MPAA Motorcar Parts and Associates Inc

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We achieved record sales and strong profitability for the fourth quarter and for Fiscal 2021, despite the significant impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Consistent with an unwavering commitment to enhancing shareholder value, we have made tremendous progress in reaching our near- and long-term strategic goals, and I wish to use this opportunity to share some brief thoughts as a preface to our annual proxy statement.

As we begin our Fiscal 2022, we are excited by the Company’s position across multiple non-discretionary product lines in a $6.0 billion market at the retail level. The outlook for hard parts replacement remains positive, despite extraordinary global health issues and challenges. In addition, the electric vehicle marketplace is fast evolving – which will benefit the Company’s electric vehicle subsidiary. We believe both of these businesses provide our shareholders with exciting opportunities, as transportation needs and driving options evolve.

We are beginning to reap the benefits of a carefully thought out strategy and execution to expand our business in the aftermarket hard parts business while entering and positioning ourselves for accelerated profitable growth in the original equipment electric vehicle market to complement the Company’s significant market share within the rotating electrical category – particularly as our brake-related product offerings and electric vehicle suite of development and diagnostic equipment gain momentum. In short, today the Company’s footprint in Mexico has tripled to support accelerated growth and profitability goals, supported by expanded capacity and production in Malaysia. In addition, we expect exponential growth in our EV business in our D&V USA and Canada subsidiaries, albeit from a small base.

Motorcar Parts of America is a dedicated, responsible corporate citizen and we strive to be an environmental leader. We have ongoing polices to better manage resources, improve operating efficiencies, and promote conservation. We are constantly focused on opportunities to improve and leverage the Company’s position as a leader in the automotive aftermarket part industry -- particularly our expertise in remanufacturing, with inherent energy benefits compared with what is required by producing new parts. In addition, we are a significant recycler of all our materials used from copper to water.

We strive to promote a respectful workplace environment and believe in the importance of a diverse workforce, which today is one third female on a global basis. We are firmly committed to social responsibility – including proactive health and safety initiatives to protect employees, subsidized food programs, donations to community organizations, sponsorships of sport teams and weekend family events. We remain vigilant about proactively managing risk around COVID-19 in our operations as well as protecting our employees. Our human resources team continues to do an exceptional job keeping our global community informed with weekly scientific-based facts and updates regarding local and federal health recommendations and restrictions. At the same time, we are continuing efforts to get all of our employees and their family members vaccinated.

Our company has been run using the acronym OGSM, standing for Objective, Goals, Strategies and Measures. We have always been focused on a single objective of growing shareholder value. We develop goals and strategies which when executed will result in enhancing shareholder value. During the past year, we invested considerable time in revising and enhancing our annual incentive awards program for our employees, and implemented individualized goals and metrics based

primarily on shareholder returns and incentive targets. We believe our efforts and these changes will properly reward and motivate our employees, which ultimately contributes to accomplishing our, “Objective”, of enhancing shareholder value.

I would be remiss if I did not emphasize that all our initiatives regarding strategic expansion, environmental, social and compensation programs have the full-support and involvement of our board of directors and include a current year and five-year outlook. We are proud of the diversity of our board -- which today is comprised of nine independent directors, four African Americans and two women.

A quick recap of goals that we achieved include the following despite being challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic;

In summary, we are proud of our accomplishments and look forward to reporting further milestones in the quarters ahead. We appreciate your continued support.

Stay Safe and Healthy.

Sincerely,

 

Selwyn Joffe

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

In order to assure your representation at the Annual Meeting, you are requested to vote, at your earliest convenience, by any of the methods described in the accompanying Proxy Statement. If you decide to attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person, any previous vote by proxy will be revoked automatically and only your vote at the Annual Meeting will be counted.

YOUR vote is extremely important.

If you have questions or need assistance voting your shares, please contact:

 

1407 Broadway, 27^th Floor

New York, New York 10018

proxy@mackenziepartners.com

Call Collect: (212) 929-5500

or

Toll-Free (800) 322-2885

Your vote is extremely important, no matter how many or how few shares you own. Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person, please promptly sign, date and return the enclosed proxy card in the enclosed postage-paid envelope by following the instructions provided on the enclosed proxy card to be sure that your shares are voted at the Annual Meeting.

 

We are making this proxy statement available, on or about July 29, 2021, in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board of Directors. The proxies are for use at our annual meeting of shareholders, which we will hold at 10:00 a.m. (PT) on September 13, 2021, at the offices of the Company at 2929 California Street, Torrance, California 90503. The proxies will remain valid for use at any meetings held upon adjournment or postponement of that meeting. The record date for the meeting is the close of business on July 20, 2021. All holders of record of our common stock at the close of business on the record date are entitled to notice of the meeting and to vote at the meeting and any meetings held upon adjournment or postponement of that meeting. Our principal executive offices are located at 2929 California Street, Torrance, California 90503, and our telephone number is (310) 212-7910. The date of this Proxy Statement is July 29, 2021.

A proxy form is enclosed. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting in person, please date, sign and return the enclosed proxy as promptly as possible, in the postage prepaid envelope provided, or online at www.proxyvote.com, to ensure that your shares will be voted at the meeting. If you are a shareholder of record, you may revoke your proxies at any time prior to the voting at the meeting by submitting a later dated proxy, giving timely written notice of revocation to our secretary or attending the meeting and voting in person. If you are a holder in street name, you may revoke your proxy by following the specific voting directions provided to you by your bank, broker or other intermediary to change or revoke any instructions you have already provided to your bank, broker or other intermediary.

Unless you instruct otherwise in the proxy, any proxy, if not revoked, will be voted at the meeting:

Our only voting securities are the outstanding shares of our common stock. At the record date, we had 19,116,636 shares of common stock outstanding and approximately 10 shareholders of record. If the shareholders of record present in person or represented by their proxies at the meeting hold at least a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock, a quorum will exist for the transaction of business at the meeting. Shareholders of record who abstain from voting, including brokers holding their customers’ shares who cause abstentions to be recorded, are counted as present for quorum purposes.

For each share of common stock, you hold on the record date, you are entitled to one vote on each of the matters that we will consider at this meeting. You are not entitled to cumulate your votes. Brokers holding shares of record for their customers generally are not entitled to vote on certain matters unless their customers give them specific voting instructions. If the broker does not receive specific instructions, the broker will note this on the proxy form or otherwise advise us that it lacks voting authority. The votes that the brokers would have cast if their customers had given them specific instructions are commonly called “broker non-votes.” Broker non-votes will be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present but will not be counted or deemed to be present or represented for the purpose of determining whether shareholders have approved a matter.

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated By-Laws, the voting standard for the election of directors of the Company in an uncontested election is a majority voting standard. The majority voting standard provides that to be elected in an uncontested election, a director nominee must receive a majority of the votes cast in the election such that the number of shares properly cast “for” the nominee exceeds the number of votes properly cast “against” that nominee, with abstentions and broker non-votes not counting as votes “for” or “against.” “Votes cast” means the votes actually cast “for” or “against” a particular proposal, whether in person or by proxy. In contested elections where the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the voting standard is a plurality of votes cast.

