UNITED STATES


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A


Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.    )

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Armonk, New York 10504


March 12, 2018

6, 2023

Dear Fellow Stockholders:

On behalf of the IBM Board of Directors, you are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 10 a.m., at25, 2023.
Building a Stronger IBM
In the Hyatt Regency Milwaukeepast year, we took decisive steps to build a stronger IBM and helped our clients turn business challenges into opportunities. The market recognizes hybrid cloud and AI as the two most transformational technologies of our time and, for clients, they serve as fundamental sources of competitive advantage. Our consulting teams have brought these technologies to life for our clients to accelerate their digital transformations and enterprise automation journeys. We also continued a steady pace of acquisitions to bolster our portfolio, delivered innovations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Our Boardinfrastructure, strengthened our software portfolio, streamlined our go-to-market strategy, and expanded our ecosystem of partners.

I am proud of the progress we have made as a company and I am especially proud of the IBMers who have made it possible. We believe our success depends on the caliber of our talent and the engagement and inclusion of IBMers in the workplace.
As a focused hybrid cloud and AI company, we are well positioned to deliver greater value to you, our stockholders.
Engaging with our Stockholders
Stockholder engagement is a core IBM value. The feedback we receive during our year-round engagement is integral to the Board’s decision-making process and informs important practices and policies in our corporate governance, executive compensation and ESG programs.
As you will read in this Proxy Statement, we continue to expand our investor outreach program to reach more of you each year. I once again participated in these outreach efforts, along with our independent Lead Director Alex Gorsky and members of our senior management. We are committed to listening to our investors and ensuring your interests remain a priority. This year, we also continued our established history of responding to stockholder proposals that receive majority support.
Making an Impact
Corporate social responsibility has been a hallmark of IBM’s culture for more than a century. Today we continue to pursue the highest standards of corporate social responsibility. This is reflected in how we empower employees, work with clients and our ecosystem of partners, and run our company.
IBMers have always applied their time, talent, and technology to make a meaningful impact on business and society, evolving the nature of their work over time to meet the most urgent needs of our time. This is true in both IBM’s core business and in the many ways IBMers engage with the global community. In 2022, we launched our IBM Impact framework that reflects how the company aspires to create a more sustainable, equitable, and ethical future, with a thoughtful and balanced approach.
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This includes:

Environmental Impact — We have continued IBM’s long tradition of conserving natural resources and reducing pollution, using renewable energy, and developing solutions to climate change. We are helping clients leverage data and AI to measure, monitor, and predict environmental outcomes, assess climate risk, and simplify ESG reporting.

Equitable Impact — IBM is proud of its inclusive culture and the relationshipsprograms we have built with stockholders. In 2017,established globally to provide wider access to critical skills and training. This focus on inclusivity extends across our business.

Ethical Impact — As a responsible steward of technology, IBM is focused on developing policies and practices that prioritize ethics, trust, transparency and accountability.
As we continued our long-standing practice of engaging with stockholders to hear their perspective and feedback. Since the 2017 Annual Meeting, our Independent Presiding Director, the chairs of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee and Directors and Corporate Governance Committee, as well as members of IBM management, including myself, have met with investors that own more than half of the shares that voted atapproach the Annual Meeting last year. During these meetings, we discussed IBM’s strategy, corporate governance, board composition and refreshment, executive compensation practices, and our corporate responsibility and sustainability leadership. Through these conversations with our investors, we gained invaluable insight into our investors’ perspectives on matters of critical importance. We very much appreciate the time our investors spent with us, and the thoughtful feedback we received.

The refreshed look of this year’s Proxy reflects the feedback we took from our stockholder outreach. You will also notice that this year, in continuationStockholders, I am incredibly proud of the Board’s active refreshment practice, Joseph R. Swedish, executive chairman and past president and chief executive officer of Anthem, Inc. and Frederick H. Waddell, chairman and retired chief executive officer of Northern Trust Corporation, joined our Board. Mr. Swedish and Mr. Waddell bring expertise in healthcare and financial services, respectively, two industries that are importantprogress IBMers have achieved to advance our business, help our clients thrive and long-term strategy for value creation. With these additions, our Board continues to reflect and refine the skills, as well as diversity of thought, experience and background, that are necessary to oversee and support our strategy over the long term.

make an impact.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for your continued investment and support of IBM.
Very truly yours,
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Arvind Krishna
Chairman of the Board


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Armonk, New York
March 6, 2023
A Message from our Lead Director:
2022 was an exciting year of growth for our Company and its stakeholders. As IBM’s independent Lead Director, let me share my perspective on our work over the past year, and highlight how the Board continues to ensure effective oversight of your Company.

Independent Board Leadership. As your independent Lead Director, I am responsible for ensuring the Board exercises prudent judgment, independent from the management team of the Company. I perform many duties, described further in this Proxy Statement, including regular contact with members of the Board and meeting individually with each independent director; leading the Board’s annual self-evaluation process; approving the Board’s meeting schedules, agendas and materials; and presiding over an executive session of the independent directors at each Board meeting, without management present.

The IBM Board. We are continuously focused on ensuring that IBM has an optimal Board structure and composition, and have refreshed half the Board in the last four years. The Board is a diverse group of global thought and business leaders with a wide array of technological, strategic and business skills. Each time we evaluate our leadership structure, add a new director, or change the composition of our Board committees, we do so in a thoughtful manner to ensure a diverse mix of skills, experiences, and perspectives in our meetings and discussions.

Strategy and Risk Oversight.Your Board believes that engaged oversight of Company strategy is essential to the Company’s creation of long-term sustainable value. Part of this responsibility is ensuring the Board provides active risk oversight so IBM is prepared for emerging risks while also addressing and mitigating current risks. Our risk assessment incorporates both internal and external perspectives. Anticipating for and factoring risks into IBM’s strategy allows IBM to be both prepared and agile as IBM continues to accelerate its strategy as a leading hybrid cloud and AI company.

Comprehensive Stockholder Engagement. Engagement with you, IBM’s owners, is an essential part of the Board’s decision-making process. We are committed to an open dialogue to ensure that your voices are heard. In 2022, we continued to expand our engagement program to ensure we captured your input on matters important to you as stockholders. We offered engagement to investors representing 57% of the shares that voted at the 2022 Annual Meeting, meeting with more than 43% of the shares that voted. Together with the Chairman and CEO and other senior management, I met with investors representing more than 28% of the shares that voted at our 2022 Annual Meeting. We discussed matters ranging from company strategy to board and governance matters to ESG.
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Commitment to Sustainability and an Ethical Business Culture. We know you value IBM’s legacy of corporate responsibility, trust and transparency, and the Company’s balanced viewpoint. The Board agrees and is actively engaged in overseeing the Company’s ESG efforts and providing disclosure of our progress. We continue to strive to meet, and, in certain circumstances, beat, our ambitious environmental goals. In addition, we are working towards our goal of skilling 30 million people by 2030. Our new IBM Impact report, which consolidates our comprehensive ESG reports into one, cohesive report, details these achievements and progress. You can also read more in the dedicated “ESG at IBM” section of this Proxy Statement.
Your Board believes that an ongoing commitment to good corporate governance enhances sustainable stockholder value, particularly over the long term.
We appreciate your investment in IBM and hope that you vote is important and I encourage you to vote your shares.

Very truly yours,

Virginia M. Rometty

Chairman of the Board

at our Annual Meeting on April 25, 2023.

Very truly yours,
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Alex Gorsky
Lead Director



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Table of Contents

1

Proxy Summary
2

Proxy Summary

2

5

IBM Board of Directors

7

Item of Business 1.
Election of Directors for a Term of One Year

9

10

Governance and the Board
16

Board and Governance

16

16

18

Certain Transactions and Relationships

22

18

19

23

24

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

25

24

25

2022 Executive Compensation

27

31

27

31

28

32

44

47

49

50

50

51

53

54

56

59

64

63

66

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

68

68

69

Item of Business 2.
Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

69

70

Item of Business 3.
Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

(Say on Pay)

70

71

4. Advisory Vote Regarding the Frequency of the Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
72

Item of Business 4.
Stockholder Proposal on Lobbying Disclosure

72

Item of Business 5.
Stockholder Proposal on Shareholder Ability to Call a Special Shareholder Meeting

73

Item of Business 6.
Stockholder Proposal to Have an Independent Board Chairman

74

73

6. Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Lobbying Activities
76

7. Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Congruency in China Business Operations and ESG Activities79
81

76

84

80

87
ESG HIGHLIGHTS

At IBM, trust and corporate responsibility are integral to our business — and our ESG efforts are reflected throughout this Proxy Statement. Key topics include:

83





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2023 Notice of 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders


and Proxy Statement

Items of business:

Business:

The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of International Business Machines Corporation will be held on Tuesday, April 24, 201825, 2023 at 10 a.m., at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 West Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. Eastern Time in a virtual format. The items of business are:

1.              Election of directors proposed by IBM’s Board of Directors for a term of one year, as set forth in this Proxy Statement.

2.              Ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as IBM’s independent registered public accounting firm.

3.              Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation.

4.              Three stockholder proposals if properly presented at the meeting.

1.Election of directors proposed by IBM’s Board of Directors for a term of one year, as set forth in this Proxy Statement.
2.Ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as IBM’s independent registered public accounting firm.
3.Advisory vote on executive compensation.
4.Advisory vote regarding the frequency of the advisory vote on executive compensation.
5.Four stockholder proposals, if properly presented at the meeting.
These items are more fully described in the following pages, which are a part of this Notice.

Stockholders of record can vote their shares by using the Internet or the telephone. Instructions for using these convenient services are set forth on the proxy card or the notice of Internet availability of proxy materials. If you received your materials by mail, you also may vote your shares by marking your votes on the enclosed proxy card, signing and dating it, and mailing it in the enclosed envelope. If you will need special assistance atfor the meeting because of a disability, please contact the Office of the Secretary, International Business Machines Corporation, 1 New Orchard Road, Armonk, NY 10504.

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Frank Sedlarcik
Vice President and Secretary

Christina M. Montgomery

Date:
April 25, 2023

Vice President and Secretary

Time:
10 a.m. Eastern Time

Virtual
Meeting
Site:

Date:

April 24, 2018

www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/IBM2023

Time:

10 a.m.

Place:

Hyatt Regency Milwaukee

333 West Kilbourn Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53203

Your vote is important.

Please vote by following the instructions on your proxy card or voting instruction form.

This

To express our appreciation for your
participation, IBM will make a $1 charitable
donation to Water.org on behalf of every
stockholder account that votes this year.
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Water.org empowers people in need with lasting access to safe water and sanitation, giving women hope, children health and families a bright future
The proxy materials, including this Proxy Statement, the IBM 2022 Annual Report, which includes the consolidated financial statements, and the proxy card, or the notice of Internet availability of proxy materials, as applicable, are being distributed beginning on or about March 12, 20186, 2023 to all stockholders entitled to vote. The IBM 2017 Annual Report, which includes consolidated financial statements, is being provided with this Proxy Statement.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting to be held on April 24, 2018: The25, 2023: the Proxy Statement and the Annual Report to Stockholders are available at www.ibm.com/investor/material/.

Websites throughout this Proxy Statement are provided for reference only. Websites referred to herein are not incorporated by reference into this Proxy Statement.

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2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement 1


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Proxy Summary

Voting matters

MattersStockholders will be asked to vote on the following matters at the Annual Meeting:

Items of Business

Board’s

Board’s recommendation

Where to find

details

Item of Business

1.

recommendation

more information

1. Election of thirteen directors

12 Directors

FOR all nominees

pp. 9–15

P. 10-15

2.Ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

FOR

FOR

p. 69

P. 70

3.Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

FOR

FOR

pp. 70–

P. 71

4. Stockholder ProposalAdvisory Vote Regarding the Frequency of the Advisory Vote on Lobbying Disclosure

Executive Compensation

AGAINST

EVERY YEAR

pp. 72–73

P. 72

5. Stockholder Proposal on Shareholder Ability to Call a Special Shareholder Meeting

5.

AGAINST

pp. 73–74

6. Stockholder Proposal to Have an Independent Board Chairman

AGAINST

AGAINST

pp. 74–75

P. 73-75
6.Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Lobbying ActivitiesAGAINSTP. 76-78
7.Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Congruency in China Business Operations and ESG ActivitiesAGAINSTP. 79-80
8.Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Harassment and Discrimination Prevention EffortsAGAINSTP. 81-83

ThisWhat’s new?

We continue to enhance our governance, compensation, and sustainability practices and disclosures. Among many other items, since last year, IBM has:

Published a report responsive to the stockholder proposal on the Company’s use of concealment clauses, which can be found at: https://www.ibm.com/impact/pdf/Concealment%20Clause%20Report.pdf

Enhanced disclosure regarding Board structure and the leadership role of the independent Lead Director, including our Proxy Statement has been designed to helpenhanced Board self-evaluation process

Introduced IBM’s new ESG framework, IBM Impact, and published our stockholders better understand our Board, governance and compensation practices. You will find increased graphics and headers to illuminateconsolidated ESG report, in April 2022

Expanded disclosure of the content. We hope you find the new format and ourcontinued dedication to transparency helpful.

Board’s role in risk oversight

2


Governance Highlights

Effective Board leadership, independent oversight and strong corporate governance

Independent Lead Director with robust and well-defined responsibilities

Committee sessions with key strategic leaders from senior management

Annual Board self-evaluations led by the independent Lead Director NEW

Executive session led by independent Lead Director at each Board meeting

Proactive Board and committee refreshment with focus on diversity and the optimal mix of skills and experience

Annual review of the Board leadership structure

Confidential voting
Stockholder rights and accountability

Annual election of all directors

Majority voting for directors in uncontested elections

Stockholder special meeting right

Proxy access

No stockholder rights plan

No supermajority voting provisions

Robust year-round stockholder engagement process

Signatory of Commonsense Principles 2.0

Endorser of Investor Stewardship Group Principles

Signatory to the Business Roundtable Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation

Stockholder right to remove directors
22023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Proxy Summary


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IBM Board of Directors

Director nominees (PAGE 7)

Nominees

IBM’s Board is composed of a diverse, experienced group of global thought, business, and businessacademic leaders. All of our directors are independent except for Virginia Rometty, IBM’s CEO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audit Committee

Director

 

Age

 

Primary Occupation

 

Director Since

 

Committee Memberships

 

Financial Expert

Kenneth I. Chenault

 

66

 

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, American Express Company

 

1998

 

 

Michael L. Eskew

Presiding Director

 

68

 

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, United Parcel Service, Inc.

 

2005

 

 

David N. Farr

 

63

 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Emerson Electric Co.

 

2012

 

 

Alex Gorsky

 

57

 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson

 

2014

 

 

Shirley Ann Jackson

 

71

 

President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

 

2005

 

 

Andrew N. Liveris

 

63

 

Executive Chairman, DowDuPont Inc. and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company

 

2010

 

 

Hutham S. Olayan

 

64

 

Vice Chairman, The Olayan Group

 

2016

 

 

James W. Owens

 

72

 

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Caterpillar Inc.

 

2006

 

 

Virginia M. Rometty

 

60

 

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM

 

2012

 

 

Joseph R. Swedish

 

66

 

Executive Chairman and Past President and Chief Executive Officer, Anthem, Inc.

 

2017

 

 

Sidney Taurel

 

69

 

Chairman Emeritus, Eli Lilly and Company Chairman, Pearson plc

 

2001

 

 

Peter R. Voser

 

59

 

Retired Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell plc Chairman, ABB Ltd.

 

2015

 

 

Frederick H. Waddell

 

64

 

Chairman and Retired Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Corporation

 

2017

 

 

DirectorAgePrimary OccupationDirector
Since
Committee
Memberships
Audit
Committee
Financial
Expert
Thomas Buberl49Chief Executive Officer, AXA S.A.2020
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David N. Farr68Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Emerson Electric Co.2012
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Alex Gorsky62Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson2014
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Michelle J. Howard62Retired Admiral, United States Navy2019
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Arvind Krishna60Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM2020
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Andrew N. Liveris68Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company2010
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F. William McNabb III65Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Vanguard Group, Inc.2019
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Martha E. Pollack64President, Cornell University2019
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Joseph R. Swedish71Retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Anthem, Inc.2017
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Peter R. Voser64Retired Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell plc, and Chairman, ABB Ltd.2015
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Frederick H. Waddell69Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Corporation2017
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Alfred W. Zollar68Executive Advisor, Siris Capital Group, LLC2021
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Number of meetings held in 202210450

Audit:

Audit:

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Directors &and Corporate Governance:

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Executive Compensation &and Management Resources:

Executive:

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Executive:
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Audit Committee Financial Expert:

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Diversity

2023 Notice of skillsAnnual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Proxy Summary3


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Optimal Mix of Skills and experienceExperience of director nominees

Director Nominees

IBM’s directors collectivelycollaboratively contribute significant experience in the areas most relevant to overseeing the Company’s business and strategy.

3


The skills and experience of our Board include, but is not limited to:

Industry leaders with deep executive and oversight experience;

Global operational experience to oversee a business of IBM’s scale, scope, and complexity;

Technology, cybersecurity and digital transformation experience;

Key insight into IBM’s regulatory environment; and

Diversity of backgrounds and experiences.

Tenure of director nominees

·

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Independent and Diverse Board
The Board represents a deliberate mix of membersincludes directors who have a deep understanding of our business and members who bring new skills and fresh perspectives.

·             Mix We have a deliberate mix of newage and tenured directors reflectingtenure on the Board, which reflects our commitment to ongoing and proactive Board refreshment.

Governance highlights (PAGE 18)

Effective

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42023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Proxy Summary


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Integrated Approach to Stockholder Engagement
Robust Engagement and Dialogue
Stockholder feedback is integral to the Board’s decision-making process and informs the Company’s policies, practices and disclosures. IBM customizes its engagements by aligning discussion topics with stockholders’ areas of interest, ensuring that stockholders have an opportunity for an open dialogue with the Company to provide feedback. It is essential to IBM’s Board leadership and independent oversight

·             Lead independent Presiding Director with robust and well-defined responsibilities

·             Executive session led by independent Presiding Director at each Board meeting

·             Focussenior management that stockholders are afforded a chance to provide their thoughts on proactive Board refreshment

Overviewtopics of interest. This year, the topics stockholders expressed interest in learning more about included: IBM’s corporate governance

·consolidated ESG report, IBM Impact; the diversity modifier added to IBM’s Annual election of all directors

·             Majority voting for directors in uncontested elections

·             Stockholder special meeting right

·             No stockholder rights plan

·             Robust stockholder engagement process

·             Proxy access NEW

4



Stockholder engagement highlights

Stockholder engagement is a core IBM value that is a significant part of our ongoing review of our corporate governance and executive compensation programs. To that end, our investor outreach program is a year-round process that includes discussion of IBM’s business and long-term strategy, executive compensation programsIncentive Program; policies and practices corporate governance,regarding director overboarding; and corporate responsibility and sustainability. These discussions ensure thatIBM’s response to the majority supported stockholder proposal at our stockholders understand our key decisions and that we understand their priorities and concerns.

·             Every year, we reach out to over 100of our largest investors, representing more than 70%of our institutional ownership.

·             Our process also includes outreach to more than 250,000registered and beneficial stockholders, which represent a majority of our retail stockholder base.

·             Since the 20172022 Annual Meeting, representatives from senior management and the Board have met with investors that own, in the aggregate, more than 55%of the shares that voted on Say on Pay at the 2017 Annual Meeting.

Here is a summary of what we learned during those meetings, and how we responded.

What we heard

Off-Season Engagement

How we responded

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Offered engagement to stockholders owning 57% of shares that voted at the 2022 Annual Meeting
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Met with stockholders owning 43% of shares that voted at the 2022 Annual Meeting
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IBM’s independent Lead Director, as well as IBM’s senior management, met with stockholders owning over 28% of shares that voted at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Topics and Outcomes of Engagement

Stockholders expressed support for a proxy access by-law in line with current market terms

·        In December 2017, the Company adopted a proxy access by-law allowing a stockholder, or a group of up to 20 stockholders, that has owned at least 3% of

EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION

Continued our outstanding common stock for at least three years, to nominate, and include in the Company’s annual meeting proxy materials, directors constituting the greater of two individuals or 20% of the Board

Increased disclosure of our robust Board oversight and other Board practices

·        This Proxy Statement includes more insight into existing Board oversight processes and practices, including, for example, the robust processes our Board follows for succession planning and Board evaluation

Some stockholders preferred increased transparency around achievement of incentive goals

·        Included disclosure of performance against goals in both the Annual Incentive Program and Long-TermPerformance Share Unit metrics that were established in 2021


Updated our 2022 Compensation Peer Group to increase the weighting of peers in the technology industry, reflect IBM’s increased orientation as a hybrid cloud and AI company, and align with the size and scope of IBM following the separation of our managed infrastructure business

Introduced stock options in 2022 as part of the overall equity pay mix for executives, which ensures a portion of equity does not generate value unless IBM’s common stock price increases over the price when granted

Disclosed the 2022 diversity modifier results in the “2022 Annual Incentive PlanProgram” section of this Proxy Statement
BOARD AND
GOVERNANCE

Continued focus on Board diversity with 2 women directors and 3 ethnically diverse directors added in the last 4 years

Active Board refreshment with 50% of the Board new in the last 4 years

Published a report responsive to provide increased transparencythe stockholder proposal on the Company’s use of concealment clauses, which can be found at: https://www.ibm.com/impact/pdf/Concealment%20Clause%20Report.pdf
ESG REPORTING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Published our IBM Impact report, consolidating our various ESG reports into one comprehensive and cohesive report

Provided stakeholders with comparable ESG data by reporting under the rigorSustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) framework

Published EEO-1 data

Continued pursuit of our goals to use more renewable electricity, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and the linkage of those goals to our business strategy

achieve net zero operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Proxy Summary5


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Business Highlights
In 2022, IBM continued to take meaningful actions to strengthen its position as a leader in hybrid cloud and AI. IBM delivered revenue growth above its mid-single digit model and solid cash generation, fueling business investments and stockholder returns through dividends.
2022 Performance Highlights
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Compensation Highlights
Our compensation strategy supports IBM’s high value business model
What We Do

Some stockholders expressed

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Tie a preference that a relative metric, such as return on invested capital (ROIC), be included in the Long-Term Incentive Plan

significant portion of pay to Company performance

·        Adopted a relative ROIC modifier beginning with Performance Share Units (PSUs) granted in 2018, which may increase or decrease the number of shares paid out based on IBM’s relative ROIC performance

Increased information regarding our strong sustainability leadership

·        IBM publishes a comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Report, and in June, IBM published its 27th consecutive annual Corporate Environmental Report; we have provided links to these reports in this Proxy Statement

General preference for simplicity and clarity in our Proxy Statement

·        We have included this proxy summary to provide the reader with the highlights of the entire Proxy Statement

·        The rest of the Proxy Statement has been redesigned to enhance readability and clarity of disclosure

5



Business highlights

IBM is at the forefront of enterprise technology market opportunities. We have laid a strong foundation for the cognitive era.

2017 Performance Highlights

Returned IBM to revenue growth in fourth quarter of 2017, led by:

·        Sustained Systems momentum across a revitalized portfolio with the new Z14, Storage products and Power Linux

·        Cloud revenues of $17Band an as-a-service exit run-rate of $10B

·        Security revenue over $3B, leveraging our leadership position in the enterprise

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Mitigate risk taking by emphasizing long-term equity incentives, placing caps on potential payments, and maintaining robust clawback provisions

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Improved trajectory in gross margins through

Require significant share ownership by the year, impacted on the full year by continued investment to scale the IBM Cloud, as well as services portfolio dynamics

Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and Senior Vice Presidents

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Utilize noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements for senior executives

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Generated over $11Bin GAAP pre-tax income (operating non-GAAP PTI

Remove impact of $13.9B) reflecting ongoing efficiency in operating expenses and monetization of Intellectual Property produced by our investments in research and development

share repurchase on executive incentives

What We Don’t Do

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GAAP cash from operations

No individual severance or change-in-control agreements for executive officers
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No excise tax gross-ups for executive officers
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No dividend equivalents on unearned RSUs/PSUs
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No hedging/pledging of nearly $17B, down ($0.4B) year-to-year primarily driven by less cash sourced from global financing receivables

Delivered free cash flowIBM stock

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No stock option repricing, exchanges or stock options granted below market value
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No guaranteed incentive payouts for executive officers
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No accelerated vesting of $13Bwith a realization rate of 116%(excluding the one-time tax charge of $5.5B), returning nearly $10Bto stockholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases

equity awards for executive officers
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No above-market returns on deferred compensation plans

6



62023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Proxy Summary


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IBM Board of Directors

Composition of the Board

Overview
IBM’s Board of Directors is responsible for supervision of the overall affairs of IBM. To assist it in carrying out its duties, the Board has delegated certain authority to several committees. Following the Annual Meeting in 2018,2023, the Board will consist of 13 directors, all of whom are independent except for Mrs. Rometty, IBM’s Chairman and CEO.12 directors. In the interim between Annual Meetings,annual meetings, the Board has the authority under the by-laws to increase or decrease the size of the Board and to fill vacancies.

Director Selection Process

The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for leading the search for qualified individuals for election as directors to ensure the Board has the rightoptimal mix of skills, expertise, experience, and background.diversity of backgrounds. The Committee recommends candidates to the full Board for election.

