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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy
Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
Filed by the Registrant ý | ||
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Check the appropriate box: |
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Preliminary Proxy Statement |
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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
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Definitive Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Additional Materials |
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Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12 |
Edgewater Technology, Inc. |
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(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter) |
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(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant) |
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Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. |
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Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: |
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(3) | Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined): |
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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing. |
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(4) | Date Filed: |
EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC.
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
May 25, 2005
NOTICE AND PROXY STATEMENT
April 21, 2005
Dear Edgewater Technology, Inc. Stockholder:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to invite you to attend the Edgewater Technology, Inc. 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time on May 25, 2005, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02116.
At the meeting, you and the other stockholders will elect six directors to the Edgewater Technology, Inc. Board of Directors. As of April 5, 2005, the record date for the Annual Meeting, our Company had 10,269,238 shares of common stock outstanding. You will find other detailed information about Edgewater Technology, Inc. and its operations, including its audited financial statements, in the enclosed 2004 Annual Report. We hope you can join us on May 25, 2005.
Whether or not you can attend the meeting, please read the enclosed Proxy Statement. When you have done so, please mark your vote on the enclosed proxy, sign and date the proxy, and return it to us in the enclosed pre-addressed, postage paid envelope. Alternatively, you may cast your vote by telephone, or through the Internet. Instructions for voting by telephone or through the Internet are included with your proxy. Your vote is important. Please act promptly by voting your shares by telephone, via the Internet, or by signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card.
Thank you for your continued interest in Edgewater Technology. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Sincerely, | ||
Shirley Singleton President and Chief Executive Officer |
20 Harvard Mill Square Wakefield, MA 01880 781-246-3343 Fax 781-246-5903
EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC.
20 Harvard Mill Square
Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held May 25, 2005
To the Stockholders:
Edgewater Technology, Inc. will hold its Annual Meeting of Stockholders at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, on May 25, 2005 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time.
We are holding this meeting for the following purposes:
The Board of Directors selected April 5, 2005 as the record date for determining stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. As of April 5, 2005, Edgewater Technology had 10,269,238 shares of common stock outstanding. A list of stockholders on that date will be available for inspection at the corporate headquarters of Edgewater Technology, Inc., 20 Harvard Mill Square, Wakefield, Massachusetts, during normal business hours for the ten-day period prior to the Annual Meeting. Only holders of our common stock as of the close of business on April 5, 2005 are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
This Proxy Statement, Proxy and Edgewater Technology, Inc.'s 2004 Annual Report to Stockholders are being distributed on or about April 25, 2005.
By Order of the Board of Directors, | ||
Kevin R. Rhodes Corporate Secretary |
Wakefield, Massachusetts
April 21, 2005
Whether or not you expect to attend in person, we urge you to vote your shares at your earliest convenience. This will ensure the presence of a quorum at the meeting. Promptly voting your shares by telephone, via the Internet, or by signing, dating, and returning the enclosed proxy card will save the Company the expense and extra work of additional solicitation. An addressed envelope for which no postage is required if mailed in the United States is enclosed if you wish to vote by mail. Submitting your proxy now will not prevent you from voting your shares at the meeting if you desire to do so, as your proxy is revocable at your option.
EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC.
PROXY STATEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Annual Meeting Information
This Proxy Statement contains information related to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Edgewater Technology, Inc. to be held on May 25, 2005, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, and any postponements or adjournments thereof (the "Annual Meeting"). This Proxy Statement was prepared under the direction of our Board of Directors to solicit your proxy for use at the Annual Meeting. It will be mailed to stockholders on or around April 25, 2005.
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affect your right to vote your shares at the Annual Meeting, if you attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person, you automatically revoke your proxy.
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effect on the vote concerning the election of directors and thus, is not being offered as a voting option in the election of directors. Under Delaware law, broker non-votes are not considered to be a vote cast for any proposal.
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Our Board of Directors (which is sometimes referred to in this Proxy Statement as our or the "Board") currently consists of seven persons each of whose term expires at the Annual Meeting. William J. Lynch, the Chairman of our Board, has informed the Board and our Governance and Nominating Committee, that he will retire from our Board, and as Chairman, effective with our 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Mr. Lynch has served as a trusted advisor of our Company since its formation and as a director since October 1996. The Edgewater community extends Mr. Lynch best wishes and heartfelt gratitude for his calm and steady guidance, trusted insight and sage counsel during both the triumphs and challenges we have encountered over our corporate history.
Consequently, you and the other stockholders will elect six individuals to serve as directors until the 2006 annual meeting of stockholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The individuals named as proxies will vote the enclosed proxy for the election of all nominees listed below, unless you direct them to withhold your votes. If any nominee becomes unable to serve as a director before the Annual Meeting (or decides not to serve), the individuals named as proxies may vote for a substitute or we may reduce the number of members of the Board. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE "FOR" EACH OF THE FOLLOWING NOMINEES.
Below are the names and ages of the director nominees, the year they became directors, their principal occupations or employment for at least the past five years and certain of their other directorships.
