CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD MATTERS
Corporate Governance Guidelines
The Board has established Corporate Governance Guidelines that it follows in matters of corporate governance, which are available on our website at www.lantronix.com, under the “About Us - Investor Relations” section.
The following includes a summary of our Corporate Governance Guidelines and additional information regarding our Board.
Nomination of Director Candidates
The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee considers candidates for Board membership and recommends director nominees to the Board for consideration and approval. There are no specific minimum qualifications that a director must possess to be nominated. However, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee assesses the appropriate skills and characteristics of a nominee based on the size and composition of the existing Board, and based on the nominee’s qualifications, such as: independence from management; depth of understanding of technology, manufacturing, sales and marketing, finance and/or other elements directly relevant to the Company’s business; education and professional background; judgment, skill, integrity and reputation; existing commitments to other businesses as a director, executive or owner; personal conflicts of interest, if any; and diversity of skills, backgrounds, experiences and other qualifications, to meet the Company’s ongoing needs. For more information, see below under the caption “Criteria for Director Nominees.”
Cooperation Agreements
We entered into a cooperation agreement (the “180 Degree Agreement”) with 180 Degree Capital Corp. (“180 Degree Capital”), dated August 9, 2024, pursuant to which we agreed, among other things, to take all necessary action to nominate Narbeh Derhacobian and Kevin Palatnik for election to the Board at the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2024 Annual Meeting”) and recommend, support and solicit proxies for the election of Mr. Derhacobian and Mr. Palatnik at the 2024 Annual Meeting in the same manner as for our other nominees at the 2024 Annual Meeting. We provided notice to 180 Degree Capital prior to the expiration of the initial term of the 180 Degree Agreement that we had irrevocably offered Mr. Derhacobian and Mr. Palatnik to re-nominate them for the Annual Meeting and recommend, support and solicit proxies for their election at the Annual Meeting in the same manner as for our other nominees at the meeting, and the term of the 180 Degree Agreement has consequently been extended until the date that is the earlier of the date that is fifteen days prior to the deadline for the submission of stockholder nominations for our 2026 (or such later year in the case of successive renewals) annual meeting of stockholders and the date that is one hundred twenty days prior to the first anniversary of our 2025 Annual Meeting (or such later year in the case of successive renewals) if we notify 180 Degree Capital ten days prior to the currently scheduled termination date that, unless both of Mr. Derhacobian and Mr. Palatnik (or any replacement appointees, if applicable) resign from the Board prior to the currently scheduled termination date, in which event we will not be obligated to re-nominate, recommend, support or solicit proxies for them and the term of the 180 Degree Agreement will end on the currently scheduled termination date.
If either Mr. Derhacobian or Mr. Palatnik is unable or unwilling to serve as a director for any reason, resigns as a director or is removed as a director during the term of the 180 Degree Agreement, the agreement includes certain procedures for the parties to identify and appoint a replacement person or persons. Our obligations with respect to the appointment of any replacement appointees are subject, among other things, to 180 Degree Capital beneficially owning at least 1% of our then outstanding common stock at that time. The 180 Degree Agreement includes customary standstill obligations and mutual non-disparagement provisions and a voting commitment by 180 Degree for the duration of the agreement. During the term of the agreement, the size of the Board shall be no greater than six members except with the approval of the Board which includes the approval or abstention of both Mr. Derhacobian and Mr. Palatnik (or any replacement appointees, if applicable).
This summary description of the 180 Degree Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the 180 Degree Agreement, which stockholders can access under Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 12, 2024.
We have also entered into a cooperation agreement (the “Chain of Lakes Agreement”) with Chain of Lakes Investment Fund, LLC, Haluk L. Bayraktar, and Emre Aciksoz (collectively the “Shareholder Group”), dated June 24, 2025, pursuant to which we agreed, among other things, to appoint James C. Auker to the Board, and recommend, support and solicit proxies for the election of the Mr. Auker at the Annual Meeting in the same manner as for our other nominees.