We also have adopted a director election and resignation policy (the “Director Election Policy”). The Director Election Policy requires an incumbent director, in order to be nominated by our Board of Directors for re-election as a director, to tender an irrevocable resignation effective upon (1) the failure to receive the required number of votes for re-election and (2) the acceptance of the director’s resignation by our Board of Directors. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors will assess the appropriateness of such nominee continuing to serve as a director and will recommend to our Board of Directors the action to be taken with respect to such tendered resignation. The Director Election Policy requires that we promptly disclose the decision of our Board of Directors with respect to the tendered resignation in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) of a current report on Form 8-K.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the meeting by the holders of shares entitled to vote is required to approve Proposal No. 2 (ratification of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accountants for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022). The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the meeting by the holders of shares entitled to vote is required to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, Proposal No. 3 (advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers). An abstention from voting on these matters will be treated as “present” for quorum purposes. However, since an abstention is not treated as a “vote” for or against these matters, it will have no effect on the outcome of the vote. Broker non-votes will not be counted and will have no effect on the outcome of the voting for these matters.

We will pay for the cost of preparing, assembling, printing, and mailing this proxy statement and the accompanying form of proxy to our shareholders, if requested, as well as the cost of soliciting proxies relating to the meeting. We have requested banks and brokers to solicit their customers who beneficially own our common stock in nominee name. We will reimburse these banks and brokers for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses regarding these solicitations. Our officers, directors and employees may supplement this solicitation of proxies by telephone and personal solicitation. We will pay no additional compensation to our officers, directors, and employees for these activities. We have engaged MacKenzie Partners, Inc. as our proxy solicitor to solicit proxies for us, at an anticipated cost of approximately $25,000. In addition to the use of mail, solicitation may be made by our proxy solicitor or our employees personally or by telephone, facsimile, or electronic transmission.

Chairman of Smoke Eaters Hot Wings Inc., a privately held company. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Monmouth University. Mr. Borneo’s extensive experience in management of employees, organizational management, general business and retail knowledge and financial acumen have led the Board of Directors to conclude that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Dr. David Bryan, 69, joined our Board of Directors on June 9, 2016. Dr. Bryan is a member of our Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Dr. Bryan currently directs The Center for The Common Good, a joint venture of The Herb Alpert Foundation and New Roads School to incubate creative innovation in business, education and community partnerships. In addition, Dr. Bryan consults privately with several San Francisco and Los Angeles based not-for-profit and for-profit businesses on matters of board and workplace organization, employee training and online education, and generational workplace dynamics. He taught part time in the Economics Department of University of California at Santa Cruz from 2014 to 2020. Dr. Bryan was Co-founder and Founding Head of New Roads School from 1995 to 2013. Dr. Bryan is currently the Chair of the Board of the Ojai Foundation and the Chair of the Governance Committee at Brave New Films. Dr. Bryan received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, an M.S. from the University of California at Los Angeles and a J.D. and Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Bryan’s extensive experience in the education industry and a variety of businesses, as well as his extensive experience with information security, have led the Board of Directors to conclude that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Joseph Ferguson, 54, joined our Board of Directors on June 9, 2016. Mr. Ferguson is our Lead Independent Director, and a member of our Audit Committee. Mr. Ferguson is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Vicente Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based investment firm providing capital to privately held growth companies across North America. Prior to co-founding Vicente in 2009, Mr. Ferguson was a partner at Kline Hawkes & Company, which he joined at the firm’s inception in 1995. Mr. Ferguson began his career as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch & Co where he was a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Group and the General Corporate Finance Group. From 1989 to 1994, he worked on over 30 public and private transactions for numerous emerging growth and middle market companies. Mr. Ferguson currently serves on the board of directors of SMT and Intellectual Technology, Inc., each of which is privately held. Mr. Ferguson received a B.B.A in Finance from Southern Methodist University and an M.B.A from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Mr. Ferguson’s business skills and experience, leadership expertise, knowledge of complex global business and financial matters have led the Board of Directors to conclude that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Philip Gay, 63, joined our Board of Directors on November 30, 2004. He chairs our Audit Committee. Mr. Gay currently serves as Managing Director of Triple Enterprises, a business advisory service firm that assists mid-cap sized companies with financing, mergers and acquisitions and strategic financing, which he had previously managed from March 2000 until June 2004. From April 2018 through January 2020, Mr. Gay served as co-CEO of Giggles N Hugs, Inc., a publicly traded company. From March 2015 to May 2015 Mr. Gay served as a director and chief executive officer at Diego Pellicer Worldwide Inc., a publicly traded company. From July 2006 until June 2010, Mr. Gay served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Grill Concepts, Inc., a company that operates a chain of upscale casual restaurants throughout the United States. From March 2000 to November 2001, Mr. Gay served as an independent consultant with El Paso Energy from time to time and assisted El Paso Energy with its efforts to reduce overall operating and manufacturing overhead costs. Previously he has served as chief financial officer for California Pizza Kitchen (1987 to 1994) and Wolfgang Puck Food Company (1994 to 1996), and he has held various Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer positions at Color Me Mine and Diversified Food Group from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Gay is also a retired Certified Public Accountant, a former audit manager at Laventhol and Horwath and a graduate of the London School of Economics. Mr. Gay’s leadership experience, general business knowledge, financial literacy and expertise, accounting skills and competency and overall financial acumen have led the Board of Directors to conclude that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Duane Miller, 74, joined our Board of Directors on June 5, 2008. Mr. Miller is now a consultant to the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce. Prior to consulting, he was their Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce from October 2009 to October 2017, focusing on Economic, Business and Community Development, and After-School Programs. Prior to joining the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, he was employed by the City of Flint, Michigan, as the Director of Government Operations, from February 2009 to August 2009. Mr. Miller retired from General Motors Corporation in April 2008 after 37 years of service. At the time of his retirement, Mr. Miller served as executive director, GM Service and Parts Operations (“SPO”) Field Operations where he was responsible for all SPO field activities, running GM Parts (OE), AC Delco

(after-market) and GM Accessories business channels, as well as SPO’s Global Independent Aftermarket. Mr. Miller served on the Board of Directors of OEConnection, an automotive ecommerce organization focused on applying technology to provide supply chain solutions and analysis. He previously served on the Boards of Directors for: McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, the Genesee Health Coalition, and the Prima Civitas Foundation, headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. His experience also includes serving on the Boards of Directors and a member of its audit and compensation committees of the Urban League of Flint, Michigan, the Boys and Girls Club of Flint, Michigan and the Flint/Genesee County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Mr. Miller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Western Michigan University, and attended the Executive Development Program at the University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business. Mr. Miller’s significant experience with the automotive parts industry, combined with his organizational, management and business understanding, have led the Board of Directors to conclude that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Jeffrey Mirvis, 57, joined our Board of Directors on February 3, 2009. Mr. Mirvis is a member of our Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Mr. Mirvis is currently the Chief Executive Officer of MGT Industries, Inc. (“MGT”), a privately held apparel company based in Los Angeles. As Chief Executive Officer of MGT, Mr. Mirvis successfully moved all production and sourcing to Asia. During his twenty-year tenure as chief executive, Mr. Mirvis has gained valuable knowledge of manufacturing in Asia. Prior to joining MGT in 1990, Mr. Mirvis served as a commercial loan officer at Union Bank of California following his completion of the Union Bank of California’s Commercial Lending Program. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He served as a board member of Wildwood School in Los Angeles, for nine years. Mr. Mirvis’ international business experience, operational and production expertise, leadership experience and organizational management have led the Board of Directors to conclude he should serve as a director of our Company.