Nominees for Election
Name |
Age |
Experience |
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---|---|---|---|---|
Shirley Singleton | 53 | Ms. Singleton co-founded Edgewater Technology (Delaware), Inc. ("Edgewater Delaware") in 1992 and served as President of Edgewater Delaware from 1992 until January 2002. Ms. Singleton has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of our Company (the parent company of Edgewater Delaware) from January 2002 to the present. Prior to co-founding Edgewater Delaware, Ms. Singleton held various management positions from 1982 to 1992 at Logica North America and attained the position of Vice President and General Manager of the Northeast region. Ms. Singleton serves on the Board of Trustees for the Mass Software Council and the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, on the Board of Directors for Bunker Hill Community College and serves as an Advisory Board member for The Boston Club. Ms. Singleton has served as a Director of our Company since June 2001. | ||
Clete T. Brewer |
39 |
Mr. Brewer co-founded our Company in March 1996 and served until September 1999 as our President and Chief Executive Officer. In September 1999, Mr. Brewer became our Chairman and retained his position as our Chief Executive Officer until January 8, 2002 and our Company's Non-Executive Chairman until May 22, 2002. Mr. Brewer currently is President of Horizant Sports, LLC and serves on the Executive Advisory Board at the Sam Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. Mr. Brewer also serves on various private company boards. Mr. Brewer has served as a Director of our Company since March 1996. |
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Paul Guzzi |
62 |
Mr. Guzzi currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. From 1995 to 1996, Mr. Guzzi was Vice President of State and Community Affairs for Boston College. Prior to his position at Boston College, Mr. Guzzi was a consultant for Heidrick & Struggles, an international recruitment firm from 1994 to 1995. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Guzzi served as a Vice President at Data General Corporation. Prior to his position at Data General Corporation, Mr. Guzzi was a Senior Vice President at Wang Laboratories from 1981 to 1991. Mr. Guzzi was a State Representative in the Massachusetts Legislature from 1971 to 1974 and the Massachusetts Secretary of State from 1975 to 1978. Mr. Guzzi serves as a Trustee of the Wang Center for the Performing Arts and is a Director of the Boston Foundation, The Partnership and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Mr. Guzzi is also a board member of the Partners HealthCare Corporation and serves as an Advisory Board member for The Boston Club. Mr. Guzzi has served as a Director of our Company since April 2004. |
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Bob L. Martin |
56 |
From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Martin was President and Chief Executive Officer of Wal-Mart International, the international division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Prior to his position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wal-Mart International, Mr. Martin served nine years as the Chief Information Officer of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Mr. Martin serves as a Director of the following publicly-traded companies: Furniture Brands International, Inc., Sabre Holdings Corporation and The Gap, Inc. Mr. Martin is a Director of Students in Free Enterprise and a member of the Board of Directors of Santa Clara University. Mr. Martin has served as a Director of our Company since September 1999. |
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Wayne Wilson |
56 |
Mr. Wilson is a certified public accountant and independent business advisor. From January 1998 to September 2002, Mr. Wilson was President and Chief Operating Officer of PC Connection, Inc., a publicly-traded direct marketer of information technology products and services, having previously served as its Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Operating Officer from August 1995 until January 1998. From 1986 until 1995, Mr. Wilson was a partner in the assurance and advisory services practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Wilson serves as a Director for Cytyc Corporation. Mr. Wilson has served as a Director of our Company since May 2003. |
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Michael R. Loeb |
49 |
Since 1991, Mr. Loeb has been President of the Synapse Group, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner, and its Chief Executive Officer since December 1997. Mr. Loeb has also been a director of the Synapse Group, Inc. since March 1993. Prior to co-founding the Synapse Group, Inc. and becoming its President in 1991, Mr. Loeb had an eight-year career at Time Warner, where he held a number of positions including Consumer Marketing Director for Sports Illustrated and Vice President of Consumer Marketing of Entertainment Weekly. At Time, he also helped introduce SI for Kids. Mr. Loeb was also responsible for starting the direct response division of Deutsch Agency immediately prior to co-founding the Synapse Group, Inc. Mr. Loeb has served as a Director of our Company since April 2000. |
The Board will elect a Board Member to succeed Mr. Lynch as Chairman of our Board and as Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee immediately following our 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Board and Board Committee Matters
The Board currently consists of seven directors, five of whom who are "Independent" directors under the requirements of the recently adopted NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. As required by the new NASDAQ Marketplace Rules and our Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board must be comprised of a majority of Independent directors. Following Mr. Lynch's retirement from our Board, our six-person Board will include four independent directors. The Board has three standing committees consisting of: (1) the Governance & Nominating Committee; (2) the Compensation Committee; and (3) the Audit Committee. The Corporate Governance Guidelines of our Company and Charters of each of these Committees are available on the Corporate Governance section of our Company's website at www.edgewater.com.
Governance & Nominating Committee. Members of the Governance & Nominating Committee are directors Lynch, who chairs the committee, Wilson, Martin and Guzzi. Each of these directors is Independent under the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. This Committee's responsibilities include the selection of potential candidates for the Board and the development and annual review of our Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines. A copy of our Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Governance & Nominating Committee Charter are posted on the Company's website at www.edgewater.com.
Compensation Committee. Members of the Compensation Committee are directors Martin, who chairs the committee, Lynch and Wilson. Each of these directors is Independent under the new NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. This Committee's responsibilities include the review and approval of executive compensation. A copy of the Compensation Committee Charter is posted on the Company's website at www.edgewater.com.
Audit Committee. Members of the Audit Committee are directors Wilson, who chairs the committee, Lynch and Martin. Each of these directors is Independent under the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules, as well as satisfying the other criteria for audit committee members under the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. In addition, our board of directors believes that Mr. Wilson satisfies the criteria to be classified as an "Audit Committee Financial Expert" as defined under the new rules of the SEC. This Committee is primarily concerned with the accuracy and effectiveness of the audits of our Company's financial statements by our independent auditors. Its duties include, among other things: (1) selecting and retaining the independent auditors; (2) reviewing the scope of the audit to be
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conducted by the independent auditors, as well as the results of their audit; (3) approving non-audit services provided to our Company by the independent auditors; and (4) appraising our financial reporting activities, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and the accounting standards and principles followed. A copy of the Amended and Restated Audit Committee Charter is posted on the Company's website at www.edgewater.com.
During fiscal 2004, our Board and various Board Committees held the following number of meetings and took the following action by written consent: Board of Directors, four meetings (three of which were regular meetings and one of which was an annual meeting) and no action by written consent; Audit Committee, ten meetings and no action by written consent; Compensation Committee, two meetings and no action by written consent; Governance & Nominating Committee, one meeting and no action by written consent. No director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate Board meetings and Board Committee meetings on which that director served, with the exception of Mr. Loeb, who attended three out of five combined Board and Board Committee meetings for which Mr. Loeb served on during the year.
Director Nomination Process. Our Board of Directors has adopted a Governance & Nominating Committee Charter and Corporate Governance Guidelines, each of which include director nomination policies and provisions that are intended to describe the process by which candidates for possible inclusion in the Company's recommended slate of director nominees are selected. The nominations policy is administered by the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors. The Corporate Governance Guidelines are posted on the Company's website at www.edgewater.com.
