2014 Proxy Statement


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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The Andersons, Inc.
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THE ANDERSONS, INC.
480 West Dussel Drive
Maumee, Ohio 43537
March 11, 2014
Dear Shareholder:
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of shareholders to be held on Friday, May 2, 2014 at 8:00 a.m., local time, at The Andersons’ Headquarters Building, 480 West Dussel Drive, Maumee, Ohio 43537.
This booklet includes the formal notice of the meeting and the proxy statement. The proxy statement tells you more about the meeting agenda, and how to vote your proxy and procedures for the meeting. It also describes how the Board of Directors operates and gives you information about our director candidates. A form of proxy card and our 2013 annual report to shareholders are also included with this booklet.
It is important that your shares are represented and voted at the Annual Meeting, regardless of the size of your holdings. I urge you to vote your proxy as soon as possible so that your shares may be represented at the meeting. If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may revoke your proxy in writing and vote your shares in person, if you wish.
I look forward to seeing you on May 2nd.
Sincerely,
/s/ Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson
Chairman, Board of Directors
and Chief Executive Officer




THE ANDERSONS, INC.
480 West Dussel Drive
Maumee, Ohio 43537
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
 
Date:    May 2, 2014

Time:    8:00 A.M., Local Time

Place:    The Andersons' Headquarters Building
480 West Dussel Drive
Maumee, Ohio 43537

Matters to be voted upon:
1
The election of nine directors identified as nominees herein to hold office for a one-year term.
2
The approval of the 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan
3
Advisory approval or disapproval of executive compensation.
4
The ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2014.
5
Any other matters that may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.
Holders of record of The Andersons, Inc. Common Shares as of the close of business on March 10, 2014 will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By order of the Board of Directors
 
 
 
 
Maumee, Ohio
March 11, 2014
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Naran U. Burchinow
 
 
 
 
 
 
Naran U. Burchinow
 
 
 
 
 
 
Secretary
Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person and regardless of the number of shares you own, please vote your shares by proxy, either by mailing the enclosed proxy card or, by telephone or via the Internet. If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may revoke your proxy in writing and vote your shares in person, if you wish.
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting to Be Held on May 2, 2014
The Proxy Statement and Annual Report to Shareholders with Form 10K is available at www.proxyvote.com.
















Table of Contents
 
Page
Introduction
This Proxy Solicitation
The Annual Meeting: Quorum
Common Shares Outstanding
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting to Be Held on May 2, 2014
Voting
How to Vote Your Shares
How to Revoke Your Proxy
Voting at the Annual Meeting
The Board’s Recommendations
Votes Required to Approve Each Item
Householding
Where to Find Voting Results
Summary of Proposals
Election of Directors
Corporate Governance
Board Meetings and Committees
Code of Ethics
Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons
Audit Committee Report
Use of Compensation Consultants
Compensation / Risk Relationship
Approval of The Andersons, Inc. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan
Proposal for an Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Audit and Other Fees
Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Services Performed by the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Proposal to Ratify the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Share Ownership
Shares Owned by Directors and Executive Officers
Share Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
Executive Compensation
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee Report
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
Executive Summary
General Principles and Procedures
2013 Executive Compensation Components        
                  2014 Executive Compensation Changes
Director Compensation
Other Information
Shareholders Proposals for 2015 Annual Meeting
Additional Information
Appendix A - List of Companies Used to Benchmark Executive Compensation
Appendix B - List of Companies Used to Benchmark CEO Compensation
Appendix C - 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan




THE ANDERSONS, INC.
480 West Dussel Drive
Maumee, Ohio 43537
PROXY STATEMENT 
Annual Meeting of Shareholders
May 2, 2014
Introduction
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) is soliciting your proxy to encourage your participation in the voting at the Annual Meeting and to obtain your support on each of the proposals described in this proxy statement. You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting and vote your shares directly. However, even if you do not attend, you may vote by proxy, which allows you to direct another person to vote your shares at the meeting on your behalf. This proxy statement was first mailed or otherwise delivered to shareholders on March 19, 2014.
This Proxy Solicitation
Included in this package are, among other things, the proxy card and this proxy statement. The proxy card and the identification number on it are the means by which you authorize another person to vote your shares in accordance with your instructions.
This proxy statement provides you with information about the proposals and about The Andersons, Inc. (the “Company”) that you may find useful in deciding how to vote with respect to each of the proposals. After this introduction, you will find the following ten sections:
Voting
Summary of Proposals
Election of Directors
Corporate Governance
Proposal for the 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan
Proposal for an Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Share Ownership
Executive Compensation
Director Compensation
Other Information
The Annual Meeting: Quorum
The Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, May 2, 2014 at 8:00 a.m., local time, at The Andersons’ Headquarters Building located at 480 W. Dussel Drive in Maumee, Ohio.
The Company’s Code of Regulations requires that a majority of our Common Shares be represented at the Annual Meeting, either in person or by proxy, in order to transact business.
Abstentions and broker non-votes will be treated as present for purposes of determining whether a majority of our Common Shares is represented at the meeting, and will therefore affect whether a quorum has been achieved. A broker non-vote occurs when a broker or other nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because the broker or nominee does not have discretionary voting power and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner.
There were no shareholder proposals submitted for the 2014 Annual Meeting.
Common Shares Outstanding
The record date for determining holders of the Company’s Common shares entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is March 10, 2014. As of the record date, the Company had 28,387,599 Common Shares issued and outstanding.
On February 18, 2014, the Company effected a three-for-two stock split to its outstanding shares as of January 21, 2014. All share, dividend and per share information set forth in this proxy statement have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

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Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting to Be Held on May 2, 2014
The proxy statement and Annual Report to Shareholders with Form 10K is available at www.proxyvote.com.

2




Voting
You are entitled to one vote at the Annual Meeting for each of the Company’s Common Shares that you owned of record as of the close of business on the record date for the Annual Meeting. There is no right to cumulative voting as to any matter, including the election of directors.
How to Vote Your Shares
You may vote your shares at the Annual Meeting by proxy or in person. Even if you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to complete and submit your proxy in advance to ensure your vote is represented. If your shares are recorded in your name, you may cast your vote in one of the following ways:
Vote by telephone: If you received a proxy card, you can vote by phone at any time by calling the toll-free number (for residents of the U.S.) listed on your proxy card. To vote, enter the control number listed on your proxy card and follow the simple recorded instructions. If you vote by phone, you do not need to return your proxy card.
Vote by mail: If you received a proxy card and choose to vote by mail, simply mark your proxy card, and then date, sign and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided.
Vote via the Internet: You can vote by internet at any time by visiting the website listed on your proxy card, notice document or email that you received. Follow the simple instructions and be prepared to enter the code listed on the proxy card, notice document or email that you received. If you vote via the Internet, you do not need to return your proxy card.
Vote in person at the Annual Meeting.
Shareholders who hold their shares beneficially in street name through a nominee (such as a bank or a broker) may be able to vote by telephone or the Internet, as well as by mail. You should follow the instructions you receive from your nominee to vote these shares. Since a beneficial owner is not the shareholder of record, you may not vote these shares in person at the meeting unless you obtain a “legal proxy” from your broker or nominee that holds your shares, giving you the right to vote the shares at the meeting.
When you vote by proxy, the shares you hold will be voted in accordance with your instructions. Your proxy vote will direct the designated persons (known as “proxies” or proxy holders) to vote your shares at the Annual Meeting in accordance with your instructions. The Board has designated Matthew C. Anderson, Naran U. Burchinow and Tamara S. Sparks to serve as the proxies for the Annual Meeting.
How to Revoke Your Proxy
You may revoke your proxy at any time before it is exercised by any of the following means:
Notifying Naran U. Burchinow, our Secretary, in writing prior to the Annual Meeting;
Submitting a later dated proxy card, telephone vote or internet vote; or
Attending the Annual Meeting and revoking your proxy in writing.
If your shares are held in street name, you must contact your broker or nominee to revoke your proxy.
Your attendance at the Annual Meeting will not, by itself, revoke a proxy.
Voting at the Annual Meeting
Your shares will be voted at the meeting as directed by the instructions on your proxy card if: (1) you are entitled to vote, (2) your proxy was properly executed, (3) we received your proxy prior to the Annual Meeting and (4) you did not validly revoke your proxy prior to the meeting.
The Board’s Recommendations
If you send a properly executed proxy without specific voting instructions, the designated proxies will vote your shares
for the election of the nominated directors,
for the approval of the 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan,
for the approval of the advisory resolution on executive compensation, and
for the ratification of the independent registered public accounting firm.


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Votes Required to Approve Each Item
The Company’s Code of Regulations states that the nominees for director receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected. Therefore, abstentions and broker non-votes will not count as a vote for or against the election of directors and, therefore, will not have an effect on the election of directors.
The approval of the 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan requires a majority of the common shares present and eligible to vote. An abstention will count as a vote against this proposal. Broker non-votes will not count as a vote for or against this proposal.
The advisory vote on executive compensation requires an affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Common Shares present, in person or by proxy, and entitled to vote to be considered approved. An abstention will count as a vote against this proposal. Broker non-votes will not count as a vote for or against this proposal.
The ratification of the independent registered public accounting firm requires an affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Common Shares present, in person or by proxy, and entitled to vote. An abstention will count as a vote against this proposal. A proposal to ratify the selection of auditors is considered a routine matter that brokers may vote on without instruction from beneficial owners. As a result, a broker non-vote cannot occur with respect to this proposal.


Householding
The Company has adopted a procedure approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission called “householding.” Under this procedure, multiple shareholders who share the same last name and address will receive only one copy of the annual proxy materials. If the household received a printed set of proxy materials by mail, each shareholder will receive his or her own proxy card or voting instruction card by mail. We have undertaken householding to reduce our printing costs and postage fees. Shareholders may elect to receive individual copies of the proxy materials at the same address by contacting Investor Relations in writing at 480 West Dussel Drive, Maumee, Ohio 43537, or via telephone at (419)893-5050.
Where to Find Voting Results
We will announce the voting results at the Annual Meeting and will publish the voting results in the Company’s Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days after the annual meeting.

4




Summary of Proposals
The Governance / Nominating Committee and the Board, including all independent directors, have nominated nine directors, each for a one-year term.
The Board has approved the 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan and recommends that you vote to ratify their adoption.
The Board is submitting to an advisory vote the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), and conducted in conformance with regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder. While this vote is not binding, the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee and Board expect to take the results of this vote into consideration when making future compensation decisions.
The Audit Committee has hired and the Board has approved PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2014 and recommends that you vote to ratify their appointment.
At the date of this Proxy Statement, we have no knowledge of any business other than the proposals described above that will be presented at the Annual Meeting. If any other business should properly come before the Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted on at the discretion of the proxy holders.

5





Election of Directors
The Board of Directors is currently comprised of ten directors. David L. Nichols, having reached our mandatory retirement age for board members of 72, will not stand for re-election. The Board will reduce the number of directors to nine commencing with this Annual Meeting. The Governance / Nominating Committee and the Board have nominated and recommend the election of each of the nine nominees listed below. Each Director elected will serve until the next Annual Meeting or until their earlier removal or resignation. Each of the nominees listed is currently a Director of the Company. The Board expects all nominees named below to be available for election. In case any nominee is not available, the proxy holders may vote for a substitute, unless the Board reduces the number of directors as provided for in the Company’s Code of Regulations.
Directors will be elected at the Annual Meeting by a plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting by the holders of shares represented in person or by proxy. The following is a brief biography of each nominee as well as the specific qualifications of the nominee as identified by the Board’s Governance / Nominating Committee. Information as to their ownership of the Common Shares can be found under the caption “Share Ownership” in this proxy statement. All information provided is current as of February 28, 2014.

6



Name
 
Age
 
Principal Occupation, Business Experience
and Other Directorships
 
Director
Since
Michael J. Anderson            
 
62
 
Chairman of the Board since 2009, Chief Executive Officer since January 1999, President from January 1999 through December 2012. Prior to that President and Chief Operating Officer from 1996 through 1998, Vice President and General Manager of the Retail Group from 1994 until 1996 and Vice President and General Manager Grain Group from 1990 through 1994. Currently a Director of FirstEnergy Corp. beginning in 2007 and formerly a Director of Interstate Bakeries Corp from 1998 to 2009.
 
1988
Gerard M. Anderson
 
55
 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DTE Energy 2014; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer 2010-2013; President and Chief Operating Officer 2005-2010. Joined Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy in 1993 and held various executive positions. Prior to this, a consultant with McKinsey & Co., Inc. Director of DTE Energy since 2009.
 
2008
Catherine M. Kilbane
 
50
 
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The Sherwin-Williams Company since 2013. Prior to that, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of American Greetings Corporation from 2003-2012. Prior to that a partner with the Cleveland law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP.
 
2007
Robert J. King, Jr.
 
58
 
Senior Adviser for FNB Corp since 2013. Prior to that, President and Chief Executive Officer, PVF Capital Corp from 2009 to 2013; Senior Managing Director, Private Equity, FSI Group, LLC from 2006 through 2009; Managing Director, Western Reserve Partners LLC from 2005-2006; Regional President of Fifth Third Bank from 2002 through 2004 and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fifth Third Bank (Northeastern Ohio) from 1997 through 2002. Director of Shiloh Industries, Inc. since 2005 and PVF Capital Corp. since 2009.
 
2005
Ross W. Manire
 
62
 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ExteNet Systems, Inc. since 2002. Served as President, Enclosure Systems Division of Flextronics International from 2000 to 2002. Prior to that held senior management positions at Chatham Technologies, Inc., and 3Com Corporation. Former Partner at Ridge Capital Corporation and Ernst and Young. Director of Zebra Technologies Corporation since 2003 and Eagle Test Systems, Inc. from 2004 through 2008.
 
2009
Donald L. Mennel
 
67
 
Chairman of the Board of The Mennel Milling Company since 2012. President and Treasurer of The Mennel Milling Company from 1984 through 2012. Served on the Executive Committee of the North American Millers Association.
 
1998
Patrick S. Mullin
 
65
 
Retired Managing Partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP in Cleveland. Director of The OM Group, Inc. since 2011.
 
2013
John T. Stout, Jr.
 
60
 
Chief Executive Officer of Plaza Belmont Management Group LLC since 1998 and Chairman since 2012. Chairman of Diana Fruit Company since 2012. Previously President of Manildra Milling Corp and Manildra Energy Corp from 1991 through 1998 and Executive Vice President of Dixie Portland Flour Mills Inc. from 1984 to 1990.
 
2009
Jacqueline F. Woods
 
66
 
Retired President of Ameritech Ohio (subsequently renamed AT&T Ohio). Director of The Timken Company since 2000.
 
