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of Contents
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A
Proxy Statement
Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
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Filed by the Registrant |
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Filed by a party other than the Registrant |
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CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX: |
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Preliminary Proxy Statement |
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Confidential, for Use of the Commission
Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
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Definitive Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Additional
Materials |
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Soliciting Material under
§240.14a-12 |

Virgin Galactic Holdings,
Inc.
(Name of Registrant
as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
PAYMENT OF FILING FEE (CHECK ALL BOXES
THAT APPLY): |
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No fee required |
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Fee paid previously with preliminary
materials |
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Fee computed on table in exhibit
required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and
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Table
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Table
of Contents
Our mission is to connect people across the globe to the
love, wonder and awe created by space travel.
Table
of Contents
Message from
Our Interim Chair
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April 27, 2022
Dear Fellow Stockholders:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I cordially invite you
to attend the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders (the “Annual
Meeting”) of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., which will be held on
June 9, 2022, at 9:00 a.m., Pacific Time at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022.
In
accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission rules
allowing companies to furnish proxy materials to their stockholders
over the Internet, we have sent stockholders of record at the close
of business on April 14, 2022 a Notice of Internet Availability of
Proxy Materials. The notice contains instructions on how to access
our Proxy Statement and Annual Report and vote online. If you would
like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials from us
instead of downloading a printable version from the Internet,
please follow the instructions for requesting such materials
included in the notice and the attached Proxy Statement.
Attached to
this letter are a Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and
Proxy Statement, which describe the business to be conducted at the
Annual Meeting.
Please join us on June 9, 2022
Your vote
is important to us. Whether you own a few shares or many, and
whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, it is
important that your shares be represented and voted at the meeting.
Please act as soon as possible to vote your shares. You may vote
your shares on the Internet, by telephone or if, you received a
paper copy of the proxy card by mail, by returning your signed
proxy card in the envelope provided. You may also vote your shares
online during the Annual Meeting. Instructions on how to vote while
participating at the meeting live via the Internet are posted
at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022.
On behalf
of the Board of Directors and management, it is my pleasure to
express our appreciation for your continued support.
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Evan
Lovell
Interim Chair of the Board
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Table
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Notice of Annual Meeting of
Stockholders to be held on
June 9, 2022
Tustin, California
April 27, 2022
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2022
annual meeting of stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Virgin
Galactic Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”),
will be held on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at 9:00 a.m., Pacific Time.
The Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting, which will
be conducted via live webcast. You will be able to attend the
Annual Meeting online and submit your questions during the meeting
by visiting www.
virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ SPCE2022. For instructions on how to attend and vote your shares at
the Annual Meeting, see the information in the accompanying Proxy
Statement in the section titled “General Information About the
Annual Meeting and Voting.”
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The Annual Meeting is being
held:
1.to elect
the director nominees listed in the Proxy Statement;
2.to ratify
the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered
public accounting firm for 2022;
3.to
approve, on an advisory (non-binding) basis, the compensation of
our named executive officers; and
4.to
transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual
Meeting or any continuation, postponement or adjournment
thereof.
These items
of business are described in the Proxy Statement that follows this
notice. Holders of record of the Company’s common stock as of the
close of business on April 14, 2022 are entitled to notice of and
to vote at the Annual Meeting, or any continuation, postponement or
adjournment thereof. A complete list of such stockholders will be
open to the examination by any stockholder for a period of 10 days
prior to the Annual Meeting for any purpose germane to the meeting
by sending an email to Corporate.Secretary@virgingalactic.com, stating the purpose of the request and providing
proof of ownership of Company stock. The list of these stockholders
will also be available on the bottom of your screen during the
Annual Meeting after entering the 16-digit control number included
on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you
received, on your proxy card, or on the materials provided by your
bank or broker.
Whether or
not you attend the Annual Meeting, it is important that your shares
be represented and voted at the Annual Meeting. Therefore, I urge
you to promptly vote and submit your proxy by phone, via the
Internet, or, if you received paper copies of these materials, by
signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card in the
enclosed envelope, which requires no postage if mailed in the
United States. If you have previously received our Notice of
Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, instructions regarding
how you can vote are contained in that notice. If you have received
a proxy card, instructions regarding how you can vote are contained
on the proxy card. If you decide to attend the Annual Meeting, you
will be able to vote in person, even if you have previously
submitted your proxy. Note
that, in light of possible timing impacts if voting by mail, we
encourage stockholders to submit their proxy by Internet or
telephone.
By Order of
the Board of Directors

Michael Colglazier
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
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Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy
Materials for the Stockholder Meeting:
This Proxy Statement
and our Annual Report are available free of charge at
www.proxyvote.com.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Table of Contents
Forward-Looking Statements
This proxy
statement (this “Proxy Statement”) contains certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of federal securities laws with
respect to Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (“Virgin Galactic” or the
“Company”). These forward-looking statements are statements other
than those of historical fact and generally are identified by words
such as “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,”
“intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,”
“should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking
statements are predictions, projections and other statements about
future events that are based on current expectations and
assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and
uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this proxy
statement, including but not limited to the factors, risks and
uncertainties included in the Company’s filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which are
accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor
Relations section of our website at www.virgingalactic.com. These
filings identify and address other important risks and
uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual events and
results to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as
required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not
intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
Table
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2021 Highlights
About Virgin
Galactic
We are an
aerospace and space travel company offering access to space for
private individuals, researchers and government agencies. Our
missions include flying passengers to space as tourists, as well as
flying researchers to space in order to conduct experiments for
scientific and educational purposes. Our operations include the
design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing,
and post-flight maintenance of our spaceflight system vehicles. Our
spaceflight system is developed using proprietary technology and
processes and is focused on providing space experiences for private
astronauts, researcher flights and professional astronaut
training.
Fiscal 2021
Performance Highlights
We believe
the exploration of space and the cultivation and monetization of
space-related capabilities offer immense potential to create
economic value and future growth. Virgin Galactic is at the
forefront of these industry trends and well-positioned to
capitalize on them by bringing human spaceflight to a broad global
population that dreams of traveling to space. 2021 was an
incredibly important year for Virgin Galactic that laid an
essential foundation for becoming a scaled, commercial operation.
We continued to progress through our test program schedule and our
fleet expansion efforts during 2021, despite challenges and the
macroenvironment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some key 2021 business
milestones that have enabled this goal are highlighted
below: |
●Opened ticket sales at a new price point of USD $450,000
for private astronauts during Q3 2021
●In
July 2021, raised approximately $500 million through the sale of
common stock in order to strengthen the balance sheet and position
the Company to meet its strategic long-term objectives, with a
priority on fleet expansion.
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●In
July 2021, successfully completed first fully crewed spaceflight,
Unity 22, which fulfilled test objectives including evaluating the
cabin and customer experience.
●In
June 2021, received approval from the Federal Aviation
Administration for a full commercial launch license, marking the
first time that the agency licensed a company to fly customers to
space.
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●In
May 2021, successfully completed the first spaceflight, Unity 21,
from Spaceport America, New Mexico. During this flight, we
fulfilled various test objectives and carried revenue-generating
scientific research experiments.
●Rolled out VSS Imagine, the second spaceship in the
current fleet.
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The market
for commercial human spaceflight for private individuals continues
to be a nascent industry. As of December 31, 2021, only approximately 600 humans have ever
traveled above the Earth’s atmosphere into space to become
officially recognized as astronauts, cosmonauts or taikonauts. We
believe this market opportunity outstrips demand for the
foreseeable future. As of April 27, 2022, Virgin Galactic has
signed up approximately 800 customers for future
spaceflights.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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2021 Highlights
Commitment to
ESG
At Virgin
Galactic, we recognize that understanding and managing our
environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) impacts is not only
critical to mitigating ESG-related risks, but also seizing
opportunities to create value for our employees, customers,
stockholders, communities and other stakeholders. We continue to
develop and refine our ESG strategy to establish a framework that
aligns with industry best practices, such as Sustainability
Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) standards, and contributes to
global sustainable development. Our Board oversees our ESG
strategy, initiatives, and policies and is committed to ongoing
transparency and accountability. See page 29 of this Proxy
Statement for more information about Board oversight of ESG and our
supporting governance structure.
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Diversity, Inclusion
and Community Outreach
We believe that space belongs to us
all. And that starts with advancing diversity and inclusion on the
ground – within our workforce, and our broader industry community.
The diversity of perspectives and experiences are critical to our
future success, and creating an inclusive culture to fuel
innovation as we pursue our mission.
Outreach and
Diversity in STEM education
●Through our Galactic
Unite outreach initiative, Virgin Galactic has awarded 63 grants
totaling $230,000 to local community science, technology,
engineering and math (“STEM”) organizations and programs, and our
customers have contributed an additional $360,000.
●Virgin Galactic
employees have volunteered over 7,000 hours and supported the
delivery of over 700 STEM programs, activities, and events in our
local communities and around the world, reaching hundreds of
thousands of young people, of which 51% are young people of
color.
●The Galactic Unite
scholarship program was launched in 2012 with the support of our
customer community. Together, as of April 27, 2022, we have
invested $1.7 million ($128,700 was sponsored by the Company),
awarded 258 scholarships to 131 students pursuing STEM education,
of which $800,000 was awarded to 62 young women.
●Our scholarship
recipients are eligible to receive mentoring from Virgin Galactic
staff for the duration of their scholarship award.
BLAST - Black
Leaders in Aerospace Scholarship and Training Program
●We see the aerospace
sector missing out on the advantages brought by hiring, training
and empowering diverse groups of talented people to drive
innovation. This program was launched in 2021 and is designed to
support the next generation of Black leaders who will power the
rapidly developing aerospace industry. By actively creating
opportunities, the goal of the BLAST program is to support Black
scholars through an academic pipeline to successful career
placement and inspire a more diverse and inclusive aerospace
industry.
●Since the launch of
the program in February 2021, we have supported 11 scholars, of
which 8 are currently in the program. Students receive a $5,000
scholarship per award, which is renewable for up to 3 years, for a
total of $15,000, mentoring, vocational skills, certified
leadership training, summer paid internships at Virgin Galactic or
one of our program partner companies, and job opportunities upon
graduation.
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Risk Management
We periodically perform an Enterprise
Risk Management (“ERM”) assessment to identify prominent risk areas
to our business. We have established cross-functional working
groups for each risk factor across different business segments to
foster ongoing identification and enable mitigation of relevant
risks. These assessment results are discussed with our executives
on a regular basis and reported quarterly to the Audit Committee
and Board. ESG factors such as materials sourcing, cybersecurity,
and regulatory requirements are currently embedded in our ERM
program. Additionally, we regularly evaluate additional ESG risk
factors that could potentially impact our business.
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Table
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2021 Highlights
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Data
Security
At Virgin Galactic, we take a
risk-based approach to cyber security and customer data privacy
that is intended to identify and address the highest priority
information risks applicable to our business. Our information
security department executes rigorous oversight of our data and the
data entrusted to us across all our internal and external systems
and applications. This includes regular in-house and third-party
testing, auditing, training, access management, and vendor risk
management. We use a number of market leading tools and services to
support our security program. Our security program is oriented
around compliance with industry standard control frameworks
including NIST 800-171 and ISO 27001.
We extend
our high standards of data security to our vendors and partners.
Where applicable, we require our vendors to comply with industry
standards such as ISO 27001, and show current SOC 2 Type II
compliance. As a government contractor, we default to the most
secure and robust cloud platforms available (e.g. Microsoft
Government Community Cloud High; FedRAMP compliant), which in turn
benefit our commercial business as well.
We
communicate regularly with our employees regarding the importance
of data security and privacy. In addition to direct updates about
internet safety, phishing, and other topics, we require annual
mandatory security training and more frequent training for select
employee groups.
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Health and Safety
We are also keenly focused on human
safety. Our Safety Management System (“SMS”) is informed by Federal
Aviation Administration guidance and is consistent with national
and international policies and other flight standards. We have a
proactive safety risk management process to identify potential
safety hazards, minimize risks and ensure proper corrective actions
where appropriate. Our process and protocols are evaluated
regularly to confirm our compliance to the latest standards,
monitor and document issues, and develop corrective action plans as
needed with the operations teams.
In response
to the COVID-19 pandemic, we formed a COVID-19 Task Force with
leadership from across the Company to provide resources and tools
to assist and support our workforce with overall wellness, mental
wellness and cope with stress, anxiety, isolation and loss. We
continue to monitor protocols and guidelines, communicate
expectations and make accommodations to protect the safety of our
employees while increasing production with strict safety protocols
in place. Throughout the pandemic, we have followed guidance from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), as well as
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) guidelines.
Virgin Galactic’s policy as of December 31, 2021 is that all
employees are required to be fully vaccinated, unless such
employees are legally entitled to an accommodation.
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Environmental
We strive to reduce our environmental
footprint and develop solutions that alleviate the global strain on
natural resources. We are focused on several key areas; clean
energy, building a sustainable supply chain, and innovating our
spaceflight systems for greater reusability. Over the last three
years we were able to offset the greenhouse gas (“GHG”) footprint
of our test spaceflights through UN certified offset programs. In
2021, we offset on average at a 2 times Carbon dioxide equivalent
or “CO2e” equivalence. We also have various employee initiatives in
place, including a drive to eliminate single use plastics from our
workplace.
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Human Capital
Our employees, our teammates, are the
cornerstone of our success. As of March 31, 2022, we had 830
employees across the globe. Prior to joining our Company, a number
of our employees had prior experience working for a wide variety of
reputed commercial aviation, aerospace, high-technology, and
world-recognized organizations.
Our
integrated human capital management strategy includes the
acquisition, development, and retention of our teammates, as well
as the design of market-based compensation and benefits programs to
enable and achieve our strategic mission.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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2021 Highlights
Total Workforce
Demographics
GENDER |
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RACE/ETHNICITY |
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AGE |
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Based on employees who self-identify.
Includes only U.S. employees. Excludes interns and
contractors. |
** |
Executives is defined as director-level or
higher. |
We aim to
offer competitive compensation, benefits and services that meet the
needs of its employees, including short-term and long-term
incentive programs, defined contribution plan, healthcare benefits,
and wellness and employee assistance programs. Management monitors
market compensation and benefits to attract, retain and promote
teammates. In addition, Virgin Galactic’s incentive programs are
aligned with the Company’s mission and intended to reward and
incentivize high performing teams and an engaged
workforce.
Table
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Voting
Roadmap
Annual Meeting of
Stockholders
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DATE: June 9, 2022
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TIME: 9:00 am Pacific
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VIRTUAL MEETING
LOCATION: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ SPCE2022
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RECORD DATE: April 14, 2022
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How to Vote
We
recommend that stockholders vote by proxy even if they plan to
attend the Annual Meeting and vote electronically. If you are a
stockholder of record, there are three ways to vote by
proxy:
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TELEPHONE: You can vote by telephone by calling 1-800-690-6903
and following the instructions on the proxy card; |
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INTERNET: You can vote over the Internet at www.proxyvote.com by following the instructions on the Notice and Access Card
or proxy card; or |
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MAIL: You can vote by mail by signing, dating and mailing the
proxy card, which you may have received by mail.
See Page
72 for more
information
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Proxy Statement for the Annual
Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 9,
2022
This Proxy
Statement and our annual report for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2021 (the “Annual Report” and, together with the Proxy
Statement, the “proxy materials”) are being furnished by and on
behalf of the board of directors (the “Board” or the “Board of
Directors”) of Virgin Galactic in connection with our 2022 annual
meeting of stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”). This Notice of
Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement are first being distributed or
made available, as the case may be, on or about April 27,
2022.
As used
herein, the terms “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to Virgin
Galactic Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries unless
otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires. The Company was
a special purpose acquisition company called “Social Capital
Hedosophia Holdings Corp.” (“Social Capital”) prior to the closing
of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination in October 2019 (the
“Closing”). The “Virgin Galactic Business Combination” represents
the transactions contemplated by an agreement and plan of merger
whereby the entities that previously comprised the business of
Virgin Galactic (the “VG Companies”) merged with and into
subsidiaries of the Company.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Voting Roadmap
Proposals for Stockholder
Voting
to elect
the director nominees listed in the Proxy Statement
See Page
13 for more
information
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FOR |
Snapshot of 2022 Director Nominees
Nominee
Demographics
DIRECTOR
AGE |
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DIRECTOR
TENURE |
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58.4 Average
age 
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2.1 Average
tenure 
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GENDER
DIVERSITY |
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ETHNIC/RACIAL
DIVERSITY |
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33% Diverse 
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22% Diverse 
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to ratify
the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered
public accounting firm for 2022
See Page
33 for more
information
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FOR |
Table
of Contents
Voting Roadmap
to approve,
on an advisory (non-binding) basis, the compensation of our named
executive officers
See Page
37 for more
information
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FOR |
2021 Executive Compensation Elements
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2021 Target Total
Direct Compensation |
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CEO |
Other
NEOs |
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Description |
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Key
Objectives |
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●Cash compensation to
reflect individuals’ skills, experience, and overall
responsibilities of the executive’s position
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●Attracts and retains
talent by providing a stable and reliable source of
income
●Provide base salaries
consistent with each executive’s responsibilities so that they are
not motivated to take excessive risks to achieve financial
results
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●Earned based on
achievement of financial, strategic and safety performance metrics
as well as individual performance which are approved by our
Compensation Committee
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●Rewards the
achievement of corporate objectives and overall contributions
towards achieving those objectives over a 12-month
period
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●Time-vested
restricted stock units (“RSUs”)
●Performance share
units (“PSUs”)
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●Incentivizes our
executives to create long-term stockholder value and focus on
sustained share price appreciation
●Aligns our
executive’s strategic objectives with those of our stockholders’
interests over the long-term
●Promotes retention
and executive stock ownership
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We incorporated performance-based awards in the
long-term incentive program
Our goal
is to provide an executive compensation program that enables the
Company to attract, motivate, and retain highly qualified
executives who are committed to the Company’s mission, performance,
and culture. We do this by providing competitive compensation
arrangements that are fair, reasonable, and rewards our executives
for driving company-wide performance and individual contributions.
We also believe in executive incentive compensation programs that
emphasize pay for performance. In 2021, we adopted PSUs in our
long-term incentive program and will continue to utilize PSU awards
in 2022.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Proposal No. 1:
Election of Directors
Our
certificate of incorporation as currently in effect (“Certificate
of Incorporation”) provides that the number of directors shall be
established from time to time by our Board of Directors. Our Board
of Directors has fixed the number of directors at ten, and we
currently have nine directors serving on the Board.
Our
Certificate of Incorporation provides that all of our directors
stand for reelection annually at the annual meeting of
stockholders, provided that the term of each director will continue
until the election and qualification of his or her successor and is
subject to his or her earlier death, resignation or
removal.
Information about Board
Nominees
The
following pages contain certain biographical information as of
April 27, 2022 for each nominee for director, including all
positions held, the principal occupation and business experience
for the past 5 years and the names of other publicly-held companies
of which the nominee currently serves as a director or has served
as a director during the past 5 years.
We believe
that all of our nominees: demonstrate personal and professional
integrity; satisfactory levels of education and/or business
experience; broad-based business acumen; an appropriate level of
understanding of our business and its industry and other industries
relevant to our business; the ability and willingness to devote
adequate time to the work of our Board of Directors and its
committees; skills and personality that complement those of our
other directors that helps build a board that is effective,
collegial and responsive to the needs of our Company; strategic
thinking and a willingness to share ideas; a diversity of
experiences, expertise and background; and the ability to represent
the interests of all of our stockholders. The information presented
below regarding each nominee also sets forth specific experience,
qualifications, attributes and skills that led our Board of
Directors to the conclusion that such individual should serve as a
director in light of our business and structure.
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Board
Nominees |
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Evan
Lovell |
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Michael
Colglazier |
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Wanda
Austin |
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Adam
Bain |
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Tina
Jonas |
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Craig
Kreeger |
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George
Mattson |
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Wanda
Sigur |
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W. Gilbert
(Gil) West |
Table
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Proposal No. 1: Election of
Directors
Skills, Experience, Qualifications and
Attributes
INDEPENDENCE |
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GENDER
DIVERSITY |
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ETHNIC/RACIAL
DIVERSITY |
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78%
Independent

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33%
Diverse

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22%
Diverse

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DIRECTOR
AGE |
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DIRECTOR
TENURE |
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58.4
years Average
age