The Board of Directors does not currently prescribe any minimum qualifications for director candidates. Consistent with the criteria for the selection of directors approved by the Board of Directors, the Governance and Nominating Committee will take into account our current needs and the expertise needed for board service, including experience and achievement in business, finance, technology or other areas relevant to our activities; reputation, ethical character and maturity of judgment; diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds and experiences; absence of conflicts of interest including competitive conflict that might impede the proper performance of the responsibilities of a director; independence under SEC and NASDAQ Marketplace Rules; service on other boards of directors; sufficient time to devote to board matters; and ability to work effectively and collegially with other board members. In the case of incumbent directors whose terms of office are set to expire, the Governance & Nominating Committee will review such directors' overall service during their term, including the number of meetings attended, level of participation, and quality of performance during their term. For those potential new director candidates who appear upon first consideration to meet the Board's selection criteria, the Governance & Nominating Committee will conduct appropriate inquiries into their background and qualifications and, depending on the result of such inquiries, arrange for in-person meetings with the potential candidates.
The Governance & Nominating Committee may use multiple sources for identifying director candidates, including its own contacts and referrals from other directors, members of management, the Company's advisors, and executive search firms. The Governance & Nominating Committee will consider director candidates recommended by stockholders and will evaluate such director candidates in the same manner in which it evaluates candidates recommended by other sources. In making recommendations for director nominees for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the Governance & Nominating Committee will consider any written recommendations of director candidates by stockholders received by the Secretary of the Company in accordance with our Amended and Restated Bylaws not less than sixty (60) nor more than ninety (90) days prior to the anniversary of our previous year's Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Recommendations must include the candidate's name and contact information and a statement of the candidate's background and qualifications, and must be mailed to Governance and Nominating Committee, Edgewater Technology, Inc., 20 Harvard Mill Square, Wakefield, MA 01880, Attn: Corporate Secretary.
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The nominations policy is intended to provide a flexible set of guidelines for the effective functioning of our director nominations process. The Governance & Nominating Committee intends to review the nominations policy at least annually and anticipates that modifications may be necessary from time to time as our needs and circumstances evolve, and as applicable legal or listing standards change. The Governance & Nominating Committee may amend, with the approval of our Board of Directors, the nomination policies included in the Corporate Governance Guidelines at any time, in which case the most current version will be available on our website at www.edgewater.com.
Stockholder Communications with the Board; Annual Meeting Attendance
The Board of Directors welcomes communications from our stockholders, and has adopted a procedure for receiving and addressing those communications. Stockholders may send written communications to either the full Board of Directors or the non-employee directors as a group by writing to the Board of Directors, or the non-employee directors, at the following address: Board of Directors/Non-Employee Directors, Edgewater Technology, Inc., 20 Harvard Mill Square, Wakefield, MA 01880, Attn: Corporate Secretary. Communications by e-mail should be addressed to board@edgewater.com and marked "Attention: Corporate Secretary" in the "Subject" field. The Corporate Secretary will review and forward all stockholder communications to the intended recipient, except for those stockholder communications that are outside the scope of board matters or duplicative of other communications by the applicable stockholder and previously forwarded to the intended recipient. Effective with our 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, directors will be required, absent compelling circumstances to attend our Annual Meeting of Stockholders. All directors attended our 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Executive Officers
Provided below are the names, ages and principal occupation or employment, for at least the last five years, for all of the persons who are our executive officers, and who were our executive officers as of December 31, 2004.
Name |
Age |
Experience |
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---|---|---|---|---|
Shirley Singleton | 53 | President and Chief Executive Officer. For full biographical information consult "Nominees for Election." | ||
David Clancey |
49 |
Senior Vice PresidentChief Technology Officer of our Company since June 6, 2001. Mr. Clancey co-founded Edgewater Delaware in 1992 with Ms. Singleton and has been Edgewater Delaware's Senior Vice PresidentChief Technology Officer since 1992. Prior to co-founding Edgewater Delaware, Mr. Clancey was a Systems Architect and Chief Technology Officer at Logica North America. |
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David Gallo |
43 |
Chief Operating Officer of our Company since June 6, 2001. Mr. Gallo joined our Company at its inception in 1992 and was its General Manager until he became its Chief Operating Officer in March 2000. Prior to joining Edgewater Delaware, Mr. Gallo was a Systems Manager at Mellon Bank in Boston, Massachusetts. |
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Kevin R. Rhodes |
36 |
Chief Financial Officer of our Company since January 2002. Mr. Rhodes joined our Company as Vice PresidentFinance in April 2001. Mr. Rhodes is also Edgewater's Treasurer and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining Edgewater, Mr. Rhodes was Vice PresidentFinance at Eliassen Group, Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts from 1997 to March 2001. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Rhodes was a Regional Controller at Waste Management, Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Mr. Rhodes is a certified public accountant. |
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Kristin Zaepfel |
41 |
Vice President of Human Resources of our Company since September 2003. Ms. Zaepfel joined our Company in September 2003, and previously served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Xchange, Inc. from 1998 to 2003. Ms. Zaepfel has also held various Human Resources positions at such organizations as HPR, Inc., Mellon Bank Corporation and The Boston Company. |
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Beneficial Ownership of Certain Stockholders, Directors and Executive Officers
The following table provides information, as of April 5, 2005, about the beneficial ownership of our Company's common stock by: (1) the persons known to us to be beneficial owners of more than 5% of our Company's outstanding common stock; (2) our Directors; (3) each Named Executive Officer (as defined under "CompensationCompensation of the Named Executive Officers"); and (4) our directors and executive officers as a group. To the best of our knowledge, each such person has sole voting and investment power over the shares shown in this table, except as otherwise indicated. As of April 5, 2005, there were 2,093 record holders and 10,269,238 outstanding shares of our Company's common stock.
