About the Board

Communications with Directors

In order to provide the company's security holders and other interested parties with a direct and open line of communication to the board of directors, the board has adopted the following procedures for communications to directors.

  • Security holders of the company and other interested persons may communicate with the chairmen of the company's Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee, Audit Committee, Compensation and Management Development Committee or Mergers and Acquisitions Committee, or with the non-management directors of the company as a group, by sending an e-mail to investors@hillenbrand.com. The e-mail should specify which of the foregoing is the intended recipient.

  • All communications received in accordance with these procedures will be reviewed initially by the company's Investor Relations Department. The IR Department will relay all such communications to the appropriate director or directors unless it determines that the communication:
    • does not relate to the business or affairs of the company or the functioning or constitution of the board of directors or any of its committees;
    • relates to routine or insignificant matters that do not warrant the attention of the board of directors;
    • is an advertisement or other commercial solicitation or communication;
    • is frivolous or offensive; or
    • is otherwise not appropriate for delivery to directors.
  • The director or directors who receive any such communication will have discretion to determine whether the subject matter of the communication should be brought to the attention of the full board of directors or one or more of its committees and whether any response to the person sending the communication is appropriate. Any such response will be made through the company's Investor Relations Department and only in accordance with the company's policies and procedures and applicable law and regulations relating to the disclosure of information.

  • The company's Investor Relations Department will retain copies of all communications received pursuant to these procedures for a period of at least one year.

  • The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee of the board of directors will review the effectiveness of these procedures from time to time and, if appropriate, recommend changes.

The company has not established a formal policy regarding director attendance at its annual meetings of shareholders, but its directors generally are expected to and do attend the annual meetings in person. The chairman of the board presides at the annual meeting of shareholders, and the board of directors holds one of its regular meetings in conjunction with the annual meeting of shareholders.