Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
AdvanSource Biomaterials Corporation (AdvanSource) is currently comprised of four directors. Our directors and named executive officer, their ages and positions, as well as certain biographical information of these individuals, are set forth below. The ages of the individuals are provided as of July 15, 2017.
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Name
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Age
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Position
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Michael F. Adams
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60
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Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
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Khristine L. Carroll
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44
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Senior Vice President Commercial Operations
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William J. O'Neill, Jr.
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75
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Director, Chairman of the Board
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Michael L. Barretti
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72
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Director
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Mark R. Tauscher
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65
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Director
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There are no family relationships between any director, executive officer, or person nominated or chosen to become a director or executive officer.
Michael F. Adams
Mr. Adams has been our director since May 1999. Mr. Adams was appointed as our President and Chief Executive Officer on August 7, 2006. From April 1, 2006 until August 7, 2006, Mr. Adams was our Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Business Development. Prior to April 2006, Mr. Adams was the Vice President of PLC Systems, Inc. Prior to joining PLC Systems in September 2000, Mr. Adams was Vice President of Assurance Medical, Inc. Prior to joining Assurance Medical in June 1999, Mr. Adams was the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance of CardioTech from June 1998 to May 1999. From November 1994 through June 1998, Mr. Adams served as the Vice President of Cytyc Corporation. Mr. Adams received a BS from the University of Massachusetts.
Our Board has concluded that Mr. Adams is an appropriate person to represent management on our Board of Directors given his position as our Chief Executive Officer, his tenure with us, which dates back to June 1998, his professional credentials, and his standing in the medical community, including expertise in regulatory and operational matters as they relate to the development, production, marketing and sales of medical devices.
Khristine L. Carroll
Ms. Carroll was appointed as our Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations in June 2016. Ms. Carroll has also held the positions of Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations from March 2010 through May 2016; Vice President of Sales and Marketing from January 2009 through February 2010; and Director of Sales and Marketing and Global Sales from February 2008 through December 2008 for us. From 2000 through 2008, Ms. Carroll held various business development, sales and marketing management positions with Memry Corporation. Ms. Carroll received her BS in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University.
William J. ONeill, Jr.
Mr. ONeill has been our director since May 2004 and was appointed as Chairman on August 7, 2006. Mr. ONeill is currently the Dean of the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. From 1969 through 1999, Mr. ONeill held the positions of Executive Vice President of the Corporation, President of Corporate Business Development, and Chief Financial Officer for Polaroid Corporation. He was also Senior Financial Analyst at Ford Motor Company. Mr. ONeill was a Trustee at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and is a former member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the Board of Directors of Concord Camera. He earned a BA at Boston College in mathematics, a MBA in finance from Wayne State University, and a JD from Suffolk University Law School.
Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. ONeill is uniquely qualified to serve as a director and Chairman of our Board based on his past and current leadership and executive roles, financial skills and overall business judgment.
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Michael L. Barretti
Mr. Barretti has been our director since January 1998. On June 30, 2013, Mr. Barretti retired as the Director of Executive Education and professor of marketing at Suffolk University in Boston. Mr. Barretti has been the President of Cool Laser Optics, Inc., a company which commercializes optical technology specific to the medical laser industry, since July 1996. From September 1994 to July 1996, Mr. Barretti was Vice President of Marketing for Cynosure, Inc., a manufacturer of medical and scientific lasers. From June 1987 to September 1994, Mr. Barretti was a principal and served as Chief Executive Officer of NorthFleet Management Group, a marketing management firm serving the international medical device industry. From January 1991 to May 1994, Mr. Barretti also acted as President of Derma-Lase, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of a Glasgow, Scotland supplier of solid-state laser technologies to the medical field. Mr. Barretti received his BA from St. Johns University and an MBA from Suffolk University. Mr. Barretti is retired as a United States Marine Corps officer.
Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Barretti is uniquely qualified to serve as a director based on his experience and leadership roles with medical device companies; his tenure with us, which dates back to January 1998; and marketing expertise at both the corporate and academic levels.
Mark R. Tauscher
Mr. Tauscher has been our director since October 2010. From December 1999 to April 2015, Mr. Tauscher was the President, Chief Executive Officer and director of PLC Systems Inc., and was appointed as its former Chairman of the Board on June 2013. Mr. Tauscher has also served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of PLC Medical Systems, Inc. since January 2001. Prior to joining PLC Systems Inc. and PLC Medical Systems, Inc., from November 1988 to December 1999, Mr. Tauscher served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Quinton Instrument Company, a developer, manufacturer and marketer of cardiology products, medical devices and fitness equipment. From November 1996 to November 1998, Mr. Tauscher served as Division President of Marquette Medical Systems, Medical Supplies. From May 1994 to November 1996, Mr. Tauscher served as General Manager of Hewlett-Packard, Medical Supplies. Mr. Tauscher earned a BS from Southern Illinois University.
Our Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Tauscher is uniquely qualified to serve as a director based on his 30 years of medical industry experience, inside perspective of the day-to-day operations of a medical device company, and his past and current leadership and executive roles.