The Board believes that the following core attributes are key to ensuring the continued vitality of the Board and excellence in the execution of its duties:

·   experience as a leader

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The Committee and the Board identify candidates through a variety of means, including:

recommendations from members of the Committee and the full Board

information the Committee requests from the Secretary of IBM

suggestions from IBM management

a third-party search firm, from time to time
2023 Notice of a business, firm or institution;

·   mature and practical judgment;

·   the ability to comprehend and analyze complex matters;

·   effective interpersonal and communication skills; and

·   strong character and integrity.

The Committee and theAnnual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   IBM Board also focus on ensuring that the Board reflects a diversity of backgrounds (including gender and ethnicity), talents and perspectives.

The Committee and Board identifies candidates through a variety of means, including:

·   information the Committee requests from the Secretary of IBM;

·   recommendations from members of the Committee and the Board;

·   suggestions from IBM management; and

·   a third-party search firm, from time to time.

Any formal invitation to a director candidate is authorized by the full Board. The Committee also considers candidates recommended by stockholders. Stockholders wishing to recommend director candidates for consideration by the Committee may do so by writing to the Secretary of IBM, giving the recommended candidate’s name, biographical data and qualifications.

Directors7






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Director Skills and Qualifications

The IBM Board is composed of a diverse group of members, all leaders in their respective fields. All of the current directors have leadership experience at major domestic and international companiesorganizations with operations inside and outside the United States, or at academic or research institutions, or in government. Directors also have deep industry expertise as well as experience on other companies’ boards, which provides an understandingleaders of different business processes, challenges and strategies. Further, IBM’s directors have other experience that makes them valuable membersorganizations within some of the Board, such as public policy or regulatory experience that provides insight into issues faced by the Company.

Company’s most important client industries and constituencies.

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The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board believe that the above-mentioned attributes, along with the leadership skills and other experiences of the Board members described below, provide IBM with the perspectives and judgment necessary to guide IBM’s strategies and oversee their execution.

82023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   IBM BOARDBoard of Directors


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IBM Board of Directors – Experience and Skills of Director Nominees

Director

Director Experience

Thomas
Buberl
David N.
Farr
Alex
Gorsky
Michelle J.
Howard
Arvind
Krishna
Andrew N.
Liveris
F. William
McNabb III
Martha E.
Pollack
Joseph R.
Swedish
Peter R.
Voser
Frederick H.
Waddell
Alfred W.
Zollar

Current Director

Client Industry Expertise

Company or
Academic
Leadership

U.S.
Business
Operations

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Global
Business
Operations

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CFO

Specific Risk
Oversight/Risk
Management
Exposure

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Technology,
Cybersecurity,
or Digital

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Healthcare

Research/
Academia

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Government/
Regulatory,
Business
Associations or
Public Policy

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Public
Board

Gender/
Ethnic Diversity

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Kenneth I. Chenault

Organizational Leadership
and Management

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Michael L. Eskew

Global Operations

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David N. Farr

CFO

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Alex Gorsky

Specific Risk Oversight/
Risk Management Exposure

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Shirley Ann Jackson

Technology, Cybersecurity
or Digital

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Andrew N. Liveris

Academia

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Hutham S. Olayan

Government/Regulatory,
Business Associations
or Public Policy

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James W. Owens

Public Board

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Virginia M. Rometty

Gender Identity

Male

Male

Male

Female

Male

Male

Male
FemaleMaleMaleMaleMale

Joseph R. Swedish

Race and/or Ethnicity

White/Caucasian

White/Caucasian

White/Caucasian

Black/African American

Asian/Pacific Islander

White/Caucasian

White/Caucasian
White/Caucasian
White/Caucasian
White/Caucasian
White/Caucasian
Black/African American

Sidney Taurel

Born Outside the U.S.

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The following client industries provide a snapshot into the many key and diverse industries in which our directors have relevant experience. Many of our directors have experience in multiple client industries.
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Healthcare
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Manufacturing

Peter R. Voser

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Energy

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Information Technology

Frederick H. Waddell

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Government

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Research & Development

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Financial Services & Insurance

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Chemicals

8



2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   IBM Board of Directors9


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1. Election of Directors for aTerm of One Year

The Board proposes the election of the following directors of IBMdirector nominees for a term of one year. Below is information about each nominee, including biographical data for at least the past five years. If one or more of these nominees become unavailable to accept a nomination or election as a director, the individuals named as proxies on the proxy card will vote the shares that they represent for the election of such other persons as the Board may recommend, unless the Board reduces the number of directors.

  THE BOARD RECOMMENDS YOU VOTE FOR EACH OF THE NOMINEES INTRODUCED BELOW.

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Kenneth I. Chenault

Retired Chairman and

Thomas Buberl
Chief Executive Officer, American Express Company, AXA S.A., a financial services company

QUALIFICATIONS

·multinational insurance firm

Director since:2020
Age: 49
Committee:
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Directors and Corporate Governance
Qualifications

Global business technology and information management experience as chairman and chief executive officer of American Express Company

·U.S. Government service (former member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness)

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy association (member of the executive committee of the Business Roundtable)

·Experience as a university trustee

·Outside board experience as a director of The Procter & Gamble Company and Facebook, Inc.

Mr. Chenault, 66, joined American Express in 1981 and was named president of the U.S. division of American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. in 1993, vice chairman of American Express Company in 1995, president and chief operating officer in 1997 and chairman and chief executive officer of AXA S.A.


Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (member of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative and former chair of Pan-European Insurance Forum)

Acknowledged leader in 2001,digital transformation

Outside board experience as a positionmember of the supervisory board of Bertelsmann VerwaltungsGesellschaft
Relevant experience
Mr. Buberl, 49, joined Winterthur in 2005, which became a subsidiary of AXA in 2006. In 2008, he held until his retirementjoined Zurich Insurance
Group as chief executive officer for Switzerland. Mr. Buberl returned to AXA in 2012 as chief executive officer for AXA Konzern AG (Germany) and he became a member of AXA’s executive committee. In 2015, Mr. Buberl became the chief executive officer of AXA’s health business and a member of AXA’s group management committee. Mr. Buberl was additionally appointed chief executive officer of AXA’s global business line for life and savings and deputy chief executive officer of AXA in early 2018. Mr. Chenault now serves as Chairman2016. He was named chief executive officer and Managing Directorjoined the board of General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital firm.directors of AXA in September 2016. He is a directormember of The Procter & Gamble Company and Facebook, Inc.

9



Michael L. Eskew

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, United Parcel Service, Inc., a provider of specialized transportation and logistics services

Committees: Audit (chair) Executive

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business and technology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of United Parcel Service, Inc.

·Outside board experience as a director of Allstate Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company and 3M Company

·Chairman of a charitable organization

Mr. Eskew, 68, is IBM’s independent Presiding Director. Mr. Eskew joined United Parcel Service in 1972. He was named corporate vice president for industrial engineering in 1994, group vice president for engineering in 1996, executive vice president in 1999, vice chairman in 2000, and he was chairman and chief executive officer from 2002 until his retirement at the end of 2007. Mr. Eskew remained on thesupervisory board of United Parcel Service untilBertelsmann, a member of the endClimate Finance Leadership Initiative and the former chair of 2014. He isthe Pan-European Insurance Forum. Additionally, during the past five years, he was a director of Allstate Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company and 3M Company. In addition, he is chairmanAXA Equitable Holdings, Inc., a former subsidiary of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

AXA S.A.

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David N. Farr

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Emerson Electric Co., a diversified manufacturing and technology company

Committees:

Director since: 2012
Age: 68
Committee:
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Audit

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business and technology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of Emerson Electric Co.

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy association (director of the US-China Business Council)

·Outside board experience as former director of Delphi Corporation

Qualifications

Global business and technology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of Emerson Electric Co.

Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (former director of the U.S.-China Business Council)

Outside board experience as former director of Delphi Corporation
Relevant experience
Mr. Farr, 63,68, joined Emerson in 1981 and subsequently held various executive positions. He was named senior executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1999, chief executive officer in 2000 and chairman and chief executive officer in 2004. Mr. Farr was named chairman, president and chief executive officer in 2005 and chairman and chief executive officer in 2010.2010, positions he held until his retirement in 2021. He is the former chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers and is a former director of the US-ChinaU.S.-China Business Council.

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102023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Election of Directors


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Alex Gorsky

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson, a global healthcare products company

Committees:    

Director since: 2014
Age: 62
Committee:
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Executive Compensation & Management Resources

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business and technology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (member of the Business Roundtable and The Business Council)

·Experience as a university trustee

Qualifications

Global business and technology experience as executive chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson

Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (former Chair of the Business Roundtable’s Corporate Governance Committee and former member of the Business Council Executive Committee)

Leader in diversity & inclusion and veterans’ issues

Member of an advisory board at an academic institution
Relevant experience
Mr. Gorsky, 57,62, is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson, and one of just seven leaders to have served in the dual role of chairman and chief executive officer since the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1944. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 1988. In 2001, he was appointed president of1988 as a sales representative with Janssen Pharmaceutical Inc., and inPharmaceutica.
In 2003, he was named company group chairman of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Gorsky left Johnson & Johnson in 2004 to join the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, where he served as head of the company’s pharmaceutical business in North America. Mr. Gorsky returned to Johnson & Johnson in 2008 as company group chairman for Ethicon. In early 2009, he was appointed worldwide chairman of the Surgical Care Group and member of the executive committee. In September 2009, he was appointed worldwide chairman of the Medical Devices and Diagnostics Group. Mr. GorskyGroup, and became vice chairman of the executive committee in January 2011. He was named chief executive officer and joined the board of directors in April 2012, and was named chairman of the board of directors in December 2012. Mr. Gorsky is a memberremained chief executive officer until he transitioned to executive chairman at the end of the Business Roundtable’s Board of Directors and Chairman of its Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Gorsky also serves2021. He currently sits on the boards of Apple, JPMorgan Chase and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and the Travis Manion Foundation, Congressional Medaland serves on the Wharton School of Honor Foundation, the National Academy FoundationUniversity of Pennsylvania Board of Advisors.
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Michelle Howard
Retired Admiral, United States Navy
Director since: 2019
Age: 62
Committee:
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Audit
Qualifications

Leadership and policy experience as the U.S. Navy’s first woman four-star admiral

Operational experience as commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa

Global operations and technology experience as Vice Chief of Naval Operations, with focus on cybersecurity and information technology in the digital age

Leadership and teaching positions in government and academia
Relevant experience
Admiral Michelle J. Howard, 62, is a retired United States Navy officer. Admiral Howard began serving in the United States Navy in 1982, after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. During her 35 years of service, she led sailors and marines as, at various times, the Commander of a ship, an Expeditionary Strike Group, a Task Force, and a Naval theater. In 1999, she became the first African American woman to command a ship in the United States Navy. In 2014, she was the first woman to become a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Wharton Boardfirst
woman and African American to be appointed to the position of Overseers.

Shirley Ann Jackson

President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a leading science and technology university that brings technological innovation to the marketplace

Committees:     Directors & Corporate Governance (chair) Executive

QUALIFICATIONS

·Leadership and technology experience as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

·Industry and research experience as a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories

·U.S. Government service (former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and co-chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, former member of the International Security Advisory Board to the United States Secretary of State, and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology)

·Regulatory experience (former member of the board of governors of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA))

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (member of the Council on Foreign Relations and former university vice chair of the Council on Competitiveness)

·Outside board experience as a director of FedEx Corporation, Medtronic plc and Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated

·Leadership and teaching positions at a research university

Dr. Jackson, 71,Vice Chief of Naval Operations, the second-highest ranking uniformed officer in the branch. Responsible for the Navy’s day-to-day operations, she focused on cyber culture and information security in the digital age, as well as gender integration, in addition to oversight of a multi-billion dollar budget and the establishment of an auditing framework. In 2016, Admiral Howard was appointed by the President to serve as commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa and the Allied Joint Forces Command in Naples, Italy, making her the first woman four-star admiral to command operational forces. She retired from the Navy in 2017. Admiral Howard’s distinguished career in national defense has included both at-sea and ashore posts, placing her in key leadership positions within the areas of engineering, operations, and strategic planning and policy. Admiral Howard is a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1976 to 1991, professor of theoretical physicsat Rutgers University from 1991 to 1995, and chairmangraduate of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNaval Academy and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. She was the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University from 1995 until2018 to 2020, where she assumed her current positiontaught in the areas of presidentcybersecurity and international policy. In 2022, she was appointed by the President to the Board of Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteVisitors of the U.S. Naval Academy.

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Election of Directors 11


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Arvind Krishna
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM
Director since: 2020
Age: 60
Committee:
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Executive (Chair)
Qualifications

Global business and organizational leadership experience as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM

Research experience as Director of IBM Research and a computer scientist with expertise in 1999. Dr. Jackson iskey IBM technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud and quantum computing

Technology experience as general manager of IBM’s Systems and Technology group and Senior Vice President for IBM’s Cloud and Cognitive Software

Outside business experience as a director of FedEx Corporation, Medtronic plc, and Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated. She has been co-chairthe Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Relevant experience
Arvind Krishna, 60, became the President’s Intelligence Advisory Boardchief executive officer of IBM, and a member of the International Security Advisory Board to the United States Secretary of State. Dr. Jackson is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (U.K.), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Jackson is a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest awardDirectors in science and engineering awarded by the U.S. Government. Dr. Jackson is a board member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a Regent Emerita and former Vice-ChairApril 2020. He was elected chairman of the Board of RegentsDirectors in December 2020. Mr. Krishna joined IBM in 1990. Mr. Krishna led the IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software business unit from 2017 to April 2020 and was a principal architect of the Smithsonian Institution, a past presidentacquisition of Red Hat, the American Association forlargest acquisition in the Advancement of Sciences, and an honorary trustee of the Brookings Institution. Additionally, during the past five years, sheCompany’s history. Mr. Krishna also served as the director of IBM’s Research division from 2015 to 2020. Previously, he was general manager of IBM’s Systems and Technology Group, IBM’s development and manufacturing organization. Prior to that, he built and led many of IBM’s data-related businesses. In 2022, he became a director of Marathon Oilthe Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is also a director of Northrop Grumman Corporation.

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He has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a PhD. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Andrew N. Liveris

Executive Chairman, DowDuPont Inc. and

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company, a materials, polymer, chemicals, and biological sciences enterprise

Director since: 2010
Age: 68
Committees:        Executive Compensation & Management Resources

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business

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Directors and technology experience as chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company and executive chairman of DowDuPont Inc.

·U.S. and international government service (former chairman of the President’s American Manufacturing Committee, member of the President’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, member of the Australian government’s Industry Growth Centres Advisory Committee and Thailand’s Board of Investment)

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (vice chairman of the executive committee of the Business Roundtable and executive committee member and former chairman of The Business Council)

·Experience as a university trustee

Corporate Governance (Chair)
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Executive

Qualifications

Global business and technology experience as the chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company and executive chairman of DowDuPont Inc.

U.S. and international government service (member of the President’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, member of the Australian government’s Industry Growth Centres Advisory Committee and a former member of Thailand’s Board of Investment)

Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations

Experience as a university trustee
Relevant experience
Mr. Liveris, 63,68, joined Dow in 1976 and subsequently held various executive positions including vice president of specialty chemicals from 1998 to 2000, business group president for performance chemicals from 2000 to 2003, and president and chief operating officer from 2003 to 2004. Mr. Liveris wasbefore being named president and chief executive officer of Dow in 2004 and chairman in 2006.
In 2016, he transitioned the president role and continued as chairman and chief executive officer of Dow until late 2017, when he transitioned to the position of executive chairman of DowDuPont.DowDuPont, a position he held until his retirement in July 2018. Mr. Liveris servedis a director of Worley, Saudi Aramco, NOVONIX Limited and chairman of the board of Lucid Motors. Mr. Liveris is stepping down as chairman of the President’s American Manufacturing Committee and now servesLucid Motors in April; he also will step down as a director in another public company within the next 12 months. Additionally, Mr. Liveris is a former Executive Committee member of The Business Council, the President’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. Mr. Liveris also serves asformer chairman of The Business Council and the former vice chairman of the Executive Committee of the Business Roundtable, and as an Executive Committee member and former chairman of The Business Council.Roundtable. Mr. Liveris is also a trustee of the Minderoo Foundation of Australia, and The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and is a former trustee of the California Institute of Technology and the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).

Hutham S. Olayan

Vice Chairman, The Olayan Group, a private family-owned multinational enterprise that is a diversified global investor and an operator of industrial and commercial businesses in the Middle East

Committees:       Directors & Corporate Governance

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business experience as vice chairman, The Olayan Group and President and Chief Executive Officer, Olayan America

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Carnegie Middle East Center)

·Outside board experience as a director of Morgan Stanley

·Experience as a university trustee

Ms. Olayan, 64, has been a principal and director of Olayan Investments Company Establishment, the parent company of The Olayan Group, since 1981. Prior to assuming the role of vice chairman in January 2018, she served as president and chief executive officer of Olayan America, heading The Olayan Group’s investment activities in the Americas for more than thirty years. Ms. Olayan is a director of Morgan Stanley. She has previously served as a director of Thermo Electron Corporation. SheBusiness. He is also a memberthe president of the Executive Advisory BoardBrisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee.

122023 Notice of General Atlantic. She serves on the boardsAnnual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Election of the MasterCard Foundation, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Ms. Olayan is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and international advisory bodies affiliated with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of Harvard University and the Carnegie Middle East Center.

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Directors



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James W. Owens

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Frederick William McNabb, III
Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CaterpillarThe Vanguard Group, Inc., a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines

Committees:   Audit

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business experience as chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc.

·Experience as a former senior advisor at KKR & Co. L.P., a global asset management company

·U.S. Government service (former memberone of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board)

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (chairman of the executive committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, former director of the Council on Foreign Relations and former chairman of The Business Council)

·Outside board experience as a director of Alcoa Inc. and Morgan Stanley

·Experience as a university trustee

world’s largest investment management companies
Director since: 2019
Age: 65
Committee:
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Audit

Mr. Owens, 72, joined Caterpillar in 1972 as a corporate economist

Qualifications

Global business and subsequently held various management positions, including chief financial officer. He was named group president in 1995 and vice chairman in 2003. Mr. Owens servedtechnology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of CaterpillarThe Vanguard Group, Inc.

Outside board experience as a director of UnitedHealth Group

Member of several advisory boards at academic institutions
Relevant experience
Mr. McNabb, 65, served as chairman of The Vanguard Group, Inc. from 20042008 until his retirement in 2010.2018 and served as chief executive officer from 2008 to 2017. He joined Vanguard in 1986. In 2010, he became chairman of the board of directors and the board of trustees of the Vanguard group of investment companies.
Earlier in his career, Mr. McNabb led each of Vanguard’s client facing business divisions. Mr. McNabb served as the vice-chairman of the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and served as its chairman from 2013 to 2016. He is a director of Alcoa Inc.UnitedHealth Group and Morgan Stanley.serves as the chair of its audit committee. He is also a director of Axiom. Mr. OwensMcNabb is chairman of the executive committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, former chairman of the board of trusteesthe Zoological Society of Philadelphia, chairman of the USRowing Foundation, and former chairman of Ernst & Young’s Independent Audit Quality Committee. Mr. McNabb also serves on the Wharton Leadership Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at North Carolina StateColumbia University and is also a board member of CECP: The CEO Force for Good.
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Martha E. Pollack
President, Cornell University, a leading research university that creates new technologies and achieves fundamental breakthroughs in understanding and improving lives around the world
Director since: 2019
Age: 64
Committee:
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Executive Compensation and Management Resources
Qualifications

Organizational leadership, management and risk oversight, and management experience as president of Cornell University

Research experience as a computer scientist with expertise in artificial intelligence as a professor of computer science, information science, and linguistics

U.S. Government service as a former member of the advisory committee for the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering Division

Healthcare experience as a former member of the Board of Directors of the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Center, and as a member (ex officio) of the board of overseers of Weill Cornell Medicine

Technology experience as a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, a former president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, a former board member of the Computing Research Association, and a former member of the technical staff in the Artificial Intelligence Center at SRI International
Relevant experience
Dr. Pollack, 64, is the president of Cornell University and a professor of computer science, information science and linguistics. She took office in 2017. From 2000 to 2017, Dr. Pollack held various positions at the University of Michigan with increasing responsibility, including dean of the School of Information, vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs, and finally, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Dr. Pollack is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Pollack has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, a former president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, a former member of the technical staff in the Artificial Intelligence Center at SRI International, a former member of the advisory committee for the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering Division, and a former member of the board of directors of the Computing Research Association. Dr. Pollack also served on the Steering Committee of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, the academic partnership between Cornell and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology at Cornell Tech. She is currently a board member of the American Association of Universities, and a Trustee of Ithaka. In 2022, Dr. Pollack was elected as a member of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Election of Directors 13


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Virginia M. Rometty

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM

Committees:  Executive (chair)

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business and technology experience as chairman, president and chief executive officer of IBM

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (member of the Business Roundtable, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Peterson Institute for International Economics)

·U.S. Government service (former member of the President’s Export Council)

·Experience as a university trustee

Mrs. Rometty, 60, joined IBM in 1981. She was elected senior vice president of Global Business Services in 2005, senior vice president of Sales and Distribution in 2009, senior vice president and group executive of Sales, Marketing and Strategy in 2010, president and chief executive officer of IBM in early 2012 and chairman in late 2012. She is a member of the Business Roundtable, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University and the Board of Overseers and Managers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and formerly served on the President’s Export Council.

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Joseph R. Swedish

Executive

Retired Chairman, and Past President and Chief Executive Officer, Anthem, Inc., a leading health benefits provider

Committees:  Directors & Corporate Governance

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business

Director since: 2017
Age: 71
Committee:
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Executive Compensation and technology experience as executive chairman, president and chief executive officer of Anthem, Inc.

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (former member of the Business Roundtable and graduate member of The Business Council)

·Outside board and technology experience as a director of CDW Corporation

·Experience as the chairman of a university oversight board

Management Resources

Qualifications

Global business and technology experience as executive chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Anthem, Inc.

Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (former member of the Business Roundtable and graduate member of The Business Council)

Outside board and technology experience as a director of CDW Corporation

Experience as the chairman of a university oversight board
Relevant experience
Mr. Swedish, 66,71, joined Anthem in 2013 as chief executive officer and was named chairman of Anthem’s board in 2015. He was the chairman, chief executive officer and president until late 2017 when he retired and became the executive chairman. chairman, a position he held until his retirement in May 2018.
Prior to joining Anthem, he was the division president of Hospital Corporation of America from 1993 to 1998, president and chief executive officer of Centura Health from 1999 to 2004 and then served as president and chief executive officer of Trinity Health Corporation from 2004 to 2013. Mr. Swedish became a director of Mesoblast Limited in 2018 and was named its chairman in March 2019. He is also a director of Centrexion Therapeutics and CDW Corporation. He also served as a director of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the National Institute for Health Care Management, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Inc. and as a member of the Business Roundtable. Mr. Swedish is currently serves asa member and past chairman of the Board of Visitors of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and as a directorwas the past chairman of America’s Health Insurance Plans (past chairman).Plans. He is a graduate member of The Business Council and a past member of the Duke Margolis External Advisory Board. He isMr. Swedish also serves as Co-Founder and Partner at Concord Health Partners, a director of CDW Corporation and Proteus Digital Health, Inc.

private equity firm focused on strategic investing in healthcare portfolio companies.

Sidney Taurel

Chairman Emeritus, Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company

Chairman, Pearson plc, a provider of digital education products and services

Committees:  Executive Compensation & Management Resources (chair) Executive

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business experience as chairman of Pearson plc and chairman and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company

·Private equity management and investment banking experience as former senior advisor of Capital Royalty L.P. and senior advisor of Moelis & Company

·U.S. Government service (former member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the President’s Export Council and the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations)

·Affiliation with leading business association (graduate member of The Business Council)

·Outside board experience as a director of McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.

·Member of a university oversight board

Mr. Taurel, 69, joined Eli Lilly in 1971 and held management positions in the company’s operations in South America and Europe. He was named president of Eli Lilly International Corporation in 1986, executive vice president of the Pharmaceutical Division in 1991, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Company in 1993, and president and chief operating officer in 1996. He was named chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company in 1998 and chairman in 1999. Mr. Taurel retired as chief executive officer in early 2008 and as chairman in late 2008. He became chairman of Pearson plc in 2016. He is also a member of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Business School, a graduate member of The Business Council and a trustee of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Additionally, during the past five years, he was a director of McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.

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Peter R. Voser

Retired Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies

companies; Chairman, ABB Ltd., a global group of power and automation companies

Director since: 2015
Age: 64
Committees: 
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Audit

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business and technology experience as chairman of ABB Ltd. and chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell plc

·Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (former member of the European Round Table of Industrialists and a former member of The Business Council)

·Outside board experience as a director of Roche Holding Limited and Temasek

(Chair)
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Executive

Qualifications

Global business and technology experience as chairman of ABB Ltd. and chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell plc

Affiliation with leading business and public policy associations (former member of the European Round Table of Industrialists and a former member of The Business Council)

Outside board experience as a director of Temasek
Relevant experience
Mr. Voser, 59,64, joined Shell in 1982 and held a variety of finance and business roles including chief financial officer of Oil Products. In 2002, he joined the Asea Brown Boveri (ABB)
Group of Companies as chief financial officer and a member of the ABB Group executive committee. Mr. Voser returned to Shell in 2004, becoming a managing director of The Shell Transport and Trading Company, p.l.c. and chief financial officer of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. He was appointed chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell plc in 2009 and held that position until his retirement in late 2013. Mr. Voser was named chairman of ABB Ltd. in 2015.2015 and was the interim chief executive officer from April 2019 until February 2020. He is a director of Roche HoldingTemasek Holdings (Private) Limited, and Temasek.as well as Group Chairman of the Board of PSA International Pte Ltd, Singapore, a Temasek subsidiary. Mr. Voser is also active in a number of international and bilateral organizations.