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2.1
years Average
tenure

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Management |
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Customer Experience
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Aerospace |
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Financial and
Accounting |
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Proposal No. 1: Election of
Directors
EVAN
LOVELL
Age: 52 Director Since:
October 2019
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Mr. Lovell, 52, has served as Interim Chair of our Board of
Directors since February 2022 and has served on the Company’s Board
of Directors since October 2019. Mr. Lovell has served as a
director of 23andMe Holding Co. since June 2021. Mr. Lovell has
served as a director of Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. since March
2017 and has served as its chairman since January 2022. Mr. Lovell
has also served as a director Virgin Group Acquisition Corp. II
since January 2021 and has served as a director of Virgin Group
Acquisition Corp. III since February 2021. Mr. Lovell has been a
Partner of Virgin Group Holdings Limited and its affiliates
(collectively, the “Virgin Group”) since October 2012 and is
responsible for managing the Virgin Group’s investment team
globally. Mr. Lovell currently serves on the boards of several
companies, including Virgin Hotels (2012 – present), Virgin Voyages
(2014 – present), and BMR Energy (2016 – present). Mr. Lovell
previously served on the board of Virgin America Inc. from 2013
until its acquisition by Alaska Air in 2016. From September 1997 to
October 2007, Mr. Lovell served as an investment professional at
TPG Capital, where he also served on the board of a number of TPG
portfolio companies. Mr. Lovell holds a bachelor’s degree in
Political Science from the University of Vermont.
|
|
We believe Mr.
Lovell is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because
of his extensive experience as a seasoned investor and
operator. |
MICHAEL
COLGLAZIER
Age: 55 Director Since:
July 2020
|
|
Mr. Colglazier, 55, has served as our Chief Executive
Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2020
and has served as our President since February 2021. Mr. Colglazier
most recently served as President and Managing Director, Disney
Parks International from October 2019 until his departure in July
2020 and, from March 2018 to October 2019, as President and
Managing Director, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Asia Pacific.
In these capacities, he oversaw the operations and development of
Disney parks and resorts outside of the United States, focusing on
high-growth expansion and development of joint venture
opportunities with government agencies. Prior to this, from January
2013 until March 2018, Mr. Colglazier was President of The
Disneyland Resort, where he led a workforce of nearly 30,000
employees and drove record business performance and growth. During
his 30+ year career at Disney, Mr. Colglazier served in several
executive roles where he implemented a series of development and
growth strategies across the world focused on product innovation
and customer growth. He is currently Chairman of the CEO Roundtable
for the University of California, Irvine, and a member of the
Engineering Advisory Board of Rice University. He is also a past
commissioner and member of the executive committee of the
California Travel and Tourism Commission. Mr. Colglazier holds a
bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford
University and holds a Master of Business Administration from
Harvard Business School.
|
|
We believe Mr.
Colglazier is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors
because of his extensive experience developing and growing
consumer-oriented businesses strategically, commercially and
operationally. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 1: Election of
Directors
WANDA
AUSTIN
Age: 67 Director Since:
October 2019
|
|
Dr. Austin, 67, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since October 2019. Dr. Austin served as Interim
President of the University of Southern California from August 2018
to July 2019, has held an adjunct Research Professor appointment at
the University’s Viterbi School’s Department of Industrial and
Systems Engineering since 2007, and became a Life Trustee in 2020.
Dr. Austin has been a director of Chevron Corporation and Amgen
Inc. since December 2016 and October 2017, respectively. From
January 2008 to October 2016, Dr. Austin served as President and
Chief Executive Officer of The Aerospace Corporation, an
independent nonprofit corporation operating the only federally
funded research and development center for the space enterprise and
performing technical analyses and assessments for a variety of
government, civil and commercial customers. Before becoming
President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Austin served as Senior
Vice President of the corporation’s National Systems Group and
Engineering and Technology Group. From 2015 to January 2017, Dr.
Austin served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology, advising the President of the United States in areas
where an understanding of science, technology and innovation was
key to forming effective U.S. policy. Dr. Austin is also a
co-founder of MakingSpace, Inc., focused on creating inclusive
opportunities for collaboration, and served on the U.S. Human
Spaceflight Review Committee from 2009 to 2010, the Defense Science
Board from 2010 to 2016, the Space Foundation from 2013 to 2015,
the California Council on Science and Technology from 2008 to 2013
and the NASA Advisory Council from 2005 to 2007 and 2014 to 2017.
Dr. Austin is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics and a member of the International Academy of
Astronautics and the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Austin is
an executive advisor for World50, a community of senior executives
from globally respected organizations. Dr. Austin holds a
bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Franklin & Marshall
College, master’s degrees in Systems Engineering and Mathematics
from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in Systems
Engineering from the University of Southern California.
|
|
We believe Dr.
Austin is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because
of her extensive financial and operational experience as well as
her deep experience in the aerospace industry. |
ADAM
BAIN
Age: 48 Director Since:
September 2017
|
|
Mr. Bain, 48, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since September 2017. Mr. Bain is a co-managing partner
of 01 Advisors, a venture capital firm targeting high-growth
technology companies, since co-founding the firm in January 2018.
Since November 2016, Mr. Bain has also been an independent advisor
and investor in select growth-stage companies. Previously, Mr. Bain
was the Chief Operating Officer of Twitter from September 2015
until November 2016 and President of Global Revenue &
Partnerships from 2010 to September 2015, where he was responsible
for the business lines at the public company, building one of the
fastest revenue ramps of a consumer internet business. Mr. Bain
oversaw employees in multiple countries ranging from Product,
Business Operations, Business Development, Media Partnerships,
Developer Relations, Twitter’s International business and all of
the go-to-market Sales teams for the advertising and data
businesses. Previously, Mr. Bain was the President of the Fox
Audience Network at Newscorp, responsible for monetizing Fox’s
digital assets. Mr. Bain started his career running product and
engineering teams at Fox Sports and the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Bain
has served as a director of Opendoor Technologies Inc. since
2020.
|
|
Mr. Bain holds
a Bachelor of Arts in English Journalism from Miami University in
Ohio. Mr. Bain is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors
because of his extensive experience relating to business growth and
development within technology and other related
industries. |
16 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 1: Election of
Directors
TINA
JONAS
Age: 62 Director Since:
June 2021
|
|
Ms. Jonas, 62, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since June 2021. Ms. Jonas is an independent consultant
providing strategic consulting for the defense, aviation and
healthcare sectors since 2015. From 2012 to 2014, Ms. Jonas served
in several executive roles within UnitedHealthGroup before becoming
President, UnitedHealthcare, Military and Veterans. From 2010 to
2012, Ms. Jonas served as Executive Vice President, Operations of
PASSUR Aerospace, a business intelligence and aviation firm. From
2008 to 2010, Ms. Jonas served as Director, Operations, Sikorsky
Aircraft. From 2004 to 2008, Ms. Jonas served as the Undersecretary
Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of
Defense. From 2002 to 2004, Ms. Jonas served as the Assistant
Director and Chief Financial Officer for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. From 2001 to 2002, Ms. Jonas served as Deputy
Undersecretary for Financial Management for the Department of
Defense. Ms. Jonas has served on the board of directors and the
Audit and Finance committee of Centrus Energy Corp. since 2020, and
serves on the board of directors of other privately held companies
and non-profits. Ms. Jonas holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Political Science from Arizona State University and a Master of
Arts degree in Liberal Studies from Georgetown
University.
|
|
Ms. Jonas is
well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of her
extensive experience financial and operational experience and her
experience in the aviation industry. |
CRAIG
KREEGER
Age: 62 Director Since:
October 2019
|
|
Mr. Kreeger, 62, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since October 2019. Mr. Kreeger recently retired from his
role as Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Atlantic after leading
the company from February 2013 through December 2018. During his
tenure at Virgin Atlantic, Mr. Kreeger was responsible for all
airline operations and led the company to rebuild its balance
sheet, launch its successful joint venture with Delta Airlines and
develop a long-term strategy for expanding the joint venture to
include Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Prior to his
tenure at Virgin Atlantic, Mr. Kreeger spent 27 years at American
Airlines, where he held a variety of commercial, operational,
financial and strategic roles. Mr. Kreeger spent his last 6 years
at American as part of its leadership team overseeing its
International Division and then all of its Customer Service. Mr.
Kreeger holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University
of California at San Diego and a Master of Business Administration
from the University of California at Los Angeles.
|
|
We believe Mr.
Kreeger is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors
because of his extensive operational, financial and managerial
experience and his deep industry knowledge. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 1: Election of
Directors
GEORGE
MATTSON
Age: 56 Director Since:
October 2019
|
|
Mr. Mattson, 56, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since October 2019. Mr. Mattson has served as a director
for Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) since October 2012. Mr. Mattson
has served as a director of Xos, Inc. (f/k/a NextGen Acquisition
Corporation (“NGAC I”)) since July 2020 and served as co-chairman
of NGAC I from September 2020 until August 2021. Mr. Mattson has
also served as a director of Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. (f/k/a/
NextGen Acquisition Corp. II (“NGAC II”) since January 2021 and
served as co-chairman of NGAC II from January 2021 until December
2021. Mr. Mattson also served as a director of Air France-KLM S.A.
from 2017 until February 2021. Mr. Mattson previously served as a
Partner and Co-Head of the Global Industrials Group in Investment
Banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. from November 2002 through
August 2012. Mr. Mattson joined Goldman Sachs in 1994, and served
in a variety of positions before becoming Partner and Co-Head of
the Global Industrials Group. Mr. Mattson holds a bachelor’s degree
in Electrical Engineering from Duke University and a Master of
Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University
of Pennsylvania.
|
|
We believe Mr.
Mattson is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors
because of his extensive professional and financial experience and
his experience as a public company director. |
WANDA
SIGUR
Age: 63 Director Since:
December 2021
|
|
Ms. Sigur, 63, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since December 2021. Ms. Sigur is an independent
consultant for emerging space exploration and traditional aerospace
industry companies, providing design, analysis, prototype build,
test solutions and design partners and, since 2018, has provided
these services through Lambent Engineering LLC where is President
and Founder. From 1979 to 2017, Ms. Sigur held various senior level
positions at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, most recently from 2014
to 2017, as Vice President and General Manager of Civil Space,
where she had executive responsibility for national space programs
relating to human space flight and space science missions,
including planetary, solar, astrophysical, and Earth remote sensing
for civil government agencies. Ms. Sigur has served as a director
of Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. since March 2021. Ms.
Sigur is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the
International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and The Academy of
Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST). She is a
member of the National Academies Science, Engineering and Medicine
Aeronautics and Space Evaluation Board (ASEB) and Chair of the ASEB
Space Technology Industry Government University Roundtable. Ms.
Sigur holds a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and
Engineering from Rice University and a Master of Business
Administration from Tulane University.
|
|
We believe Ms.
Sigur is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because
of her extensive operational experience as well as her deep
experience in the aerospace industry. |
18 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 1: Election of
Directors
W. GILBERT
(GIL) WEST
Age: 61 Director Since:
February 2021
|
|
Mr. West, 61, has served on the Company’s Board of
Directors since February 2021. Mr. West has served as Chief
Operating Officer of Cruise LLC, GM’s majority-owned autonomous
vehicle subsidiary, since January 2021, helping in the company’s
progression towards commercialization. From 2008 to 2020, Mr. West
served in various leadership positions at Delta, most recently as
its Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,
overseeing Delta’s worldwide operations, including 366 airports in
66 countries, 1,300 aircraft, 200 million customers per year, more
than seventy thousand employees and an annual budget of $16
billion. Prior to joining Delta, Mr. West served as President and
Chief Executive Officer of Laidlaw Transit Services, a provider of
transportation serves, from 2006 to 2007. Mr. West previously
served on the board of directors of Forward Air Corporation
(Nasdaq: FWRD) until May 2021 and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
(NYSE: GNPK) until September 2021. Mr. West has also been a member
of the Brevard College Board of Trustees in North Carolina since
October 2017 and previously served on the Board of Directors for
the American Cancer Society and a member of its Executive
Leadership Council. Mr. West holds a Bachelor of Science in
Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a
Master of Business Administration from National
University.
|
|
We believe Mr.
West is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because
of his extensive professional experience in the transportation
industry and serving as senior executive of a large public company
overseeing its extensive operations. |
Board
Recommendation
The Board of Directors unanimously
recommends you vote “FOR” the election of each of the director nominees named
above.
|
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Our Board
of Directors has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines. A copy of
these Corporate Governance Guidelines can be found in the
“Governance — Governance Documents” section of the “Investor
Relations” page of our website located at www.virgingalactic.com, or by writing to our Corporate Secretary at our offices
at 1700 Flight Way, Tustin, California 92782. Among the topics
addressed in our Corporate Governance Guidelines are:
● |
Director independence and qualifications |
● |
Executive sessions of independent directors |
● |
Board leadership structure |
● |
Selection of new directors |
● |
Director orientation and continuing education |
● |
Limits on board service |
● |
Change of principal occupation |
● |
Term limits |
● |
Director responsibilities |
● |
Director compensation |
● |
Stock ownership |
● |
Board access to senior management |
● |
Board access to independent advisors |
● |
Board self-evaluations |
● |
Board meetings |
● |
Meeting attendance by directors and non-directors |
● |
Meeting materials |
● |
Board committees, responsibilities and independence |
● |
Succession planning |
Composition of the Board of
Directors
Our
business and affairs are managed under the direction of our Board
of Directors. Our Board is currently composed of nine directors.
Subject to the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, as further
described and defined in “— Certain Transactions with Related
Persons — Stockholders’ Agreement,” and our Certificate of
Incorporation and Bylaws, the number of directors is fixed by our
Board of Directors, which is currently no greater than 10
directors. Virgin Investments Limited (“VIL”) and the Company are
party to the Stockholders’ Agreement pursuant to which, among other
things, (i) VIL has rights to designate directors for election to
the Board of Directors, and (ii) VIL has, under certain
circumstances, the right to approve certain matters as set forth
therein. As of the Closing, SCH Sponsor Corp. (“Sponsor”) and
Chamath Palihapitiya were party to the Stockholders’ Agreement
whereby Mr. Palihapitiya had certain rights under the terms of the
Stockholders’ Agreement, including the right to designate directors
for election to the Board of Directors. As of April 27, 2022,
neither Sponsor nor Mr. Palihapitiya are party to the Stockholders’
Agreement and do not have any rights or obligations
thereunder.
Under the
Stockholders’ Agreement, VIL has the right to designate two
directors (the “VG designees”) for as long as VIL beneficially owns
28,697,610 or more shares of our common stock, which represents 25%
of the number of shares beneficially owned by Vieco USA, Inc., a
Delaware corporation (“Vieco US”), the original party to the
Stockholders’ Agreement, immediately following the Closing and
related transactions, provided that, when such beneficial ownership
falls below (x) 28,697,610 shares, VIL will have the right to
designate only one director and (y) 11,479,044 shares, VIL will not
have the right to designate any directors.
Under the
terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, two directors (the “Other
designees”), each of whom must qualify as an “independent director”
under stock exchange regulations applicable to us and one of whom
must qualify as an “Audit Committee financial expert” as defined
under the rules of the SEC, were appointed in accordance with the
Stockholders’ Agreement and, thereafter, will be as determined by
the Board of Directors. In addition, under the terms of the
Stockholders’ Agreement, the individual serving as our Chief
Executive Officer (the “CEO designee”), was appointed in accordance
with the Stockholders’ Agreement to our Board of Directors and
will, going forward, be determined by what individual holds the
title of Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
Under the
terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, upon any decrease in the
number of directors that a party is entitled to designate for
nomination to our Board, such party is required to take all
necessary action to cause the appropriate number of designees to
offer to tender their resignation, effective as of the next annual
meeting of our stockholders. In December 2021, the number of
directors that each of VIL and Mr. Palihapitiya were entitled to
designate for nomination to our Board decreased by one. VIL caused
each of Messrs. Kreeger and Mattson to offer to tender his
resignation for consideration to
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Corporate Governance
represent
the one decreased designee and Mr. Palihapitiya caused Mr. Bain to
offer to tender his resignation from the Board. The Board formed a
subcommittee consisting of Dr. Austin, Ms. Jonas and Mr. West to
consider the offers to resign and make a recommendation to the
Board to accept or deny such offers to resign. The subcommittee of
the Board met and considered the business skills and experience of
the directors, as well as the total composition of the Board, and
recommended that the Board not accept the offers to resign.
Following a deliberation, and taking into consideration the
recommendation of the subcommittee, the Board determined to not
accept such offers to resign.
VIL
currently has the right to designate two directors. Messrs. Kreeger
and Lovell serve as the VIL designees, and Dr. Austin serves as the
Other designee. Dr. Ryans, a former director and an Other designee,
stepped down from the Board in February 2021 and, in connection
with this departure, the Board identified and recommended Mr. West
as a director nominee. In June 2021, the Board increased the size
of the Board to nine directors and identified and recommended Ms.
Jonas as a director nominee. In December 2021, the Board increased
its size to ten directors and identified and recommended Ms. Sigur
as a director nominee. In February 2022, Mr. Palihapitiya resigned
as Chair and member of the Board, and the Board appointed Mr.
Lovell as interim Chair of the Board until such time that a
permanent Chair of the Board has been identified and appointed. Mr.
Colglazier became the CEO designee in connection with his
appointment as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer in July
2020.
Pursuant to
the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, the VG designees, and the
Other designees are only able to be removed with or without cause
at the request of VIL. In all other cases and at any other time,
directors are only able to be removed by the affirmative vote of at
least a majority of the voting power of our common stock. Pursuant
to the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, the CEO designee will
be removed at such time when the individual ceases to serve as
Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
In
addition, under the amended and restated trademark license
agreement (the “Amended TMLA”), to the extent the Virgin Group does
not otherwise have a right to place a director on our Board of
Directors, such as VIL’s right to designate the VG designees under
the Stockholders’ Agreement, we have agreed to provide Virgin
Enterprises Limited (“VEL”) with the right to appoint one director
to our Board of Directors (provided the designee is qualified to
serve on the Board under all applicable corporate governance
policies and regulatory and New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”)
requirements).
Director Nomination Process
Criteria for
Consideration
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for
recommending candidates to serve on the Board and its committees.
In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate to
serve on the Board or its committees or for inclusion in the
Board’s slate of recommended director nominees for election at the
annual meeting of stockholders, the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee considers the criteria set forth in our
Corporate Governance Guidelines. Specifically, the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee considers candidates who have a high
level of personal and professional integrity, strong ethics and
values and the ability to make mature business judgments. The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may consider any
factors they deem relevant, including, but not limited to: the
candidate’s experience in corporate management, such as serving as
an officer or former officer of a publicly held company; the
candidate’s experience as a board member of another publicly held
company; the candidate’s professional and academic experience
relevant to the Company’s industry; the strength of the candidate’s
leadership skills; relevant social policy concerns, the candidate’s
experience in finance and accounting and/or executive compensation
practices and/or governance; whether the candidate has the time
required for preparation, participation and attendance at Board
meetings and committee meetings, if applicable; and the candidate’s
diversity of background and perspective, including, but not limited
to, with respect to age, gender, race, place of residence and
specialized experience, gender identification, self-identified
sexual orientation, identification as an underrepresented minority
or disability; and any other relevant qualifications, attributes or
skills. In determining whether to recommend a director for
re-election, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may
also consider the director’s tenure, performance, past attendance
at meetings and participation in and contributions to the
activities of the Board and its committees, as well as his or her
service on other boards and committees thereof.
Table
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Corporate Governance
We consider
diversity a meaningful factor in identifying qualified director
nominees, but do not have a formal diversity policy. The Board
evaluates each individual in the context of the Board as a whole,
with the objective of assembling a group that has the necessary
tools to perform its oversight function effectively in light of the
Company’s business and structure. In determining whether to
recommend a director for re-election, the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee may also consider potential conflicts of
interest with the candidates other personal and profession
pursuits.
In
identifying prospective director candidates, the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee may seek referrals from other
members of the Board, management, stockholders and other sources,
including third party recommendations. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee also may, but need not, retain a search firm
in order to assist it in identifying candidates to serve as
directors of the Company. The Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee uses the same criteria for evaluating candidates
regardless of the source of the referral or recommendation. When
considering director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee seeks individuals with backgrounds and
qualities that, when combined with those of our incumbent
directors, provide a blend of skills and experience to further
enhance the Board’s effectiveness. In connection with its annual
recommendation of a slate of nominees, the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee also may assess the contributions of those
directors recommended for re-election in the context of the Board
evaluation process and other perceived needs of the
Board.
Each of the
director nominees to be elected at the Annual Meeting was evaluated
in accordance with our standard review process for director
candidates in connection with their initial appointment in
conjunction with the contractual obligations under the
Stockholders’ Agreement and their nomination for election or
re-election, as applicable, at the Annual Meeting.
When
considering whether the directors and nominees have the experience,
qualifications, attributes and skills, taken as a whole, to enable
the Board to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in
light of our business and structure, the Board focused primarily on
the information discussed in each of the Board member’s
biographical information set forth above. We believe that our
directors provide an appropriate mix of experience and skills
relevant to the size and nature of our business. This process
resulted in the Board’s nomination of the incumbent directors named
in this Proxy Statement and proposed for election by you at the
Annual Meeting.
Vacancies and New
Directorships
Generally, vacancies or newly created directorships on the
Board will be filled only by vote of a majority of the directors
then in office and will not be filled by the stockholders, unless
the Board determines by resolution that any such vacancy or newly
created directorship will be filled by the stockholders. A director
appointed by the Board to fill a vacancy will hold office until our
next annual meeting of stockholders, subject to the election and
qualification of his or her successor or until his or her earlier
death, resignation or removal.
Stockholder Designation
Rights
As described
under “—Composition of the Board of Directors” above, the
Stockholders’ Agreement provides for VIL to designate persons to
our Board based on its voting power of our common stock and subject
to additional requirements. Pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement
and their current voting power, VIL currently has the right to
designate two VG Designees to serve on the Board. Additionally, the
Stockholders’ Agreement provides for the appointment of two Other
designees on the Board who, thereafter, will be as determined by
the Board. In addition, the Stockholders’ Agreement provides there
be a CEO designee serving on the Board, who will be the person then
serving as Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
VIL
designated Messrs. Kreeger and Lovell for election to our Board of
Directors, and Dr. Austin was designated as an Other designee. Dr.
Ryans, a former director and an Other designee, stepped down from
the Board in February 2021 and, in connection with this departure,
the Board, with the assistance of the search firm Spencer Stuart,
identified and recommended Mr. West as a director nominee. In June
2021, the Board increased the size of the Board to nine directors
and, with the assistance of the search firm Spencer Stuart,
identified and recommended Ms. Jonas as a director nominee. Mr.
West and Ms. Jonas were subsequently elected by the Company’s
stockholders at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. In
December 2021, the Board increased the size of the Board to ten
directors and, with the assistance of the search firm Spencer
Stuart, identified and recommended Ms. Sigur as a director nominee.
In February 2022, Mr. Palihapitiya resigned as Chair of the Board
and as a member of the Board, and the Board appointed Mr. Lovell as
interim Chair of the Board until such time that a permanent Chair
of the Board has been identified and appointed. Mr. Colglazier
became the CEO designee in connection with his appointment as the
Company’s Chief Executive Officer in July 2020.
22
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc.
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Corporate Governance
Stockholder
Recommendations
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider
director candidates recommended by stockholders, and such
candidates will be considered and evaluated under the same criteria
described above. Any recommendation submitted to the Company should
be in writing and should include any supporting material the
stockholder considers appropriate in support of that
recommendation, but must include information that would be required
under the rules of the SEC to be included in a proxy statement
soliciting proxies for the election of such candidate and a written
consent of the candidate to serve as one of our directors if
elected and must otherwise comply with the requirements under our
bylaws for stockholders to recommend director nominees.
Stockholders wishing to propose a candidate for consideration may
do so by submitting the above information to the attention of the
Corporate Secretary, Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., 1700 Flight
Way, Tustin, California 92782. All recommendations for director
nominations received by the Corporate Secretary that satisfy our
by-law requirements relating to such director nominations will be
presented to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee for
its consideration. Stockholders also must satisfy the notification,
timeliness, consent and information requirements set forth in our
bylaws. These timing requirements are also described under the
caption “Stockholder Proposals and Director
Nominations.”
Director
Independence
Under our
Corporate Governance Guidelines and the NYSE rules, a director is
not independent unless the Board affirmatively determines that he
or she does not have a direct or indirect material relationship
with us or any of our subsidiaries and that the NYSE’s per se bars
to determining a director independent have not been
triggered.
Our Board
has undertaken a review of its composition, the composition of its
committees and the independence of our directors and considered
whether any director has a material relationship with us that could
compromise his or her ability to exercise independent judgment in
carrying out his or her responsibilities. Based upon information
requested from and provided by each director concerning his or her
background, employment and affiliations, including family
relationships, our Board of Directors has determined that none of
Dr. Austin, Mr. Bain, Ms. Jonas, Mr. Kreeger, Mr. Mattson, Ms.
Sigur or Mr. West, representing seven of our nine directors, has a
relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent
judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and
that each of these directors qualifies as “independent” as that
term is defined under the rules of the NYSE. In making these
determinations, our Board of Directors considered the relationships
that each non-employee director has with us and all other facts and
circumstances the Board deemed relevant in determining their
independence, including the director’s beneficial ownership of our
common stock and the relationships of our non-employee directors
with certain of our significant stockholders.
Board Structure
Board
Leadership Structure
If the
Chair of the Board is a member of management or does not otherwise
qualify as independent, our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide
for the appointment by the independent directors of a lead
independent director (the “Lead Director”). The Lead Director’s
responsibilities include, but are not limited to: presiding over
all meetings of the Board at which the Chair of the Board is not
present, including any executive sessions of the independent
directors; approving Board meeting schedules and agendas; and
acting as the liaison between the independent directors and the
Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board. Our Corporate
Governance Guidelines provide that, at such times as the Chair of
the Board qualifies as independent, the Chair of the Board will
serve as Lead Director.
The Board
believes that our current leadership structure of Chief Executive
Officer and Chair of the Board being held by two separate
individuals is in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders and strikes the appropriate balance between the Chief
Executive Officer and President’s responsibility for the strategic
direction, day-to-day leadership and performance of our Company and
the Chair of the Board’s responsibility to guide overall strategic
direction of our Company and provide oversight of our corporate
governance and guidance to our Chief Executive Officer and
President and to set the agenda for and preside over Board
meetings. We recognize that different leadership structures may be
appropriate for companies in different situations and believe that
no one structure is suitable for all companies. Accordingly, the
Board will continue to periodically review our leadership structure
and make such changes in the future as it deems appropriate and in
the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Board Committees
We have four standing committees of our
Board of Directors. Each of our four standing committees of our
Board of Directors has the composition and the responsibilities
described below. In addition, from time to time, special committees
may be established under the direction of our Board when necessary
to address specific issues. Each of the Audit Committee,
Compensation Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee and Safety Committee operates under a written
charter.
Director |
|
Audit
Committee |
|
Compensation
Committee |
|
Nominating &
Corporate
Governance Committee |
|
Safety
Committee |
Evan
Lovell |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wanda
Austin |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
Adam
Bain |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Tina
Jonas |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Craig
Kreeger |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
George
Mattson |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Wanda
Sigur |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
W. Gilbert
West |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Chair
|
|
 |
Member
|
Audit
Committee
2022 MEMBERS:
Tina Jonas (Chair)
Craig Kreeger
W. Gilbert West
MEETINGS HELD IN 2021:
11