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Beneficial Ownership |
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Principal Stockholders |
Number of Shares |
Percent of Total(1) |
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GAMCO Investors, Inc., et. al. (2) One Corporate Center Rye, New York 10580-1435 |
1,571,510 | 13.09 | % | |||
Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc. (3) 411 Borel Avenue, Suite 402 San Mateo, California 94402 |
996,766 |
8.30 |
% |
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Bricoleur Capital Management, LLC (4) 12230 El Camino Real, Suite 100 San Diego, California 92130 |
984,714 |
8.20 |
% |
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Dimensional Fund Advisors Inc. (5) 1299 Ocean Avenue, 11th Floor Santa Monica, California 90401 |
820,852 |
6.84 |
% |
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Directors and Executive Officers (6) |
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Shirley Singleton (7) | 607,500 | 5.06 | % | |||
David Clancey (8) | 556,500 | 4.63 | % | |||
Clete T. Brewer (9) | 411,091 | 3.42 | % | |||
David Gallo (10) | 269,992 | 2.25 | % | |||
Kevin R. Rhodes (11) | 76,124 | * | ||||
William J. Lynch (12) | 75,756 | * | ||||
Michael R. Loeb (13) | 71,715 | * | ||||
Bob L. Martin (14) | 55,000 | * | ||||
Wayne Wilson (15) | 40,000 | * | ||||
Paul Guzzi (16) | 30,000 | * | ||||
Kristin Zaepfel (17) | 3,334 | * | ||||
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group | 2,197,012 | 18.30 | % | |||
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Stock Ownership Guidelines
In March 2005, the Company's Compensation Committee established stock ownership guidelines, as ratified by the Company's Board, for the Company's Directors and Named Executive Officers (the "Management Group"). The objective of the stock ownership guidelines is to increase the Management Group's equity stake in the Company and more closely align their interests with those of the stockholders. For Named Executives, these guidelines provide that within a three-year period, each Named Executive, excluding the Company's Chief Executive Officer (the "CEO"), should attain an investment position representative of a weighted combination of directly owned shares, vested "in-the-money" stock options and/or restricted stock awards, in Edgewater stock equal to the sum of their annual base salary. Within the same three-year period, the Company's CEO will be required to attain an investment position equal to three times their annual base salary. For Directors, these guidelines provide that existing Directors will be required to own 5,000 shares of the Company's stock. Each existing Director will have twelve months to comply with the guidelines. Each new Director elected to the Company's Board will have two-years from the effective date of their appointment to directly own 5,000 shares of the Company's stock. Apart from the above, we have created no incentives, disincentives or facilitative programs in connection with the stock ownership guidelines.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Under the U.S. securities laws, directors, executive officers and persons holding more than 10% of Edgewater Technology, Inc.'s common stock must report their initial ownership of the common stock and any changes in that ownership to the SEC. The SEC has designated specific due dates for these reports and we must identify in this Proxy Statement those persons who did not file these reports when due. Based solely on our review of copies of the reports filed with the SEC and written representations of the Company's directors and executive officers, we believe all persons subject to beneficial ownership reporting filed the required reports on time in 2004.
This section describes the compensation paid, or payable to, the directors, the President and Chief Executive Officer and the other Named Executive Officers in 2004.
Compensation of Outside Directors
Annual Cash Compensation. Each outside director, that is a director who is not one of our employees, receives a $4,000 fee for each regular Board meeting, the annual Board meeting and certain special Board meetings that the director attends in person or by telephone. Each outside director receives a $1,500 fee for each Board Committee meeting that the director attends in person or by telephone. Additionally, the Non-Executive Chairperson receives an annual retainer of $20,000, paid in four equal, quarterly installments, while the Audit Committee Chairperson receives an additional annual retainer of $10,000, paid in four equal, quarterly installments.
Our outside directors may defer receipt of their Board and Board Committee fees. Mr. Martin has deferred receipt of all of his Board and Board Committee fees earned during 2004. For 2004, our outside directors, in the aggregate, earned fees (both for Board and Board Committee meetings) totaling $169,500, of which amount, $138,500 was paid in cash to our outside directors, and $31,000 of such fees were deferred. We also reimbursed the outside directors for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in attending Board and Board Committee meetings.
Stock Options. Under the Edgewater Technology, Inc. Amended and Restated 2000 Stock Option Plan, each outside director receives a nonqualified stock option to purchase 20,000 shares of our common stock upon that person's initial election as a director. Following initial election and on the date of each annual stockholders' meeting thereafter, each outside director that is reelected receives an
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additional nonqualified stock option to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock. Each Board Committee Chairman receives an annual nonqualified stock option grant to purchase 5,000 shares following appointment as a Committee Chairman at the Annual Board Meeting that follows each Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Compensation of the Named Executive Officers
The following table summarizes the total compensation for each of the last three years paid or accrued by us for services rendered during the years indicated to our President and Chief Executive Officer and our other four most highly compensated executive officers as of December 31, 2004, each of whose total salary and bonus exceeded $100,000 during the year ended December 31, 2004 (the "Named Executive Officers").
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Summary Compensation Table |
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Annual Compensation |
Long-Term Compensation |
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Name and Principal Position |
Year |
Salary($) (1) |
Bonus($) |
Other Annual Compensation (2) |
Restricted Stock Awards (3) |
Securities Underlying Options |
All Other Compensation |
||||||||||
Shirley Singleton, President and Chief Executive Officer | 2004 2003 2002 |
$ |
275,000 239,519 200,000 |
$ |
247,500 |
$ |
15,135 14,228 10,961 |
237,500 |
138,835 |
|
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David Clancey, Executive Vice PresidentChief Technology Officer |
2004 2003 2002 |
242,000 222,130 200,000 |
217,800 |
20,917 18,599 11,141 |
237,500 |
88,835 |
|
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David Gallo, Chief Operating Officer |
2004 2003 2002 |
233,000 217,388 200,000 |
174,750 |
17,715 15,484 5,669 |
118,875 |
40,000 |
|
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Kevin R. Rhodes, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
2004 2003 2002 |
150,000 150,000 148,789 |
84,375 3,000 |
17,815 13,145 2,260 |
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69,000 20,000 |
|
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Kristin Zaepfel, Vice President of Human Resources (4) |
2004 2003 2002 |
115,000 |
12,000 |
2,785 |
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On May 22, 2003, Mr. Rhodes entered into a new four-year employment agreement with the Company.
Option Grants in 2004
There were no grants of stock options to the Named Executive Officers during 2004.
2004 Year-End Option Values
The following table sets forth information concerning the value of options exercised during 2004 and the value of unexercised options as of December 31, 2004 by the Named Executive Officers.