1999


The Governance / Nominating Committee considers a variety of factors when presenting the slate of nominees for the Board – these are listed in detail under the caption “Corporate Governance – Board Meetings and Committees – Governance / Nominating Committee.” Because of the importance of diversity in our businesses, the Committee looks at the different skills and experiences that each nominee brings. Following are specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that the Governance / Nominating Committee viewed as valuable to our business for the next year:
 







7



Director
  
Specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills
Michael J. Anderson        
  
•        Over 30 year history with the Company including leadership of the Grain and Retail businesses
•        Specific expertise in agricultural commodities trading and hedging activities.
•        Intimate knowledge of all businesses
•        Experience as a member and chair of other public company boards
•        Three years public accounting experience
•        MBA in finance and accounting
•        Executive Leadership Program, Harvard Business School
 
 
Gerard M. Anderson
  
•        Currently engaged as Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer and board member of a publicly traded energy company
•        Energy industry expertise
•        MBA and MPP with a civil engineering undergraduate degree
•        Past experience as a consultant with McKinsey and Company
 
 
Catherine M. Kilbane
  
•        Currently engaged as Secretary and General Counsel for a publicly traded company
•        Experience with public company regulatory requirements
•        Experience in an industry that is a supplier to retailers
•        Attorney with extensive corporate law experience, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities and compliance
 
 
Robert J. King, Jr.
  
•        Experience as President & Chief Executive Officer and board member of a publicly traded financial services company
•        MBA with a finance undergraduate degree
•        Expertise in banking, finance and related risk analysis with extensive senior officer experience with major banking organization.
•        Experience as a member of other public company boards
 
 
Ross W. Manire
  
•        Currently engaged as Chairman and CEO of a telecommunications company
•        Mergers and acquisition and international business experience
•        Experience as a member of other public company boards
•        Formerly a partner with an international auditing firm and certified public accountant
•        Prior service as Chief Financial Officer of public company
•        MBA with economics undergraduate degree
 
 
 
Donald L. Mennel        
  
•        Currently engaged as Chairman of the Board and experience as President and Treasurer of a major wheat milling company.
•        MBA
•        Past chair of audit committee and designated financial expert
•        Extensive grain industry experience, including analysis and hedging of agricultural commodity risk
 
 
Patrick S. Mullin
  
•        Experience managing Northeast Ohio Deloitte & Touche LLP office
•        Experience as Audit Committee Chair for other public companies
•        Served as a trusted business advisor to CEOs, CFOs and the audit committee chairs of several publicly traded companies
•        Extensive experience in advising public and private companies on tax, accounting, audit and consulting matters in a variety of industries
•        Over 40 years of public accounting experience
•        Merger and acquisition experience
•        Executive Leadership Programs, Harvard and Northwestern
 
 
John T. Stout, Jr.
  
•        Currently engaged as Chief Executive Officer of diversified food processor and supplier
•        Experience in the financial markets as it relates to the food industry, including analysis of agricultural commodity risk
•        Mergers and acquisition experience
•        Experience managing company which was a consumer of wheat
•        Board member for a variety of companies in the food industry
•        Elected to Kansas City Federal Reserve Board January 1, 2010 and again on January 1, 2013; previously six years on Kansas City Federal Reserve Board Economic Advisory Committee; Currently serving on the Compensation Committee and the Executive Search Committee of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
 
 
Jacqueline F. Woods
  
•        Experience as a President of large telecommunications company
•        Experience as a member of other public company boards
•        Career experience in finance, marketing, strategic planning, public relations and government affairs
•        Executive Leadership Program, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the election of the nine directors as presented.

8



Corporate Governance

Board Meetings and Committees
 
 
  
 
  
Committees of the Board effective as of the May 2014
Annual Meeting
Name
  
Board
  
Audit
  
Compensation
and
Leadership
Development
  
Governance /
Nominating
  
Finance
Michael J. Anderson
  
C
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
Gerard M. Anderson
  
X
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
X
Catherine M. Kilbane
  
X
  
X
  
C
  
 
  
 
Robert J. King, Jr.
  
X
  
 
  
X
  
 
  
C
Ross W. Manire
  
X
  
X
  
 
  
 
  
X
Donald L. Mennel
  
X
  
X
  
 
  
C
  
 
Patrick S. Mullin (1)
 
X
 
C
 
 
 
X
 
 
David L. Nichols (2)
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John T. Stout, Jr.
  
X
  
 
  
X
  
 
  
X
Jacqueline F. Woods
  
X
  
X
  
X
  
X
  
 
C - Chair, X - Member
(1) The Company expects the appointment by the Board of Patrick S. Mullin as Chair of the Audit Committee immediately following the May shareholder election
(2) Not standing for re-election

The Board of Directors held five regular meetings and one scheduled telephonic board meeting in 2013. All directors attended 75% or more of the 2013 meetings of the Board, and committees on which each such director served. We do not have a formal policy regarding board members’ attendance at the annual meeting. However, all of the current Board members attended the 2013 Annual Shareholders Meeting. Richard P. Anderson is a non-voting Chairman Emeritus, and attends meetings without compensation.
The Audit Committee, Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, Finance Committee and Governance / Nominating Committee each have written charters. Copies of such charters are available at www.andersonsinc.com under the Corporate Governance tab within the Investor Relations section of the website.
A temporary advisory panel comprised of Catherine M. Kilbane, Ross W. Manire and Gerard M. Anderson was formed in 2010 to monitor progress and report to the Board on the Company’s enterprise resource planning project regarding its information technology infrastructure. Such members receive compensation commensurate with committee attendance for service on this panel.
Director Independence: The Board is made up of a majority of independent directors. Each of the Audit, Compensation, Finance and Governance / Nominating Committees is made up entirely of independent members.
An “independent” director is a director who meets the criteria for independence as required by the applicable law and the NASDAQ (“NASDAQ”) Corporate Governance Standards for Listed Companies and is affirmatively determined to be “independent” by the Board. The Board has determined that each of the current directors is independent under the corporate governance standards of the NASDAQ, with the exception of Michael J. Anderson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Michael J. Anderson and Gerard M. Anderson are cousins. The Board has determined that the relationship does not affect Gerard M. Anderson’s exercise of independent judgment on the Board.
Audit Committee: The Audit Committee will, immediately following the 2014 Annual Meeting, be comprised of five independent members and, among other duties, appoints the independent registered public accounting firm, reviews the internal audit and external financial reporting of the Company, reviews the scope of the independent audit and considers comments by the independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal controls and accounting procedures and management’s response to those comments. The Audit Committee held four regular meetings in 2013. The Board has determined that David L. Nichols is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the federal securities laws and regulations. The Company expects the appointment by the Board of Patrick S. Mullin as Chair of the Audit Committee immediately following the May

9



shareholder election and the Board has determined that Patrick S. Mullin is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the federal securities laws and regulations.
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee: The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, comprised solely of four independent directors (as defined in the NASDAQ Corporate Governance Standards for Listed Companies), reviews the recommendations of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Vice President, Human Resources as to the appropriate compensation that includes base salaries, short-term and long-term compensation, and benefits of the Company’s officers and determines the compensation of such officers for the ensuing year. The Chief Executive Officer’s compensation is also determined by the Committee and then recommended to the full Board for approval. In addition, under the Company’s Amended 2005 Long-Term Performance Compensation Plan, the Committee reviews, approves and recommends to the Board grants of equity-based compensation aggregated for non-officers and individual grants for officers and reviews and approves the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” appearing in this proxy statement. The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee met three times during 2013. The Committee, by charter, is authorized to retain its own independent compensation consultants and legal counsel.
Finance Committee: The Finance Committee is comprised of four independent directors and is charged with monitoring and overseeing the Company’s financial resources, strategies and risks, especially those that are long-term in nature. The Finance Committee met three times in 2013.
Governance / Nominating Committee: The Governance / Nominating Committee is comprised of four independent directors. The Governance / Nominating Committee met three times in 2013. The Committee recommends to the Board actions to be taken regarding its structure, organization and functioning, selects and reviews candidates to be nominated to the Board, reports to the Board regarding the qualifications of such candidates, recommends a slate of directors to be submitted to the shareholders for approval, and conducts regular meetings of the independent directors without management being present. The Governance / Nominating Committee recommended the election to the Board of each nominee named in this proxy statement.
It is the policy of the Governance / Nominating Committee to consider for nomination as a director any person whose name is submitted by a shareholder, provided that the submission is made prior to December 31 of the year that precedes the next annual meeting of shareholders and provided that the person is willing to be considered as a candidate.
Submission of names by shareholders is to be made to the Secretary of the Company, at the Company’s headquarters in Maumee, Ohio. The Secretary, in turn, submits the names to the Chair of the Governance / Nominating Committee. The shareholder’s notice must set forth all information relating to any nominee that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors, or is otherwise required, in each case pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended (including, if so required, such person’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected). Additionally, as to the shareholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination or proposal is made, the notice must provide the name and address of such shareholder and beneficial owner and the class and number of shares of the Company which are owned beneficially and of record by such shareholder and beneficial owner.
Each candidate for director (no matter how nominated) is evaluated on the basis of his or her ability to contribute expertise to the businesses and services in which the Company engages, to conduct himself or herself in accordance with the Company’s Statement of Principles, and to contribute to the mission and greater good of the Company. The candidate’s particular expertise, as well as existing Board expertise, is taken into consideration. A candidate’s “independence,” as defined by applicable stock exchange regulations and any other applicable laws, and the Board’s ratio of independent to non-independent directors are also taken into consideration. Preferences, qualifications and specific qualities or skills considered necessary for one or more of the directors to possess include, but are not limited to, the following:
Able to serve for a reasonable period of time
Multi-business background preferred
Successful career in business preferred
Active vs. retired preferred
Audit Committee membership potential
Strategic thinker
Leader / manager
Agribusiness background, domestic and international
Transportation background
Retail background
Brand marketing exposure

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The Committee does not have specific diversity goals other than to annually present a slate of nominees who will contribute expertise to the Board, who will conduct themselves in accordance with the Company’s Statement of Principles and who will share their diverse skills and experiences for the greater good of the Company. Because the Company consists of several diverse businesses, we highly value differing viewpoints shared in the pursuit of Board actions that best balance the objectives of our customers, employees, shareholders and communities.
The Board has adopted a policy not to nominate for re-election to the Board any member reaching the age of 72.
The Company did not incur any fees or charges to any third party in connection with the identification or appointment of Mr. Mullin to the Board, nor was such appointment made pursuant to any agreement with any third party.
Board Leadership Structure: Since 2009, Michael J. Anderson has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. As Chairman, Mr. Anderson chairs meetings of the Board, sets Board meeting agendas, has authority to call meetings of the Board and serves as liaison with management of the Company.
Since 2010, Donald L. Mennel has served as Lead Director of the Board. As the Lead Director, Mr. Mennel chairs meetings of the independent directors, chairs the Governance / Nominating Committee, approves board meeting agendas, has the authority to call meetings of the independent directors, and serves as liaison with the Chairman.
The Board has determined that combining the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer enhances the efficiency and focus of Board meetings, and its coordination with management and plans of the Company, provided that the Board also has the services of an experienced and effective Lead Director to perform that role’s essential duties. Michael J. Anderson brings to his position experience on two other public company boards, including service as chairman, coupled with a detailed knowledge of the Company’s businesses derived from decades long experience with the Company. Moreover, the variety and complexity of the Company’s businesses underscores the need for a Chairman with detailed knowledge of the Company’s day to day issues to assure relevant Board agendas, adequate information and analysis for meetings, and the coordination with management. Combining the function is appropriate, and effective, when the Company also has the benefit of an experienced Lead Director, with responsibilities and authority to manage decisively the meetings of the independent directors, to communicate their interests to the Chairman, and to assert to the Chairman any other concerns for the benefit of the stockholders, and in so doing serving as an institutional counterweight to the Chairman and CEO.
Board Oversight of Risk: The Board is responsible for overseeing risk management for the Company. It has delegated to each of the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee, the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee and the Governance / Nominating Committee, certain of its responsibilities in this area. For example, the Audit Committee has the oversight responsibility for the integrity of the Company’s financial statements and its financial reporting process; its systems of internal accounting and financial controls and the performance of the Company’s internal audit function and independent auditor. The Finance Committee has responsibility for risks relating to capital markets including interest rate volatility and access to capital, counterparties, product liability, price volatility and general industry market risks. The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee has the responsibility for reviewing the Company’s compensation policies to ensure that these policies are not reasonably likely to create undue risk to the Company. The Governance / Nominating Committee has responsibility for oversight of the Company’s ethics policies, including the Company’s Code of Business Conduct, Board Succession and other regulatory / legislative issues.
Although the Board has delegated certain responsibilities for risk management to its Committees, the Board retains overall responsibility and coordination of this duty. Each Committee Chairman reports to the full Board matters discussed or reviewed at Committee meetings. Although the Board oversees the Company’s risk management, company management is responsible for day-to-day risk management processes and provides regular updates to the Board and its Committees.
Executive Sessions of the Board: Our independent directors meet in executive session at each Board meeting. Our Lead Director chairs these executive sessions.
Shareholder Communications to Board: Shareholders may send communications to the Board by writing any of its officers at the Company’s headquarters at its Maumee, Ohio address or by calling any officer at 419-893-5050 or 800-537-3370. All shareholder communications addressed to the Board will be forwarded to the Board members.
Code of Ethics
The Company has adopted Standards of Business Conduct that apply to all employees, including the principal executive officer, principal financial officer and the principal accounting officer. These Standards of Business Conduct are available on the Company’s website (www.andersonsinc.com) under the Corporate Governance tab within the Investor Relations section of

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the website. The Company intends to post amendments to or waivers, if any, from its Standards of Business Conduct as relates to the Company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer on its website.
Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons
The Board has practices and procedures to address potential or actual conflicts of interest and any appearance that decisions are based on considerations other than the best interests of the Company that may arise in connection with transactions with certain persons or entities, which include the completion of annual written questionnaires requiring disclosure of potential conflict situations, financial transactions, and annual affirmation of compliance with the Company’s Standards of Business Conduct and Statement of Principles (the “Related Person Transaction Policy”). The Related Person Transaction Policy operates in conjunction with the Company’s Standards of Business Conduct and is applicable to all transactions, arrangements or relationships in which: (a) the aggregate amount involved is material to the individual, and in any event, to any transaction in which the amount may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any calendar year; (b) the Company is a participant; and (c) any Related Person (as that term is defined in Item 404 under Regulation S-K of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) has or will have a direct or indirect interest (a “Related Person Transaction”).
The Governance / Nominating Committee is charged with the review of any transactions with related persons. They may utilize outside legal counsel or the Company’s general counsel to provide opinions as to the appropriateness of any potential Related Person Transaction. All directors and officers complete annual questionnaires regarding their stockholdings and transactions which may possibly be regarded as involving related parties. In considering any matter, the Governance / Nominating Committee will consider the terms of the Company’s Standards of Business Conduct, which directors and officers also commit to observe.
A Related Person Transaction is subject to review and approval or ratification by the Chief Executive Officer or the Governance / Nominating Committee. As part of its review of each Related Person Transaction, the Governance / Nominating Committee will take into account, among other factors it deems appropriate, whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than the terms generally available to an unaffiliated third-party under the same or similar circumstances and the extent of the Related Person’s interest in the transaction. The Related Person Transaction Policy also provides that certain transactions, based on their nature and/or monetary amount, are deemed to be pre-approved or ratified by the Committee and do not require separate approval or ratification. The Director involved in a Related Person Transaction will recuse himself/herself from any decision to approve or ratify such transaction.
The Governance / Nominating Committee’s activities with respect to the review and approval or ratification of all Related Person Transactions are reported periodically to the Board of Directors.
Donald L. Mennel is Chairman, and formerly President and Treasurer of, and a significant shareholder in, The Mennel Milling Company ("Mennel Milling"). Mennel Milling sells grain to, and purchases grain from, the Company and its Lansing Grain affiliate, and also leases railcars from the Company. The amounts received from such transactions are below thresholds established by Nasdaq as standards for director non-independence. The Board has determined that such transactions will not interfere with Mr. Mennel's ability to serve as an independent director.
Catherine M. Kilbane, who serves as a director, member of the Audit Committee and Chair of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, is Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of The Sherwin-Williams Company. The Sherwin-Williams Company, through its retail stores, competes with the paint department of the Company's retail stores. It may also supply paints and other products for sale by the Company in its retail stores and for use in the Company's railcar painting business. The amount of such competition and supplies are de minimis, and the Board has determined that such competition and transactions will not interfere with Ms. Kilbane's ability to serve as an independent director.
There were no other Related Person Transactions for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Audit Committee Report
The Audit Committee of The Andersons, Inc. Board of Directors operates under a written charter. In May 2013, the Committee was reappointed with five independent directors and increased to six in August 2013 with the addition of Patrick S. Mullin to the Board. It will again operate as a five person committee following the 2014 Annual Meeting. The Audit Committee appoints, establishes fees to, reviews audit scope and plan, pre-approves non-audit services provided by, and evaluates the performance of, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee’s appointment of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is presented to the shareholders in the annual proxy statement for ratification.