|
Our Audit
Committee is responsible for, among other things:
●appointing,
compensating, retaining, evaluating, terminating and overseeing our
independent registered public accounting firm;
●discussing with our
independent registered public accounting firm their independence
from management;
●reviewing with our
independent registered public accounting firm the scope and results
of their audits;
●approving all audit
and permissible non-audit services to be performed by our
independent registered public accounting firm;
●overseeing the
financial reporting process and discussing with management and our
independent registered public accounting firm the interim and
annual financial statements that we file with the SEC;
●reviewing and
monitoring our accounting principles, accounting policies and
financial and accounting controls and compliance with legal and
regulatory requirements;
●establishing
procedures for the confidential anonymous submission of concerns
regarding questionable accounting, internal controls or auditing
matters; and
●providing oversight
with respect to the Company’s environmental, social and governance
strategy, initiatives and policies.
Our Audit
Committee consists of Ms. Jonas and Messrs. Kreeger and West, with
Ms. Jonas serving as chair. We have affirmatively determined that
each member of the Audit Committee qualifies as independent under
NYSE rules applicable to board members generally and under the NYSE
rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange Act”), specific to Audit Committee members.
All members of our Audit Committee meet the requirements for
financial literacy under the applicable NYSE rules. In addition,
the Board has determined that Ms. Jonas and Mr. Kreeger qualify as
an “Audit Committee financial expert,” as such term is defined in
Item 407(d) (5) of Regulation S-K.
|
24
|
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc.
|
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Compensation
Committee
2022 MEMBERS:
Wanda Austin (Chair)
Adam Bain
George Mattson
MEETINGS HELD IN 2021:
5

|
Our
Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other
things:
●reviewing and
approving corporate goals and objectives with respect to the
compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, evaluating our Chief
Executive Officer’s performance in light of these goals and
objectives and setting the Chief Executive Officer’s
compensation;
●reviewing and setting
or making recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the
compensation of our other executive officers and, from time to
time, other members of our leadership team;
●reviewing and making
recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding director
compensation;
●implementing and
administering our incentive compensation and equity-based plans and
arrangements; and
●retaining or
obtaining advice from any compensation consultants.
Our
Compensation Committee consists of Dr. Austin and Messrs. Bain and
Mattson, with Dr. Austin serving as chair. We have affirmatively
determined that each member of the Compensation Committee qualifies
as independent under NYSE rules, including the additional
independence standards for members of a Compensation Committee, and
that each qualifies as a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule
16b-3 of the Exchange Act.
The
Compensation Committee may delegate its authority under its charter
to one or more subcommittees as it deems appropriate from time to
time as further described in its charter. The Compensation
Committee may also delegate to one or more executive officers the
authority to grant equity awards to certain employees, as further
described in its charter and subject to the terms of our equity
plans.
Compensation Consultants The Compensation Committee has the authority under
its charter to retain outside consultants or advisors, as it deems
necessary or advisable. In accordance with this authority, in 2021,
the Compensation Committee engaged the services of Meridian
Compensation Partners, LLC (“Meridian”) to assist the committee in
its evaluation of the compensation provided to our executive
officers.
Other than
advising the Compensation Committee, neither Meridian nor any of
its affiliates maintain any other direct or indirect business
relationships with us or any of our subsidiaries. The Compensation
Committee has considered the independence of Meridian, consistent
with the requirements of the NYSE, and has determined that Meridian
is independent. Further, pursuant to SEC rules, the Compensation
Committee conducted a conflicts of interest assessment and
determined there is no conflict of interest resulting from
retaining Meridian in the year 2021.
Additionally, during 2021, Meridian did not provide any
services to us other than executive and director compensation and
broad-based plans that do not discriminate in scope, terms, or
operation, in favor of our executive officers or directors, and
that are available generally to all salaried employees.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider
Participation During 2021,
the members of our Compensation Committee were Dr. Austin and
Messrs. Bain and Mattson, none of whom was during fiscal year 2021
an officer or employee of the Company or was formerly an officer of
the Company. Related person transactions pursuant to Item 404(a) of
Regulation S-K involving those who served on the Compensation
Committee during 2021 are described in “Certain Transactions with
Related Persons.”
During
2021, none of our executive officers served as a member of the
board of directors or Compensation Committee (or other committee
performing equivalent functions) of any entity that had one or more
executive officers serving on our Board of Directors or
Compensation Committee.
|
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Nominating &
Corporate Governance Committee
2022 MEMBERS:
Adam Bain (Chair)
Tina Jonas
George Mattson
MEETINGS HELD IN 2021:
4

|
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for,
among other things:
●assisting our Board
of Directors in identifying individuals qualified to become members
of our Board of Directors, consistent with criteria set forth in
our governance guidelines;
●recommending director
nominees for election to our Board of Directors;
●reviewing the
appropriate composition of our Board of Directors and its
committees;
●developing and
recommending to our Board of Directors a set of corporate
governance guidelines and principles; and
●participating in
succession planning for our Chief Executive Officer and others
serving in key management positions.
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Messrs.
Bain and Mattson and Ms. Jonas, with Mr. Bain serving as chair. We
have affirmatively determined that each member of the Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee qualifies as independent under
NYSE rules.
|
26 |
Virgin Galactic
Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Safety
Committee
2022 MEMBERS:
Craig Kreeger (Chair)
Wanda Austin
Evan Lovell
Wanda Sigur
W. Gilbert West
MEETINGS HELD IN 2021:
11

|
Our Safety
Committee is responsible for, among other things:
●reviewing our safety
performance, including processes to ensure compliance with internal
policies and goals and applicable laws and
regulations;
●providing input on
the management of current and emerging safety issues;
●assisting our Board
of Directors with oversight of our risk management and security
processes;
●reviewing safety
audit findings and resulting action plans; and
●periodically visiting
our facilities and reviewing any safety issues.
Our Safety
Committee consists of Dr. Austin, Ms. Sigur and Messrs. Kreeger,
Lovell, and West, with Mr. Kreeger serving as chair.
|
Board Oversight
Responsibilities
Board and Board Committee Meetings, Attendance, Executive
Sessions and Attendance at Annual Meeting of
Stockholders
We expect all directors to attend all
meetings of the Board and the committees of the Board of which they
are members. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Board met
nine times, the Audit Committee met eleven times, the Compensation
Committee met five times, the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee met four times and the Safety Committee met eleven times.
Each of our incumbent directors attended at least 75% of the total
meetings of the Board and committees thereof held during 2021
during the time that such director served on the Board or such
committee in 2021.
Executive
sessions, which are meetings of the non-management members of the
Board, are regularly scheduled throughout the year. In addition, at
least once a year, the independent directors meet in a private
session that excludes management and any non-independent directors.
The independent Chair of the Board presides at each of these
meetings and, in his absence, the non-management and independent
directors in attendance, as applicable, determine which member will
preside at such session.
We do not
have a formal policy regarding the attendance of our Board members
at our annual meetings of stockholders, but we expect all directors
to make every effort to attend any meeting of stockholders. All of
our then-serving Board members attended our 2021 annual meeting of
stockholders.
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Board’s Role in Strategy and Risk
Oversight
The involvement of
the Board of Directors in reviewing our business strategy is an
integral aspect of the Board’s assessment of management’s tolerance
for risk and its determination of what constitutes an appropriate
level of risk for the Company. The Board of Directors has overall
responsibility for risk oversight, including, as part of regular
Board and committee meetings, general oversight of executives’
management of risks relevant to the Company. A fundamental part of
risk oversight is not only understanding the material risks a
company faces and the steps management is taking to manage those
risks, but also understanding what level of risk is appropriate for
the Company. While the full Board has overall responsibility for
risk oversight and is currently overseeing the Company’s business
continuity risks, such as risks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic,
it is supported in this function by its Audit Committee,
Compensation Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee, and Safety Committee. Each of the committees regularly
reports to the Board. In addition, our Board and its committees
receive periodic detailed operating performance reviews from
members of management.
Audit
Committee |
|
The Audit Committee assists the
Board in fulfilling its risk oversight responsibilities by
periodically reviewing our accounting, reporting and financial
practices, including the integrity of our financial statements, the
surveillance of administrative and financial controls, our
compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, our enterprise
risk management program and our cyber and data security risk
management. Through its regular meetings with management, including
the finance, legal, internal audit, tax, compliance and information
technology functions, the Audit Committee reviews and discusses
significant areas of our business and summarizes for the Board
areas of risk and the appropriate mitigating factors.
|
|
|
|
Compensation
Committee
|
|
The Compensation Committee assists
the Board by overseeing and evaluating risks related to the
Company’s compensation structure and compensation programs,
including the formulation, administration and regulatory compliance
with respect to compensation matters.
|
|
|
|
Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee
|
|
The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee assists the Board by overseeing and evaluating
programs and risks associated with Board organization, membership
and structure and corporate governance.
|
|
|
|
Safety
Committee
|
|
The Safety Committee assists the
Board in matters related to safety arising as a result of the
Company’s business and operations and the processes used to
mitigate key safety risks. Through its regular meetings with
management and other advisers, its review of the Company’s policies
and safety audits and results and on-site visits to the Company’s
facilities and other oversight responsibilities, the Safety
Committee oversees key safety risks.
|
28 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Board Role in ESG Oversight
Our Board of Directors evaluates
ESG-related risks and opportunities as part of its strategic
oversight role, with support from its committees. In 2021, as set
forth in its charter, primary oversight of the Company’s ESG
strategy, initiatives and policies was delegated to the Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee. Such oversight will transition
to the Audit Committee in 2022. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee, and thereafter the Audit Committee,
periodically review ESG matters and report progress to the Board.
Other Board committees support our ESG priorities in connection
with their specific areas of oversight.
Our ESG
Executive Committee is a cross-functional committee of senior
leaders responsible for developing our ESG strategy and leading our
company-wide commitment to good corporate citizenship and
responsible business practices. This committee consists of members
from our human resources, sustainability and leadership
development, and legal teams, and provides quarterly updates to the
Board.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Oversight of strategy, including ESG risks
and opportunities
|
|
Audit
Committee
Oversees ESG strategy, policies and
initiatives, including our environmental programs, as well as ERM,
data security and ethics/ compliance
|
Compensation
Committee
Oversees human capital and culture,
including diversity and inclusion
|
Nominating
and Corporate Governance
Oversees governance
matters
|
Safety
Committee
Oversees health and
safety
|
|
MANAGEMENT |
ESG
Executive Committee
Primary responsibility for
developing and implementing ESG strategy, initiatives and
policies
|
Table
of Contents
Corporate Governance
Other Governance Practices and
Policies
Stockholder Engagement
In the beginning of 2022, our
management team developed a stockholder outreach program to: (1)
discuss our business, including company operational strategy and
performance, (2) review our executive compensation program, and (3)
gather feedback on the Company’s executive compensation
program.
We proactively contacted
26
stockholders representing approximately
17%
of our outstanding shares (as of November 15, 2021)
|
|
We had
discussions with 5
stockholders representing approximately
12%
of outstanding shares
|
We also met
with the proxy advisory firms to understand their proxy voting
guidelines and their perspectives about our executive compensation
program. In order to continue to understand institutional
investors’ perspectives on our executive compensation program,
management intends to continue its efforts on stockholder
engagement throughout 2022.
Committee Charters and Corporate Governance
Guidelines
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines,
charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee and Safety Committee and other
corporate governance information are available under the Governance
section of the Investor Information page of our website at
www.virgingalactic.com, or by writing to our Corporate Secretary at
our offices at 1700 Flight Way, Tustin, California
92782.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a code of business
conduct and ethics (the “Code of Conduct”) that applies to all of
our directors, officers and employees, including our principal
executive officer, principal financial officer, principal
accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar
functions. A copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is
available under the under the Governance section of the Investor
Information page of our website at www.virgingalactic.com, or by
writing to our Corporate Secretary at our offices at 1700 Flight
Way, Tustin, California 92782. We intend to make any legally
required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of,
provisions of our Code of Conduct on our website rather than by
filing a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Communications with the Board
Any stockholder or any other interested
party who desires to communicate with our Board of Directors, our
non-management directors or any specified individual director, may
do so by directing such correspondence to the attention of the
Corporate Secretary at our offices at 1700 Flight Way, Tustin,
California 92782. The Corporate Secretary will forward the
communication to the appropriate director or directors as
appropriate.
30 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Director
Compensation
In 2021, we
maintained a compensation program that consists of
annual cash retainer fees and long-term
equity awards for our non-employee directors who are not affiliated
with us and/or the Virgin Group and the Sponsor. The eligible
directors in 2021 were Dr. Austin, Ms. Jonas and Messrs. Ryans,
Kreeger, Mattson and West. The 2021 Director Compensation Program
consisted of the components described below. Effective as of April
1, 2021, the 2021 Director Compensation Program was amended such
that the annual cash retainer fee for the Audit Committee chair
decreased from $40,000 to $25,000, and the annual cash retainer fee
for Audit Committee members decreased from $20,000 to
$10,000.
|
|
 |
Cash Compensation
Annual
Retainer: $125,000
|
|
Annual Committee
Chair Retainer
($) |
|
Annual Committee
Member (Non-Chair)
Retainer
($) |
Audit |
|
25,000 |
|
10,000 |
Compensation |
|
15,000 |
|
7,500 |
Nominating and Corporate
Governance |
|
15,000 |
|
7,500 |
Safety |
|
15,000 |
|
7,500 |
The annual
cash retainer is paid in quarterly installments in arrears. Annual
cash retainers are pro-rated for any partial calendar quarter of
service.
Equity Compensation
● |
Initial Grant to each eligible
director who is initially elected or appointed to serve on our
Board of Directors: An RSU award with an aggregate
value of $150,000, which will vest as to one-third of the shares
subject to the award on each anniversary of the grant date, subject
to continued service. |
● |
Annual
Grant to each eligible director who is serving on our Board of
Directors as of the date of the annual stockholders’
meeting: An RSU award with an aggregate value of
$125,000, which will vest in full on the earlier of the one-year
anniversary of the grant date or the date of the next annual
meeting following the grant date, subject to continued
service. |
In
addition, each equity award granted to the eligible directors under
the 2021 Director Compensation Program will vest in full
immediately prior to the occurrence of a change in control (as
defined in the 2019 Incentive Award Plan (the “2019
Plan”)).
The Board believes that director
compensation should fairly pay directors for work required and that
compensation should align directors’ interests with the long-term
interests of stockholders. The Compensation Committee reviews and
makes recommendations to the Board regarding non-employee director
compensation. In making such recommendations, the Compensation
Committee took into consideration a market review completed by
Meridian in early 2021. |
Compensation under the 2021 Director Compensation Program
is subject to the annual limits on non-employee director
compensation set forth in the 2019 Plan.
Table
of Contents
Director Compensation
Director Compensation Table for Fiscal
Year 2021
The
following table contains information concerning the compensation of
our non-employee directors in fiscal year 2021.
Name |
|
Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash
($) |
|
Stock Award
($)(1) |
|
All Other
Compensation
($) |
|
Total
($) |
Wanda
Austin |
|
157,500 |
|
125,000 |
|
— |
|
282,500 |
Craig
Kreeger |
|
152,500 |
|
125,000 |
|
— |
|
277,500 |
Tina
Jonas |
|
80,913 |
|
275,000 |
|
— |
|
355,913 |
George
Mattson |
|
159,048 |
|
125,000 |
|
— |
|
284,048 |
James
Ryans |
|
25,670 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
25,670 |
Wanda
Sigur |
|
33,125 |
|
150,000 |
|
— |
|
183,125 |
W. Gilbert
West |
|
115,283 |
|
275,000 |
|
— |
|
390,283 |
(1) |
Amounts reflect the full grant-date
fair value of RSU awards granted during 2021 computed in accordance
with ASC Topic 718, rather than the amounts paid to or realized by
the named individual. We provide information regarding the
assumptions used to calculate the value of all stock awards made to
our directors in Note 14 in our consolidated financial
statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the “2021 10-K”). The table
below shows the aggregate numbers of RSU awards outstanding as of
December 31, 2021 by each director. |
Name |
|
Restricted Stock
Units
Outstanding at Fiscal Year End |
Wanda
Austin |
|
13,241 |
Craig
Kreeger |
|
13,241 |
George
Mattson |
|
13,241 |
James
Ryans |
|
— |
Tina
Jonas |
|
8,996 |
Wanda
Sigur |
|
10,768 |
W. Gilbert
West |
|
8,157 |
32 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 2:
Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm
Appointment of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm
The Audit
Committee appoints our independent registered public accounting
firm. In this regard, the Audit Committee evaluates the
qualifications, performance and independence of our independent
registered public accounting firm and determines whether to
re-engage our current firm. As part of its evaluation, the Audit
Committee considers, among other factors, the quality and
efficiency of the services provided by the firm, including the
performance, technical expertise, industry knowledge and experience
of the lead audit partner and the audit team assigned to our
account; the overall strength and reputation of the firm; the
firm’s global capabilities relative to our business; and the firm’s
knowledge of our operations. KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) has served as our
independent registered public accounting firm since 2019. Neither
the accounting firm nor any of its members has any direct or
indirect financial interest in or any connection with us in any
capacity other than as our auditors and providing audit and
permissible non-audit related services. Upon consideration of these
and other factors, the Audit Committee has appointed KPMG to serve
as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year
ending December 31, 2022.
Although
ratification is not required by our bylaws or otherwise, the Board
is submitting the selection of KPMG to our stockholders for
ratification because we value our stockholders’ views on the
Company’s independent registered public accounting firm and it is a
good corporate governance practice. If our stockholders do not
ratify the selection, it will be considered as notice to the Board
and the Audit Committee to consider the selection of a different
firm. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee, in
its discretion, may select a different independent registered
public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines
that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company
and its stockholders.
Representatives of KPMG are expected to attend the Annual
Meeting and to have an opportunity to make a statement and be
available to respond to appropriate questions from
stockholders.
Audit, Audit-Related, Tax and All
Other Fees
The
following reflects KPMG fees for the audit of our financial
statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, and fees
billed for other services rendered by KPMG during those
periods.
|
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
Audit Fees(1) |
|
1,867,014 |
|
1,963,668 |
Audit Related Fees |
|
— |
|
— |
Tax Fees |
|
— |
|
— |
All Other Fees |
|
— |
|
— |
Total |
|
1,867,014 |
|
1,963,668 |
(1) |
Audit fees
include fees for services performed to comply with the standards
established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board,
including the audit of our consolidated financial statements for
fiscal year 2021. This category also includes fees for audits
provided in connection with statutory filings or services that
generally only the principal independent auditor reasonably can
provide, such as consent and assistance with and review of our SEC
filings including registration statements
|
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 2: Ratification of Appointment of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Pre-Approval Policies and
Practices
The formal
written charter for our Audit Committee requires that the Audit
Committee pre-approve all audit services to be provided to us,
whether provided by our principal auditor or other firms, and all
other services (review, attest and non-audit) to be provided to us
by our independent registered public accounting firm, other than de
minimis non-audit services approved in accordance with applicable
SEC rules.
The Audit
Committee has adopted a pre-approval policy that sets forth the
procedures and conditions pursuant to which audit and non-audit
services proposed to be performed by our independent registered
public accounting firm may be pre-approved. This pre-approval
policy generally provides that the Audit Committee will not engage
an independent registered public accounting firm to render any
audit, audit related, tax or permissible non-audit service unless
the service is either (i) explicitly approved by the Audit
Committee or (ii) entered into pursuant to the pre-approval
policies and procedures described in the pre-approval policy.
Unless a type of service to be provided by our independent
registered public accounting firm has received this latter general
pre-approval under the pre-approval policy, it requires specific
pre-approval by the Audit Committee.
On an
annual basis, the Audit Committee reviews and generally
pre-approves the services (and related fee levels or budgeted
amounts) that may be provided by the Company’s independent
registered public accounting firm without first obtaining specific
pre-approval from the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee may
revise the list of general pre-approved services from time to time,
based on subsequent determinations. Any member of the Audit
Committee to whom the committee delegates authority to make
pre-approval decisions must report any such pre-approval decisions
to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. If
circumstances arise where it becomes necessary to engage the
independent registered public accounting firm for additional
services not contemplated in the original pre-approval categories
or above the pre-approved amounts, the Audit Committee requires
pre-approval for such additional services or such additional
amounts.
All of the
services listed in the table above were pre-approved by our Audit
Committee.
Board Recommendation
The Board of Directors unanimously
recommends a vote “FOR” the
ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent
registered public accounting firm for 2022.
|
34 |
Virgin Galactic
Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 2: Ratification of Appointment of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Audit Committee Report
The Audit
Committee operates pursuant to a charter which is reviewed annually
by the Audit Committee. Additionally, a brief description of the
primary responsibilities of the Audit Committee is included in this
Proxy Statement under the discussion of “Corporate Governance—Audit
Committee.” Under the Audit Committee charter, management is
responsible for the preparation, presentation and integrity of the
Company’s financial statements, the application of accounting and
financial reporting principles and our internal controls and
procedures designed to assure compliance with accounting standards
and applicable laws and regulations. The independent registered
public accounting firm is responsible for auditing our financial
statements and expressing an opinion as to their conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States.
In the
performance of its oversight function, the Audit Committee reviewed
and discussed with management and KPMG LLP, as the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm, the Company’s
audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2021. The Audit Committee also discussed with the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm the matters required
to be discussed by applicable standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) and the SEC. In addition,
the Audit Committee received and reviewed the written disclosures
and the letters from the Company’s independent registered public
accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB,
regarding such independent registered public accounting firm’s
communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence,
and discussed with the Company’s independent registered public
accounting firm their independence from the Company.
Based upon
the review and discussions described in the preceding paragraph,
the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the Company’s
audited financial statements be included in its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with
the SEC.
Submitted by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board
of Directors:
Tina Jonas (Chair)
Craig Kreeger
W. Gilbert West
Table
of Contents
Executive
Officers
The table
below identifies and sets forth certain biographical and other
information regarding our executive officers as of April 27, 2022.
There are no family relationships among any of our executive
officers or directors.
Executive
Officer |
Age |
Position |
Michael
Colglazier |
55 |
Chief Executive Officer, President and
Director |
Doug
Ahrens |
55 |
Executive Vice President, Chief
Financial Officer and Treasurer |
Michelle
Kley |
50 |
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal
Officer and Secretary |
See
page 15
of this Proxy Statement for Michael
Colglazier’s biography.