Jamy P. Rankin, 58, jointed our Board of Directors on December 30, 2020. Ms. Rankin is currently the President and CEO of The Rankin Group, LLC and the Co-owner and General Manager of the River Forest Country Club. Ms. Rankin retired from Ford having worked there in roles of increasing responsibility from 2001 to 2016. She last served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Component Sales, LLC from 2012 to 2016. As President and CEO, she led the company through double digit growth for three consecutive years through collaboration, market penetration and product offering expansion while managing four operational divisions and supporting functions including finance, engineering, information technology, and human resources. She also created a strategic plan for international growth in Brazil, China, and Mexico. From 2010 to 2012, she served as Global Director of strategy and vehicle personalization where she created an aggressive strategic plan, which resulted in significant growth in vehicle accessory sales, while reducing costs. Before arriving at Ford, she led marketing and sales organizations at Case New Holland and Navistar. Ms. Rankin currently serves on the boards of Bronner Brothers Inc., and the visiting committee at the University of Pittsburgh, school of engineering. She was previously recognized as one of the top African American women in the automotive industry in On-Wheels magazine. Ms. Rankin received her Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and her Master of Marketing and Strategy degree from the University of Chicago.

Barbara L. Whittaker, 70, joined our Board of Directors on February 21, 2017. Ms. Whittaker chairs our Nominating and Governance Committee. Ms. Whittaker is a business strategist and procurement and supply chain expert with extensive experience in the automotive industry, with both original equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and in the aftermarket. In 2010 Ms. Whittaker founded BW Limited LLC, which provides companies business and procurement strategies that lead to improved performance. Previously, Ms. Whittaker worked for the General Motors Corporation and Delphi Automotive in leadership positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to her retirement from General Motors, Ms. Whittaker’s position was Executive Director of Global Purchasing. Ms. Whittaker previously served in Chevrolet’s Division of General Motors Corporation in Production Control and Scheduling, with an emphasis on Supply Chain. Ms. Whittaker holds a Bachelor of Industrial Administration degree from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University), MBA degree from Wayne State University, and has also completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD in France, and the Executive Development program at University of Michigan. In addition to this formal education, she holds Six Sigma Green Belt certification and is well versed in lean production systems (including General Motors’ Global Manufacturing System). She currently serves on the board of directors of ChannelNet and has also held board of director’s positions for Detroit Manufacturing Systems and Piston Group, each of which is privately held. Ms. Whittaker’s automotive experience, supply chain expertise, leadership experience and organizational management have led the Board of Directors to conclude that she should serve as a director of Company.

Our corporate governance policies and practices reflect our values and allow our Board to effectively oversee the Company in the interest of creating long-term value. The key elements of our program and their benefits to our shareholders are described below.

The mission of Motorcar Parts of America is to be The Global Leader for Parts and Solutions that Move Our World Today and Tomorrow — driven by an EPICQ set of core values embraced by our employees and directors:

E – Excellence

P – Passion / Productivity

I – Integrity / Innovation

C – Community

Q – Quality

The Company is a dedicated, responsible corporate citizen and an environmental leader, with policies focused to better manage resources, improve operating efficiencies, and promote conservation.

Our board is ethnically diverse and comprised of nine independent directors

Four African Americans, including two women.

Since its establishment in 1968, environmental and sustainable processes have been a hallmark of the Company.

With the potential to reduce material and energy consumption by up to 95 percent, industry sources believe that remanufacturing is the most efficient and sustainable process for producing aftermarket replacement parts, making MPA’s business practices green by nature, supported by the processes noted below.

Highlights of the Company’s eco-friendly remanufacturing processes and its industry leadership, include:

The remanufacturing process preserves the energy required in forging and forming durable components, an advantage to recycling alone; and it allows for recycling of metal scrap, such as copper, aluminum, and steel. Equally important, by reclaiming and reconditioning components, the remanufacturing process also conserves the energy and materials that would be required to create new parts. Manufacturing one new starter for instance requires more than 10 times the amount of energy and nine times the number of materials compared with producing remanufactured parts. Manufacturing a new alternator requires approximately seven times the amount of energy and eight times the amount of raw material necessary to produce a remanufactured part. As highlighted above, the Company reduced raw material usage in manufacturing by nearly 58 tons in fiscal 2020 through its remanufacturing process. The energy savings translates into lower carbon dioxide output and overall lower consumption. In fact, industry sources estimate, remanufactured products conserve roughly the equivalent of 400 trillion BTUs of energy per year. The remanufacturing process employed by MPA takes real steps to mitigate the effects of climate change, by drastically reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are normally generated by producing new parts.

Motorcar Parts of America is firmly committed to social responsibility. While safety, respect and inclusion have always been fundamental to the Company, these qualities are more important than ever given the global pandemic and the impact it is having on employees, family members, and the community at large. Medical professionals are onsite or within close proximity to the Company’s operations, and management is doing everything possible to address the challenges, including onsite vaccination. In addition, socially responsible initiatives include subsidized food programs for certain employees and donations to community organizations, sponsorship of sport teams and weekend family events, which hopefully will become possible again as the Company and the world recovers.

As part of our Supplier Code of Conduct, suppliers are required to acknowledge compliance with MPA’s polices, and state, federal and international law, as applicable. MPA expects its suppliers to comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including, without limitation, the specific laws, rules, and regulations referenced below, and to refrain from any illegal conduct, including, without limitation, conduct that is illegal under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and applicable foreign anti-bribery laws. The Company expects its domestic and international suppliers to abide by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – Sanctions Programs.

MPA’s operations in Torrance, California follows all local, state, and federal laws. Management conducts ongoing audits, evaluations and reports accordingly. Our wholly owned Canadian subsidiaries’ health and safety policies are reviewed and approved annually by management teams, as per the ESA and the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act. Monthly and quarterly meetings and inspections are conducted with the Company's safety committees. Management reviews all health and safety issues monthly and creates a report; Our operations in Malaysia follow similar procedures and comply with local regulations including health and safety requirements.

