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PROXY STATEMENT

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

The 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

of Minerals Technologies Inc. will be held virtually:

www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MTX2024

 

MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

622 THIRD AVENUE, 38th FLOOR

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017-6707

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

You are cordially invited to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Minerals Technologies Inc. (the “Company,” “MTI,” “we,” or “us”), which will be held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Once again this year, the Annual Meeting will be held in a virtual meeting format via live webcast.

You can attend the meeting via the Internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MTX2024. Specific instructions for accessing the meeting are provided in the section of this Proxy Statement entitled “Questions and Answers About the Proxy Materials and the Annual Meeting”.

At this year’s meeting, you will be asked to consider and to vote upon the election of three directors. Your Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote FOR the nominees.

You will also be asked to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the 2024 fiscal year. The Board continues to be satisfied with the services KPMG LLP has rendered to the Company and unanimously recommends that you vote FOR this proposal.

You will also be asked to approve, on an advisory basis, the 2023 compensation of our named executive officers as described in this Proxy Statement. Your Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote FOR the advisory vote approving 2023 executive compensation.

Lastly, you will also be asked to approve an amendment of the 2015 Stock Award and Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved and available for awards thereunder. Your Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote FOR this proposal.

The four items upon which you will be asked to vote are discussed more fully in the Proxy Statement. We urge you to read the Proxy Statement completely and carefully so that you can vote your interests on an informed basis.

Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, we encourage you to read this Proxy Statement and submit your vote as soon as possible. For specific instructions on how to vote your shares, please refer to the instructions on the Notice you received in the mail, in the section entitled “Questions and Answers About the Proxy Materials and the Annual Meeting” of this Proxy Statement, or if you requested to receive printed proxy materials, your enclosed Proxy. If you return a signed proxy without marking it, it will be voted in accordance with the Board of Directors’ recommendations. You may also attend the meeting and vote via the online platform, even if you have previously submitted a proxy.

April 4, 2024

Sincerely,

 

The Annual Meeting of Shareholders of MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES INC., a Delaware corporation, will be held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, virtually at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MTX2024, to consider and take action on the following items:

Shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 19, 2024 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting.

New York, New York

 

 

MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

622 THIRD AVENUE, 38th Floor

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017-6707

April 4, 2024

This proxy statement (“Proxy Statement”) contains information related to the annual meeting of shareholders (“Annual Meeting”) of the Company, to be held at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, virtually, at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MTX2024.

It is anticipated that this Proxy Statement, the accompanying Proxy and the Company’s 2023 Annual Report will first be available to shareholders on or about April 4, 2024 on the website www.proxyvote.com and, if requested, a paper copy of this Proxy Statement, the accompanying Proxy and the Company’s 2023 Annual Report will be mailed to the Company’s shareholders. A Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) containing instructions on how to access this Proxy Statement, Proxy and the Company’s 2023 Annual Report and vote through the Internet, or by telephone, will be mailed to our shareholders on the same date as this Proxy Statement, the accompanying Proxy and the Company’s 2023 Annual Report is first available to shareholders.

The Company has made these materials available to you on the internet, or, upon request, has delivered printed proxy materials to you, in connection with the solicitation of proxies for use at the Annual Meeting. If a quorum does not attend or is not represented by proxy, the meeting will have to be adjourned and rescheduled.

The Board of Directors asks you to submit a proxy for your shares so that even if you do not attend the meeting, your shares will be counted as present at the meeting and voted as you direct.

At the Annual Meeting, shareholders will vote on four items: (i) the election of John J. Carmola, Robert L. Clark Jr., and Marc E. Robinson as members of the Board of Directors, (ii) the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) as our independent registered public accounting firm, (iii) an advisory vote to approve 2023 executive compensation, and (iv) a proposal to approve an amendment of the 2015 Stock Award and Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved and available for awards thereunder. Also, management will make a brief presentation about the business of the Company, and representatives of KPMG will make themselves available to respond to any questions from the floor.

The Board does not know of any other business that will be presented at the Annual Meeting. The form of proxy gives the proxies discretionary authority with respect to any other matters that come before the Annual Meeting and, if such matters arise, the individuals named in the proxy will vote according to their best judgment.

Anyone who owned shares of our common stock at the close of business on March 19, 2024 (the “Record Date”) may vote those shares at the Annual Meeting. Each share is entitled to one vote.

The Board unanimously recommends that you vote for the nominees for directors, John J. Carmola, Robert L. Clark Jr., and Marc E. Robinson, for ratification of the appointment of KPMG to continue as our auditors, for the advisory vote approving 2023 executive compensation, and for the proposal to approve an amendment of the 2015 Stock Award and Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved and available for awards thereunder.

Once again this year, the Annual Meeting will be held in a virtual meeting format via live webcast. There will be no in-person meeting. You can attend the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MTX2024. The meeting webcast will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time. If you are a shareholder of record as of the close of business on March 19, 2024, you may log in to the meeting platform beginning at 8:45 a.m., Eastern Time, on May 15, 2024 by entering the 16-digit control number found on your proxy card or voting instruction form. You will have the opportunity to vote your shares, submit questions, and view our list of shareholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting using the instructions provided on the meeting website. Those without a control number may attend the Annual Meeting as guests by logging in to the same virtual meeting platform and following the instructions on the website for guest access. Guests will not be able to vote or ask questions.

Our Board considers the appropriate format of the meeting on an annual basis. We recognize that, while our Annual Meeting is just one of the forums where we engage with shareholders, it is an important one. The virtual meeting format allows our shareholders to engage with us no matter where they live and is accessible and available on any internet-connected device. This provides the opportunity for participation by a broader group of shareholders than just those who can travel to an in-person meeting.

We intend that the virtual meeting format will provide shareholders a level of participation and transparency at least as great as the traditional in-person meeting format. Shareholders who wish to submit a question to the Company may do so during the meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MTX2024. Management will respond to questions from shareholders in the same way as it would if the Company held an in-person meeting, answering as many questions as possible in the time allotted for the meeting, without discrimination, as long as the questions are submitted in accordance with the meeting rules of conduct (for example, the Company does not intend to answer questions that are irrelevant to the business of the Company or to the business of the Annual Meeting). If there are appropriate questions that we cannot answer during the meeting, we will post the questions and answers thereto in the Investor Relations area of our website, www.mineralstech.com.

According to the by-laws of the Company, a quorum for all meetings of shareholders consists of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, present in person or by proxy. On the Record Date there were 32,300,422 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, so at least 16,150,212 shares must be represented at the meeting for business to be conducted.

Shares of common stock represented by a properly signed and returned proxy are treated as present at the Annual Meeting for purposes of determining a quorum, whether the proxy is marked as casting a vote or abstaining.