Executive Vice
President, Chief
Financial Officer
and Treasurer |
Mr. Ahrens
has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
and Treasurer since March 2021. He has over 20 years of operational
and strategic finance experience from multinational companies and
most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer of Mellanox
Technologies, Ltd. (Nasdaq: MLNX) from 2019 to 2020, until its
acquisition by NVIDIA Corporation. Prior to this, from September
2015 to December 2018, Mr. Ahrens served as Chief Financial Officer
of GlobalLogic Inc., a private software engineering firm. From
October 2013 to September 2015, Mr. Ahrens served as Chief
Financial Officer of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (now MACOM
Technology Solutions), while it was then-publicly traded fabless
semiconductor manufacturer. Prior to October 2013, Mr. Ahrens held
various finance roles at Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. and Intel.
Mr. Ahrens holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of California, San Diego and a Master of
Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
|

Executive Vice
President, Chief
Legal Officer and Secretary
|
Ms. Kley
has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and
Secretary since March 2022 and served as our General Counsel from
December 2019 to March 2022. Ms. Kley is responsible for overseeing
all legal affairs, including corporate governance, securities law
and NYSE compliance, M&A activity and strategic transactions.
She also acts as Secretary and advises the Board of Directors.
Prior to joining the Company, from 2016 to 2019, Ms. Kley was the
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and
Secretary of Maxar Technologies Inc. (“Maxar”), and from 2012 to
2016, she served as Associate General Counsel and Vice President of
Legal of Space Systems/Loral, LLC, a subsidiary of Maxar. Prior to
joining Maxar, from 2011 to 2012, Ms. Kley was a corporate
associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP. From 2010 to 2011, Ms.
Kley served as legal counsel for Beazley Group. From 2003 to 2009,
Ms. Kley was a corporate associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &
Rosati P.C. She is a member of the International Institute of Space
Law and serves on the board of directors of its U.S. affiliate, the
U.S. Center for Space Law. Ms. Kley also serves on the board of
directors of the non-profit Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of
America (CADCA). Ms. Kley holds a Juris Doctorate from University
of California Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall) and Bachelor of Arts
degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University.
|
36 |
Virgin Galactic
Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Proposal No. 3:
Approval, on an Advisory (Non-Binding) Basis, of the Compensation
of our Named Executive Officers
As required
by Section 14A(a)(1) of the Exchange Act, the below resolution
enables our stockholders to vote to approve, on an advisory
(non-binding) basis, the compensation of our named executive
officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement. This proposal (the
“Say-on-Pay Vote”), and commonly known as a “say-on-pay” proposal,
gives our stockholders the opportunity to express their views on
our named executive officers’ compensation. The Say-on-Pay 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.
We
encourage our stockholders to review the “Executive Compensation”
section of this Proxy Statement for more information.
As an
advisory approval, this proposal is not binding upon us or our
Board of Directors. However, the Compensation Committee, which is
responsible for the design and administration of our executive
compensation program, values the opinions of our stockholders
expressed through your vote on this proposal. The Board and
Compensation Committee will consider the outcome of this vote in
making future compensation decisions for our named executive
officers. Accordingly, we ask our stockholders to vote “FOR” the
following resolution at the Annual Meeting:
“RESOLVED, that the stockholders of Virgin Galactic
Holdings, Inc. approve, on an advisory basis, the fiscal year 2021
compensation of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc.’s named executive
officers as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis
and disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table and related
compensation tables and narrative disclosure set forth in Virgin
Galactic Holdings, Inc.’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders.”
Board Recommendation
Our Board of Directors unanimously
recommends you vote “FOR” the resolution
to approve, on an advisory (non-binding) basis, the compensation of
our named executive officers, as disclosed in the “Executive
Compensation” section, the accompanying compensation tables and
related narrative disclosure of this Proxy Statement.
|
Table
of Contents
Executive
Compensation
Compensation Discussion and
Analysis
Introduction
This
Compensation Discussion and Analysis provides an overview of our
executive compensation philosophy, the overall objectives of our
executive compensation program, how each element of our executive
compensation program is designed to satisfy those objectives, and
the policies underlying our 2021 executive compensation program and
the compensation awarded to our named executive officers for 2021.
The following discussion and analysis of compensation arrangements
for our named executive officers should be read together with the
compensation tables and related disclosures.
Our named
executive officers for fiscal year 2021 were:
● |
Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer and President
|
● |
Doug Ahrens, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer
|
● |
Mike
Moses, President, Space
Missions & Safety |
● |
Swami Iyer, President, Aerospace Systems
|
● |
Michelle Kley, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and
Secretary
|
● |
Jonathan Campagna, our former Chief Financial Officer
|
Effective
March 1, 2021, Mr. Campagna ceased serving as our Chief Financial
Officer and Mr. Ahrens was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer
on that same day. Mr. Ahrens has over 25 years of operational and
strategic finance experience at multinational corporations. Mr.
Ahrens has led global teams at rapidly growing public and privately
held companies in complex technology and manufacturing
environments.
Effective
March 22, 2021, Mr. Iyer joined Virgin Galactic as our President,
Aerospace Systems. Mr. Iyer is responsible for leading the
manufacturing, engineering, and program management teams,
processes, and facilities to support the design and build of our
current and future fleet of vehicles. Mr. Iyer has over 20 years of
experience in commercial and highly classified aerospace, defense
and cyber industries.
Executive Summary
Fiscal 2021 Performance
Highlights
We
believe the exploration of space and the cultivation and
monetization of space-related capabilities offer immense potential
to create economic value and future growth. The Company is at the
forefront of these industry trends and is well-positioned to
capitalize on them by bringing human spaceflight to a broad global
population that dreams of traveling to space. 2021 was an
incredibly important year for Virgin Galactic that laid an
essential foundation for becoming a scaled, commercial operation.
We continued to progress through our test program schedule and our
fleet expansion efforts during 2021, despite challenges and the
macroenvironment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
38 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Some key 2021 business
milestones are highlighted below: |
●Opened ticket sales at a new price point of USD $450,000
for private astronauts during Q3 2021
●In
July 2021, raised approximately $500 million through the sale of
common stock in order to strengthen the balance sheet and position
the Company to meet its strategic long-term objectives, with a
priority on fleet expansion.
|
|
●In
July 2021, successfully completed first fully crewed spaceflight,
Unity 22, which fulfilled test objectives including evaluating the
cabin and customer experience.
●In
June 2021, received approval from the Federal Aviation
Administration for a full commercial launch license, marking the
first time that the agency licensed a company to fly customers to
space.
|
|
●In
May 2021, successfully completed the first spaceflight, Unity 21,
from Spaceport America, New Mexico. During this flight, we
fulfilled various test objectives and carried revenue-generating
scientific research experiments.
●Introduced VSS Imagine, the second spaceship in the
current fleet.
|
The market
for commercial human spaceflight for private individuals continues
to be a new and emerging industry. As of December 31, 2021,
approximately 600 humans have traveled above the Earth’s atmosphere
into space to become officially recognized as astronauts,
cosmonauts or taikonauts. We believe this market opportunity
outstrips demand for the foreseeable future. As of April 27, 2022,
Virgin Galactic has signed up approximately 800 customers for
future spaceflights.
2021 Pay Mix
Our executive compensation program utilizes annual and
long-term incentive awards, including awards, that are contingent
on Company performance relative to our key performance metrics. The
majority of the total compensation opportunity for our named
executive officers in 2021 was “at risk” compensation, as
illustrated in the charts below. The pay mix for our CEO provides
for 86% of variable compensation and, on average, 84% of variable
compensation for the other NEOs, which is tied to company
performance and stockholder value creation.
2021 Total Direct Compensation (at
target)
CEO TARGET PAY
MIX |
|
|
AVERAGE TARGET
PAY MIX FOR OTHER NEOs |
|
 |
|
 |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Key Elements and Objectives of Our Executive Compensation
Program
In 2021, our
executive compensation program consists of fixed and variable pay,
including cash and non-cash components. The key elements of our 2021 executive compensation program
are as follows:
|
|
Base
Salary |
|
Cash-Based
Incentive Compensation |
|
Equity Based
Compensation |
Description |
|
●Cash compensation to
reflect individuals’ skills, experience, and overall
responsibilities of the executive’s position
|
|
●Earned based on
achievement of financial, strategic and safety performance metrics,
as well as individual performance which are approved by our
Compensation Committee
|
|
●Time-vested
RSUs
●PSUs
|
Key
Objectives |
|
●Attracts and retains
talent by providing a stable and reliable source of
income
●Provide base salaries
consistent with each executive’s responsibilities so that they are
not motivated to take excessive risks to achieve financial
results
|
|
●Rewards the
achievement of corporate objectives and overall contributions
towards achieving those objectives over a 12-month
period
|
|
●Incentivizes our
executives to create long-term stockholder value and focus on
sustained share price appreciation
●Aligns our
executive’s strategic objectives with those of our stockholders’
interests over the long-term
●Promotes retention
and executive stock ownership
|
Listening to Our Stockholders
Say-on-Pay
In 2021, 79% of votes cast were voted
in favor of our fiscal year 2021 say-on-pay proposal. While a
significant majority of our stockholders supported our executive
compensation program, the Compensation Committee and management are
continuously reviewing our executive compensation program and made
changes to better align our executives’ compensation to the
Company’s short and long-term objectives.
Additionally, in the beginning of 2022, our management team
developed a stockholder outreach program to: (1) discuss our
business, including company operational strategy and performance
and (2) review and gather feedback on our executive compensation
program. While we have a large retail stockholder base comprised of
individual investors, we proactively contacted 26 stockholders,
representing approximately 17% of our outstanding shares (as of
November 15, 2021), and had discussions with 5 stockholders
representing approximately 12% of outstanding shares. We also met
with representatives from the proxy advisory firms to understand
their proxy voting guidelines and their perspectives about our
executive compensation program.
40 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Through
these meetings, we received valuable input regarding the Company’s
executive compensation program, as well as suggestions for
potential adjustments to consider moving forward. A summary of
stockholder and proxy advisor feedback is as follows:
What
We Heard from
Stockholders/Proxy Advisors |
Our
Response |
●Increase incentive plan disclosure
on goals and provide more transparency on the approach used to
determine payouts.
|
●We expanded the disclosure in this
Proxy Statement to include details regarding the incentive
compensation program design, performance metrics and goals, and
payouts corresponding with the attainment of such performance
metrics and goals, in order to help our stockholders better
understand these programs and to further advance our intent to
promote a pay for performance philosophy.
|
●Provide more information on how
the compensation peer group was determined.
|
●We expanded the disclosure in this
Proxy Statement to describe how our peer group was
selected.
|
●Incorporate performance-based
awards in the long-term incentive program.
|
●In 2021, we introduced a
performance-based equity incentive program for our senior executive
team which constitutes 25% of each executive officer’s aggregate
2021 equity incentive compensation opportunity.
|
●Provide disclosure on
ESG/sustainability considerations.
|
●As a relatively new public
company, we are actively developing our ESG strategy and will
provide disclosures in the near future.
|
●Adopt executive compensation
governance best practices that meet the expectations of external
stakeholders.
|
●We adopted a clawback policy for
our officers and stock ownership guidelines for our officers and
non-employee directors.
|
In order to
continue to understand investors’ perspectives on our executive
compensation program, our management team intends to continue its
efforts on stockholder engagement throughout 2022.
Compensation Governance and Best
Practices
What
We Do: |
|
|
What
We Do Not Do: |
✓Pay for performance; pay is not
guaranteed
✓Annual say-on-pay
vote
✓Clawback policy
✓Capped incentive
awards
✓Stock ownership
guidelines
✓Limited perquisites
✓Engagement with
stockholders
✓Independent compensation and legal
consultants
|
|
|
✕No single-trigger
change-in-control severance arrangements
✕No hedging of Virgin Galactic
securities by our executive officers
✕No pledging, absent authorization
given in limited circumstances, of Virgin Galactic
securities
|
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Our
Executive Compensation Program
The main objectives of the Company’s
executive compensation program are to:
● |
Attract, motivate, and
retain highly qualified executives who are committed to the
Company’s mission, performance, and culture, by paying them
competitively; |
● |
Create a fair,
reasonable, and balanced compensation program that rewards
executives’ performance and contributions to the Company’s short-
and long-term business results, while closely aligning the
interests of the executives with those of stockholders;
and |
● |
Emphasize pay for performance, with a program
that aligns financial and operational achievements. |
Additional
objectives of our executive compensation program
include:
● |
Market Competitive. The Compensation
Committee aims to set executive compensation at competitive levels
to attract, motivate, engage and retain executive officers. We
consider practices of peer companies as reference points for
comparative purposes, but do not set specific pay percentile
objectives. |
● |
Internally Fair and Equitable. The
Compensation Committee considers business and individual
performance to evaluate internal fairness of compensation and
monitors the internal compensation relationships among our
executive officers. |
● |
Strong Standards for Compensation Governance
and Risk Management. The Compensation Committee has a
comprehensive charter that provides for oversight of our executive
compensation program and annually reviews the executive officer pay
levels and annual and long-term incentive plan designs, and engages
its compensation consultant to conduct a compensation risk
assessment to ensure our programs do not incent unintended
behaviors. See the discussion of our risk-assessment process under
the section “Compensation Risk Assessment” on page 51 for more
details on our compensation-related corporate governance
practices. |
We also
have competitive health, welfare and retirement benefits that are
generally structured in the same manner for all U.S. employees. A
summary of these and several other benefits begins on page
47.
2021 Base Salaries
The base salaries of our named
executive officers are an important part of their total
compensation package and are intended to provide a fixed component
of compensation reflecting the executive’s skill set, experience,
role and responsibilities.
The
following table sets forth the annual base salaries for each of our
named executive officers that were approved for 2021:
Named Executive
Officer(1) |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
%
Change |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
|
0% |
Doug
Ahrens(2) |
|
|
N/A |
|
$ |
525,000 |
|
0% |
Mike
Moses |
|
$ |
350,000 |
|
$ |
425,000 |
|
21% |
Swami
Iyer(2) |
|
|
N/A |
|
$ |
525,000 |
|
0% |
Michelle
Kley |
|
$ |
350,000 |
|
$ |
375,000 |
|
7% |
(1) |
The table does not include Mr. Campagna
due to his departure from the Company in March 2021. His annual
base salary prior to his departure was $350,000. |
(2) |
Represents the executive’s annual base salary; Messrs.
Ahrens and Iyer each received prorated base salaries in 2021 for
their partial year of service. |
42 |
Virgin Galactic
Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Cash-Based Incentive
Compensation
2021
Executive Annual Cash Incentive Program
Each of our named executive officers
(other than Mr. Campagna) participated in our 2021 Executive Annual
Cash Incentive Program (the “Program”), which is focused on
rewarding our executive officers for annual operating performance
that meets or exceeds pre-established goals. For fiscal 2021, the
Compensation Committee determined that annual cash compensation
under the Program would be based on the achievement of financial,
strategic and safety goals, as well as individual contributions to
delivering on our strategic plan. The 2021 pre-established goals
were reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee at the
beginning of the performance year. Each named executive officer is
eligible to receive an annual performance-based cash bonus based on
a specified target annual bonus award amount, expressed as a
percentage of the named executive officer’s base salary. The
performance cash bonus for 2021 was calculated based on the target
bonus percentage opportunity multiplied by the aggregate
achievement of the Company performance goals, and then multiplied
by each officer’s individual management by objectives (“MBO”)
modifier, as illustrated below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Individual
Opportunity |
|
Company
Performance |
|
|
|
|
Base Salary
×
Target Bonus % |
× |
Financial
(20%) |
Strategic
(60%) |
Safety
(20%) |
× |
Individual
MBOs
(+/- 20% Modifier) |
= |
Individual
Bonus Payout |
The funding
payout range is zero to 200% of an executive officer’s target bonus
opportunity and encompasses both upside reward and downside
incentive opportunity if minimum levels of threshold performance
are not achieved. The 2021 target bonus opportunities for the named
executive officers are as follows:
Named Executive
Officer |
2021 Target Bonus
as
a % of Base Salary |
Michael
Colglazier |
100% |
Doug
Ahrens |
100% |
Mike
Moses |
100% |
Swami
Iyer |
100% |
Michelle
Kley |
80% |
Each
executive officer’s bonus target is determined by the Compensation
Committee based on practices of our peer companies and individual
considerations. In 2021, Ms. Kley’s bonus target increased from 50%
to 80% and Mr. Moses’ bonus target increased from 50% to 100% to
reflect their scope of their roles and align with internal equity
pay levels. All the other officers’ target bonuses remained
unchanged.
In March
2022, the Compensation Committee assessed the Company’s 2021
achievement of the corporate performance objectives and the Program
payouts recommended by the Chief Executive Officer (other than his
own bonus payout). Based on the achievement of defined performance
goals, management assessed a short-term incentive payout at 75%.
Based on a recommendation from the CEO and the Committee’s own
discussion and determination, the Committee increased the
achievement to 80% of target under the 2021 annual short-term
incentive plan. This decision took into account the totality of the
year, including the safety choices made, the fiscal discipline
exercised to manage cash flow, and consideration of retention and
employee morale in the midst of a hyper competitive
market.
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
The
following table provides additional detail about each components of
the corporate performance categories, the performance goal
weightings, threshold, target and maximum goal for the financial
category, and our achievement of the performance metrics in
2021.
Performance
Category |
|
Weight |
|
Threshold |
|
Target |
|
Maximum |
|
Payout as
% of Target |
Financials
Annual Spending |
|
 |
|
 |
|
0% |
Strategic
Objectives
Operational/ strategic goals related to fleet readiness, fleet
expansion, and astronaut & consumer experience |
|
 |
|
 |
|
63% |
Safety
Flight and workplace safety goals that include Total Recorded
Incident reporting compared to industry standards |
|
 |
|
 |
|
183% |
Total |
|
100% |
|
25% Payout |
|
100%
Payout |
|
200%
Payout |
|
75% |
The
Compensation Committee also acknowledged individual contributions
in determining the final bonus payouts for 2021 performance and
determined to award an individual modifier of 110%, 112%, 100%,
112%, and 100% for Mr. Colglazier, Mr. Ahrens, Mr. Moses, Mr. Iyer
and Ms. Kley, respectively.
Mr. Colglazier. The Compensation Committee adjusted Mr. Colglazier’s
performance modification factor to reflect the two successful and
highly publicized flights, the reopening of ticket sales, and
establishing safety as the overarching guiding principal in all
operations. Further, Mr. Colglazier evolved our consumer brand in
preparation of consumer service and built out his leadership team
with diverse and highly experienced executives.
Mr. Ahrens. The
Compensation Committee adjusted Mr. Ahrens’ performance
modification factor to reflect the planning and well-managed
execution of the successful capital raises, in addition to his work
on the transformation of planning, budgeting, and controls within
the organization.
Mr. Iyer. The
Compensation Committee adjusted Mr. Iyer’s performance modification
factor to reflect the successful flights and extensive work
performed during the modification period to ensure fleet readiness
and scalability in our manufacturing operations as we move toward
commercial service.
Mr. Moses. The
Compensation Committee determined that Mr. Moses’s performance
warranted the full 100% performance factor based on the two
successful flights, becoming the first in the industry to obtain an
FAA license for commercial space flights, and advancement of our
safety culture.
Ms. Kley. The
Compensation Committee determined that Ms. Kley’s performance
warranted the full 100% performance factor in her role as General
Counsel and Corporate Secretary, particularly for her work on the
capital fund raises and the Company integration efforts.
44 |
Virgin Galactic
Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Based on
the Company’s achievement of the goals under the financial,
strategic and safety components of the Program, the executive
officers’ applicable target bonus opportunity was multiplied by
80%. The Program also provided for an individual MBO modifier of up
to 20% based on the Compensation Committee’s assessment of each
executive’s individual performance in 2021 (the “Individual
Performance Modifier”). The table below provides information about
the executives’ bonus opportunity, company performance payout,
individual performance modifier and final bonus payout.
Named Executive
Officer |
|
2021 Target
Bonus |
|
Company
Performance |
|
Company
Performance
Bonus Payout |
|
Individual
Performance
Modifier |
|
Actual
2021 Bonus
Payout(1)(2) |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
|
80 |
% |
|
$ |
800,000 |
|
110 |
% |
|
$ |
880,000 |
Doug
Ahrens |
|
$ |
525,000 |
|
80 |
% |
|
$ |
420,000 |
|
112 |
% |
|
$ |
392,000 |
Mike
Moses |
|
$ |
425,000 |
|
80 |
% |
|
$ |
340,000 |
|
100 |
% |
|
$ |
340,000 |
Swami
Iyer |
|
$ |
525,000 |
|
80 |
% |
|
$ |
420,000 |
|
112 |
% |
|
$ |
352,800 |
Michelle
Kley |
|
$ |
300,000 |
|
80 |
% |
|
$ |
240,000 |
|
100 |
% |
|
$ |
240,000 |
(1) |
The 2021 bonus payouts for Messrs.
Ahrens and Iyer were prorated due to their March 2021 hire
date. |
(2) |
The
participating executives’ 2021 annual bonuses are set forth in this
column are included in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation”
in the “Summary Compensation Table” below. |
Milestone-Based Cash Incentive Plan
In addition to the Program, we maintain a
milestone-based cash incentive plan (the “Milestone-Based Cash
Incentive Plan”) which we adopted in 2017 in which Messrs. Moses
and Campagna participated during 2022. Under the Milestone-Based
Cash Incentive Plan, certain executive officers are eligible to
earn a bonus upon the Company’s achievement of three specified
performance objectives (each such objective a “Qualifying
Milestone”). Payment of bonuses pursuant to the Milestone-Based
Cash Incentive Plan, if any, are contingent upon the applicable
named executive officer’s continued employment through the
applicable payment date.
The first
Qualifying Milestone was not achieved under the Milestone-Based
Cash Incentive Plan. The second Qualifying Milestone was achieved,
and related bonuses were paid out, in 2019. The third Qualifying
Milestone was amended in 2019 to include the achievement of a cash
flow goal prior to, or as of, the end of calendar year 2027,
subject to the executive’s continued employment through the date of
payment.
Mr. Moses
is eligible to earn a bonus in the amount of $1,000,000 in
connection with the achievement of the third Qualifying Milestone.
Due to his 2021 separation, Mr. Campagna is no longer eligible to
receive a bonus under the Milestone-Based Cash Incentive Plan. No
other named executive officers are eligible to participate in the
Milestone-Based Cash Incentive Plan.
Sign-On Bonuses
In
connection with joining our Company in July 2020, Mr. Colglazier
received a one-time cash bonus equal to $1,000,000, one-half of
which was paid upon commencing employment, and one-half of which
was paid following the first anniversary of his employment start
date, or in July 2021.
In
connection with joining our Company in March 2021, Mr. Iyer
received a one-time cash bonus equal to $150,000, which was tax
equalized and paid upon joining our Company.
The
one-time cash bonuses paid to Messrs. Colglazier and Iyer were to
encourage them to join our Company and provide leadership
experience and expertise in the Company’s strategy, specifically in
commercial branding and manufacturing operations.
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Equity
Compensation
We
maintain the 2019 Plan, under which we may grant cash and equity
incentive awards to directors, employees and consultants of our
Company and our affiliates, to enable us to attract and retain
services, skills and experience of these individuals, which we
believe are essential to our long-term success.
Introduction of PSUs in 2021
In effort with our ongoing commitment to strong performance
an ongoing commitment to good corporate governance principles and
strong performance orientation in our compensation program by
proactively reviewing our policies and program design. In 2021,
this included an evaluation of our incentive compensation program.
With respect to our long-term equity incentive program, we adjusted
the mix of equity for our annual awards to include
performance-based equity awards.
In March
2021, to strengthen the alignment between pay and performance,
awards granted to our named executive officers under the 2019 Plan
were divided between PSUs, which represents 25% of each executive’s
aggregate 2021 equity-based incentive compensation opportunity, and
RSUs, which represents 75% of each executive’s aggregate
equity-based incentive compensation opportunity. The PSUs have a
performance metric related to the sales of Company spaceflights.
The Compensation Committee believed this metric incentivizes the
pursuit of our strategic goal of expanding the market for
commercial human spaceflights for private individuals.
March 2021 Awards
RSUs. RSUs represent the right to receive one share of our common
stock for each unit awarded, based on continued employment through
the vesting date. We continued to use RSUs as part of the annual
equity awards for our executive officers in order to support
ownership accumulation and employment retention objectives. The
RSUs have a 4-year vesting schedule: 25% vest on the one year
anniversary of the grant date, and the remaining 75% vest in
substantially equal quarterly installments of the following 12
quarters.
PSUs. The PSUs allow recipients to earn a variable number of
shares of our common stock over a three-year period (fiscal
2021-2023) based on ticket sales over a 2-year performance period,
followed by a 1-year additional time-based vesting period. No
shares will be earned if ticket sales are not met. As of the end of
2021, the performance goals had not yet been achieved.
Ahrens and Iyer Sign-On RSU Awards and Initial RSU
Awards
In connection with
joining the Company, we granted Messrs. Ahrens and Iyer equity
awards that were meant to align their interests immediately with
our stockholders’ interests, and retain them over a period of time.
The total value of the equity awards granted to Mr. Iyer was
intended to induce him to join our Company by ensuring that his
compensation opportunity at Virgin Galactic reflected his lost
compensation opportunity from his prior employer. On or shortly
following the applicable executive’s employment start date, we
granted to Messrs. Ahrens and Iyer an award of RSUs (together, the
“Sign-On RSU Awards”) which vested as to half of the underlying
RSUs on the six-month anniversary of the applicable executive’s
employment start date and will vest as to the remaining half of the
underlying RSUs on the one-year anniversary of such date, in each
case, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting
date. At around the same time, we granted to Messrs. Ahrens and
Iyer an additional award of RSUs (together, the “Initial RSU
Awards”) which are scheduled to vest as to 25% of the underlying
RSUs on the one-year anniversary of the applicable executive’s
employment start date and as to the remaining 75% in substantially
equal quarterly installments over the following 12 quarters. The
vesting of each of the executives’ awards are subject to his
continued service. The dollar-denominated value of each of the
Sign-On RSU Awards and Initial RSU Awards are set forth in the
table below.
46 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
The
following table contains a summary of grants of RSUs and PSUs to
our named executive officers in 2021:
Named Executive
Officer |
|
2021
RSUs |
|
2021
PSUs |
|
Total 2021
Equity Value |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
$ |
3,750,000 |
|
|
$ |
1,250,000 |
|
$ |
5,000,000 |
Doug
Ahrens |
|
$ |
3,500,000 |
(1) |
|
|
N/A |
|
$ |
3,500,000 |
Mike
Moses |
|
$ |
1,875,000 |
|
|
$ |
625,000 |
|
$ |
2,500,000 |
Swami
Iyer |
|
$ |
3,300,000 |
(2) |
|
|
N/A |
|
$ |
3,300,000 |
Michelle
Kley |
|
$ |
750,000 |
|
|
$ |
250,000 |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
(1) |
Amount includes the grant date fair
value of Mr. Ahrens’ Sign-On RSU Award ($1,000,000) and Initial RSU
Award ($2,500,000), as approved by the Compensation Committee
during the recruitment process to attract Mr. Ahrens to join the
Company. |
(2) |
Amount includes the grant date fair value of Mr. Iyer’s
Sign-On RSU Award ($800,000) and Initial RSU Award ($2,500,000), as
approved by the Compensation Committee during the recruitment
process to attract Mr. Iyer to join the Company. |
Employee Benefits and Perquisites
Health/Welfare Plans.
In 2021, the named executive officers
had the opportunity to participate in same health and welfare plans
and retirement plan as provided by the Company to other executive
officers.
Retirement Plans. In 2021, the named executive officers participated in
our 401(k) retirement savings plan (the “401(k) Plan”). The
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), allows
eligible employees to defer a portion of their compensation, within
prescribed limits, on a pre-tax basis through contributions to the
401(k) Plan. In 2021, contributions made by participants in the
401(k) Plan were matched up to a specified percentage of the
employee contributions on behalf of the named executive officers.
These matching contributions are fully vested as of the date on
which the contribution is made.
Perquisites. We offer financial and tax planning for our executive
officers to address the complex tax and financial situations that
may exist. It is paid by the Company, treated as imputed income to
the executive, and does not receive tax assistance.
Process and Rationale for Executive Compensation
Decisions
The Compensation
Committee considers several factors in determining the compensation
of our named executive officers. The Compensation Committee does
not have a predefined framework for prioritizing or weighting these
factors, and the emphasis placed on specific factors may vary among
our executive officers. Ultimately, it is the Compensation
Committee’s judgment about these factors that forms the basis for
determining our named executive officers’ compensation.
In the
first quarter of each year, the Compensation Committee sets our
executive officers’ salaries and cash-based incentive targets for
the fiscal year and grants annual equity awards for the nearly
completed fiscal year. Granting annual equity awards at the
beginning of the fiscal year allows the Compensation Committee to
consider anticipated company and individual performance for the
previous year.
In
executive session without our Chief Executive Officer or other
executive officers present, the Compensation Committee approved the
fiscal 2021 equity awards, the fiscal 2021 cash-based incentive
program earned amounts and any adjustments to base salaries and
bonus targets for fiscal 2021. In making these decisions and
determining the amounts and mix of executive compensation, the
Compensation Committee considered the following factors, among
others:
● |
Labor market conditions, competitive
compensation for comparable positions and threats to our business
due to retention-related risks; |
● |
Business performance, including
operational management such as project milestones, process
improvements and expense management; |
● |
Feedback from our Chief Executive
Officer regarding the performance of our business, his performance
and his evaluation of and compensation recommendations for the
other executive officers; |
● |
The
executive officers’ individual performance and contributions to
financial and strategic objectives, including expertise, skills,
tenure in position and potential to assume increased
responsibilities; |
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of Contents
Executive Compensation
● |
Internal working and reporting
relationships and teamwork among our executive officers (for
example, using the same cash-based incentive metrics and objectives
for all executive officers promotes teamwork and collaboration and