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Management is responsible for the Company’s internal controls, financial reporting process and compliance with laws and regulations and ethical business standards. The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an audit of the consolidated financial statements of the Company in accordance with standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) and assessing the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting and for issuing their reports. The Audit Committee is responsible for monitoring and overseeing these processes.
In this context, the Audit Committee has reviewed the Company's audited financial statements and has met and held separate discussions with management, the Company’s internal audit director and the independent registered public accounting firm regarding such financial statements. Management represented to the Audit Committee that the consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The Audit Committee also discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm matters required to be discussed by PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees, and reviewed all material written communications between the independent registered public accounting firm and management.
The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm also provided to the Audit Committee the written disclosures required by PCAOB Rule 3526 Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence, and the Audit Committee discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm that firm’s independence.
The Audit Committee has also reviewed the services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm (as disclosed below under the caption “Audit and Other Fees”) when considering their independence.
Based upon the Audit Committee’s discussion with management and the independent registered public accounting firm and the Audit Committee’s review of the representations of management and the report of the independent registered public accounting firm to the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee recommended 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 year ended December 31, 2013 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
AUDIT COMMITTEE
David L. Nichols (outgoing chair), Patrick S. Mullin (incoming chair), Catherine M. Kilbane, Ross W. Manire, Donald L. Mennel, Jacqueline F. Woods
Use of Compensation Consultants
In 2013, the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee of the Board of Directors retained its own adviser in light of significant executive compensation projects initiated during 2013 that culminated in decisions regarding 2014 compensation and a shareholder proposal to adopt a new Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan. The committee has engaged Semler Brossy Consulting Group of Los Angeles, California for a limited engagement, to objectively review and make recommendations regarding the proposed new Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan and to review all elements of total direct compensation for executive officers and non-employee independent directors.
Management of the Company has engaged two separate consultants as noted in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of the document. Findley Davies’ (one of the two firms) role in providing executive compensation consulting was primarily focused on providing benchmarking data and analysis but did not recommend specific director or executive compensation levels. Management's use of these consultants was approved by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee following evaluation of their independence, as described in Compensation Discussion & Analysis. Findley Davies provided both compensation consulting and other services to the Company in 2013 as follows:
 
Fees
 
2013
 
2012
Executive Compensation Consulting
 
$
139,246

 
$
21,805

Fees for other consulting and actuarial services (1)
 
579,795

 
570,271

Total
 
$
719,041

 
$
592,076

 
(1)
Services include consulting, communications, and technical support of the Company’s health and welfare and retirement plans. In 2013 and 2012, $42,000 and $51,950, respectively, was charged directly to the pension trust.



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Compensation / Risk Relationship
Company management has reviewed the compensation programs established for all employees and determined that certain aspects of our incentive programs may encourage the taking of undue risk positions, but that such situations are infrequent and mitigated by compensating controls. In all cases, the Company believes that it has appropriate mitigating controls and that compensation policies and practices are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company. The results of this review are discussed below:

(a)
One Year Income Incentives. The Company’s annual cash compensation program for management (MPP) is generally based on one year of income performance as defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. By measuring only one year of income results, an incentive can be created to maximize short-term, same year profits by making unwise credit decisions which might increase long-term counterparty risk. This incentive is mitigated by the following: (i) the Company caps all short-term incentive compensation at two times the targeted amount for each position; (ii) the Company’s Vice President Finance & Treasurer must establish all credit limits above any material size (varies by business group); (iii) a majority of management employees who participate in MPP also participate in the Company’s long-term equity compensation program, which is coupled with equity retention requirements (which are large in the case of senior officers); and (iv) losses in subsequent years from imprudent credit decisions will reduce compensation in such subsequent years. Although no claw-back provisions existed during 2013, we have adopted a policy commencing 2014 requiring the repayment or “clawback” of excess cash or equity based compensation where the payments were based on the achievement of financial results that were subsequently the subject of a financial restatement from each executive officer of the Company (regardless of involvement in the cause of the restatement) and also the group controller of the business unit involved in the restatement. If this policy proves to be incompatible with final rules issued by the SEC implementing the requirement of Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, we will adjust our policy accordingly.

(b)
Performance Share Units. Company officers receive Performance Share Units (PSUs) that vest based upon service and performance which is measured by three years of cumulative diluted earnings per share (nine quarters of cumulative diluted earnings per share for the 2013 grant) on a rolling basis. Absent mitigating controls to monitor equity transactions and manage the Company’s leverage, this award might otherwise induce actions to be taken to improve Company earnings per share results by creating a riskier balance sheet position by increasing the Company’s leverage or through the use of cash to purchase shares on the open market. The PSU award criteria might also encourage aggressive acquisition strategies, under which the Company might incur imprudent amounts of debt to finance riskier acquisitions in order to increase short-term earnings per share and thereby increase PSU awards. This incentive is mitigated by the following controls: (i) acquisitions of any significance require the approval of the CEO and the Board of Directors; (ii) officers have large equity retention requirements, which would be negatively impacted by transactions with large inherent risk, (iii) the Company’s leverage is managed within set guidelines by the CEO and the CFO, within levels approved by the Board of Directors.

(c)
Stock Appreciation Rights. From 2006-2010, the Company awarded Stock Only Stock Appreciation Rights (“SOSARs”) in lieu of traditional stock options. SOSARs are awards paid in shares of Company stock whose number is determined based on the share price appreciation (at the exercise date) of the number of shares granted. While the Company’s SOSAR program presents a long-term incentive different than traditional stock options, it nonetheless presents executives with the choice of when to exercise the right to acquire the shares that become available as a result of stock appreciation under the program. In that respect, SOSARs, like any stock option, can encourage executives to enter into transactions with long-term risks which may result in short-term gains in stock price at the expense of the Company’s long-term financial performance. The temptation to engage in such transactions is mitigated by the following controls: (i) major transactions which might affect short-term stock price require the approval of both the CEO, as well as the Board, and (ii) our internal criteria for approving major investments utilizes a RAROC (Risk Adjusted Return on Capital) analysis whereby riskier investments require higher reward prospects for approval, making approval more difficult to achieve.

(d)
Restricted Share Awards. In 2011, the Company replaced the SOSAR equity award with full value Restricted Share Awards (“RSAs”). Restricted shares are delivered at grant date and vest over a three year period (nine quarters for the 2013 grant). The main objective of RSAs is to promote retention. To a lesser extent, they also create focus on share price and alignment with shareholders, but the Company does not feel this is significant enough to encourage the taking of undue risk positions.


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Approval of The Andersons, Inc.
2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan

At the Annual Meeting, our stockholders will be asked to approve The Andersons, Inc. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2014 Plan”). The 2014 Plan was approved by the Board on February 28, 2014 subject to stockholder approval. The 2014 Plan authorizes the issuance of up to 1,750,000 shares of common stock in aggregate and will replace The Andersons, Inc. Amended 2005 Long-Term Performance Compensation Plan with respect to the granting of future equity awards. As of March 10, 2014, 500,827 shares of common stock subject to awards remain outstanding under the 2005 Long-Term Performance Compensation Plan. We estimate that the number of shares requested under the 2014 Plan will last for approximately the next 4 to 5 years, at which time we expect to ask our shareholders to approve an additional share authorization.

The purposes of the 2014 Plan are to:    
align the interests of our stockholders and recipients of awards under the 2014 Plan by increasing the proprietary interest of such recipients in the Company’s growth and success;
advance the interests of the Company by attracting and retaining officers, other employees, and non-employee directors; and
motivate such persons to act in the long-term best interests of the Company and its stockholders.

Under the 2014 Plan, the Company may grant:
non-qualified stock options;
incentive stock options (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”));
stock appreciation rights (“SARs”);
restricted stock and restricted stock units;
performance stock and performance stock units; and
other stock-based and cash-based awards.

As of February 28, 2014, approximately 140 employees and 9 non-employee directors would be eligible to participate in the 2014 Plan, which is consistent with the Company’s prior plan. As discussed above, the 2014 Plan will replace our prior equity plan and, accordingly, our non-employee directors will participate in the 2014 Plan.
 
The 2014 Plan Conforms to Best Practices

The 2014 Plan, which contains many best practices, will:
be administered by a committee of the Board or a subcommittee thereof, comprised entirely of independent directors;
set a fixed number of shares authorized for issuance with no evergreen feature, which will require us to seek specific stockholder approval for any future increases in the shares available for issuance under the 2014 Plan;
require stock options and SARs be granted with an exercise price or grant price of at least 100% of the fair market value of the option shares on the grant date;
not include any “liberal” share recycling provisions, so that shares withheld to pay taxes or to exercise options and SARs are not returned to the plan for future awards;
prohibit option and SAR repricing without stockholder approval;
not provide for automatic full acceleration of outstanding equity awards in the event of a change in control if such equity awards continue or are assumed or substituted for by the successor organization;
provide maximum limits on the number of awards that can be granted to any employee or non-employee director under the 2014 Plan; and
subject all awards granted under the 2014 Plan to the Company’s recoupment policy, as in effect from time to time.


Cessation of Awards under the Amended 2005 Long Term Performance Compensation Plan

Effective with the shareholder approval of the 2014 Plan, no further awards will be granted from the Amended 2005 Long Term Performance Compensation Plan (the “2005 Plan”) and any unused shares, including any subsequent forfeitures of shares from the outstanding awards made from the 2005 Plan, will be canceled and no longer available for grant. All outstanding awards granted from under the 2005 Plan will continue to be subject to the terms and conditions of the 2005 Plan and the award agreements which conveyed the awards thereunder.

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Description of 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan

The 2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan, (“2014 Plan”) provides for grants of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, other stock-based awards and other cash-based awards. Directors, officers and other employees of the Company and its subsidiaries are eligible for grants under the 2014 Plan. The purpose of the 2014 Plan is to provide incentives that will attract, retain and motivate high performing officers, directors, and employees by providing them with appropriate incentives and rewards either through a proprietary interest in our long-term success or compensation based on their performance in fulfilling their personal responsibilities. Set forth below is a summary of the material terms of the 2014 Plan. For further information about the 2014 Plan, we refer you to the complete copy of the 2014 Plan, which is attached as an exhibit to this proxy statement.

Administration. The 2014 Plan is administered by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee of our board of directors. Among the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee’s powers is to determine the form, amount and other terms and conditions of awards; clarify, construe or resolve any ambiguity in any provision of the 2014 Plan or any award agreement; amend the terms of outstanding awards; and adopt such rules, forms, instruments and guidelines for administering the 2014 Plan as it deems necessary or proper. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee has authority to administer and interpret the 2014 Plan, to grant discretionary awards under the 2014 Plan, to determine the persons to whom awards will be granted, to determine the types of awards to be granted, to determine the terms and conditions of each award, to determine the number of shares of common stock to be covered by each award, to make all other determinations in connection with the 2014 Plan and the awards thereunder as the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee deems necessary or desirable and to delegate authority under the 2014 Plan to our executive officers.

Available Shares. The aggregate number of shares of common stock which may be issued or used for reference purposes under the 2014 Plan or with respect to which awards may be granted may not exceed 1,750,000 shares. The number of shares available for issuance under the 2014 Plan may be subject to adjustment in the event of a reorganization, stock split, merger or similar change in the corporate structure or the outstanding shares of common stock. In the event of any of these occurrences, we may make any adjustments we consider appropriate to, among other things, the number and kind of shares, options or other property available for issuance under the plan or covered by grants previously made under the plan. The shares available for issuance under the plan may be, in whole or in part, either authorized and unissued shares of our common stock or shares of common stock held in or acquired for our treasury. In general, if awards under the 2014 Plan are for any reason canceled, or expire or terminate unexercised, the shares covered by such awards may again be available for the grant of awards under the 2014 Plan.

The maximum number of shares of our common stock with respect to which any stock option, stock appreciation right, shares of restricted stock or other stock-based awards that are subject to the attainment of specified performance goals and intended to satisfy Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code and may be granted under the 2014 Plan during any fiscal year to any eligible individual will be 1,000,000 shares (per type of award). The total number of shares of our common stock with respect to all awards that may be granted under the 2014 Plan during any fiscal year to any eligible individual will be 1,000,000 shares. There are no annual limits on the number of shares of our common stock with respect to an award of restricted stock that are not subject to the attainment of specified performance goals to eligible individuals. The maximum number of shares of our common stock subject to any performance award which may be granted under the 2014 Plan during any fiscal year to any eligible individual will be 1,000,000 shares. The maximum value of a cash payment made under a performance award which may be granted under the 2014 Plan during any fiscal year to any eligible individual will be $5,000,000. Finally, the maximum value of shares which may be granted to any individual non-employee director in any one year is $150,000.

Eligibility for Participation. Members of our board of directors, as well as employees of, and consultants to, us or any of our subsidiaries and affiliates are eligible to receive awards under the 2014 Plan.

Award Agreement. Awards granted under the 2014 Plan are evidenced by award agreements, which need not be identical, that provide additional terms, conditions, restrictions and/or limitations covering the grant of the award, including, without limitation, additional terms providing for the acceleration of exercisability or vesting of awards, as determined by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee.

Stock Options. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may grant nonqualified stock options to eligible individuals and incentive stock options only to eligible employees. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee will determine the number of shares of our common stock subject to each option, the term of each option, which may not exceed ten years, or five years in the case of an incentive stock option granted to a ten percent stockholder, the exercise price, the vesting schedule, if any, and the other material terms of each option. No incentive stock option or nonqualified stock option may have an

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exercise price less than the fair market value of a share of our common stock at the time of grant or, in the case of an incentive stock option granted to a ten percent stockholder, 110% of such share’s fair market value. Options will be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as determined by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee at grant and the exercisability of such options may be accelerated by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee.

Stock Appreciation Rights. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may grant stock appreciation rights, which we refer to as SARs. A SAR is a right to receive a payment in shares of our common stock or cash, as determined by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee, equal in value to the excess of the fair market value of one share of our common stock on the date of exercise over the exercise price per share established in connection with the grant of the SAR. The term of each SAR may not exceed ten years. The exercise price per share covered by a SAR will be the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant.