Shares represented by “broker non-votes” are also treated as present for purposes of determining a quorum. Broker non-votes are shares held in record name by brokers or nominees, as to which the broker or nominee (i) has not received instructions from the beneficial owner or person entitled to vote, (ii) does not have discretionary voting power under applicable New York Stock Exchange rules or the document under which it serves as broker or nominee, and (iii) has indicated on the proxy card, or otherwise notified us, that it does not have authority to vote the shares on the matter.

If a quorum does not attend or is not represented, the Annual Meeting will have to be postponed.

Directors are elected by the vote of the majority of the votes cast in uncontested elections. All other questions are determined by a majority of the votes cast on the question, except as otherwise provided by law or by the Certificate of Incorporation.

Under New York Stock Exchange Rules, the proposal to ratify the appointment of independent auditors is considered a “discretionary” item. This means that brokerage firms may vote in their discretion on this matter on behalf of clients who have not furnished voting instructions at least 10 days before the date of the meeting. In contrast, the election of directors, the advisory vote to approve 2023 executive compensation, and the proposal to approve the amendment of the 2015 Stock Award and Incentive Plan are “non-discretionary” items. This means brokerage firms that have not received voting instructions from their clients on these proposals may not vote on them. These so-called “broker non-votes” will be included in the calculation of the number of votes considered to be present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum, but will not be considered in determining the number of votes necessary for approval and will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors, the advisory vote to approve 2023 executive compensation or the proposal to approve the amendment of the 2015 Stock Award and Incentive Plan. Similarly, abstentions will be included in the calculation of the number of votes considered to be present for purposes of determining a quorum, but will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors, the ratification of the appointment of our independent auditor, the advisory vote to approve 2023 named executive officer compensation, or the proposal to approve the amendment of the 2015 Stock Award and Incentive Plan.

A representative from Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will serve as inspector of election.

BlackRock Inc. owns 17.7%; Vanguard Group Inc. owns 11.5%; Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owns 7.0%; and Macquarie Group Limited, Macquarie Management Holdings Inc. and Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust together own 6.1%. The percentages of ownership were calculated based on our 32,322,708 outstanding shares as of March 5, 2024. No other person owned of record, or, to our knowledge, owned beneficially, more than 5% of the Company’s common stock.

You can vote by proxy over the internet by following the instructions provided in the Notice, or, if you requested to receive printed proxy materials, you can also vote by mail pursuant to the instructions provided on the proxy card. If you hold shares beneficially in street name, you may also vote by proxy over the internet by following the instructions provided in the Notice, or, if you requested to receive printed proxy materials, you can also vote by mail by following the voting instruction card provided to you by your broker, bank, trustee or nominee.

If you are an employee who participates in the Company’s Savings and Investment Plan (the Company’s 401(k) plan), to vote your shares in the Plan you must provide the trustee of the Plan with your voting instructions in advance of the meeting. You may do so by proxy over the internet by following the instructions provided in the Notice, or, if you requested to receive printed proxy materials, you can also vote by mail by following the voting instructions provided in the proxy card. You cannot vote your shares via the virtual Annual Meeting platform; the trustee is the only one who can vote your shares at the Annual Meeting. The trustee will vote your shares as you instruct. If the trustee does not receive your instructions, your shares generally will be voted by the trustee in proportion to the way the other Plan participants voted. To allow sufficient time for voting by the trustee, your voting instructions must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 12, 2024.

If you return a properly signed proxy without marking it, it will be voted in accordance with the Board of Directors’ recommendations on all proposals.

If you submit a proxy, you can revoke it at any time before it is voted by submitting a written revocation or a new proxy, or by voting in person at the Annual Meeting. However, if you have shares held through a brokerage firm, bank or other custodian, you can revoke an earlier proxy only by following the custodian’s procedures. Employee Savings and Investment Plan participants can notify the Plan trustee in writing that prior voting instructions are revoked or are changed.

The Company pays the cost of this solicitation. In addition to soliciting proxies through the mail using this Proxy Statement, we may solicit proxies by telephone, facsimile, electronic mail and personal contact. These solicitations will be made by our regular employees without additional compensation. We have also engaged Morrow Sodali LLC, 333 Ludlow Street, 5^th Floor, South Tower, Stamford, CT 06902 to assist in this solicitation of proxies, and we have agreed to pay that firm $6,000 for its assistance, plus expenses.

The Secretary will announce the preliminary voting results at the Annual Meeting, and we will publish the final results in a current report on Form 8-K which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting.

Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) oversees the activities of our management in the handling of the business and affairs of our company, reviews and approves fundamental financial and business strategies, assesses major risks facing the Company, and assures that the long-term interests of shareholders are being served. As part of the Board’s oversight responsibility, it monitors developments in the area of corporate governance. The Board has adopted a number of policies with respect to our corporate governance, including the following: (i) a set of guidelines setting forth the operation of our Board and related governance matters, entitled “Corporate Governance Guidelines”; (ii) a code of ethics for the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Accounting Officer, entitled “Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers”; and (iii) a code of business conduct and ethics for directors, officers and employees of the Company entitled “Summary of Policies on Business Conduct.” The Board annually reviews and amends, as appropriate, our governance policies and procedures.

The Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers and the Summary of Policies on Business Conduct are posted on our website, www.mineralstech.com, under the links entitled “Investors” then “Corporate Governance,” and are available in print at no charge to any shareholder who requests them by writing to Secretary, Minerals Technologies Inc., 622 Third Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, New York 10017-6707.

Our Board is elected by our shareholders to oversee our business and affairs. The Board advises and counsels management regarding the long-term interests of the Company, our shareholders and other stakeholders regarding a broad range of subjects. The Board and its Committees also performs a number of specific functions, such as:

The Board met eight times in 2023. Each of the directors attended 100% of the meetings of the Board and committees on which he or she served in 2023. At each regular meeting of the Board, the independent (non-management) directors have an opportunity to meet in executive session outside the presence of Mr. Dietrich, the Company’s sole non-independent (management) director or any other member of management. Mr. Clark, in his role as Lead Independent Director, presides at the executive sessions of the independent directors.

Under our Corporate Governance Guidelines, all members of the Board are expected to attend the Annual Meeting of Shareholders. All of the members of the Board attended last year’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

The Board has adopted the following categorical standards to guide it in determining whether a member of the Board can be considered “independent” for purposes of Section 303A of the Listed Company Manual of the New York Stock Exchange: A director will not be independent if, within the preceding three years:

In the case of each director who qualifies as independent, the Board is aware of no relationships between the director and the Company and its senior management, other than the director’s membership on the Board of the Company and on committees of the Board. As a result of its application of the categorical standards and the absence of other relationships, the Board has affirmatively determined (with each member abstaining from consideration of his or her own independence) that none of the non-employee members of the Board violates the categorical standards or otherwise has a relationship with the Company and, therefore, each is independent. Specifically, the Board has affirmatively determined that Mr. Joseph C. Breunig, Mr. John J. Carmola, Dr. Robert L. Clark, Jr., Ms. Alison A. Deans, Mr. Franklin L. Feder, Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, Mr. Rocky Motwani, Ms. Carolyn K. Pittman, and Mr. Marc E. Robinson, comprising all of the non-employee directors, are independent.