Additionally, from 2011 until 2019, he was a director of Roche Holding Limited.
142023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Election of Directors


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Frederick H. Waddell

Retired Chairman and Retired Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Corporation, a financial services company

Director since: 2017
Age: 69
Committees:Directors & Corporate Governance

QUALIFICATIONS

·Global business

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Executive Compensation and technology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of the Northern Trust Corporation

·Outside board experience as a director of AbbVie Inc.

·Experience as a university trustee

Management Resources (Chair)
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Executive

Qualifications

Global business and technology experience as chairman and chief executive officer of Northern Trust Corporation

Outside board experience as a director of AbbVie Inc.

Experience as a university trustee
Relevant experience
Mr. Waddell, 64,69, joined Northern Trust Corporation in 1975 and has served as the chairman of the board sincefrom November 2009.2009
until his retirement in January 2019. He previously served as chief executive officer from 2008 through 2017, as president from 2006 through 2011 and again from October to December 2016, and as chief operating officer from 2006 to 2008. Additionally, Mr. Waddell is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Northwestern University, and a director of AbbVie Inc.

Mark Fields

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Alfred W. Zollar
Executive Advisor, Siris Capital Group LLC, a private equity firm
Director since: 2021
Age: 68
Committee:
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Directors and Corporate Governance
Qualifications

Global business and W. James McNerney, Jr. are not nominees for election,leadership experience as an executive partner and their terms onexecutive advisor at Siris Capital Group

Deep technology experience with more than 40 years in systems and software, including as director of Red Hat

Outside board experience as a director of Nasdaq, Bank of New York Mellon, and Public Service Enterprise Group
Relevant experience
Mr. Zollar, 68, has served as an executive advisor at Siris Capital Group, a private equity group specializing in technology
and telecom investments, since March 2021; previously, Mr. Zollar was an executive partner from 2014 through March 2021. While at Siris Capital Group, Mr. Zollar has worked closely with cloud-based technology providers, leading providers of enterprise security solutions and other technology and software-as-a-service companies. He served as a director of Red Hat from 2018 until 2019 and is currently a director of Nasdaq Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp, and Public Service Enterprise Group. He is also a lifetime member of the Board will endNational Society of Black Engineers. Mr. Zollar retired from IBM in April 2018.

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2011 following a 34-year career during which he held a variety of senior management positions in IBM’s systems and software groups.

Board

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THE BOARD RECOMMENDS YOU VOTE FOR EACH OF THE NOMINEES INTRODUCED ABOVE.
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Election of Directors 15


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Governance and Governance

the Board

Committees of the Board

Members of the Audit Committee, Directors and Corporate Governance Committee, and the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee are non-management directors who, in the opinion of the Board, satisfy the independence criteria established by the Board, and the standards of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Director


Audit


Directors &
Corporate Governance

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Executive Compensation &
Management Resources

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Executive

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Michael L. Eskew

Director

Chair

Audit

Directors and
Corporate Governance

Executive Compensation
and Management Resources
Executive

Thomas Buberl
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David N. Farr

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Mark Fields*

Alex Gorsky

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Alex Gorsky

Michelle J. Howard

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Shirley Ann Jackson

Arvind Krishna

Chair

Chair

Andrew N. Liveris

Chair

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W. James McNerney, Jr.*

F. William McNabb III

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Hutham S. Olayan

Martha E. Pollack

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James W. Owens

Virginia M. Rometty

Chair

Joseph R. Swedish

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Sidney Taurel

Chair

Peter R. Voser

Chair

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Frederick H. Waddell

Chair
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Alfred W. Zollar
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*As noted above, Mr. Fields and Mr. McNerney are not nominees for election, and their terms on the Board will end in April 2018.

Audit Committee

MEMBERS: Michael Eskew (Chair), David Farr, James Owens and Peter Voser

NUMBER OF MEETINGS IN 2017: 6

AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERTS: Michael Eskew, David Farr, James Owens and Peter Voser

Charter: http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/audit-committee-charter.html

The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing reports of IBM’s financial results, audit results, internal controls and adherence to IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including federal procurement requirements. Concurrent with that responsibility, set out more fully in the Charter, the Audit Committee performs many other functions, including:

·selecting the independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing its selection with the Board;

·annually preapproving the proposed services to be provided by the accounting firm during the year; and

·reviewing the procedures of the independent registered public accounting firm for ensuring its independence with respect to the services performed for IBM.

The Audit Committee chair, pursuant to authority delegated by the Audit Committee, may approve engagements with the independent registered public accounting firm that are outside the scope of the services and fees approved by the Committee, which are later presented to the Committee.

The Board has determined that each member of the Committee qualifies asRefreshment

On at least an Audit Committee Financial Expert as defined by the rules of the SEC.

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Directors and Corporate Governance Committee

MEMBERS: Shirley Ann Jackson (Chair), Mark Fields, Hutham Olayan, Joseph Swedish, Frederick Waddell
NUMBER OF MEETINGS IN 2017: 5

Charter: http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/director-and-corporate-governance.html

The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee is devoted primarily to the continuing review and articulation of the governance structure of the Board. Concurrent with that responsibility, set out more fully in the Charter,annual basis, the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee performs many other functions, including:

·recommending qualified candidatesreviews committee assignments and discusses whether rotation of committee members and committee chairs is appropriate to introduce fresh perspectives and to broaden and diversify the views and experiences represented on the Board’s committees. In 2022, the Board rotated several committee positions. Admiral Howard rotated from the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee to the Board for election as directors of IBM, includingAudit Committee, Mr. Liveris rotated from the slate of directors that the Board proposes for annual election by stockholders at the Annual Meeting;

·advising and making recommendations to the Board on all matters concerning directorship practices, and on the function and duties of the committees of the Board;

·making recommendations to the Board on compensation for non-management directors;

·reviewing and considering IBM’s position and practices on significant issues of corporate public responsibility, such as workforce diversity, protection of the environment, and philanthropic contributions; and

·reviewing and considering stockholder proposals, including those dealing with issues of public and social interest.

As discussed above, the Committee is responsible for recommending qualified candidates to the Board for election as directors of IBM. The Committee recommends candidates based on their business or professional experience, the diversity of their background (including gender and ethnic diversity), and their talents and perspectives.

Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee

MEMBERS: Sidney Taurel (Chair), Alex Gorsky, Andrew Liveris, James McNerney
NUMBER OF MEETINGS IN 2017: 5

Charter: http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/executive-compensation-and-management-resources.html

The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee has responsibility for defining and articulating IBM’s overall executive compensation philosophy, and administering and approving all elements of compensation for elected corporate officers. Concurrent with that responsibility, set out more fully inbecame the Charter, the Compensation Committee performs many other functions, including:

·reviewing and approving the corporate goals and objectives relevant to the Chairman and CEO’s compensation, evaluating her performance in light of those goals and objectives, and, together with the other independent directors, determining and approving the Chairman and CEO’s compensation based on this evaluation;

·reviewing IBM’s management resources programs, including overseeing, along with the full Board, the succession-planning processchair of the CEODirectors and other senior management positions;

·approving, by direct action or through delegation, participation in and all awards, grants, and related actions under IBM’s various equity plans;

·reviewing changes in IBM’s pension plans primarily affecting corporate officers;

·managingCorporate Governance Committee, Mr. Waddell rotated from the operation and administrationchair of the IBM Supplemental Executive Retention Plan;

·reviewingDirectors and Corporate Governance Committee and became the compensation structure for IBM’s officers and providing oversight of management’s decisions regarding performance and compensation of other employees; and

·monitoring compliance with stock ownership guidelines.

The Committee reports to stockholders as required by the SEC (see 2017 Reportchair of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee, and Mr. Voser became the chair of the Audit Committee. In addition, Mr. Gorsky became Lead Director. In 2023, Mr. Gorsky rotated off the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee. As independent Lead Director, this provides Mr. Gorsky with additional opportunities to participate in meetings of all Board committees.

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The Executive Committee is empowered to act for the full Board in intervals between Board meetings, with the exception of certain matters that by law may not be delegated. The Committee meets as necessary, and all actions by the Committee are reported at the next Board of Directors meeting. The Committee did not meet in 2022.
Members:
Arvind Krishna (Chair)
Alex Gorsky
Andrew N. Liveris
Peter R. Voser
Frederick H. Waddell
Number of meetings in 2022:0
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Audit Committee [MISSING IMAGE: ic_audit-pn.gif]
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Members:
Peter R. Voser
(Chair)

David N. Farr
Michelle J. Howard
F. William McNabb III
Audit Committee
Financial Experts:
David N. Farr
Michelle J. Howard
F. William McNabb III
Peter R. Voser
Number of meetings in 2022: 10
Key Responsibilities:
The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing reports of IBM’s financial results, audit results, internal controls, and adherence to IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including federal procurement requirements. Concurrent with that responsibility, set out more fully in its charter, the Audit Committee performs many other functions, including:

selecting the independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing its selection with the Board;

annually preapproving the proposed services to be provided by the accounting firm during the year;

receiving and discussing reports relating to key controls and processes, including cybersecurity;

reviewing the procedures of the independent registered public accounting firm for ensuring its independence with respect to the services performed for IBM;

meeting with management prior to each quarterly earnings release; and

regular private sessions with IBM’s Chief Trust and Compliance Officer.
The Audit Committee chair, pursuant to authority delegated by the Audit Committee, may approve engagements with the independent registered public accounting firm that are outside the scope of the services and fees approved by the Committee, which are later presented to the Committee.
The Board has determined that each member of the Committee qualifies as an Audit Committee Financial Expert as defined by the rules of the SEC.
Charter: http://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/auditcomcharter.pdf
Directors and Corporate Governance Committee [MISSING IMAGE: ic_corpgove-pn.gif]
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Members:
Andrew N. Liveris
(Chair)

Thomas Buberl
Alfred W. Zollar
Number of meetings in
2022: 4
Key Responsibilities:
The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee is devoted primarily to the continuing review and articulation of the governance structure and practices of the Board. Concurrent with that responsibility, set out more fully in its charter, the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee performs many other functions, including:

recommending qualified candidates to the Board for election as directors of IBM, including the slate of directors that the Board proposes for annual election by stockholders at the annual meeting, and planning for future Board and committee refreshment actions;

advising and making recommendations to the Board on all matters concerning directorship practices, and on the function and duties of the committees of the Board;

making recommendations to the Board on compensation for non-management directors;

reviewing and considering IBM’s position and practices on significant public policy issues, such as protection of the environment, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and philanthropic contributions; and

reviewing and considering stockholder proposals, including those dealing with issues of public and social interest.
As discussed above, the Committee is responsible for recommending qualified candidates to the Board for election as directors of IBM. The Committee recommends candidates based on their business or professional experience, the diversity of their background (including gender and ethnic diversity), and their talents and perspectives.
Charter:
https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM-Directors-and-Corporate-Governance-Committee-Charter.pdf
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Committees of the Board of Directors below).

Members of the Committee are not eligible to participate in any of the plans or programs that the Committee administers.

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Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee [MISSING IMAGE: ic_compnsat-pn.gif]
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Members:
Frederick H. Waddell
(Chair)

Martha E. Pollack
Joseph R. Swedish
Number of meetings in 2022: 5
Key Responsibilities:
The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee has responsibility for defining and articulating IBM’s overall executive compensation philosophy, and administering and approving all elements of compensation for elected corporate officers. Concurrent with that responsibility, set out more fully in its charter, the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee performs many other functions, including:

reviewing and approving the corporate goals and objectives relevant to the Chairman and CEO’s compensation, evaluating performance in light of those goals and objectives and, together with the other independent directors, determining and approving the Chairman and CEO’s compensation based on this evaluation;

reviewing IBM’s human capital management, diversity and inclusion and other management resources programs, including overseeing, along with the full Board, the succession-planning process of the CEO and other senior management positions;

approving, by direct action or through delegation, participation in and all awards, grants, and related actions under IBM’s various equity plans;

managing the operation and administration of the IBM Supplemental Executive Retention Plan;

reviewing the compensation structure for IBM’s officers and providing oversight of management’s decisions regarding performance and compensation of other employees; and

monitoring compliance with stock ownership guidelines.
The Committee reports to stockholders as required by the SEC (see 2022 Report of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee of the Board of Directors in this Proxy Statement).
Members of the Committee are not eligible to participate in any of the plans or programs that the Committee administers.
Charter: https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/Executive_Compensation_and_Management_Resources_Committee_Charter.pdf
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation: None

Messrs. Gorsky, Liveris, McNerneySwedish, and TaurelWaddell and Dr. Pollack each served as members of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee in 2017.2022. All members of the Committee were independent directors, and no member was an employee or former employee of IBM. During 2017,2022, none of our executive officers served on the compensation committee or board of directors of another entity whose executive officer served on our Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee or Board. Therefore, there is no relationship that requires disclosure as a Compensation Committeecompensation committee interlock.

Executive Committee

MEMBERS: Virginia M. Rometty (Chair), Michael L. Eskew, Shirley Ann Jackson, Sidney Taurel
NUMBER OF MEETINGS IN 2017: 0

The Executive Committee is empowered to act for the full Board in intervals between Board meetings, with the exception of certain matters that by law may not be delegated. The Committee meets as necessary, and all actions by the Committee are reported at the next Board of Directors meeting. The Committee did not meet in 2017.

Corporate Governance

IBM’s Corporate Governance Principles

IBM’s Board of Directors has long adhered to governance principles designed to assure the continued vitality of the Board and excellence in the execution of its duties. Since 1994, the Board has had in place a set of governance guidelines reflecting these principles, including the Board’s policy of requiring a majority of the Board to be comprised of independent directors, the importance of equity compensation to align the interests of directors and stockholders, and regularly scheduled executive sessions, including sessions of non-management directors without members of management. The IBM Board Corporate Governance Guidelines reflect IBM’s principles on corporate governance matters. These guidelines are available at https://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/corporate-governance-guidelines.html.

IBM also has a code of ethics for directors, executive officers, and employees. The Business Conduct Guidelines are available on our website at https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/BCG_English_Accessible_2018.pdf. Any amendment to, or waiver of, the Business Conduct Guidelines that applies to one of our directors or executive officers may be made only by the Board or a Board committee, and would be disclosed on IBM’s website.

The process by which stockholders and other interested parties may communicate with the Board or non-management directors of IBM is available at http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/contact-the-board.html.

Independent Board

Under the IBM Board Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Board annually review the financial and other relationships between the non-management directors and IBM as part of the annual assessment of director independence. The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee makes recommendations to the Board about the independence of non-management directors, and the Board determines whether those directors are independent. Although there is an annual assessment of director independence, independence is monitored by the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Board on an ongoing basis.

The independence criteria established by the Board in accordance with New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) requirements and used by the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board in their assessment of the independence of directors is available at http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/director-independence-standards.html.

Applying those standards for the non-management directors in 2017, including those not standing for election, the Committee and the Board have determined that each of the following directors has met the independence standards: K.I. Chenault, M.L. Eskew, D.N. Farr, M. Fields, A. Gorsky, S.A. Jackson, A.N. Liveris, W.J. McNerney, Jr., H.S. Olayan, J.W. Owens, J.E. Spero, J.R. Swedish, S. Taurel, P.R. Voser and F.H. Waddell. Mr. Eskew’s son is employed by IBM and is not an executive officer. He was hired over a year before Mr. Eskew joined IBM’s Board, and his compensation and other terms of employment are determined on a basis consistent with IBM’s human resources policies. Based on the foregoing, the Board has determined that this relationship does not preclude a finding of independence for Mr. Eskew.

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Independent Leadership Structure

The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for the continuing review of the governance structure of the Board, and for recommending to the Board those structures and practices best suited to IBM and its stockholders. The Committee and the Board recognize that different structures may be appropriate under different circumstances. Mrs. Rometty serves as IBM’s Chairman and CEO and Mr. Eskew serves as Presiding Director, IBM’s lead independent director, a structure that the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Board believe is currently in the best interests of IBM and its stockholders. A strong, independent Presiding Director with clearly defined duties and responsibilities further enhances the contributions of IBM’s independent directors, which have been and continue to be substantial. Mr. Eskew, the Presiding Director, has significant global business, technology, leadership and oversight experience as the former chairman and chief executive officer of United Parcel Service, Inc.

The Presiding Director has the following responsibilities:

·preside at all meetings of the Board at which the Chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors;

·serve as liaison between the Chairman and the independent directors;

·approve information sent to the Board;

·approve meeting agendas for the Board;

·approve meeting schedules to assure that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items;

·have authority to call meetings of the independent directors; and

·if requested by major stockholders, ensure that he is available, as necessary after discussions with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for consultation and direct communication.

In addition to these core responsibilities, the Presiding Director engages in other regular activities, including:

·one-on-one debriefs with the Chairman after each meeting;

·spending time with senior management outside of Board meetings to ensure a deep understanding of the business and strategy of the Company; and

·attending certain other committee meetings in addition to the committee he chairs.

In 2018, following each of their self-assessments and annual reviews, the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board as a whole continue to believe that this leadership structure provides IBM with the benefits of combining the leadership role of Chairman and CEO, while also recognizing the unique strengths and capabilities of IBM’s Board members, and that Mr. Eskew should continue to serve as the Presiding Director.

Director Attendance

In 2017, the Board held nine meetings and the committees collectively met 16 times. The Board and the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee recognize the importance of director attendance at Board and committee meetings. In 2017:

·Overall attendance at Board and committee meetings was over 96%; and

·Attendance was at least 75% for each director.

Information about Board attendance at IBM’s 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and IBM’s policy with regard to Board members’ attendance at annual meetings of stockholders is available at http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/director-attendance-at-annual-meeting.html.

Executive Session

Regularly scheduled executive sessions, including sessions of non-management directors without members of management, chaired by the Presiding Director, are held at each Board meeting. Additionally, executive sessions of the non-management directors are led by the Chairs of the Directors and Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation & Resources Committees, respectively, at least once per year.

19



Board Evaluation Process

IBM’s Board utilizes a comprehensive, multi-part process for its ongoing self-evaluation to ensure that the Board is operating effectively and that its processes reflect best practices.

1The Board conducts an annual self-evaluation to review the effectiveness of the Board and its committees. In this comprehensive review, the self-evaluation focuses on:

·The composition and performance of the Board, including the size, mix of skills and director refreshment practices;

·The quality and scope of the materials distributed in advance of meetings;

·The Board’s access to Company executives and operations;

·The promotion of rigorous decision making by the Board and the committees; and

·The overall functioning of the Board and its committees.

2Each committee also performs a self-evaluation in executive session on an annual basis.

·The Audit Committee’s evaluation, for example, includes individual, one-on-one interviews with IBM’s internal General Auditor and each member of the Committee.

3Each year, the Chairman and CEO holds individual, one-on-one interviews with each IBM director to obtain his or her candid assessment of director performance, Board dynamics and the effectiveness of the Board and its committees.

4The Chairman shares insights from these meetings with the Presiding Director and the full Board.

5Self-evaluation items requiring follow-up and execution are monitored on an ongoing basis by the Board, each of the committees, and by IBM management. While this formal self-evaluation is conducted on an annual basis, directors share perspectives, feedback, and suggestions continuously throughout the year.

Succession Planning

IBM has long been recognized for its leadership development. As part of this, one of the Board’s most important responsibilities is to ensure that IBM has the appropriate management to execute the Company’s long-term strategy. To fulfill this responsibility, the full Board meets at least annually to actively review and plan the succession of the CEO and other senior management positions.

During these reviews, at least annually, the Board discusses:

·Succession process and timeline;

·Profile and candidate assessments, both internal and external, as appropriate, for CEO and other senior leadership positions;

·Leadership pipeline and development plans for the next generation of senior leadership; and

·Diversity, inclusion and Company culture.

The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee also regularly reviews succession planning and the Company’s management resources programs.

20



Stockholder Rights and Accountability

At IBM, we routinely evaluate our governance practices to maintain strong Board and management accountability, and to promote stockholder rights through transparent policies that enhance investor and public trust. We believe that sound corporate governance is critical to achieving business success and serves the best interests of our stockholders.

Highlights of our commitment to stockholder rights include:

·Annual election of all Directors

·Majority voting for Directors

·Stockholder ability to call Special Meetings

·Proxy access rights to stockholders owning at least 3% of outstanding shares for 3 years NEW

·Robust stockholder engagement program

·No stockholder rights plan or poison pill provisions

·No supermajority voting provisions

·Confidential voting

Strategy Oversight

The Board actively oversees IBM’s long-term business strategy, and is continuously engaged with management on this topic. For example, each year, the Board holds a two-day strategy session, which includes presentations from many senior executives across the Company’s business units. Additionally, at Board meetings, the Board routinely receives presentations from senior management on critical business matters that tie to the Company’s overall strategy. In addition, the Board periodically travels to key IBM facilities, both domestically and internationally, to obtain a first-hand look at the Company’s operations in strategically important business units and geographic areas. Furthermore, the Board regularly meets with IBMers who represent the next generation of leadership at the Company to ensure that the Company’s leadership pipeline remains diverse and inclusive, and is linked to its long-term strategy.

Risk Oversight

In recent years, much attention has been given to the subject of risk and how companies assess and manage risks acrossthe enterprise. At IBM, we believe that innovation and leadership are impossible without taking risks. We also recognize that imprudent acceptance of risk or the failure to appropriately identify and mitigate risks could be destructive to stockholder value.

In addition, an overall review of risk is inherent in the Board’s consideration of IBM’s long-term strategies and in the transactions and other matters presented to the Board, including capital expenditures, acquisitions and divestitures, and financial matters. The Board’s role in risk oversight of IBM is consistent with IBM’s leadership structure, with the CEO and other members of senior management having responsibility for assessing and managing IBM’s risk exposure, and the Board and its committees providing oversight in connection with those efforts.

The Board is responsible for overseeing management in the execution of its responsibilities and for assessing IBM’s approach to risk management. The Board exercises these responsibilities periodically as part of its meetings and also through the Board’s three committees, each of which examines various components of enterprise risk as part of their responsibilities.

The Audit Committee periodically reviews IBM’s enterprise management framework, including IBM’s enterprise risk management processes.

The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee is responsible for assessing risks relating to IBM’s compensation programs, as well as IBM’s evolving demands for skilled workers.

The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee oversees risks associated with government and industry regulations, as well as environmental and other societal and governance matters.

Senior management is responsible for assessing and managing IBM’s various exposures to risk on a day-to-day basis, including the creation of appropriate risk management programs and policies. IBM has developed a consistent, systemic and integrated approach to risk management, including the enterprise risk management framework, to help determine how best to identify, manage and mitigate significant risks throughout IBM. Management regularly reports to the Board and the committees on a variety of risks.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a critical part of risk management at IBM. The Board’s cybersecurity oversight includes reporting from senior management and cybersecurity experts in areas such as rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity technologies and solutions deployed internally and with IBM clients, major cyber risk areas and policies and procedures to address those risks, cybersecurity incidents, and updates from the IBM Security business. The Board and Audit Committee each receive regular updates.

21



Political Contributions and Lobbying

IBM is committed to meaningful management, oversight, and accurate reporting with respect to our engagement with government officials, and we consistently seek to provide our stockholders with relevant data regarding our public policy engagement.

Further, IBM:

does not have a PAC (Political Action Committee),

does not engage in independent or electioneering communications as defined by law, and

does not provide any financial support to political parties or candidates, directly or indirectly.

The IBM Board of Directors, as part of its oversight function, periodically receives reports from senior management relating to IBM’s policies and practices regarding governmental relations, public policy and any associated expenditures.

IBM’s Senior Management, specifically the IBM Office of Government and Regulatory Affairs, closely monitors all public policy advocacy efforts, as well as any lobbying activities.

IBM’s policies and practices with regard to public policy matters, including lobbying activities and expenditures, are available on its website: http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/public-policy-matters.html.

Insurance and Indemnification

IBM has renewed its directors and officers indemnification insurance coverage. This insurance covers directors and officers individually where exposures exist other than those for which IBM is able to provide indemnification. This coverage runs from June 30, 2017 through June 30, 2018, at a total cost of approximately $4.9 million. The primary carrier is XL Specialty Insurance Company.

Certain Transactions and Relationships

Under IBM’s written related person transactions policy, information about transactions involving related persons is assessed by the independent directors on IBM’s Board. Related persons include IBM directors and executive officers, as well as immediate family members of directors and officers, and beneficial owners of more than five percent of IBM’s common stock. If the determination is made that a related person has a material interest in any IBM transaction, then IBM’s independent directors would review, approve or ratify it, and the transaction would be required to be disclosed in accordance with the SEC rules. If the related person at issue is a director of IBM, or a family member of a director, then that director would not participate in those discussions. In general, IBM is of the view that the following transactions with related persons are not significant to investors because they take place under IBM’s standard policies and procedures: the sale or purchase of products or services in the ordinary course of business and on an arm’s-length basis; the employment by IBM where the compensation and other terms of employment are determined on a basis consistent with IBM’s human resources policies; and any grants or contributions made by IBM under one of its grant programs and in accordance with IBM’s corporate contributions guidelines.