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that provides policies for various matters relating to the conduct of our business, including the following key matters:

The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is filed with the SEC and a copy is posted on our website at www.motorcarparts.com. We intend to disclose future amendments to certain provisions of the code, or waivers of such provisions granted to executive officers and directors, on our website within four business days following the date of such amendment or waivers. We will provide a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to any person without charge, upon request addressed to the Corporate Secretary at Motorcar Parts of America, Inc., 2929 California Street, Torrance, CA 90503.

Our Board has adopted a number of other policies and guidelines that are intended to ensure good governance and the alignment of interests between the directors and management, on the one hand, and shareholders on the other. Among the written policies are:

The policy includes the following terms:

As discussed above, we have a written policy applicable to any transaction, arrangement or relationship between us and a related party. Our practice with regards to related party transactions has been for our Audit Committee to review, approve and/or ratify such transactions as they arise in accordance with the policy.

Board Independence. Each of Scott Adelson, Rudolph J. Borneo, Dr. David Bryan, Joseph Ferguson, Philip Gay, Duane Miller, Jeffrey Mirvis, Jamy P. Rankin and Barbara J. Whittaker are independent within the meaning of the applicable SEC rules and the NASDAQ listing standards, and all of our committee members are independent within the meaning of the applicable SEC rules and NASDAQ listing standards.

Board Leadership Structure. The Board of Directors does not have a policy regarding the separation of the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board as the Board of Directors believes it is in the best interests of our Company to make that determination based on the position and direction of our Company and the membership of the Board of Directors. The roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer are currently held by the same person, Selwyn Joffe. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Joffe’s service as both Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer is in the best interest of our Company and its shareholders. Mr. Joffe possesses detailed and in-depth knowledge of the issues, opportunities and challenges facing our Company and its business and is in the best position to develop agendas that ensure that our Board of Directors’ time and attention are focused on the most critical matters. We believe that our Company has been well served by this model because the combined role of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer has ensured that our directors and senior management act with a common purpose and in the best interest of our Company. This model enhances our ability to communicate clearly and consistently with our shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers.

Lead Independent Director. Our Board has appointed Joseph Ferguson as our Lead Independent Director to preside at executive sessions of independent directors.

Board’s Role in Risk Oversight. Our Board of Directors as a whole has responsibility for risk oversight with certain categories of risk being reviewed by particular committees of the Board of Directors, which report to the full Board of Directors as needed. The Audit Committee reviews the financial risks, including internal control, audit, information and cyber security, financial reporting and disclosure matters including related person transactions, by discussing these risks with management and our internal and external auditors. The Compensation Committee reviews risks relating to our executive compensation plans and arrangements, human capital management, succession planning, corporate culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews risks related to our governance structure and processes, and our overall response to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. While each committee is responsible for evaluating certain risks and overseeing the management of such risks, the entire Board of Directors is regularly informed about our overall risk profile and is charged with strategic planning oversight and risk mitigation. We believe this structure is appropriate for the Company as it assigns specific areas of risk and its mitigation to the committee best suited to understand and proactively manage such risk as part of its overall oversight of the Company, while having the full Board charged with oversight of the Company’s overall risk profile and mitigation.

Attendance of Board and Committees. Our Board of Directors met twelve times during Fiscal 2021. Each of our then directors attended 75% or more of the total number of meetings of the Board of Directors and committees thereof during Fiscal 2021. Our last annual meeting of shareholders was held on September 2, 2020. All of our then directors attended our last annual meeting of shareholders. Each director is encouraged to attend each meeting of the Board of Directors and the annual meeting of our shareholders.

Audit Committee. The current members of our Audit Committee are Philip Gay, Joseph Ferguson, and Jeffrey Mirvis, with Mr. Gay serving as chair. Our Board of Directors has determined that all of the Audit Committee members are independent within the meaning of the applicable SEC rules and NASDAQ listing standards. Our Board of Directors

has also determined that Mr. Gay, Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Mirvis are financial expert within the meaning of the applicable SEC rules. The Audit Committee oversees our auditing procedures, receives and accepts the reports of our independent registered public accountants, oversees our internal systems of accounting and management controls and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning the appointment of our auditors. The Audit Committee met six times in Fiscal 2021.

Compensation Committee. The current members of our Compensation Committee are Rudolph Borneo, Dr. David Bryan, and Jeffrey Mirvis, with Mr. Borneo serving as chair. The Compensation Committee is responsible for developing our executive compensation policies. The Compensation Committee is also responsible for evaluating the performance of our Chief Executive Officer and other senior officers and making determinations concerning the salary, bonuses and equity-based awards to be awarded to these officers, as well as human capital management, and management succession planning. No member of the Compensation Committee has a relationship that would constitute an interlocking relationship with the executive officers or directors of another entity. For further discussion of our Compensation Committee, see “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation.” The Compensation Committee met six times in Fiscal 2021.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The current members of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are Dr. David Bryan, Jeffrey Mirvis and Barbara Whittaker, with Ms. Whittaker serving as chair. Each of the members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is independent within the meaning of applicable SEC rules. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for maintaining strong corporate governance within the board and the Company as a whole, as well as identifying, vetting and ultimately nominating candidates to our Board of Directors, Board succession planning, as well as oversight of our response to ESG issues. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met once during Fiscal 2021.

In evaluating potential director nominees, including those identified by shareholders, for recommendation to our Board of Directors, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks individuals with talent, ability and experience from a wide variety of backgrounds to provide a diverse spectrum of experience and expertise relevant to a diversified business enterprise such as ours. Our Company does not maintain a separate policy regarding the diversity of its board members. However, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers individuals with diverse and varied professional and other experiences for membership. A candidate should represent the interests of all shareholders, and not those of a special interest group, have a reputation for integrity and be willing to make a significant commitment to fulfilling the duties of a director. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will screen and evaluate all recommended director nominees based on the criteria set forth above, as well as other relevant considerations. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will retain full discretion in considering its nomination recommendations to our Board of Directors.

We actively engage with our shareholders, in person, by phone and through written correspondence. During Fiscal 2021, we met via conference call / video with most of our largest shareholders and many other shareholders, rather than in person due to COVID-19. We take into account feedback received during those meetings and are constantly looking for ways to improve our productivity, corporate governance and executive compensation practices.

Shareholders expressed that a majority of equity awards granted to NEOs should be based on metrics that are directly related to enhancing shareholder value, thus we decided to make the majority of equity granted to NEOs performance-based and focused on driving shareholder value. We chose three key metrics, for the Company portion of the annual incentive award, including Pre-tax ROIC, EBITDA with certain adjustments as explained in Appendix A and Net Sales Run Rate. These three metrics are specific hot topics that our CEO, CFO and VP Investor Relations discussed with most of our shareholders. The Compensation Committee deemed that these key executable metrics in Fiscal 2021, were critical to the future success of the Company and would directly translate to building shareholder value.