Restricted Stock. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may award shares of restricted stock. Except as otherwise provided by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee upon the award of restricted stock, the recipient generally has the rights of a stockholder with respect to the shares, including the right to receive dividends, the right to vote the shares of restricted stock and, conditioned upon full vesting of shares of restricted stock, the right to tender such shares, subject to the conditions and restrictions generally applicable to restricted stock or specifically set forth in the recipient’s restricted stock agreement. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may determine at the time of award that the payment of dividends, if any, will be deferred until the expiration of the applicable restriction period.

Recipients of restricted stock are required to enter into a restricted stock agreement with us that states the restrictions to which the shares are subject, which may include satisfaction of pre-established performance goals, and the criteria or date or dates on which such restrictions will lapse.

If the grant of restricted stock or the lapse of the relevant restrictions is based on the attainment of performance goals, the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee will establish for each recipient the applicable performance goals, formulae or standards and the applicable vesting percentages with reference to the attainment of such goals or satisfaction of such formulae or standards while the outcome of the performance goals are substantially uncertain. Such performance goals may incorporate provisions for disregarding, or adjusting for, changes in accounting methods, corporate transactions, including, without limitation, dispositions and acquisitions, and other similar events or circumstances. Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code requires that performance awards be based upon objective performance measures. The performance goals for performance-based restricted stock will be based on one or more of the objective criteria set forth on Exhibit A to the 2014 Plan and are discussed in general below.

Other Stock-Based Awards. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may, subject to limitations under applicable law, make a grant of such other stock-based awards, including, without limitation, performance units, dividend equivalent units, stock equivalent units, restricted stock and deferred stock units under the 2014 Plan that are payable in cash or denominated or payable in or valued by shares of our common stock or factors that influence the value of such shares. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may determine the terms and conditions of any such other awards, which may include the achievement of certain minimum performance goals for purposes of compliance with Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code and/or a minimum vesting period. The performance goals for performance-based other stock-based awards will be based on one or more of the objective criteria set forth on Exhibit A to the 2014 Plan and discussed in general below.

Other Cash-Based Awards. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may grant awards payable in cash. Cash-based awards will be in such form, and dependent on such conditions, as the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee will determine, including, without limitation, being subject to the satisfaction of vesting conditions or awarded purely as a bonus and not subject to restrictions or conditions. If a cash-based award is subject to vesting conditions, the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may accelerate the vesting of such award in its discretion.

Performance Awards. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may grant a performance award to a participant payable upon the attainment of specific performance goals. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may grant performance awards that are intended to qualify as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code as well as performance awards that are not intended to qualify as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. If the performance award is payable in cash, it may be paid upon the attainment of the relevant performance goals either in cash or in shares of restricted stock, based on the then current fair market value of such shares, as determined by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee. Based on service, performance and/or other factors or criteria, the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may, at or after grant, accelerate the vesting of all or any part of any performance award.


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Performance Goals.    The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may grant awards of restricted stock, performance awards, and other stock-based awards that are intended to qualify as performance-based compensation for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. These awards may be granted, vest and be paid based on attainment of specified performance goals established by the Compensation Leadership and Development Committee. These performance goals may be based on the attainment of a certain target level of, or a specified increase or decrease in, one or more of the following measures selected by the Compensation Leadership and Development Committee: (1) earnings per share; (2) operating income; (3) gross income; (4) net income, before or after taxes; (5) cash flow; (6) gross profit; (7) gross profit return on investment; (8) gross margin return on investment; (9) gross margin; (10) operating margin; (11) working capital metrics or ratios; (12) earnings before interest and taxes; (13) earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization; (14) return on equity; (15) return on assets; (16) return on capital; (17) return on invested capital; (18) net revenues; (19) gross revenues; (20) annual recurring revenues; (21) recurring revenues; (22) license revenues; (23) sales or market share; (24) employee engagement or turnover; (25) customer satisfaction; (26) total shareholder return; (27) economic profit or economic value added; (28) specified objectives with regard to limiting the level of increase in all or a portion of our bank debt or other long-term or short-term public or private debt or other similar financial obligations, which may be calculated net of cash balances and other offsets and adjustments as may be established by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee; (29) the fair market value of a share of our common stock; (30) the growth in the value of an investment in our common stock assuming the reinvestment of dividends; or (31) control of or reduction in operating expenses.

To the extent permitted by law, the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may also exclude the impact of an event or occurrence which the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee determines should be appropriately excluded, such as (1) restructurings, discontinued operations, extraordinary items and other unusual or non-recurring charges; (2) an event either not directly related to our operations or not within the reasonable control of management; or (3) a change in accounting standards required by generally accepted accounting principles.

Performance goals may also be based on an individual participant’s performance goals, as determined by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee.

In addition, all performance goals may be based upon the attainment of specified levels of our performance, or the performance of a subsidiary, division or other operational unit, under one or more of the measures described above relative to the performance of other corporations. The Compensation & Leadership Development Committee may designate additional business criteria on which the performance goals may be based or adjust, modify or amend those criteria.

Change in Control. In the event of a Change in Control of the Company (as defined in the 2014 Plan), and except as otherwise provided by the Compensation Leadership and Development Committee in an Award Agreement, a Participant’s unvested Award shall not vest automatically. Such awards may be, in the discretion of the Compensation Leadership and Development Committee, (1) assumed and continued or substituted in accordance with applicable law; (2) purchased by us for an amount equal to the excess of the price of a share of our common stock paid in a change in control over the exercise price of the awards; or (3) cancelled if the price of a share of our common stock paid in a change in control is less than the exercise price of the award. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for accelerated vesting or lapse of restrictions, of an Award at any time.

Stockholder Rights. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement, and with respect to an award of restricted stock, a participant has no rights as a stockholder with respect to shares of our common stock covered by any award until the participant becomes the record holder of such shares.

Amendment and Termination. Notwithstanding any other provision of the 2014 Plan, our board of directors may at any time amend any or all of the provisions of the 2014 Plan, or suspend or terminate it entirely, retroactively or otherwise, subject to stockholder approval in certain instances; provided, however, that, unless otherwise required by law or specifically provided in the 2014 Plan, the rights of a participant with respect to awards granted prior to such amendment, suspension or termination may not be adversely affected without the consent of such participant.

Transferability. Awards granted under the 2014 Plan generally are nontransferable, other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, except that the Compensation Leadership and Development Committee may provide for the transferability of nonqualified stock options at the time of grant or thereafter to certain family members.

Recoupment of Awards. The 2014 Plan provides that awards granted under the 2014 Plan are subject to any recoupment policy that we may have in place or any obligation that we may have regarding the clawback of “incentive-based compensation” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or under any applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Effective Date; Term. The 2014 Plan was approved by the Board of Directors on February 28, 2014 and is being submitted to the shareholders for ratification at the 2014 Annual Meeting. If ratified, the term of the 2014 Plan will be 10 years from the 2014 Annual Meeting date and no awards will be made thereafter. Any award outstanding under the 2014 Plan at the time of termination will remain in effect until such award is exercised or has expired in accordance with its terms.

Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The rules concerning the federal income tax consequences with respect to options granted and to be granted pursuant to the Plan are quite technical.  Moreover, the applicable statutory provisions are subject to change, as are their interpretations and applications, which may vary in individual circumstances.  Therefore, the following is designed to provide a general understanding of the U.S. federal income tax consequences with respect to such grants.  However, the following discussion does not set forth any gift, estate, social security or state or local tax consequences that may be applicable and is limited to the U.S. federal income tax consequences to individuals who are citizens or residents of the United States, other than those individuals who are taxed on a residence basis in a foreign country.

                Incentive Stock OptionsIn general, an employee will not realize taxable income upon either the grant or the exercise of an incentive stock option and the Company will not realize an income tax deduction at either of such times.  In general, however, for purposes of the alternative minimum tax, the excess of the fair market value of the shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock option (determined at the time of exercise) over the exercise price of the incentive stock option will be considered income.  If the recipient was continuously employed from the date of grant until the date three months prior to the date of exercise and such recipient does not sell the shares of common stock received pursuant to the exercise of the incentive stock option within either (i) two years after the date of the grant of the incentive stock option, or (ii) one year after the date of exercise, a subsequent sale of such shares of common stock will result in long-term capital gain or loss to the recipient and will not result in a tax deduction to the Company.

                If the recipient is not continuously employed from the date of grant until the date three months prior to the date of exercise or such recipient disposes of the shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of the incentive stock option within either of the time periods described in the immediately preceding paragraph, the recipient will generally realize as ordinary income an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the fair market value of such shares of common stock on the date of exercise over the exercise price, and (ii) the amount realized upon disposition over the exercise price.  In such event, subject to the limitations under Sections 162(m) and 280G of the Internal Revenue Code (as described below), the Company generally will be entitled to an income tax deduction equal to the amount recognized as ordinary income.  Any gain in excess of such amount realized by the recipient as ordinary income would be taxed at the rates applicable to short-term or long-term capital gains (depending on the holding period).

                Nonqualified Stock OptionsA recipient will not realize any taxable income upon the grant of a nonqualified stock option and the Company will not receive a deduction at the time of such grant unless such option has a readily ascertainable fair market value (as determined under applicable tax law) at the time of grant.  Upon exercise of a nonqualified stock option, the recipient generally will realize ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value of the shares of common stock on the date of exercise over the exercise price.  Upon a subsequent sale of such shares of common stock by the recipient, the recipient will recognize short-term or long-term capital gain or loss depending upon his or her holding period of such shares of common stock.  Subject to the limitations under Sections 162(m) and 280G of the Code (as described below), the Company will generally be allowed a deduction equal to the amount recognized by the recipient as ordinary income.

                 Certain Other Tax Issues.    In addition to the matters described above, (i) any entitlement to a tax deduction on the part of the Company is subject to applicable federal tax rules (including, without limitation, Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code regarding the $1,000,000 limitation on deductible compensation), (ii) the exercise of an incentive stock option may have implications in the computation of alternative minimum taxable income, (iii) certain awards under the Plan may be subject to the requirements of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (regarding nonqualified deferred compensation), and (iv) if the exercisability or vesting of any option is accelerated because of a change in control, such option (or a portion thereof), either alone or together with certain other payments, may constitute parachute payments under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, which excess amounts may be subject to excise taxes.  Officers and directors of the Company subject to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, may be subject to special tax rules regarding the income tax consequences concerning their options.

                The Plan is not subject to any of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.  The Plan is not, nor is it intended to be, qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.



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Specific Benefits

The Company has not approved any awards that are conditioned on shareholder approval of the 2014 Plan proposal. The Company cannot currently determine the benefits or number of shares subject to awards that may be granted in the future to executive officers and employees (including employee directors) under the 2014 Plan because the Company’s equity award grants are discretionary in nature. If the proposed 2014 Plan had been in effect in 2013, the Company expects that its award grants for 2013 would not have been different from those actually made in that year under the 2005 Plan. For information regarding the 2013 award grants under the 2005 Plan, see the “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” table on page 34.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR approval of the Plan.

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Proposal for an Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
As required by Section 14A of the Exchange Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, the Board is submitting a non-binding advisory vote to our shareholders on the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers as disclosed in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis included within this proxy statement.
Please refer to the Compensation Discussion and Analysis contained in this proxy statement for a description of the philosophy and design strategy of our compensation programs, our peer group benchmarking, and the actual values given as compensation for our named executive officers.
We believe that our executive compensation programs appropriately link pay to performance and are well aligned with the long-term interests of our shareholders. We believe that the compensation we have given, viewed in the context of our current year results, demonstrates the appropriateness of our executive compensation practices.
RESOLVED, that the compensation paid to the Company’s named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant to compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the compensation discussion and analysis, the compensation tables and any related material disclosed in this proxy statement is hereby APPROVED on an advisory basis.
This advisory resolution, commonly referred to as a “say-on-pay” resolution, is non-binding on the Board of Directors. Although non-binding, the Board and the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee will review and consider the voting results when making future decisions regarding our executive compensation program.
Accordingly, the Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote FOR the approval of the advisory resolution on executive compensation.

21




Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) served as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ended December 31, 2013. Based on its evaluation of PwC's independence and performance on recent audits, the Audit Committee has appointed PwC as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for the year ending December 31, 2014 and now seeks the shareholders' ratification of such appointment.
Representatives from PwC are expected to attend the annual meeting. They will have an opportunity to make a statement at the meeting if they desire to do so and are expected to be available to respond to questions.
Audit and Other Fees
During 2013, PwC not only acted as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm but also rendered other services to the Company. The following table sets forth the aggregate fees for professional services rendered by PwC for audit, audit-related, tax and other services in 2013 and 2012:
 
Fees
 
2013
 
2012
Audit (1)
 
$
2,176,848

 
$
1,615,500

Audit-related (2)
 
225,340

 
38,915

Tax (3)
 
120,104

 
112,351

Other (4)
 
1,800

 
1,800

Total
 
$
2,524,092

 
$
1,768,566

 
(1)
Fees for professional services rendered for the audit of the consolidated financial statements, statutory and subsidiary audits, consents, and assistance with review of documents filed with the SEC.
(2)
Fees for review and testing of the future SAP environment and the associated controls.
(3)
Fees for services related to tax consultations and tax planning projects.
(4)
Annual license fee for technical accounting research software.

Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Services Performed by the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
In accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules issued pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 which require, among other things, that the Audit Committee pre-approve all audit and non-audit services provided by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee has adopted a formal policy on auditor independence requiring the approval by the Audit Committee of all professional services rendered by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. Under this policy, the Audit Committee specifically pre-approves at the beginning of each fiscal year all audit and audit-related services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm during that fiscal year within a general budget. The Audit Committee is updated as to the actual billings for these items at each meeting.
Tax and all other services that are permitted to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm, but could also be performed by other service providers, require specific pre-approval by the Audit Committee after considering the impact of these services on auditor independence. If the Audit Committee pre-approves services in these categories by the independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee is updated at each meeting as to the actual fees billed under each project.
Since May 6, 2003, 100% of the tax and other fees were pre-approved by the Audit Committee. All fees noted above were for employees of PwC.
Proposal to Ratify the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Audit Committee has hired and the Board of Directors has approved PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to audit the consolidated financial statements of the Company for fiscal year 2014. Representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will be present at the Annual Meeting, will have an opportunity to make any statements they desire, and will also be available to respond to appropriate questions from shareholders.

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If the shareholders do not ratify this appointment by a majority of the shares represented in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting, the Audit Committee will consider other independent registered public accounting firms. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the best interests of our shareholders.
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm.

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Share Ownership
Shares Owned by Directors and Executive Officers
The following table indicates the number of Common Shares beneficially owned as of February 28, 2014. The table displays this information for the directors and executive officers as a group, for each director individually and for each of the Named Executive Officers (as defined hereafter). Unless otherwise indicated, each person has sole investment and voting power with respect to the shares set forth in the following table. Except as noted below, the address of the beneficial owners is The Andersons, Inc., 480 West Dussel Drive, Maumee, Ohio 43537.