From time to time, IBM may have employees who are related to our executive officers or directors. As noted in the discussion above on “Corporate Governance — Independent Board,” Mr. Eskew’s son is employed by IBM. He is an executive of IBM (not an executive officer). In addition, a brother-in-law of Mrs. V.M. Rometty (Chairman and CEO) and the wifeA daughter of Mr. R.F. Del Bene (Vice(General Manager, IBM Technology Lifecycle Services, and former Vice President and Controller) are employed as executives of IBM. A daughter of Mr. Del Bene and a brother of Dr. J.E. Kelly III (Senior Vice President, IBM Cognitive Solutions and IBM Research) are alsois employed by IBM in a non-executive positions. None of the above-referenced family member employees areposition, and is not an executive officersofficer of IBM. EachThe employee mentioned above received compensation in 20172022 between $120,000 and $900,000. Additionally, in 2017, the above-referenced family members of Mrs. Rometty and Mr. Eskew, as well as the wife of Mr. Del Bene, each received equity grants.$290,000. The compensation equity grants and other terms of employment of each of the family member employeesemployee noted above areis determined on a basis consistent with IBM’s human resources policies.

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2017

182023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Certain Transactions and Relationships


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Corporate Governance
IBM’s Corporate Governance Principles
IBM’s Board of Directors has long adhered to governance principles designed to ensure the continued vitality of the Board and excellence in the execution of its duties. For more than 25 years, the Board has had in place a set of governance guidelines reflecting these principles, including the Board’s policy of requiring a majority of the Board to be comprised of independent directors, the importance of equity compensation to align the interests of directors and stockholders, and the practice of regularly scheduled executive sessions, including sessions of non-management directors without members of management led by IBM’s independent Lead Director. The IBM Board Corporate Governance Guidelines reflect IBM’s principles on corporate governance matters. These guidelines are available at https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM-Board-Corporate-Governance-Guidelines.pdf.
IBM also has a code of ethics for directors, executive officers, and employees. The Business Conduct Guidelines are available on our website at https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM_Business_Conduct_Guidelines.pdf. Any amendment to, or waiver of, the Business Conduct Guidelines that applies to one of our directors or executive officers may be made only by the Board or a Board committee, and would be disclosed on IBM’s website.
The process by which stockholders and other interested parties may communicate with the Board or non-management directors of IBM is available at https://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/contact-the-board.
Independent Board
Under the IBM Board Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Board annually review the financial and other relationships between the independent directors and IBM as part of the assessment of director independence. The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee makes recommendations to the Board about the independence of non-management directors, and the Board determines whether those directors are independent. In addition to this annual assessment, director independence is monitored by the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Board on an ongoing basis.
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The independence criteria established by the Board in accordance with NYSE requirements and used by the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board in their assessment of the independence of directors is available at https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/Independence_Standards.pdf.
Applying those standards to IBM’s non-management director nominees, including those directors not standing for election, as well as a former director who served during 2022, the Committee and the Board have determined that each of the following has met the independence standards: T. Buberl, M.L. Eskew, D.N. Farr, A. Gorsky, M.J. Howard, A.N. Liveris, F.W. McNabb III, M.E. Pollack, J.R. Swedish, P.R. Voser, F.H. Waddell, and A.W. Zollar.
Director Attendance
In 2022, the Board held 9 meetings and the committees collectively met 19 times. The Board and the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee recognize the importance of director attendance at Board and committee meetings. In 2022:

Overall attendance at Board and committee meetings was over 96%; and

Attendance was at least 75% for each director.
In addition, each director attended IBM’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. IBM’s policy with regard to Board members’ attendance at annual meetings of stockholders is available at https://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/director-attendance-at-annual-meeting-of-stockholders.
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Independent Leadership Structure
The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for the continuing review of the governance structure of the Board, and for recommending to the Board those structures and practices best suited to IBM and its stockholders. The Committee and the Board recognize that different structures may be appropriate under different circumstances.
Mr. Krishna serves as IBM’s Chairman and CEO and Mr. Gorsky serves as IBM’s independent Lead Director, a structure that the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the full Board believe is currently in the best interests of IBM and its stockholders. Among other factors, the Board considered and evaluated: the importance of consistent, unified leadership to execute and oversee the Company’s strategy; the strength of Mr. Krishna’s vision for the Company and the quality of his leadership; the strong and highly independent composition of the Board; the views and feedback heard from our investors through our ongoing engagement program throughout the years expressing support for IBM’s leadership structure; and the meaningful and robust responsibilities of the independent Lead Director.
A strong, independent Lead Director with clearly defined duties and responsibilities further enhances the contributions of IBM’s independent directors, which have been and continue to be substantial. Mr. Gorsky has significant global business, technology, leadership, and oversight experience as the former chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson. Given Mr. Gorsky’s extensive experience leading a global business similar in size and complexity to that of IBM, he plays a pivotal role as independent Lead Director in administering the Board’s risk oversight responsibility.
The Board strongly believes that each company’s circumstances dictate its optimal leadership structure, and the current leadership structure strikes the right balance of allowing our Chairman and CEO to promote a clear, unified vision for the Company’s strategy, providing the leadership critical for effectively and efficiently implementing the actions needed to ensure strong performance over the long term, while ensuring robust, independent oversight by the Board and Lead Director.
Responsibilities and Actions of the Lead Director
As Lead Director, Mr. Gorsky has the following robust set of core responsibilities:
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actively involved in the strategic planning of the Board agendas and meetings, Board design and committee composition;
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approves information sent to the Board;
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reviews and approves meeting schedules to ensure there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items;
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presides at all meetings of the Board at which the Chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors, which are held at every Board meeting;
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authority to call meetings of the independent directors, at which he presides in lieu of the Chairman;
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serves as liaison between the Chairman and the independent directors; and
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if requested by major stockholders, ensures that he is available, as necessary, after discussions with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for consultation and direct communication.
In addition to these core responsibilities, the Lead Director engages in other regular activities, including:
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one-on-one debriefs with the Chairman after each meeting;
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analyzes CEO performance in executive session in conjunction with the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee Chair;
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leads the Board self-evaluation process, interviewing each director, together with the Chairman, and reviews the feedback received with the full Board;
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spends time with senior management outside of Board meetings to ensure a deep understanding of the business and strategy of, and risks to, the Company;
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regular contact with members of the Board and meeting individually with each independent director; and
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attends meetings held by each of the Board’s committees.
The Board reviews our leadership structure at least annually to ensure the optimal structure for the strategy and oversight of the Company. Regularly scheduled executive sessions, including sessions of independent directors without members of management, chaired by the independent Lead Director, are held at each Board meeting.
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Board Evaluation Process
IBM’s independent Lead Director oversees a comprehensive, multi-part process for the Board’s ongoing self-evaluation to ensure that the Board is operating effectively and that its processes reflect best practices. This process ensures that the full Board and each committee conduct an assessment of their performance and solicit feedback for enhancement and improvement. From time to time, this process includes a third-party review of the Board’s process and evaluation criteria.
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Full Board Self-Evaluation
The Lead Director leads the Board in conducting an annual self-evaluation to review the effectiveness of the Board and its committees. In this comprehensive review, the self-evaluation focuses on:

The composition and performance of the Board, including the size, mix of skills and experience and director refreshment practices;

The quality and scope of the materials distributed in advance of meetings;

The Board’s access to Company executives and operations;

The promotion of rigorous decision making by the Board and its committees;

The effectiveness of the Board and committee evaluation processes; and

The overall functioning of the Board and its committees.
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Each Individual Committee has Self-Evaluation
Each committee also performs a self-evaluation in executive session on an annual basis. The Audit Committee’s evaluation, for example, includes individual, one-on-one interviews between IBM’s internal Chief Auditor and each member of the Committee.
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Individual Interviews with the Chairman of the Board and Lead Director
The Lead Director, together with the Chairman, interviews each IBM director individually to obtain his or her candid assessment of director performance, Board dynamics and the effectiveness of the Board and its committees.
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Presentation of Feedback
The Lead Director shares insights from each of these meetings with the full Board.
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Results Discussion
The Board meets in executive session to discuss the results of the evaluation and any other issues that the directors may want to raise.
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Follow-ups
Self-evaluation items requiring follow-up and execution are monitored on an ongoing basis by the Board, each of the committees, and by IBM management. While this formal self-evaluation is conducted on an annual basis, the evaluation process is an ongoing process throughout the year. At each meeting, the Chairman actively solicits feedback from each individual director and directors continuously share their perspectives, feedback, and suggestions throughout the year.
Succession Planning
IBM has long been recognized for its leadership and talent development. One of the Board’s most important responsibilities is to ensure that IBM has the appropriate management to execute the Company’s long-term strategy. To fulfill this responsibility, the full Board meets regularly to actively review and plan the succession of the CEO and other senior management positions.
In succession planning, the Board discusses:

Succession process and timeline

Profile and candidate assessments, both internal and external, for the CEO and other senior leadership positions

Leadership pipeline and development plans for the next generation of senior leadership

Diversity, inclusion, and Company culture
The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee also regularly reviews succession planning and the Company’s management resources programs, overseeing a broad range of human capital management topics, including diversity and inclusion.
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Strategy Oversight
The Board actively oversees IBM’s long-term business strategy and is actively engaged in ensuring that IBM’s culture reflects its longstanding commitment to integrity, compliance, and inclusion. The Board is continuously engaged with management on these topics. For example, each year, the Board:
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Risk Oversight
At IBM, we believe that innovation and leadership are impossible without taking risks. We also recognize that imprudent acceptance of risk or the failure to appropriately identify and mitigate risk could be destructive to stockholder value. Our risk professionals rigorously analyze both enterprise and emerging risks, incorporating both internal and external perspectives and data analytics into a comprehensive annual enterprise risk review. This approach is leveraged by management in monthly emerging risk reviews, to proactively identify and respond to changes in the business environment. IBM’s comprehensive annual enterprise risk review is also discussed with both the Audit Committee and full Board.
Risk assessment is integral to the Board’s strategic planning and in the analysis of transactions and other matters presented to the Board, including capital expenditures, acquisitions, divestitures and other portfolio actions, and operational and financial matters. In addition to the annual enterprise risk reviews, IBM’s risk professionals, including the Chief Risk Officer, work closely with senior management to integrate risk assessment into Board and committee briefings on topics of strategic importance. The Board and the Audit Committee also receive reports from IBM’s Chief Trust and Compliance Officer (CTCO) on compliance related matters. The CTCO reports to the Senior Vice President and General Counsel with dotted line reporting to the Audit Committee, and holds a private session with members of the Audit Committee at every meeting.
The Board’s role in risk oversight of IBM is consistent with IBM’s leadership structure, with the CEO and other members of senior management having responsibility for assessing and managing IBM’s risk exposure, and the Board and its committees providing oversight in connection with those efforts. Our risk oversight framework also aligns with our disclosure controls and procedures. For example, IBM’s quarterly and annual financial statements and related disclosures are reviewed by its disclosure committee, comprised of senior management including IBM’s Controller, Chief Auditor, General Counsel, Chief Trust and Compliance Officer, and others, all of whom participate in the risk assessment practices described above. The CEO and CFO then receive a report from the disclosure committee and external auditor before the financial statements are reviewed with the Audit Committee and Board, approved, and then filed.
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222023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Corporate Governance


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Cybersecurity is a critical part of risk management at IBM. To more effectively address cybersecurity threats, IBM leverages a multi-layered approach. IBM has a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) whose team is responsible for leading enterprise-wide information security strategy, policy, standards, architecture, and processes. The CISO is part of IBM’s Enterprise and Technology Security organization, which works across all of the organizations within the Company to protect IBM, its brand, and its clients against cybersecurity risks.
Both the Board and the Audit Committee each receive regular updates from senior management, including the CISO and cybersecurity experts, in areas such as threat intelligence, major cyber risk areas, emerging global policies and regulations, cybersecurity technologies and best practices, and cybersecurity incidents.
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Climate change is a serious concern that warrants meaningful action on a global basis. IBM considers risks as identified by the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures in its risk management process. IBM senior management assesses the significance of environmental and climate-related risks. In addition, they manage these risks and provide regular updates to the Board and Directors and Corporate Governance Committee.
IBM has established objectives and targets for energy conservation, procurement of renewable energy, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction and other key environmental performance indicators. Performance against these objectives and targets is routinely monitored, and results are reviewed annually by the Board’s Directors and Corporate Governance Committee. Details on IBM’s performance against key environmental performance indicators can be found in our annual ESG Report available at https://www.ibm.com/impact/reports-and-policies.
Director Compensation Narrative

Annual Retainer:In 2017,2022, non-management directors received an annual retainer of $300,000.$325,000. Chairs of each of the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee each received an additional annual retainer of $20,000 and the chair of the Audit Committee received an additional annual retainer of $25,000.$30,000. The additional retainer for the PresidingLead Director position is a total of $50,000, inclusive of any committee chair retainer received. For 2017, Mr. Eskew, the Presiding Director and the chair of the Audit Committee, received $25,000 for the Presiding Director role and $25,000 for the Audit Committee chair role.

$40,000.

Under the IBM Deferred Compensation and Equity Award Plan (DCEAP), 60% of the total annual retainer is required to be deferred and paid in Promised Fee Shares (PFS). Each PFS is equal in value to one share of IBM’s common stock. When a cash dividend is paid on IBM’s common stock, each director’s PFS account is credited with additional PFS reflecting a dividend equivalent payment. With respect to the payment of the remaining 40% of the annual retainer, directors may elect one or any combination of the following: (a) deferral into PFS, (b) deferral into an interest-bearing cash account, and/or (c) receipt of cash payments on a quarterly basis during service as a Board member. IBM does not pay above-market or preferential earnings on compensation deferred by directors.

Stock Ownership Guidelines:For 2017, under Under the IBM Board Corporate Governance Guidelines, within five years of initial election to the Board, non-management directors are expected to have stock-based holdings in IBM equal in value to five times the annual retainer initially payable to such director. Stock-based holdings mean (i) IBM shares owned personally or by members of the immediate family sharing the same household, and (ii) DCEAP PFS. Stock-based holdings do not include unexercised options.

Beginning in 2018, within five years of initial election to the Board, non-management directors are expected to have stock-based holdings in IBM equal in value to eight times the equity portion of the annual retainer initially payable to such director. The overall threshold remains consistentStock-based holdings mean (i) IBM shares owned personally or by members of immediate family sharing the same household, and with this change, our(ii) DCEAP PFS. Stock-based holdings do not include unexercised stock options.

Our stock ownership guidelines will remain the strongest in our peer group.

Payout under the DCEAP:Upon a director’s retirement or other completion of service as a director (a) all amounts deferred as PFS are payable, at the director’s choice, in cash and/or shares of IBM’s common stock, and (b) amounts deferred into the interest-bearing cash account are payable in cash. Payouts may be made in eitherany of (a) a lump sum payment as soon as practicable after the date on which the director ceases to be a member of the Board, (b) a lump sum payment paid in February of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the director ceases to be a member of the Board, or (c) between two and ten annual installments, paid beginning in February following the calendar year in which the director ceases to be a member of the Board. If a director elects to receive PFS in cash, the payout of PFS is valued using the closing price of IBM common stock on the NYSE as follows: for payouts made in an immediate lump sum, IBM common stock will be valued on the first day after the date on which the director ceases to be a member of the Board; for lump sum payments made in February of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year of separation or for installment payouts, IBM common stock will be valued on the last business day of the January preceding such February payment.

IBM’s Matching Grants Program:Non-management In 2022, non-management directors arewere eligible to participate in IBM’s Matching Grants Program on the same basis as IBM’s employees based in the United States.U.S. Under this program, IBM will matchmatched a director’s eligible contributions in cash on a 1-to-1 basis to approved educational institutions, medical facilities and cultural or environmental institutions. Each director iswas eligible for a Company match on total gifts up to $10,000 per calendar year. Amounts shown in the Director Compensation Table for matching grants may be in excess of $10,000 because such amounts include Company contributions on gifts that were made by directors in previous years.

Director Compensation Consultant:The Committee retainedretains Semler Brossy Consulting Group, LLC (Semler Brossy) in July 2017 to assess trends and developments in director compensation practices and to compare IBM’s practices against them. The Committee uses the analysis prepared by the consultant as part of its periodic review of IBM’s director compensation practices. Other than services provided to IBM’s Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and IBM’s Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee, Semler Brossy does not perform any other work for IBM. The Committee determined that Semler Brossy is free of conflicts of interest. The Committee previously retained Frederic W. Cook
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Co., Inc.

Proxy Statement   |   Director Compensation23






2017

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2022 Director Compensation Table

 

 

Fees Earned or

 

All Other

 

 

 

Name

 

Paid in Cash ($)

 

Compensation ($)

 

Total ($)

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)(1)

 

(d)

 

Kenneth I. Chenault

 

$

300,000

 

$

173,358

 

$

473,358

 

Michael L. Eskew

 

350,000

 

150,355

 

500,355

 

David N. Farr

 

300,000

 

42,668

 

342,668

 

Mark Fields

 

300,000

 

13,895

 

313,895

 

Alex Gorsky

 

300,000

 

31,621

 

331,621

 

Shirley Ann Jackson

 

320,000

 

139,943

 

459,943

 

Andrew N. Liveris

 

300,000

 

80,254

 

380,254

 

W. James McNerney, Jr.

 

300,000

 

84,755

 

384,755

 

Hutham S. Olayan

 

300,000

 

15,922

 

315,922

 

James W. Owens

 

300,000

 

109,863

 

409,863

 

Joan E. Spero(2)

 

95,833

 

69,861

 

165,694

 

Joseph R. Swedish(3)

 

51,667

 

20

 

51,687

 

Sidney Taurel

 

320,000

 

180,902

 

500,902

 

Peter R. Voser

 

300,000

 

28,418

 

328,418

 

Frederick H. Waddell(3)

 

51,667

 

20

 

51,687

 

NameFees Earned or
Paid in Cash ($)
All Other
Compensation ($)
Total ($)
(a)(b)(c)(1)(d)
Thomas Buberl325,00036,268361,268
Michael L. Eskew(2)
92,91789,171182,088
David N. Farr325,000103,181428,181
Alex Gorsky361,667142,627504,294
Michelle J. Howard325,00052,894377,894
Andrew N. Liveris341,667203,012544,679
F. William McNabb III325,00046,666371,666
Martha E. Pollack325,00060,308385,309
Joseph R. Swedish325,00059,747384,747
Peter R. Voser350,000133,979483,979
Frederick H. Waddell345,00096,712441,713
Alfred W. Zollar325,0009,240334,241

(1)
Amounts in this column include the following: for Mr. Chenault: $173,236Buberl: $36,193 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. Eskew: $150,234 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. Farr: $32,547$79,146 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS and $10,000 contributed by the Company under the Matching Grants Program; for Mr. Fields: $13,773Farr: $103,105 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. Gorsky: $31,499$142,552 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Dr. Jackson: $134,821Admiral Howard: $52,819 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. Liveris: $75,132$202,937 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. McNerney: $79,633McNabb: $46,591 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Ms. Olayan: $15,800Dr. Pollack: $60,233 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. Owens: $104,741Swedish: $59,672 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Ms. Spero: $59,780Mr. Voser: $133,903 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; for Mr. Waddell: $86,637 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS and $10,000 contributed by the Company under the Matching Grants Program; and for Mr. Taurel: $171,030Zollar: $9,240 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS; and for PFS.
(2)
Mr. Voser: $28,296 of dividend equivalent payments on PFS.

(2)After Ms. Spero’sEskew’s term on the Board ended in April 2017, Ms. Spero was paid $2,914,625 of earned compensation and dividend reinvestments which had been previously deferred under the DCEAP since her election to the Board in 2004. Ms. Spero elected to defer payment of 6,089 shares.

(3)Mr. Swedish and Mr. Waddell joined the Board in October 2017.

2022.

Fees Earned or Paid in Cash (column (b)):Amounts shown in this column reflect the annual retainer paid to each director as described above. A director receives a pro-ratedprorated amount of the annual retainer for service on the Board and, if applicable, as PresidingLead Director or a committee chair, based on the portion of the year for which the director served.

All Other Compensation (column (c)):Amounts shown in this column represent:

·


Dividend equivalent payments on PFS accounts under the DCEAP as described above.

·


Group Life Insurancelife insurance premiums paid by IBM on behalf of the directors.

·


Value of the contributions made by IBM under IBM’s Matching Grants Program as described above.

24



Delinquent Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Reports: None

IBM believes that all reports for IBM’s executive officers and directors that were required to be filed under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in 2022 were timely filed.

Insurance and Indemnification
IBM has renewed its directors and officers indemnification insurance coverage. This insurance covers directors and officers individually where exposures exist other than those for which IBM is able to provide indemnification. This coverage runs from June 30, 2022 through June 30, 2023, at a total cost of approximately $6.7 million. The primary carrier is AXA/XL Specialty Insurance Company.
242023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Director Compensation


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Ownership of Securities

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners

The following sets forth information as to any person known to IBM to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of IBM’s common stock as of December 31, 2017.

 

 

Number of Shares

 

 

 

Name and address

 

Beneficially Owned

 

Percent of Class

 

The Vanguard Group(1)

 

63,708,222

 

6.88

%

100 Vanguard Boulevard

 

 

 

 

 

Malvern, PA 19355

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BlackRock, Inc.(2)

 

57,755,152

 

6.2

%

55 East 52nd Street

 

 

 

 

 

New York, NY 10022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Street Corporation(3)

 

51,885,463

 

5.60

%

State Street Financial Center

 

 

 

 

 

One Lincoln Street

 

 

 

 

 

Boston, MA 02111

 

 

 

 

 

2022.
Name and addressNumber of Shares
Beneficially Owned
Percent of Class
The Vanguard Group(1)
100 Vanguard Boulevard
Malvern, PA 19355
80,144,1968.86%
BlackRock Inc.(2)
55 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10055
72,337,7628.0%
State Street Corporation(3)
State Street Financial Center
One Lincoln Street
Boston, MA 02111
53,576,1655.93%

(1)
Based on the Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 20182023 by The Vanguard Group and certain subsidiaries (Vanguard). Vanguard reported that it haddoes not have sole voting power over 1,228,539any shares, has shared voting power over 203,5271,273,052 shares, sole dispositive power over 62,307,27076,392,974 shares, and shared dispositive power over 1,400,9523,751,222 shares. The Schedule 13G does not identify any shares with respect to which there is a right to acquire beneficial ownership. The Schedule 13G states that the shares were acquired and are held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of IBM.

(2)
Based on the Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 8, 20183, 2023 by BlackRock, Inc. and certain subsidiaries (BlackRock). BlackRock reported that it hadhas sole voting power over 49,564,81865,351,316 shares, does not have shared voting power over any shares, and sole dispositive power over all shares beneficially owned. The Schedule 13G does not identify any shares with respect to which there is a right to acquire beneficial ownership. The Schedule 13G states that the shares were acquired and are held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of IBM.

(3)
Based on the Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 201810, 2023 by State Street Corporation and certain subsidiaries (State Street). State Street reported that it haddoes not have sole voting power over any shares, has shared voting andpower over 42,508,791 shares, has shared dispositive power over all53,447,207 shares, beneficially owned.and does not have sole dispositive power over any shares. The Schedule 13G does not identify any shares with respect to which there is a right to acquire beneficial ownership. The Schedule 13G states that the shares were acquired and are held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of IBM.

25



2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Ownership of Securities 25


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Common Stock and Stock-BasedStock-based Holdings of Directors and Executive Officers

The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of shares of IBM’s common stock as of December 31, 20172022, by IBM’s current directors and nominees, the executive officers named in the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table, and such directors and all of IBM’s executive officers as of December 31, 20172022, as a group. Also shown are shares over which the named person could have acquired voting power or investment power within 60 days after December 31, 2017.2022. Voting power includes the power to direct the voting of shares held, and investment power includes the power to direct the disposition of shares held.