The CEO’s performance based restricted stock grant was tied to goals focused on the vital need to 1) reposition our manufacturing and distribution model to low-cost areas while 2) sustaining growth in our core market, where we have exceptionally strong channel relationships, through our launch into the brake category. This category was specifically identified for the size of the market and for the sustainability of the brake category across numerous technologies including EV. In addition, this initiative was highly sponsored and encouraged by many of our customers. Numerous shareholders enquire about and encourage us to continue expanding our product offering and view this as key to building even greater shareholder value, (our stock price increased by 86 percent over Fiscal 2021 and even further

after our Fiscal year end 2021 results were announced). In hindsight, our accelerated growth from our brake’s initiative proves to be of increasing importance and will pave the way for sustained growth and profitably. As we have now substantially completed these initiatives, we can translate performance metrics to direct execution of financial performance.

As such we included additional metrics important to our shareholders in Fiscal Year 2022 and we implemented even more specific targets that directly relate to enhancing shareholder value throughout our incentive compensation. In addition, we replaced stock options vesting ratably over three years based on the price of the stock and we granted performance stock units cliff vesting after three years with relative TSR as one of the three metrics.

In Fiscal 2021, the CEO, Executive Management and the Chair of the Compensation Committee reached out to shareholders -- representing more than 80 percent of ownership and receiving feedback from more than 70 percent. The Compensation Committee, CEO and General Counsel exchanged perspectives with the shareholders and listened carefully to their concerns. The dialog focused on incentive compensation based upon the company’s strategic initiatives versus metrics directly tied to short-term and long-term shareholder returns, as well as the need for incentive compensation to properly reflect the fiscal results of the Company.

As a direct result of shareholder feedback:

Our NEOs (other than executive officers who are also members of our Board of Directors), their ages and present positions with our Company, are as follows:

Our executive officers are appointed by and serve at the discretion of our Board of Directors. A brief description of the business experience of each of our executive officers other than executive officers who are also members of our Board of Directors and significant employees is set forth below.

David Lee has been our Chief Financial Officer since February 2008. Prior to this, Mr. Lee served as our Vice President of Finance and Strategic Planning since January 2006, focusing primarily on financial management and

strategic planning. Mr. Lee joined us in February 2005 as a Director of Finance and Strategic Planning. His primary responsibilities as Chief Financial Officer are treasury, budgeting and financial management. From August 2002 until he joined us in 2005, he served as corporate controller of Palace Entertainment, Inc., an amusement and water park organization. Prior to this, Mr. Lee held various corporate controller and finance positions for several domestic companies and served in the audit department of Deloitte LLP (formerly known as Deloitte & Touche LLP). Mr. Lee is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Lee earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Richard Mochulsky has been our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing since May 2019. Mr. Mochulsky joined the Company in 2005 as a Director of Traditional Sales, and became VP of Traditional Sales in 2009, before taking over the entire sales function in 2011 as VP of Sales. He was promoted to SVP of Sales in 2015. Mr. Mochulsky has been in the auto parts business since 1979, starting his career at Dayco Rubber Company, before taking positions at Four Seasons a division of Standard Motor Parts, and Compressorworks.

Douglas Schooner has been our Chief Manufacturing Officer since June 2014. In May 2017, Mr. Schooner also became our Senior Vice President, Operations for the Under-the-Car Product Lines. Mr. Schooner joined us in 1993 and became the Vice President, Global Manufacturing Operations in January 2001 until his promotion in June 2014. Mr. Schooner has held the positions of Engineer, Production Manager, Assistant Vice President, Production and Vice President, Manufacturing prior to assuming his current position with Company. As Chief Manufacturing Officer, Mr. Schooner is responsible for all manufacturing, materials and logistic operations for our facilities. Mr. Schooner has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the California State University, Long Beach.

Juliet Stone has been our Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since September 2019. She acted as Senior Corporate Counsel at Stamps.com from February 2017 to August 2019, as General Counsel at Hanmi Financial Corporation from November 2013 to January 2017 and in various legal roles including General Counsel at BBCN Bancorp, Inc. FNA Nara Bancorp. Inc from 2006 to 2013. Ms. Stone is admitted to practice law in California and is a graduate of The University of Southern California Law Center and a recipient of a Bachelor of Arts in Economics-Business from University of California at Los Angeles.

There are no family relationships among our directors or named executive officers. There are no material proceedings to which any of our directors or executive officers or any of their associates, is a party adverse to us or any of our subsidiaries or has a material interest adverse to us or any of our subsidiaries. To our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers has been convicted in a criminal proceeding during the last ten years (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors), and none of our directors or executive officers was a party to any judicial or administrative proceeding during the last ten years (except for any matters that were dismissed without sanction or settlement) that resulted in a judgment, decree or final order enjoining the person from future violations of, or prohibiting activities subject to, federal or state securities laws, or a finding of any violation of federal or state securities laws. To our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers are subject to any petition under federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law was filed by or against, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer was appointed by a court for the business or property of such person, or any partnership in which he was a general partner at or within two years before the time of such filing, or any corporation or business association of which he was an executive officer at or within two years before the time of such filing, with the following exception: to the extent that such persons were involved in bankruptcy proceedings related to the Company’s subsidiary.

A strong commitment to enhancing shareholder value has been a guiding force throughout the Company’s history. Consistent with the overall objective to enhance shareholder value, management consistently strives to communicate the company’s success in reaching its near- and long-term strategic goals. The execution of the Company’s multi-year strategic growth program and its completion are at the forefront of this goal. This is why the individual goals of our CEO and many of our NEOs are focused on the completion of the footprint of the future in Fiscal 2021, along with a goal that will drive shareholder value (Pre-tax ROIC). Though in Fiscal 2022, in response to comments from shareholders the focus on goals to drive shareholder value was increased, and the metrics focus on company-wide economic measures rather than completion of Company based strategic initiatives.

Shareholder return is the main focus of the incentive compensation plans put in place after last year’s shareholder discussions, in that 1) the individual goals for annual incentive (bonus) for Fiscal 2022, 2) the long-term performance share units granted to the NEOs and the restricted stock grant to the CEO in June 2021 (part of Fiscal 2022 compensation, but in recognition for work done in Fiscal 2021) all have shareholder return as their main objective. If the shareholder value increases through Relative TSR or Pre-tax ROIC then the NEOs and shareholders will both benefit. The Compensation Committee takes seriously the comments of its shareholders and strives to align shareholder return with performance. As one can see from the chart below tracking the performance of Company stock against the Russell 3000, during Fiscal 2021, MPA performed well. As we have discussed for several years, the Company made the decision to reinvest its revenue back into the Company, to build a stronger and more diverse business for the future, and we are starting to see the dividends of our extensive investment in our footprint of the future.