our executive officers’ contribution to Company-wide
initiatives) |
● |
The Compensation Committee’s intention
for compensation to be internally fair and equitable relative to
roles, responsibilities and relationships, in addition to being
competitively reasonable; |
● |
Leadership actions that support our
ethical standards, compliance culture and ESG initiatives;
and |
● |
Developing
and motivating employees (such as establishing processes for
identifying and assessing high potential employees) and attracting
and retaining employees (such as initiatives to increase the
pipeline of women in leadership roles). |
Role of the Compensation Committee
in Determining Executive Compensation
Engagement of Independent Advisors
The Compensation Committee has the authority to engage
an independent compensation consultant, in addition to assistance
needed from external legal, finance and other special advisors. In
2021, the Compensation Committee engaged Meridian, an independent
executive compensation consulting firm, to advise on all executive
compensation matters under their oversight. The Compensation
Committee’s engagement of Meridian did not raise any conflicts of
interest. Pursuant to the engagement, Meridian:
● |
Provided information, insights and
advice regarding compensation philosophy, objectives and
strategy; |
● |
Recommended peer group selection
criteria and identified and recommended potential peer
companies; |
● |
Provided analyses of competitive
compensation practices for executive officers and non-employee
directors; |
● |
Provided analyses of potential risks
arising from executive and non-executive compensation
programs; |
● |
Reviewed and commented on
recommendations regarding executive officer compensation
amounts; |
● |
Advised the Compensation Committee on
specific issues as they arose; and |
● |
Kept the
Compensation Committee informed of executive compensation trends
and regulatory and governance considerations related to executive
compensation. |
Review of Peer Group
Data
There are no direct public company
peers available for benchmarking purposes. Regardless, the
Compensation Committee recognizes the need to assess comparable pay
practices to understand the market in which the Company competes to
attract and retain a highly-skilled executive team. The
Compensation Committee identified peer companies to use for
competitive analyses, based on recommendations made by Meridian.
The peer companies were identified based on the following criteria
that help capture the scope and complexity of Virgin
Galactic:
● |
Industries and
characteristics: companies operating in similar or comparable industries and
representing characteristics of Virgin Galactic, including
aerospace & defense, luxury travel, leisure, entertainment,
high growth and entrepreneurial companies with B2C focus, recent
IPO, and/or West Coast headquarters. |
● |
Size:
companies of comparable size, with
market capitalization and enterprise value generally within 1/4x to
4x that of Virgin Galactic, and revenue generally below
$3B. |
|
● |
The Compensation Committee used market
capitalization as a quantitative criterion because market
capitalization, a key component of which is stock price, is the key
driver of equity compensation grant value, and equity compensation
grant value is the single largest component of executive
compensation. Further, market capitalization is directly related to
stockholder benefit. |
|
● |
The
Compensation Committee also included revenues as a quantitative
criterion because revenues are commonly used as a selection
criterion by our peer companies, third-party compensation survey
providers and proxy advisory firms. |
48 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
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of Contents
Executive Compensation
The peer
group for 2021 consisted of the following 18 companies, with Virgin
Galactic positioned at approximately the median in terms of market
capitalization at the time the group was reviewed and approved
(December 2020):
VIRGIN GALACTIC
2021 EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PEER GROUP |
|
●Aerojet
Rocketdyne
●Brunswick
●Curtiss-Wright
●Draftkings
●Fisker
●Hyliion
Holdings
|
|
●Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
●Lordstown
Motors
●Lyft
●Maxar
Technologies
●Mercury
Systems
●Moog
|
|
●Nikola
●Peloton
Interactive
●Sunrun
●Vail
Resorts
●Velodyne
Lidar
●Wynn
Resorts
|
Meridian
provides analyses of peer company competitive practices to the
Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee considers these
peer company competitive practices, along with the other factors
described in this section, when determining the salaries, bonus
targets and equity awards for our CEO and other executive
officers.
Severance and Change in Control-Based
Compensation
We have entered into employment
agreements with each of our named executive officers that provides
for severance upon a termination of employment without cause or for
good reason. We believe that job security and terminations of
employment, both within and outside of the change of control
context, are causes of significant concern and uncertainty for our
executive officers and that providing protections to our executive
officers in these contexts is therefore appropriate in order to
alleviate these concerns and allow the executives to remain focused
on their duties and responsibilities to our Company in all
situations. These are described and quantified below under
“Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in
Control.”
In
connection with Mr. Campagna’s departure in March 2021, Mr.
Campagna was entitled to receive a cash amount equal to 0.5
multiplied by the sum of his annual base salary as of the date of
his departure and target bonus amount, payable over six months, and
was entitled to continue to participate in our group health plan at
the level at which he participated immediately prior to his
departure for six months following the date of his qualifying
termination. All equity awards held by Mr. Campagna which were
outstanding and unvested as of the date of his qualifying
termination were forfeited without consideration.
The
severance entitlements under Mr. Campagna’s employment agreements
are described and quantified further below under “Potential
Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
Executive Compensation Governance Components
Stock Ownership
Guidelines
In March 2022, the Compensation
Committee adopted stock ownership guidelines for our executive
officers at the level of Executive Vice President and above and
non-employee directors. Our executive officers and non-employee
directors are expected to acquire and hold shares of our common
stock with a market value equal to a multiple of their base salary
(or annual retainer, for non-employee directors), as indicated in
the table below, within 5 years of service in their position. Our
stock ownership policy more closely aligns the interests of our
executive officers and non-employee directors with the interests of
our stockholders and exposes our executive officers and
non-employee directors to downside equity performance risk.
Our Compensation Committee will review
compliance with our stock ownership policy at least once a year
during its first quarterly meeting.
Shares
counted towards compliance include actual shares owned and unvested
RSUs. Shares subject to outstanding and unexercised stock options
or warrants, performance-based equity incentive awards and all
other derivative securities do not count toward
compliance.
Position |
|
Salary/Cash
Retainer Multiple Threshold ($) |
CEO |
|
5x |
Presidents and Executive Vice
Presidents |
|
3x |
Non-Employee Board of
Directors |
|
5x |
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of Contents
Executive Compensation
Clawback
Policy
In March 2022, the Compensation
Committee adopted a clawback policy. The clawback policy applies to
equity awards and other incentive compensation awarded to executive
officers granted after the effective date of the clawback policy.
The Compensation Committee has discretion to apply the clawback
policy to recover covered incentive compensation in all of the
events described below.
Events that
Trigger Action |
|
Covered
Compensation |
Misconduct resulting in a material
accounting restatement. |
|
Excess amount of incentive award paid
within three years before restatement date. |
Intentional misconduct resulting in the
miscalculation and/or misrepresentation of the achievement of
non-financial performance objectives. |
|
Excess amount of incentive award paid
within three years before achievement of performance objectives is
re-determined. |
Material misconduct which results or
could result in reputational harm or financial loss to the
Company. |
|
Awards paid within three years before
or after the misconduct event. |
Anti-Hedging/Pledging
Policy
Our Board of Directors has adopted an
Insider Trading Compliance Policy, which applies to all of our
directors, officers and employees. The policy prohibits our
directors, officers and employees from engaging in hedging or
monetization transactions, such as zero-cost collars and forward
sale contracts; short sales; and transactions in publicly traded
options, such as puts, calls and other derivatives involving our
equity securities. The policy also prohibits, absent authorization
given in limited circumstances, pledging our securities to secure
margin or other loans.
Tax and Accounting
Considerations
As a general matter, our Board of
Directors and the Compensation Committee review and consider the
various tax and accounting implications of compensation programs we
utilize.
Code Section 409A
Section 409A of the Code, or Section
409A, requires that “nonqualified deferred compensation” be
deferred and paid under plans or arrangements that satisfy the
requirements of the statute with respect to the timing of deferral
elections, timing of payments and certain other matters. Failure to
satisfy these requirements can expose employees and other service
providers to accelerated income tax liabilities, penalty taxes and
interest on their vested compensation under such plans.
Accordingly, as a general matter, it is our intention to design and
administer our compensation and benefits plans and arrangements for
all of our employees and other service providers, including our
named executive officers, so that they are either exempt from, or
satisfy the requirements of, Section 409A.
Code Section 280G
Section 280G of the Code, or “Section
280G”, disallows a tax deduction with respect to excess parachute
payments to certain executives of companies which undergo a change
of control. In addition, Section 4999 of the Code imposes a 20%
excise tax on the individual with respect to the excess parachute
payment. Parachute payments are compensation linked to or triggered
by a change of control and may include, but are not limited to,
bonus payments, severance payments, certain fringe benefits, and
payments and acceleration of vesting from long-term incentive
plans, including stock options, restricted stock and other
equity-based compensation. Excess parachute payments are parachute
payments that exceed a threshold determined under Section 280G
based on the executive’s prior compensation. In approving the
compensation arrangements for our named executive officers, our
Board of Directors or Compensation Committee considers all elements
of the cost to the Company of providing such compensation,
including the potential impact of Section 280G. However, our Board
of Directors or Compensation Committee may, in its judgment,
authorize compensation arrangements that could give rise to loss of
deductibility under Section 280G and the imposition of excise taxes
under Section 4999 when it believes that such arrangements are
appropriate to attract and retain executive talent.
50 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation
We follow the Financial Accounting
Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, or
“ASC Topic 718”, for our stock-based compensation awards. ASC Topic
718 requires companies to calculate the grant date fair value of
their stock-based awards using a variety of assumptions. ASC Topic
718 also requires companies to recognize the compensation cost of
their stock-based awards in their income statements over the period
that an employee is required to render service in exchange for the
award. Grants of stock options, RSUs and PSUs under our 2019 Plan
are accounted for under ASC Topic 718. Our Board of Directors or
Compensation Committee will regularly consider the accounting
implications of significant compensation decisions, especially in
connection with decisions that relate to our equity incentive award
plan and programs. As accounting standards change, we may revise
certain programs to appropriately align accounting expenses of our
equity awards with our overall executive compensation philosophy
and objectives.
Compensation Risk
Assessment
In November
2021, the Compensation Committee completed a compensation risk
assessment to assess whether the Company’s executive compensation
program might encourage aggressive risk taking. The assessment
indicated that the Company’s executive and overall compensation pay
practices do not encourage excessive or inappropriate risk taking
and the Compensation Committee determined such policies or
practices are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse
effect on our business.
Compensation Committee
Report
The
Compensation Committee has discussed and reviewed the following
Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management. Based upon
this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended
to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be
included in this Proxy Statement.
Submitted by the Compensation Committee of the
Board of Directors:
Dr. Wanda Austin (Chair)
Adam Bain
George Mattson
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Executive Compensation
Tables
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth
information concerning the compensation of the named executive
officers for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and
2019.
Name and
Principal Positions |
|
Year |
|
Salary
($) |
|
Bonus
($)(1) |
|
Stock
Awards
($)(2) |
|
Option
Awards
($)(3) |
|
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(4) |
|
All Other
Compensation
($)(5) |
|
Total
($) |
Michael
Colglazier Chief
Executive Officer
and President |
|
2021 |
|
1,000,000 |
|
500,000 |
|
5,000,000 |
|
— |
|
880,000 |
|
25,794 |
|
7,405,794 |
|
2020 |
|
442,308 |
|
500,000 |
|
13,098,600 |
|
7,540,000 |
|
452,055 |
|
22,637 |
|
22,055,600 |
Doug
Ahrens Executive
Vice President, Chief
Financial Officer and Treasurer(6) |
|
2021 |
|
433,125 |
|
— |
|
3,500,000 |
|
— |
|
392,000 |
|
45,909 |
|
4,371,034 |
Michelle
Kley Executive Vice
President,
General Counsel and Secretary |
|
2021 |
|
368,462 |
|
— |
|
1,000,000 |
|
— |
|
240,000 |
|
38,554 |
|
1,647,016 |
|
2020 |
|
358,481 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
135,000 |
|
17,892 |
|
511,373 |
Mike
Moses President,
Space Missions
and Safety |
|
2021 |
|
423,846 |
|
— |
|
2,500,000 |
|
— |
|
340,000 |
|
22,554 |
|
3,286,400 |
|
2020 |
|
358,615 |
|
— |
|
5,963,711 |
|
2,837,149 |
|
165,000 |
|
18,504 |
|
9,342,979 |
|
2019 |
|
308,899 |
|
— |
|
989,009 |
|
3,563,216 |
|
1,074,382 |
|
65,566 |
|
6,001,072 |
Swami
Iyer(7) President, Aerospace Systems |
|
2021 |
|
403,846 |
|
150,000 |
|
3,300,000 |
|
— |
|
352,800 |
|
290,240 |
|
4,496,887 |
Jonathan
Campagna(8) Former Chief Financial Officer |
|
2021 |
|
74,038 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
322,868 |
|
396,906 |
|
2020 |
|
501,050 |
|
— |
|
6,717,211 |
|
4,213,766 |
|
78,000 |
|
24,968 |
|
11,534,995 |
|
2019 |
|
312,625 |
|
— |
|
989,009 |
|
3,563,213 |
|
809,786 |
|
20,391 |
|
5,695,024 |
(1) |
With respect to 2021, the amount for
Mr. Colglazier reflects the remaining one-half of the sign-on cash
bonus payable to Mr. Colglazier pursuant to his employment
agreement, which was paid in 2021, and the amount for Mr. Iyer
reflects a one-time cash bonus paid in 2021. Refer to the section
titled “Cash-Based Incentive Compensation – Sign-On Bonuses” above
for further detail related to such one-time cash
bonuses. |
(2) |
The amounts shown in this column
represent the grant date fair value RSUs and PSUs awarded to the
named executive officers in the applicable year, computed in
accordance with the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 718, but
excluding any impact of forfeitures as required by SEC regulations.
We provide information regarding the assumptions used to calculate
the value of all option and RSU awards made to executives in
Note 14 to our financial statements included in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021 2021 10-K. As required pursuant to SEC
disclosure rules, the grant-date fair values of the PSUs awarded to
Messrs. Colglazier and Moses and Ms. Kley were computed based on
the probable outcomes of the performance conditions as of the grant
date. Assuming maximum achievement of the performance conditions,
the value of the PSUs as of the grant date is $2,500,000 for Mr.
Colglazier, $1,250,000 for Mr. Moses, and $500,000 for Ms.
Kley. |
(3) |
The amounts shown in this column
represent the grant date fair value stock options awarded to the
named executive officers in the applicable year, computed in
accordance with the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 718, but
excluding any impact of forfeitures as required by SEC regulations.
We provide information regarding the assumptions used to calculate
the value of all option and RSU awards made to executives in
Note 14 to our financial statements included in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021 2021 10-K. |
(4) |
The amounts shown represent the
aggregate annual performance-based cash incentives earned in the
applicable year, based upon the achievement of certain Company
metrics. The fiscal 2021 cash achievement for each named executive
officer is described above in the section titled “Cash-Based
Incentive Compensation – 2021 Executive Annual Performance
Bonus Cash Incentive Program.” |
(5) |
For 2021, amounts in this column
include the amounts set forth in the table below: |
Named Executive
Officer |
|
401(k) Plan
Contribution
($)(a) |
|
AD&D
Premium
($) |
|
Group Term
Life Premium
($) |
|
Tax
Equalization
($)(b) |
|
Legal Fee
Reimbursement
($) |
|
Financial
Services
($) |
|
Other
($)(c) |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
17,400 |
|
252 |
|
8,142 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Doug
Ahrens |
|
16,928 |
|
189 |
|
6,240 |
|
|
|
4,820 |
|
13,414 |
|
4,317 |
Michelle
Kley |
|
17,400 |
|
252 |
|
4,902 |
|
|
|
|
|
16,000 |
|
|
Mike
Moses |
|
17,400 |
|
252 |
|
4,902 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Swami
Iyer |
|
16,584 |
|
189 |
|
2,658 |
|
178,634 |
|
|
|
|
|
92,176 |
Jonathan
Campagna |
|
12,335 |
|
63 |
|
855 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
309,615 |
(a) |
Amounts include 401(k) safe harbor and
employer matching contributions made in 2021. |
(b) |
The amount
shown for Mr. Iyer represents the aggregate amount of tax
equalization payments made to Mr. Iyer in respect of federal, state
and local taxes incurred by him as a result of the one-time cash
bonus awarded to Mr. Iyer in 2021. Refer to the section titled
“General Description of Employment Agreements” below for further
detail related to such payment. |
(c) |
Amounts include relocation expense reimbursement payments
made to Messrs. Ahern and Iyer, as well as amounts paid to Mr.
Campagna in connection with the termination of his employment.
Refer to the section titled “Severance and Change in Control-Based
Compensation” below for further detail related to Mr. Campagna’s
severance payments and benefits. |
52 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
(6) |
Mr. Ahrens
was hired as our Chief Financial Officer in March 2021, and his
base salary was pro-rated to reflect the portion of Fiscal 2021
during which he was employed with the Company.
|
(7) |
Mr. Iyer was hired as our
President, Aerospace Systems in March 2021, and his base salary was
pro-rated to reflect the portion of Fiscal 2021 during which he was
employed with the Company. Bonus amount reflects the $150,000
sign-on award noted in his employment agreement, plus applicable
tax equalization.
|
(8) |
Mr.
Campagna ceased to serve as our Chief Financial Officer in March
2021.
|
Grants of Plan-Based Awards in Fiscal 2021
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All Other
Stock
Awards
Number of
Shares of
Stock
(#) |
|
All Other
Stock
Awards
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Options
($) |
|
Exercise or
Base Price
of Option
Awards
($)/Sh |
|
Grant Date
Fair Value
of Stock and
Option
Awards
($)(3) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Estimated Future Payout Under
Non-Equity Incentive Plan
Awards(1) |
|
Estimated Future Payout Under
Equity Incentive Plan Awards(2) |
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Award Type |
|
Grant
Date |
|
Threshold
($) |
|
Target
($) |
|
Maximum
($) |
|
Threshold
(#) |
|
Target
(#) |
|
Maximum
(#) |
|
|
|
|
Michael
Colglazier |
|
Annual RSU |
|
3/24/21 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
130,208 |
|
|
|
|
|
3,750,000 |
|
Annual PSU |
|
3/24/21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,851 |
|
43,403 |
|
86,806 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,250,000 |
|
Annual cash |
|
3/24/21 |
|
250,000 |
|
1,000,000 |
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Douglas
Ahrens |
|
Sign on RSU |
|
3/1/21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69,804 |
|
|
|
|
|
3,500,000 |
|
Annual cash |
|
3/23/21 |
|
131,250 |
|
525,000 |
|
1,050,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michelle
Kley |
|
Annual RSU |
|
3/23/21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24,248 |
|
|
|
|
|
750,000 |
|
Annual PSU |
|
3/23/21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,021 |
|
8,083 |
|
16,166 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
Annual cash |
|
3/23/21 |
|
75,000 |
|
300,000 |
|
600,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mike
Moses |
|
Annual RSU |
|
3/23/21 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
60,621 |
|
|
|
|
|
1,875,000 |
|
Annual PSU |
|
3/23/21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5,052 |
|
20,207 |
|
40,414 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
625,000 |
|
Annual cash |
|
3/23/21 |
|
53,125 |
|
212,500 |
|
425,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Swami
Iyer |
|
Sign on RSU |
|
3/23/21 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
96,335 |
|
|
|
|
|
3,300,000 |
|
Annual cash |
|
3/23/21 |
|
131,250 |
|
525,000 |
|
1,050,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
Amounts
shown in this column represent payouts for fiscal year 2021 to our
named executive officers under the 2021 Executive Annual Cash
Incentive Program. The target amount is based on a percentage of
the individual’s fiscal year 2021 base salary. For further
discussion of the 2021 annual bonuses, see the section titled
“Cash-Based Incentive Compensation – 2021 Executive Annual
Performance
Bonus Cash Incentive
Program” above.
|
(2) |
PSUs are
eligible to vest based on the achievement of certain sales-based
goals over an initial three-year period ending in fiscal year
2024.
|
(3) |
Amounts shown in this column
represent the grant date fair value of RSUs and PSUs awarded to the
named executive officers in fiscal year 2021, computed in
accordance with the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 718, but
excluding any impact of forfeitures as required by SEC regulations.
We provide information regarding the assumptions used to calculate
the value of all option and RSU awards made to executives in
Note 14 to our financial statements included in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 2021 10-K. As required pursuant to SEC disclosure
rules, the grant-date fair values of the PSUs awarded to Messrs.
Colglazier and Moses and Ms. Kley were computed based on the
probable outcomes of the performance conditions as of the grant
date.
|
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Narrative to Summary Compensation Table and Grants of
Plan-Based Awards Table
The following is a description of the
employment agreements we have entered into with our named executive
officers.
General Description of Employment
Agreements
Each agreement
will continue until terminated in accordance with its terms, and
provides for an annual base salary, target annual bonus and
eligibility to participate in customary health, welfare and fringe
benefit plans, provided by the Company to its executive officers.
In connection with Mr. Campagna’s departure from the Company in
March 2021, his employment agreement terminated.
Pursuant to
the employment agreements, each of Messrs. Campagna and Moses were
entitled, in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business
Combination, to receive stock options to purchase shares of the
Company’s common stock and an RSU award covering shares of the
Company’s common stock. The RSUs were granted in connection with
the Closing, and were effective as of the date of the filing of the
Form S-8 for the 2019 Plan. Half of the stock options were granted
to the executives at the Closing and half were granted on the first
anniversary of the Closing; however, as described above, the second
half was granted in the form of both stock options and RSU
awards.
Awards
granted in connection with the Closing vested as to 25% of the
shares subject to the award on the one year anniversary of the
Closing and vest as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal
monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to
continued service through the applicable vesting date. Awards
granted on the first anniversary of the Closing vest along the same
schedule, except the vesting dates will be keyed off of the grant
date (rather than the Closing).
The
employment agreements also contain customary confidentiality and
non-solicitation provisions, and also includes a “best pay”
provision under Section 280G of the Code, pursuant to which any
“parachute payments” that become payable to the executive will
either be paid in full or reduced, so that such payments are not
subject to the excise tax under Section 4999 of the Code, whichever
results in the better after-tax treatment to the
executive.
Michael Colglazier Employment
Agreement
On July 10,
2020, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Colglazier.
Mr. Colglazier’s service pursuant to the employment agreement will
continue for a period of five years, unless earlier terminated in
accordance with its terms. Pursuant to his employment agreement,
Mr. Colglazier serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President
of the Company and reports directly to the Company’s Board of
Directors. During the employment period, the Company is obligated
to cause Mr. Colglazier to be nominated to stand for election to
the Board of Directors, unless an event constituting “cause” has
occurred and not been cured or Mr. Colglazier has issued a
termination notice.
Under the
employment agreement, Mr. Colglazier is entitled to receive an
initial annual base salary of $1,000,000, subject to annual review
by the Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and to increase
in its discretion, and is eligible to receive an annual performance
bonus targeted at 100% of his then-current annual base salary,
ranging from a minimum threshold of 50% to a maximum of 150% based
on whether performance objectives are achieved (respectively). The
actual amount of any annual bonus will be determined by reference
to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual
performance objectives, as determined by the Board of Directors or
a subcommittee thereof.
Mr.
Colglazier also received a one-time cash bonus equal to $1,000,000,
one-half paid following his employment start date and one-half paid
following the first anniversary of his employment start date. In
addition, Mr. Colglazier (i) was entitled to receive reimbursement
of (or Company-paid) legal fees of $15,000 in connection with the
negotiation of his employment agreement and (ii) subject to
availability, will be entitled to join a spaceflight in connection
with the performance of his duties (on a tax grossed-up basis to
him) and may invite three guests to join a spaceflight.
In
connection with joining our Company, effective as of Mr.
Colglazier’s employment start date we granted to Mr. Colglazier a
stock option to purchase 500,000 shares, an award of RSUs covering
70,000 shares (the “Signing RSU Award”) and an additional award of
RSUs covering 500,000 shares (the “Additional RSU
Award”).
54 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Mr.
Colglazier’s stock option is scheduled to vest and become
exercisable in substantially equal monthly installments over the 60
months following his employment start date. Half of the Signing RSU
Award was vested as of Mr. Colglazier’s employment start date and
half vested on the one year anniversary of such date. The
Additional RSU Award vested as to 25% of the RSUs subject to the
award on the one year anniversary of his employment start date and
is scheduled to vest as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal
quarterly installments over the following 12 quarters. The vesting
of each of Mr. Colglazier’s awards are subject to his continued
service.
Doug Ahrens Employment
Agreement
On February 22,
2021, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Ahrens.
Pursuant to his employment agreement, beginning on March 1, 2021,
Mr. Ahrens serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer of the Company and reports directly to the
Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Ahrens’ service
pursuant to the employment agreement will continue until terminated
in accordance with its terms.
Under the
employment agreement, Mr. Ahrens is entitled to receive an initial
annual base salary of $525,000, subject to increase by the Board or
a subcommittee thereof in its discretion, and is eligible to
receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 100% of his
then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any annual
bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of
applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as
determined by the Board or a subcommittee thereof. Mr. Ahrens is
was entitled to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred in
connection with his relocation to Tustin, California, on or prior
to July 1, 2022, and for up to $10,000 for legal fees incurred in
connection with the negotiation of the employment
agreement.
In
connection with joining our Company, we granted to Mr. Ahrens an
award of RSUs with a dollar-denominated value of $1,000,000 (the
“Ahrens Sign-On RSU Award”), as well as an additional award of RSUs
with a dollar-denominated value of $2,500,000 (the “Ahrens Initial
RSU Award”). The Ahrens Sign-On RSU Award vested with respect to
50% of the RSUs subject to the award as of the six-month
anniversary of Mr. Ahrens’s employment start date, and is scheduled
to vest with respect to the remaining 50% of the RSUs subject to
the award on the 12-month anniversary of such date. The Ahrens
Initial RSU Award vested as to 25% of the RSUs subject to the award
on the 12-month anniversary of Mr. Ahrens’s employment start date
and is scheduled to vest as to the remaining 75% in substantially
equal quarterly installments over the following 12 quarters. The
vesting of each of Mr. Ahrens’s awards are subject to his continued
service through the applicable vesting date.
Jonathan Campagna Employment
Agreement
Prior to his
departure in March 2021, we were party to an employment agreement
with Mr. Campagna, dated as of October 25, 2019. Pursuant to his
employment agreement, Mr. Campagna served as the Chief Financial
Officer of the Company and reported directly to our Chief Executive
Officer. Under the employment agreement, Mr. Campagna was entitled
to receive an initial annual base salary of $350,000, subject to
increase at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a
subcommittee thereof and was eligible to receive an annual
performance bonus targeted at 50% of Mr. Campagna’s then-current
annual base salary. The actual amount of any such bonus would be
determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company
and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the
Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof.
Swami B. Iyer Employment
Agreement
On February 22,
2021, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Iyer.
Pursuant to his employment agreement, beginning on March 22, 2021,
Mr. Iyer serves as President, Aerospace Systems for Galactic Co., a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and reports directly to the
Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Iyer’s service pursuant
to the employment agreement will continue until terminated in
accordance with its terms.
Under the
employment agreement, Mr. Iyer is entitled to receive an initial
annual base salary of $525,000, subject to increase by the Board or
a subcommittee thereof in its discretion, and is eligible to
receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 100% of his
then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any annual
bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of
applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as
determined by the Board or a subcommittee thereof.
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Mr. Iyer
also received a one-time cash bonus equal to $150,000. Mr. Iyer was
entitled to receive a gross-up payment in an amount equal to the
aggregate federal, state and local taxes actually imposed on Mr.
Iyer for his one-time cash bonus (calculated at Mr. Iyer’s
then-applicable marginal tax rate), (ii) reimbursement for
relocation expenses incurred in connection with Mr. Iyer’s
relocation to Mojave, California on or prior to July 1, 2022 and
(iii) reimbursement for up to $10,000 for legal fees incurred in
connection with the negotiation of the employment agreement and
(iv) subject to availability, will be considered to join a
spaceflight in connection with the performance of his duties and
may in any event purchase two seats on a future spaceflight at the
price of $250,000 per seat.
In
connection with joining our Company, we granted to Mr. Iyer an
award of RSUs with a dollar-denominated value of $800,000 (the
“Iyer Sign-On RSU Award”), as well as an additional award of RSUs
with a dollar-denominated value of $2,500,000 (the “Iyer Initial
RSU Award”). The Iyer Sign-On RSU Award vested with respect to 50%
of the RSUs subject to the award on the six-month anniversary of
Mr. Iyer’s employment start date, and is scheduled to vest with
respect to the remaining 50% of the RSUs subject to the award on
the 12-month anniversary of Mr. Iyer’s employment start date. The
Iyer Initial RSU Award vested as to 25% of the RSUs subject to the
award on the 12-month anniversary of Mr. Iyer’s employment start
date and is scheduled to vest as to the remaining 75% of the RSUs
subject to the award in substantially equal quarterly installments
over the following 12 quarters. The vesting of each of Mr. Iyer’s
awards are subject to his continued service through the applicable
vesting date.
Michelle Kley Employment
Agreement
On December 2,
2019, we entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Kley.
Pursuant to her employment agreement, Ms. Kley serves as the
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and reports
directly to our Chief Executive Officer. Under the employment
agreement, Ms. Kley is entitled to receive an initial annual base
salary of $350,000, subject to increase at the discretion of the
Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and is
eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 50% of
Ms. Kley’s then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of
any such bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of
applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as
determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee
thereof. In addition, pursuant to her employment agreement, Ms.
Kley received an award of stock options to purchase 300,000 shares
of the Company’s common stock that vest with respect to 25% of the
shares subject to the award on the one year anniversary of her
employment start date and as to the remaining 75% of the shares in
substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36
months, subject to continued service as of the applicable vesting
date.
Mike Moses Employment
Agreement
On October 25,
2019, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Moses.
Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Moses serves as the
President, Space Missions and Safety, of Galactic Enterprises and
reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer. Under the
employment agreement in 2020, Mr. Moses is entitled to receive an
initial annual base salary of $350,000, subject to increase at the
discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee
thereof and is eligible to receive an annual performance bonus
targeted at 50% of Mr. Moses then- current annual base salary. The
actual amount of any such bonus will be determined by reference to
the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance
objectives, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a
subcommittee thereof.
56 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table summarizes the
number of shares of common stock underlying outstanding equity
incentive plan awards for each named executive officer as of
December 31, 2021.
|
|
Option Awards |
|
Stock Awards |
Name |
|
Numbers of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
($) Exercisable |
|
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
($) Unexercisable |
|
Option
Exercise
Price
($) |
|
Option
Expiration
Date |
|
Number of
Shares or Units
of Stock That
Have Not Vested
($) |
|
Market Value of
Shares or Units
of Stock That
Have Not Vested
($)(1) |
|
Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other Rights
That Have Not
Vested (#)(2) |
|
Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or
Payout Value of
Unearned Shares,
Units or Other
Rights That Have
Not Vested ($)(1) |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
141,666 |
|
358,334(3) |
|
22.98 |
|
7/20/30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
343,750(4) |
|
4,599,375 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
130,208(5) |
|
1,742,183 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
43,403 |
|
580,732 |
Douglas
Ahrens |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
49,860(6) |
|
667,127 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9,972(7) |
|
133,425 |
|
|
|
|
Michelle
Kley |
|
125,000 |
|
150,000(8) |
|
7.46 |
|
12/02/29 |
|
24,248(9) |
|
324,438 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8,083 |
|
108,151 |
Mike
Moses |
|
248,269 |
|
210,074(10) |
|
11.79 |
|
10/25/29 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
63,788(11) |
|
853,483 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
66,841 |
|
162,331(12) |
|
19.14 |
|
10/25/30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
162,330(13) |
|
2,171,975 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
60,621(14) |
|
811,109 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,207 |
|
270,370 |
Swami
Iyer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11,677(15) |
|
156,238 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
72,981(16) |
|
976,486 |
|
|
|
|
(1) |
The market value of shares of our
common stock that have not vested is calculated based on the
closing trading price of our common stock ($13.38) as reported on
the NYSE on December 31, 2021. |
(2) |
The PSUs vest upon the achievement of
specified sales goals over a three-year period from the date of
grant. For additional information about the PSUs, see the section
titled “Equity Compensation” above. |
(3) |
This stock option vests and becomes
exercisable in substantially equal monthly installments over the
60-month period following Mr. Colglazier’s employment commencement
date, July 20, 2020, subject to continued service through the
applicable vesting date. |
(4) |
This RSU award vests as to 25% of the
RSUs on July 20, 2021 and in substantially equal quarterly
installments over the following 12 quarters, subject to continued
service through the applicable vesting date. |
(5) |
This RSU award vests as to 25% of the
RSUs on March 24, 2022 and in substantially equal quarterly
installments over the following 12 quarters, subject to continued
service through the applicable vesting date. |
(6) |
This RSU award vests as to 25% of the
RSUs on March 1, 2022 and in substantially equal quarterly
installments over the following 12 quarters, subject to continued
service through the applicable vesting date. |
(7) |
This RSU award vested as to 50% on
September 1, 2021, and the remaining 50% is scheduled to vest on
March 1, 2022 |
(8) |
This stock option will vest and become
exercisable with respect to 25% of the shares underlying the option
on the first anniversary of the grant date, December 2, 2019 and as
to the remaining 75% of the underlying shares, in substantially
equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to
continued service through the applicable vesting date. |
(9) |
This RSU award vests as to 25% of the
RSUs on March 23, 2022 and in substantially equal quarterly
installments over the following 12 quarters, subject to continued
service through the applicable vesting date. |
(10) |
This stock option has vested as to 25%
of the shares underlying the option on October 25, 2020, and the
remaining 75% of the underlying shares will vest in substantially
equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to
continued service through the applicable vesting date. |
(11) |
This RSU award vested as to 25% of the
RSUs on October 25, 2020, and as to the remaining 75% of the
underlying shares in substantially equal monthly installments over
the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the
applicable vesting date. |
(12) |
This stock option will vest and become
exercisable with respect to 25% of the shares underlying the option
on October 25, 2021, and as to the remaining 75% of the underlying
shares will vest in substantially equal monthly installments over
the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the
applicable vesting date. |
(13) |
This RSU award vested as to 25% of the
RSUs on October 25, 2021, and as to the remaining 75% of the
underlying shares in substantially equal monthly installments over
the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the
applicable vesting date. |
(14) |
This RSU award vests as to 25% of the
RSUs on March 23, 2022 and in substantially equal quarterly
installments over the following 12 quarters, subject to continued
service through the applicable vesting date. |
(15) |
This RSU award vested as to 50% on
September 22, 2021, and the remaining 50% is scheduled to vest on
March 22, 2022. |
(16) |
This RSU award vests as to 25% of the RSUs on March 22,
2022 and in substantially equal quarterly installments over the
following 12 quarters, subject to continued service through the
applicable vesting date. |
Table
of Contents
Executive Compensation
2021 Option Exercises and Stock Vested
The following table shows the number of
shares of common stock acquired by each named executive officer
during 2021 upon the exercise of stock options and the vesting of
RSUs during 2021.
Name |
|
Number of
Shares
Acquired on Exercise
(#) |
|
Value Realized
on
Exercised
($)(1) |
|
Number of
Shares
Acquired on Vesting
(#) |
|
Value
Realized
on Vesting
($)(2) |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
— |
|
— |
|
191,250 |
|
5,754,488 |
Douglas
Ahrens |
|
— |
|
— |
|
9,972 |
|
267,150 |
Michelle
Kley |
|
25,000 |
|
568,500 |
|
— |
|
— |
Mike
Moses |
|
— |
|
— |
|
101,635 |
|
2,296,140 |
Swami
Iyer |
|
|
|
|
|
11,677 |
|
298,114 |
Jonathan
Campagna |
|
101,854 |
|
2,196,419 |
|
3,866 |
|
151,238 |
(1) |
Amounts are calculated by multiplying
the number of shares as to which the option was exercised by the
market price of the shares on the exercise date, net of exercise
price. |
(2) |
Amounts are calculated by multiplying the number of shares
vested by our closing stock price on the vesting date. |
Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in
Control
In accordance with SEC rules, the
following table summarizes the payments that would be made to
certain of our named executive officers upon the occurrence of
certain qualifying terminations of employment, assuming such named
executive officer’s termination of employment with the Company
occurred on December 31, 2021 and, where relevant, that a change of
control of the Company occurred on December 31, 2021. Amounts shown
in the table below do not include (1) accrued but unpaid salary and
(2) other benefits earned or accrued by the named executive
officers during his employment that are available to all salaried
employees, such as accrued vacation.
We have
entered into certain agreements with each of our named executive
officers that provide our named executive officers with severance
protections. The employment agreements provide that the named
executive officers will be eligible for severance benefits in
certain circumstances following a termination of employment without
cause or with good reason, whether or not in connection with a
change in control. In connection with Mr. Campagna’s departure from
the Company in March 2021, his employment agreement
terminated.
Under his
employment agreement, if Mr. Colglazier experiences a “qualifying
termination” of employment, then, in addition to any accrued
amounts, he will be entitled to receive the following severance
payments and benefits:
● |
A cash severance amount equal to the
sum of (i) his annual base salary then in effect and (ii) his
target annual bonus, multiplied by (A) 1.0 if the termination date
occurs after the second anniversary of the employment start date or
(B) 2.0 if the termination date occurs on or before the second
anniversary of the employment start date.; |
● |
Pro-rated annual bonus for the year of
termination; |
● |
Company-subsidized healthcare coverage for 12 months after
the termination date (or 18 months if the termination occurs on or
before the second anniversary of the employment start
date); |
58 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Executive Compensation
Name |
|
Benefit |
|
Qualifying
Termination
($) |
|
Change in
Control with
Qualifying
Termination
($) |
Michael
Colglazier |
|
Cash Payment |
|
4,880,000 |
|
4,880,000 |
|
Vesting of Equity Awards |
|
4,542,751 |
|
6,341,558 |
|
Value of Benefits |
|
43,138 |
|
43,138 |
|
Total(1) |
|
9,465,889 |
|
11,264,696 |
Doug
Ahrens |
|
Cash Payment |
|
1,967,000 |
|
1,442,000 |
|
Vesting of Equity Awards |
|
508,681 |
|
800,552 |
|
Value of Benefits |
|
43,277 |
|
43,277 |
|
Total |
|
2,518,958 |
|
2,285,829 |
Michelle
Kley |
|
Cash Payment |
|
337,500 |
|
675,000 |
|
Vesting of Equity Awards |
|
— |
|
1,212,438 |
|
Value of Benefits |
|
4,748 |
|
9,496 |
|
Total |
|
342,248 |
|
1,896,934 |
Mike
Moses |
|
Cash Payment |
|
425,000 |
|
850,000 |
|
Vesting of Equity Awards |
|
— |
|
4,170,585 |
|
Value of Benefits |
|
14,426 |
|
28,852 |
|
Total |
|
333,176 |
|
4,836,937 |
Swami
Iyer |
|
Cash Payment |
|
1,927,800 |
|
1,402,800 |
|
Vesting of Equity Awards |
|
705,514 |
|
1,132,724 |
|
Value of Benefits |
|
2,936 |
|
2,936 |
|
Total |
|
2,636,250 |
|
2,538,460 |
Jonathan
Campagna |
|
Cash Payment |
|
— |
|
— |
|
Vesting of Equity Awards |
|
— |
|
— |
|
Value of Benefits |
|
— |
|
— |
|
Total |
|
— |
|
— |
(1) |
Mr. Colgazier’s total does not include
the value of the spaceflight opportunity. |
|
|
● |
Accelerated vesting of any
then-outstanding Company equity awards that vest based solely on
the passage of time. The accelerated vesting will cover the number
of shares or RSUs that would have vested during period the 12-month
period following the termination date (or, if the termination
occurs on or before the second anniversary of the employment start
date, the 24-month period); and |
● |
Continued opportunity to receive the spaceflight described
above (but not if his employment terminates due to his death or
disability). |
However, if
a qualifying termination of Mr. Colglazier’s employment occurs on
or within 24 months following a “change in control” (as defined in
the 2019 Plan), then Mr. Colglazier instead will be entitled to
receive the following severance payments and benefits:
● |
an amount equal to 2.0 times the sum of
(a) Mr. Colglazier’s annual base salary then in effect and (b) his
target annual bonus amount; |
● |
continued healthcare coverage for 18 months after the
termination date; and |
● |
full
accelerated vesting of all outstanding and unvested time-based
vesting equity awards. |
As defined
in Mr. Colglazier’s employment agreement, a “qualifying
termination” includes a termination of Mr. Colglazier’s employment
(i) by the Company without “cause,” (ii) by Mr. Colglazier for
“good reason” (as defined in the employment agreement), (iii) due
to Mr. Colglazier’s death or disability or (iv) by reason of the
Company’s non-renewal of the employment agreement at the end of its
term.
Table
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Executive Compensation
Under the
employment agreements for Messrs. Ahrens and Iyer, if the
executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without
“cause,” or by the executive for “good reason” (each, as defined in
the employment agreement, and referred to herein as a qualifying
termination) then the executive will be entitled to receive the
following severance payments and benefits:
● |
A cash severance amount equal to the
sum of (i) the executive’s annual base salary then in effect and
(ii) his target annual bonus amount, multiplied by (A) 1.0 if the
termination date occurs after the second anniversary of the
employment start date or (B) 1.5 if the termination date occurs on
or before the second anniversary of the employment start
date; |
● |
Pro-rated annual bonus for the year of
termination |
● |
continued healthcare coverage for 12
months after the termination date (or 18 months if the termination
occurs on or before the second anniversary of the employment start
date); and |
● |
Accelerated vesting of any then-outstanding Company equity
awards that vest based solely on the passage of time. The
accelerated vesting will cover the number of shares or RSUs that
would have vested during the 12-month period following the
termination date (or, if the termination occurs on or before the
second anniversary of the employment start date, the 18-month
period). |
However, if
either such termination of employment occurs on or within 24 months
following a change in control, then the executive instead will be
entitled to receive the following severance payments and
benefits:
● |
an amount equal to 1.0 times the sum of
(a) the executive’s annual base salary then in effect and (b) his
target annual bonus amount; |
● |
continued healthcare coverage for 18
months after the termination date; and |
● |
full
accelerated vesting of all outstanding and unvested time-based
vesting equity awards. |
Under the
employment agreements for Messrs. Campagna and Moses and Ms. Kley,
if the executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without
“cause,” or by the executive for “good reason” (each, as defined in
the employment agreement, and referred to herein as a qualifying
termination) then the executive will be entitled to receive the
following severance payments and benefits:
● |
an amount equal to 0.5 times the sum of
(a) the executive’s annual base salary then in effect and (b) his
target annual bonus amount; and |
● |
continued healthcare coverage for 6 months after the
termination date. |
However, if
either such termination of employment occurs on or within 24 months
following a change in control, then the executive instead will be
entitled to receive the following severance payments and
benefits:
● |
an amount equal to 1.0 times the sum of
(a) the executive’s annual base salary then in effect and (b) his
target annual bonus amount; |
● |
continued healthcare coverage for 12
months after the termination date; and |
● |
full
accelerated vesting of all outstanding and unvested time-based
vesting equity awards. |
Mr.
Campagna’s employment was terminated without “cause” in March 2021.
As a result, he was entitled to receive a cash amount equal to 0.5
multiplied by the sum of his annual base salary and target bonus
amount, payable over six months. In addition, Mr. Campagna was
entitled to continue to participate in our group health plan at the
level at which he participated immediately prior to his departure
for six months following the date of his qualifying termination.
All equity awards held by Mr. Campagna which were outstanding and
unvested as of the date of his termination were forfeited without
consideration. In connection with Mr. Campagna’s termination, in
addition to the severance payments described in this paragraph, our
Board of Directors decided to pay him the full amount of his actual
bonus for 2020. The quantified amount payable to Mr. Campagna in
connection with his termination is shown in the section titled
“Severance and Change in Control-Based Compensation.”
The
severance payments and benefits described above are subject to the
executive’s execution and non-revocation of a general release of
claims in favor of the Company and continued compliance with
customary confidentiality and non-solicitation requirements, then,
in addition to any accrued amounts.
60 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
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Executive Compensation
CEO Pay Ratio
Under the
Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and Item 402(u) of Regulation
S-K, we are providing the following information regarding the
relationship of the annual total compensation of our median
compensated employee to the annual total compensation of Michael
Colglazier, our Chief Executive Officer. We consider the pay ratio
specified below to be a reasonable estimate, calculated in a manner
that is intended to be consistent with the requirements of Item
402(u) of Regulation S-K.
For 2021,
our last completed fiscal year:
● |
the annual total compensation of the
employee who represents our median compensated employee (other than
our Chief Executive Officer) was $107,145; and |
● |
the annual
total compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, as reported in
the Summary Compensation Table included above, was
$7,404,615. |
Based on
this information, for 2021, our Chief Executive Officer’s ratio of
annual total compensation to the median of the annual total
compensation of all of our employees (other than the Chief
Executive Officer) was 69 to 1.
We
determined that, as of December 31, 2021, our employee population
excluding our Chief Executive Officer consisted of 803 full-time
employees. To identify the median employee from our employee
population, we reviewed the annual total compensation of each of
our employees in the same manner as calculated for the annual total
compensation of our Chief Executive Officer.
With
respect to the annual total compensation of the median employee, we
identified and calculated the elements of such employee’s
compensation for 2021 in accordance with the requirements of Item
402(c)(2)(x) of Regulation S-K, resulting in annual total
compensation of $107,145. With respect to the annual total
compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, we used the amount
reported in the “Total” column of our 2021 Summary Compensation
Table included in this Proxy Statement.
Table
of Contents
Security Ownership of Certain
Beneficial Owners and Management
The
following table sets forth information with respect to the
beneficial ownership of our common stock as of April 14, 2022
for:
● |
each person who is known to be the
beneficial owner of more than 5% of shares of our outstanding
common stock; |
● |
each of our current named executive
officers and directors; and |
● |
all of our
executive officers and directors as a group. |
Beneficial
ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC, which
generally provide that a person has beneficial ownership of a
security if he, she or it possesses sole or shared voting or
investment power over that security, including options and warrants
that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days. The
beneficial ownership of our voting securities is based on
258,521,776 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding as of
April 14, 2022. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one
vote on any matter presented to stockholders. Unless otherwise
indicated, the Company believes that all persons named in the table
below have sole voting and investment power with respect to the
voting securities beneficially owned by them.
Name of
Beneficial Owner(1) |
|
Shares
Beneficially Owned |
Holders of More
Than 5% |
|
Shares |
|
% of
Ownership |
Virgin
Investments Limited(2) |
|
30,745,494 |
|
11.9% |
The Vanguard
Group(3) |
|
16,961,503 |
|
6.6% |
Directors and
Named Executive Officers |
|
|
|
|
Evan
Lovell |
|
— |
|
— |
Wanda
Austin(4) |
|
29,625 |
|
* |
Adam
Bain(5) |
|
1,200,000 |
|
* |
Tina
Jonas(6) |
|
6,173 |
|
* |
Craig
Kreeger(7) |
|
29,625 |
|
* |
George
Mattson(8) |
|
29,625 |
|
* |
Wanda
Sigur |
|
— |
|
— |
W. Gilbert
West(9) |
|
5,893 |
|
* |
Michael
Colglazier(10) |
|
366,100 |
|
* |
Doug
Ahrens(11) |
|
17,387 |
|
* |
Jonathan
Campagna(12) |
|
223,942 |
|
* |
Swami
Iyer |
|
27,114 |
|
* |
Michelle
Kley(13) |
|
166,584 |
|
* |
Mike
Moses(14) |
|
516,319 |
|
* |
All Directors and Executive Officers as
a Group (11 individuals)(15) |
|
1,851,012 |
|
* |
* |
Less than one percent |
(1) |
Unless otherwise noted, the business
address of each of those listed in the table above is 1700 Flight
Way, Tustin, California 92782. |
(2) |
VIL is a company limited by shares
under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. VIL is wholly owned
by Virgin Group Investments LLC, whose sole managing member is
Corvina Holdings Limited, which is wholly owned by Virgin Group
Holdings. Virgin Group Holdings is owned by Sir Richard Branson,
and he has the ability to appoint and remove the management of
Virgin Group Holdings and, as such, may indirectly control the
decisions of Virgin Group Holdings regarding the voting and
disposition of securities held by Virgin Group Holdings. Therefore,
Sir Richard Branson may be deemed to have indirect beneficial
ownership of the shares held by Virgin Group Holdings. The address
of VIL, Virgin Group Holdings Limited, and Corvina Holdings Limited
is Craigmuir Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, VG1110, British Virgin
Islands. The address of Sir Richard Branson is Branson Villa
(Necker Beach Estate), Necker Island, VG 1150, British Virgin
Islands. |
(3) |
The information is based solely on a Schedule 13G filed by
The Vanguard Group on February 9, 2022 (the “Vanguard 13G”).
According to the Vanguard 13G, includes sole voting power with
respect to 0 shares, shared voting power with respect to 105,483
shares, sole dispositive power with respect to 16,693,882 shares,
and shared dispositive power with respect to 267,621
shares |
62 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
and Management
(4) |
Includes 24,865 shares of common stock
held directly by Dr. Austin. Includes 4,760 shares of common stock
that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of April
14, 2022 |
(5) |
Mr. Bain has pledged, hypothecated or
granted security interests in all of the shares of our common stock
held by him (but not those shares held by the Sponsor) pursuant to
a margin loan agreement with customary default provisions. In the
event of a default under the margin loan agreement, the secured
parties may foreclose upon any and all shares of common stock
pledged to them and may seek recourse against the
borrower. |
(6) |
Includes 6,173 shares of common stock
that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of April
14, 2022. |
(7) |
Includes 24,865 shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. Kreeger as of April 14, 2022. Includes 4,760
shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs
within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(8) |
Includes 24,865 shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. Mattson, as of April 14, 2022. Includes 4,760
shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs
within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(9) |
Includes 1,133 shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. West, as of April 14, 2022. Includes 4,760
shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs
within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(10) |
Includes 151,517 shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. Colglazier. Includes up to 183,333 shares of
common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that
will be vested within 60 days of April 14, 2022. Includes 31,250
shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs
within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(11) |
Includes 14,271 shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. Ahrens as of April 14, 2022. Includes 3,116
shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs
within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(12) |
Includes 223,942 shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. Campagna as of April 14, 2022, based on
information known to the Company as of the date of his departure
from the Company. |
(13) |
Includes 4,084 shares of common stock
held directly by Ms. Kley. Includes up to 162,500 shares of common
stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that will
be vested within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(14) |
Includes up to 114,245 shares of common
stock held directly by Mr. Moses. Includes up to 386,726 shares of
common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that
will be vested within 60 days of April 14, 2022. Includes 15,348
shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs
within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
(15) |
Includes 345,833 options vested as of,
or vesting within, 60 days of April 14, 2022, and 59,579 RSUs
vesting within 60 days of April 14, 2022. |
Table
of Contents
Equity Compensation Plan
Information
The
following table provides information on our equity compensation
plans as of December 31, 2021. The only plan pursuant to which the
Company may currently make additional equity grants is the 2019
Plan.
Plan
Category |
|
Numbers of
Securities
To Be Issued
upon Exercise of
Outstanding Options,
Warrants and Rights |
|
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise Price of
Outstanding Options,
Warrants and Rights |
|
|
Number of
Securities
Remaining Available for
Future Issuance Under
Equity Compensation Plans
(Excluding Securities
Reflected in Column (a)) |
|
|
(a) |
|
|
|
(b) |
|
|
(c) |
Equity compensation plans approved by
stockholders(1) |
|
6,650,499 |
(2) |
|
$ |
14.04 |
(3) |
|
8,415,911 |
Equity compensation plans not approved
by stockholders |
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
Total |
|
6,650,499 |
|
|
$ |
14.04 |
|
|
8,415,911 |
(1) |
Consists of the 2019 Plan. |
(2) |
Amount includes 4,253,767 stock options
and 2,396,732 RSUs. |
(3) |
As of December 31, 2021, the weighted-average exercise
price of outstanding options under the 2019 Plan was $14.04. The
calculation of the weighted average exercise price does not include
outstanding equity awards that are received or exercised for no
consideration. |
64 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Certain Transactions with
Related Persons
Policies and Procedures for Related Party
Transactions
Our Board
of Directors has adopted a written related person transaction
policy setting forth the policies and procedures for the review and
approval or ratification of related person transactions. This
policy covers, with certain exceptions set forth in Item 404(a) of
Regulation S-K, any transaction, arrangement or relationship, or
any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships,
in which we were or are to be a participant, where the amount
involved exceeds $120,000 in any fiscal year and a related person
had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. In
reviewing and approving any such transactions, our Audit Committee
is tasked to consider all relevant facts and circumstances,
including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms
comparable to those that could be obtained on terms no less
favorable than in arm’s length dealings with an unrelated third
party and the extent of the related person’s interest in the
transaction.
Summary of Related-Person
Transactions
Stockholders Agreement
In connection with the Closing, we entered into a
stockholders’ agreement (the “Stockholders’ Agreement”) with Vieco
US, the Sponsor and Chamath Palihapitiya. In March 2020, Vieco US
distributed its shares of our common stock to Vieco 10 Limited
(“Vieco 10”) and, in connection with such distribution, Vieco 10
executed a joinder to the Stockholders’ Agreement and to the
Registration Rights Agreement described below. On July 30, 2020,
Vieco 10 subsequently distributed its shares of our common stock to
VIL and a third party and, in connection with such distribution,
VIL and the third party executed a joinder to the Stockholders’
Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement. As of the Closing,
SCH Sponsor Corp. (“Sponsor”) and Chamath Palihapitiya were party
to the Stockholders’ Agreement whereby Mr. Palihapitiya had certain
rights under the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, including
the right to designate directors for election to the Board of
Directors. As of April 27, 2022, neither Sponsor nor Mr.
Palihapitiya are party to the Stockholders’ Agreement and have no
rights or obligations thereunder.
Board
Composition
Under
the Stockholders’ Agreement, VIL has the right to designate 2 VG
designees for as long as VIL and the third party beneficially own
28,697,610 or more shares of our common stock, which represents 25%
of the number of shares beneficially owned by Vieco US immediately
following the Closing and related transactions, provided that when
such beneficial ownership falls below (x) 28,697,610 shares, VIL
will have the right to designate only 1 director and (z) 11,479,044
shares, VIL will not have the right to designate any directors. For
purposes of determining the number of shares beneficially owned by
VIL and the extent of VIL’s nomination and consent rights under the
Stockholders’ Agreement, the shares distributed to the third party
are deemed to be held by VIL until such time as the third party
transfers or sells such shares, subject to certain exceptions, as
contemplated by the Stockholders’ Agreement.
Under the
terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, two directors, each of whom
qualify as an “independent director” under stock exchange
regulations applicable to us and one of whom must qualify as an
“Audit Committee financial expert” as defined under the rules of
the SEC, were appointed in accordance with the Stockholders’
Agreement and, thereafter, will be as determined by the Board of
Directors. In addition, under the terms of the Stockholders’
Agreement, the individual serving as our Chief Executive Officer
was appointed in accordance with the Stockholders’ Agreement to our
Board of Directors and will, going forward, be determined by what
individual holds the title of our Chief Executive
Officer.
Table
of Contents
Certain Transactions with Related
Persons
Resignation; Removal;
Vacancies
Upon any
decrease in the number of directors that VIL is entitled to
designate for nomination to our Board, VIL shall take all necessary
action to cause the appropriate number of designees to offer to
tender their resignation, effective as of the next annual meeting
of our stockholders. If as a result of changes in ownership by VIL
of our common stock such that there are no seats on our Board of
Directors for which VIL has the right to designate a director, the
selection of such director shall be conducted in accordance with
applicable law and our certificate of incorporation and
bylaws.
In December
2021, the number of directors that VIL was entitled to designate
for nomination to our Board decreased by one, and VIL caused each
of Messrs. Kreeger and Mattson to offer to tender his resignation
to represent the one decreased designee in the event an offer to
resign was accepted by the Board. In December, the number of
directors that Mr. Palihapitiya was entitled to designate for
nomination to our Board decreased by one, and Mr. Palihapitiya
caused Mr. Bain to offer to tender his resignation from the Board.
The Board formed a subcommittee consisting of Dr. Austin, Ms. Jonas
and Mr. West to consider the offers to resign and make a
recommendation to the Board to accept or deny such offers to
resign. The subcommittee of the Board met several times and
considered the business skills and experience of the directors who
offered to resign, as well as the total composition of the Board,
and recommended that the Board not accept the offers to resign.
Following a deliberation, and taking into consideration the
recommendation of the subcommittee, the Board determined to not
accept such offers to resign.
Chair of the
Board
Pursuant to
the Stockholders’ Agreement, Mr. Palihapitiya was entitled to serve
as interim chair of our Board of Directors, subject to certain
conditions. Mr. Palihapitiya resigned from his position as chair of
our Board and a member of our Board on February 17, 2022 and has no
longer has any rights or obligations under the terms of the
Stockholders’ Agreement.
Voting; Necessary
Actions
In addition,
pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, VIL and the Company have
agreed not to take, directly or indirectly, any actions (including
removing directors in a manner inconsistent with the Stockholders’
Agreement) that would frustrate, obstruct or otherwise affect the
provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement and the intention of the
parties thereto with respect to the composition of our Board as
provided in the agreement.
VIL Approval Rights;
Limitations
Pursuant
to the Stockholders’ Agreement, among other things, VIL also has
certain approval rights with respect to significant corporate
transactions and other actions involving us as set forth
below.
For so long
as VIL is entitled to designate one director to our Board under the
Stockholders’ Agreement, in addition to any vote or consent of our
stockholders or Board as required by law, we must obtain VIL’s
prior written consent to engage in:
● |
any business combination or similar
transaction; |
● |
amendments to our certificate of
incorporation or bylaws, any similar documents of any of our
subsidiaries, the Stockholders’ Agreement and the Registration
Rights Agreement; |
● |
a liquidation or related transaction;
or |
● |
an
issuance of capital stock in excess of 5% of our then issued and
outstanding shares. |
For so long
as VIL is entitled to designate two directors to our Board under
the Stockholders’ Agreement, in addition to any vote or consent of
our stockholders or Board as required by law, we must obtain VIL’s
prior written consent to engage in:
● |
a business combination or similar
transaction having a fair market value of $10.0 million or
more; |
● |
a non-ordinary course sale of assets or
equity interest having a fair market value of $10.0 million or
more; |
● |
an acquisition of any business or
assets having a fair market value of $10.0 million or
more; |
● |
an acquisition of equity interests
having a fair market value of $10.0 million or more; |
● |
an engagement of any professional
advisers, including, without limitation, investment bankers and
financial advisers; |
● |
the
approval of a non-ordinary course investment having a fair market
value of $10.0 million or more; |
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Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
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Certain Transactions with Related
Persons
● |
increasing or decreasing the size of
our Board; |
● |
an issuance or sale of any of our
