First 'Say-on-Pay' Vote Goes to Aflac Shareholders
March 25 2008 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
COLUMBUS, Ga., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated's board
of directors has released the proxy statement language formally
inviting shareholders to vote on the company's performance based
compensation. The action marks the first time shareholders will
vote on executive compensation for a major American public company.
Aflac will announce the results of the vote on May 5, 2008, during
the annual shareholders meeting in Columbus, Georgia, where the
company is headquartered. "Aflac has always been committed to
listening to its shareholders," said Daniel P. Amos, Aflac Chairman
and CEO. "The upcoming 'say-on-pay' proposal demonstrates that we
care about what our shareholders think, even on topics as sensitive
as compensation." In February 2007, Aflac announced the shareholder
vote would occur in 2009, the first year executive compensation
tables in the proxy statement would contain three years of data
reflecting the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new
compensation disclosure requirements implemented during the 2006
proxy season. However, after evaluating Aflac's compensation
disclosures in the 2007 proxy statement, the board of directors
concluded that two years of comparable compensation data would be
adequate for its shareholders, and the timing of the first
"say-on-pay" vote moved from 2009 to 2008. In Aflac's just-released
2008 proxy statement, the executive compensation committee
explains, "We believe that our compensation policies and procedures
are centered on a pay-for-performance culture and are strongly
aligned with the long-term interests of our shareholders." The
proxy is available at http://www.aflac.com/shareholdermeeting. From
August 1990, when Amos was appointed as Aflac's chief executive
officer, through December 2007, the company's total return to
shareholders, including reinvested cash dividends, has exceeded
3,867 percent, compared with 660 percent for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average and 549 percent for the S&P 500. During the
same period, the company's market value has grown from $1.2 billion
to $30.5 billion. For more than 50 years, Aflac products have given
policyholders the opportunity to direct cash where it is needed
most when a life-interrupting medical event causes financial
challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of
guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number
one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in
force in Japan. Its insurance products provide protection to more
than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been included in
Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired Companies for
seven years and in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best
Companies to Work for in America for ten consecutive years. Aflac
also has been recognized three times by both Fortune magazine's
listing of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities and Working Mother
magazine's listing of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers.
Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac,
visit aflac.com. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO ) Media
Contacts: Analyst and Investment Contact: Laura Kane Kenneth S.
Janke Jr. Aflac Incorporated Aflac Incorporated 706.596.3493
1.800.235.2667, Option 3; Fax: 706.324.6330
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aflac Incorporated CONTACT:
Media: Laura Kane, +1-706-596-3493, ; Analyst and Investment:
Kenneth S. Janke Jr., +1-800-235-2667, Option 3, Fax,
+1-706-324-6330, , both of Aflac Incorporated Web site:
http://www.aflac.com/ http://www.aflac.com/shareholdermeeting
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