 
 
Amount and Nature of Shares Beneficially Owned
Name
 
SOSARs  /
Options
(a)
 
Common
Shares
 
 
 
Aggregate
Number Of Shares
Beneficially
Owned
 
Percent
of Class
(b)
Dennis J. Addis
 

 
52,616

 
(c) 
 
52,616

 
*

Michael J. Anderson
 

 
575,027

 
(d) 
 
575,027

 
2.0
%
Gerard M. Anderson
 
10,500

 
325,375

 
(e) 
 
335,875

 
1.2
%
John J. Granato
 

 
5,135

 
 
 
5,135

 
*

Catherine M. Kilbane
 
3,600

 
18,462

 
  
 
22,062

 
*

Robert J. King, Jr.
 

 
20,044

 
  
 
20,044

 
*

Ross W. Manire
 

 
7,000

 
  
 
7,000

 
*

Donald L. Mennel
 
10,500

 
65,888

 
(f) 
 
76,388

 
*

Patrick S. Mullin
 

 
1,236

 
 
 
1,236

 
*

David L. Nichols
 
1,200

 
11,965

 
  
 
13,165

 
*

Harold M. Reed
 

 
95,926

 
(g) 
 
95,926

 
*

Rasesh H. Shah
 

 
58,099

 
(h) 
 
58,099

 
*

John T. Stout, Jr.
 

 
10,086

 
(i) 
 
10,086

 
*

Jacqueline F. Woods
 
3,600

 
19,995

 
  
 
23,595

 
*

All directors and executive officers as a group (23 persons)
 
72,617

 
1,683,459

 
  
 
1,756,076

 
6.2
%
 
(a)
Includes options exercisable within 60 days of February 28, 2014.
(b)
An asterisk denotes percentages less than one percent.
(c)
Includes 250 Common Shares owned by Jonathan Addis, Mr. Addis’s son. Mr. Addis disclaims beneficial ownership of such Common Shares. Includes 46,781 Common Shares owned by Dennis J. Addis, Trustee of the Dennis J. and Therese A. Addis Joint Revocable Trust.
(d)
Includes 150,138 Common Shares held by Mrs. Carol H. Anderson, Mr. Anderson’s spouse. Mr. Anderson disclaims beneficial ownership of such Common Shares.
(e)
Includes 316,497 shares held by trust.
(f)
Includes 1,237 shares held by Mrs. Louise Mennel, Mr. Mennel’s spouse. Mr. Mennel disclaims beneficial ownership of such Common Shares.
(g)
Includes 55,563 Common shares held by trust.
(h)
Includes 19,648 Common shares held by trust.
(i)
Includes 4,219 Common shares held by trust.

Share Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
The following table indicates the number of Common Shares beneficially owned by each shareholder who is known to own beneficially more than 5% of our Common Shares as of December 31, 2013:

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Title of Class
 
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner
 
Amount and Nature of
Common Shares Beneficially Owned
 
Percent of Class as of
December 31, 2013
Common Shares
 
The Vanguard Group, Inc. (a)
100 Vanguard Boulevard
Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355
 
1,932,221

 
6.88
%
Common Shares
 
Blackrock, Inc. (b)
40 East 52nd Street
New York, New York 10022
 
2,513,096

 
9.00
%
Common Shares
 
Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC (c)
680 Newport Center Drive
Suite 250
Newport Beach, California 92660

 
2,261,334

 
8.10
%
 
(a)
Based upon information set forth in the Schedule 13G filed on February 11, 2014 by The Vanguard Group, Inc., adjusted to reflect the stock split. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is an investment adviser and holding company with the sole power to vote and dispose of 1,893,389 Common Shares. Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company (“VFTC”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc. and an investment manager of collective trust accounts with the sole power to vote and dispose of 38,832 Common Shares. Vanguard Investments Australia, Ltd. ("VIA") is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc. and an investment manager of Australian investment offerings with the sole power to vote and dispose of 2,250 Common Shares.
(b)
Based upon information set forth in the Schedule 13G filed on January 28, 2014 by Blackrock, Inc., adjusted to reflect the stock split. Blackrock, Inc. is a holding company or control person with the sole power to vote 2,398,676 Common Shares and sole dispositive power over 2,513,096 Common Shares.
(c)
Based upon information set forth in the Schedule 13G filed on February 12, 2014 by Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC, adjusted to reflect the stock split. Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC is an investment adviser and holding company with the sole power to vote and dispose of 0 Common Shares. NFJ Investment Group LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC and an investment adviser with the sole power to vote 1,839,839 Common Shares and sole dispositive power over 1,860,539 Common Shares. Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC and an investment adviser with the sole power to vote 170,180 Common Shares and sole dispositive power over 183,830 Common Shares. Allianz Global Investors Europe GmbH is an affiliate of Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC and an investment adviser with the sole power to vote 38,742 Common Shares and sole dispositive power over 97,728 Common Shares. Allianz Global Investors Taiwan Ltd. is an affiliate of Allianz Global Investors U.S. Holdings LLC and an investment adviser with the sole power to vote and dispose of 119,238 Common Shares.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires executive officers and directors to file reports of securities ownership and changes in such ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, persons that are not executive officers or directors but who beneficially own more than ten percent of Common Shares must also report under Section 16(a). Copies of all Section 16(a) forms filed by officers, directors and greater-than-10% owners are required to be provided to the Company.
We have reviewed the reports and written representations from the executive officers and directors. Based on our review, we believe that all filing requirements were met during 2013, except for the following:
Nicholas C. Conrad filed a late Form 4 on August 22, 2013 for a sale of shares;
The Company filed late Form 4's on behalf of each Officer and Director on October 8, 2013 for annual grants of Restricted Share Awards ("RSAs");
The Company filed late Form 4's on behalf of each Officer on October 8, 2013 for annual grants of Performance Share Units ("PSUs"); and
Gerard M. Anderson filed a late Form 4 on December 18, 2013 for a gift of shares.

Compensation and Leadership Development Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
No member of our Compensation and Leadership Development Committee has served as one of our officers or employees at any time. None of our executive officers serves as a member of the compensation committee of any other company that has an executive officer serving as a member of our Board. None of our executive officers serves as a member of

25



the board of directors of any other company that has an executive officer serving as a member of our Compensation and Leadership Development Committee.

26




Executive Compensation
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee Report
The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis which follows, and, based on such review and discussion, recommends to the Board of Directors of The Andersons, Inc. that it be included in this proxy statement and incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
COMPENSATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Catherine M. Kilbane (chair), Robert J. King, Jr., John T. Stout, Jr., Jacqueline F. Woods
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
The following section describes the components of our executive compensation program for our named executive officers (“Named Executive Officers” or “NEOs”), whose compensation is set forth in the Summary Compensation Table and other compensation tables contained in this proxy statement. For the year ended December 31, 2013, our NEOs included the following individuals:
Officers
Title as of December 31, 2013
Michael J. Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
John J. Granato
Chief Financial Officer
Harold M. Reed
Chief Operating Officer
Dennis J. Addis
President, Grain Group
Rasesh H. Shah
President, Rail Group
Executive Summary
The Committee has retained its own independent compensation consultant in 2013. The consultant's responsibilities are described in General Principles and Procedures.
The Company’s compensation strategy seeks to align the motivations and behaviors of our executive officers with the interests of our stockholders by basing short-term and long-term incentive components upon annual and long-term financial objectives. To do so, we provide:
Base Salary
A salary range is established for each position, based upon extensive benchmarking.

Short-Term Incentive Compensation
An annual cash bonus. Most of the bonus is determined by a formula based on pre-tax income of both the executive’s individual business group, and the Company as a whole. A smaller amount is awarded at the discretion of the CEO based on individual contributions. The pool available for the CEO’s discretionary awards is determined by a formula also based on pre-tax income.

Long-Term Incentive Compensation:
 
 
Restricted Share Awards ("RSAs")
Grants of common stock subject to vesting over a multi-year period. Grant amount is adjusted by a factor based on prior year income results.
 
Performance Share Units ("PSUs")
Units convertible to common stock upon performance criteria being met over a multi-year period.
    
NEO compensation is based upon pay for performance, with both short and long-term incentives. We intend that the majority of our NEO compensation will vary based on Company performance. We target 70% of CEO compensation and 59% of other NEO compensation to vary with Company performance. In 2013, the actual percentages were higher than these targets, as shown below.

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The “NEO Management Bonus and Diluted EPS” graph that follows illustrates our pay-for-performance approach to compensation. The graph displays total bonuses for the Company’s NEOs during each year. In 2012, Anne G. Rex and Nicholas C. Conrad served as certifying officers for the first four months of the year and John J. Granato replaced them as the certifying officer for the remaining eight months of the year. As a result, the sum of the average bonus for Anne G. Rex and Nicholas C. Conrad for four months and John J. Granato's bonus for the remaining eight months of the year was used for the total "CFO" bonus amount in 2012 below. For comparison purposes, the 2009 - 2011 amounts were adjusted to present one "CFO" equivalent bonus for each year by taking the average bonus of the Vice President, Controller and the Vice President, Finance & Treasurer. The Company believes that its volatility in cash compensation for NEOs is appropriate given the close correlation with the increased diluted earnings per share over this five year period.


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Several changes to our compensation policy were made in 2013. These include changes to our our Short-Term Incentive Compensation plan (which we call our Management Performance Program or "MPP"). The revised MPP places more weight on the formula component and less weight on the discretionary component. Our Long-Term Incentive Compensation plan was amended in 2013 to change the vesting of Restricted Share Awards ("RSAs") granted in 2013 and later from 3-year cliff vesting to an installment vesting schedule.
Several other compensation adjustments were made early in 2013 in anticipation of a challenging earnings year for the Company. Salary increases for officers and other senior managers normally scheduled to occur in early 2013 were delayed by twelve months and grants of RSAs and PSUs for all management and Director participants in our Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plans (which we call the Long-Term Performance Compensation Plan or "LTPCP") were delayed by seven months. The 2014 salary increases for those officers and senior managers will be in amounts which partially or wholly include the amounts foregone in 2013, although no retroactive payments will be made to make up the lost salary increases. Also, the Company's CEO took a temporary 10% reduction in salary for the year, with the stipulation that if the Company met or exceeded its 2013 plan, he would receive a one-time payment in 2014 equal to the amount of his salary reduction. This change was initiated by the Company's CEO and approved by the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee. The Company's performance in 2013 exceeded plan and, as a result, the CEO received the 10% base salary reduction he undertook in 2013 in early 2014. His salary was restored effective January 1, 2014 and the Compensation & Leadership Development committee approved a standard merit increase for him to be effective in March along with all other salaried employees.
See the 2014 Executive Compensation Changes section on page 38 for details on planned changes for 2014.
We establish both threshold and target levels for our incentives, and cap formula based incentive awards, no matter how extraordinary the performance, at twice the target incentive. We believe our standards for threshold and target levels provide fair and challenging tests. In 2012, three business units exceeded their target and three business units failed to achieve threshold. In 2013, all but one business unit achieved threshold, with three business units exceeding their target. The relationship between annual incentive-based pay and performance is strong as evidenced by the graph of annual NEO cash bonus compensation and diluted EPS. See the Bonus, Performance Targets & Thresholds section below for greater detail.

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Other than required executive officer physicals, there are no perquisites, unusual reimbursements or non-cash rewards (other than equity). We do not provide employment contracts, although we do have a severance policy and change of control plan, which is described in this CD&A.

Consideration of 2013 Say on Pay Advisory Vote
The Company’s executive compensation plans were approved by 88% of the shareholders in the 2013 proxy. In view of the strong shareholder approval, we believe there is general support by the shareholders for the overall direction, philosophy and relative magnitude of our executive compensation plans. As a result, no material changes were made to the Company’s executive compensation plans in direct response to the voting results, although we are seeking to adopt a new Long-Term Incentive Plan, replacing our current plan which expires in April 2014, for which we are seeking shareholder consent with this proxy. Consistent with our recommendation, we are again submitting our executive compensation plans to the annual non-binding vote of the shareholders in this proxy statement.
Although not part of the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the Company, like all public reporting companies, has engaged in a review of the relationship between our compensation plans, and the incentives of employees to undertake risk. The results of that review are reported under Compensation / Risk Relationship.

Compensation Governance Framework

In order to meet the key objectives of our executive compensation program and to mitigate risk from our compensation practices, the company has adopted a strong corporate governance framework that includes the components described below.
    
Share Retention Requirement - Company officers are required to retain at least 75% of the net shares acquired through incentive awards until their guideline shareholding level is achieved, thereafter, they are required to retain 25% of the future net shares which they acquire with a maximum retention requirement of two times their established guideline.

Stock Ownership Guidelines - We have established stock ownership guidelines for our executive officers to further align the interests of our executives with those of our shareholders.     
Recoupment Policy - We have adopted a policy commencing 2014 requiring the repayment or “clawback” of excess cash or equity based compensation from each executive officer of the Company and also the group controller of the relevant business unit where the payments were based on the achievement of financial results that were subsequently the subject of a financial restatement (regardless of involvement in the cause of the restatement).
Double-Trigger Vesting - Our new 2014 Long-term Incentive Compensation Plan being submitted for shareholder approval in this proxy does not provide for the automatic acceleration of equity awards upon a Change in Control without a qualifying termination of employment, and it is the intention of the committee to require such double-trigger vesting on all future equity awards.
    
No Stock Option Re-Pricing - The 2014 Plan does not permit us to reprice stock options without shareholder approval or to grant stock options with an exercise price below fair market value.

No Tax Gross-Ups - The Company does not provide tax gross-ups on any benefits or perquisites, including severance payments and benefits received following a change in control.

Annual Say on Pay Vote - We value the input of our shareholders and include a non-binding vote on our executive compensation policies and practices annually.

General Principles and Procedures
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee’s Role and Responsibilities
The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, which is composed solely of independent directors, reviews all aspects of cash and long-term incentive compensation for executive officers and makes recommendations to the Board pursuant to a committee charter , which is reviewed and approved by the Governance and Nominating Committee, and ratified by the full Board, annually.

