ASPEN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHARTER
A. Purpose
The purpose of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
is to:
- identify individuals qualified to become Board members;
- recommend to the Board the persons to be nominated by the Board
for election as directors at the annual meeting of
stockholders;
- develop and recommend to the Board a set of corporate
governance principles applicable to the Company; and
- oversee the evaluation of the Board and management.
B. Structure and Membership
- Number. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee shall consist of such number of directors as
the Board shall from time to time determine.
- Independence. Except as otherwise permitted by
the applicable rules of Nasdaq, each member of the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee shall be "independent" as defined by
such rules.
- Chair. Unless the Board elects a Chair of the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Committee shall
elect a Chair by majority vote.
- Compensation. The compensation of Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee members shall be as determined
by the Board.
- Selection and Removal. Members of the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be appointed by
the Board, upon the recommendation of the Committee. The Board may
remove members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
from such Committee, with or without cause
C. Authority and Responsibilities
Board and Committee Membership
- Selection of Director Nominees. Except where
the Company is legally required by contract or otherwise to provide
third parties with the ability to nominate directors, the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible
for (i) identifying individuals qualified to become Board members
and (ii) recommending to the Board the persons to be nominated by
the Board for election as directors at the annual meeting of
stockholders and the persons to be elected by the Board to fill any
vacancies on the Board.
- Criteria for Selecting Directors. In
nominating candidates, the Committee shall take into consideration
such factors as it deems appropriate. These factors may include
judgment, skill, diversity, character, experience with businesses
and other organizations of comparable size, the interplay of the
candidate's experience with the experience of other Board members,
and the extent to which the candidate would be a desirable addition
to the Board and any committees of the Board. The Committee may
consider candidates proposed by management, but is not required to
do so. The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing with the
Board, on an annual basis, the requisite skills and criteria for
new Board members as well as the composition of the Board as a
whole.
- Search Firms. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee shall have the sole authority to retain and
terminate any search firm to be used to identify director nominees,
including sole authority to approve the search firm's fees and
other retention terms. The Committee is empowered, without further
action by the Board, to cause the Company to pay the compensation
of any search firm engaged by the Committee.
- Selection of Committee Members. The Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible for
recommending to the Board the directors to be appointed to each
committee of the Board.
Evaluation of the Board and Management; Succession Planning - Evaluation of the Board. The Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible for overseeing
an annual self-evaluation of the Board to determine whether it and
its committees are functioning effectively. The Committee shall
determine the nature of the evaluation, supervise the conduct of
the evaluation and prepare an assessment of the Board's
performance, to be discussed with the Board.
- Evaluation of Senior Executives. The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be responsible
for overseeing the evaluation of the Company's senior executives.
In conjunction with the Board's Compensation Committee and, in the
case of the evaluation of the senior financial management, the
Board's Audit Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee shall determine the nature and frequency of the
evaluation and the persons subject to the evaluation, supervise the
conduct of the evaluation and prepare assessments of the
performance of the Company's senior executives, to be discussed
with the Board periodically.
- Succession of Senior Executives. The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall present an
annual report to the Board on succession planning, which shall
include transitional Board leadership in the event of an unplanned
vacancy.
D. Procedures and Administration
- Meetings. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee shall meet as often as it deems necessary in
order to be perform its responsibilities. The Committee shall keep
such records of its meetings as it shall deem appropriate.
- Subcommittees. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee may form and delegate authority to one or more
subcommittees (including a subcommittee consisting of a single
member), as it deems appropriate from time to time under the
circumstances.
- Reports to the Board. The Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee shall report regularly to the
Board.
- Charter. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee shall, from time to time as it deems
appropriate, review and reassess the adequacy of this Charter and
recommend any proposed changes to the Board for approval.
- Independent Advisors. The Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee shall have the authority to engage
such independent legal and other advisors as it deems necessary or
appropriate to carry out its responsibilities. Such independent
advisors may be the regular advisors to the Company. The Committee
is empowered, without further action by the Board, to cause the
Company to pay the compensation of such advisors as established by
the Committee.
- Investigations. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee shall have the authority to conduct or
authorize investigations into any matters within the scope of its
responsibilities as it shall deem appropriate, including the
authority to request any officer, employee or advisor of the
Company to meet with the Committee or any advisors engaged by the
Committee.
- Annual Self-Evaluation. At least annually, the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall evaluate its
own performance.