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Stock Option Exercises and Year-end Values |
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Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options held at December 31, 2004 |
Value of In-the-Money Options at December 31, 2004 (2) |
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Name |
Shares Acquired on Exercise |
Value Realized (1) |
||||||||||||
Exercisable |
Unexercisable |
Exercisable |
Unexercisable |
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Shirley Singleton | | | 541,433 | 41,667 | $ | 105,520 | $ | 49,167 | ||||||
David Clancey | | | 508,100 | 25,000 | 65,918 | 29,500 | ||||||||
David Gallo | | | 257,884 | 13,333 | 32,792 | 14,666 | ||||||||
Kevin R. Rhodes | | | 47,333 | 52,667 | 32,616 | 23,434 | ||||||||
Kristin Zaepfel | | | 3,334 | 6,666 | | |
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Employment Agreements
Ms. Singleton and Mr. Clancey entered into prior three-year employment agreements with Edgewater Delaware, a wholly-owned subsidiary of our Company, on April 14, 2000, with Mr. Gallo entering into an employment agreement for thirty-two months with Edgewater Delaware on July 31, 2000, and with Mr. Rhodes entering into an employment agreement for seven and one-half months with our Company on July 19, 2002 (collectively the "Old Employment Agreement(s)"). Each of the Old Employment Agreements expired on March 1, 2003. On June 12, 2003, Ms. Singleton, Mr. Clancey and Mr. Gallo entered into new four-year employment agreements with our Company. On May 22, 2003, Mr. Rhodes entered into a new four-year employment agreement with our Company. The new employment agreements for Ms. Singleton, Mr. Clancey, Mr. Gallo and Mr. Rhodes are collectively referred to as the "New Employment Agreements" and separately as the "New Employment Agreement." The New Employment Agreements provide for an annual base salary and a bonus to be determined annually based on incentives and performance targets with respect to our Company, as determined by the Compensation Committee. Annual bonuses, if payable, under the New Employment Agreements, will be paid in cash.
The New Employment Agreements contain a covenant not to compete with our Company, involving our business, employees and customers during the term of the New Employment Agreements and for the one-year period immediately following termination with our Company, involving our business, employees and customers. If either Ms. Singleton, Mr. Clancey or Mr. Gallo are terminated without cause or either Ms. Singleton, Mr. Clancey or Mr. Gallo terminate their respective New Employment Agreement for Good Reason (assignment of any duties inconsistent with his or her position, authority, duties, responsibilities, change in location of employment or requirement to travel) in the absence of a Change of Control (as defined in the New Employment Agreement) involving our Company, then our Company is required to pay to the affected officer an amount equal to the greater of: (1) his or her then annual base salary, as applicable, over the remaining term of their respective New Employment Agreement, plus the amount his or her, as applicable, prior year's cash bonus; or (2) the sum of one year's annual base salary then in effect, plus the greater of 50% of such annual base salary then in effect or the amount of his or her, as applicable, prior year's cash bonus paid to the affected officer.
If Mr. Rhodes is terminated without cause or Mr. Rhodes terminates the New Employment Agreement for Good Reason (assignment of any duties inconsistent with his position, authority, duties, responsibilities or a change in employment location), in the absence of a Change of Control, then, except as noted below, our Company is required to pay Mr. Rhodes an amount equal to lesser of: (1) his annual base salary then in effect over the remaining term of the New Employment Agreement, plus the amount of his prior year's cash bonus; or (2) the sum of 1.25 times his then annual base salary, plus the amount of his prior year's cash bonus, subject to certain exceptions. If Mr. Rhodes is terminated without cause or Mr. Rhodes terminates the New Employment Agreement for Good Reason, in the absence of a Change of Control involving our Company at any time following the thirty-third month of the four-year term of the New Employment Agreement, then the formula in the preceding sentence would be based upon the greater of items (1) or (2) and not the lesser of items (1) or (2).
If Ms. Singleton, Mr. Clancey or Mr. Gallo is terminated without cause or if any of these officers terminate their employment for Good Reason during the term of their New Employment Agreement after a Change of Control, then as to the affected officer, our Company is required to pay an amount equal to the greater of: (1) the annual base salary for the affected officer then in effect under the respective New Employment Agreement for the remaining period of term, plus the amount of cash bonus for the affected officer paid for the immediately preceding year; or (2) 1.5 times the annual base salary then in effect, plus the amount of the cash bonus paid to the affected officer in the year immediately preceding the year of termination. In this circumstance, Ms. Singleton's, Mr. Clancey's or
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Mr. Gallo's non-compete applies for six months following the date of termination if they terminate employment, and does not apply at all if we terminate employment. If Mr. Rhodes is terminated without cause or for Good Reason following a Change of Control, then our Company is required to pay Mr. Rhodes a lump sum amount equal to the greater of: (1) the annual base salary then in effect under the New Employment Agreement for the remaining period of the term, plus the amount of the cash bonus paid in the year immediately preceding the year of termination; or (2) 1.25 times the annual base salary then in effect, plus the amount of his cash bonus paid in the year immediately preceding the year of termination. In this circumstance, Mr. Rhodes' non-compete would apply for six months following the date of termination if he terminates employment and would not apply at all if we terminate employment.
Code of Ethics
The Company has adopted a code of ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees. This code of ethics may be accessed and reviewed through the Company's website at www.edgewater.com. If we make any substantive amendments to such code of ethics or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of such code, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver in a Report on Form 8-K.
Equity Compensation Plans
The Edgewater Technology, Inc. Amended and Restated 1996 Stock Option Plan (the "1996 Plan") allows for grants of stock options covering up to fifteen percent (15%) of our Company's outstanding common stock. The 1996 Plan allows for the grants of incentive stock options and non-qualified stock options. All employees and officers of our Company and its subsidiaries, but none of our outside directors are eligible for the grant of stock options under the 1996 Plan. The 1996 Plan was approved by our Company's stockholders on May 8, 1998.
The Edgewater Technology, Inc. Amended and Restated Plan (the "2000 Plan") allows for grants of non-qualified stock options of up to four million (4,000,000) shares of our Company's common stock. All employees and officers of our Company and its subsidiaries and directors of our Company, including outside directors, are eligible for grants of stock options under the 2000 Plan. All grants of stock options to outside directors under the 2000 Plan are pursuant to formula grants. Since the 2000 Plan is a "Broad-Based Plan" under prior NASDAQ Marketplace Rules, as initially adopted, and as amended and restated, stockholder approval was not required with respect to the 2000 Plan. However, if there is a material amendment to the 2000 Plan in the future, stockholder approval with respect to the material amendment would be required under the new NASDAQ Marketplace Rules.