IBM’s current non-management directors and nominees had beneficial ownership of a total of 229,851196,700 shares andof common stock of IBM and DCEAP shares as of December 31, 2017.2022. In the aggregate, these shares were valued at more than $35$27 million as of December 31, 2017,2022, or an average of more than $2.5 million for each of IBM’s non-management directors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquirable within 60 days

 

Value of
Common Stock

and/or Directors’

 

Name

 

Common Stock(1)

 

Stock-based
Holdings(2)

 

Options
and RSUs(3)

 

Directors’
DCEAP Shares(4)

 

DCEAP Shares at
Fiscal Year End ($)(5)

 

Kenneth I. Chenault

 

8,268

(6)

8,268

 

0

 

31,292

 

$

6,069,295

 

Erich Clementi

 

31,425

 

83,064

 

0

 

N/A

 

4,821,224

 

Michael L. Eskew

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

27,503

 

4,219,510

 

David N. Farr

 

4,908

 

4,908

 

0

 

6,383

 

1,732,265

 

Mark Fields

 

400

 

400

 

0

 

3,613

 

615,674

 

Alex Gorsky

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

6,690

 

1,026,380

 

Shirley Ann Jackson

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

24,706

 

3,790,395

 

James J. Kavanaugh

 

34,260

(7)

68,191

 

5,320

 

N/A

 

5,256,169

 

John E. Kelly III

 

83,467

(8)

146,222

 

0

 

N/A

 

12,805,507

 

Andrew N. Liveris

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

14,263

 

2,188,229

 

W. James McNerney, Jr.

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

15,045

 

2,308,204

 

Hutham S. Olayan

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

3,965

 

608,310

 

James W. Owens

 

5,000

(9)

5,000

 

0

 

19,403

 

3,743,908

 

Virginia M. Rometty

 

205,858

 

301,417

 

0

 

N/A

 

31,582,734

 

Martin J. Schroeter

 

41,954

 

98,724

 

0

 

N/A

 

6,436,583

 

Joseph R. Swedish(10)

 

1,261

(9)

1,261

 

0

 

202

 

224,453

 

Sidney Taurel

 

19,487

 

19,487

 

0

 

30,991

 

7,744,335

 

Peter R. Voser

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

6,134

 

941,078

 

Frederick H. Waddell(10)

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

337

 

51,703

 

Directors and executive officers as a group

 

506,027

(11)

906,384

 

5,320

(11)

190,526

(11)

 

 

directors as of December 31, 2022.
Acquirable within 60 daysValue of
Common Stock
shares at
Fiscal Year End
CommonStock-basedStock Options AndDirectors’
DCEAP
NameStock(1)Holdings(2)RSUs(3)Shares(4)($)(5)
Michelle H. Browdy103,913134,14215,016N/A14,640,303
Thomas Buberl0007,1981,014,126
Gary Cohn32,55281,93326,887N/A4,586,251
David N. Farr8,508 (6)8,508017,0403,599,458
Alex Gorsky4,4454,445024,0054,008,321
Michelle J. Howard14414409,6421,378,750
James J. Kavanaugh112,968(7)166,78327,031N/A15,916,062
Arvind Krishna205,578(8)327,32641,297N/A28,963,884
Andrew N. Liveris2,6552,655033,3485,072,463
F. William McNabb III9,2509,25008,8232,546,305
Martha E. Pollack00010,9551,543,450
Thomas W. Rosamilia36,18996,41019,522N/A5,098,668
Joseph R. Swedish5,261(9)5,261010,8682,272,415
Peter R. Voser00022,6023,184,396
Frederick H. Waddell3,7633,763015,1772,668,457
Alfred W. Zollar0002,973418,866
Directors and executive officers as a group551,424 (10)917,618159,744(10)162,631(10)

(1)
This column is comprised of shares of IBM common stock beneficially owned by the named person. Unless otherwise noted, voting power and investment power in the shares are exercisable solely by the named person, and none of the shares are pledged as security by the named person. Standard brokerage accounts may include nonnegotiable provisions regarding set-offs or similar rights. This column includes 55,629188,389 shares in which voting and investment power are shared. The directors and officers included in the table disclaim beneficial ownership of shares beneficially owned by family members who reside in their households. The shares are reported in such cases on the presumption that the individual may share voting and/or investment power because of the family relationship. The shares reported in this column do not include 93,2276,165 shares held by the IBM Personal Pension Plan Trust Fund, over which the members of the IBM Retirement Plans Committee, a management committee presently consisting of certain executive officers of IBM,the Company, have voting power, as well as the right to acquire investment power by withdrawing authority now delegated to various investment managers.

(2)
For executive officers, this column is comprised of the shares shown in the “Common Stock” column and, as applicable, all restricted stock units including retention restricted stock units, officer contributions into the IBM Stock Fund under the IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan, and Company contributions into the IBM Stock Fund under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan. Some of these restricted stock units may have been deferred under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan in accordance with elections made prior to January 1, 2008, and they will be distributed to the executive officers after termination of employment as described in the 20172022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative.

(3)
For executive officers, this column is comprised of (i) shares that can be purchased under an IBM stock option plan within 60 days after December 31, 2022, and (ii) RSU awards that vest within 60 days after December 31, 2017.

2022. For Ms. Browdy, Mr. Cohn, Mr. Kavanaugh, Mr. Krishna, and Mr. Rosamilia, shares in this column are from IBM restricted stock awards which will vest within 60 days after December 31, 2022.

(4)
Promised Fee Shares earned and accrued under the IBM Deferred Compensation and Equity Award Plan (DCEAP) as of December 31, 2017,2022, including dividend equivalents credited with respect to such shares. Upon a director’s retirement, these shares are payable in cash or stock at the director’s choice (see 20172022 Director Compensation Narrative for additional information).

(5)
Values in this column are calculated by multiplying the number of shares shown in the “Common Stock” column plus the “Directors’ DCEAP Shares” column by the closing price of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the last business day of the 20172022 fiscal year ($153.42)140.89).

(6)
Includes 1,619450 shares in which voting and investment power are shared.

(7)
Includes 15,174 shares in which voting and investment power are shared.

(8)
Includes 25,639167,503 shares in which voting and investment power are shared.

(9)
Voting and investment power are shared.

(10)Mr. Swedish and Mr. Waddell joined the Board in October 2017.

(11)

The total of these three columns represents less than 1% of IBM’s outstanding shares, and no individual’s beneficial holdings totaled more than 1/10100 of 1% of IBM’s outstanding shares.

26



2017

262023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Ownership of Securities


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ESG at IBM
We believe IBM is a catalyst that makes the world work better. As part of that, we are creating impactful solutions to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges that face companies and society. With a balanced approach, we aspire to make a lasting, positive impact in business ethics, our environment, and the communities in which we work and live. ESG at IBM embodies this philosophy through the three pillars of our IBM Impact framework and is informed through collaboration and engagement with communities, clients, stockholders, and employees. We consider frameworks and initiatives such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are also monitoring the developing regulatory landscape as ESG comes into focus for many regulators and standard-setters worldwide. Our latest ESG Report is available at https://www.ibm.com/impact/reports-and-policies.
IBM impact
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Ethical Impact
IBM is committed to developing policies and practices that prioritize ethics, trust, transparency, and accountability. For over a century, IBM has earned the trust of our clients by responsibly managing their data. We have worked to earn the trust of our stakeholders by ushering powerful new technologies into the world, responsibly and with purpose. As leaders in the tech sector, we believe it is our responsibility to contribute to diverse, global efforts that shape standards and best practices.
Putting our Principles of Trust and Transparency into Practice
IBM’s Principles for Trust and Transparency are the core principles that guide our handling of client data and insights, and the responsible development and deployment of new technologies. This philosophy applies to our approach to AI: we aim to create and offer trusted technology that can augment, not replace, human decision-making. Properly calibrated, AI can assist humans in making fairer choices, countering human biases, and promoting inclusivity. IBM recognized early on that articulating these principles around the responsible deployment of AI technologies was critical — backed by a strong commitment of putting words into practice. Our practice includes training, education, playbooks, tools and methodologies of AI ethics to be taken into account in the design, development, delivery and operational lifecycle of IBM products and across the IBM enterprise. In 2022 we continued to advocate for technology ethics with the Rome Call for AI Ethics, the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab, and through publication on our points of view on facial recognition and mitigating bias in AI. Additionally, we share technology solutions with the open-source community, including several toolkits, designed to promote trustworthy AI.
Our AI Ethics Board, which is comprised of a cross-disciplinary team of senior IBM leaders, co-chaired by IBM’s Chief Privacy Officer and IBM’s AI Ethics Global Leader, reports to the highest level of the company, and works with experts throughout our business to address our most complicated questions. We regularly share our AI Ethics Board governance process with clients and others outside of IBM so that we can collectively advance the responsible use of technology. Continuous collaboration with governments, companies, and other organizations has helped us as we embed privacy, tech ethics, and security into our operations.
Responsible Computing
Stemming from the belief that technology must be thought of in terms of its impact on people and the planet, in May 2022, IBM co-founded the Responsible Computing consortium to approach trustworthy IT and sustainability. The consortium, comprised of technology innovators from industry and academia, created a framework to address current and future challenges holistically and systemically in computing. The Responsible Computing framework focuses on:
Responsible Data Centers: Designed and operated with an emphasis on sustainability
Responsible Infrastructure: Efficient use of available and future technology
Responsible Code: Conscious code choices that optimize environmental, social and economic impact over time
Responsible Data Usage: Data is securely used in ways that drive transparency, fairness and respect for the users
Responsible Systems: Inclusive systems that address bias and discrimination driving equality for all
Responsible Impact: Technologies and innovations that drive positive impact for society at large
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Equitable Impact
IBM’s purpose is underpinned by our culture, which reflects our ability to continually reinvent ourselves to meet the needs of our clients and to make a positive impact on the world. Our culture promotes diversity, trust and integrity while fostering innovation and encouraging experimentation leveraging the application of science and technology for impact.
Embracing and Enabling a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
The IBM Board of Directors strongly believes that much of IBM’s future success depends on the caliber of its talent and the full engagement and inclusion of IBMers in the workplace. We foster a culture of conscious inclusion and active allyship where IBMers can make a positive impact on society and bring their authentic selves to work.
Diversity and Inclusion
Our diversity practices have resulted in a year-over-year increase of representation for women globally and Black and Hispanic employees in the U.S.
We currently have eight D&I Communities with over 200 Business Resource Groups spanning 52 countries, with IBMers actively participating in programs, events, and other D&I initiatives globally
Thousands of IBMers have completed training to become certified allies who actively promote and progress equity and inclusion for the advancement and benefit of people different from themselves
IBM has had an equal pay policy since 1935; we have conducted statistical pay equity analysis for decades, and in 2022 this continued to include all countries where we have employees
Supporting our Employees
We believe that our employees perform their best at work, home, and in the communities where we live and work when their well being is supported. IBM offers a competitive benefits program, designed to help employees build a solid financial foundation for meeting a diverse array of needs — health care, income protection, retirement security, and personal interests.
IBM is actively fostering an environment of growth, inclusion, innovation, and feedback. We support our employees’ professional development by investing in a range of advanced tools and resources that empower IBMers to direct their own career paths and build the skills required to pursue their goals.
Talent and Culture
IBM offers a compelling value proposition to employees: IBMers develop innovative technologies including Hybrid Cloud, AI, quantum computing and cybersecurity, for clients whose businesses the world relies onIBMers worldwide have confidential, 24/7 access to critical mental health support through employee assistance programs, other mental health resources and trainingsHundreds of thousands of IBMers globally participate in our annual engagement survey, and our industry-leading talent practices enable more than 8 in 10 IBMers to be engagedIBM managers and leaders have access to their team and organization engagement levels along with actionable data-driven insights
Community Development
At IBM we use our talent and technology to drive positive and measurable social impact in education and sustainability. We are expanding access to digital skills and employment opportunities so that more people — regardless of their background — can participate in the digital economy. Closing the skills gap is the biggest opportunity of the decade. We are taking bold action to achieve this.
Community Development
IBM has pledged to skill 30 million people by 2030, preparing them for in-demand jobsLearners participating in our skilling programs earn digital badges and certifications widely recognized by the labor market
We are collaborating with over 20 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on IBM Cybersecurity Centers to advance STEM-based opportunities for traditionally underrepresented communities
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Environmental Impact
For more than 50 years, IBM has committed to environmental responsibility — a commitment formalized by our first corporate environmental policy in 1971, which integrated environmental responsibility throughout the fabric of our business. IBM views environmental leadership as a long-term strategic imperative, demonstrated today as we continue to set ambitious goals and apply our technologies to accelerate solutions to global environmental challenges.
Protecting the Environment
Environmental Highlights
Procured 64.2% of electricity consumed across IBM’s operations from renewable sources
Diverted 94.2% (by weight) of IBM’s total nonhazardous waste from landfill and incineration
Reduced operational greenhouse gas emissions 61% since 2010
Held first annual Supplier Sustainability Leadership Forum in 2022 focused on energy efficiency
Enabling Our Clients and Communities
At IBM, we believe that science, technology and innovation are essential to tackling environmental issues and helping clients and communities address environmental challenges. IBM continues to develop solutions that enable clients to assess and minimize their environmental footprint.
Enabling our Clients
The IBM Sustainability portfolio is differentiated by our ability to handle complex data spanning multiple business systems and embed sustainability decision making in daily business operations. By bridging their high-level sustainability goals and daily operations, IBM is uniquely positioned to unlock a data driven approach enabling clients to identify where to start, where to go and how to achieve their sustainability goals, while also optimizing their core business operations and cost.
In 2023 we are using our sustainability portfolio to assist clients in three key areas:

Data management, analytics, and facilitating the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions;

Identifying opportunities to reduce emissions of owned assets, such as buildings, IT, infrastructure, machines, and processes; and

Managing data and gathering insights to help clients reduce emissions and waste in their supply chain.
Enabling our Communities
In 2022 we announced the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, a pro bono social impact program that applies IBM technologies, such as hybrid cloud and AI, and expertise to enhance and scale nonprofit and government organization interventions helping populations especially vulnerable to environmental threats. IBM plans to select five organizations for this program each year. Our first cohort, which began work in 2021, is focused on sustainable agriculture, while our cohort announced at COP27 in November 2022 focuses on clean energy.
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Responsibly Advocating Public Policy
IBM’s Government and Regulatory Affairs team engages in worldwide policy advocacy to drive growth and innovation in the digital economy. IBM has never had a political action committee (PAC), makes no political donations, and has always been committed to meaningful management, oversight, and accurate reporting of our engagement with government officials. Through deep expertise in specific areas of public policy relevant to its business, clients and communities, IBM works collaboratively with governments worldwide to expand economic prosperity and advance the ability of powerful technologies to have positive impacts on society.
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Political Contributions
IBM engages in policy, not politics. In 1968, former IBM CEO Thomas Watson Jr. said a company “should not try to function as a political organization in any way.” IBM continues to live by this philosophy to this day. We have a long-standing policy not to make contributions of any kind (money, employee time, goods or services), directly or indirectly, to political parties or candidates, including through intermediary organizations, such as PACs, campaign funds, or trade or industry associations. This policy applies equally in all countries and across all levels of government. Our approach to advocacy is also grounded in a commitment to preserve and strengthen trust in civic institutions and, to that end, we have partnered with other leading companies and the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute to build and advance a set of principles to promote Corporate Political Responsibility (CPR). By sharing the merit of our non-giving advocacy strategy and deepening business engagement with the CPR principles, we work to increase transparency in the ways that corporations advocate on public policy issues.
IBM does not have a PAC and does not engage in independent expenditures or electioneering communications as defined by law.
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Lobbying
IBM’s Government and Regulatory Affairs team is committed to advancing common sense public policies that benefit our business and communities. We seek to build trust in technology through precision regulation, a modernized digital infrastructure, promoting justice and equality for all citizens, and leveraging science and technology for good. All IBM lobbying activities, including by third parties on behalf of IBM, require the prior approval of the IBM Office of Government and Regulatory Affairs and must comply with applicable law and IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines.
IBM files periodic reports with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate and the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives detailing its U.S. federal lobbying activities and expenditures, with U.S. state and municipal governments, where required, and with the European Union Transparency Register.
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Trade Associations
IBM joins trade and industry associations that add value to IBM, its stockholders and employees. These groups have many members from a wide variety of industries, and cover broad sets of public policy and industry issues. Although IBM works to make our voice heard, there may be occasions where our views on an issue differ from those of a particular association. We perform comprehensive due diligence on all of our trade associations to confirm they are reputable and have no history of malfeasance. Company policy prohibits them from using any IBM funds to engage in political expenditures, and we implement robust procedures to ensure they comply.
The IBM Board of Directors, as part of its oversight function, periodically receives reports from senior management relating to IBM’s policies and practices regarding governmental relations, public policy, and any associated expenditures.
IBM’s senior management, under the leadership of IBM Government and Regulatory Affairs, closely monitors and coordinates all public policy advocacy efforts, as well as any lobbying activities.
IBM is proud to report that the Center for Political Accountability’s 2022 Report on Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability gave IBM a score of 98.6 out of 100, naming IBM as one of only 20 companies that fully prohibit the use of corporate assets to influence elections and as one of only 39 companies that prohibit both trade associations and non-profits from using Company contributions for election-related purposes.
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2022 Executive Compensation

Message to Stockholders

Report of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee of the Board of Directors

Set out below is the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, which is a discussion of IBM’s executive compensation programs and policies written from the perspective of how we and management view and use such programs and policies.
Given the Committee’s role in providing oversight to the design of those programs and policies, and in making specific compensation decisions for senior executives using those policiesprograms and programs,policies, the Committee participated in the preparation of the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, reviewing successive drafts of the document and discussing those with management. The Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.
We continue to evaluate the effectiveness of our executive compensation programs and practices, and a critical component of that evaluation process is feedback from engaging with our stockholders.
We appreciate all of the feedback and support, and we join with management in welcoming readers to examine our pay practices and in affirming the commitment of these pay practices to the long-term interests of stockholders.

Alex Gorsky

Andrew N. Liveris

W. James McNerney, Jr.

Sidney Taurel

Frederick H. Waddell(chair)

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Joseph R. Swedish
Martha E. Pollack

2017

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2022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Executive Summary

IBM’s financial model is designed to deliver profitable

Improved Revenue Growth Profile
Revenue year-to-year growth through the creation of compelling value for our clients. Over the last several years, the Company has embarked on a multi-year transformation to ensure this financial model delivers for our investors. By prioritizing investments with strong returns, we continue to focus on generating high value for our shareholders, employees and clients while aggressively investing to accelerate our transformation.

In 2017, IBM delivered $79.1B in revenue with a 46% gross profit margin, and generated $16.7B cash from operations.

figures at constant currency.
(1)

Since 2015, we invested $37B, reshaping our business profile with nearly 60% directed toward high

In 2022, IBM delivered $60.5B in revenue, and generated $10.4B cash from operations
Revenue Acceleration and Cash Generation
Strong revenue growth Strategic Imperatives.

year-to-year, delivering above IBM’s mid-single digit model.
Generated $9.3 billion of consolidated Free Cash Flow(1)
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Revenue from our Strategic Imperatives of cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security has reached a critical mass in 2017, growing to $36.5B, led by growth in cloud and security.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES REVENUE

Grew 14% compounded, increasing from 27%Optimized Portfolio Positioned to 46% Deliver High Value

Recurring Revenue Acceleration
IBM continues to strengthen and reinforce its position in delivering high-value, differentiated technology to its clientsAbout 50% of IBM Revenue

revenue is recurring, with a high-value mix

CLOUD REVENUE
Grew 34% compounded, more than doubling in size

2022 Revenue Mix

SECURITY REVENUE
Grew 23% compounded, nearly doubling in size

2022 Recurring Revenue Mix

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Increased revenue mix to higher growth Software and Consulting
Software revenue +12% year-to-year
Hybrid Platform & Solutions +9% year-to-year, including Red Hat +17% year-to-year
Consulting revenue +15% year-to-year
Broad-based growth across all business lines and geographies
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65% of recurring revenue now comes from high-growth Software
Hybrid Platform & Solutions exited 2022 with over $13 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue(1)

Over the past three years,

Strategic Capital Allocation
Completed 8 acquisitions
in 2022 for $2B
Returned $5.9B to stockholders
through dividends in 2022
Ended 2022 with $8.8B in cash
and marketable securities,
up over $1B year-to-year
(1)
Non-GAAP financial metrics. See Appendix A for information on how we have worked to aggressively transform, while returning nearly 75% of free cash flow to shareholders.

FREE CASH FLOW USE


* Based on GAAP from continuing operations, ROIC equals net operating profits after tax (net income plus after tax interest expense) divided by the sum of the average debt and average total stockholders’ equity.

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Our compensation strategy supports IBM’s high value business model

For 2017, at target, 69%of Mrs. Rometty’s pay was at risk and subject to attainment of specificcalculate these performance goals:

For 2017 performance, the Board approved an annual incentive payment of $5.1 million for Mrs. Rometty, 102% of target. The payout level reflects a successful multi-year transformation with a return tometrics.

(2)
Year-to-Year revenue growth in 4Q 2017, a remix% includes incremental sales to Kyndryl (post-separation, through October 2022) of the business portfolio,~1 point and recognition of the Company as the enterprise leader in artificial intelligence solutions, cloud services, security, blockchain,~4 points for 2021 and quantum computing. The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee (the Compensation Committee) also noted significant personal leadership of the CEO in infusing new executive talent into the Company and developing next generation leaders. In addition, she set the standards for workplace inclusion, for responsible stewardship of data and artificial intelligence, and for “new collar” work and training programs on a global basis. Taking into consideration the actual salary, annual incentive payout, vested restricted stock units and long-term incentive award for the period 2015—2017, Mrs. Rometty earned 81% of her annual total target compensation in 2017.

The tables below illustrate how Mrs. Rometty’s pay at risk has affected her realized pay, compared to her target pay, in each of the past 3 years. These payouts reflect the multi-year business transformation, rigorous target setting and the strong link between pay and performance.

CEO TOTAL ACTUAL VS. TARGET COMPENSATION

Values in Millions ($)

For 2018, the independent members of the Board made no change to Mrs. Rometty’s base salary, target annual incentive or annual long-term incentive award value, relative to 2017.

2022, respectively.

Note: In an effort to provide additional and useful information regarding IBM’s financial results and other financial information as determined by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this Compensation Discussion and Analysis and Proxy Statement containcontains certain non-GAAP financial measures, on a continuing operations basis, including operating earnings per share, free cash flow, consolidated operating pre-tax income fromcash flow, and revenue growth rates adjusted for currency. Amounts are presented on a continuing operations and operating income from continuing operations.basis unless otherwise noted. For reconciliation and rationale for management’s use of this non-GAAP information, refer to Appendix A — “Non-GAAP Financial Information and Reconciliations”.

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Reconciliations.”

Stockholder Engagement

IBM continually reviews

322023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and enhances its corporate governance and executiveAnalysis


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Our compensation programs. As part of this review, it is IBM’s longstanding practice to meetstrategy, with a significant number of our largest investors during each proxy season, to solicit their feedback on a variety of topics. In 2017, IBM once again engaged with over 100 institutional investors. Further, our process includes outreach to hundreds of thousands of individual retail and registered stockholders, which represent a majority of our retail base.

In addition to our normal, extensive outreach,pay at risk, supports the Company enhanced its engagement practices in 2017. We engaged in a robust program to gather feedback from investors following the 2017 annual advisory vote on executive compensation (Say on Pay). IBM’s Presiding Director, the Chair of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee, and membersdrivers of IBM’s senior management participated in a significant portionhigh value business model.

For 2022, at target, approximately 77% of this engagement program. Overall, the Company met with investors representing more than 55%Mr. Krishna’s pay remained at risk and subject to attainment of the shares that voted on Say on Pay at the 2017 Annual Meeting.

This enhanced, in-depth engagement process provided valuable feedback to the Compensation Committee. Overall, our stockholders continue to be supportive of the Company’s compensation program and practices. Specifically, our stockholders are strongly supportive of the overall design of the program, which focuses on long-term financialrigorous performance that drives stockholder value. Still, the Committee and the Board reviewed and considered all of the feedback heard from investors in making decisions relating to the executive compensation programs. The following table summarizes the items raised by our investors and the changes we made to our executive compensation program in response.

goals.

What we heard

Compensation Committee’s Response

On Disclosure Transparency

·        General preference

For 2022 performance, the Board approved an annual incentive payment of $3,480,000 for simplicityMr. Krishna, which was 116% of target. The payout reflects a 100% Individual Contribution Factor (ICF) and clarity in the disclosure of the executive compensation program

·        Redesigned the proxy to enhance readability and clarity of the disclosure

·        Some preferred increased transparency around achievement of incentive goals

·        Provided additional context on the linkage between our business strategy and executive compensation program

·        Included disclosure of performance against goals in both the Annual Incentive Program (AIP) pool funding at 116%.

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In making this award in line with the Company’s incentive score, the Committee also considered Mr. Krishna’s overall performance against his objectives, which included strong revenue generation (at constant currency), and the continued optimization of the Company’s portfolio, with an increased mix of higher growth software and consulting revenue. In addition, the Committee considered his personal leadership in AI and quantum computing, improving diversity representation including continued improvement in diverse executive representation, as well as continued best in class employee engagement.
Payouts in both the annual and long-term programs reflect rigorous performance goals.
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Feedback from Our Investors Continues to Inform the Committee

IBM once again offered engagement to over 125 institutions and Long-Term Incentive Planreached out to provide increased transparency intohundreds of thousands of individual registered and beneficial owners, representing more than 57% of the rigorshares that voted on Say on Pay in 2022.

Our stockholder discussions and formal 2022 Say on Pay vote reaffirmed investor support of our goals and the linkage of those goals to our business strategy

pay practices.

On One-Time Grants

·        Many disfavored IBM’s one-time grant in 2016

·        The Board granted the 2016 CEO premium-priced stock option grant during a critical juncture in the Company’s transformation

·        The options, which are priced in four tranches up to 25% above the grant price, are not exercisable until 2019

·        No one-time awards have been granted to the Chairman and CEO or other Named Executive Officers (NEOs) in more than 2 years

On Pay Program Design

·        Overall, supportive of IBM’s rigorous pay program and did not want to see any major changes to the fundamental design

·        Reduced Annual Incentive Program maximum opportunity for the Chairman and CEO to two times target to align with market practice

·        The maximum Annual Incentive Program payout opportunity of three times target is at the high end of market practice for the CEO

·        Included a relative ROIC modifier, beginning with PSUs granted in 2018, which may add or subtract the number of shares paid out based on IBM’s relative ROIC performance

·        Some preferred that a relative metric, such as Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), be included in the long-term compensation plan

·        Described stock ownership guidelines as a multiple of base salary. IBM’s ownership requirements themselves have not changed and remain at the high end of its peer group

·        Some requested increased clarity around stock ownership guidelines

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Section 1: Executive Compensation Program Design

and Results

Trust and personal responsibility in allrelationships — relationships with clients, partners, communities, fellow IBMers, and investors — is a core value at IBM. As a part of maintaining this trust, we well understand the need for our investors — not only professional fund managers and institutional investor groups, but also millions of individual investors — to know how and why compensation decisions are made.

To that end, IBM’s executive compensation practices are designed specifically to meet five key objectives:

·

Ensure

To that end, IBM’s executive compensation practices are designed specifically to meet five key objectives:

Align the interests of IBM’s leaders are closely aligned with those of our investors by varying compensation based on both long-term and annual business results and delivering a large portion of the total pay opportunity in IBM stock;

·


Balance rewards for both short-term results and the long-term strategic decisions needed to ensure sustained business performance over time;

·


Attract and retain the highly qualified senior leaders needed to drive a global enterprise to succeed in today’s highly competitive marketplace;

·


Motivate our leaders to deliver a high degree of business performance without encouraging excessive risk taking; and

·


Differentiate rewards to reflect individual and team performance.

The specific elements of IBM’s U.S. executive compensation programs are:

Type

Type

Component

Component

Key Characteristics

Current Year
Performance

Salary

Salary

Salary is a market-competitive, fixed level of compensation

compensation.

Annual Incentive

Program (AIP)

At target, annual incentive provides a market-competitive total cash opportunity. Actual annual incentive payments are drivenfunded by business performance against financial metrics and individualdistributed based on annual performance scores, with top performers typically earning the greatest payouts and the lowest performers earning no incentive payouts. Beginning in 2018, the Committee reduced the maximum payout opportunity for the Chairman and CEO to 2X salary, while the individual maximum payout opportunity remains at 3X salary for all other executives.

Long-Term
Incentive

Long-Term Incentive

Performance Share Units (PSUs)

Annual Stock-Based Grants

Equity awards are typically madegranted annually and may be made inconsist of PSUs, RSUs, or a combination thereof.and Stock Options. Equity grants are based on the level of the executivecompetitive positioning and thevary based on individual performance.talent factors. Lower performers do not receive equity grants.
For PSUs, the number of units granted is adjustedcan be increased or decreased at the end of the three-year performance period based on IBM’s performance against predetermined targets for operating earnings per share and free cash flow. Beginning with the 2018targets.
In addition, a relative performance metric applies to 2020 performance period, the Committee added a modifier that could adjust theall PSU awards. The final number of PSUs earned can be increased or decreased based on IBM’s relative Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) performance. performance relative to S&P indices.
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)RSUs vest over time; typically ratably over one to four years.

Stock Options (Options)

Stock Options vest over time; typically ratably over four years. The exercise price is at least the value of the IBM stock price on the date of grant, and will be exercisable for up to 10 years from the date of grant.

Retention

Retention

Stock-Based Grants & Cash Awards

Periodically, the Compensation Committee and/or the Chairman and CEO reviews outstanding stock-based awards for key executives. Depending on individual performance and the competitive environment for senior executive leadership talent, awards may be made in the form of restricted stock units, premium-priced stock optionsRetention Restricted Stock Units (RRSUs), retention PSUs (RPSUs), or cash for certain executives. Retention Restricted Stock Unit (RRSU)RRSU and RPSU vesting periods typically range from two to five years. In addition to time-based vesting, RPSUs include a relative ROIC performance metric (consistent with standard PSUs). Cash awards have a clawback if an executive leaves IBM before a specified date. Premium-priced stock options may have varying exercise prices.

it is earned.

Supplemental Executive Retention Plan(closed)

In 1995, IBM created a plan to help retain, for their full careers, the caliber of senior leaders needed to turn IBM around, preserve its long-term viability, and position it for growth in the future. To discourage these leaders from joining competitors, their benefits under this retention plan would be forfeited if they left IBM prior to age 60. Because its original purpose had been met, the plan was closed to new participants in 2004. Future accruals under the plan stopped on December 31, 2007.

Pension & Savings Plans

Pension Plans(closed)

In the U.S., future accruals under the pension plans stopped on December 31, 2007. The amount of the pension benefit under these plans is based on pay and service and is determined by the same formulas for executives and non-executives.

Savings Plan

The money that U.S. executives save through the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan, as for all U.S. employees, is eligible for Company matching and automatic contributions. The 401(k) Plus Plan is the only tax-qualified retirement program available to IBM’s U.S. employees for future deferrals and employer contributions.

Deferred Savings Plan

IBM has a nonqualified deferred compensation plan established in accordance with U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service guidelines to enable employees to defer compensation in excess of limits applicable to 401(k) plans. Employees are eligible for Company matching and automatic contributions similar to the 401(k) Plus Plan.

Other Compensation

Perquisites and Other Benefits

Perquisites are intended to ensure safety and productivity of executives. Perquisites include such things as annual executive physicals, transportation, financial planning, and personal security.

Post
Employment
Savings PlanU.S. employees may participate in the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan by saving a portion of their pay in the plan, and eligible employees may also participate in a non-qualified deferred compensation savings plan, which enables participants to save a portion of their eligible pay in excess of IRS limits for 401(k) plans. The Company provides matching and automatic contributions for both of these plans.
Non-qualified Savings Plan
Pension Plans (closed)Named Executive Officers (NEOs) may have legacy participation in closed retention and retirement plans, for which future accruals ceased as of December 31, 2007.
Supplemental Executive
Retention Plan (closed)
A full description of the Retention, Pension, and Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation plans is provided in this Proxy Statement, beginning with the 2022 Retention Plan Narrative.

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Compensation Governance

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Our Incentive Compensation Design Supports our Business Strategy
Our senior executive pay is heavily weighted to be focused onIBM’s performance through the annual and long-term financial performance to drive stockholder value.

The table below highlights practicesincentive programs. Each year, the Committee ensures that IBM embraces in support of our pay-for-performance philosophy:

What We Do

What We Don’t Do

         Tie a significant portion of pay to Company performance

         Mitigate risk taking by emphasizing long-term equity incentives, placing caps on potential payments, and maintaining robust clawback provisions

         Require significant share ownership by the Chairman and CEO and Senior Vice Presidents

         Utilize noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements

         No individual severance or change-in-control agreements for executive officers

         No excise tax gross-ups

         No dividend equivalents on unearned RSUs/PSUs

         No hedging/pledging of IBM stock

         No stock option repricing, exchanges or options granted below market value

         No guaranteed incentive payouts

         No accelerated vesting of equity awards for executive officers

         No above-market returns on deferred compensation plans

Senior Leadership Team — Personal Stake in IBM’s Future through Stock Ownership Requirements

Investors want the leaders of their companies to act like owners. That alignment, we believe, works best when senior leaders have meaningful portions of their personal holdings invested in the stock of their company. This is why IBM sets significant stock ownership requirements for IBM’s Chairman and CEO and Senior Vice Presidents. The following table illustrates which equity holdings count towards stock ownership requirements:

What Counts

What Does Not Count

  IBM shares owned personally or by members of the immediate family sharing the same household

  Holdings in the IBM Stock Fund of the 401(k) Plus Plan and the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan

  Unvested equity awards, including PSUs, RSUs and RRSUs

  Unexercised stock options

  Shares of IBM stock deferred under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan

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Stock Ownership Requirements

The Chairman and CEO and Senior Vice Presidents are all required to own IBM shares or equivalents in excess of standard market practice within 5 years of hire or promotion. While we have historically expressed our stock ownership requirements as a multiple of target total cash compensation, we are now describing them as a multiple of salary to align with market practice. This does not change the amount of shares required to be held, but we believe it will clarify the stock ownership requirements we have for our NEOs.

 

 

Current Approach: Multiple of Total Target
Salary and Non-Stock Compensation

 

New Approach: Multiple of Salary

NEO Name

 

IBM Minimum Requirement

 

IBM Minimum Requirement

 

Median Peer Group Minimum
Requirement

V.M. Rometty

 

3

 

10

 

6

M.J. Schroeter

 

3

 

7

 

3–4

J.E. Kelly III

 

3

 

7

 

3–4

E. Clementi

 

3

 

7

 

3–4

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

3

 

7

 

3–4

Mrs. Rometty owns common stock and stock-based holdings equal in value to 24 times her base salary, more than 2 times the required holdings, based on both the current and new approach to disclosure as of December 31, 2017. More information on Mrs. Rometty’s holdings can be found in Common Stock and Stock-Based Holdings of Directors and Executive Officers. As a group, the Chairman and CEO and Senior Vice Presidents owned shares or equivalents valued at over $120 million as of December 31, 2017; in fact, as of that date, this group held, on average, more than 10 times their base salary.

Stock Ownership Continues Beyond Retirement

Finally, ourthese programs are designedclosely aligned to ensure alignment with IBM’s long-term interests past the retirement date for our Chairman and CEO and Senior Vice Presidents. Share price performance and long-term goal achievement continue to impact the Long-Term Incentive Plan for these retired executives for at least two and a half years post retirement. Shares for Mrs. Rometty that remain restricted and subject to post-retirement performance of IBM represent 1.6 times her share ownership requirement as of December 31, 2017, and assuming future performance at target.

Setting Performance Targets for Incentive Compensation

Compensation of our senior leaders is linked with IBM’s performance against core business metrics. These metrics and their weightings are aligned with IBM’sCompany’s financial and strategic objectives and are designed to appropriately balance short- and long-term goals.balanced. Targets are set for both the annual and long-term incentive programs at aggressivechallenging levels each year. These targets, individually and together, are designed to be challenging to attain and are consistent with ourIBM’s financial model shared with investors eachfor that year. As part of IBM’s ongoing management system, targets are evaluated to ensure they do not encourage an inappropriate amount of risk taking.

2022 Metrics and Weightings
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*
Non-GAAP financial metrics. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate these performance metrics.
Note: For 2017, IBM continuedPSU performance periods that began prior to measure five key financial metrics:

AIP

Strategic Imperatives
Revenue

Supports portfolio shift into a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company that will deliver the highest value opportunities for our clients and stockholders

Operating Net Income

Measures our profit and operational success

Operating Cash Flow*

Important measure of our ability to reinvest and return value to stockholders

PSU
Program

Operating EPS

Measures operating profitability on a per share basis

2021, the metrics included Operating EPS at 70%, Free Cash Flow

Important measure of our ability to reinvest and return value to stockholders over multiple years

*Net Cash from Operating Activities, excluding Global Financing receivables.

33

Flow at 30%, and the ROIC Modifier.


IBM shares its financial model each year with investors in the context of its long-term strategy. Based on feedback from recent meetings withTo provide transparency into the rigor of our investors, and to increase our transparency further, beginning this year,goal setting process, IBM is disclosingdiscloses the performance attainment against targets for the most recent performance period, for both the Annual Incentive Program and the Performance Share Unit Program.

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis 35


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2022 Annual Incentive Program

How It Works
IBM sets business objectives at the beginning of each year, which are approved by the Board of Directors. The Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors review IBM’s annual business objectives and set the metrics and weightings for the annual program to reflect current business priorities. These objectives translate to targets for IBM and for each business unit for purposes of determining the target funding of the Annual Incentive Program. AIP.
Performance against business objectives determines the actual total funding pool for the year, which can vary from 0% to 200% of total target incentives for all executives. At the end of the year, performance for IBM is assessed against these predetermined financial targets, which are updated to remove any impact of currency movement or the change in effective tax raterates, compared to plan. The metrics and weightings for 2017 and 2018, along with IBM’s results compared to financial targets for 2017, are listed below.

The financial targets may be adjusted up or down for extraordinary events if recommended by the Chairman and CEO and approved by the Compensation Committee. This adjustment can be either up or down. For example, adjustments are usually made for large divestituresacquisitions and acquisitions.divestitures.
The diversity modifier affirms management’s commitment to improving diverse representation of our workforce that reflects the labor pool demographics of the communities in which we operate. This modifier can result in a 5 point reduction, no impact, or 5 point increase to the AIP scoring. In addition,2022, the modifier was based on the improvement in representation for executive women globally, and Black and Hispanic executives in the United States.
Finally, the Chairman and CEO can recommend an adjustment, up or down, based on factors beyond IBM’s financial performance,performance; for example, client experience, market share growth and workforce development. Taking such matters into account for 2017,diversity and inclusion of IBM’s workforce. For 2022, no suchqualitative adjustment was made.
The Compensation Committee reviews the financial scoring, diversity modifier, and proposed qualitative adjustments, and approves the Annual Incentive Programfinal AIP funding level.

Financial Metrics

 

2017
Results

 

2017
% Attainment

 

Weight

 

Resulting Incentive
Score*

+/-

Qualitative
Adjustment

=

Final Score

 

Strategic Imperatives Revenue

 

$

36.5B

 

99%

 

20%

 

100

 

0

 

100

 

Operating Net Income**

 

$

12.9B

 

91%

 

40%

 

Operating Cash Flow**

 

$

16.3B

 

101%

 

40%

 


* Based on AIP payout table.

** Non-GAAP financial metrics. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate these performance metrics.

Once the total pool funding level has been approved, payouts for each executive are calculated using an Individual Contribution Factor (ICF). The ICF is determined by evaluating individual performance against predetermined business objectives. As a result, a lower-performing executive will receive as little as zero payout and the most exceptional performers (excluding the Chairman and CEO) are capped at three times their individual target incentive (payoutsincentive. Payouts at this level are rare and only possible when IBM’s performance has also been exceptional).exceptional. The Annual Incentive Program,AIP, which covers approximately 5,0004,000 IBM executives, includes this individual cap at three times the individual target to ensureallow for differentiated pay for performance. The Compensation Committee reviewed this plan featureFor the Chairman and determined common market practice forCEO, the CEOcap is a cap of two times target. Therefore, beginningAn executive generally must be employed by IBM at the end of the performance period in 2018,order to be eligible to receive an AIP payout. At the discretion of appropriate senior management, the Compensation Committee, has setor the ChairmanBoard, an executive may receive a prorated payout of AIP upon retirement. AIP payouts earned during the performance period are generally paid on or before March 15 of the year following the end of such period.

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This incentive design ensures payouts are aligned to IBM’s overall business performance and CEO’s maximumdiversity goals while also ensuring individual executive accountability for specific business objectives.
2022 AIP Payout Results
Based on full year financial performance against IBM revenue and operating cash flow, the weighted incentive paymentscore was 116. For 2022, there was no additional adjustment based on the diversity modifier. While executive representation of women globally, as well as Black and Hispanic executives in the United States, improved by 0.3 points, 0.7 points and 0.3 points, respectively in 2022, this improvement did not result in an increase to two times the incentive score.
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(1)
Based on AIP payout table; results that exceeded 100% of target amount. Since becoming CEO, Mrs. Rometty’s incentive payments have ranged from 0% to 108%for each metric yield a higher Incentive Score.
(2)
Operating Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial metric. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate this performance metric.
362023 Notice of target.

34


Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis



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Performance Share Unit Program

The Performance Share Unit (PSU) metrics for the 2015–20172020-2022 performance period were Operating EPS and Free Cash Flow, unchanged from previous years.

Flow.

Targets are established at the beginning of each three-year performance period. These targets are based on IBM’s financial model, as shared with investors, and the Board-approved annual budget. The Committee’s longstanding practice is that the Company’s share repurchase activities have no effect on executive compensation. To formalize this practice, for Performance Share awards starting in 2016 and thereafter, actualActual operating EPS results are adjusted to remove the impact of any difference between the actual share count and the budgeted share count, while simultaneously ensuring that executive compensation targets are normalized for any planned buybacks that are incorporated into the Operating EPS target. Additionally, the scoring for the Performance Share UnitPSU Program takesmay also take into account extraordinary events. For the 2015–20172020-2022 performance period, thereresults were no such events.

adjusted to exclude the impact of exiting our business in Russia in 2022.

At the end of each three-year performance period, the Compensation Committee approves the determination of actual performance relative to pre-established targets, and the number of Performance Share Units isPSUs are adjusted up or down from 0% to 150%, of targets, based on the approved actual performance. There is no discretionary adjustment to
In addition, the PSU program score.

The PSU score is calculated asProgram has a weighted average of results against targets for Operating EPS (70%) and Free Cash Flow (30%). The calculation is demonstrated in the table below, using the 2015–2017 performance period.

 

 

Operating

 

Free Cash

 

2015–2017 Performance Period

 

EPS**

 

Flow**

 

3 Year Cumulative Performance

 

$

42.31

 

$

37.7B

 

% Attainment

 

84%

 

93%

 

Incentive Score

 

60

 

83

 

Weighting

 

70%

 

30%

 

Final Score

 

67

 


** Non-GAAP financial metrics. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate these performance metrics. 2015–2016 free cash flow results as originally reported, prior to restatement for adoption of FASB guidance on stock-based compensation in 2017.

The graph below, which provides PSU payout history since 2014, demonstrates the rigor of our long-term performance goals.

PERFORMANCE SHARE UNIT PAYOUTS

Starting with the 2018–2020 PSU Program, a Relative Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) modifier has been added to the program design.. The modifier is based on IBM’s ROIC performance over the three-year performance period, relative to the S&P 500 Index (excluding financial services companies due to lack of comparability) and the S&P Information Technology Index. This modifier reduces the score up to 20 points when performance falls below the S&P 500 Index median, and increases the score up to 20 points when IBM exceeds the median performance of both the S&P 500 Index and the S&P Information Technology Index. The modifier has no impact when IBM’s ROIC performance falls between the S&P 500 Index median and the S&P Information Technology Index median. The following graph illustrates how the modifier can affectThere is no qualitative adjustment to the PSU program score. In the event the weighted final

Relative ROIC Modifier
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The PSU score is calculated as a weighted average of results against targets for Operating EPS (70%) and Free Cash Flow (30%). The calculation for the 2020-2022 performance period is shown in the table below. For the 2020-2022 performance period, the ROIC modifier was 0%. While IBM ROIC exceeded the median of the S&P 500 Index (excluding financial services), it did not exceed the median of the S&P Information Technology Index.
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(1)
Based on PSU payout table.
(2)
Non-GAAP financial metric. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate this performance metric.
(3)
Non-GAAP financial metrics. Operating EPS 3-year cumulative performance is calculated based on 2020 and 2021 historical as reported amounts adjusted to include discontinued operations. Operating EPS excludes certain separation related charges in 2021 and includes immaterial share adjustments in 2021 and 2022. For 2022, both Operating EPS and Free Cash Flow is 0,were adjusted to exclude the ROIC modifier would not apply.

RELATIVE ROIC MODIFIER

35

impact of separating business in Russia. Free Cash Flow amounts are on a consolidated basis, which includes activity from discontinued operations. See Appendix A for GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation.

Impact of Significant One-Time Events on the Open PSU Performance Periods
As discussed in prior years, in connection with the separation of Kyndryl in 2021, the Committee determined that the targets for the 2020-2022 and 2021-2023 PSU programs were no longer reflective of the Company’s strategic direction and growth objectives as communicated to stockholders prior to the announced plan to separate Kyndryl. In February 2021, the Committee approved an adjustment to the 2020-2022 PSU program targets to incorporate the planned impact of the 2021 separation of Kyndryl, including one-time transaction-related cash charges associated with the separation, and actions taken to enable the separation of Kyndryl and IBM’s growth. Following the separation of Kyndryl on November 3, 2021 into its own publicly traded company with approximately $19 billion in revenue prior to separating from IBM, a final target adjustment was made for the 2020-2022 and 2021-2023 PSU programs. The final adjustment was made to incorporate the impact of separating Kyndryl, including the early separation of Kyndryl two months ahead of schedule. As a result of the adjustments made for the Kyndryl separation and actions taken to enable IBM’s growth strategy, Operating EPS and Free Cash Flow targets for the 2020-2022 PSU program are lower than those for the 2019-2021 PSU program. Consistent with the Company’s long-standing practice of setting rigorous performance plans, cumulative targets for both plans remain higher than comparable metrics shared with investors on October 4, 2021.

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis 37


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Section 2: HowCompensation Program Governance
Stockholder Engagement Provided Important Feedback for the Committee
IBM continually reviews and Whyenhances its corporate governance and executive compensation programs. As part of this review, it is IBM’s longstanding practice to meet with a significant number of our largest investors during both the proxy season and the off-season, to solicit their feedback on a variety of topics.
In 2022, IBM once again offered engagement to over 125 institutional investors. Further, our process includes outreach to hundreds of thousands of individual registered and beneficial owners, who represent a majority of our retail base. The Company continued its enhanced engagement practices in 2022. IBM’s Chairman and CEO, Lead Director, and members of IBM’s senior management participated in this engagement program. Overall, the Company offered to engage with investors representing more than 57% of the shares that voted on Say on Pay at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
This in-depth engagement process provides valuable feedback to the Compensation Committee on an ongoing basis. Overall, our stockholders continue to support the Company’s compensation programs and practices. We heard from stockholders that they are strongly supportive of the overall design of the program, which focuses on long-term financial performance that drives stockholder value. Still, the Committee and the Board review and consider all of the investor feedback in making decisions relating to the design of our executive compensation programs. For example, the following changes occurred in 2022:

The Company’s Peer Group was updated to increase the weighting of peers in the technology industry, reflect IBM’s increased orientation as a hybrid cloud and AI company, and align the Peer Group with the size and scope of IBM following the separation of Kyndryl.

Stock Options were introduced as part of the overall equity pay mix for executives, to ensure a portion of equity does not generate value unless IBM’s stock price increases over the price when granted.

The diversity modifier continued as part of IBM’s Annual Incentive Program in 2022, with disclosure of the underlying results for both 2021 and 2022 included in the Annual Incentive Program section of each year’s respective Proxy as well as IBM’s annual ESG report.
Compensation Practices
Overall, IBM’s compensation policies and decisions, explained in detail in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis, continue to be focused on long-term financial performance to drive stockholder value.
The table below highlights practices that IBM embraces in support of strong governance practices.
What We Do
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Tie a significant portion of pay to Company performance
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Mitigate risk taking by emphasizing long-term equity incentives, placing caps on potential payments, and maintaining robust clawback provisions
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Require significant share ownership by the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and Senior Vice Presidents
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Utilize noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements for senior executives
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Remove impact of share repurchase on executive incentives
What We Don’t Do
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No individual severance or change-in-control agreements for executive officers
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No excise tax gross-ups for executive officers
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No dividend equivalents on unearned RSUs/PSUs
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No hedging/pledging of IBM stock
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No stock option repricing, exchanges or stock options granted below market value
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No guaranteed incentive payouts for executive officers
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No accelerated vesting of equity awards for executive officers
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No above-market returns on deferred compensation plans
382023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis


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Personal Stake in IBM’s Future through Stock Ownership Requirements
Investors want the leaders of their companies to act like owners. That alignment, we believe, works best when senior leaders have meaningful portions of their personal holdings invested in the stock of their company. This is why IBM sets significant stock ownership requirements for IBM’s Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman, and Senior Vice Presidents (SVPs). Within 5 years of hire or promotion, each is required to own a minimum number of IBM shares or equivalents that is equal to a multiple of salary at the time of hire, promotion, or election as an Executive Officer. The minimum multiple of salary required is in excess of standard market practice.
Stock Ownership Requirements
Ownership Requirements as a Multiple of Salary
NEO NameIBM Minimum RequirementMedian Peer Group Minimum Requirement
A. Krishna107
J.J. Kavanaugh74
G. Cohn74
T. Rosamilia74
M.H. Browdy74
Mr. Krishna owns common stock and stock-based holdings above his ownership requirement (over 20 times his base salary) as of December 31, 2022. More information on Mr. Krishna’s holdings can be found in the Common Stock and Stock-Based Holdings of Directors and Executive Officers Table. As a group, the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and SVPs, inclusive of the NEOs, owned shares or equivalents valued at over $110 million as of December 31, 2022; as of that date, this group held, on average, over 7 times their base salary, and are all on track to reach their ownership goal within 5 years of hire or promotion.
The following table illustrates which equity holdings count towards stock ownership requirements:
What Counts
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IBM shares owned personally or by members of the
officer’s immediate family sharing the same household
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Holdings in the IBM Stock Fund of the 401(k) Plus Plan
and the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan
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Shares of IBM stock deferred under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan
What Does Not Count
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Unvested equity awards
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Unexercised stock options
Stock Ownership Continues Beyond Retirement
Finally, our programs are designed to ensure alignment with IBM’s long-term interests past the retirement date for our Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and SVPs. Share price performance and long-term goal achievement continue to impact the Long-Term Incentive Plan for these retired executives for at least two and a half years post retirement. For example, shares for Mr. Krishna that remained restricted and subject to performance of IBM represent more than 100% of his share ownership requirement as of December 31, 2022; assuming future performance at target.
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis 39


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Compensation Committee Consultant
The Committee enters into a consulting agreement with its outside compensation consultant on an annual basis. In 2022, the Committee retained Semler Brossy Consulting Group, LLC (Semler Brossy) as its compensation consultant to advise the Committee on market practices and specific IBM policies and programs. Semler Brossy reports directly to the Compensation Committee Chair and takes direction from the Committee. The consultant’s work for the Committee includes data analyses, market assessments and preparation of related reports. From time to time, the Committee seeks the views of the consultant on items such as incentive program design and market practices. The work done by Semler Brossy for the Committee is documented in a formal agreement which is executed by the consultant and the Committee. Semler Brossy does not perform any other work for IBM, other than services provided to IBM’s Directors and Corporate Governance Committee. The Committee determined that there is no conflict of interest with regard to Semler Brossy.
How Compensation Decisions Areare Made

At any level, compensation reflects an employee’s value to the business — market value of skills, individual contribution and business results. To be sure we appropriately assess the value of senior executives, IBM follows an evaluation process, described here in some detail:

1. Making Annual Performance Commitments

All IBM employees, including the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and Senior Vice Presidents,SVPs, develop goals, both qualitative and quantitative, that they seek to achieve in a particular year in support of the business. Beginning in 2016, IBM adopted a more nimbleThe Board of Directors reviews and real-time approach to managing employee performance. Employee’s performance goals are discussed with each individual’s manager regularly and updated as necessary throughoutapproves the year. The Chairman and CEO’s performance goals are reviewed directly by the Board of Directors.and formally reviews progress and outcomes. As part of this process, many factors are considered, including an understanding of the business risks associated with the performance goals.

2. Determining Compensation for theAnnual Incentive Payouts
Evaluation of Chairman and CEO — Research, Recommendations and Review

Results by the Compensation Committee

The Chair of the Compensation Committee works directly with the Committee’s compensation consultant to provide a decision-making framework for use by the Committee in determining annual incentive plan payouts and setting target compensation opportunities for the Chairman and CEO. This framework considers the Chairman and CEO’s self-assessment of performance against commitments in the year, both qualitative and quantitative, and also considers progress against strategic objectives, an analysis of IBM’s total performance over a multi-year period, a competitive benchmark analysis,the year and other relevant information.the overall Company incentive score. The Committee considers all of this information in developing its recommendations, which are then presented to the independent members of the IBM Board of Directors for further review, discussion, and final approval.

3. Determining Compensation for Senior

Evaluation of Vice Presidents

Evaluation ofChairman and SVP Results by the Chairman and CEO

Employees at all levels, including executives, and the Compensation Committee

Executives work with their managers throughout the year to evaluateupdate their own results against their stated goals.

The self-assessments of the Senior Vice PresidentsChairman and SVPs are reviewed by the Senior Vice President of Human Resources (SVP HR) and the Chairman and CEO, who evaluate the information, along with the following:

·        Comparisons to market compensation levels for cash compensation and total direct compensation;

·        Potential for future roles within IBM; and

·        Total compensation levels relative to internal peers before and after any recommendations.

information.

Following this in-depth review and in consultation withtaking into account the SVP HR,Company incentive score, the Chairman and CEO makes compensation recommendations to the Compensation Committee based on an evaluation of the Vice Chairman and each Senior Vice President’sSVP’s performance and expectations for the coming year.

Evaluation of Results byyear, and the Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee decides whether to approve or adjust the Chairman and CEO’s recommendations for the Senior Vice Presidents.

Chairman and SVPs. The Committee evaluates allthen presents the compensation decisions for the Chief Financial Officer to the independent members of the factors considered by the ChairmanIBM Board of Directors for ratification.

402023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and CEO and reviews compensation summaries that tally the dollar value of all compensation and related programs, including salary, annual incentive, long-term compensation, deferred compensation, retention payments and pension benefits. These summaries provide the Committee with an understanding of how their decisions affect other compensation elements and the impact that separation of employment or retirement will have.

4. EnsuringAnalysis


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3. Setting Competitive Target Pay
Approach to Benchmarking

IBM participates in several executive compensation surveys that provide general trend information and details on levels of salary, target annual incentives and long-term incentives, the relative mix of short- and long-term incentives, and mix of cash and stock-based pay. Given the battle for talent that exists in our industry, the benchmark companies that are used by the Compensation Committee to guide its decision making have included a broad range of key information technology companies, to help us identify trends in the industry. We also include companies outside our industry, with stature, size, and complexity that approximate our own, in recognition of the fact that competition for senior managementflow of executive talent is not limited to our industry.in and out of IBM from other industries. The surveys and benchmark data are supplemented by input from the Compensation Committee’s outside consultant on factors such as recent market trends. The Committee reviews and approves this list annually.

36



The CompensationFor 2022 and 2023 compensation decisions, the Committee re-examinedutilized the following benchmark group for 2017 and determined that companies which meet the following criteria should be included in the 2017 benchmark group:

·criteria:


Companies in the technology industry with revenue that exceeds $15$10 billion, plus

·


Additional companies (up to two per industry if available) in industries other than technology,industries, with revenue that exceeds $40$30 billion, and that have a global complexity similar to IBM.

IBM, and whose business strategy results in substantial competition for senior leadership talent.

For 2017both 2022 and 2023 compensation decisions, the Committee approved the following benchmark group using the criteria above, which achieves a balance between prominent technology competitors and reflecting changes in the corporate structurelarge-scale companies of certain competitors.

2017 BENCHMARK GROUP:

Accenture

Dow Chemical

Oracle

Alphabet

ExxonMobil

PepsiCo

Amazon.com

Ford

Pfizer

Apple

General Electric

United Technologies

AT&T

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

UPS

Boeing

HP Inc.

Verizon

Caterpillar

Intel

Xerox (removed from 2018 group)

Chevron

Johnson & Johnson

Cisco Systems

Microsoft

For 2018 compensation decisions, the Committee approved the same benchmark group with one change. Xerox was removed from the 2018 benchmark group given recent changes in its corporate structure.

The data from compensation surveyssimilar size of IBM, and related sources form the primary external view of the market.accurately represents IBM’s competition for senior leadership talent. In consideration of size and complexity, IBM’s philosophy is to generally target the 50th50th percentile of the market for cash and total compensation. Owing

Benchmark Group:
AccentureBoeingMicrosoftUPS
AdobeCisco SystemsOracleVerizon
AlphabetGeneral ElectricPepsiCoVisa
Amazon.comHewlett Packard EnterpriseQualcommVMware
AT&THoneywellRaytheon
Bank of AmericaIntelSalesforce
Approach to the size and scope of our business overall, some roles are compared to a size-adjusted market rate.

Determining Individual Compensation

For individual compensation decisions, the benchmark information is used together with an internal view of individual performance relative to other executives and recognizing that the skills and experience of our senior executives are highly sought after by other companies and, in particular, by IBM’s competitors. Because factors such as performance and retention, as well as size and complexity of the job role, are considered when compensation decisions are made, the cash and total compensation for an individual named executive officer may be higher or lower than the target reference point of the relevantbroader benchmark group.

5.

Evaluation of Chairman and CEO Target Pay by the Compensation Committee Consultant

The Chair of the Compensation Committee enters into a consulting agreementworks directly with its outside compensation consultant on an annual basis. In July 2017, the Committee retained Semler Brossy Consulting Group, LLC (Semler Brossy) as itsCommittee’s compensation consultant to adviseprovide a decision-making framework for use by the Committee on market practices and specific IBM policies and programs. Semler Brossy reports directly to the Compensation Committee Chairman and takes direction from the Committee. The consultant’s work for the Committee includes data analyses, market assessments and preparation of related reports. From time to time, the Committee seeks the views of the consultant on items such as incentive program design and market practices. The work done by Semler Brossy for the Committee is documented in a formal agreement which is executed by the consultant and the Committee. Semler Brossy does not perform any other work for IBM, other than services provided to IBM’s Directors and Corporate Governance Committee. The Committee previously retained Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (FW Cook). The Committee determined that there is no conflict of interest with regard to either Semler Brossy or FW Cook.

The Compensation Committee made recommendations for Mrs. Rometty’s 2017 and 2018setting target compensation following the process and using the pay components described above.

37



2017 Annual Incentive Decisionopportunities for the Chairman and CEO

For 2017 performance,CEO. The independent members of the IBM Board approved anof Directors review and provide final approval.

Evaluation of Vice Chairman and SVP Target Pay by the Chairman and CEO and the Compensation Committee
The Chairman and CEO makes compensation recommendations on the Vice Chairman and SVPs’ target compensation to the Compensation Committee. The Committee evaluates all of the factors considered by the Chairman and CEO and reviews compensation summaries that tally the dollar value of all compensation and related programs, including salary, annual incentive, paymentlong-term compensation, deferred compensation, retention payments and pension benefits. These summaries provide the Committee with an understanding of $5.1 millionhow their decisions affect other compensation elements, and the impact of separation of employment or retirement. The Committee decides whether to approve or adjust the Chairman and CEO’s recommendations for Mrs. Rometty, which represented 102% of her target opportunity.

In additionthe Vice Chairman and SVPs. The Committee then presents the compensation decisions for the Chief Financial Officer to overall IBM 2017 revenue performance of $79.1B and pre-tax income of $11.4B, the Compensation Committee noted the following achievements for Mrs. Rometty, all of which are clear sign postsindependent members of the successful business portfolio shift:

· Achieved critical mass with IBM’s Strategic Imperatives— cloud, analytics, mobile, socialIBM Board of Directors for ratification.

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Compensation Discussion and security. Grew revenue to $36.5 billion and represented 46% of IBM’s total revenue.

· Strengthened Watson as the premier AI platform for business.Continued to extend the reach of Watson on the IBM Cloud to clients, developers, partners and users, touching one billion people in 2017.

· Solidified the IBM Cloud as a global leader for enterprise,with $17 billion in revenue and exited the fourth quarter with an as-a-service annual run rate of more than $10 billion.

· Continued to modernize our enduring Systems platforms.IBM Z delivered the highest shipped MIPS (millions of instructions per second) in history, demonstrating strong demand for the world’s first system capable of pervasive encryption with no performance degradation. Storage revenue grew every quarter in 2017 for the first time since 2010 and Power systems returned to growth in 4Q with the introduction of Power 9.

· Established IBM as the clear leader in quantum computing.Created the world’s first 50 qubit system and launched Q Network on the IBM Cloud which made quantum capabilities available to more than 70,000 users for experimentation and testing.

· Achieved global leadership in blockchain.Established blockchain projects with hundreds of clients, including collaborating on 35 active blockchain networks with clients such as Walmart, Maersk and The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).

· Repositioned IBM Services to capitalize on market trends.Returned consulting business to growth in the second half of 2017, but fell short of growth objectives for the year. Grew total services backlog for the year, with an improved trajectory entering into 2018.

· Led the world for the 25th consecutive year in U.S. patents earned,set a new record with more than 9,000 patents. Nearly half of those patents were in new areas such as AI, cloud, security, blockchain, and quantum computing that will power the business for years to come.

· Drove significant business productivitythrough continued global support transformation, automation and the deployment of cognitive solutions across IBM. Positioned IBM for future growth by realigning workforce skills with the new portfolio and strengthening all levels of management.

· Continued to enhance the all inclusive culture of IBM.Improved executive representation in both female and under represented minorities.

Finally, the payout took into consideration Mrs. Rometty’s outstanding personal leadership in infusing new executive talent across the Company, developing the next generation of leaders, and assuming industry leadership on several key issues, including setting new global standards for data responsibility and stewardship and preparing the future workforce for “new collar” work.

2018Analysis 41


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Section 3: Compensation Decisions for the Chairman and CEO

For 2018, the independent members of the Board made no change to Mrs. Rometty’s base salary or target annual incentive, and reduced the maximum potential payout for her annual incentive from 3X target to 2X target, to align more closely with common market practice. She was granted an annual long-term incentive award valued at $13.3 million, flat compared to the prior two years. This grant is comprised 65% of 2018–2020 Performance Share Units and 35% of Restricted Stock Units. For 2018, 69% of Mrs. Rometty’s annual total target compensation is tied to performance-based incentives.

38



2017 Annual Incentive Decisions for Mr. Schroeter, Dr. Kelly, Mr. Clementi and Mr. Kavanaugh

The Compensation Committee also made decisions for the following named executive officers, noting overall corporate performance as described in the Business Highlights andNamed Executive Summary and the following key points:

Martin J. Schroeter

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer*

·        Drove continued transformation and strong return to shareholders, expanded Operating PTI margins*Officers

2022 Annual Incentive Decision for the Chairman and CEO
For 2022 performance, the Board approved an annual incentive payment of $3,480,000, which represented 116% of Mr. Krishna’s target opportunity and was in line with the Company incentive score.
In addition to overall IBM 2022 revenue performance of $60.5 billion and $10.4 billion cash from operations, the Compensation Committee noted the following achievements for Mr. Krishna, which have positioned IBM for sustained growth going forward:
Business Results

Consulting revenue grew 15% at constant currency*, and Software revenue grew 12% at constant currency*, including approximately 6 points from incremental external sales to Kyndryl

Recurring revenue represents about 50% of IBM revenue, with Hybrid Platform & Solutions Annual Recurring Revenue* over $13 billion exiting 2022

Delivered consolidated free cash flow* of $9.3 billion, with a cash realization of over 100%

Ended 2022 with $8.8 billion in cash and marketable securities, up over $1 billion year-to-year
Portfolio and Investment

Closed 8 strategic acquisitions in 2022, focused on strengthening our hybrid cloud capabilities in Software and Consulting
Leadership in Innovation

Deployed Osprey 433-Qubit Quantum system, significantly expanding the volume capabilities of the platform
Societal Impact

Significant progress toward our goal of reducing IBM’s operational greenhouse gas emissions 65% by 2025, with a 61% reduction to date

Expanded privacy program to add AI impact assessments in response to new AI regulations
Talent Development and Leadership

Focused hiring, development, and sales investments to fuel growth

Improved diversity across US Black, US Hispanic, and global Women executives

Continued best in class employee engagement
2023 Compensation Decisions for the Chairman and CEO
For 2023, the independent members of the Board made no changes to Mr. Krishna’s base salary or target annual incentive, which was just below the median target cash compensation of the 2023 benchmark group. He was granted an annual long-term incentive award valued at $17.0 million, which is the first increase since Mr. Krishna became CEO in 2020, and in line with the median of the 2023 benchmark group. This grant is comprised of 60% 2023-2025 Performance Share Units, 20% Restricted Stock Units, and 20% Stock Options. For 2023, 77% of Mr. Krishna’s annual total target compensation is at risk and subject to attainment of rigorous performance goals and IBM’s stock price performance.
*, grew free cash flow (excluding Global Financing receivables)** and maintained strong ROIC.

·        Returned $9.8 billion — about 75% of free cash flow — to shareholders, including an increase to the dividend for the 22nd consecutive year.

·        Grew IBM Global Financing assets by double digits year to year, while increasing return on equity to 33%.

John E. Kelly III

Senior Vice President, IBM Cognitive Solutions & IBM Research

·        Strengthened Watson as the premier AI platform for business, touching one billion people in 2017.

·        Grew IBM Security to over $3B of revenue, up 55% YTY.

·        Achieved #1 in patents for the 25th consecutive year, setting a new record of more than 9,000 patents. Nearly half of those patents were in new areas such as AI, cloud, security, blockchain and quantum computing that will power the business for years to come.

·        Missed full year profit objective for Cognitive Solutions.

Erich Clementi

Senior Vice President, IBM Global Markets*

·        Maintained IBM’s global leadership in enterprise cloud with all of the top ten global banks, nine of the top ten retailers and eight of the top ten airlines as IBM Cloud as-a-Service clients.

·        Enabled IBM to deliver $36.5 billion of Strategic Imperatives revenue, up 11%, with strong contributions from IBM’s two biggest geographic markets.

·        Returned North America, IBM’s biggest geographic market, to revenue growth in 4Q, but missed full year growth objective.

James J. Kavanaugh

Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations*

·        Drove significant productivity savings through work redesign and the deployment of cognitive solutions across IBM’s internal operations.

·        Strengthened IBM as a top-tier IT provider through initiatives to transform and enhance the client experience.

·        Drove cognitive throughout IBM’s internal operations, making IBM the showcase of a cognitive enterprise.



* In January 2018, Mr. Schroeter became Senior Vice President, IBM Global Markets, Mr. Clementi became Senior Vice President, IBM Global Integrated Accounts, and Mr. Kavanaugh became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

** Non-GAAP financial metrics. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate these performance metrics.

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2022 Annual Incentive Decisions for Mr. Kavanaugh, Mr. Cohn, Mr. Rosamilia, and Ms. Browdy
The Compensation Committee also made decisions for the following named executive officers (NEOs), based on overall corporate performance as described in the Business Highlights and Executive Summary and an assessment of their individual contributions, many of which are summarized below:
James J. Kavanaugh
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Exceeded mid-single digit revenue growth objective by delivering 12% growth at constant currency*, including approximately 4 points from incremental external sales to Kyndryl.
Optimized portfolio and expanded operating pre-tax margin* by 250 basis points, generating $9.3 billion in consolidated free cash flow*, which grew $2.8 billion year-to-year.
Returned $6 billion to stockholders and invested over $2 billion to acquire eight companies while reducing debt by approximately $1 billion in 2022.
Gary Cohn
Vice Chairman
Expanded IBM’s public/private partnerships, resulting in additional revenue and broader reach.
Developed senior relationships to expand IBM’s presence and brand awareness with strategic clients.
Participated in discussions with US and foreign government leaders, media and in other public events to advance IBM’s technology point of view.
Tom Rosamilia
Senior Vice President
Grew Software revenue 12% at constant currency, with growth through all 4 quarters in 2022.
Increased the availability of our software as a service (SaaS) product portfolio across multiple cloud hyperscalers.
Delivered organic innovation across the product portfolio and added significant value through strategic acquisitions.
Michelle H. Browdy
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Provided legal and regulatory support for IBM’s growth initiatives globally, including driving substantial change in support of IBM’s Ecosystem transformation.
Government and Regulatory Affairs team helped support passage of the CHIPS Act and the EU Digital Markets Act, and ensured the orderly wind-down of the IBM Russia business.
Continued to enhance IBM’s cybersecurity, privacy, data governance and AI ethics posture as regulatory focus on these issues continued to heighten around the world.
*
Non-GAAP financial metrics. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate these performance metrics.
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Following the process outlined above and based on business and individual performance, the Compensation Committee approved the 20172022 annual incentive payouts below for these named executive officers:

Name

 

2017 Annual Incentive Payouts

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

$

1,181,000

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

861,000

 

E. Clementi

 

869,840

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

919,000

 

Taking into consideration the actual salary, annual incentive payout, vested restricted stock units and long-term incentive award for the period 2015–2017, theseNEOs:

Name2022 Annual Incentive Payouts(1)
J.J. Kavanaugh$1,665,760
G. Cohn1,832,800
T. Rosamilia1,218,060
M.H. Browdy1,466,240
(1)
The named executive officers earned from 76%–81%each had an incentive target equal to 135% of their annual total target compensation in 2017.

2018salary for 2022.

2023 Compensation Decisions for Mr. Schroeter, Dr. Kelly,Kavanaugh, Mr. ClementiCohn, Mr. Rosamilia and Mr. Kavanaugh

Ms. Browdy

The Committee also approved the following compensation elements for 2018:2023: base salary, annual incentive target, Performance Share Unit (PSU) and, Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) and Stock Option grants under the Long-Term Performance Plan. For Long-Term Incentive Plan grants, beginning in 2016, the mix of vehicles is now set at 65%60% PSUs, 20% RSUs and 35% RSUs, to align better20% Stock Options, which aligns with market practice. This mix provides competitive pay, while at the same time ensuring a strong link between pay and performance, and creates a betterthe right balance relative to peers with which we compete for talent. For 2018,2023, based on the compensation decisions detailed below at target, 63%approximately 73% of the NEOs’ (excluding the Chairman and CEO) pay is at risk.

63% of the NEOs’, excluding the Chairman and CEO, annual total target compensation is at risk.

 

 

2018 Cash(1)

 

2018 Long-Term Incentive Awards(2)

 

Name

 

Salary Rate

 

Annual Incentive Target

 

Performance Share Units

 

Restricted Stock Units

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

$

936,000

 

$

1,264,000

 

$

3,900,000

 

$

2,100,000

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

868,000

 

1,172,000

 

3,705,000

 

1,995,000

 

E. Clementi

 

777,000

 

1,048,000

 

3,575,000

 

1,925,000

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

745,000

 

1,005,000

 

3,412,500

 

1,837,500

 


NEO 2023 PAY MIX

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2023 Cash(1)
2023 Long-Term Incentive Awards(2)
NameSalary RateAnnual Incentive
Target
Performance
Share Units
Restricted
Stock Units
Stock Options
J.J. Kavanaugh$1,096,000$1,479,000$5,955,000$1,985,000$1,985,000
G. Cohn1,170,0001,580,0004,350,0001,450,0001,450,000
T. Rosamilia(3)
894,0001,206,000
M.H. Browdy936,0001,264,0003,780,0001,260,0001,260,000
(1)    For Mr. Schroeter, Dr. Kelly, Mr. Clementi and Mr. Kavanaugh
Salary increases for the 2018 salary ratesNamed Executive Officers, if applicable, will be effective JulyApril 1, 20182023.
(2)
PSUs, RSUs and the 2018 annual incentive targets were effective January 1, 2018.

(2)    PSUs and RSUsStock Options will be granted on June 8, 2018February 21, 2023 to the named executive officers, including the Chairman and the CEO. The actual number of units granted on this date will be determined by dividing the value shown above by a predetermined, formulaic planningthe average of IBM’s closing stock price for the second quarter 2018.30 active trading days prior to the date of grant. The actual number of Stock Options granted on this date will be determined by dividing the value shown by the product of (1) the average of IBM’s closing stock price for the 30 active trading days prior to the date of grant and (2) an option valuation factor of .1667 (to reflect the discounted value of Stock Options compared to full value awards). The performance period for the PSUs ends December 31, 2020,2025, and the award will pay out in February 2021. The restricted stock units2026. RSUs and Stock Options will vest 25% per year on each anniversary of the date of grant.

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(3)
Mr. Rosamilia will retire by June 30, 2023.

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Section 3:4: Additional Information

Compensation Program as it Relates to Risk

IBM management, the Compensation Committee and the Committee’s outside consultant review IBM’s compensation policies and practices, with a focus on incentive programs, to ensure that they do not encourage excessive risk taking. This review includes the cash incentive programs and the long-term incentive plans that cover all executives and employees. Based on this comprehensive review, we concluded that our compensation program does not encourage excessive risk taking for the following reasons:

·


Our programs appropriately balance short- and long-term incentives, with approximately 71%72% of 20182023 annual total target compensation for the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman, and Senior Vice PresidentsSVPs as a group provided in equity.

·


Our executive compensation program pays for performance against financial targets that are set to be challenging to motivate a high degree of business performance, with an emphasis on longer-term financial success and prudent risk management.

·


Our incentive plans include a profit metric as a significant component of performance to promote disciplined progress toward financial goals. None of IBM’s incentive plans are based solely on signings or revenue targets, which mitigates the risk of employees focusing exclusively on the short term.

·


Qualitative factors beyond the quantitative financial metrics are a key consideration in the determination of individual executive compensation payments. How our executives achieve their financial results, integrate across lines of business and demonstrate leadership consistent with IBM values are key to individual compensation decisions.

·


As explained in the 20172023 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative, we further strengthened our retirement policies on equity grants for our senior leaders beginning in 2009 to ensure that the long-term interests of IBM continue to be the focus, even as these executives approach retirement.

·


Our stock ownership guidelines require that the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman, and each Senior Vice PresidentSVP hold a significant amount of IBM equity to further align their interests with stockholders over the long term.

·


IBM has a policy that requires a clawback of cash incentive payments in the event that an executive officer’s conduct leads to a restatement of IBM’s financial results. Likewise, IBM’s equity plan has a clawback provision under which states that awards may be cancelled and certain gains repaid if an employeea senior executive engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM. To further reinforce our commitment to ethical conduct, the IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan allows the clawback of certain IBM contributions if a participant engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM.

We are confident that our compensation program is aligned with the interests of our stockholders, rewards for performance and represents strong executive compensation governance practices.

Equity Award Practices

Under IBM’s long-standing practices and policies, all equity awards are approved before or on the date of grant. The exercise price of at-the-money stock optionsStock Options is the average of the high and low market price of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the date of grant or, in the case of premium-priced stock options, for example, 10% above that average, or as specified by the Compensation Committee.

The approval process specifies the individual receiving the grant, the number of units or the value of the award, the exercise price or formula for determining the exercise price, if different from the average of the high and low market price of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the grant date, and the date of grant. In the case of planned grant value, the number of shares granted are determined by dividing the planned value by the predetermined, formulaic planningaverage of IBM’s closing stock price in effect for the quarter. IBM’s planning30 active trading days prior to the date of grant for PSUs and RSUs. For Stock Options, the average IBM closing stock price is computed each quarter using a consistent statistical forecasting procedure based on historical IBM stock price data. IBM usesfurther adjusted by an option valuation factor to reflect the quarterly planning pricediscounted value of Stock Options compared to aid in establishing the overall size of the equity plan and to give more consistency across equity grants made at different points in the quarter.

full value awards.

As with all compensation decisions, the independent members of the Board approve all equity awards for the Chairman and CEO, and ratify all equity awards for the Chief Financial Officer. In addition, all equity awards for Seniorthe Vice PresidentsChairman and each SVP are approved by the Compensation Committee. All equity awards for employees other than the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and Senior Vice PresidentsSVPs are approved by the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman and Senior Vice PresidentsSVPs pursuant to a series of delegations that were approved by the Compensation Committee, and the grants made pursuant to these delegations are reviewed periodically with the Committee.

Equity awards granted as part of annual total compensation for senior leaders and other employees are made on specific cycle dates scheduled in advance.advance, typically February 21st or the previous business day (if the 21st does not fall on a business day). For Officers, the February grant date is scheduled within one month of the Compensation Committee’s approval of any applicable equity awards (at the end of January). IBM’s policy for new hires and promotions requires approval of any awards before or on the grant date which is typically the date of the promotion or hire.

award.