The Board recognizes that one of its key responsibilities is to evaluate and determine its optimal leadership structure to ensure both a highly engaged and high-functioning Board and independent oversight of senior management. The Company’s governance documents provide the Board with flexibility to select the leadership structure that is most appropriate for the Company and its shareholders at any particular time, given the dynamic and competitive environment in which we operate. At the present time, the Board believes a leadership model with a combined Chairman/CEO position and a Lead Independent Director best supports the creation of long-term, sustainable value for our shareholders. The Board believes that the current Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Dietrich, possesses detailed and in-depth knowledge of the issues, opportunities and challenges facing the Company and its businesses and is thus best positioned to ensure that the Board’s time and attention are focused on the most critical matters facing the Company. The Board also believes that Mr. Dietrich’s combined role ensures clear accountability and enhances the Company’s ability to communicate its message and strategy clearly and consistently. Further, the Board believes that the strength of the Company’s corporate governance provides for objective, independent Board leadership, including through:

The Board recognizes the benefit of independent leadership with a clearly defined role and set of responsibilities to enhance the effectiveness of the Board’s oversight role. For this reason, the Board adopted a charter for the Company’s Lead Independent Director which provides that, in the event the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer positions are held by one person, the Company’s independent directors may designate a Lead Independent Director from among the independent directors. The designation of the Lead Independent Director is to be made annually, although with the expectation of the Board that the Lead Independent Director will be re-appointed for multiple, consecutive one-year terms. The Charter provides the position a clear mandate, significant authority, and well-defined responsibilities, including the following:

The Lead Independent Director Charter is available on our website, www.mineralstech.com, under the links entitled “Investors” and then “Corporate Governance”.

In practice, the Board expects the independent directors will work collaboratively with Mr. Dietrich to discharge their Board responsibilities. The Company believes that this approach effectively encourages full participation by all Board members in relevant matters, while avoiding unnecessary hierarchy. It provides a well-functioning and effective balance between strong Company leadership and appropriate safeguards and oversight by independent directors. The Board believes that additional structure or formalities would not enhance the substantive corporate governance process and could restrict the access of individual Board members to management.

The Board recognizes that there is no single, generally accepted approach to providing Board leadership. While it has adopted this leadership structure for the present, the Board reserves the right to adopt a different policy as circumstances warrant.

It is the policy of the Company that the number of Directors should not exceed a number that can function efficiently as a body. The Board currently consists of ten members, nine of whom have been affirmatively determined to be independent.

The Board currently has the following Committees: Audit, Compensation, and Corporate Governance and Nominating. Each Committee consists entirely of independent, non-employee directors. The responsibilities of such Committees are more fully discussed below under “Committees of the Board of Directors.” The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee considers and makes recommendations to the Board concerning the appropriate size and needs of the Board and its Committees.

The Board is committed to effective board succession planning and refreshment as part of the Board’s ongoing commitment to maintaining diverse viewpoints and a broad range of skills and experiences. We have experienced a healthy level of turnover on the Board, with six new directors over the past eight years. This refreshment process has infused unique ideas and fresh perspectives into the boardroom, and has significantly increased the diversity of our Board.

The Board does not endorse arbitrary term limits on directors’ service. However, it is the policy of the Company that each director shall submit his or her resignation from the Board not later than the date of his or her 72^nd birthday. The Board will then determine whether to accept such resignation. The Board self-evaluation process is an important determinant for continuing service by current directors.

The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is charged with seeking individuals qualified to become directors and recommending candidates for all directorships to the full Board. The Committee considers director candidates to fill new positions created by expansion and vacancies that occur by resignation, by retirement or for any other reason.

While the Board has not established any minimum set of qualifications for membership on the Board, candidates are selected for, among other things, their integrity, independence, range of experience, leadership, the ability to exercise sound judgment, the needs of the Company including our ability to maintain diversity, and the range of talent and experience already represented on the Board. See “Director Qualifications and Diversity Considerations” below for detailed information concerning directors’ qualifications. The Committee considers director candidates suggested by members of the Committee, other directors, senior management and shareholders. The Committee has the authority to use outside search consultants at its discretion. Final approval of a candidate is determined by the full Board.

Shareholders wishing to recommend a director candidate to the Committee for its consideration should write to the Committee, in care of Secretary, Minerals Technologies Inc., 622 Third Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, New York 10017-6707. To receive meaningful consideration, a recommendation should include the candidate’s name, biographical data, and a description of his or her qualifications in light of the criteria discussed below. Recommendations by shareholders that are made in accordance with these procedures will receive the same consideration by the Committee as other suggested nominees. Shareholders wishing to nominate a director directly at a meeting of shareholders should follow the procedures set forth in the Company’s by-laws and described under “Shareholder Proposals and Nominations,” below.

Directors are responsible for overseeing the Company’s business and affairs consistent with their fiduciary duty to shareholders. This significant responsibility requires highly-skilled individuals with various qualities, attributes, skills and experiences. The Board and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee require that each director be a recognized person of high integrity with a proven record of success in his or her field. It is expected that candidates will have an appreciation of the responsibilities of a director of a company whose shares are listed on a national securities exchange. The Board and Committee also take into account the ability of a director to devote the time and effort necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities to the Company.

The Board recognizes the importance and power of diverse thinking. Accordingly, the Committee considers the need for diversity on the Board as an important factor when identifying and evaluating potential director candidates and believes that the composition of the Board should reflect sensitivity to the need for diversity as to geography, gender, ethnic background, profession, skills and business experience. While the Board does not have a specific written diversity policy, the Company is committed to inclusiveness with respect to diversity of ethnicity and gender. Accordingly, in performing its responsibilities to review director candidates and recommend candidates to the Board for election, the Committee is committed to ensuring that candidates with a diversity of ethnicity and gender are included in each pool of candidates from which Board nominees are chosen.

The Committee does not assign specific weights to particular criteria and no particular criterion is necessarily applicable to all prospective director candidates. The Board believes that its members provide a significant composite mix of experience, knowledge and abilities that contribute to a more effective decision-making process and allow the Board to effectively fulfill its responsibilities. The Board uses a skills matrix to assist it in considering the appropriate balance of experience, skills and

attributes required of a director and to be represented on the Board as a whole. The skills matrix is based on the Company’s strategic plan and is periodically reviewed. Board candidates are evaluated against the skills matrix when the Committee determines whether to recommend candidates for initial election to the Board and when determining whether to recommend currently serving directors for re-election to the Board.

Members of the Board should have a background and experience in areas important to the operations and strategy of the Company. Experience in the following areas are among the most significant qualifications of a director:

The matrix below summarizes the key experience, qualifications, and attributes of our Board. Marks indicate specific areas of expertise or focus relied on by our Board, but the lack of a mark in a particular area does not necessarily signify a director’s lack of qualification or experience in such area.

