performance and future outlook. We are continuing to hold to allow additional time for any shareholder wishing to vote at this time. Voting is now ended, and we will close the polls. Kevin, please go ahead.
Turning to the business update, I always like to start every presentation with our mission and values. We launched these 11 years ago and haven't changed any words during that time. The mission and values are an aligning force for all of our 55,000 employees around the world. Turning to our sales chart, you can see that Stryker is a growth company. And after crossing $20 billion of sales in 2023, we are now moving towards $30 billion, with another year of double-digit organic sales growth in 2024. Next, this pie chart shows the makeup of our diverse businesses as at the end of 2024. We are category leaders across all of the business areas that we participate in. Moving ahead to innovations, you can see pictured here a number of our latest innovations.
Our consistent high growth is fueled by innovation, and we have healthy innovation pipelines across the company. 2024 was an active year on the acquisition front as we completed seven tuck-in deals, each of which has strengthened our category leadership in their respective businesses. In early 2025, we continued our activity on the M&A front with the acquisition of Inari, which closed in February, and the divestment of our spinal implant business, which occurred at the end of Q1. Finally, this slide illustrates examples of our global recognition as a great place to work, the fact that we impacted over 150 million patients in 2024, and also shows that we are making a strong impact on the health of the planet and supporting our local communities, and with that, I'll turn the microphone back to Tina, who will report on the preliminary voting results.
Thank you, Kevin. I am advised by the Inspector of Election that each of the persons nominated for Director in Proposal 1 has been duly elected a Director of the company. I am also advised by the Inspector of Election that shares representing a majority of the total votes cast on Proposal 2 were voted for ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young as independent registered public accounting firm for 2025. I am also advised by the Inspector of Election that a majority of the total votes cast on Proposal 3 were voted in favor of that proposal. I declare that the 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended and restated, has been duly approved by the shareholders. I am also advised by the Inspector of Election that a majority of the votes cast on Proposal 4 were voted in favor of that proposal.
I declare that the 2011 Performance Incentive Award Plan, as amended and restated, has been duly approved by the shareholders. I am also advised by the Inspector of Election that a majority of the total votes cast on Proposal 5 were voted in favor of that proposal. I declare that the 2008 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated, has been duly approved by the shareholders. I am also advised by the Inspector of Election that the advisory vote on the resolution related to the company's named executive officer compensation has been approved. The final results of the meeting will be filed on Form 8-K with the SEC shortly, and the meeting is now adjourned. General questions will now be addressed. They will be grouped by topic and answered as time permits.
Answers to questions not addressed that are pertinent to Stryker and the meeting matters will be published following the meeting on our website.
Thank you, Tina. Jenny, are there any questions?
We have a question on digital. Stryker emphasizes advanced digital healthcare to improve operational and clinical outcomes. How is Stryker leveraging data as well as new technologies like AI to drive product innovations and improve patient outcomes?
Stryker is a high-tech med tech company. We have two AI-approved, FDA-approved solutions already in the market, and we have a robust pipeline of digital solutions that are either being launched or will be launched in the future. It is a very important part of our future products and services that we will deliver to customers.
Great. We have no further questions.
Great. Thank you all for joining us today. I would like to take a moment to thank our employees for their efforts in delivering another strong year of innovation and excellent service to our customers. The Stryker brand is getting stronger as we work to deliver on our mission and values. I'd also like to thank our customers whose dedication to patient care continues to inspire our work and whose collaboration keeps us innovating to make healthcare better. We had a great Q1, and we are well positioned for a strong 2025 and beyond. Thank you all for your continued support of Stryker.
Thank you. The conference is now concluded, and we thank you for attending. You may now disconnect your lines.