capital stock, other than an issuance of shares of capital stock
upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our capital
stock; |
● |
making any dividends or distributions
to the stockholders other than redemptions and those made in
connection with the cessation of services of employees; |
● |
incurring indebtedness outside of the
ordinary course in an amount greater than $25.0 million in a single
transaction or $100.0 million in aggregate consolidated
indebtedness; |
● |
amendments to our certificate of
incorporation or bylaws, any similar documents of any of our
subsidiaries, the Stockholders’ Agreement and the Registration
Rights Agreement; |
● |
a liquidation or similar
transaction; |
● |
transactions with any interested
stockholder pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K; |
● |
engaging any professional advisors for
any of the matters listed above; or |
● |
the
authorization or approval, or entrance into any agreement to engage
in any of the matters listed above. |
However,
the Stockholders’ Agreement also contemplates that: (i) no
transaction involving consideration of $120,000 or more, between
VIL or any affiliate of VIL, on the one hand, and us on the other,
may be approved without the affirmative vote of at least a majority
of our directors that were not designated by VIL under the terms of
the Stockholders’ Agreement (or otherwise) and (ii) VIL and the
directors it has designated to our Board of Directors, as
applicable, will be required to first consult and discuss with our
Board of Directors before (x) adopting, amending or repealing, in
whole or in part, our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or (y)
taking any action by written consent as our stockholder, in each
case, in addition to any vote or consent required under our
certificate of incorporation or bylaws, and otherwise in accordance
with the other terms and subject to the other conditions
contemplated by the Stockholders’ Agreement.
Termination
The provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement relating to
the stockholders’ agreement to vote, VIL’s approval rights and our
covenants will terminate automatically on the first date on which
no voting party has the right to designate a director to our Board
of Directors under the Stockholders’ Agreement; provided, that the
provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement regarding indemnification
of our directors and maintenance of director and officer liability
insurance by us will survive such termination. The remaining
provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement will terminate
automatically as to each voting party when such party ceases to
beneficially own any of our securities that may be voted in the
election of our directors registered in the name of, or
beneficially owned (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the
Exchange Act, including by the exercise or conversion of any
security exercisable or convertible for shares of our common stock,
but excluding shares of stock underlying unexercised options or
warrants) by such party.
Transfer Restriction and Registration
Rights
At the Closing, we
entered into an Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement
(the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with Vieco US, the Sponsor
and Mr. Palihapitiya, pursuant to which we have agreed to register
for resale, pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the “Securities Act”), certain shares of our common
stock and other equity securities (the “Registrable Securities”)
that are held by the parties thereto from time to time. In March
2020, Vieco US distributed its shares of our common stock to VIL
and, in connection with such distribution, VIL executed a joinder
to the Registration Rights Agreement. In July 2020, Vieco 10
subsequently distributed its shares of our common stock to VIL and
a third party and, in connection with such distribution, VIL the
third party executed a joinder to the Registration Rights
Agreement.
In
accordance with Registration Rights Agreement, we have filed resale
registration statements for the benefit of the holders of
Registrable Securities, which have been declared effective by the
SEC. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, we are required
to file with the SEC such amendments and supplements as may be
necessary to keep a resale registration statement continuously
effective, available for use and in compliance with the provisions
of the Securities Act until such time as there are no longer any
Registrable Securities held by the parties to the Registration
Rights Agreement or their permitted transferees.
Table
of Contents
Certain Transactions with Related
Persons
Additionally, the Registration Rights Agreement contains
certain restrictions on transfer with respect to the shares of our
common stock held by the Sponsor immediately following the Closing
and the shares of our common stock received by Vieco US in
connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, a portion
of which are now held by VIL, including a two- year lock-up of such
shares held by the Sponsor and 50% of the shares received by VIL,
subject to limited exceptions as contemplated thereby. Such
restrictions expired on October 25, 2021.
VG Companies’ Historical Relationship with
VIL
In connection with the
Virgin Galactic Business Combination, we entered into new or
amended agreements in order to provide a framework for its
relationship with VEL, VIL and their respective affiliates (other
than the VG Companies), including the Amended TMLA and the
Transition Services Agreements as described below.
Agreements with VIL and its Affiliates in Connection with
the Virgin Galactic Business Combination
Virgin Trademark License
Agreement
We possess
certain exclusive and non-exclusive rights to use the name and
brand “Virgin Galactic” and the Virgin signature logo pursuant to
an Amended TMLA. Our rights under the Amended TMLA are subject to
certain reserved rights and pre- existing licenses granted by
Virgin to third parties. In addition, for the term of the Amended
TMLA, to the extent the Virgin Group does not otherwise have a
right to place a director on our Board of Directors, we have agreed
to provide VEL with the right to appoint one director to our Board
of Directors, provided the designee is qualified to serve on the
Board under all applicable corporate governance policies and
applicable regulatory and listing requirements.
Unless
terminated earlier, the Amended TMLA has an initial term of 25
years expiring October 2044, subject to up to two additional
10-year renewals by mutual agreement of the parties. The Amended
TMLA may be terminated by VEL upon the occurrence of a number of
specified events, including if:
● |
we commit a material breach of our
obligations under the Amended TMLA (subject to a cure period, if
applicable); |
● |
we materially damage the Virgin
brand; |
● |
we use the brand name “Virgin Galactic”
outside of the scope of the activities licensed under the Amended
TMLA (subject to a cure period); |
● |
we become insolvent; |
● |
we undergo a change of control to an
unsuitable buyer, including to a competitor of VEL; |
● |
we fail to make use of the “Virgin
Galactic” brand to conduct our business; |
● |
we challenge the validity or
entitlement of VEL to own the “Virgin” brand; or |
● |
the
commercial launch of our services does not occur by a fixed date or
thereafter if we are unable to undertake any commercial flights for
paying passengers for a specified period (other than in connection
with addressing a significant safety issue). |
Upon any
termination or expiration of the Amended TMLA, unless otherwise
agreed with VEL, we will have 90 days to exhaust, return or destroy
any products or other materials bearing the licensed trademarks,
and to change our corporate name to a name that does not include
any of the licensed trademarks, including the Virgin
name.
Pursuant to
the terms of the Amended TMLA, we are obligated to pay VEL
quarterly royalties equal to the greater of (a) a low single-digit
percentage of our gross sales and (b) (i) prior to the first
spaceflight for paying customers, a mid-five figure amount in
dollars and (ii) from our first spaceflight for paying customers, a
low-six figure amount in dollars, which increases to a low-seven
figure amount in dollars over a four-year ramp up and thereafter
increases in correlation with the consumer price index. In relation
to certain sponsorship opportunities, a higher, mid-double-digit
percentage royalty on related gross sales applies. In the year
ended December 31, 2021, we paid Virgin a total of $0.5 million
under the Amended TMLA and its predecessor agreement.
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Certain Transactions with Related
Persons
The Amended
TMLA also contains, among other things, customary mutual
indemnification provisions, representations and warranties,
information rights of VEL and restrictions on our and our
affiliates’ ability to apply for or obtain registration for any
confusingly similar intellectual property to that licensed to us
pursuant to the Amended TMLA. Furthermore, VEL is generally
responsible for the maintenance, enforcement and protection of the
licensed intellectual property, including the Virgin brand, subject
to our step-in rights in certain circumstances.
All Virgin
and Virgin-related trademarks are owned by VEL and our use of such
trademarks is subject to the terms of the Amended TMLA, including
our adherence to VEL’s quality control guidelines and granting VEL
customary audit rights over our use of the licensed intellectual
property.
Transition Services
Agreements
At the closing of the Virgin Galactic
Business Combination, we entered into the U.S. Transition Services
Agreement, pursuant to which we and Galactic Ventures LLC and
Virgin Orbit, LLC, which had previously part of the same
consolidated corporate group as the VG Companies, established a
service schedule to control the provision of services among the
parties. Virgin Orbit, LLC
provided propulsion engineering, tank design support services, tank
manufacturing services, and office space access and usage services
to us, as well as business development and regulatory affairs
services. We provided office space, logistics, welding, IT pilot
utilization services, finance and accounting services, and
insurance advisory services. We received less than $0.1 million
under the U.S. Transition Services Agreement in each of the years
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Compensation of Chief Astronaut Instructor
Our chief astronaut instructor, Natalie
Beth Moses, is an immediate family member of Mike Moses, President
of Space Missions and Safety. Mrs. Moses received approximately
$184,114 in total compensation in 2021.
Table
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General Information about the Annual
Meeting and Voting
Questions and Answers
When and where
will the
Annual Meeting be held? |
|
The Annual
Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.,
Pacific Time. The Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual
meeting, which will be conducted via live webcast. You will be able
to attend the Annual Meeting online and submit your questions
during the meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022
and entering your 16-digit control
number included in your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy
Materials (the “Notice and Access Card”), on your proxy card or on
the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials. If you lose
your 16-digit control number, you may join the Annual Meeting as a
“Guest” but you will not be able to vote, ask questions or access
the list of stockholders as of the as of the close of business on
April 14, 2022 (the “Record Date”).
|
What are the
purposes
of the Annual Meeting? |
|
The purpose
of the Annual Meeting is to vote on the following items described
in this Proxy Statement:
●Proposal No.
1: Election of the
director nominees listed in this Proxy Statement.
●Proposal No.
2: Ratification of the
appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public
accounting firm for 2022.
●Proposal No.
3: Approval, on an
advisory (non-binding) basis, of the compensation of our named
executive officers.
|
Are there any
matters
to be voted on at the
Annual Meeting that
are not included in this
Proxy Statement? |
|
At the date
this Proxy Statement went to press, we did not know of any matters
to be properly presented at the Annual Meeting other than those
referred to in this Proxy Statement. If other matters are properly
presented at the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof
for consideration, and you are a stockholder of record and have
submitted a proxy card, the persons named in your proxy card will
have the discretion to vote on those matters for you.
|
Why did I
receive a notice
in the mail regarding the
Internet availability of
proxy materials instead
of a paper copy of proxy
materials? |
|
The rules
of the SEC permit us to furnish proxy materials, including this
Proxy Statement and the Annual Report, to our stockholders by
providing access to such documents on the Internet instead of
mailing printed copies. Stockholders will not receive paper copies
of the proxy materials unless they request them. Instead, the
Notice and Access Card provides instructions on how to access and
review on the Internet all of the proxy materials. The Notice and
Access Card also instructs you as to how to authorize via the
Internet or telephone your proxy to vote your shares according to
your voting instructions. If you would like to receive a paper or
email copy of our proxy materials, you should follow the
instructions for requesting such materials described in the Notice
and Access Card.
|
What does it
mean if I
receive more than one
Notice and Access Card or
more than one set of proxy
materials? |
|
It means
that your shares are held in more than one account at the transfer
agent and/or with banks or brokers. Please vote all of your shares.
To ensure that all of your shares are voted, for each Notice and
Access Card or set of proxy materials, please submit your proxy by
phone, via the Internet, or, if you received printed copies of the
proxy materials, by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
proxy card in the enclosed envelope.
|
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Can I vote my
shares by
filling out and returning the
Notice and Access Card? |
|
No. The
Notice and Access Card identifies the items to be voted on at the
Annual Meeting, but you cannot vote by marking the Notice and
Access Card and returning it. If you would like a paper proxy card,
you should follow the instructions in the Notice and Access Card.
The paper proxy card you receive will also provide instructions as
to how to authorize via the Internet or telephone your proxy to
vote your shares according to your voting instructions.
Alternatively, you can mark the paper proxy card with how you would
like your shares voted, sign the proxy card and return it in the
envelope provided.
|
Who is entitled to vote at
the Annual Meeting? |
|
Holders of
record of shares of our common stock as of the Record Date will be
entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting and any
continuation, postponement or adjournment thereof. At the close of
business on the Record Date, there were 258,521,776 shares of our
common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote. Each
share of our common stock is entitled to one vote on any matter
presented to stockholders at the Annual Meeting.
You will
need to obtain your own Internet access if you choose to attend the
Annual Meeting online and/or vote over the Internet. To attend and
participate in the Annual Meeting, you will need the 16-digit
control number included in your Notice and Access Card, on your
proxy card or on the instructions that accompanied your proxy
materials. If your shares are held in “street name,” you should
contact your bank or broker to obtain your 16-digit control number
or otherwise vote through the bank or broker. If you lose your
16-digit control number, you may join the Annual Meeting as a
“Guest” but you will not be able to vote, ask questions or access
the list of stockholders as of the Record Date. The meeting webcast
will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m., Pacific Time. We encourage you to
access the meeting prior to the start time. Online check-in will
begin at 8:45 a.m., Pacific Time, and you should allow ample time
for the check-in procedures.
|
What is the difference
between being a “record
holder” and holding shares
in “street name”? |
|
A record
holder (also called a “registered holder”) holds shares in his or
her name. Shares held in “street name” refer to shares that are
held on the holder’s behalf in the name of a bank, broker or other
nominee.
|
What do I do if my shares
are held in “street name”? |
|
If your
shares are held in a brokerage account or by a bank or other holder
of record, you are considered the “beneficial owner” of shares held
in “street name.” The Notice and Access Card or the proxy
materials, if you elected to receive a hard copy, has been
forwarded to you by your broker, bank or other nominee who is
considered, with respect to those shares, the stockholder of
record. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your
broker, bank or other holder of record on how to vote your shares
by following their instructions for voting. Please refer to
information from your bank, broker or other nominee on how to
submit your voting instructions.
|
How many shares
must
be present to hold the
Annual Meeting? |
|
A quorum
must be present at the Annual Meeting for any business to be
conducted. The holders of a majority in voting power of the
Company’s capital stock issued and outstanding and entitled to
vote, present in person, or by remote communication, or represented
by proxy constitutes a quorum. If you sign and return your paper
proxy card or authorize a proxy to vote electronically or
telephonically, your shares will be counted to determine whether we
have a quorum even if you abstain or fail to vote as indicated in
the proxy materials.
Broker
non-votes will also be considered present for the purpose of
determining whether there is a quorum for the Annual
Meeting.
|
Table
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General Information about the Annual Meeting and
Voting
What are
“broker
non-votes”? |
|
A “broker
non-vote” occurs when shares held by a broker in “street name” for
a beneficial owner are not voted with respect to a proposal because
(1) the broker has not received voting instructions from the
stockholder who beneficially owns the shares and (2) the broker
lacks the authority to vote the shares at their
discretion.
Under
current NYSE interpretations that govern broker non-votes, Proposal
Nos. 1 and 3 are considered non-discretionary matters, and a broker
will lack the authority to vote uninstructed shares at their
discretion on such proposals. Proposal No. 2 is considered a
discretionary matter, and a broker will be permitted to exercise
its discretion to vote uninstructed shares on this
proposal.
|
What if a
quorum is
not present at the
Annual Meeting? |
|
If a quorum
is not present or represented at the scheduled time of the Annual
Meeting, (i) the chairperson of the Annual Meeting or (ii) a
majority in voting power of the stockholders entitled to vote at
the Annual Meeting, present electronically or represented by proxy,
may adjourn the Annual Meeting until a quorum is present or
represented.
|
How do I vote
my shares
without attending the
Annual Meeting? |
|
We
recommend that stockholders vote by proxy even if they plan to
attend the Annual Meeting and vote electronically. If you are a
stockholder of record, there are three ways to vote by
proxy:
|
|
|
 |
by
Telephone—You can vote
by telephone by calling 1-800-690-6903 and following the
instructions on the proxy card; |
|
|
 |
by
Internet—You can vote
over the Internet at www.proxyvote.com by following the
instructions on the Notice and Access Card or proxy card;
or |
|
|
 |
by
Mail—You can vote by
mail by signing, dating and mailing the proxy card, which you may
have received by mail. |
|
|
Telephone
and Internet voting facilities for stockholders of record will be
available 24 hours a day and will close at 11:59 p.m., Eastern
Time, on June 8, 2022.
If your
shares are held in the name of a bank, broker or other holder of
record, you will receive instructions on how to vote from the bank,
broker or holder of record. You must follow the instructions of
such bank, broker or holder of record in order for your shares to
be voted.
|
Why hold a
virtual
meeting? |
|
We believe
that hosting a virtual meeting is in the best interest of the
Company and its stockholders and enables increased stockholder
attendance and participation because stockholders can participate
from any location around the world while providing stockholders the
same rights and opportunities to participate as they would have at
an in-person meeting.
|
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General Information about the Annual Meeting and
Voting
How can I attend and vote
at the Annual Meeting? |
|
We will be
hosting the Annual Meeting live via audio webcast. Any stockholder
can attend the Annual Meeting live online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022. If you were a stockholder as of the Record Date, or
you hold a valid proxy for the Annual Meeting, you can vote at the
Annual Meeting. A summary of the information you need to attend the
Annual Meeting online is provided below:
● Instructions on how
to attend and participate via the Internet, including how to
demonstrate proof of stock ownership, are posted at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022.
●Assistance with
questions regarding how to attend and participate via the Internet
will be provided at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022 on the
day of the Annual Meeting.
●Webcast starts
promptly at 9:00 a.m., Pacific Time.
●You will need your
16-Digit Control Number to enter the Annual Meeting.
●Stockholders may
submit questions while attending the Annual Meeting via
the Internet.
To attend
and participate in the Annual Meeting, you will need the 16-digit
control number included in your Notice and Access Card, on your
proxy card or on the instructions that accompanied your proxy
materials. If your shares are held in “street name,” you should
contact your bank or broker to obtain your 16-digit control number
or otherwise vote through the bank or broker. If you lose your
16-digit control number, you may join the Annual Meeting as a
“Guest” but you will not be able to vote, ask questions or access
the list of stockholders as of the Record Date. The meeting webcast
will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m., Pacific Time. We encourage you to
access the meeting prior to the start time. Online check-in will
begin at 8:45 a.m., Pacific Time, and you should allow ample time
for the check-in procedures.
|
Will I be
able to ask
questions at the
Annual Meeting?
|
|
As part of
the Annual Meeting, we will hold a live Q&A session, during
which we intend to answer appropriate questions submitted during
the meeting and that relate to the matters to be voted on. We
intend to reserve up to 10 minutes before the closing of the polls
to address questions submitted. Only stockholders that have
accessed the Annual Meeting as a stockholder (rather than a
“Guest”) by following the procedures outlined above in “How can I
attend and vote at the Annual Meeting?” will be able to submit
questions during the Annual Meeting. Additionally, our Annual
Meeting will follow “Rules of Conduct,” which will be made
available on our Annual Meeting webpage for stockholders that have
accessed the Annual Meeting as a stockholder (rather than a
“Guest”). Under these Rules of Conduct, a stockholder may ask up to
two questions, and we will not address questions that are, among
other things:
● irrelevant to the
business of the Company or to the business of the Annual
Meeting;
●related to the status
or conduct of our clinical trials beyond that which is contained in
our prior public disclosures;
●related to material
non-public information of the Company;
●related to personal
grievances;
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General Information about the Annual Meeting and
Voting
|
|
●derogatory
references to individuals or that are otherwise in bad
taste;
●substantially
repetitious of statements already made by another
stockholder;
●in furtherance of
the stockholder’s personal or business interests; or
●out of order or
not otherwise suitable for the conduct of the Annual Meeting as
determined by the Chair of the Annual Meeting or the Corporate
Secretary in their reasonable judgment.
Additional
information regarding the Q&A session will be made available in
the “Rules of Conduct” available on the Annual Meeting webpage for
stockholders that have accessed the Annual Meeting as a stockholder
(rather than a “Guest”) by following the procedures outlined above
in “How can I attend and vote at the Annual Meeting?”
|
What if during
the
check-in time or during
the Annual Meeting I
have technical difficulties
or trouble accessing the
virtual meeting website? |
|
We will have technicians ready to
assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing
the virtual meeting website. If you encounter any difficulties
accessing the virtual meeting website during the check-in or
meeting time, please call the technical support number that will be
posted on the Annual Meeting login page. |
How does the
Board
recommend that I vote? |
|
The Board
recommends that you vote:
●FOR the nominees to the Board set forth in
this Proxy Statement.
●FOR the ratification of the appointment of
KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for
2022.
●FOR the approval, on an advisory
(non-binding) basis, of the compensation of our named executive
officers.
|
How many votes
are
required to approve
each proposal? |
|
The table below summarizes the
proposals that will be voted on, the vote required to approve each
item and how votes are counted. |
Proposal |
|
Votes
Required |
|
Voting
Options |
|
Impact of
“Withhold” or
“Abstain” Votes |
|
Broker
Discretionary
Voting
Allowed |
NO.1
Election of Directors |
|
The plurality of the votes cast. This
means that the nominees receiving the highest number of affirmative
“FOR” votes will be elected. |
|
“FOR ALL”
“WITHHOLD ALL”
“FOR ALL EXCEPT” |
|
None(1) |
|
No(3) |
NO.
2 Ratification of
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm |
|
The affirmative vote of the holders of
a majority of the total number of votes represented at the meeting
and entitled to vote on such question. |
|
“FOR” “AGAINST”
“ABSTAIN” |
|
Against(2) |
|
Yes(4) |
NO.
3 Approval, on an
advisory (non-binding) basis, of the compensation of our named
executive officers. |
|
The affirmative vote of the holders of
a majority of the total number of votes represented at the meeting
and entitled to vote on such question. |
|
“FOR” “AGAINST”
“ABSTAIN” |
|
Against(2) |
|
No(3) |
(1) |
Votes that are “withheld” will have the
same effect as an abstention and will not count as a vote “FOR” or
“AGAINST” a director, because directors are elected by plurality
voting. |
(2) |
A vote marked as an “Abstention” will
have the same effect as a vote against the proposal. |
(3) |
As this proposal is not considered a
discretionary matter, brokers lack authority to exercise their
discretion to vote uninstructed shares on this
proposal. |
(4) |
As this proposal is considered a
discretionary matter, brokers are permitted to exercise their
discretion to vote uninstructed shares on this
proposal. |
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Voting
What if I do
not specify how
my shares are to be voted? |
|
If you submit a proxy but do not
indicate any voting instructions, the persons named as proxies will
vote in accordance with the recommendations of the Board. The
Board’s recommendations are set forth above, as well as with the
description of each proposal in this Proxy Statement. |
Who will count
the votes? |
|
Representatives of Broadridge Investor
Communications Services (“Broadridge”) will tabulate the votes, and
a representative of Broadridge will act as inspector of
election. |
Can I revoke or
change
my vote after I submit
my proxy? |
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Yes. Whether you have
voted by Internet, telephone or mail, if you are a stockholder of
record, you may change your vote and revoke your proxy
by:
●sending a written
statement to that effect to the attention of our Corporate
Secretary at our corporate offices or by electronic mail at
Corporate.Secretary@virgingalactic.com, provided such statement is
received no later than June 8, 2022;
●voting again by
Internet or telephone at a later time before the closing of those
voting facilities at 11:59 p.m., Eastern time, on June 8,
2022;
●submitting a
properly signed proxy card with a later date that is received no
later than June 8, 2022; or
●attending the
Annual Meeting, revoking your proxy and voting again.
If you hold shares in
street name, you may submit new voting instructions by contacting
your bank, broker or other nominee. You may also change your vote
or revoke your proxy at the Annual Meeting if you obtain a signed
proxy from the record holder (broker, bank or other nominee) giving
you the right to vote the shares.
Your most recent proxy
card or telephone or Internet proxy is the one that is counted.
Your attendance at the Annual Meeting by itself will not revoke
your proxy unless you give written notice of revocation to the
Company before your proxy is voted or you vote at the Annual
Meeting.
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Who will pay
for the cost of
this proxy solicitation? |
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We will pay the cost of soliciting
proxies. Proxies may be solicited on our behalf by directors,
officers or employees (for no additional compensation) in person or
by telephone, electronic transmission and facsimile transmission.
Brokers and other nominees will be requested to solicit proxies or
authorizations from beneficial owners and will be reimbursed for
their reasonable expenses. |
Table
of Contents
Additional Information
Stockholder Proposals and Director
Nominations
Stockholders who intend to have a proposal considered for
inclusion in our proxy materials for presentation at our annual
meeting of stockholders to be held in 2023 (the “2023 Annual
Meeting”) pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act must submit
the proposal to our Corporate Secretary at our offices at 1700
Flight Way, Tustin, California 92782, in writing not later than
December 28, 2022.
If such
other stockholder intends to present a proposal at our 2023 Annual
Meeting, but not to include the proposal in our proxy statement, or
to nominate a person for election as a director, such stockholder
must comply with the requirements set forth in our bylaws. Our
bylaws require, among other things, that our Corporate Secretary
receive written notice from the stockholder of record of their
intent to present such proposal or nomination not earlier than the
close of business on the 120th day and not later than
the close of business on the 90th day prior to the first
anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders.
Therefore, we must receive notice of such a proposal or nomination
for the 2023 Annual Meeting no earlier than the close of business
on February 9, 2023 and no later than the close of business on
March 11, 2022. The notice must contain the information required by
our bylaws. In the event that the date of the 2023 Annual Meeting
is not within 25 days before or after June 9, 2023, then our
Corporate Secretary must receive such written notice not later than
the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on
which such notice of the date of the Annual Meeting was mailed or
such public disclosure of the date of the Annual Meeting was made,
whichever first occurs. SEC rules permit management to vote proxies
in its discretion in certain cases if the stockholder does not
comply with this deadline and, in certain other cases
notwithstanding the stockholder’s compliance with this
deadline.
In
connection with our solicitation of proxies for our 2023 annual
meeting of stockholders, we intend to file a proxy statement and
WHITE proxy card with the SEC. Stockholders may obtain our proxy
statement (and any amendments and supplements thereto) and other
documents as and when filed with the SEC without charge from the
SEC’s website at: www.sec.gov.
In addition
to satisfying the foregoing requirements under our Bylaws, to
comply with the universal proxy rules, stockholders who intend to
solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the
Company’s nominees must provide notice that sets forth the
information required by Rule 14a-19 of the Exchange Act no later
than April 10, 2023.
We reserve
the right to reject, rule out of order or take other appropriate
action with respect to any proposal that does not comply with these
or other applicable requirements.
Householding
SEC rules
permit companies and intermediaries such as brokers to satisfy
delivery requirements for proxy statements and notices with respect
to two or more stockholders sharing the same address by delivering
a single proxy statement or a single notice addressed to those
stockholders. This process, which is commonly referred to as
“householding,” provides cost savings for companies and helps the
environment by conserving natural resources. Some brokers household
proxy materials, delivering a single proxy statement or notice to
multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary
instructions have been received from the affected stockholders.
Once you have received notice from your broker that they will be
householding materials to your address, householding will continue
until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent.
If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in householding
and would prefer to receive a separate proxy statement or notice,
or if your household is receiving multiple copies of these
documents and you wish to request that future deliveries be limited
to a single copy, please notify your broker. You can also request
prompt delivery of a copy of this Proxy Statement and the Annual
Report by contacting the Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. at
(866) 540-7095 or in writing at Broadridge, Householding
Department, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, New York 11717.
76 |
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. |
Table
of Contents
Additional Information
2021 Annual Report
Our Annual
Report, which includes our 2021 10-K, is being mailed with this
Proxy Statement to those stockholders that receive this Proxy
Statement in the mail. Stockholders that receive the Notice
Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials can access our Annual
Report at www.proxyvote.com.
Our
2021 10-K has also been filed with the SEC. It is available free of
charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Upon written request by
a stockholder, we will mail without charge a copy of our Annual
Report, including the financial statements and financial statement
schedules, but excluding exhibits. Exhibits to the Annual Report
are available upon payment of a reasonable fee, which is limited to
our expenses in furnishing the requested exhibit. All requests
should be directed to the Corporate Secretary at our offices at
1700 Flight Way, Tustin, California 92782 or by electronic mail at
Corporate.Secretary@virgingalactic.com.
Your vote
is important. Please promptly vote your shares by following the
instructions for voting on the Notice Regarding the Availability of
Proxy Materials or, if you received a paper or electronic copy of
our proxy materials, by completing, signing, dating and returning
your proxy card or by Internet or telephone voting as described on
your proxy card.
By Order of
the Board of Directors
Michael
Colglazier
Chief
Executive Officer,
President and Director
Tustin, California
April 27, 2022
Table
of Contents