Board Leadership Structure
The Board appointed Mr. William J. ONeill, Jr., an independent director, to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Board has elected to separate the Chairman function from that of the Chief Executive Officer, who serves as our principal executive officer, due to a belief that separating these functions, and empowering an independent director to chair the Board meetings, will result in increased Board oversight of management activities.
Stockholder Communications with the Board of Directors
Pursuant to procedures set forth in our bylaws, our nominating committee will consider stockholder nominations for directors if we receive timely written notice, in proper form, of the intent to make a nomination at a meeting of stockholders. To be timely, the notice must be received within the time frame identified in our bylaws. To be in proper form, the notice must, among other matters, include each nominees written consent to serve as a director if elected, a description of all arrangements or understandings between the nominating stockholder and each nominee and information about the nominating stockholder and each nominee. These requirements are detailed in our bylaws, which were filed as Appendix D to our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A as filed with the SEC on August 30, 2007. A copy of our bylaws will be provided upon written request to the Chief Executive Officer at AdvanSource Biomaterials Corporation, 229 Andover Street, Wilmington, MA 01887.
Code of Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. The code of ethics is posted on our website at www.advbiomaterials.com. We intend to include on our website any amendments to, or waivers from, a provision of our code of ethics that applies to our chief executive officer or chief financial officer that relates to any element of the code of ethics definition enumerated in Item 406 of Regulation S-K.
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Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of a registered class of our securities to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Based solely on a review of copies of such forms submitted to us, we believe that all persons subject to the requirements of Section 16(a) filed such reports on a timely basis in fiscal 2017.
Corporate Governance and Guidelines
Our Board of Directors has long believed that good corporate governance is important to ensure that AdvanSource is managed for the long-term benefit of stockholders. During the past year, our Board of Directors has continued to review our governance practices in light of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and recently revised SEC rules and regulations. This section describes key corporate governance guidelines and practices that we have adopted. Complete copies of the corporate governance guidelines, committee charters and code of ethics described below are available on our website at www.advbiomaterials.com, and any amendments to any of the foregoing corporate governance documents or any waivers of our code of ethics will be posted on our website. Alternatively, you can request a copy of any of these documents by writing to the Chief Executive Officer, AdvanSource Biomaterials Corporation, 229 Andover Street, Wilmington, MA 01887.
The Board has adopted corporate governance guidelines to assist the Board in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities and to serve in our best interests and those of our stockholders. These guidelines, which provide a framework for the conduct of the Boards business, include that:
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the principal responsibility of the directors is to oversee our management;
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a majority of the members of the Board shall be independent directors;
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the non-management directors meet regularly in executive session; and
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directors have full and free access to management and, as necessary and appropriate, independent advisors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee was established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act. The Board has designated, from among its members, Mr. William J. ONeill, Jr. as the member of the Audit Committee. The primary functions of the Audit Committee are to represent and assist the Board of Directors with the oversight of:
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appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our independent auditors;
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overseeing the work of our independent auditors, including through the receipt and consideration of certain reports from the independent auditors;
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reviewing and discussing with management and the independent auditors our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures;
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coordinating the Board of Directors oversight of our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and code of conduct and ethics;
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establishing procedures for the receipt and retention of accounting related complaints and concerns;
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meeting independently with our internal accounting staff, independent auditors and management; and
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preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules.
The Board of Directors has determined that Mr. ONeill is an audit committee financial expert as defined in Item 407(d)(5)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the Audit Committee met four (4) times. The responsibilities of the Audit Committee are set forth in its written charter, which is posted on our website at www.advbiomaterials.com under the Investor Relations Corporate Governance section.
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Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committee consists of Mr. Michael L. Barretti. The Compensation Committee is responsible for implementing our compensation philosophies and objectives, establishing remuneration levels for our executive officers and implementing our incentive programs, including our equity compensation plans. The Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Barretti is a Non-Employee director as defined in Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, and an Outside director as defined in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended. The Compensation Committee did not meet during fiscal 20176.
Compensation is paid to our executive officers in both fixed and discretionary amounts which are established by the Board of Directors based on existing contractual agreements and the determinations of the Compensation Committee. Pursuant to its charter, the responsibilities of the Compensation Committee are (i) to assist the Board of Directors in discharging its responsibilities in respect of compensation of our senior executive officers; (ii) review and analyze the appropriateness and adequacy of our annual, periodic or long-term incentive compensation programs and other benefit plans and administer those compensation programs and benefit plans; and (iii) review and recommend compensation for directors, consultants and advisors. Except for the delegation of authority to the Chief Executive Officer to grant certain de minimus equity compensation awards to our non-executive employees, the Compensation Committee has not delegated any of its responsibilities to any other person.
Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee
The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee consists of Mr. Mark R. Tauscher. The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committees responsibilities include identifying individuals qualified to become Board members; recommending to the Board the persons to be nominated for election as directors and to each of the Boards committees; and reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with respect to management succession planning. The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee did not meet independently during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. The responsibilities of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee are set forth in its written charter, which is posted on our website at www.advbiomaterials.com under the Investors Corporate Governance section.
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