See “Item 1—Election of Directors” for specific qualifications, skills and experiences of each of our directors and nominees.

The members of the Board, each Committee and the Board as a whole are required to conduct a self-evaluation of their performance. The evaluation process is organized by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, occurs at least annually, and is re-evaluated each year to ensure it complies with current best practices. The evaluation is part of a detailed review of directors’ qualifications for re-nomination.

Under the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, each director is required to own by the end of the first 36 months of service as a director and maintain throughout their service as a director:

As of March 19, 2024, all of the Company’s directors who had served the 36 months for this requirement to apply met the requirement.

The Board has responsibility for risk oversight, including understanding critical risks in the Company’s business and strategy, evaluating the Company’s risk management processes, and seeing that such risk management processes are functioning adequately. At each Board meeting, the Board as a whole discusses the key strategic risks facing the Company, both short-term and long-term. The risk oversight focus areas reviewed by the Board as a whole include risks related to the Company’s capital structure, mergers and acquisitions, capital projects, cyber-security, environmental, health and safety risks and geopolitical and associated market risks. The Board also reviews the Company’s strategic business plans, which includes evaluating the risks associated with these plans. In addition, the Board regularly consults with outside advisors and experts to anticipate future threats and trends.

It is management’s responsibility to manage risk and bring to the Board’s attention the most material risks to the Company. The Company’s management has several layers of risk oversight, including through the Company’s Strategic Risk Management Committee and Operating Risk Management Committee, as well as the Company’s Chief Compliance Officer, who reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer.

Management communicates routinely with the Board, Board Committees and individual directors on the significant risks identified and how they are being managed, including formal reports by the Strategic Risk Management Committee to the Board that are at least annual, and periodic reports by the Chief Compliance Officer to the Audit Committee and the Board.

The Board also implements its risk oversight function through Committees, which take the lead in discrete areas of risk oversight within their areas of responsibility and provide reports regarding their activities to the Board at each meeting. The risk oversight focus areas of the committees are:

 

The Board regularly reviews plans for succession to the position of Chief Executive Officer, as well as certain other senior management positions. To assist the Board, the Chief Executive Officer annually provides the Board with an assessment of senior managers and of their potential to succeed him or her. The Chief Executive Officer also provides the Board with an assessment of persons considered potential successors to certain senior management positions.

 

The Company is guided by its values-driven culture and winning with integrity. Every employee worldwide exemplifies accountability, transparency, and doing the right thing. Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability are demonstrated by the Company’s ability to deliver its commitments to employees, communities, the environment, customers, and shareholders.

 

We focus on continuous improvement in all facets of our business processes, systems, products, services, people, cost reduction, productivity, mining and reclamation, and elimination of waste. As illustrated further below, we have seven culture-based Lead Teams dedicated to the environment, health and safety, operational excellence, technology and innovation, diversity and inclusion, mining, expense optimization, and sustainable growth. These cross-functional lead teams report directly to the Chief Executive Officer and are assisted by a senior executive appointed to bring additional expertise. The Board of Directors receives updates on a monthly basis from all of the lead teams. At least once a year, the Board receives detailed reviews directly from each Lead Team on current objectives, status, progress, and future plans.

 

Our Board of Directors has primary responsibility for oversight of risk and strategy for the Company, which includes areas that impact our sustainability efforts and the Company’s human rights policies. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is directly responsible for reviewing and evaluating our programs, policies and practices relating to social, environmental and governance issues which could impact the long-term sustainability of our business. There are many aspects of sustainability that are reviewed, including strategy and risk, environmental performance and progress toward meeting our 2025 targets, gender and racial diversity and inclusion, talent and leadership development, safety, human rights policy, and ethics and compliance. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee reviews and approves each publication of our Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report.

Sustainability and delivering value to various stakeholders are essential to the Company’s strategies, management performance criteria, employee engagement activities, innovation pipeline, policies, and reporting systems.

Our dedicated Sustainability Lead Team includes senior leaders from various functional areas of expertise across our global footprint and meets regularly. The Sustainability Lead Team, and its environmental management system, reports directly to the CEO and directly interacts with the Board of Directors, Leadership Council, and business leaders.

In 2023, more than 64% of new products were developed with a sustainability profile. We partner with customers to create environmentally friendly end-products, improve manufacturing processes, reduce emissions and waste in their operations, and create safer working conditions.

We continue to be rated in the top quartile of companies for our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices by outside rating agencies such as MCI, ISS, and Sustainalytics. These ratings recognize our continued high standards in reducing emissions, water usage, and waste across our facilities and our robust policies, governance, and social practices.

 

The Board is provided with a comprehensive safety and environmental briefing each quarter at Board meetings, and receives the following information each month: recordable injury rate, lost workday injury rate, injury details by business unit and geographic region, sustainability initiatives including environmental releases / performance against emission reduction targets, safety initiatives and policies. At least once a year, the Board receives detailed reviews on current environmental and safety status, progress, metrics and future plans for strategic discussions with our CEO.

The Company’s commitment is demonstrated in the positive progress in achieving and exceeding 2025 targets, as shown below.

 

We strive to promote a culture of inclusion where individuals feel respected, are treated fairly, encouraged to share their ideas and have an opportunity to contribute their full selves every day at work. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are integrated in our core values and a key part of our sustainability strategy.

We believe that a diverse workforce and inclusive culture is instrumental in helping us drive long-term value at MTI. True ingenuity comes from every employee feeling empowered to bring their most authentic selves to work, and we continuously invest in our people to support the success of MTI colleagues around the globe.

Our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace is embodied in numerous policies and procedures including our Diversity Policy and Mission Statement, Equal Opportunity Policy, our Employee Code of Conduct and our Human Rights Policy. We expect all employees to build and sustain a work environment that embraces individuality and collaboration to drive strong results. We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, gender identity, national origin or any other classification.

Our Global Inclusion Council, which is chaired by our CEO, is given the directive to examine how we promote and support diversity in all its forms and to develop a strategy to drive meaningful programs to achieve our objectives. The Council, which comprises a cross section of business leaders from across our company’s regions and business areas, oversees progress to achieve our strategic imperatives, facilitates focus areas, and provides the resources needed to execute initiatives.

We have made strong progress with D&I over the past several years — reshaping policies and benefits, training our leaders, and engaging our employees in meaningful dialogue to build understanding and a culture of inclusion. We are driving the importance of D&I through all levels of the organization so every employee is knowledgeable and comfortable engaging with the topic.