 

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes our executive compensation program for our named executive officers for Fiscal 2021. The following discussion and analysis of compensation arrangements of our named executive officers for Fiscal 2021 should be read together with the compensation tables and related disclosures set forth below. This discussion contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on our current plans, considerations, expectations, and determinations regarding future compensation programs. Actual compensation programs that we adopt in the future may differ materially from currently planned programs as summarized in this discussion.

In Fiscal 2021, the Company experienced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite these challenges, the Company:

under the Company’s 401(k) retirement plan and non-qualified deferred compensation plan. The Company may also from time to time provide perquisites such as Company-paid or reimbursed automobiles, additional coverage under our medical plans and participation in deferred compensation plans, as discussed in this proxy statement.

We believe that a significant portion of executive officer compensation should be at-risk and dependent upon the achievement of measurable and objective performance metrics. In Fiscal 2021, the Annual Cash Incentive Awards for all NEOs were based on the achievement of pre-determined objective metrics of the Company and each individual NEO. Approximately 68% of the Chief Executive Officer’s total direct Fiscal 2021 compensation is comprised of stock and option awards (the “Equity Component”), including performance-based restricted stock awards (Mr. Joffe waived his right to receive the performance-based restricted stock, due under this Employment Agreement, in Fiscal 2020). These awards are subject to fluctuations in the Company’s stock price, which we believe aligns his interests with the interests of the Company’s shareholders going forward. This percentage compares with an Equity Component percentage of approximately 75% in Fiscal 2019 and 37% in Fiscal 2018. We believe the Equity Component of Mr. Joffe’s total direct compensation aligns his incentives with the interests of our shareholders. Starting in 2021 the great majority of Mr. Joffe’s Equity Component consists of performance-based awards, even better aligning his compensation with the interests of our shareholders.

The individual performance metrics used for the past three fiscal years and continuing into Fiscal 2021 focus on the transformation of our business including the launch of our new full line brake program, consolidation of our operations into low-cost countries, and electric vehicle and aerospace initiatives. We continue to invest in infrastructure and production processes needed for long term growth of the MPA franchise while balancing it with our short-term performance objectives. Notwithstanding the effects of COVID-19, we believe our investments are bearing fruit and will continue to accelerate in the coming periods.

Starting in Fiscal 2021, the Company tied the payment of the Annual Cash Incentive Awards to objective performance standards for all NEOs. In Fiscal 2022, the Company granted Performance Stock Units to all Executives in June 2021 which are tied to the achievement of EBITDA with certain adjustments and Pre-tax Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”) and Relative Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) against the Russell 3000 excluding financial and real estate stocks. Please see Form 8-K filed on June 24, 2021, for further detail of these awards.

Moreover, we believe that the compensation program should serve the interests of shareholders. Accordingly, we have adopted various policies and practices that we believe are in shareholders’ interests, including

As discussed above under “Governance Policies and Guidelines—Stock Ownership Guidelines,” we have also adopted stock ownership guidelines, pursuant to which each of our directors and executive officers are required to hold a certain number of shares of our common stock, within a specified timeframe.

At the Annual Meeting held on September 2, 2020, 65% of the votes cast by our shareholders approved the non-binding advisory vote related to executive compensation. As a result, we engaged and expect to continue to

engage our shareholders to understand their concerns with our executive compensation program, and with the goal of enhancing our shareholder communications. Please see Engagement of Shareholders section above for further details. In Fiscal 2021, we held discussions with 70% of our major shareholders regarding executive compensation and other governance and business performance issues. In response to the feedback we received in these meetings, we redesigned our incentive compensation plan focused on fulfilling our long-term strategic objectives and building shareholder value. The annual incentive compensation cash-based incentive program for FY21 employs Company and individual based objective metrics focused on building shareholder value and return. The equity granted after the 2020 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in June 2021 include performance stock unit with three-year performance metrics for all Executive Committee members, including the NEOs and a restricted stock grant to the CEO that vests based on objective metrics based on that build shareholder value and return. Our Executive Committee is a group of worldwide senior staff, including our NEOs, who meet weekly and are responsible for management and oversight of the Company, including our subsidiaries. All members of the Executive Committee were given objective metrics focused on building shareholder value to align our entire management team. Given the timing of our equity grant cycle which takes place each June, the feedback from shareholders during last year’s proxy season could not be effectuated until Fiscal 2022, as the grant for Fiscal 2021 took place several months prior to last year’s Annual Shareholders Meeting.

In Fiscal 2021, the Company focused on positioning itself with a sustainable growth model in our attempt to enhance short- and long-term shareholder value. This model is based on three key fundamental additions to its current business: 1) aligning its core operations in low-cost geographies, 2) expanding its product offering in the hard parts aftermarket, focused on the brake category; and 3) expanding the Company’s electrification technology for vehicle and aerospace applications.

The Compensation Committee is responsible for establishing, developing and maintaining our executive compensation program. The role of the Compensation Committee is to oversee our compensation and benefits plans and policies, administer our equity incentive plans and review and approve all compensation decisions relating to all executive officers and directors. In order for the Compensation Committee to perform its function, the following process for determining executive compensation decisions has been followed.

For Fiscal 2021, in response to comments from our shareholders, the Compensation Committee retained Willis Towers Watson (“Towers”) to assist the Compensation Committee complete an overview of our compensation process and metrics, including: the review of our peer group, short and long-term equity incentive plan as well as overall compensation levels of our Executive Committee. Towers has assisted the Company to respond to our shareholders, focusing our incentive compensation on shareholder return metrics. Towers does not perform any other consulting work or any other services for our Company, reports directly to the Compensation Committee, and takes direction from the Chair of the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee has assessed the independence of Towers pursuant to the rules prescribed by the SEC and has concluded that no conflict of interest existed or currently exists that would prevent Towers from serving as an independent consultant to the Compensation Committee.

The Compensation Committee considered analysis and advice from Towers when making compensation decisions for the Chief Executive Officer and other senior executives with regard to 2021 compensation, including Towers’ input on performance-based metrics for the annual cash and equity awards made.

Peer Group. Towers reviewed our peer group in Fiscal 2021 and determined that there were no meaningful changes that would improve our peer group, due to the lack of other public companies of similar market capitalization providing a similar product mix. As such the following peer group was maintained for Fiscal 2021: Dorman Products Inc., Fox Factor Holding Corp., Horizon Global Corporation, Modine Manufacturing Co., Myers Industries, Inc., Shyft Group Inc., Standard Motor Products Inc., Stoneridge Inc., Strattec Security Corp., Gentherm, Inc., Superior Industries International Inc. and Voxx International Corporation. Given the limitations of our peer group, Towers recommended that we asses compensation in relation to our peer group as well as other companies with similar revenue to obtain a more fulsome view of the market. Though the Compensation Committee does not itself undertake a formalized benchmarking process, it did engage Towers Watson to perform such a review detailing the competitiveness of our executive compensation relative to that of a peer group and survey data of other companies with similar revenue.

Fiscal 2021 Total Executive Compensation Review.