Table
of Contents

VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS, INC.
1700 FLIGHT WAY
TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA 92782

VOTE BY INTERNET
Before The Meeting -
Go to www.proxyvote.com or scan the QR Barcode above
Use the
Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic
delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on June 8,
2022. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and
follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an
electronic voting instruction form.
During The Meeting -
Go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022
You may
attend the meeting via the Internet and vote during the meeting.
Have the information that is printed in the box marked by the arrow
available and follow the instructions.
VOTE
BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903
Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting
instructions up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on June 8, 2022. Have
your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the
instructions.
VOTE
BY MAIL
Mark, sign and
date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we
have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51
Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.
ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF FUTURE PROXY
MATERIALS
If you would
like to reduce the costs incurred by our company in mailing proxy
materials, you can consent to receiving all future proxy
statements, proxy cards and annual reports electronically via
e-mail or the Internet. To sign up for electronic delivery, please
follow the instructions above to vote using the Internet and, when
prompted, indicate that you agree to receive or access proxy
materials electronically in future years.
TO
VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS
FOLLOWS: |
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D77733-P68972 |
KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR
RECORDS |
THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN
SIGNED AND DATED. |
DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY |
VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS, INC.
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For
All
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Withhold
All
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For
All
Except
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The
Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the
following:
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1. Election
of Directors
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☐ |
☐ |
☐ |
To
withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark "For
All Except" and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line
below.
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Nominees:
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01) Michael
Colglazier 02) Evan Lovell
03) Wanda Austin
04) Adam Bain
05) Tina Jonas
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06) Craig Kreeger
07) George Mattson
08) Wanda Sigur
09) W. Gilbert West
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The
Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR proposals 2 and
3.
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For
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Against
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Abstain
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2.
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To
ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's independent
registered public accounting firm for 2022.
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☐ |
☐ |
☐ |
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3.
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To
approve, on an advisory (non-binding) basis, the compensation of
the Company's named executive officers.
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☐ |
☐ |
☐ |
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NOTE: To transact
such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting
or any continuation, postponement or adjournment
thereof.
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Please
sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as
attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give
full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All
holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in
full corporate or partnership name by authorized
officer.
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Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX]
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Date
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Signature (Joint Owners)
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Date
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Table
of Contents
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy
Materials for the Annual Meeting:
The Notice and Proxy Statement and Annual Report are
available at www.proxyvote.com.
VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS, INC.
Annual Meeting of Stockholders
June 9, 2022, 9:00 A.M., Pacific Time
This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors
The stockholder(s) hereby appoint(s)
Michael Colglazier and Douglas Ahrens, or either of them, as
proxies, each with the power to appoint his substitute, and hereby
authorize(s) them to represent and to vote, as designated on the
reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of common stock of
VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS, INC. that the stockholder(s) is/are
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held
at 9:00 A.M., Pacific Time on June 9, 2022, via a live webcast at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SPCE2022, and any continuation,
adjournment or postponement thereof with all the powers which the
undersigned would possess if present at the meeting.
This proxy, when properly executed,
will be voted in the manner directed herein. If no such direction
is made, this proxy will be voted in accordance with the Board of
Directors' recommendations, as indicated on the reverse side, and
in the discretion of the proxies with respect to such other matters
as may properly come before the Annual Meeting.
Continued and to be signed on reverse side