The Company’s by-laws describe the procedures that a shareholder must follow to nominate a candidate for director or to introduce an item of business at a meeting of shareholders. These procedures provide that, except as set forth in “Proxy Access” below, nominations for directors and items of business to be introduced at an annual meeting of shareholders must be submitted in writing to the Secretary of Minerals Technologies Inc. at 622 Third Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, New York 10017-6707. If intended to be considered at an annual meeting, the nomination or proposed item of business must be received not less than 70 days nor more than 90 days in advance of the first anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting. Therefore, for purposes of the 2025 Annual Meeting, any nomination or proposal must be received between February 14 and March 6, 2025. With respect to any other meeting of shareholders, the nomination or item of business must be received not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the date of our public announcement of the date of the meeting. Under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), if a shareholder proposal intended to be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting is to be included in the proxy statement and form of proxy relating to that meeting, we must receive the proposal at the address above no later than 120 days before the anniversary of the mailing date of the Company’s proxy statement in connection with the 2024 Annual Meeting. Therefore, for purposes of the 2025 Annual Meeting, any such proposal must be received no later than December 5, 2024.

The nomination or item of business must contain:

Any notice regarding the introduction of an item of business at a meeting of shareholders must also include:

Any nomination of a candidate for director must also include:

In addition to the shareholder nomination process outlined above, our by-laws provide that under certain circumstances, a shareholder or group of shareholders may include director candidates that they have nominated in our annual meeting proxy statement. These “proxy access” provisions of our by-laws provide, among other things, that a shareholder or group of up to twenty shareholders seeking to include director candidates in our annual meeting proxy statement must own 3% or more of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least the previous three years. The number of shareholder-nominated candidates appearing in any annual meeting proxy statement cannot exceed 20% of the number of directors then serving on the Board or two directors, whichever is greater. If 20% is not a whole number, the maximum number of shareholder-nominated candidates would be the closest whole number below 20%. Based on the current Board size of ten directors, the maximum number of proxy access candidates that we would be required to include in our proxy materials for an annual meeting is two. Nominees submitted under the proxy access procedures that are later withdrawn or are included in the proxy materials as Board-nominated candidates will be counted in determining whether the 20% maximum has been reached. If the number of shareholder-nominated candidates exceeds the maximum, each nominating shareholder or group of shareholders may select one nominee for inclusion in our proxy materials until the maximum number is reached. The order of selection would be determined by the amount (largest to smallest) of shares of our common stock held by each nominating shareholder or group of shareholders. The nominating shareholder or group of shareholders also must deliver the information required by our by-laws, and each nominee must meet the qualifications required by our by-laws. Requests to include shareholder-nominated candidates in our proxy materials must be received by the Secretary of Minerals Technologies Inc. no earlier than 150 calendar days and no later than 120 calendar days before the anniversary of the date that the Company mailed its proxy statement for the prior year’s annual meeting of stockholders. Accordingly, any such nominations for next year’s annual meeting must be received not earlier than November 5, 2024 and not later than December 5, 2024.

The Company’s by-laws provide for majority voting for directors. Under the by-laws, in order for a director to be elected at the annual meeting in an uncontested election, a majority of the votes cast with respect to the director’s election must be cast “for” the director. Any nominee for director who is an incumbent director and receives a greater number of votes “withheld” or “against” his or her election than votes “for” his or her election must, under the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, promptly tender his or her resignation to the Chairperson of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

The Committee must then recommend to the Board, within 90 days after the election, whether to accept or reject the resignation. Regardless of whether the Board accepts or rejects the tendered resignation, the Company must then promptly file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC in which it publicly discloses and explains the Board’s decision. In the event of a contested election of directors (an election of directors in which the number of candidates for election as directors exceeds the number of directors to be elected), directors will continue to be elected by the vote of a plurality of the shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors.

Shareholders and any other interested parties may communicate by e-mail with the independent members of the Board at the following address: independent.directors@mineralstech.com. The independent members of the Board have access to all messages sent to this address; the messages are monitored by the office of the General Counsel of the Company. No message sent to this address will be deleted without the approval of the chair of the committee of the Board with primary responsibility for the principal subject matter of the message.

The Board has established and approved formal written charters for an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, and a Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. The full texts of the charters of these three committees are available on our website, www.mineralstech.com, by clicking on “Investors” and then “Corporate Governance”. The charters are also available in print at no charge to any shareholder who requests them by writing to Secretary, Minerals Technologies Inc., 622 Third Avenue, 38^th Floor, New York, New York 10017-6707.

The Audit Committee currently consists of Mr. Robinson (Chair), Mr. Carmola, Mr. Feder, Mr. Motwani and Ms. Pittman, none of whom is an employee of the Company. The Board has determined that each member of the Audit Committee is independent and financially literate in accordance with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, as well as being independent under the rules of the SEC. The Board has also determined that Mr. Feder and Ms. Pittman are “audit committee financial experts” for purposes of Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and have “financial expertise” for purposes of the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The Audit Committee met six times in 2023.

The primary duties of the Audit Committee are:

In addition to its regularly scheduled meetings, the Audit Committee is available either as a group or individually to discuss any matters that might affect the financial statements, internal controls or other financial aspects of the operations of the Company. The Chair of the Audit Committee may be reached at the following e-mail address: audit.chair@mineralstech.com.

The Compensation Committee currently consists of Mr. Carmola (Chair), Mr. Breunig, Ms. Deans and Mr. Feder, none of whom is an employee of the Company. The Board has determined that each of the members of the Compensation Committee is independent in accordance with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The Compensation Committee met four times in 2023.

The primary duties of the Compensation Committee are:

The Compensation Committee also oversees our efforts at promoting gender equity within our Company.

See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and “Report of the Compensation Committee” below for further discussion of the Compensation Committee’s activities in 2023.

The Chair of the Compensation Committee may be reached at the following e-mail address: compensation.chair@mineralstech.com.

There were no Compensation Committee interlocks or insider (employee) participation during 2023.

The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee currently consists of Mr. Breunig (Chair), Ms. Deans, Mr. Motwani, Ms. Pittman and Mr. Robinson, none of whom is an employee of the Company. The Board has determined that each of the members of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is independent in accordance with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee met four times in 2023.

The primary duties of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee are:

The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is charged with recommending candidates for all directorships to the full Board. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee monitors the composition of the Board to assure that it contains a reasonable balance of professional interests, business experience, financial experience, and independent directors. If the Committee determines that it is in the best interests of the Company to add new Board members, it will identify and evaluate candidates as discussed in more detail above under “Corporate Governance—Identification and Evaluation of Directors.” Candidates are considered by the Committee in light of the qualifications for directors set forth above under “Corporate Governance—Director Qualifications and Diversity Considerations.”

See “Report of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee,” below, for further discussion of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee’s activities in 2023. The Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee may be reached at the following e-mail address: governance.chair@mineralstech.com.

