The purpose of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (the "Committee") of the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Xencor, Inc. (the "Company") shall be to act on behalf of the Board in fulfilling the Board’s responsibilities to oversee all aspects of the Company's corporate governance functions, including to (i) make recommendations to the Board regarding corporate governance issues; (ii) identify, review and evaluate candidates to serve as directors of the Company consistent with criteria approved by the Board and review and evaluate incumbent directors; (iii) serve as a focal point for communication between such candidates, non-committee directors and the Company's management; (iv) nominate candidates to serve as directors; (v) oversee the evaluation of the Board; and (vi) make other recommendations to the Board regarding affairs relating to the directors of the Company.
The Committee shall consist of at least two members of the Board. No Committee member shall be an employee of the Company and each member shall be free from any relationship that would interfere with the exercise of his or her independent judgment, as determined by the Board, in accordance with the applicable independence requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq"), when and as required by Nasdaq. The members of the Committee shall be appointed by and serve at the discretion of the Board. Vacancies occurring on the Committee shall be filled by the Board. The Committee’s chairperson (the “Chair”) shall be designated by the Board or, if it does not do so, the Committee members shall elect a Chair by vote of a majority of the full Committee. The Chair (or in their absence, a member designated by the Chair) shall preside at all meetings of the Committee.
The Committee shall hold such regular or special meetings as its members deem necessary or appropriate.
Formal action to be taken by the Committee shall be by unanimous written consent or by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members present (in person, virtually, or by telephone conference call) at a meeting at which a quorum is present. A quorum shall consist of at least a majority of the members of the Committee. Any actions taken by the Committee during any period in which one or more of the members fail for any reason to meet the membership requirements set forth above shall still constitute duly authorized actions of the Committee for all corporate purposes.
Minutes of each Committee meeting will be prepared and distributed to the Committee promptly after each meeting for the Committee’s review and approval, and the Secretary of the Company will retain the approved minutes for filing with the corporate records of the Company. The Committee will maintain written minutes of its meetings, which minutes will be filed with the minutes of the meetings of the Board. When the Committee acts by unanimous written consent, those actions will also be retained by the Secretary of the Company for filing with the Company’s corporate records. The Committee shall report regularly to the Board regarding its actions, and whenever so requested by the Board.
The Committee shall have authority to retain and determine compensation for, at the expense of the Company, special legal, accounting or other advisors or consultants as it deems necessary or appropriate in the performance of its duties, including executive search firms to help identify director candidates. The Committee shall also have authority to pay, at the expense of the Company, ordinary administrative expenses that, as determined by the Committee, are necessary or appropriate in carrying out its duties. Each member of the Committee shall have full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of the Company as deemed necessary or appropriate by any member of the Committee to discharge his or her responsibilities hereunder. The Committee shall have authority to require that any of the Company's personnel, counsel, accountants (including the Company's auditors) or investment bankers, or any other consultant or advisor to the Company attend any meeting of the Committee or meet with any member of the Committee or any of its special outside legal, accounting or other advisors or consultants. The approval of this Charter by the Board shall be construed as a delegation of authority to the Committee with respect to the responsibilities set forth herein.
The operation of the Committee will be subject to the provisions of the Bylaws of the Company and the Delaware General Corporation Law, each as in effect from time to time. The Committee will have the full power and authority to carry out the following primary responsibilities or to delegate such power and authority to one or more subcommittees of the Committee:
- Director Nominations. The Committee shall have the responsibility of identifying, reviewing and evaluating candidates to serve on the Board, including consideration of any potential conflicts of interest as well as applicable independence and experience requirements. The Committee shall have primary responsibility for determining the minimum qualifications for service on the Board and the right to modify the qualifications from time to time. The Committee shall also have the primary responsibility for reviewing, evaluating and considering the nomination of incumbent directors for reelection to the Board, as well as monitoring the size of the Board. The Committee shall also nominate candidates to the Board to serve as directors. The Committee shall also have the power and authority to consider recommendations for Board nominees and proposals submitted by the Company's stockholders and to establish any policies, requirements, criteria and procedures, including policies and procedures to facilitate stockholder communications with the Board, to recommend to the Board appropriate action on any such proposal or recommendation and to make any disclosures required by applicable law in the course of exercising its authority.
- Board and Director Assessment. The Committee shall periodically review, discuss and assess the performance of the Board, including Board committees, seeking input from senior management, the full Board and others. The assessment shall include evaluation of the Board's contribution as a whole and effectiveness in serving the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, specific areas in which the Board and/or management believe contributions could be improved, and overall Board composition and makeup, including the reelection of current Board members. The factors to be considered shall include whether the directors, both individually and collectively, can and do provide the integrity, experience, judgment, commitment (including having sufficient time to devote to the Company and level of participation), skills, diversity and expertise appropriate for the Company. In assessing the directors, both individually and collectively, the Committee may consider the current needs of the Board and the Company to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and capability in various areas. The Committee shall also consider and assess the independence of directors, including whether a majority of the Board continue to be independent from management in both fact and appearance, as well as within the meaning prescribed by Nasdaq. The results of these reviews shall be provided to the Board for further discussion as appropriate.
- Board Committee Nominations. The Committee, after due consideration of the interests, independence and experience of the individual directors and the independence and experience requirements of Nasdaq, the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable law, shall evaluate the performance of the members of the committees of the Board, review the size and composition of such committees and recommend to the entire Board annually the chairmanship and membership of each such committee.
- Continuing Education. The Committee Committee shall develop and oversee a Company orientation program for new directors, and shall consider the need and, if necessary, develop and institute a plan or program for the continuing education of current directors.
- Corporate Governance and ESG Matters. The Committee shall develop, as appropriate, a set of corporate governance principles to be applicable to the Company, shall periodically review and assess these principles and their application, and shall recommend any changes deemed appropriate to the Board for its consideration. The Committee shall also, in consultation with the Board and each of the other Board committees, as needed, oversee the Company’s environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) strategy, practices and policies, including the Company’s reporting on ESG matters, and make recommendations to the Board on such activities as appropriate. The Committee shall consider any other corporate governance issues that arise and develop appropriate recommendations for the Board.
- Organizational Documents. The Committee shall review and recommend to the Board changes to the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws as they relate to corporate governance matters.
- Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Committee shall periodically review Company policy statements to determine their adherence to the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the "Code") and consider any requests by directors or executive officers of the Company for a waiver from the Code.
- Annual Evaluation and Charter Review. The Committee shall review, discuss and assess its own performance at least annually. The Committee shall also periodically review and assess the adequacy of this Charter and recommend any proposed changes to the Board for its consideration and approval.