The Edgewater Technology, Inc. 2003 Incentive Plan (the "2003 Plan") allows for grants of non-qualified stock options and restricted share awards of up to five hundred thousand (500,000) shares of our Company's common stock. All employees and officers of our Company and its subsidiaries, but none of our Company's outside directors, are eligible for the grant of non-qualified stock options or awards of restricted shares under the 2003 Plan. Since the 2003 Plan is a "Broad Based Plan" under prior NASDAQ Marketplace Rules, as initially adopted, stockholder approval was not required with respect to the 2003 Plan. However, if there is a material amendment to the 2003 Plan in the future, stockholder approval with respect to the material amendment would be required under the new NASDAQ Marketplace Rules.
The Edgewater Technology, Inc. 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "1999 ESPP Plan") allows for employee stock purchases of our Company's common stock at 85% of the lower our Company's common stock price as of the first or last trading day of each quarter. The 1999 ESPP Plan authorizes purchases for up to 700,000 shares of our common stock by our employees and continues in
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effect until October 1, 2009, unless earlier terminated. The 1999 ESPP Plan was approved by our Company's stockholders on May 22, 2000.
The following table sets forth certain information as of December 31, 2004, for all of our Company's equity compensation plans, which consist of: the 1996 Plan; the 2000 Plan; the 2003 Plan; and the 1999 ESPP Plan:
Equity Compensation Plan Information
Plan Category |
(A) Number of Shares to be Issued upon Exercise of Outstanding Stock Options |
(B) Weighted-Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Stock Options |
(C) Number of Shares Remaining Available for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans Excluding Shares Reflected in Column (A)) |
||||
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Equity Compensation Plans Approved by Stockholders: | |||||||
1996 Plan (1) | 1,437,658 | $ | 7.25 | 144,733 | |||
1999 ESPP Plan (2) | | | 338,916 | ||||
Equity Compensation Plans Not Approved by Stockholders: | |||||||
2000 Plan (3) | 2,881,359 | $ | 4.99 | 985,324 | |||
2003 Plan (4) | 31,400 | $ | 4.75 | 313,600 | |||
Total | 4,350,417 | $ | 5.73 | 1,782,573 | |||
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REPORT OF THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation Committee Membership and Interlocks
Our Compensation Committee is primarily responsible for determining the executive officer compensation levels of our Company. The current members of the Compensation Committee are Bob L. Martin, William J. Lynch and Wayne Wilson. The Board of Directors has determined that the members of the Compensation Committee are "Independent" as defined under newly adopted NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. During 2004, Mr. Loeb, one of our outside directors who served on the Compensation Committee during 2004, from January 1, 2004 through February 25, 2004, was not considered Independent under the newly adopted NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. No member of the Compensation Committee is or has ever been one of our officers or employees of Edgewater. Mr. Loeb is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Synapse Group, Inc. ("Synapse"). Synapse is our Company's largest customer. During 2004, our Company had revenues of approximately $9.7 million from Synapse for services rendered. See "Certain Transactions" later in this Proxy Statement. Except as described in the preceding sentence, no interlocking relationship exists between the current or prior members of the Compensation Committee and the board of directors or compensation committee of any other Company. Mr. Wilson replaced Mr. Loeb on the Compensation Committee on February 25, 2004.
Executive Compensation Components and Goals
Named Executive Officer compensation consists of a combination of salary, bonus and stock option awards. Each Named Executive Officer is a party to an employment agreement that was negotiated at arm's length. The New Employment Agreements are described under the section entitled "Compensation of Outside Directors and the Named Executive OfficersEmployment Agreements." Our executive compensation strategy generally is for executives to receive a salary at or somewhat below industry averages, while being eligible for bonuses, stock option grants or restricted stock awards based on Company or individual performance. We believe that lower or competitive base salary levels in combination with performance-based bonuses provide our executives the potential to earn in excess of competitive industry total executive compensation if subjective and/or objective performance goals for our Company are achieved.
We also intend to continue to grant or award to our executives and other key employees stock options or restricted shares. The options have no monetary value to the executives unless the market price of our common stock increases above the exercise price. Restricted share awards, although having immediate value upon the date of the award, are subject to time vesting provisions, which generally require an executive to remain with our Company during the time vesting period, before being able to access the value of any such awards. We anticipate that future option grants or restricted share awards will be based on an objective or subjective analysis of various performance criteria, primarily revenues, earnings per share, operating profits and/or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Options will be granted at an exercise price equal to the closing sales price of our common stock, as reported on NASDAQ, on the date of grant, unless otherwise specified. Restricted shares will more than likely be awarded at the par value of our Company's common stock, which is $.01 per share. Future cash bonus payments will be made in accordance with an incentive bonus plan that we adopt at the beginning of each year based on criteria such as revenue growth, net income, return on equity, return on assets, revenue diversification mix, divisional operating income performance, earnings per share, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and/or discretionary matters, but may not be tied to any particular factor. We believe the mix of base salary, bonuses, stock option grants and restricted share awards links executive compensation to our Company's operational performance.
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In summary, the goals of our executive compensation program are:
Policy on Deductibility of Compensation
Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code limits the tax deduction to $1.0 million for the compensation paid to the President and Chief Executive Officer and the other Named Executive Officers, unless certain requirements are met. One of the requirements is that compensation over $1.0 million must be based upon the attainment of performance goals and in some instances approved by stockholders. The 1996 Plan was approved by our stockholders at our May 8, 1998 annual stockholders' meeting and was designed to meet the requirements of Section 162(m) with respect to stock option awards. The 2000 Plan and the 2003 Plan have not been approved by our Company's stockholders, such that any compensation related to stock option grants or restricted stock awards to executive officers or directors that exceed $1.0 million would not be deductible under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. The performance-based targets for the 2004 Bonus Plan (as defined below) were established on February 25, 2004, when the performance relative to these annual targets remained substantially uncertain within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.
2004 Executive Compensation
The Named Executive Officers received their annual base salary in accordance with their respective employment agreement. During 2004, our incentive cash bonus plan (the "2004 Bonus Plan") for the Named Executive Officers was tied to "performance targets." In 2004, the performance-based targets for the 2004 Bonus Plan included a combination of annual revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, although future bonuses may not directly be tied to any one factor. During 2004, we also reserved discretionary authority to pay bonuses, even if the performance targets were not satisfied as part of the 2004 Bonus Plan. When we selected the performance-based targets, we also established an objective formula for calculating the maximum bonus payable to the Named Executive Officers. Under the 2004 Bonus Plan, the 2004 maximum bonus amounts could not exceed 120% of Ms. Singleton's and Mr. Clancey's then current year-end annual base salaries and 100%, 75% and 40%, respectively, of Mr. Gallo's, Mr. Rhodes' and Ms. Zaepfel's then current year-end annual base salaries.
We also had discretion under the 2004 Bonus Plan in determining whether any or all of the maximum permissible bonus would actually be paid, or whether payment or vesting of any bonus would be deferred. We were also authorized under the 2004 Bonus Plan to exercise "negative discretion" by establishing additional conditions and terms of payment of bonuses, including the achievement of other financial, strategic, individual goals or discretionary matters, which could be objective or subjective. Ms. Singleton, Mr. Clancey, Mr. Gallo and Mr. Rhodes did not receive a bonus under the 2004 Bonus Plan based since the objective factors referenced above under the 2004 Bonus Plan were not satisfied. In 2004, Ms. Zaepfel received a bonus in connection with her initial employment with the Company, but this bonus was not part of the 2004 Bonus Plan.
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2004 Chief Executive Officer Compensation
Compensation paid during 2004 to Shirley Singleton, our President and Chief Executive Officer, was comprised of $275,000 in base salary, in accordance with her New Employment Agreement that was executed on June 12, 2003. Ms. Singleton did not receive a bonus under the 2004 Bonus Plan for 2004. Ms. Singleton did not receive any stock option grants for common shares during 2004. This report is submitted by the members of the Compensation Committee.
The
Compensation Committee:
Bob L. Martin, Chairman
William J. Lynch
Wayne Wilson
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General
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for assisting the Board of Directors in its oversight of the integrity of the Company's consolidated financial statements, the qualifications and independence of the Company's independent auditors, and the Company's internal financial and accounting controls. The Audit Committee has the sole authority and responsibility to select, evaluate and replace the Company's independent auditors. The members of the Audit Committee are Wayne Wilson, William J. Lynch and Bob L. Martin. The Board of Directors has determined that the members of the Audit Committee are "Independent" as defined under newly adopted NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. In addition, the Board of Directors has determined that one member of the Audit Committee, Mr. Wilson, has the requisite experience to be designated an audit committee financial expert as that term is defined by rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Management is responsible for the financial reporting process, including the system of internal controls, and for the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company's independent auditors are responsible for auditing those financial statements and expressing an opinion as to their conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The Audit Committee's responsibility is to oversee and review these processes. The Audit Committee is not, however, professionally engaged in the practice of accounting or auditing and does not provide any expert or other special assurance as to such financial statements concerning compliance with laws, regulations or generally accepted accounting principles or as to auditor independence. The Audit Committee relies, without independent verification, on the information provided to it and on the representations made by management and the independent auditors. The Audit Committee's responsibilities are described in a written charter that was revised and approved by the Board of Directors on December 10, 2003. A copy of the Audit Committee's current charter is posted on the Company's website at www.edgewater.com.
The Audit Committee met ten times during 2004. The meetings were designed, among other things, to facilitate and encourage communication among the Audit Committee, management and the Company's independent auditors. The Audit Committee discussed with the independent auditors the overall scope and plans for its audits. The Audit Committee regularly met privately with the independent auditors, who have unrestricted access to the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee has reviewed the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 and has discussed them with both management and the independent auditors. The Audit Committee also discussed with management and the independent auditors the process used to support certifications by the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer that are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to accompany the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Audit Committee has also discussed with the independent auditors the matters required to be discussed with audit committees under generally accepted auditing standards, including, among other things, the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, Communications with Audit Committees, as amended. The independent auditors have provided the Audit Committee with written disclosures and the letter required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions with Audit Committees, as currently in effect, and the Audit Committee has discussed with the independent auditors its independence from the Company. When considering the auditors' independence, the Audit Committee considered whether their provision of services to the Company, beyond those rendered in connection with their audit of the Company's consolidated financial statements and review of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, were compatible with maintaining their independence. The Audit
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Committee also reviewed, among other things, the audit and non-audit services performed by the independent auditors, and approved the amount of fees paid for such services.
Based on the reviews and discussions described above, and subject to the limitations on the Audit Committee's role and responsibilities referred to above and in the Audit Committee charter, the Audit Committee concluded that it would be reasonable to recommend, and on that basis did recommend, to the Board of Directors that the audited consolidated financial statements be included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004. The Audit Committee has also selected Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2005.
The
Audit Committee:
Wayne Wilson, Chairman
Bob L. Martin
William J. Lynch
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We lease our former corporate headquarters at 302 E. Millsap Rd. in Fayetteville, Arkansas from Brewer Investments II, LLC. The members of the limited liability company are Jerry T. Brewer and Kay Brewer, who are the parents of Clete T. Brewer, one of our Company's directors. The total lease payments to Brewer Investments II, LLC in 2004 for this lease, from January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004, were approximately $223,000.
The lease for the 302 E. Millsap Rd. premises expires in 2009 and we sublet the premises in July 2002 to a third party for the period from July 15, 2002 until June 30, 2007. Our subtenant is responsible for all real estate taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance on the 302 E. Millsap Rd. facility during the period of this sublease. Payment received by the Company under the sublease arrangement totaled $198,000 in 2004. We believe that the lease payments for this facility with the related party described above are on terms that are as favorable to us as those that could have been obtained from unaffiliated third parties.
During 2004, our Company had revenues of approximately $9.7 million from The Synapse Group, Inc. for services rendered. Mr. Loeb, who joined our Board in April 2000, is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Synapse Group, Inc., a Time Warner Company.
We have entered into indemnity agreements with directors and the Named Executive Officers which provide, among other things, that we will indemnify such executive officer or director, under the circumstances and to the extent provide for therein, for expenses, damages, judgments, fines and settlements he or she may be required to pay in actions or proceedings which he or she is or may be made a party by reason of his or her position as a director, executive officer or other agent of our Company, and otherwise to the full extent permitted under Delaware law and our Company's amended and restated bylaws.