In reaching its executive compensation decisions for Fiscal 2021, the Committee considered analysis and advice contained in the Towers review regarding the competitiveness of our executive compensation program in comparison to our peer group and compensation surveys. The Compensation Committee determined that executive compensation, in aggregate, was within a competitive range around the market 50^th percentile for base salary, target total cash and target total direct both inclusive and exclusive of the CEO with variation by individual. The compensation levels assessed by Towers were based on actual base salary, target bonus and fair value of our most recent long-term incentives. When managing executive compensation towards our compensation philosophy, we focus on competitiveness in the aggregate with the understanding and expectation of individual variation relative to market.

Base Salaries. Our general policy is to initially set the base salaries of our named executive officers at levels that are competitive with our peers, and we generally only increase salaries in the case of promotions or significant increases to an officer’s duties and responsibilities. In Mr. Joffe’s case, his employment agreement provides for review of his base salary from time to time. Any increases to base salaries are reviewed by the Compensation Committee on a case-by-case basis. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 4, 2020, our named executive officers other than Mr. Joffe voluntarily elected to reduce their respective base salaries by twenty-five percent, given the drive to drastically cut expenses at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Mr. Joffe voluntarily elected to reduce his salary by 50 percent and did not elect to have the Company repay such monies. None of the other NEOs had a right to require repayment of the foregone base salary, and were not paid back any monies. Each of the named executive officers’ base salaries returned to their normal levels as of October 1, 2020. Mr. Joffe received a base salary increase from $752,960 to $828,256, as of June 18, 2021. The following table sets forth the Fiscal 2021 base salaries (without COVID reductions) for each named executive officer.

Annual Cash-Based Incentive Program. Each year we administer a cash-based incentive compensation program that aims to reward our named executive officers for the achievement of key financial (70%) and individual (30%) performance goals. In Fiscal 2021, the Company performance-based metrics were expanded to three metrics: (1) EBITDA with certain adjustments, see Appendix A (50%), which is calculated as earnings before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization and other adjustments described in our earnings releases attached as exhibits to the Company’s Reports on Form 8-K reporting the Company’s results of operations and financial condition for the applicable fiscal year as filed with the SEC, (2) Pre-tax return on invested capital (ROIC) (25%), and (3) Net Sales Run Rate (25%) (collectively, the “Company Performance Goal”) and an individualized set of quantitative and qualitative goals for each individual officer (the “Individual Goals” and, together with the Company Performance Goal, the “Performance Goals”). Net Sales Run Rate was determined by adding all actual and contractually promised sales contracts as of March 31, 2021

The Company Performance Goals were established by the Compensation Committee following its review of the Company’s plan, strategic initiatives and budget, and are shown in the chart below.

The Company’s actual performance with respect to the Company Performance Goals in Fiscal 2021 is shown in the chart below:

Total Bonus Earned by the NEOs with respect to the Company Performance Goals was 100.5%.

Each NEO was eligible to receive payment with respect to a Company Performance Goal provided the Company achieved that goal at the threshold amount or above (the “Threshold Goal”). If the Company’s actual performance was lower or higher than the target amount established for the relevant metric the bonus earned with respect to that goal was interpolated between either the threshold and the target amounts (80% and 100%) or the target amount and the maximum amount (100% and 120%) for each goal, multiplied by the percentage weighting for that goal.

Thirty percent (30%) of our annual cash-based incentive program is tied to the attainment of individual performance goals, which in conjunction with and approval by the Board, are established for each eligible NEO at the beginning of the fiscal year. The Board reviews and approves the overall Company strategy, as well as the individual goals and strategies used to achieve our overarching goals and long term plans. The goals established for our named executive officers may be quantitative or qualitative, but will always include objective standards to achieve. It should be noted that the CEO was assigned the same quantitative goals used for the Company goals for his individual goals, just with different weighting. The Individual Goals established for Fiscal 2021 for each named executive officer are detailed in the tables below.

The performance management process employed to establish individual goals, included three steps: 1) develop SMART goals, that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound, 2) weight the goals to equal 100%, and 3) score the goals. To receive credit for an individual bonus the NEO must get an overall score of “meet most” of the total of metrics or at least 80%. A “meets all” will pay out at 100% or target and an “EPICQ” means that you will receive 100% to the maximum of 120% credit. Any score between a threshold and target or between a target and maximum will be paid out at the interpolation of the scores. The Compensation Committee reviewed the performance of the NEOs and assessed their accomplishments against the pre-set goals for each executive, as discussed above. Mr. Joffe assists the Committee in reviewing each of the NEOs, other than his own performance.

At the end of Fiscal 2021, the Compensation Committee reviews the performance of each named executive officer and assesses each of their accomplishments against their respective Individual Goals. Mr. Joffe assists the Committee in reviewing each of the named executive officers, other than his own performance. Based on its review and evaluation, the Compensation Committee makes the final determination of the appropriate percentage of each of their Individual Goals that they have met. The Committee can exercise negative discretion or positive discretion if a NEO meets a measurable stretch goal in the execution of their performance metrics. The Company believes that the strategic initiatives supported by each of the Individual Goals has an immediate positive impact and, more importantly, will be critical to achievement of the Company’s five-year revenue growth and shareholder value targets. The Individual Goals established for each named executive officer and actual achievement of those goals are as follows:

The following table sets forth each NEO’s aggregate cash-based incentive opportunity and actual incentive payments earned with respect to Fiscal 2021.

In Fiscal 2022, the Compensation Committee has determined to allocate 80 percent weighting to the Company performance metrics and 20 percent weighting to the achievement of individual goals. The threshold for Fiscal 2022 was set at 50% payout, target at 100% and maximum at 150%. Each Company and individual goal are set to produce shareholder value.

Equity-Based Incentive Program. The goal of our long-term, equity-based incentive awards is to align the interests of our named executive officers with the interests of our common shareholders. Because vesting is generally based on continued service, in addition to other performance-based metrics in most cases, our equity-based incentives also encourage the retention of our named executive officers during the award vesting period. In determining the number of stock options, restricted stock units and/or restricted stock to be granted to NEOs, we consider the total value of the compensation opportunity afforded to each named executive officer and the competitive levels paid by our peers, as well as the individual’s position, scope of responsibility, and ability to affect profits and shareholder value. The mix has historically been 50% of value to stock options and 50% to restricted stock units to balance the incentive to increase shareholder value with full value awards. Though this year, all NEOs as of Fiscal Year 2020 were granted stock options with a performance requirement, increasing their alignment with shareholders. In line with shareholder recommendations, Towers recommended the use of a long term performance based equity grant to our NEOs. They also recommended increased grants to certain NEOs to bring their equity compensation more in line with peer. Tower’s recommendations were employed for the Fiscal 2022 grants made in June 2021.

The following tables sets forth the equity grants made to the named executive officers in Fiscal 2021 and 2022 and show the progression to more performance-based awards as well as long term vesting.

