CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Human
Capital Empowerment and Talent Development
We believe in a just and inclusive, values-based, mission-led culture that inspires
commitment and drives performance. Our human capital strategy is
focused on the attraction, development, empowerment, recognition,
and rewarding of team members as they bring our mission to
life.
We strive to create a diverse culture of inclusion and an
environment that encourages and reinforces mutual trust, makes it
safe to express thoughts, ideas and concerns, and connects and
embraces diverse backgrounds and perspectives to power and fuel our
mission. We believe such a diverse and inclusive workforce can lead
to a more effective company.
We are focused on providing a total compensation package that
enables us to attract, motivate, and retain our employees to help
drive our business forward. Our benefits package includes company
contributions to the 401(k) plan, educational assistance to our
team members and their dependents, flexible work arrangements, and
other comprehensive health and welfare programs. We also believe in
paying competitive market wages, which is why we established
$20/hour as our minimum starting rate for all positions in
2021.
As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately 1,700 team
members, all located in the United States. We believe an engaged
workforce leads to a more innovative, productive, and profitable
company. For this reason, we measure employee engagement through
culture surveys. These culture surveys provide insights we use to
create an environment in which team members thrive and bring their
full selves to work.
Ensuring the safety and well-being of our team members continued to
be a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, we
enacted a robust business continuity plan, including remote working
capabilities for all team members. We further adapted to the
changing environment in 2021, and now offer remote, in-office, and hybrid options so our
team may work in a manner best suited for them and their positions.
We continue to provide team members with the tools and resources
necessary to support their success and drive performance of the
Company.
Our team members are involved in the communities in which they live
and work through the Sallie Mae Employee Volunteer Program and the
Sallie Mae Employee Matching Gift Program. In 2022, our team
members volunteered 1,928 hours of their time through our community
engagement programs. We also provide matching gifts for team
members to support the interests and needs of them and their
communities.
Corporate Governance
Sallie Mae’s Board of Directors, executive leaders, team members,
and business partners are committed to operating under sound
principles of corporate governance. We believe maintaining high
standards of accountability and transparency are fundamental for
the long-term success of our business. Our corporate governance
structure ensures robust Board and management responsibility,
responsiveness to our stockholders, and responsible
decision-making. Our overarching code of conduct, corporate
governance policies, Board committee charters, certificate of
incorporation, and By-Laws
form the framework of governance at Sallie Mae. Since the formation
of the Company, we have attracted and built a strong, qualified,
and diverse Board of Directors whose members have expertise
relevant to our business and are deeply committed to operating
ethically and with integrity. Eleven members of the Board are
independent directors, including Ms. Franke, the first woman
to serve as Board Chair in the Company’s history.
Political
Expenditures
Our current policy on political activities is publicly available on
our website at www.salliemae.com/investors/corporate-governance/
and sets forth the principles regarding our stance on political
activities. We comply with federal, state, and local lobbying
registration and disclosure requirements. We work closely with the
Nominations and Governance Committee to review and assess our
existing policies, procedures, and decision-making approaches to
government relations and political activities.
At this time, we have one long-term, experienced employee engaged
in lobbying activities exclusively related to matters that directly
or indirectly affect the Private Education Loan (as hereinafter
defined) industry and our mission. The compensation of the
employee, and other executives, for time attributed to lobbying
activity is reported as lobbying expenditure. That employee manages
external, bipartisan lobbying/consulting firms that assist with the
same objectives, and we report the lobbying-related expenditures
made to external firms in our lobbying disclosures. Our involvement
with industry associations is limited to those associations
comprised of financial institutions with similar interests.
22 SLM
CORPORATION