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PERFORMANCE GRAPH AND TOTAL RETURN ANALYSIS
The following charts compare the cumulative total stockholder return and total return analysis, respectively, on our common stock with the cumulative total return on the NASDAQ Composite US Index, the SP600 IT Services Index and the common stock of seven companies in the technology management consulting industry for the five-year period beginning on December 31, 1999 (the closing sale price of our common stock on this date was $7.56) and ending on December 31, 2004 (the last trading date for our common stock in the 2004 fiscal year), assuming a $100 investment in each and assuming the reinvestment of dividends. We did not pay any dividends during the period. Refer to the footnotes below the graph for a description of the companies included in our peer group.
COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE FIVE YEAR TOTAL RETURN
TOTAL RETURN ANALYSIS |
12/31/1999 |
12/31/2000 |
12/31/2001 |
12/31/2002 |
12/31/2003 |
12/31/2004 |
||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC. | $ | 100 | $ | 85.95 | $ | 52.23 | $ | 62.41 | $ | 65.06 | $ | 64.79 | ||||||
NASDAQ U.S. INDEX | 100 | 60.31 | 47.84 | 33.07 | 49.45 | 53.81 | ||||||||||||
S&P 600 IT SERVICES | 100 | 21.79 | 20.74 | 16.38 | 23.56 | 26.69 | ||||||||||||
PEER GROUP1 | 100 | 20.15 | 18.32 | 10.32 | 18.49 | 29.42 |
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AUDIT FEES AND NON-AUDIT SERVICES
The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed by Deloitte & Touche LLP for professional services rendered during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2003 and 2004:
Types of Fees |
2003 |
2004 |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Audit Fees | $ | 169,162 | $ | 190,000 | |||
Audit-Related Fees (1) | 21,000 | 110,300 | |||||
Tax FeesPreparation and Compliance (2) | 196,705 | 154,256 | |||||
Total Audit, Audit-Related and Tax Preparation and Compliance Fees | 386,867 | 454,556 | |||||
Other Non-audit Fees: |
|||||||
Tax FeesOther (3) | 96,763 | 26,706 | |||||
Total Fees | $ | 483,629 | $ | 481,262 | |||
In the table above, in accordance with new definitions in rules of the SEC, "Audit Fees" are fees our Company paid Deloitte & Touche LLP for professional services for the audit of our Company's consolidated financial statements included in our 2004 Form 10-K and the review of financial statements included in our Form 10-Qs filed with the SEC during 2004, or for services that are normally provided by the auditors in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, net of out of pocket expenses; "AuditRelated Fees" are fees billed by Deloitte & Touche LLP for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our Company's financial statements, including acquisition target related audit work; and "Tax Fees" are fees for tax compliance, tax advice, tax planning, and tax consulting billed by Deloitte & Touche LLP.
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We expect representatives of Deloitte & Touche LLP to be present at the Annual Meeting. We will provide this accounting firm the opportunity to make a statement, if they so desire, and to respond to appropriate questions.
The Board is not aware of any other matter to be presented for action at the Annual Meeting. If any other matter requiring a vote of stockholders should arise, then the proxies (or their substitutes) will vote in accordance with their best judgment.
Annual Report
Our 2004 Annual Report to Stockholders accompanies this Proxy Statement. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 was filed with the SEC on March 29, 2005. A copy of our 2004 Form 10-K, including any financial statements and schedules and a list describing any exhibits not included in the 2004 Form 10-K may be obtained, without charge, by any stockholder. Written requests for copies of the 2004 Form 10-K should be directed to Kevin R. Rhodes, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, Edgewater Technology, Inc., 20 Harvard Mill Square, Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880.
Information Not Incorporated
The SEC's rules allow the information in this Proxy Statement to be incorporated by reference to and form a part of our 2004 Form 10-K. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of our 2004 Form 10-K, with two exceptions. The SEC's rules do not require the Compensation Committee Report and the Audit Committee Report to be incorporated in any filing made under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Compensation Committee Report and the Audit Committee Report shall not be deemed to be filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, unless we specifically incorporate these reports by reference in some other filed document.
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EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC.
C/O EQUISERVE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
P.O. BOX 8694
EDISON, NJ 08818-8694
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EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC.
FOR | AGAINST | ABSTAIN | ||||||||||||||
1. |
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o |
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(01) Shirley Singleton, (02) Clete T. Brewer, (03) Paul Guzzi, (04) Michael R. Loeb, (05) Bob L. Martin and (06) Wayne Wilson | 2. | In their discretion, upon any other matters which may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof. | ||||||||||||||
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PLEASE SIGN EXACTLY AS YOUR NAME APPEARS HEREON, WHEN SHARES ARE HELD BY JOINT TENANTS, BOTH SHOULD SIGN, WHEN SIGNING AS ATTORNEY, EXECUTOR, ADMINISTRATOR, TRUSTEE, OR GUARDIAN, PLEASE GIVE FULL TITLE AS SUCH. IF A CORPORATION, PLEASE SIGN IN FULL CORPORATE NAME BY PRESIDENT OR OTHER AUTHORIZED OFFICER. IF A PARTNERSHIP, PLEASE SIGN IN PARTNERSHIP NAME BY AUTHORIZED PERSON. PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS PROXY CARD PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED SELF-ADDRESSED, POSTAGE PREPAID ENVELOPE. |
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PROXY
EDGEWATER TECHNOLOGY, INC.
20 HARVARD MILL SQUARE
WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 01880
THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS ON MAY 25, 2005
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS that I, the undersigned stockholder of Edgewater Technology, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), do hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint Shirley Singleton, Kevin Rhodes and David Clancey, or any one or more of them, my true and lawful attorney(s) with full power of substitution for me and in my name, place and stead, to vote all of the Common Stock, par value $.01 per share of the Company, standing in my name on its books on April 5, 2005 at the Annual Meeting of its Stockholders to be held on May 25, 2005 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, at 10:00 a.m., eastern standard time, and at any and all adjournments thereof.
ALL SHARES WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED HEREIN AND, UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED, WILL BE VOTED "FOR" THE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DISCRETION OF THE PERSON VOTING THE PROXY WITH RESPECT TO ANY OTHER BUSINESS PROPERLY BROUGHT BEFORE THE MEETING.
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