This report is an annual voluntary governance practice that highlights the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee’s activities during 2023. The Committee engaged in the following:

Governance Initiative. The Committee continued to spend considerable time reviewing and monitoring governance developments in 2023. The Committee reviewed the Company’s governance structure, including the size of the Board, committee memberships, the combined Chairman and CEO roles, and the role of the Lead Independent Director. The Committee also reviewed the Company’s policies on corporate governance, including the Corporate Governance Guidelines, and the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and charters of the Lead Independent Director and the Board’s committees, including the charter of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, to ensure that the Company’s corporate governance practices meet applicable legal and regulatory requirements and emerging best governance practices and that the governance practices of the Board are transparent to shareholders and other interested parties. The Committee also continued to review the legal environment.

Shareholder Feedback. A substantial amount of time continued to be devoted to analyzing and understanding the advisory vote to approve executive compensation (“say-on-pay”) requirement, other results from the Company’s annual meeting of shareholders, the Company’s outreach to shareholders, and specific feedback from shareholders. The Committee also reviewed the reports and analyses of various proxy advisory services regarding areas of possible improvement in corporate governance practices and changes in the proxy advisory services’ policies and procedures.

Director Refreshment. The Committee reviewed current Board and Committee membership, skill set needs for the Board members, and potential new members. The Committee updated its assessment of the experience, skills and attributes of current Board members and that the Board as a whole should possess. The Board has used a skills matrix to assist it in considering the appropriate balance of experience, skills and attributes required of a director and to be represented on the Board as a whole and the Committee determined that the matrix remained a useful tool in its assessment.

Annual Performance Assessment. The Committee reviewed the Board’s current evaluation process and continued to update the evaluation tools to incorporate the best practices. The Board’s annual evaluation of the effectiveness and contributions of the Board are conducted via an electronic Board Self-Assessment Survey.

Continuing Education. The Committee reviewed and updated the orientation initiatives for new directors and the ongoing director education programs. The Committee also reviews the Company’s overall training efforts.

ESG Oversight. The Committee provided oversight and guidance with regard to how the Company and management evaluate and integrate corporate responsibility and sustainability into the Company’s business strategy, decision-making and stakeholder communication. This includes evaluating our environmental footprint, climate trends, sustainable solutions, employee safety and well-being, human rights, compliance, and diversity and inclusion. In connection, the Committee reviewed the Company’s progress toward its environmental reduction targets, the Company’s ESG policies, assessments and ratings of the Company’s ESG progress by outside firms, and the Company’s diversity data and efforts of the Diversity and Inclusion Council. The Committee also reviews and comments on the Company’s annual Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report.

The Company recognizes that related party transactions can present potential or actual conflicts of interest and create the appearance that Company decisions are based on considerations other than the Company’s best interests and those of our shareholders. Therefore, our Board has adopted a formal, written policy with respect to related party transactions.

For the purpose of the policy, a “related party transaction” is a transaction in which the Company participates and in which any related party has a direct or indirect material interest, other than (1) transactions available to all employees or customers generally or (2) transactions involving less than $120,000 when aggregated with all similar transactions during the course of the fiscal year.

Under the policy, a related party transaction may be entered into only (i) if the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee approves or ratifies such transaction and if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, or (ii) if the transaction has been approved by the disinterested members of the Board. Related party transactions may be approved or ratified only if the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee or the disinterested members of the Board determine that, under all of the circumstances, the transaction is in the best interests of the Company.

Since January 1, 2023, there has not been, nor is there currently proposed, any related party transaction in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000 and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

The following table shows the ownership of Company common stock by (i) each shareholder known to the Company that beneficially owned more than 5% of Company common stock, (ii) each director and nominee, (iii) each of the named executive officers, and (iv) all directors and executive officers as a group. The percentages of beneficial ownership set forth below are calculated as of March 5, 2024 based on outstanding shares of 32,322,708.

Section 16(a) of the 1934 Act requires the Company’s directors and certain officers, as well as persons who beneficially own more than 10% of the outstanding shares of Company common stock, to file with the SEC reports regarding their initial stock ownership and subsequent changes to their ownership. As a practical matter, we assist our executive officers and directors in preparing initial ownership reports and reporting ownership changes and typically file these reports on their behalf. Based solely on a review of the reports filed for fiscal year 2023 and related written representations of our officers and directors, we believe that all Section 16(a) reports were filed on a timely basis, except that, as a result of an administrative error, Form 4s to report two transactions by Mr. Aldag, reporting intra-plan transfers from the Company stock fund to another investment option under the Minerals Technologies Inc. Savings and Investment Plan, the Company’s 401(k) plan, pursuant to a previously established auto-rebalance election, were filed late.

The Board is divided into three classes. One class is elected each year for a three-year term. This year the Board has nominated Mr. John J. Carmola, Dr. Robert L. Clark Jr., and Mr. Marc E. Robinson, each of whom are currently directors of the Company, to serve for a three-year term expiring at the Annual Meeting to be held in 2027.

We have no reason to believe that the nominees will be unable or unwilling to serve if elected. However, if any nominee should become unable for any reason or unwilling for good cause to serve, your proxy may be voted for another person nominated as a substitute by the Board, or the Board may reduce the number of Directors.

Included in each Director and nominee’s biography below is a description of key qualifications and experience of such Director or nominee based on the qualifications described above. The Board believes that the combination of the various qualifications and experiences of the 2024 Director nominees would contribute to an effective and well-functioning Board.

The Audit Committee of the Board has appointed KPMG LLP to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year, subject to the approval of shareholders. KPMG has audited the financial records of the businesses that comprise the Company since 1992. We consider the firm well qualified.

We expect that representatives of KPMG will be present at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders. These representatives will have the opportunity to make a statement if they wish to do so, and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.

The Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the quality and integrity of the accounting, auditing and reporting practices of the Company. As part of fulfilling its oversight responsibility, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with management the audited financial statements of the Company, including its assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023. In addition, the Audit Committee discussed with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Auditing Standard No. 1301, “Communications with Audit Committees.”

The Audit Committee has discussed with KPMG the independent accountant’s independence from the Company and has received from KPMG the written disclosures and the letter required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent accountant’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence.

The Company incurred the following fees for services performed by KPMG in fiscal years 2023 and 2022:

Audit fees are fees the Company paid to KPMG for professional services for the audit of the Company’s consolidated financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, including fees associated with the audit of internal control over financial reporting, and review of financial statements included in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, or for services that are normally provided by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, such as comfort letters in connection with securities offerings and consent for registration statements.

Audit related fees are billed by KPMG for assurance services that are reasonably related to the audit or review of the Company’s financial statements, including XBRL tagging, attestation procedures, due diligence and benefit plan audits.

Tax fees are fees billed by KPMG for tax compliance and tax advice.

All other fees are fees billed by KPMG to the Company for any services not included in the first three categories.

The Audit Committee established a policy that requires it to approve all services provided by its independent registered public accounting firm before the independent registered public accounting firm provides those services. The Audit Committee has pre-approved the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm for audit services, audit-related services, tax services and all other fees within defined limits. All of the Audit Fees, Audit Related Fees, Tax Fees and All Other Fees paid to KPMG were approved by the Audit Committee in accordance with its pre-approval policy in fiscal year 2023.