30



The CEO along with the Vice President, Human Resources make initial recommendations to the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee and participate in Compensation and Leadership Development Committee discussions. In the case of the CEO, compensation is determined by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee. The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee then makes recommendations related to the compensation provided to all executive officers (including the CEO) to the Board of Directors for their approval.
Compensation Consultants
For 2013, management retained Findley Davies, a third party human resource consulting, actuarial, and administrative services firm to assist in the design and development of its equity-based executive compensation policies and non-qualified deferred compensation programs as well as to obtain some of the CEO and executive officers benchmark data. Management also retained the Hay Group, global management consultants, to perform evaluations of executive positions and for benchmarking competitive data.
Under Nasdaq listing standards which became effective July 1, 2013, the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee is required to assess the independence of any compensation consultant whose advice is received by the Committee. In performing that assessment, the Committee reviewed 6 independence factors:
The provision of other services to the Company;
The amount of fees received from the Company, as a percentage of the consulting firm's total revenue;
Policies and procedures that are designed to prevent conflicts of interest;
Any business or personal relationship of the individual consultant assigned to the Company with a member of the Committee;
Any Company stock owned by the individual consultant; and
Any business or personal relationship of the individual consultant or the consulting firm as an entity with any officer of the Company.
The Committee concluded that Findley Davies could not be considered independent of management of the Company, owing to the volume of non-executive compensation related services and fees with the Company, and the lack of separation between the individual Findlay Davies consultants performing both executive compensation and other services. Findley Davies also performs consulting, communications and technical support of the health and welfare retirement plans for the Company.
The Nasdaq listing standards do not prohibit Company management or the Committee from relying upon the services of a consultant who is assessed to be non-independent. The Committee and the Company determined that continued reliance upon Findley Davies remained appropriate due to the firm’s familiarity with the Company, the relative simplicity of the Company’s executive compensation plans, the actual dollar amounts paid in compensation, and the fact that Findley Davies’ executive compensation services related to plan design, and not the determination of actual compensation amounts for individual executives.
The Hay Group provides no other services for the Company and was assessed to be independent.
The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee is empowered by its charter to retain its own independent legal and compensation consultants, at the Company's expense. The committee decided to retain its own adviser in light of significant executive compensation projects initiated during 2013 that culminated in decisions regarding 2014 compensation and a shareholder proposal to adopt a new Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan. The committee has engaged Semler Brossy Consulting Group for a limited engagement, to objectively review and make recommendations regarding two projects: 1) a review of a new Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan for shareholder approval, and 2) a review of all elements of Total Direct Compensation for executive officers and non-employee independent directors. The committee assessed the independence of Semler Brossy based on the six factors described above and determined that Semler Brossy is independent of management.
Rewarding Performance and Achieving Objectives
Our compensation plans and policies are structured to achieve the following goals:
Compensation should reflect a balanced mix of short-term and long-term components.
Short-term cash compensation (which is both base pay and bonuses) should be based on annual Company, business unit and individual performance.
Long-term equity compensation should encourage achievement of the Company’s long-term performance goals and align the interests of executives with shareholders.
Executives should build and maintain appropriate levels of Company stock ownership so their interests continue to be aligned with the Company’s shareholders.

31



Compensation levels should be sufficient to attract and retain highly qualified employees.
Compensation should reflect individual performance and responsibilities.
Benchmarking
For all salaried positions, including our NEOs, we compare our compensation to that of other companies on a regular basis. We use the Compensation Planning and Executive Compensation Surveys, an annual study of U.S. businesses, produced by the Hay Group, for such comparisons. Specifically for the majority of salaried positions from entry level to executive levels, we select companies from the Hay Group’s survey list of participants to create an index of 180 organizations, with average revenue of approximately $1.7 billion, and with average employment of approximately 4,000 employees.
We have consistently utilized an index of companies whose average revenues are lower than our actual revenues as we believe that our commodities-based business creates revenue figures that overstate our true peer size, and we have sought to avoid the upward compensation pressure that an index of companies with larger revenue might create. The current index includes representation from a broad range of industries similar to those we compete in, such as manufacturing, chemicals, energy, food / beverage / tobacco, retail, wholesale, and transportation, among others. The list of companies that make up this peer index is included in Appendix A.
For the CEO, we also utilize information from the proxy reports of a peer group of 26 companies selected based on financial criteria comparable to our own. In addition to sales and industry, we considered net income, total assets, market capitalization and return metrics including return on revenue, assets and equity in selecting comparable peers. In addition to meeting the financial criteria, some companies were selected based on having a business model similar to ours (i.e., operations in multiple industries). This list of 26 companies is displayed in Appendix B and is consistent with the prior year.
In line with the growth of the Company's business in recent years, an updated peer group was selected for use beginning in 2014 based on updated financial criteria. The updated peer group was one of multiple data sources used in the studies of officer and director compensation resulting in the 2014 changes summarized on page 38.
Our current pay strategy is to have Total Direct Compensation (base salary, short-term incentive and long-term incentive) on a par with the median of our competitive benchmark if annually established Target levels of pre-tax income performance at the Company and business segment level are achieved. We generally set base salary below the 50th percentile and use short-term and long-term incentive pay to bring the NEO’s Total Direct Compensation to the 50th percentile when Target performance levels are reached.
The Committee attempts to establish the CEO's Total Cash and Total Direct Compensation at a level midway between the 25th and 50th percentiles of the two peer groups described above. That level of Total Direct Compensation is also compared to that of the Company's other senior executives, and also a representative sampling of hourly workers, in order to ensure that the CEO's compensation does not exceed those internal comparisons by too great a margin. The Committee believes the CEO Total Direct Compensation is, as a result, well in the bottom half of his peers.
Following is an overview of the 2013 components of Total Direct Compensation for Named Executive Officers:
 

32



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Element
 
Description
 
Objective
 
Delivery
Total Direct Compensation
 
Total Cash Compensation
 
Base Salary
 
A base salary range for each NEO is created, the midpoint of which is below the 50th percentile of benchmark (25th in the case of the CEO and 37th in the case of the COO ). The range extends from 80% of midpoint to 120% of midpoint.
 
Payment for day to day performance of job accountabilities. Range allows for merit based increases.
 
Cash
 
 
 
 
Short-term Incentive Compensation – Management Performance Program
 
A cash bonus based upon salary range midpoint of the position. In 2013, the total bonus is based primarily upon the formula as described in Bonus, Performance Targets & Thresholds below. A discretionary award may also be awarded by the CEO. At Target performance, the pool of funds available for the discretionary awards is 15% of the total cash bonus pool. Maximum payment, regardless of performance, is 2 times the Targeted cash bonus.
 
Incentive for annual pre-tax income performance plus other non-financial objectives. Allocation of discretionary Company pool based on overall value-add performance and individual formula achievement.
 
Cash
 
 
Long-term Incentives
 
Performance Share Units (PSUs)
 
Grant amount based on half of the position’s Total Direct Compensation benchmark. The amount of the grant is based upon achievement of targeted cumulative diluted earnings per share over a 3 year period (9 quarters in 2013).
 
Basing equity grants on achievement of 3 years of cumulative earnings per share rewards consistent, year over year earnings, enhancing
longer-term focus and alignment with shareholders.
 
Conversion of units to common shares (if earned) at end of performance period
 
 
 
 
Restricted Stock Awards (RSAs)
 
Grant amount based on half of the position’s Total Direct Compensation benchmark and an adjustment factor based on prior year income results, as described in the Adjustment Factor table on page 27.
 
Promotes retention due to the multi year vesting period. Also creates focus on share price and alignment with shareholders.
 
Delivery of restricted shares at grant date. Shares fully vest after three years (two and a quarter years for the 2013 grant) and may then be sold.
2013 Executive Compensation Components
Base Pay
For all NEO salaried positions, benchmark data is utilized to establish a base salary range. For the base pay of NEOs, we target between the 25th and 50th percentiles of our competitive benchmark for our salary midpoints. The base pay of our CEO is targeted at the 25th percentile. The midpoint for executive officers immediately below the CEO begins at approximately the 37th percentile for the COO and is gradually increased toward the 50th percentile for our other corporate officers. Our target salary positioning is lower compared to market for our CEO and our most senior executives because it is our philosophy that very large differentials in pay for top executive positions as compared to other roles do not reflect relative value contribution or support a cohesive corporate culture. As a result, we have intentionally ‘compressed’ pay for our very top executives to have less extreme differentials than would be indicated by market data alone.

33



Generally, annual increases to base salary for each NEO are determined based upon the NEO’s current salary relative to their salary midpoint, individual performance and the Company’s expectations for overall wage expense increases. Larger salary increases may occur when promotions or additional accountabilities create additional value for a specific position, benchmark studies indicate that an adjustment is necessary to maintain market competitiveness, or based upon considerations of internal equity with other similarly situated NEOs.
Following is a chart setting forth NEO annualized base salary for 2013 and 2012 and the percentage change and 2013 actual base earnings.
 
 
2013 Annualized
Base Salary
 
2012 Annualized
Base Salary
 
% Change in
Annualized  Base
Salary
 
2013 Base
Salary as a %
of Salary
Range
Midpoint
 
2013
Actual
Base
Earnings
Michael J. Anderson
 
$
495,000

 
$
550,000

 
(10.0
)%
 
85
%
 
$
495,000

John J. Granato
 
$
300,000

 
$
300,000

 
 %
 
97
%
 
$
300,000

Harold M. Reed
 
$
400,000

 
$
400,000

 
 %
 
91
%
 
$
400,000

Dennis J. Addis
 
$
350,000

 
$
350,000

 
 %
 
104
%
 
$
350,000

Rasesh H. Shah
 
$
309,000

 
$
309,000

 
 %
 
103
%
 
$
309,000

Bonus, Performance Targets & Thresholds
We believe that our cash bonus plan (which we call the Management Performance Program or “MPP”) encourages sound investment decisions, prudent asset management, and profitable Group and Company performance.
The Management Performance Program requires the setting of annual income “Thresholds” and “Targets” for each of the Company’s business Groups and for the total Company. “Thresholds” are levels of pre-tax income that must be achieved before any MPP payment is earned. At Threshold performance, only minimum levels of MPP payments are earned. “Targets” are the levels of pre-tax income at which the resulting MPP payment will equal the targeted competitive level of compensation discussed under “Benchmarking” above. Bonus amounts are capped at 200% of the formula Target. That level is generally achieved when the Company's income performance reaches 135% of the income Target. We attempt to set Threshold levels so that a minimum MPP payment will normally be earned absent poor performance or unusually difficult or unexpected adverse business conditions. We generally expect that Threshold levels of income will be achieved by all or nearly all our business Groups annually. Targets are set to provide targeted compensation in the case of good performance. We generally expect a majority of our executives to achieve Target levels of income and resulting bonuses, although it would not be uncommon for one or more executives to fail to achieve Target in a single year. The total Company Target is less than the sum of the business Group Targets due to corporate costs and expected returns on corporate assets that are not assigned to an individual business Group.
Target and Threshold amounts are not current year budgets or predictions (although not unrelated), but they do represent the expectation of return on investment for the business Group and the Company given our level of investment in that Group. We take a longer-term view of performance due to the volatile nature of several of our businesses and may adjust an annual threshold to reflect current year industry volatility as reflected in the Company's annual plan.
Income Targets and Thresholds for the coming year for each business unit are presented to the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee prior to the start of the year. The Committee then makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors for its approval. All 2013 Targets and Thresholds were determined through this process and were approved by the Board of Directors.
Significant changes in the asset base due to acquisition or additional investment in joint ventures that occur after approval will not cause a change to the approved Targets and Thresholds. Further, the income from such acquisitions or additional investment will not be included in the income used for bonus calculations. The Targets and Thresholds impacting 2013 NEO compensation were as follows:
 

34



 
 
Pre-Tax Income
($000s)
 
Threshold
 
Target
Grain
 
$
36,900

 
$
61,500

Ethanol
 
(5,000
)
 
16,750

Plant Nutrient
 
16,200

 
27,000

Rail
 
16,800

 
28,000

Turf & Specialty
 
3,450

 
5,750

Retail
 
(1,000
)
 
5,000

Company
 
73,800

 
123,000

If the Company, as a whole, or an individual business unit exceeds Threshold, the amount available for formula bonuses will be increased proportionately. If Thresholds are not met, no formula bonuses are earned. If Target income is achieved, then bonus plus base salary will approach the competitive benchmarked target level for Total Cash Compensation. If Targets are exceeded, the amount available for formula bonuses continues to be increased proportionately, until reaching a cap of 200% of total target bonus. NEOs who are Group Presidents earn 70% of their bonus on their individual Group performance and 30% on overall Company performance. Certain NEOs earn a small portion of their formula bonus based on non-financial goals – primarily related to employee safety metrics. Michael J. Anderson, Harold M. Reed and John J. Granato earn 100% of their formula bonus based on Company performance. While our expectation is that each business unit will achieve at least Threshold returns resulting in at least a minimum formula bonus, this is not always possible due to the volatility of our industries.
In 2013, one NEO formula bonus reached the maximum 200% of target. In the individual bonus table that follows, we have included the percentage of total target bonus that was achieved for each of 2013 and 2012.
The MPP cash bonus also includes a discretionary portion determined by the CEO individually for each executive. The pool of dollars available to the CEO for this discretionary portion is based upon the Company's ratio of actual pre-tax income to Target pre-tax income. At Target performance by the Company, the aggregate pool for discretionary awards is 15% of the total MPP cash bonus pool. In prior years, the discretionary portion at Target was 30% of the MPP cash bonus pool.The Company reduced the size of the discretionary award pool in order to produce greater reliance upon the performance based formula for computing the total MPP cash bonus. . The CEO bases his determination for discretionary awards on this assessment of the NEO's business group and individual performance, unique challenges faced by such NEO's industry, individual responsibilities, as well as the size of the NEO's formula based MPP cash award. The CEO has considerable latitude in awarding the discretionary award to any executive, but each discretionary award made by the CEO must be approved by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee.
For 2013, the Company's reported pre-tax income, after a small upward adjustment for one time or unusual gains and losses (2.7%), exceeded our Target by 20%. This compares to 2012, when the Company’s reported pre-tax income, after a small downward adjustment for one time or unusual gains and losses (0.2%), exceeded our Target by 7% and 2011, when the Company's reported pre-tax income, after a small downward adjustment for one time unusual gains and losses (0.1%), exceeded our Target by 38%. The discretionary bonus available for distribution was computed from these same results. Individual business Groups for the NEOs had the following results:
 
  
  
Company
  
Grain (b)
  
Rail (a)
2013
 
Exceeded Target
 
Met Threshold
 
Exceeded Target
2012
 
Exceeded Target
 
Exceeded Target
 
Exceeded Target
2011
  
Exceeded Target
  
Exceeded Target
  
Met Threshold

(a)
For this Group, the NEO formula bonus was limited due to the Company’s stated cap at an amount equal to 2 times the individual target payout in 2013 and 2012.
(b)
For 2011 and prior years, the results above include the Ethanol Group since Grain and Ethanol were previously reported together. Beginning in 2012, the Groups are now managed separately and have different targets and thresholds.
Following are the 2013 and 2012 MPP payouts (including both formula and discretionary components) for each of the NEOs:
 

35



 
 
MPP
2013
 
% of
Target
 
2012
 
% of
Target
Michael J. Anderson
 
820,000

 
116
%
 
550,000

 
95
%
John J. Granato
 
335,000

 
127
%
 
155,000

 
109
%
Harold M. Reed
 
585,000

 
117
%
 
400,000

 
109
%
Dennis J. Addis
 
250,000

 
81
%
 
380,000

 
153
%
Rasesh H. Shah
 
414,000

 
162
%
 
400,000

 
194
%
In addition, Dennis J. Addis also received a retention bonus of $60,000 to be paid in three equal installments of $20,000 at the end of 2012, 2013, and 2014, contingent on his active employment on the scheduled payment dates. Mr. Addis is approaching retirement age and accepted his new role as President of the Grain Group in early 2012 after a long and successful tenure as President of the Plant Nutrient Group. The retention bonus recognizes the importance of having stable leadership through a critical strategic growth period for the Grain Group.
Equity Grants
Equity is issued to our executives under the Company’s Amended 2005 Long-Term Performance Compensation Plan in the form of 50% RSAs and 50% PSUs for 2013. To do this, we establish a target long-term compensation (“LTC”) amount for each executive position. We initially target long-term compensation for all NEO's, except for the CEO, to be an amount which, when combined with our base salary and bonus, brings the aggregate of Total Direct Compensation approximately to the median levels reported in our competitive analysis described under “Benchmarking” above. For the CEO, we target long-term compensation to be an amount which, when combined with base salary and bonus, brings the aggregate Total Direct Compensation to a level midway between the 25th and 50th percentiles of our peer groups. For the 2013 grants, the NEOs targeted LTC value ranges from 135% of salary range midpoint for our CEO, 100% of salary range midpoint for our COO and in the range of 50% to 55% of salary range midpoint for the remaining NEOs.
Restricted Share Awards
The 2013 RSAs vest in two installments - 67% of the shares granted vest 15 months after the grant date and the remaining 33% of the shares granted vest 27 months after the grant date.
The amount of RSA’s granted each year depends upon the Company’s achievement of its Target pre-tax income in the calendar year just ended.
Targeted RSA awards are subject to upward or downward adjustment based upon actual Company income performance. The Adjustment Factor is set forth below:

