CECE CECO Environmental Corporation

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

(RULE 14a-101)

PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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Check the appropriate box:

CECO ENVIRONMENTAL CORP.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than Registrant)

Payment of filing fee (Check the appropriate box):

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PROXY SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information contained in this Proxy Statement. Please read this entire Proxy Statement carefully before voting your shares. On April 24, 2023, we began to mail to our stockholders of record, as of the close of business on April 10,2023, either a notice containing instructions on how to access this Proxy Statement and our Annual Report through the Internet or a printed copy of these proxy materials. For more complete information regarding the Company’s 2022 performance, please review the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING

Attendance and Participation

Our Annual Meeting will be conducted on the internet via webcast only. Stockholders attending the Annual Meeting will be afforded the same rights and opportunities to attend and participate as they would at an in-person meeting, and will be able to submit questions during the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CECO2023. Stockholders who would like to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting will need the 16-digit control number included on their proxy card or voting instruction form. The Annual Meeting will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. We encourage you to access the Annual Meeting prior to the start time. Online access will begin at 7:45 a.m. Central Time.

The Annual Meeting platform is fully supported across browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari) and devices (desktops, laptops, tablets, and cell phones) running the most updated version of applicable software and plugins. Stockholders should ensure that they have a strong internet connection if they intend to attend and/or participate in the Annual Meeting. Attendees should allow plenty of time to log in and ensure that they can hear streaming audio prior to the start of the Annual Meeting.

Questions and Information Accessibility

Stockholders may submit questions during the Annual Meeting. If you wish to submit a question, you may do so by logging into the virtual meeting platform at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CECO2023, typing your question into the “Ask a Question” field, and clicking “Submit.”

Questions pertinent to the Annual Meeting will be answered during the Annual Meeting, subject to time constraints. Any such questions that cannot be answered during the Annual Meeting due to time constraints will be posted and answered on our Investor Relations website, https://investor.cecoenviro.com/, as soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting.

Additional information regarding the ability of stockholders to ask questions during the Annual Meeting, related rules of conduct and other materials for the Annual Meeting, including the list of our stockholders of record, will be available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CECO2023. Stockholders may view the list for such purposes 10 days prior to the meeting by contacting Investor.Relations@OneCECO.com.

Technical Difficulties

Information regarding matters addressing technical and logistical issues, including technical support during the Annual Meeting, will be available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CECO2023 starting at 7:45 a.m. Central Time on June 5, 2023, through the conclusion of the Annual Meeting.

We will provide a copy of our proxy materials for the Annual Meeting to any stockholder without charge upon written request addressed to CECO Environmental Corp., to the attention of the Corporate Secretary, 14651 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas 75254 or by phone at (214) 357-6181. Any stockholder may also receive a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the SEC, without exhibits, upon written request to the address above.

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ATTRIBUTES AND EXPERIENCE

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Our Board believes that collectively our directors provide the diversity of experience and skills necessary for a well-functioning board. Our Board values highly the ability of individual directors to contribute to a constructive board environment and believes that our current directors perform in such a manner. Below is a description of each director nominee’s background, professional experience, qualifications and skills.

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VOTE REQUIRED

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In order to be elected, a nominee must receive the affirmative vote a majority of the shares represented at the Annual Meeting in person or by proxy.

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Our Board recommends a vote “FOR” the election of each director nominee named above.

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Our Board and Its Committees

Our Board has four standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Mergers & Acquisitions Committee, and the Nominations and Governance Committee. Each of these committees operates under a written charter, which can be found on our website www.cecoenviro.com in the Investor Relations, Corporate Governance section.

Director Independence

All of our directors, other than Mr. Gleason, qualify as independent directors in accordance with the listing requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “NASDAQ”). The NASDAQ independence definition includes a series of objective tests, including that the director is not an employee of our Company and has not engaged in various types of business dealings with us. In addition, our Board has made a subjective determination as to each independent director that no relationships exist, which, in the opinion of our Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director.