The Audit Committee considered all these services in connection with KPMG’s audits of the Company’s financial statements, and internal control over financial reporting for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, and concluded that they were compatible with maintaining KPMG’s independence from the Company in the applicable periods.

Based upon the review and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the Company’s audited financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, for filing with the SEC.

The Board of Directors is asking you to approve, on an advisory basis, the 2023 compensation of our named executive officers as described in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and “Compensation of Executive Officers and Directors” sections of this Proxy Statement. This proposal is commonly known as “Say-on-Pay.”

While this vote is advisory, and not binding on the Company, the Compensation Committee or the Board of Directors, it will provide information to us regarding investor sentiment about our executive compensation philosophy, policies and practices, which the Compensation Committee will be able to consider when determining executive compensation for the future. This vote is not intended to address any specific item of compensation, but rather the overall compensation of our named executive officers and the philosophy, policies and practices described in this Proxy Statement. You should read the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” which discusses how our executive compensation policies and programs implement our executive compensation philosophy, and the “Compensation of Executive Officers and Directors” section which summarizes the 2023 compensation of our named executive officers.

In determining whether to approve this proposal, we believe you should consider how we link pay to performance, which is discussed in detail in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section under “How We Tie Pay to Performance.” In particular you should bear in mind:

Accordingly, the Board of Directors recommends approval of the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that shareholders of the Company approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to the Company’s named executive officers in 2023, as disclosed in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (which disclosure includes the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables, and any related tables and disclosure).

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis provides you with a detailed description of our executive compensation philosophy and programs, the compensation decisions the Compensation Committee has made under those programs and the factors considered in making those decisions. Our compensation program for senior executives is governed by the Compensation Committee, which determines the compensation of all eight of the current executive officers of the Company. This discussion and analysis focuses on our named executive officers—our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, and the three other most highly compensated executive officers who were serving as executive officers on December 31, 2023. The named executive officers for 2023 were:

Our executive compensation program is designed to reward the achievement of the short-term and long-term objectives of the Company, to attract and retain world-class talent, and to relate compensation to the value created for our shareholders. We also believe that as an employee’s level or responsibility increases, so should the proportion of performance-based compensation. As a result, our executive compensation programs closely tie pay to performance.

Minerals Technologies Inc. is a leading, technology-driven minerals company that develops, produces, and markets a broad range of specialty mineral solutions, related systems and services. The Company serves globally a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including household and personal care, paper and packaging, food and pharmaceutical, automotive, construction, steel and foundry, environmental, and infrastructure.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Company realigned its business reporting structure into two segments: Consumer & Specialties and Engineered Solutions, to better align our businesses and technologies with our customers and end markets and create a more efficient and effective management structure, reflecting the way performance is evaluated and resources are allocated.

 

Our performance in 2023 reflects our continued execution in advancing our growth strategy by positioning our businesses in faster-growing markets and geographies, and accelerating the development of new products and technologies:

We continue to drive forward our multi-pronged approach to profitable growth, and we made meaningful progress across all our long-term growth priorities in 2023.

Within our Consumer & Specialties segment:

Within our Engineered Solutions segment:

Innovation is a key pillar of our growth strategy across our entire portfolio. In 2023, revenue as a percent of sales from new products reached a record 18 percent. The key drivers were:

In 2023, 64% of MTI’s new products had a sustainable profile.

Strengthening Our Business Through Acquisitions:

 

 

The following is a summary of our performance highlights for 2023 and comparisons of our performance to prior years. In this Compensation Discussion and Analysis, as well as in the Proxy Summary, we refer to earnings per share excluding special items, operating income and margin excluding special items, and free cash flow, which are non-GAAP financial measures. See Appendix A to this Proxy Statement for a reconciliation to our results as reported under GAAP.

2023 was a strong year for the Company marked by record sales, operating income and earnings per share, excluding special items.

 

In the first quarter of 2023, the Company realigned its business reporting structure into two segments: Consumer & Specialties and Engineered Solutions, to better align our businesses and technologies with our customers and end markets and create a more efficient and effective management structure, reflecting the way performance is evaluated and resources are allocated. The company’s portfolio is balanced between those two segments.

 

Sales in our Consumer & Specialties segment increased 3% in 2023 to $1.16 billion:

Operating income, excluding special items, for the Consumer & Specialties segment increased 24% to $141 million and operating margin, excluding special items, improved 210 basis points to 12.2%.

 

Sales in our Engineered Solutions segment grew 1% in 2023 to $1.01 billion:

Operating income, excluding special items, for the Engineered Solutions segment increased 3% to $151 million in 2023 and operating margin, excluding special items, improved 30 basis points to 15%.

 

 

 

For those who wish to consider total shareholder return when evaluating executive compensation, the graph below compares Minerals Technologies Inc.’s cumulative 3-year total shareholder return on common stock with the cumulative total return of the comparator groups used for the Company’s long-term incentive plan. This graph tracks the performance of a $100 investment in our common stock compared with our peer index (with the reinvestment of all dividends), the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index over the covered periods.

 

We highlight below certain executive compensation practices, both the practices we have implemented to incentivize performance and certain other practices that we have not implemented because we do not believe they would serve shareholders’ long-term interests:

As discussed above under “Shareholder Engagement”, we engage in an extensive, ongoing shareholder engagement effort discussing corporate governance, compensation and other matters. At our 2023 Annual Meeting, our shareholders approved the 2022 compensation of our named executive officers with 81% of the shares voting on the matter at the meeting voting in favor. We believe that the significant margin of approval of our 2023 “Say-on-Pay” proposal resulted in large measure from our shareholder engagement effort. See “Shareholder Engagement” on pages 7-8 for more information.

As a result of the vast majority of shares favoring our “Say-on-Pay” proposal at our 2023 Annual Meeting, and the feedback we received during our 2023 – 2024 shareholder outreach program, we have modified the mix of long-term compensation awards to be 50% performance based. Beginning with awards granted in 2024, we increased the weighting of performance-based awards to 50% of total long-term incentive compensation, with a corresponding reduction in stock options to 10% weighting to be more closely tied to our operating plan and industry trends. Other than that key change, we have substantially maintained our executive compensation policies. The Compensation Committee will continue to consider the views of our shareholders in connection with our executive compensation program and make improvements based upon evolving best practices, market compensation information and changing regulatory requirements.

We have structured the major portion of executive compensation as “total direct remuneration,” consisting of base salary, annual incentive awards and long-term incentive awards. Long-term incentive awards consist of stock options, Deferred Restricted Stock Units (“DRSUs”), and Performance Units awarded under our long-term incentive plan. Additional elements supplement the total direct remuneration. As illustrated below, in 2023 the majority of total direct compensation to our named executive officers was variable and at-risk.