Pre-tax Income as a % of Target Income
  
Adjustment Factor applied to RSAs
125% and above
  
125%
76% to 124%
  
100%
75% and below
  
75%
Grants of RSAs for 2013 were made at the 100% level, as the Company's 2012 income was 107% of Target. This compares to 2012, when the grants were made at the 125% level, as the Company achieved 137% of Target in 2011.
Similar to the bonus plan, the CEO is granted the discretionary ability to further increase or reduce equity grants of RSA’s, subject to the approval of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, based on his evaluation of an individual’s performance, business Group performance and other extenuating factors he deems appropriate. In 2013, the equity grants for all NEO's were 100% of the formula-based equity targets. The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee approves all final equity compensation grants.
Performance Share Units
PSUs deliver Company stock based on the achievement of specific financial goals. Our PSUs granted prior to 2013 are earned over a three year period based on cumulative diluted Earnings Per Share (“EPS”) performance measured against threshold and target 3 year growth goals. As mentioned previously, the 2013 PSU grant was delayed for seven months in anticipation of a challenging earnings year for the Company. As a result, the PSUs granted in 2013 are earned over a nine

36



quarter period based on cumulative EPS performance measured against threshold and target growth goals for the performance period. PSU thresholds and targets are established based on current EPS expectations plus a challenging growth component. We consider both the industry trends and market expectations when setting these PSU targets. The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee reviews and approves these targets in advance of the award. Threshold goals are a floor, so that performance below “threshold” results in no PSU award delivery. Threshold goals are set at a level equal to minimally acceptable performance and there is an expectation that Threshold goals will be met more often than not. Target goals are set at a level which would be challenging but reasonably achievable. In order to achieve the maximum PSU award, exceptional EPS growth performance must be achieved over the performance period.
Unlike restricted stock, which requires only continued service to be earned by the executive, the Company believes PSUs help align compensation with stockholder return, and emphasize the Company’s pay-for-performance philosophy. Dividends on awarded PSUs are delivered in the form of additional shares at the end of the performance period equivalent to the dollar value of dividends on the number of shares ultimately awarded.
The number of PSUs available for issuance at target performance is based solely on 50% of the named executive’s targeted LTC value as described previously. The performance period earnings per share test determines how many PSUs are then actually issued. The Company believes that because PSUs ultimately issued are based upon a multi-year earnings per share test, using an income-based Adjustment Factor to determine the number of available PSUs to be granted would unnecessarily cloud the relationship with earnings per share. In the Company’s view, the RSA component of LTC (described above) provides a sufficient incentive tied to income Targets.
The following table displays Thresholds, Targets and maximum awards for the PSUs vested for the most recent three years.
Cumulative Diluted Earnings Per Share
 
Threshold
 
Target growth (1)
 
Maximum growth (2)
 
Actual
 
Percent of Maximum
3 years ended 2013
 
$
7.13

 
$
7.59

 
$
8.03

 
$
9.39

 
100
%
3 years ended 2012
 
$
5.69

 
$
6.68

 
$
7.85

 
$
8.53

 
100
%
3 years ended 2011
 
$
4.25

 
$
7.41

 
$
7.93

 
$
7.10

 
40
%
3 years ended 2010
 
$
6.22

 
$
6.72

 
$
7.66

 
$
4.90

 
%
The following table displays Thresholds, Targets and maximum awards for the PSUs currently outstanding.
 
Cumulative Diluted Earnings Per Share
 
Threshold
 
Target growth (1)
 
Maximum growth (2)
9 quarters ended December 31, 2015
 
$
7.01

 
$
7.87

 
$
8.67

3 years ended 2014
 
$
8.53

 
$
9.43

 
$
9.83

 
(1)
Level at which 100% of performance adjusted LTC is achieved.
(2)
Level at which 200% of performance adjusted LTC is achieved.

We believe the use of the equity awards described above creates long-term incentives that balance the goals of growing stock price and strong Company earnings.
2013 LTC Equity Awards
The number of equity awards granted to NEOs is determined by dividing the adjusted LTC target dollar value by our estimate of the likely fair market value of the award on the date of grant. In 2013, the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee approved the number of grants to be awarded on the fixed grant date of October 1, 2013 at the Committee's August 21, 2013 meeting. The fair market value of $47.66 was the closing price on the grant date.
We do not time the release of material nonpublic information for the purpose of affecting the value of executive compensation. We may issue shares to executives who join the Company but do not generally issue equity compensation to employees outside of the annual grant.
Following is the combined grant date fair value of the equity grants made under the 2005 Long-Term Compensation Plan for both 2013 and 2012 grants made to the NEOs. The value below is computed in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 123(R), “Share Based Payment,” as described in Note 15 to the Company’s audited financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 8.

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LTC (Value)
 
LTC (Value)
 
 
2013
maximum
 
2013
target
 
2012
maximum
 
2012
target
Michael J. Anderson
 
$
1,201,032

 
$
800,688

 
$
1,168,560

 
$
800,680

John J. Granato
 
238,062

 
158,708

 
245,045

 
175,039

Harold M. Reed
 
677,725

 
451,817

 
675,168

 
467,424

Dennis J. Addis
 
285,245

 
190,163

 
284,350

 
196,816

Rasesh H. Shah
 
230,555

 
153,704

 
217,482

 
146,611

The 2013 grant of RSAs was made at 100% of the target LTC since pre-tax income for 2012 was 107% of Target income in accordance with the Adjustment Factor table on page 27. The 2012 grant of RSAs was made at 125% of the target LTC since pre-tax income for 2011 was 138% of Target income in accordance with the Adjustment Factor table on page 27.
Our 2013 adjusted income (basis for our 2014 grants) was 120% of Target income. This will result in a 2014 grant of RSAs at 100% of the target LTC in accordance with the table on page 27.
Stock Ownership and Retention Policy
Our Board has adopted a stock ownership and retention policy that applies to all employees and directors who receive equity compensation. The policy is intended to align the interests of Directors, executives and other managers with the interests of the Company’s shareholders by ensuring that executives maintain significant levels of stock in the Company throughout their careers. Our policy specifies both a guideline number of shares that should be owned (the number varies by position), as well as a percentage of additional shares which must be retained as further shares are acquired under the long-term compensation plans. Company officers are required to retain at least 75% of the net shares acquired through the plan until their guideline shareholding level is achieved; thereafter, they are required to retain 25% of the future net shares which they acquire, subject to a maximum retention requirement of two times their established guideline. The guideline shareholding requirements for the NEOs are as follows:
 
 
Existing Policy
New Policy
Position
Shares
Multiple of Pay
CEO
70,000

6 x Salary
COO & CFO
30,000

4 x Salary
Group Presidents
20,000

3 x Salary
The Compensation and Leadership Development Committee has approved a reduction in the holding requirements for participants approaching retirement. This reduction begins at two years from retirement and drops the guideline shareholding by 1/3 and by another 1/3 at one year from normal retirement age. As part of the process of developing a new long-term incentive compensation compensation plan, the Stock Ownership & Retention Policy has also been reviewed for needed changes. The revised policy will be converted from using fixed share guidelines to a more common multiple of salary approach. The existing 8-tier structure will be simplified to 5-tiers and the multiples will comply with generally accepted industry practices. The Policy will continue to emphasize share retention combined with target ownership levels.
Impact on Executive Compensation from Restatement of Financials
In accordance with the provisions of Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the CEO and CFO may be required to reimburse the Company bonuses, or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation, and profits from securities sales following certain financial restatements resulting from misconduct. We have adopted a policy commencing 2014 requiring the repayment or “clawback” of excess cash or equity based compensation from each executive officer of the Company and also the group controller of the relevant business unit where the payments were based on the achievement of financial results that were subsequently the subject of a financial restatement (regardless of involvement in the cause of the restatement). If this policy proves to be incompatible with final rules issued by the SEC implementing the requirement of Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, we will adjust our policy accordingly.
Post-Termination Compensation/Retirement Programs
Our overall retirement philosophy is to provide plans that are competitive, cost effective and work together with Social Security and employee savings to provide meaningful retirement benefits.

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There are four separate retirement programs:
Defined Benefit Pension Plan (DBPP)—provides lifetime benefit tied to compensation and years of service. Benefits for NEOs were frozen effective July 1, 2010.
Supplemental Retirement Plan (SRP)—works in conjunction with DBPP to restore benefits to employees that would otherwise be lost due to statutory limitations applied to the DBPP. Benefit for NEOs were frozen effective July 1, 2010.
Retirement Savings & Investment Plan (401(k))—promotes employee savings for retirement, with Company matching on a portion of the savings and future contributions for non-retail participants. At the time of the pension freeze in 2010, the Company began making an additional transition contribution, calculated from a combination of age and years of service of eligible DBPP participants, which results in a transition contribution equal to 4% of wages for each of the NEO’s, except for John J. Granato who is not eligible for the DBPP. John Granato is eligible for a performance-based contribution of up to 5%. Other NEOs are eligible to receive an additional 1% based on company performance for a total of 5% when combined with their transition contribution.
Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP)—works in conjunction with the 401(k) to provide additional elective deferral opportunities to key executives.
Post-Retirement Medical Benefits
We have a Retiree Health Care Plan that provides post-retirement medical benefits to all eligible full-time employees as of December 31, 2002. The Retiree Health Care Plan is not available to those individuals hired after January 1, 2003. There are no benefit differences under this Retiree Health Care Plan between executives and non-executives.

Post-Employment Contracts
In January 2009, we entered into agreements with our NEOs and certain other key employees that require us to provide compensation to them in the event of a non-elective termination of employment or a change in control of the Company. We have historically provided a uniform severance plan for all employees, including executives, in the event of job elimination. Certain vesting periods under our long-term incentive (equity) plans may accelerate under certain termination and change of control situations, as more fully described below in “Termination / Change in Control Payments.” These 2009 agreements clarify that qualifying terminations within a specified period up to three months before or up to 24 months after a defined change in control of the Company or NEO’s business Group will result in cash severance equal to two years of salary and target bonus, plus certain health benefits for that same two years. For qualifying terminations other than due to a change in control, NEO’s will receive cash severance and certain health benefits for a one year period. The agreements are intended to help assure continuation of management during potential change of control situations, and to assist in recruiting and retention of key executives.
In addition, our new 2014 Long-term Incentive Compensation Plan does not provide for the automatic acceleration of equity awards upon a Change in Control without a qualifying termination of employment; it is the intention of the committee to require such double-trigger vesting on all future equity awards.
None of our executives are eligible for any tax gross up payments, including payments made in association with a change-in-control.

Summary Compensation Table
The table below summarizes the total compensation paid or earned by each of the NEOs for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011.
 

39



(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
(d)
 
(e)
 
(f)
 
(g)
 
(h)
 
(i)
 
(j)
Name and Position (1)
 
Year
 
Salary ($)(2)
 
Bonus ($)(3)
 
Stock Awards ($)(4)
 
Option Awards ($)(5)
 
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)(6)
 
Change in Pension Value and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($)(7)
 
All Other Compensation ($)(8)
 
Total ($)
Michael J. Anderson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Executive Officer
 
2013
2012
2011
 
495,000
550,000
546,154
 
—  
—  
—  
 
800,688
800,680
752,372
 
 
820,000
550,000
825,000
 
529,199
465,106
 
57,354
125,085
97,368
 
2,173,042
2,554,964
2,686,000
John J. Granato
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Financial Officer (9)
 
2013
2012
2011
 
300,000
196,154
— 
 
—  
—  
—  
 
158,708
175,039
 
 
335,000
155,000
 
— 
— 
— 
 
15,561
62,955
 
809,269
589,148
Harold M. Reed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Operating Officer (10)
 
2013
2012
2011
 
400,000
400,000
333,923
 
—  
—  
—  
 
451,817
467,424
276,045
 
819
1,500
963
 
585,000
400,000
525,000
 
387,540
319,632
 
42,862
47,710
60,947
 
1,480,498
1,704,174
1,516,510
Dennis J. Addis
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
President, Grain Group (11)
 
2013
2012
2011
 
350,000
350,000
301,231
 
20,000 
20,000 
—  
 
190,163
196,816
175,665
 
 
250,000
380,000
460,000
 
237,104
225,905
 
33,325
75,131
47,369
 
843,488
1,259,051
1,210,170
Rasesh H. Shah
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
President, Rail Group
 
2013
2012
2011
 
309,000
307,308
296,154
 
—  
—  
—  
 
153,704
146,611
142,205
 
2,527
3,857
3,232
 
414,000
400,000
160,000
 
346,736
309,409
 
34,714
44,043
30,059
 
913,945
1,248,555
941,059
 
(1)
NEOs include the CEO and CFO who certify the quarterly and annual reports we file with the SEC. The remaining three NEOs are the three next highest paid executive officers.
(2)
Salary for Harold M. Reed and Rasesh H. Shah includes voluntary deductions for the Company’s qualified Section 423 employee share purchase plan (“ESPP”) which is available to all employees. Amounts withheld for 2013 were $8,000 for Harold M. Reed and $24,894 for Rasesh H. Shah. Amounts withheld for 2012 were $9,250 for Harold M. Reed and $23,940 for Rasesh H. Shah. Amounts withheld for 2011 were $7,209 for Harold M. Reed and $24,070 for Rasesh H. Shah.
(3)
Annual bonus is delivered through a formula-based incentive compensation program and included in column (g). Dennis J. Addis received a special bonus in 2013, as discussed in the "Base Pay" section above.
(4)
Represents the grant date fair value of PSUs granted March 1, 2011, March 1, 2012 and October 1, 2013 and RSAs granted March 1, 2011, March 1, 2012 and October 1, 2013, computed in accordance with the assumptions as noted in Note 15 to the Company’s audited financial statements included in Form 10-K, Item 8. At each grant date, we expected to issue the target award under the PSU grants which is equal to 50% of the maximum award.
(5)
Represents the fair value of the option component in the ESPP. The grant date fair value of this ESPP option is computed in accordance with the assumptions as noted in Note 15 to the Company’s audited financial statements included in the 2013 Form 10-K, Item 8.
(6)
Represents the annual Management Performance Program payout earned for each NEO as previously described. Approximately 85% of the award is based on specific results of the NEO’s formula program with the remainder of the award representing a portion of the Company “discretionary” pool which is also created through a formula. Overall awards (individual formula plus awards from the discretionary pool) are approved by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee.
(7)
Represents the annual change in the NEO’s accumulated benefit obligation. Defined benefit plans include the Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Supplemental Retirement Plan. See Note 6 to the Company’s audited financial statements included in Form 10-K, Item 8 for information about assumptions used in the computation of the defined benefit plans. The deferred compensation plan is a voluntary plan allowing for deferral of compensation for officers and highly compensated employees in excess of the limits imposed by the Internal Revenue Service under the Company’s 401(k) plan. Earnings on the deferred compensation are based on actual earnings on mutual funds held in a Rabbi trust owned by the Company and do not include any above market returns.
(8)
Represents the Company-match and transition benefit contributed to defined contribution plans (401(k) and Deferred Compensation Plan) on behalf of the named executive, life insurance premiums paid by the Company for each of the named executives, the cost of required executive physicals paid by the Company, service awards, the optional cash payout of vacation not taken and restricted share dividends. The transition benefit commenced at July 1, 2010 for non-

40



retail employees concurrent with the freeze of the defined benefit pension plan. For John J. Granato, moving and relocation costs were also included here in 2012.
(9)
John J. Granato was hired and named to the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer on April 30, 2012.
(10)
Harold M. Reed served as President, Grain & Ethanol Group for 2011. Effective January 1, 2012, he was named Chief Operating Officer.
(11)
Dennis J. Addis served as President, Plant Nutrient Group for 2011. Effective January 1, 2012, he was named President, Grain Group.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards
During 2013, we granted awards to our NEOs pursuant to the 2005 Long-Term Performance Compensation Plan and our MPP. Information with respect to each of the awards, including estimates regarding payouts during the relevant performance period under each of these awards on a grant by grant basis, is set forth below.
 