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Meeting Attendance

During 2022, our Board held 8 regular meetings. Directors are expected to regularly attend Board meetings and meetings of committees on which they serve, as well as the annual meeting of stockholders. With the exception of Mr. Knowling (who missed one Board meeting) each director attended 100% of the total number of Board meetings, and 100% of all applicable committee meetings were attended by directors serving on those committees. Our Board's policy regarding director attendance at the Annual Meeting is that directors are encouraged to attend, and that we will make all appropriate arrangements for directors to attend. All of the directors, other than Mr. Knowling, who was not a director at the time, attended our 2022 Annual Meetings of Stockholders.

Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

The positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer are held by different individuals: Mr. DeZwirek serves as Chairman and Mr. Gleason serves as Chief Executive Officer. Although our Bylaws provide that any two or more offices may be held by the same person, our Board believes that the current separation of the offices of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman reflects the difference in the roles of those positions. Our Chief Executive Officer is responsible for determining the strategic direction and the day-to-day leadership of our Company. Our Chairman facilitates and provides leadership to our Board and executive management and ensures they are focused on key issues. The Chairman of the Board shares a common understanding of the organization with the executive management and provides focus to ensure our Board is effective in its task of setting and implementing the Company’s strategy.

The separation of the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and the independence of a majority of our Board help ensure independent oversight of management. All of our directors, other than the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gleason, qualify as independent under the applicable NASDAQ listing requirements. Our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominations and Governance Committee — are comprised entirely of independent directors. Additionally, the non-management directors regularly meet in executive session, and the independent directors meet in executive session, as required.

Our management is responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing the material risks facing our Company. Our Board performs an important role in the review and oversight of these risks and generally oversees our Company’s risk management practices and processes, with a strong emphasis on financial controls. Our Board has delegated primary oversight of the management of (i) financial and accounting risks and related-party transaction risks to our Audit Committee, (ii) compensation risk to our Compensation Committee, and (iii) ESG risk to our Nominations and Governance Committee. To the extent that the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee or the Nominations and Governance Committee identifies any material risks or related issues, the risks or issues are addressed with the full Board.

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ESG Oversight

Environmental, Social and Governance Matters

We believe that the Company is able to advance ESG-related considerations and that sound corporate citizenship includes responsiveness to ESG issues that materially impact our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate. We are committed to operating our business with integrity; focusing on material ESG issues; giving back to the communities we serve; being environmentally conscious; and improving the lives of workers involved in manufacturing our products. Our Nominations and Governance Committee has formal oversight of ESG related matters, including our governance-related policies and strategies on which we advance sustainability through our business and operations.

Our Board believes that the Board, as a whole, should have a diverse range of characteristics and skills to function at an optimal level in exercising its oversight over our Company. When evaluating a person for nomination for election to our Board, the qualifications and skills considered by our Board, including our Nominations and Governance Committee, include:

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Our Board applies a broad concept of diversity, which includes all of the criteria listed in the paragraph below together with other factors such as the nominee’s experience and leadership abilities. When our Board seeks new director candidates to add to our Board or to replace directors who have resigned or recommends the re-election of incumbent directors, our Board selects director nominees on the basis of all of these criteria with the goal of finding the best match for our Board.

The Board is also committed to having a membership that reflects a diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age and background. This commitment is demonstrated by the fact that the Board currently includes one female director and two directors who are ethnically diverse. Our directors currently range in age from 52 to 72.

With respect to skill set diversity, our Board seeks to have directors and nominees composed of qualified professionals with a broad range of skills. Our current directors have a broad range of skills, expertise and diversity, some of which have been described in the director profiles. Diversity helps to create a balanced Board to effectively develop strategies for our Company’s growth. In fact, it is the Board’s objective to take affirmative steps to enhance the Board’s diversity. This will be done over time, taking into account the valuable knowledge and experience of the present board members.

Board Composition Changes

Mr. Liner will not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting, and his term as director will end at the Annual Meeting.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Corporate Governance Guidelines

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our directors and employees (including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer and persons performing similar functions) and Corporate Governance Guidelines applicable to our directors to assist our Board in following corporate guidelines that serve the best interests of our Company and stockholders. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Corporate Governance Guidelines are posted on our website www.cecoenviro.com on the Investor Relations, Corporate Governance section. We will post on our website any amendments to or waivers of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for executive officers or directors in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The information on or accessible through our website is not a part of or incorporated by reference into this Proxy Statement.

Insider Trading Policy

Our Insider Trading Policy, which applies to the Company and all of our directors, officers, employees, and agents, expressly prohibits buying or selling securities while in possession of material, nonpublic information about us or another company and from disclosing such information on to others who might purchase or sell securities on the basis of such information. We consider short term or speculative transactions by our personnel involving our securities to be inappropriate. We also discourage our personnel from buying or selling our securities in margin accounts. Our Insider Trading Policy expressly prohibits the following activities with respect to our securities: short sales, including short sales against the box, buying or selling puts or calls and frequent trading to take advantage of fluctuations in stock price. The restrictions under our Insider Trading Policy also apply to immediate family and household members of our directors, officers, employees, and agents.

Our Insider Trading Policy prohibits all members of our Board and all officers and employees of the Company and its subsidiaries from engaging in hedging or monetization transactions, including through the use of financial instruments such as prepaid variable forwards, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds, or through other transactions that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of Company securities. The policy further prohibits such persons from pledging, hypothecating or otherwise using the Company’s securities as collateral for a loan or other form of indebtedness.

Stockholder Communications with Directors

Our Board has adopted a process by which stockholders may communicate with our Board for matters other than director nominations. Stockholders who would like to communicate with our Board or a committee of our Board should send the communication to: Chairman of the Board, CECO Environmental Corp., 14651 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 500, Dallas Texas, 75254.

Our Chairman of the Board, Mr. DeZwirek, will forward such communications to our Board at or prior to its next regular meeting. Stockholders wishing to communicate only with the independent directors can address their communications to

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“Independent Directors, c/o Chairman of the Board” at the same address above. These communications will be forwarded to the independent directors at or prior to the next meeting of the independent directors.

Our Board or the independent directors will determine, in their respective sole discretion, the method by which any such communications will be reviewed and considered.

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Our Board has implemented mandatory stock ownership guidelines for non-management directors to further align the interests of non-management directors and stockholders. Each non-management director is required to own shares of our common stock having a value equal to three times the non-management director’s regular annual cash retainer (which amount currently equals $150,000). Non-management directors have three years from the date of his or her election or appointment to the Board to attain such ownership levels. As of December 31, 2022, all non-management directors met the stock ownership requirement, expect for Mr. Knowling, who has served on the Board for less than three years and thus is not yet subject to the ownership requirement. For purposes of this requirement, a non-management director’s stock ownership includes all shares of our common stock owned by the non-management director outright or held in trust for the director and the director’s immediate family, plus a non-management director’s RSUs. The value of a share is measured as the greater of the then current market price or the closing price of a share of our common stock on the acquisition or grant date.

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We are seeking your advisory (non-binding) vote approving the compensation of our named executive officers. We believe that the structure of our executive officer compensation programs promotes the long-term interests of our stockholders. Our executive officer compensation programs are designed to attract, retain, motivate and reward talented executive officers who will achieve our business objectives and create long-term value for our stockholders. We believe that our compensation program rewards sustained performance that is aligned with long-term stockholder interests.

This proposal, commonly known as a “Say-on-Pay” proposal, gives our stockholders the opportunity to express their views on our named executive officers’ compensation. This 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 stockholders to read the Executive Compensation sections of this Proxy Statement, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, which discuss our compensation policies and procedures, and the compensation of our named executive officers for 2022.

At our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our Say-on-Pay proposal to approve the compensation of our named executive officers was supported by approximately 98% of all votes represented at the meeting. We believe that this indicates strong support for our continued focus on aligning our named executive officer compensation programs with the interests of our stockholders. During 2022, we continued to focus on pay for performance, and in addition to granting time-based RSUs, we granted PRSUs that only vest if our market performance meets or exceeds the goals established by our Compensation Committee.

This vote is required pursuant to Section 14A of the Exchange Act and is advisory and non-binding; however, our Compensation Committee and our Board are expected to consider the results of the vote when making future determinations regarding our named executive officer compensation programs. Advisory Say-on-Pay votes have been scheduled to be held once every year. We expect to hold the next advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers in 2024.

VOTE REQUIRED

This proposal requires an affirmative vote of the majority of shares represented at the Annual Meeting in person or by proxy for advisory approval.

Our Board recommends a vote “FOR” the following resolution, providing an advisory approval of the compensation of our named executive officers:

RESOLVED, that the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables and the related material disclosed in this Proxy Statement, is hereby approved.

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2022 Stockholder Engagement

At our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our advisory “Say-on-Pay” proposal to approve the compensation of our named executive officers was supported by approximately 98% votes represented at the meeting. Our Compensation Committee believes that this strong approval reflects our continued efforts to improve our compensation practices. During 2022, we had direct contact and discussions with stockholders representing approximately 57% of our outstanding shares, consistent with our experience in 2021. Mr. Gleason, Mr. Eckl (during his employment) and Mr. Johansson, as well as some of our directors, participated in these discussions and provided stockholder feedback to our Board as a whole. Our Compensation Committee considered the 2022 Say-on-Pay voting results at its subsequent meetings and remains dedicated to continuous improvement to our executive compensation programs, although it did not make any changes to our executive compensation policies or practices that were specifically driven by the outcome of that vote.

Compensation Policy and Objectives

Our Compensation Committee believes that an effective executive compensation program generally rewards the achievement of annual, long-term and strategic goals set by the Company and aligns our named executive officers’ interests with those of our other stockholders. Our executive compensation program is designed to attract, motivate, retain and reward highly qualified individuals who are committed to the achievement of solid financial performance and excellence in the management of our Company assets. To accomplish this objective, our typical executive compensation program is designed to provide competitive compensation and to link compensation to our Company’s financial and operational performance. Our Compensation Committee generally evaluates compensation against individual and external market factors to help ensure that we maintain our ability to attract, motivate and retain key executive talent.

Total compensation for our named executive officers generally is comprised of base salary, short-term incentives and long-term incentives, a portion of which is designed to be earned based on our Company’s financial performance. From time to time, our Compensation Committee may approve discretionary cash bonuses or special equity awards to recognize and reward a named executive officer’s individual effort in certain circumstances.

Compensation Committee Role

Our Compensation Committee oversees our compensation programs, with particular attention paid to the compensation of our CEO and the other named executive officers, to help ensure that our compensation philosophy is consistent with the best interests of the Company and our stockholders. It reviews and approves (or, as appropriate, recommends to our Board for approval) changes to our executive compensation programs. While our Compensation Committee has historically established and utilized objective, formula-based arrangements, it believes that an effective executive compensation program also requires the use of sound business judgment and the ability to exercise discretion. Accordingly, our Compensation Committee retains discretion to adjust the mix of cash and equity compensation components, adjust the mix of RSUs and PRSUs awarded, and offer other forms of equity-based compensation. In the past, our Compensation Committee has exercised its discretion and modified the awards to our named executive officers. We believe that this discretion allows our Compensation Committee to better reward the relative contributions of each named executive officer and to respond to market practices as our business needs change.

Role of Compensation Consultants in Compensation Decisions

Our Compensation Committee has engaged Meridian Compensation Partners LLC ("Meridian") as its independent executive compensation consultant to advise our Compensation Committee on executive compensation matters. At our Compensation Committee’s direction, Meridian prepared, presented and made recommendations on peer group data, competitive market pay, compensation structure and general market trends for our NEOs and the Board. More specifically, Meridian provided market and peer group data to give our Compensation Committee context for our Company’s short-term cash and long-term equity compensation. The Compensation Committee sought the advice of Meridian in considering the design of the NEOs’ incentive compensation and the Board’s total cash compensation and

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equity incentive. As described above, we also consulted Meridian in connection with determining Mr. Johansson’s compensation package, which emphasizes performance metrics. In reviewing our executive compensation programs for market-competitiveness and alignment with industry best practices, our Compensation Committee considered the information and advice presented by Meridian.

Our Compensation Committee assessed the independence of Meridian, as required under the NASDAQ listing requirements, and considered and assessed all relevant factors, including those set forth in Rule 10C-1(b)(4)(i) through (vi) under the Exchange Act, which could give rise to a potential conflict of interest with respect to Meridian during 2022. Based on this review, our Compensation Committee did not identify any conflict of interest raised by the work of Meridian. Meridian does not provide any services to management or any other services to our Company.

Role of Executive Officers in Compensation Decisions

Our annual and long-term incentive-based executive compensation is generally structured to reward our executive officers for achieving our Company’s business goals. From time to time, our Compensation Committee relies upon recommendations made by our management, and in particular, our CEO, regarding compensation for our executive officers other than our CEO. As part of its review and establishment of the performance criteria and compensation of our named executive officers, our Compensation Committee meets separately with our CEO at least once each year and with our other executive officers as it deems appropriate. Our CEO annually reviews the performance of each of our other named executive officers (other than himself) with our Compensation Committee and makes recommendations to our Compensation Committee regarding such named executive officers’ compensation. Our Compensation Committee makes its compensation decisions for our named executive officers, other than the CEO, based on that review and the recommendations of our CEO. Each year, our CEO’s performance is reviewed by our non-management directors, and based on that review, our Compensation Committee makes a recommendation to the non-management directors regarding the compensation of our CEO.

Setting Executive Compensation

Our Compensation Committee evaluates the performance of our CEO and the other named executive officers as described above and reviews and approves the annual salary and any annual cash incentive, bonus, long-term stock-based compensation and other material benefits of our named executive officers other than our CEO, subject to the terms of any applicable employment agreements. Based on the recommendations of our Compensation Committee, our non-management directors approve the annual salary and any annual cash incentive, bonus, long-term stock-based compensation and other material benefits of our CEO, subject to the terms of his employment agreement.

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Highlights of 2022 Executive Compensation

Throughout 2022, the management team remained focused on growth and effectively managed through significant market challenges, organizational change, and the competition for talent. As a result, we had a capstone, high-growth transformational year, setting a record in Bookings, and exceeding targets in Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash

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Flow metrics. As a result of this performance, our named executive officers earned cash incentive compensation for 2022 at a payout percentage of 200% of target.

In April 2022, as incentive for future performance, Messrs. Gleason, Eckl, and Nuggihalli were awarded an annual grant of PRSUs (and Mr. Johansson was awarded PRSUs in August 2022) that give them the opportunity to earn shares based on our Company’s future performance. As in prior years, each named executive officer also received a grant of timed-based RSUs that vest over four years, so the value an executive officer may actually realize depends on our future stock performance.

The charts below show the proportion of base salary and cash incentive payments for 2022 and the RSUs and PRSUs granted in the first half of 2022 for each of Messrs. Gleason and Nuggihalli (and August 2022 for Mr. Johansson). The compensation of Mr. Gleason is discussed in further detail below. The PRSUs noted below represent the grant date fair value and assume probable achievement with respect to performance conditions.

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Key Elements of 2022 Compensation

Our 2022 executive compensation program consisted of cash, with a fixed base salary and an annual cash incentive opportunity, and equity generally in the form of RSUs and PRSUs.

2022 Base Salary

We provide our named executive officers with a base salary to compensate them for the expertise and value they bring to us. Base salary is determined for each individual based on the executive’s position and responsibility, taking into account the executive’s impact level, external market data, scope of responsibility, prior experience, past accomplishments and other similar factors (including negotiation when joining the Company), and whether the particular base salary is subject to any existing employment agreement.

Salary levels for our named executive officers are reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee annually as well as upon joining the Company or upon a promotion or other change in job responsibility. The salary levels, including any increases, are also based on our Compensation Committee’s evaluation of the individual’s strengths, development, and expected future contributions with respect to the corporate goals and objectives relevant to the individual’s compensation, including individual performance. In 2022, our Compensation Committee approved merit increases ranging from 5% to 7% of the base salaries for each of Messrs. Gleason, Nuggihalli, and Eckl to help achieve market competitiveness and address retention considerations following a moderate merit increase of 2% in 2021. In 2022, Mr. Johansson’s base salary was newly negotiated when he joined the Company.

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2022 Cash Incentive Compensation

We believe that, in typical circumstances, a portion of our named executive officers’ cash compensation should be earned based on our annual performance, so that our executive officers are appropriately motivated to maximize our financial and operating performance each year. Early each year, our Compensation Committee typically selects executive officers to participate in the annual incentive program and determines the amount of the award opportunity and the performance goals for the participant.

For 2022, the performance objectives under our annual incentive program were established in the first quarter of 2022 by our Compensation Committee after consultation with our Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President of Human Resources and consisted of equally-weighted objectives of Bookings, Adjusted EBITDA, Revenue and Free Cash Flow, in each case established by reference to the Company’s annual operating plan. The payout with respect to each metric could range from 0% to a maximum of 200% of target, as set forth in the table below:

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In early 2023, the Compensation Committee determined that the Company’s performance in 2022 resulted in total formulaic payout of 195% of target for each named executive officer under the annual incentive program as shown below:

*Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are non-GAAP measures. Adjusted EBITDA for purposes of our annual incentive program can be calculated from our audited financial statements as follows: Net income adjusted for the effects of amortization and earnouts expenses, acquisition and integration expenses, executive transition expenses, depreciation, non-cash stock compensation, other income & expense, interest expense, income tax expense, and noncontrolling interest. Free Cash Flow for purposes of our annual incentive program can be calculated from our audited financial statements as follows: Cash provided by operating activities adjusted for the effects of earnout payments (within operating activities) and acquisitions of property and equipment. Please refer to Appendix 2 to this Proxy Statement for reconciliation information relating to the non-GAAP measures presented herein.

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At the time the performance goals were established in early 2022, the Company’s operations and the global community were once again impacted as businesses remained out of office, the supply chain was disrupted, and labor shortages affected day to day business operations. Throughout 2022, however, the management team remained focused on growth and effectively managed through significant market challenges, organizational change, and the competition for talent.

In 2022, in connection with certifying the results of the corporate performance objectives described above, the Compensation Committee also subjectively evaluated the Company’s performance and the performance of the management team (including individual NEOs), with a particular focus on the following key accomplishments:

In view of the Company’s strong performance and the NEOs key accomplishments, the Compensation Committee approved cash bonus payouts equal to 200% of the target level. The Compensation Committee believes the 2022 cash

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bonus payments reflect a strong correlation with the short-term financial performance of the Company. We believe that investors evaluate companies in our industry in part based on their ability to grow their businesses profitably while maintaining adequate returns on their invested capital. The Compensation Committee believes that the 2022 annual incentive award payouts help to align the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders.

The payouts of the annual incentive awards for 2022 are set forth in the table below and reflected in our 2022 Summary Compensation Table under the column captioned “Bonus” and "Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation."

*Mr. Johansson’s award was pro rated to reflect his partial year of service.

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Long-Term Equity Compensation

Our Compensation Committee believes that granting stock-based awards on an annual basis provides our executive officers with a strong economic interest in maximizing stockholder returns over the longer term and is important in retaining and recruiting the key talent necessary to ensure our Company’s continued success. As a result, our equity compensation programs have been designed to promote the long-term financial interests and growth of our Company by: (i) helping attract and retain management with the ability to contribute to the success of the business; (ii) providing an opportunity for increased equity ownership by our executive officers and (iii) maintaining competitive levels of total compensation.

Under our 2021 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan, awards may take the form of restricted stock grants, bonus stock grants without restrictions, non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options, RSUs, performance-based awards and certain other awards. Our Compensation Committee believes that the ability to grant various types of equity awards offers more flexibility in designing the overall compensation packages. Our Compensation Committee administers our equity compensation plans.

2022 Equity Grants

Our Compensation Committee changed our Company’s long-term equity incentive practices in 2018 to provide for grants of long-term incentive awards that generally consist of RSUs that typically vest over time and PRSUs that typically vest only to the extent our Company attains the performance goals established by our Compensation Committee. To the extent stock units vest, the recipient receives one share of our for each vested stock unit and an amount in cash equal to the dividends, if any, that would have been paid on the underlying common stock since the date of the stock unit grant.

For 2022, the value of the total stock units awarded to each named executive officer serving at the beginning of the year was based on a fixed dollar amount determined by our Compensation Committee with Meridian’s guidance. To determine the number of stock units for Messrs. Gleason, Nuggihalli and Eckl, we divided the target value of the award by $5.18, the closing stock price on the date of grant. For Mr. Gleason, our Compensation Committee determined that his equity awards would have an aggregate target value of approximately $1,000,000 and consist of 30% RSUs and 70% PRSUs. For Mr. Nuggihalli, our Compensation Committee determined that his equity awards would have an aggregate target value of approximately $300,000 and consist of 50% RSUs and 50% PRSUs. For Mr. Eckl, our Compensation Committee determined that his equity awards would have an aggregate target value of approximately $250,000 and consist of 50% RSUs and 50% PRSUs.

Given Mr. Johansson joined the Company in August 2022, to determine the number of stock units for Mr. Johansson, we divided the target value of the award by $10.13, the closing stock price on the date of grant. For Mr. Johansson, our Compensation Committee determined that his equity awards would have an aggregate target value of approximately $300,000 and consists of 50% RSUs and 50% PRSUs. Additionally, Mr. Johansson received a one-time sign-on equity grant of $150,000 in RSUs when he joined the Company, which will vest in four annual installments subject to his continued employment.

The RSUs that were granted to the named executive officers in March 2022 vest in four substantially equal annual installments on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date. All of the 2022 RSU awards granted to our named executive officers are shown in the “2022 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table” below in this Proxy Statement.

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The long-term performance awards that were granted in 2022 were designated as PRSUs that generally vest on March 15, 2025, to the extent our Company attains the Relative TSR (as defined below) goal for the performance period beginning on January 1, 2022, and ending on December 31, 2024, as established by our Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee determined to use Relative TSR for the 2022 PRSU awards because this metric keeps the focus on creating value (i.e., alignment with shareholder interests) even in challenging times. Messrs. Gleason, Johansson, Nuggihalli and Eckl were granted the following target PRSU awards (which can be earned from 0% to 150% of target levels based on actual performance):

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For purposes of the 2022 PRSU awards, Relative TSR is the percentile rank of the Company’s total shareholder return as compared to (and included in) the total shareholder returns of all members of a designated peer group at the end of the 2022-2024 performance period. “Total shareholder return” is a rate of return reflecting stock price appreciation, plus the reinvestment of dividends in additional shares of stock (with appropriate adjustments for certain changes in capital structure), from the beginning of the performance period through the end of the performance period, where (1) the beginning stock price is based on the average closing stock price for the 20 calendar days preceding January 1, 2022 and (2) the ending stock price is based on the average closing stock price for the 20 calendar days preceding January 1, 2025.

For purposes of Relative TSR, the Company’s total shareholder return will be compared against a peer group of 68 publicly traded companies that, at the time of selection by the Compensation Committee, were classified in the Materials or Industrials sector with a market capitalization from $100 million to $500 million. The list of Relative TSR peer companies is included with this Proxy Statement as Appendix 1. The peer group is subject to adjustment in the event of certain significant events that occur with respect to a peer company, including bankruptcy, delisting, liquidation, certain acquisitions, or “going private” transactions.

The PRSUs are divided into three equal tranches which will vest on March 15, 2025. Each one-third tranche has a specific "Performance Period" from January 1, 2022, until December 31 of each “Performance Period” as outlined in the table below.

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For each one-third tranche, a percentage of the PRSUs subject to such one-third tranche will be earned based on achievement of Relative TSR during the performance period for such one-third tranche as follows (with straight line mathematical interpolation between performance levels):

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However, regardless of the level of Relative TSR performance, if the Company’s absolute total shareholder return at the end of the last Performance Period is negative, the percentage of target PRSUs earned will not exceed 100% of target.

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