 

The table below summarizes the compensatory elements of our program and briefly explains their purpose. Following the table, we provide a detailed description of each element, why we pay it, and what decisions were made for individual payments and awards in 2023.

The Committee believes that the overall compensation to the named executive officers should include reasonable levels of fixed cash compensation to provide a level of assurance of compensation. Base salaries of our named executive officers are determined in accordance with their responsibilities, their tenure in position, performance and market data for the position, although no particular weight is assigned to any one factor. Each employee receives an annual performance rating early in the year. The performance rating of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer is assigned by the Compensation Committee and approved by the Board. The performance ratings of other officers, including the named executive officers, are assigned by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, subject to review by the Compensation Committee. The named executive officers’ performance ratings were assigned by Mr. Dietrich in early 2023. Based on the Company’s performance, general business outlook, and industry compensation trends, we set guidelines for average percentage compensation adjustments to salary for all employees for the coming year. The percentage increase received by a particular employee is determined on the basis of the employee’s performance rating and current compensation level compared to similar marketplace positions.

The following reflects salary increases during 2023:

Following the Company’s annual review of CEO compensation, the Committee determined to increase Mr. Dietrich’s base salary by 5%, which was Mr. Dietrich’s first increase in base salary in four years and was a result of a determination to increase base salary to remain competitive relative to the marketplace. Mr. Aldag, who received a base salary increase in November 2022 upon his appointment as Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasury, Chief Financial Officer, did not receive any further increase in base salary in 2023. Mr. Monagle and Mr. Hastings received merit increases to their base salaries of between 3% and 5% in 2023. Mr. Argirakis, a new named executive officer for 2023, is a long-tenured (36+ year) employee who was promoted in 2023 to Group President, Engineered Solutions. Mr. Argirakis received a merit increase of 6% to his base salary in 2023 commensurate with his new position and to remain competitive in the marketplace.

We pay annual incentives through our Annual Incentive Plan. The 2023 Annual Incentive Plan is designed to reward participants for the achievement of pre-established Company-wide financial goals and individual contributions thereto, as well as to reward the achievement of individual performance goals, by providing cash awards that are paid if such goals are met.

The amount of incentive compensation actually earned by participants in the Annual Incentive Plan is determined by multiplying the target amount by a performance factor. The target amount is a percentage of base salary. Such target percentages for 2023 were consistent with 2022 target percentages for each of the named executive officers. The performance factor represents percentage achievement of weighted composite of corporate financial targets, personal performance objectives and, for those executives who are Segment Leaders, segment financial targets. The overall performance factor for each element (corporate financial targets, segment financial targets, and personal performance objectives) may individually range from a minimum of 25% to a maximum of 200%, for an overall maximum performance factor of 200%. Payout is equal to target incentive compensation if the performance factor for each element is achieved at 100%.

 

In January 2024, the Committee reviewed the results of the 2023 Annual Incentive Plan. Payments were determined based on the achievement of the performance factors described below. Individual performance ratings were submitted by the Chief Executive Officer for discussion and approval by the Committee. The performance factors actually achieved for 2023 and the resulting payments to the named executive officers under the 2023 Annual Incentive Plan were as follows:

We maintain a strong link between performance and pay within our executive compensation program through emphasis on incentives and utilization of performance measures that we believe are key drivers of shareholder value creation. For 2023, the Annual Incentive Plan continued to use two financial measures that we determined are important business metrics that lead to creation of shareholder value, and therefore deserve significant focus. One of these measures, Operating Income (“OI”), was consistent with prior years. For the other metric, we determined to use Return on Net Assets (“RONA”), instead of the return measure used for the Annual Incentive Plan in prior years, Return on Capital (“ROC”). There were two principal reasons for making this change to use RONA rather than ROC. First, it better focuses on financial measures that the businesses can control, such as working capital and fixed assets. Second, through our shareholder engagement efforts, some shareholders had noted that both our short-term incentive compensation plan and our long-term incentive compensation have been based, in part, on an ROC metric. Although the metrics for short-term and long-term compensation were evaluated over different time periods, the change to use RONA rather than ROC in the Annual Incentive Plan ensures that the two plans use different metrics.

Performance of the Company as a whole with respect to OI and RONA was a significant factor in each executive’s bonus opportunity. For executives who were Segment Leaders in 2023, namely Mr. Monagle and Mr. Argirakis, performance with respect to these financial targets within the executive’s segment was also a significant factor in such executive’s bonus opportunity. The remainder of each executive’s bonus opportunity was based on personal performance objectives.

The table below summarizes the weightings for each element of the performance factor (corporate financial targets, Segment financial targets, and personal performance objectives) for each of our named executive officers, along with their achievement in 2023.

Approximately half of the personal performance objectives were based on quantifiable financial components: revenue, expense management, working capital efficiency, operating margin percent, and certain productivity metrics, for which specific targets were established. Accordingly, financial components – the OI and RONA metrics combined with the quantifiable financial components of the personal performance objectives – represented approximately 85% of the plan’s target metrics.

 

MTI has a longstanding commitment to operate ethically and responsibly while creating value for our customers, employees, communities, and other stakeholders. We look at sustainability holistically, understanding that addressing the continuum of environmental, social, governance and ethics issues is critical to the success of our business. Sustainability is a vital driver to our long-term growth, and through continued learning and improvement, we are making progress in addressing the biggest challenges of today, while capturing opportunities for the future. As our incentive compensation program reflects our overall company performance and profitability that drive long-term shareholder value creation, our success in meeting our sustainability goals is inherent to our incentive compensation program.

Our sustainability goals are achieved through our deployment of Lean operating principles. Businesses have Hoshin Plans to achieve specific sustainability-related projects. Our executives are measured on achievement of these projects in the personal performance component of annual incentive compensation.

As discussed above, the Committee selected OI and RONA as the two financial measures used to determine Company performance. For each measure, a Company performance target range was determined as an aggregate of the performance target ranges for the Company’s two segments. Company-level performance for 2023 was based on a weighted average of segment actual performance for the measure.

2023 Targets. The following table sets forth the following for both OI and RONA:

In determining the performance targets and target ranges for OI and RONA in the beginning of the year, the Committee took into consideration the economic conditions and risks of our market segments and the business development activities and goals for each of the segments. The Committee strived to design performance target ranges for OI and RONA that were challenging taking into consideration the economic condition in the markets we serve and the risks to achieve high performance but attainable by the executive officers. The Company OI target set for 2023 reflected an increase of 5% above 2022 actual OI performance. The Company RONA target set for 2023 reflected a targeted improvement in operating performance and expected changes in the Company’s average net assets when compared with 2022. The following summarizes the key opportunities and risk factors considered for 2023 target levels.

 

2023 Performance. The Company performance factor represents the weighted average of the performance factor for the two segments, and the segment performance factor is a weighted average of the individual business units within each segment. For each segment and business unit, actual 2023 performance for each measure was weighted—OI was weighted at 60% and