(a)
 
(b)
 
 
 
(c)
 
(d)
 
(e)
 
(f)
 
(g)
 
(h)
 
(i)
 
(j)
 
(k)
 
(l)
Name
 
Grant
Date
 
Date of
Board
Action
 
Estimated Future Payouts Under
Non-Equity Incentive Plan
Awards (1)
 
Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity Incentive
Plan Awards(2)
 
All
Other
Stock
Awards:
Number
of Shares
of Stock
or Units
(#)(3)
 
All Other
Option
Awards:
Number
of
Securities
Under-
lying
Options
(#)
 
Exercise
or Base
Price of
Option
Awards
($)
 
Grant
Date
Fair
Value of
Stock
and
Option
Awards
($)
Thres-hold ($)
 
Target
($)
 
Maxi-mum ($)
 
Thres-
hold  (#)
 
Target
(#)
 
Maxi-
mum
(#)
 
Michael J. Anderson
 
1/1/13
10/1/13
 
2/28/13
8/21/13
 
197,240

 
493,100

 
986,200

 
1,680

 
8,400

 
16,800

 
686
8,400

 

 

 
19,620
800,688

John J. Granato
 
10/1/13
 
8/21/13
 
73,680

 
184,200

 
368,400

 
333

 
1,665

 
3,330

 
1,665

 

 

 
158,708

Harold M. Reed
 
1/1/13
10/1/13
 
2/28/13
8/21/13
 
140,536

 
351,340

 
702,680

 
948

 
4,740

 
9,480

 
204
4,740

 

 

 
5,834
451,817

Dennis J. Addis
 
1/1/13
10/1/13
 
2/28/13
8/21/13
 
86,160

 
215,400

 
430,800

 
399

 
1,995

 
3,990

 
180
1,995

 

 

 
5,148
190,163

Rasesh H. Shah
 
1/1/13
10/1/13
 
2/28/13
8/21/13
 
71,600

 
179,000

 
358,000

 
323

 
1,613

 
3,225

 
168
1,613

 

 

 
4,805
153,704

 
(1)
Amounts listed for the non-equity incentive compensation plan represent the individual formula maximum, target and threshold under the MPP program. The program also provides for an additional amount up to 15% of the overall pool which is subject to and funded by Company earnings. This discretionary pool is available for award to all plan participants. Determination of this award component is made by the CEO and approved by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee. The CEO’s discretionary award is determined by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee. As noted previously, the Company has elected to limit base salaries and place more compensation dollars “at risk” which may be earned in this incentive program. The Thresholds and Targets for each business unit and the total Company are presented by the Company for each NEO (and their business Group) and are preliminarily approved by the Board in its December meeting prior to the beginning of the plan year.
(2)
Equity awards are PSUs which will be awarded based on the nine quarter cumulative diluted EPS for the period October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015. These awards require employment at the end of the performance period except in the case of death, permanent disability, retirement or termination without cause as a result of a sale of the business unit. If an employee meets one of these exceptions and if the award triggers at the end of three years, the grantee will receive a pro rata award. At the end of the performance period, the appropriate number of shares will be issued along with additional shares representing equivalent dividends paid to shareholders during the period. The Company is currently expensing this award at the target level (50% of the maximum award) and expects that this is the most probable outcome at this time.
(3)
RSA’s granted October 1, 2013 have a grant date fair value of $47.66 per share, which represents the closing price on issuance date. Grants also include dividend equivalents on the 2010 PSU grant, which was vested as of January 1, 2013 and issued after approval by the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee on February 28, 2013. Cumulative dividends for 2010 through the date of issuance were $1.0383 which was multiplied by the shares issued and converted to shares at the December 31, 2012 closing price of $28.60.




41



Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table summarizes equity awards granted to our NEOs that were outstanding at the end of fiscal 2013.
 
(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
(d)
 
(e)
 
(f)
 
(g)
 
(h)
 
(i)
 
(j)
 
 
Option Awards
 
Stock Awards
Name
 
Number of
securities
underlying
un-exercised
options (#)
exercisable
 
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options (#)
unexercisable

 
Equity
incentive 
plan
awards:
number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options (#)
 
Option
exercise
price ($)
 
Option
expiration
date
 
Number
of shares
or units
of stock
that have
not
vested
 
Market
value of
shares or
units of
stock that
have not
vested
($)(2)
 
Equity incentive 
plan awards: number of unearned shares, units or other  rights that have not vested (#)(1)
 
Equity incentive
plan awards: market or 
payout value of unearned shares, units or other rights that have not vested ($)
Michael J. Anderson
 
27,150

 

 

 
$
21.83

 
4/1/2015

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
23,610

 
$
1,403,615

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
25,500

 
$
1,515,975

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
16,800

 
$
998,760

 

 

 

 

 

 
11,794

 
$
701,153

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
8,400

 
$
499,380

 

 

John J. Granato
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
4,167

 
$
247,728


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
3,330

 
$
197,969


 

 

 

 

 
3,126

 
$
185,841

 

 


 

 

 

 

 
1,665

 
$
98,984

 

 

Harold M. Reed
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
8,655

 
$
514,540


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
14,400

 
$
856,080


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
9,480

 
$
563,586


 

 

 

 

 
4,335

 
$
257,716

 

 


 

 

 

 

 
9,000

 
$
535,050

 

 


 

 

 

 

 
4,740

 
$
281,793

 

 

Dennis J. Addis
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
5,505

 
$
327,272


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
6,068

 
$
360,743

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
3,990

 
$
237,206

 

 

 

 

 

 
2,946

 
$
175,140

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
1,995

 
$
118,603

 

 

Rasesh H. Shah
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
4,455

 
$
264,850


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
4,913

 
$
292,078


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
3,225

 
$
191,726


 

 

 

 

 
2,235

 
$
132,871

 

 


 

 

 

 

 
2,625

 
$
156,056

 

 


 

 

 

 

 
1,612

 
$
95,833

 

 



(1)
Equity incentive plan awards that have not vested represent PSUs as described previously. These amounts represent the maximum award for each tranche with performance periods ending January 1, 2014, January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2016, respectively. The market value for these grants is based on a December 31, 2013 closing price of $59.45. Currently the Company expects payout at 100%, 40% and 50% for the performance periods ending January 1, 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.
(2)
Represents the market value of outstanding restricted shares at December 31, 2013 closing price of $59.45.
Option Exercises and Stock Vested
With respect to the NEOs, the following table provides information concerning stock options that were exercised during fiscal 2013. Stock awards that vested during fiscal 2013 were PSUs granted in 2010 plus dividend equivalent shares as described previously.

42



(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
(d)
 
(e)
 
 
Option Awards
 
Stock Awards
Name
 
Number of Shares Acquired on Exercise (#) (1)
 
Value Realized on Exercise ($)
 
Number of Shares Acquired on Vesting (#)(2)
 
Value Realized 
on Vesting ($)
Michael J. Anderson
 
50,400

 
$
975,816

 
21,396

 
$
632,870

John J. Granato
 

 

 

 

Harold M. Reed
 
31,500

 
497,724

 
5,829

 
166,709

Dennis J. Addis
 
13,050

 
94,130

 
5,607

 
165,869

Rasesh H. Shah
 
15,863

 
161,639

 
4,781

 
136,722

 
(1)
All exercises in 2013 were exercises of SOSARs granted from 2008 through 2010.
(2)
Amounts for Michael J. Anderson and Dennis J. Addis include payments of tax liabilities by withholding securities incident to the vesting of certain securities.
Pension Benefits
The Company maintains a Retirement Benefits Committee, not comprised of independent directors. The Board has delegated its authority to perform certain administrative, regulatory and fiduciary duties required of management as plan sponsor to the Retirement Benefits Committee. The Retirement Benefits Committee acts as the Plan Administrator for the Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Supplemental Retirement Plan, Retirement Savings and Investment Plan, Deferred Compensation Plan, and the Employee Share Purchase Plan. As noted previously, the Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Supplemental Retirement Plan were frozen for non-retail employees as of July 1, 2010.
The retirement benefit for service through December 31, 2006 is a life annuity beginning at age 65 equal to 1.0% of average compensation plus 0.5% of average compensation in excess of Social Security Covered Compensation (a 35-year average of the Social Security wage bases), multiplied by the applicable years of service. The calculation of average compensation is based on the highest compensation earned in five years of employment up to and including 2012. Benefits accrued prior to January 1, 2004 are available as a lump sum or an annuity. Benefits accrued after January 1, 2004 are required to be taken in an annuity.
For service after December 31, 2006 through June 30, 2010, non-retail employees will receive a retirement benefit of 1% of compensation earned in each applicable year of service. A year of service is 1,000 or more hours worked during a calendar year.
Compensation is defined as total wages, salary, bonuses, commissions and overtime pay. For the qualified plans, compensation for the year is capped at the statutory limit for the applicable year under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code. For the non-qualified plans, compensation is not capped. This results in a combined payout (from both plans) equal to a payout under the qualified plan as if there were no Internal Revenue Code cap.
Early retirement can be elected as early as age 55 with 10 years of service. The retirement benefit is the benefit as stated above, reduced by 0.5% for each month retirement precedes age 65. Of the NEOs, only John J. Granato is not currently eligible for early retirement benefits.
The table below shows the present value of accumulated benefits payable to each of the NEOs, including the number of years of service credited to each such NEO, under each of the Defined Benefit Pension Plan (“DBPP”) and the Supplemental Retirement Plan (“SRP”) determined using interest rate and mortality rate assumptions consistent with those used in the Company’s audited financial statements. John J. Granato is not eligible for the DBPP or SRP, as he was hired after the plans were frozen.
 

43



(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
(d)
 
(e)
Name
 
Plan Name
 
Number of
years credited
service (#)(1)
 
Present value
of accumulated
benefit ($)(2)
 
Payments
during last
fiscal year ($)
Michael J. Anderson
 
DBPP
 
23

 
$
721,086

 
$

 
 
SRP
 
23

 
2,440,919

 

John J. Granato
 
DBPP
 

 

 

 
 
SRP
 

 

 

Harold M. Reed
 
DBPP
 
27

 
649,450

 

 
 
SRP
 
27

 
1,139,600

 

Dennis J. Addis
 
DBPP
 
23

 
673,029

 

 
 
SRP
 
23

 
775,564

 

Rasesh H. Shah
 
DBPP
 
26

 
684,281

 

 
 
SRP
 
26

 
1,139,910

 

 
(1)
Plans were instituted in 1984 for non-partners of the predecessor partnership of the Company. Former partners entered the plan in 1988. All individuals listed have years of Company service in excess of the listed years of credited service. Credited service is the number of years in which 1,000 hours of service are earned subsequent to plan entry date.
(2)
Present value of accumulated benefits calculated by discounting the December 31, 2013 accumulated benefit payable at normal retirement age under the normal annuity form. This discounting uses a discount rate of 4.7% for the DBPP and a discount rate of 2.9% for the SRP. Mortality was based on the RP2000 Static, Non-generational Mortality Table projected to 2020 with rates blended for annuitants and non-annuitants.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
The Company provides a non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan (“DCP”) for employees whose Retirement Savings Investment Plan (“401(k)”) contributions are limited by Internal Revenue Service regulations. The DCP mimics the 401(k) sponsored by the Company in that participants may select the same investment options (excluding Company Common Shares) providing the potential for equivalent returns. The plan assets are held in a Rabbi Trust on the Company’s balance sheet and a liability is included for the compensation deferred by employees. Currently, eligible employees may defer up to 30% of their base salary and up to 50% of their bonus. Set forth below is a table with the NEOs’ information for the plan for 2013:
 
(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
(d)
 
(e)
 
(f)
Name
 
Executive
contribution
in last FY ($)
 
Registrant
contributions
in last FY ($)
(1)
 
Aggregate
earnings in
last FY ($)
(1)
 
Aggregate
withdrawals /
distributions
($)
 
Aggregate
balance at
last FYE ($)
Michael J. Anderson
 
$

 
$
62,529

 
$
83,680

 
$

 
$
583,572

John J. Granato
 

 
4,275

 
305

 

 
4,580

Harold M. Reed
 

 
50,060

 
1,248

 

 
134,368

Dennis J. Addis
 
120,000

 
47,477

 
56,994

 

 
443,118

Rasesh H. Shah
 
106,350

 
52,270

 
208,952

 

 
1,418,120

 
(1)
The registrant contributions above are included in the Summary Compensation Table as part of “All Other Compensation.” As the investments are made in mutual funds, none of the earnings are above-market and are therefore not included in the Summary Compensation Table.
Termination / Change in Control Payments
In 2009, the Company formalized its past practice of granting severance in the event of position elimination and added severance payments in the event of a change in control through the completion of Change in Control and Severance Policy Participation Agreements. These 2009 agreements clarify that qualifying terminations within a specified period up to three months before or up to 24 months after a defined change in control of the Company or an NEO’s business Group will result in cash severance equal to two years of salary and target bonus, plus certain health benefits for that same two years. At the participant’s election the severance payments will be paid out in a lump sum or in continuous payroll period installments over the benefit period. For qualifying terminations other than due to a change in control, NEO’s will receive cash severance and

44



certain health benefits for a one year period. Payments under the Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Supplemental Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Plan are not impacted by these agreements.
Under each of the Change in Control and Severance Policy Participation Agreements, the applicable executive agrees not to divulge confidential information during or after his term of employment. In addition, the executive agrees not to compete with, or solicit the customers or employees of, the Company during and for a period of one year following a termination of employment without cause (for which period the executive will receive severance payments). Upon a termination of employment without cause and following a change of control of the Company, this period is extended to two years (for which period the executive will receive severance payments).
The following table presents the value of these agreements by NEO as if termination occurred on December 31, 2013: