Good morning, welcome to the 2026 Annual Shareholders Meeting of Wolverine World Wide. I'm Chris Hufnagel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wolverine World Wide, and a director of the company. It's my pleasure to welcome you here today. I'd like to officially open the Wolverine World Wide 2026 Annual Meeting and turn it over to our Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Dave Latchana, who will review the items on the ballot for consideration at today's meeting.
Thank you, Chris, and welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Also in attendance today are our board of directors and additional members of the company's management team, including Taryn Miller, our Chief Financial Officer, and Stacy DiDomenico and Erin Orndorff are in attendance as our inspectors of election. Also present are representatives from our independent auditors, Ernst & Young. This year's annual meeting is again being conducted in a virtual format. If you have a question about the proposals being voted on today or other matters, we ask that you submit it through the meeting website to ensure we receive your question before the end of the meeting. If you would like to vote your shares today, please do so now through the meeting website to assure that we receive your vote.
If you have already voted or submitted your proxy, there is no need to vote again. I have an affidavit of distribution from Broadridge certifying that it distributed the notices of the annual meeting and notice of availability and proxy card, and that the distribution commenced on March 25, 2026, to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 9, 2026. Accordingly, legal notice of the meeting has been duly given. The inspectors of election have advised me that we have present, in person or by proxy, holders of more than 50% of the shares of the company's outstanding common stock entitled to vote at this meeting. Therefore, we have a quorum present, and this meeting has been properly convened. The polls for voting on the items of business set forth in the notice of annual meeting are now open.
All stockholders entitled to vote at this meeting have the ability to do so online. Please remember that if you have already voted, it is not necessary to vote again. After voting has been completed, we will close the polls, and the inspectors of election will provide the preliminary report. We have four proposals on the ballot for consideration at this meeting. The first item is the election of four directors for three-year terms expiring at the 2029 annual meeting. Those directors are Tom Long, Cheryl Abel-Hodges, William Gerber, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. The second item is a vote on an advisory resolution approving compensation for the company's named executive officers. The third item is the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026. The final item is a vote on a shareholder proposal regarding climate change policies or practices.
I will now turn it over to Tom long to introduce our board of directors. Tom joined Wolverine World Wide's board in 2011 after a 30-year career that included serving as CEO of MillerCoors LLC. Before that, he was president of several major divisions at The Coca-Cola Company, including Northwest Europe, and prior to that, was the head of Global Brands and Consumer Research and Insights. Tom has been a director of Wolverine since 2011 and currently serves as the chairman of our board of directors. Tom?
Thank you, Dave. I'd like to introduce the other directors who are present today. Joining me today are the other three directors standing for re-election, Cheryl Abel-Hodges, Bill Gerber, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. Cheryl Abel-Hodges is the Chief Executive Officer of Tommy John, Inc. Previously, Cheryl served as CEO of Calvin Klein and held various leadership positions at the PVH Corp. Cheryl has been a director of Wolverine for almost one year. William Gerber. Bill is Managing Director of Cabrillo Point Capital, a private investment fund. Previously, Bill was Executive Vice President and CFO of Kelly Services, a global staffing solutions company. Bill has been a director of Wolverine for 18 years. Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. Kathleen is the retired Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Previously, Kathleen served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources of Kellogg Company.
Kathleen has been a director of Wolverine for five years. I'd also like to introduce our remaining incumbent directors with us today. Our President and CEO, Chris Hufnagel. Chris was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wolverine World Wide, and a director of the company in August of 2023. Previously, Chris served in numerous roles at the company, including as the President of the Active Group and as the Global Brand President of Merrell and Cat Footwear. Stacia Andersen. Stacia is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of PetSmart LLC. Prior to PetSmart, Stacia was Brand President of Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids, and also held various leadership and operational roles at Target. Stacia has been a director at Wolverine for three years. Jeffrey Boromisa.
Jeff previously was the Executive Vice President of Kellogg International, President of Latin America, and Senior Vice President of Kellogg Company, and before that, served as CFO of Kellogg. Jeff has been a director of Wolverine for 20 years. Jack Boyle. Jack is the Managing Partner of FamBam Sports Group and was formerly the President of Buying in North America at Fanatics Commerce. He has previously held various leadership positions at Fanatics Holdings, Inc. and Kohl's Corporation. Jack has been a director of Wolverine for almost one year. Brenda Lauderback. Brenda is the former Chair of the Board of Denny's Corporation. Brenda was previously the President of the wholesale and retail divisions of Nine West Group.
Brenda has been a director of Wolverine for 23 years. DeMonty Price. DeMonty, DP, previously served as the President and Chief Operating Service and Values Officer of RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware. Prior to Restoration Hardware, DeMonty held various leadership roles with Williams-Sonoma, Gap, and Nike. DeMonty has been a director at Wolverine for three years. I'll now turn it back over to David A. Latchana.
Thanks, Tom. As I mentioned this year, there's a shareholder proposal on the ballot filed by the Green Century Equity Fund. A representative of this proposal, Giovanna Eichner, is in attendance to share more information about this proposal, and we will now open the line for her.
My name is Giovanna Eichner. On behalf of Green Century Capital Management, I am presenting proposal number four, asking Wolverine World Wide to report any new policies or practices that will further reduce its impact on climate change. The fashion industry faces a 34% drop in profits by 2030 unless companies take substantive action. 78% of Wolverine's factory partners were in Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh in 2024. These are among the countries for which extreme weather events may jeopardize $65 billion worth of apparel exports by 2030. As emissions increase, so do climate-related risks. As a result, nearly 800 footwear and apparel companies have set or committed to setting Science Based Targets initiative emissions reduction targets, an increase of over 100 since May 2025. Nevertheless, Wolverine has yet to make a commitment to reduce emissions or increase the ambition of its climate initiatives.
The company's lack of action leaves investors questioning its ability to adequately address climate-related competitive, reputational, and supply chain risks. Wolverine recognizes shifting customer preferences as a risk factor. Deckers, Brooks, Kontoor Brands, and Crocs have set SBTi emissions reduction targets and supporting goals for their products, which exposes Wolverine to competitive risk in lagging its peers' climate mitigation efforts. Furthermore, Wolverine acknowledges that companies are facing increasing scrutiny from customers and the media related to their sustainability practices. Wolverine's most profitable brands appeal to consumers who value the outdoors. In asserting the value of protecting the planet while lagging on climate action, Wolverine is misaligned with the images of its largest brands by revenue, exposing the company to reputational risk and potential loss of brand value. Increasing the ambition of its climate initiatives would indicate to investors and consumers that Wolverine has a wholesome strategy to mitigate climate risks.
We therefore urge a vote on proposal number four. Thank you.
Since all stakeholders have now had an opportunity to vote at this time, the polls are closed, voting is concluded, and I will receive the results from the inspectors of election. I have now received the results from the election inspectors. Based on all the proxies and ballots received prior to commencement of the meeting, and subject to final adjustment of the numbers for any votes cast here today, I am pleased to preliminarily report that a significant majority of shares voted for the re-election of the four director nominees, for approval of our executive compensation, for the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young, and against the shareholder proposal regarding greenhouse gas emissions disclosures and targets.
The inspectors of election will conduct a final count of all votes on these matters, and the final results will be included in the minutes of this meeting and disclosed in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC. There being no further formal business, the annual meeting is now adjourned. Thank you. That brings our meeting to a close. Thank you for your time today and for your continued support of Wolverine World Wide.
This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.