Each stock option and restricted stock unit award listed above vests annually over a three-year period, subject to continued employment. The Stock Options granted to Mr. Joffe, Mr. Lee, Mr. Mochulsky and Mr. Schooner are performance based, and require the Common Stock of the Company to increase at least 8%, 12% and 16% at the first, second and third anniversary of the grant or such vesting will be forfeit. The first-year grant vested, as the stock increased more than 50%.

In addition in accordance with the terms of the Third Amendment to his employment agreement, Mr. Joffe waived his right to receive 75,000 shares of restricted stock for Fiscal Year 2020 and instead received a grant of 100,000 shares of restricted stock which vest upon the attainment of performance goals, as described below, over one year. The Company has a contractual obligation to grant such performance based restricted stock vesting over one year, but in response to shareholder comments, the Company changed its long-standing practice of granting time-based stock options and instead granted long term performance based restricted stock units instead. Mr. Joffe’s performance based restricted stock, granted on September 2, 2020, has not yet vested, due to the one-year vesting period, but the Compensation Committee has determined that he has met 99.082% of the maximum goal and thus he will be granted 99,082 shares of stock on September 2, 2021.

The Compensation Committee chose the first two goals because each directly assists the Company in completing its footprint of the future and ultimately increases shareholder value in the long term by increasing our production capabilities, productivity and profitability. The last goal increases revenue and our ability to fund our expansion and ultimately increase profitability and thus shareholder value.

As discussed above the Compensation Committee determined to grant the NEOs and the entire Executive Committee long term performance based restricted stock units (“PSUs”) which cliff vest after three years, dependent on the attainment of performance metrics, instead of time-based stock options in June 2021, to better align the goals of our executive team with the performance of the stock and shareholder value. The Compensation Committee chose the following goals: 1) EBITDA with certain adjustments (See Appendix A for FY21 example), 2) Relative TSR to Russell 3000 with financial and real estate companies excluded, and 3) Net Sales, in order to align our Company performance with shareholder value, as it believes that each metric drives profitability and thus shareholder value. The Compensation Committee chose to compare total shareholder return (“TSR”) because the Company is a member of the index but excluded financial and real estate companies since their financials are completely different from that of MPA. We cannot share the exact goals, as we are not currently giving guidance, and the goals would be a sort of guidance since the metrics are related to the Company’s long term financial goals. The PSUs will be eligible to vest with respect to 0% - 150% of the target number of PSUs granted.

Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 162(m) generally provides that public companies cannot deduct compensation paid to its covered employees in excess of $1 million per year. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”), covered employees generally consisted of a corporation’s chief executive officer and each of its other three most highly compensated officers, other than its chief financial officer, and remuneration that qualified as “performance-based compensation” within the meaning of the IRC was exempt from this $1 million deduction limitation. As part of the Act, the ability to rely on this exemption was, with certain limited exceptions, eliminated. In addition, the determination of covered employees was generally expanded. In light of the repeal of the performance-based compensation exception to IRC Section 162(m), we may not be able to take a deduction for any compensation in excess of $1 million that is paid to a covered employee. As has historically been the case, we continue to have the discretion to determine the compensation for our executives that we determine to be appropriate and in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

ASC Topic 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation, or ASC Topic 718 requires us to recognize an expense for the fair value of equity-based compensation awards. Grants of stock options and restricted stock under our equity incentive award plans are accounted for under ASC Topic 718. The Compensation Committee regularly considers the accounting implications of significant compensation decisions, especially in connection with decisions that relate to our equity incentive award plans 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.

The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with management and based on such review and discussions, the Compensation Committee recommended to our Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.

The Compensation Committee also wishes to outline certain modifications made during Fiscal 2021:

Compensation Structure for 2021. In designing our compensation program for Fiscal 2021specifically, we looked carefully at what the key inflection point criteria should be to position the Company for continued growth and profitability over the next five years. The board concurred with management that it was critical for our long term success to move as much of our operations as possible to low-cost geographies and to launch another large category which was agnostic to EV technology to enable sustained growth and profitability from our hard parts business and, that we needed to establish ourselves in the EV space. As such the Compensation Committee set metrics that rewarded the NEOs for accomplishing these key milestone initiatives thus paving the way for stricter shareholder return metrics as performance measures going forward. We continue to provide opportunities to our NEOs to realize increases in their overall compensation if their efforts prove successful in generating growth and shareholder value while, at the same time, de-emphasizing those elements of compensation that are not directly related to our performance. While this philosophy is a component of our compensation decisions for Fiscal 2021, the structure will be more fully in place in Fiscal 2022 and following in that all incentive-based compensation (equity or cash) should be tied at least partially to quantitative metrics which drive shareholder value.

Improved Mix of Long-Term and Performance-Based Equity Compensation in 2021. In response to shareholder comments, the Compensation Committee increased the percentage of performance-based awards during our Fiscal 2021 grant and instituted a long-term performance based restricted stock unit instead of our traditional grant of stock options in Fiscal 2022. Importantly all performance-based equity awards granted in June 2021 utilized quantitative metrics including those focused on improved shareholder value, such as Pre-tax ROIC and relative TSR. Grants in June 2021 were also slightly increased for the NEOs other than the CEO to improve their total compensation relative to peer and market survey, if the Company and their performance meets the quantitative metrics required. We hope to use the mix of equity vehicles to support our long-term compensation philosophy as well as emphasize performance and alignment of executives with our shareholders.

Salary Reductions for Five Months of the Year. In Fiscal 2021, the Executive Committee, including our NEOs, gave up 25-50% of their base salary. In addition to salary reductions, the Company set about to institute major cost cutting in every department and budget line item, other than safety which costs necessarily increased due to our efforts to keep our employees safe from the COVID-19 virus.

Advancement of ESG Items. Our Company has also been concerned with environmental, social and governance matters; in Fiscal 2021 we put additional focus on each and increased our disclosure of the Company’s ESG footprint. The Company plans to continue to expand and grow our ESG metrics and the Nominating and Governance Committee has been tasked with strategic oversight of such progress.

By Members of the Compensation Committee

Rudolph Borneo, Chair

Dr. David Bryan

Jeffrey Mirvis

The preceding “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section generally describes our compensation policies, plans and practices that are applicable for our executives and management. Our Compensation Committee reviews the relationship between our risk management policies and practices, corporate strategy, and compensation practices. Our Compensation Committee has determined that these plans and practices, as applied to all of our employees, including our executive officers, does not encourage excessive risk taking at any level of our Company. The Compensation Committee does not believe that risks arising from its compensation plans, policies or practices are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our Company. Risk related to compensation is also reviewed as part of the Company’s overall compliance process overseen by the Audit Committee of the Company.

The following table sets forth information concerning Fiscal 2021, 2020, and 2019 compensation of our named executive officers.

The following table summarizes information regarding equity awards granted to our named executive officers that remain outstanding as of March 31, 2021.