IBM does not have any plans, programs or agreements that would provide any payments to any of the named executive officers upon a change in control of IBM, a change in the named executive officer’s responsibilities or a constructive termination of the named executive officer.

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Ethical Conduct

Every executive is held accountable to comply with IBM’s high ethical standards: IBM’s Values, including “Trust and Personal Responsibility in allAll Relationships,” and IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines. This responsibility is reflected in each executive’s performance goals, and is reinforced through each executive’s annual certification to the IBM Business Conduct Guidelines.
An executive’s compensation, including annual cash incentive payments, is tied to compliance with these standards; compliance is also a condition of IBM employment for each executive.

IBM’s equity plans and agreements have a clawback provision — awards may be cancelled and certain gains repaid if an employeeexecutive engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM, such as violating IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines, disclosing confidential information or performing services for a competitor. To further reinforce our commitment to ethical conduct, the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan allows the clawback of certain IBM contributions if a participant engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM.

In addition, approximately 2,0001,700 of our key executives (including each of the named executive officers) have agreed to a noncompetition, nonsolicitation agreement that prevents them from working for certain competitors within 12 months of leaving IBM or soliciting employees within two years ofafter leaving IBM.

The Committee has also implemented the following policy for the clawback of cash incentive payments in the event an executive officer’s conduct leads to a restatement of IBM’s financial results:

To the extent permitted by governing law, IBM will seek to recoup any bonus or incentive paid to any executive officer if: (i) the amount of such payment was based on the achievement of certain financial results that were subsequently the subject of a restatement; (ii) the Board determines that such officer engaged in misconduct that resulted in the obligation to restate, and (iii) a lower payment would have been made to the officer based upon the restated financial results.

To the extent permitted by governing law, IBM will seek to recoup any bonus or incentive paid to any executive officer if: (i) the amount of such payment was based on the achievement of certain financial results that were subsequently the subject of a restatement; (ii) the Board determines that such officer engaged in misconduct that resulted in the obligation to restate; and (iii) a lower payment would have been made to the officer based upon the restated financial results.
Hedging and Pledging Practices

IBM has two senior leadership teams: the Performance Team and the Acceleration Team, formerly the Growth and Transformation Team. The Performance Team consists of approximately 7085 of our senior leaders who run IBM business units and geographies and includes the Chairman and CEO, Vice Chairman, and each Senior Vice President.SVP. The team is accountable for business performance and the development of cross-unit strategies. The Acceleration Team, which includes all members of the Performance Team, consists of a select group of approximately 350 executives. This team is charged with accelerating IBM’s growth through leadership initiatives to engage their teams and promote innovation, speed, and simplicity in service of our clients.

IBM does not allow any member of the IBM Board of Directors or any member of the Acceleration Team, including any named executive officer, to hedge the economic risk of their ownership of any IBM securities, which includes entering into any derivative transaction on IBM stock (e.g., any short-sale, prepaid variable forward option, collar). Further, IBM does not allow any member of the Acceleration Teamcontract, equity swap, collars, exchange funds) or to pledge any IBM securities at any time, which includes having IBM stock in a margin account or using IBM stock as collateral for a loan.

42

Further, IBM does not allow any employee granted equity awards through the IBM Long-Term Incentive Plan to hedge or pledge those securities.


Tax Considerations

Section 162(m) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, limits deductibility of compensation in excess of $1 million paid to IBM’s covered employees. UntilA “covered employee”, under Section 162(m) as amended, is the CEO, the CFO, the three highest paid executive officers, and any other individual who was a covered employee of the Company for the preceding tax years beginning after December 31, 2016. Prior to 2018 (before the Tax Cut and Jobs ActAct), a deduction was signed into law on December 22, 2017,available for performance-based compensation was deductible, even if it caused the covered employee to have compensation in excess of $1 million. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act eliminated thiscompensation. Transition rules allow a deduction for performance-based compensation deduction going forward, but provided limited transition relief for compensation paid pursuant to a contract in effect as of November 2, 2017, that is not materially modified after such date. This means that certain outstanding performance-based compensation may continue to be deductible under Section 162(m), but that all compensation after November 2, 2017, will be subject to
Although the $1 million cap on deductibility. IBM will seek deductions for compensation under the transition relief consistent with applicable law. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act also expanded who a covered employee is under Section 162(m). Effective for 2017, a covered employee under Section 162(m) is the CEO, the CFO (who previously was not included) and each of the other three highest-paid executive officers.

Based on applicable tax regulations in effect prior to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, for the performance-based compensation exception, taxable compensation derived from certain stock appreciation rights and from the exercise of stock options by Senior Vice Presidents under IBM’s Long-Term Performance Plans should qualify as performance-based. The IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan permits an executive officer who is subject to Section 162(m) and whose salary and incentive compensation is above $1 million to defer payment of a sufficient amount of the salary and incentive compensation to bring it below the Section 162(m) limit. In 1999, IBM’s stockholders approved the terms under which IBM’s annual and long-term performance incentive awards should qualify as performance-based. In 2014, as required by the Internal Revenue Code, the stockholders approved the material terms of the performance criteria under which long-term performance incentive awards should qualify as performance-based. These terms did not preclude the Committee from making any payments or granting any awards, whether or not such payments or awards qualify for tax deductibility under Section 162(m), which may have been appropriate to retain and motivate key executives.

Although this tax deduction for performance-based compensation has been eliminated for awards after November 2, 2017, IBM believescontinues to believe that a strong link between pay and performance is critical to align executive and shareholderstockholder interests. Going forward, IBM and the Committee will continue to ensure that a significant portion of pay for our Senior Vice Presidents,Chairman and SVPs, including the Chairman and CEO, is at risk and subject to the attainment of performance goals.

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2017

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2022 Summary Compensation Table and Related Narrative

Salary (Column (c))

2022 Summary Compensation Table
Name and
Principal
Position
StockOptionNon-Equity
Incentive Plan
Change in
Retention
Change in
Pension
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
All Other
(a)Salary(1)Bonus(2)Awards(3)Awards(4)Compensation(5)Plan  Value(6)Value(7)Earnings(8)Compensation(9)(10)Total(11)
Year
(b)
($)
(c)
($)
(d)
($)
(e)
($)
(f)
($)
(g)
($)
(h)
($)
(h)
($)
(h)
($)
(i)
($)
(j)
A. Krishna, Chairman and CEO
2022$1,500,000$0$8,927,701$2,033,636$3,480,000N/A$0$0$638,738$16,580,075
20211,500,0000$12,605,5070$2,940,000N/A00505,45217,550,959
20201,352,5910$13,159,1180$2,181,000N/A42,8060274,16717,009,682
J.J. Kavanaugh, Senior VP and CFO
2022$1,040,000$0$5,843,669$1,331,106$1,665,760$     0$19,187$0$233,263$10,132,985
2021968,00007,563,38401,437,700000200,53410,169,618
2020899,00007,416,93101,176,30094,22900159,8369,746,296
G. Cohn, Vice Chairman(12)
2022$1,170,000$0$4,707,418$1,072,289$1,832,800N/AN/A$0$169,418$8,951,925
20211,170,0001,000,0006,180,78701,548,400N/AN/A02,4179,901,604
T. Rosamilia, Senior Vice President (12)
2022$878,000$0$4,220,391$  961,361$1,218,060$     0$0$0$384,606$7,662,418
2021830,00005,959,00501,064,000000250,1198,103,124
M.H. Browdy, Senior VP and General Counsel
2022$925,500$0$3,246,447$  739,505$1,466,240N/AN/A$0$147,753$6,525,445
2021894,00004,354,62701,266,300N/AN/A0135,9306,650,857
2020830,00004,211,03101,109,520N/AN/A0124,1126,274,663
Note: For assumptions used in determining the fair value of stock and option awards, see Note A (Significant Accounting Policies — Stock-Based Compensation) and Note U (Stock-Based Compensation) to IBM’s 2022 Consolidated Financial Statements.
(1)
Amounts shown in the salarythis column reflect the actual salary amount paid to each named executive officer during 2017.

·          IBM reviews salaries for each named executive officer annually during2022.

(2)
Mr. Cohn’s offer letter included a common review cycle. Mrs. Rometty’s salary ratecash sign-on payment; $1,000,000 of that was effective July 1, 2016. The salary rates forpaid on December 31, 2021.
(3)
Amounts in this column reflect the other named executive officers took effect on July 1, 2017.

Bonus (Column (d))

No bonuses were awarded to the named executive officers in the years shown in the 2017 Summary Compensation Table. Payments under the IBM Annual Incentive Program are included under column (g) (Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation).

total Performance Share Units (PSUs) and Restricted Stock Awards (Column (e))

The amounts shown areUnits (RSUs).

Amounts include the aggregate grant date fair values of Performance Share Units (PSUs), Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) and Retention Restricted Stock Units (RRSUs) granted in each fiscal year shown, computed in accordance with accounting guidance (excluding any risk of forfeiture as per SEC regulations). The values shown for the PSUs are calculated at the Target number as described below. The values shown for the PSUs, RSUs and RRSUsbelow, calculated in accordance with accounting guidance; these amounts reflect an adjustment for the exclusion of dividend equivalents.

Performance Share Units (PSUs)

The following describes

2020–2022 PSUs (for subsequent years, the material termsmetrics and conditions of PSUsweightings were updated as reporteddisclosed in the column titled Stock Awards (column (e)) in the 2017 Summary Compensation Table and in the 2017 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table under the heading Estimated Future Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards (columns (f), (g) and (h)).

General Terms

·        One PSU is equivalent in value to one share of IBM common stock.

·        Executive officers are awarded a number of PSUs during the first yearSection 1 of the three-year performance period. PSUs are generally paid out in IBM common stock afterCompensation Discussion and Analysis, but the three-year performance period.

·        Performance targets are set atThreshold, Target, and Max Attainment % and Payout %s remain the beginning ofsame for each metric)

ThresholdTargetMax*
MetricsAttainment % / Payout %Attainment % / Payout %Attainment % / Payout %
Operating EPS (70%)70% / 25%100% / 100%120% / 150%
Free Cash Flow (30%)70% / 25%100% / 100%120% / 150%
* Note: The Relative ROIC modifier may further modify the three-year performance period and approved by the Compensation Committee (for example, targets for the 2015–2017 performance period were set for cumulative three-year attainment in operating earnings per share and free cash flow in the beginning of 2015).

·        At the end of the three-year performance period, the Compensation Committee approves the determination of actual performance relative to pre-established targets, and the number of PSUs is adjustedfinal payout up or down based on the approved actual performance. Beginning with the 2018–2020 performance period, the number of PSUs that pay out may be modified furtherby up to 20 points, based on IBM’s ROIC performance relative to broader market indices. For more information about this ROIC modifier, please refer to(See the description of our Performance“Performance Share Unit ProgramProgram” description in Section 1 of the 2017 Compensation Discussion and Analysis.

·        PSUs granted to U.S. executives vest on December 31 of the end of the performance period. Payout for all PSUs is in the February following the end of the performance period.

·        There are no dividends or dividend equivalents paid on PSUs.

Vesting and Payout Calculations

·        The performance period for the awards granted in 2017 is January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019, and the awards will pay out in February 2020. PSU awards granted in 2017 will be adjusted for performance, as described below.

·        Outstanding PSUs are typically cancelled if the executive’s employment is terminated. See the 2017 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative for information on payout of unvested PSUs upon certain terminations.

·        Payout will not be made for performance below the thresholds, as described below.

·        See Section 1 of the 2017 Compensation Discussion and Analysis for informationadditional detail on performance targets for the PSU program.

Threshold Number (listed in column (f) ofROIC Modifier). As a result, the 2017 Grants of Plan Based Awards Table):

       The Threshold number of PSUs is 25% of the Target number.

       The Threshold number of PSUs will be earned for achievement of 70% of both business objectives (operating earnings per share and free cash flow).

       If only the cumulative operating earnings per share target is met at the Threshold level (and the free cash flow target is not met), thetotal maximum number of PSUs earned wouldcould be 70% of the Threshold number.

       If only the cumulative free cash flow target is met at the Threshold level (and the operating earnings per share target is not met), the number of PSUs earned would be 30% of the Threshold number.

Target Number (listed in column (g) of the 2017 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table):

       The Target number of PSUs will be earned if 100% of the objectives are achieved.

Maximum Number (listed in column (h) of the 2017 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table):

       The Maximum number of PSUs is 150%up to 170% of the Target number.

       The

At the Maximum number, these values for Mr. Krishna would be: 2022: $11,382,727; 2021: $13,928,980; 2020: $14,540,788; for Mr. Kavanaugh: 2022: $7,450,586; 2021: $8,357,494; 2020: $8,195,713; for Mr. Cohn: 2022: $6,001,912; 2021: $6,829,751; for Mr. Rosamilia: 2022: $5,380,999; 2021: $6,584,652; for Ms. Browdy: 2022: $4,139,173; 2021: $4,811,810; 2020: $4,653,236.
Amounts also include the aggregate grant date fair values of PSUs will be earned for achieving 120% of both business objectives.

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)

RSUs may include RRSUs. In 2017, RSUs, but not RRSUs, were granted to all named executive officers. RRSUs grantedgrants, if applicable, calculated in

44



previous years to any named executive officer and outstanding at the end of 2017 are included in the 2017 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table.

General Terms

·One RSU or RRSU is equivalent in value to one share of IBM common stock. RSUs and RRSUs are generally paid out in IBM common stock at vesting.

·Dividend equivalents are not paid on RSUs or RRSUs granted on or after January 1, 2008.

Vesting and Payout

·RSUs typically fully vest in four years, accordance with 25% vesting each year.

·RRSUs typically fully vest in a two to five year period. These awards are typically given to select senior executivesaccounting guidance; these amounts reflect an adjustment for the purposeexclusion of providing additionaldividend equivalents.

(4)
This column reflects the grant date fair value to retain the executive through the vesting date.

·Payout of RSUs and RRSUs at each vesting date is typically contingent on the recipient remaining employed by IBM through that vesting date. See the 2017 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative for information on payout of unvested RSUs upon certain terminations.

·All deferred shares, comprised of shares that were deferred by the participant (Deferred IBM Shares),stock option grants, if applicable, calculated in the 2017 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table may include certain previously-granted RRSUs. Executives have not been allowed to defer payment of RSUs.

Option Awards (Column (f))

There were no option awards granted to the named executive officers in the years shown in the 2017 Summary Compensation Table, except for Mrs. Rometty. On January 26, 2016, Mrs. Rometty was granted a one-time award of 1.5 million nonqualified stock options that vest three years from the date of grant, is exercisable in four equal tranches at premium prices of 105%, 110%, 115% and 125% of the average of the high and low prices of IBM common stock on the date of grant, and expires 10 years from the date of grant.

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation (Column (g))

accordance with accounting guidance.

(5)
Amounts in this column representinclude payments under IBM’s Annual Incentive Program (AIP).

General Terms

·All named executive officers participate in this program. The performance period is the fiscal year (January 1 through December 31)31, 2022).

·See Section 1 Mr. Krishna’s target was 200% of the 2017 Compensation Discussion and Analysis for information on performance targets for AIP.

Payout Range

·Mrs. Rometty had a target of $5 million for 2017. Thehis base salary rate. All other named executive officers had targetsan annual target of 135% of their 2022 salary rate for 2017.rate. See column (d)(c) of the 20172022 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table for the target payout.

·Threshold payout ($0), column (d) for each named executive officer is $0 (seethe target payout, and column (c)(e) for the maximum payout.

(6)
See the 2022 Retention Plan Narrative for a full description of the 2017 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table).

·Maximum payout for each named executive officer is three timesRetention Plan. Assumptions can be found immediately after the target (see column (e) of2022 Pension Benefits Table. Although accruals under the 2017 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table). BeginningRetention Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, changes in 2018, maximum payout opportunity for only the ChairmanRetention Plan Value can occur based on changes to participants’ ages and CEO is reduced to two times the target.

Vestingactuarial assumptions. For 2020, 2021 and Payout

·In addition to performance against corporate-wide and business unit goals, which determine the funding pool for the year, individual performance against commitments set at the beginning of the year determine payout amounts.

·An executive generally must be employed by IBM at the end of the performance period in order to be eligible to receive an AIP payout. At the discretion of appropriate senior management, the Compensation Committee, or the Board, an executive may receive a prorated payout of AIP upon retirement.

·AIP payouts earned during the performance period are paid on or before March 15 of the year following the end of such period.

2022, Change in Retention Plan Value (Column (h))

·For Mrs. Rometty, Dr. Kellyfor the eligible named executive officers was due to their age, changes in the discount rate, interest crediting rate, and mortality table. The change in Retention Plan Value for the eligible named executive officers resulted in negative amounts in 2022 for Mr. Kavanaugh ($169,948) and Mr. Kavanaugh, amountsRosamilia ($409,856) and 2021 for Mr.Kavanaugh ($17,604) and Mr. Rosamilia ($121,275).

(7)
See the 2022 Pension Benefits Narrative for a full description of the Pension Plan. Assumptions can be found immediately after the 2022 Pension Benefits Table. Although accruals under the IBM Personal Pension Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, changes in Pension Value can occur based on changes to participants’ ages and actuarial assumptions. For 2020, 2021 and 2022, Change in Pension Value for the named executive officers was due to their age,
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Summary Compensation Table and Related Narrative 47


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changes in the discount rate, interest crediting rate, and mortality table. The change in Pension Value for the named executive officers resulted in the following negative amounts: 2022 for Mr. Krishna ($51,317) and Mr. Rosamilia ($114,465); 2021 for Mr. Krishna ($5,861), Mr. Kavanaugh ($4,072) and Mr. Rosamilia ($10,820); and 2020 for Mr. Kavanaugh ($9,281).
(8)
IBM does not provide above-market or preferential earnings on deferred compensation. See the 2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative for information about deferred compensation.
(9)
Amounts in this column titledinclude the following for 2022: for Mr. Krishna: tax reimbursements of $36,286 and IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $355,200; for Mr. Kavanaugh: tax reimbursements of $13,154 and IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $198,066; for Mr. Cohn: IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $163,104; for Mr. Rosamilia: tax reimbursements of $37,854, IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $155,360; and for Ms. Browdy: IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $131,508. See the 2022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative below for a description and information about these items.
(10)
Amounts in this column also include the following perquisites for 2022: for Mr. Krishna: personal financial planning, ground transportation, family attendance at business-related events, personal travel on company aircraft of $188,199, and other personal expenses; for Mr. Kavanaugh: personal financial planning, annual executive physical, family attendance at business-related events, and other personal expenses; for Mr. Rosamilia: personal financial planning, ground transportation, personal security, annual executive physical, family attendance at business-related events of $28,554, personal travel on company aircraft of $135,839, and other personal expenses; for Ms. Browdy: personal financial planning and other personal expenses. See the 2022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative below for a description and information about the aggregate incremental cost calculations for perquisites.
(11)
Amounts in this column reflect the total of the following columns: Salary, Bonus, Stock Awards, Option Awards, Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation, Change in Retention Plan Value, represent the annual change in Retention Plan Value from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017. Messrs. Schroeter and Clementi do not have a benefit under the Retention Plan.

·See the 2017 Retention Plan Narrative for a description of the Retention Plan.

Change in Pension Value, (Column (h))

·   Amounts in the column titled Change in Pension Value represent the annual change in Pension Value from December 31, 2016 to  December 31, 2017 for each eligible named executive officer.

·See the 2017 Pension Benefits Narrative for a description of the applicable defined benefit pension plan. Mr. Clementi does not have a benefit under any IBM defined benefit pension plan.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings (Column (h))

·IBM doesand All Other Compensation.

(12)
Mr. Cohn and Mr. Rosamilia were not pay above-market or preferential earnings on nonqualified deferred compensation.

·See the 2017 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative for a description of the nonqualified deferred compensation plans in which the named executive officers participate.

45

in the 2021 Proxy Statement; therefore, 2020 data is excluded for them. Mr. Cohn was hired on December 28, 2020. Mr. Rosamilia will retire from the Company by June 30, 2023.


2022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative — All Other Compensation (Column(Column (i))

Amounts in this column represent the following as applicable:

Tax Reimbursements

·


Amounts represent payments that IBM has made to the named executive officers to cover taxes incurred by them for certain business-related taxable expenses.

·


These expenses for a named executive officer may include: tax equalization payments related to international assignments, cost of family travel to and attendance at business-related events, business-related local lodging and incidental expenses, and business-related ground transportation expenses (see Ground Transportation below).

IBM Contributions to Defined Contribution Plans

·


Amounts represent IBM matching and automatic contributions to the individual accounts for each named executive officer.

·officer under IBM’s 401(k) Plus and Excess 401(k) Plus Plans.


Under IBM’s 401(k) Plus Plan, eligible participants hired or rehired by IBM U.S. before January 1, 2005, including Mrs. Rometty, Dr. Kelly and Mr. Kavanaugh, are eligible tocan receive matching contributions, ranging from 2 to 6%, up to 6%a percentage of eligible compensation. Participants hired or rehired by IBM U.S.compensation (subject to Internal Revenue Code compensation limits), depending on or after January 1, 2005, including Messrs. Schroetera person’s date of hire and Clementi, who complete the plan’s service requirement, are generally eligible for up to 5% matching contributions. A participant’s hire/rehire date is measured by a participant’s most recent U.S. hire date. Mr. Schroeter rejoined IBM U.S. in 2011 after working for IBM Australia from April 1, 2005 to June 30, 2011. Mr. Clementi joined IBM U.S. in 2009 after working for IBM Italy since 1984.job role. In addition, for all eligible participants, IBM makes automatic contributions, ranging from 1% to 4%, equal to a certain percentage of eligible compensation (subject to Internal Revenue Code compensation limits), which generally depends on the participant’s pension plan eligibility on December 31, 2007. In 2017, the automatic contribution percentage was 4% for Mrs. Rometty; 2% for Dr. Kelly2022, Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Mr. Kavanaugh; and 1% for Messrs. Schroeter and Clementi.

·Under IBM’s Excess 401(k) Plus Plan, IBM makes matching contributions equal to a percentage of the sum of (i) the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan, and (ii) the participant’s eligible compensation after reaching the Internal Revenue Code compensation limits. Participants hired or rehired by IBM U.S. before January 1, 2005, including Mrs. Rometty, Dr. Kelly and Mr. Kavanaugh,Rosamilia are eligible to receive matching contributions up to 6% of eligible compensation. Participants hired or rehired by IBM U.S. on or after January 1, 2005, including Messrs. Schroeterpay. Mr. Cohn and Clementi, who complete the plan’s service requirement,Ms. Browdy are eligible for up to 5% matching contributions. In addition,The automatic contribution percentage was 2% for all eligible participants,Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh, and Rosamilia; and 1% for Mr. Cohn and Ms. Browdy.


Under IBM’s Excess 401(k) Plus Plan, IBM makes matching contributions and automatic contributions equal to a percentage of the sum of (i) the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan, and (ii) the participant’s eligible compensation after reaching the Internal Revenue Code compensation limits. The matching and automatic contribution percentage generally depends on the participant’s pension plan eligibility on December 31, 2007, and in 2017, the automatic contribution percentage was 4%contributions for Mrs. Rometty; 2% for Dr. Kelly and Mr. Kavanaugh; and 1% for Messrs. Schroeter and Clementi.

·For purposes of calculating the matching contribution and the automatic contribution under the 401(k) Plus Plan, the participant’s eligible compensation excludes the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan.

·Plan for each named executive officer are the same percentages as described for the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan above.


See the 20172022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative for additional details on the nonqualified deferred compensation plans.

plan.

Life and Travel Accident Insurance Premiums

·


Amounts represent insurance premiums paid by IBM on behalf of the named executive officers.

·


These executive officers are covered by life insurance policies under the same terms as other U.S. full-time regular employees.

·


Life insurance for executives hired or rehired by IBM U.S. before January 1, 2004, including Mrs. Rometty, Dr. KellyMessrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Mr. Kavanaugh,Rosamilia, is two times salary plus annual incentive program target, with a maximum coverage amount of $2,000,000. Life insurance for executives hired or rehired by IBM U.S. on or after January 1, 2004, including Messrs. SchroeterMr. Cohn and Clementi,Ms. Browdy, is one times salary plus annual incentive program target, with a maximum coverage of $1,000,000.

·


In addition, IBM provides Travel Accident Insurance for most employees in connection with business travel. Travel Accident Insurance for all eligible employees and executives is up to five times salary plus annual incentive target with a maximum coverage amount of $15,000,000.

Perquisites

The following describes perquisites (and their aggregate incremental cost calculations) provided to the named executive officers in 2017.

2022.

Personal Financial Planning

In 2017,2022, IBM offered financial planning services with coverage generally up to $15,000 annually for senior U.S. executives, including each named executive officer.

Personal Travel on Company Aircraft

General Information

·


Amounts represent the aggregate incremental cost to IBM for travel not directly related to IBM business.

·


IBM’s security practices provide that all air travel by the Chairman and CEO, including personal travel, be on Company aircraft. IBM’s security practices for air travel are consistent
482023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Summary Compensation Table and Related Narrative


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with best practices as assessed by independent third party security experts.

The aggregate incremental cost for Mrs. Rometty’sMr. Krishna’s personal travel is included in column (i) of the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table. These amounts also include the aggregate incremental cost, if any, of travel by hertheir family members or other guests on both business and non-business occasions.

·


Additionally, personal travel or commutation in 20172022 on Company aircraft by named executive officers other than Mrs. Rometty,Mr. Krishna, and the aggregate incremental cost, if any, of travel by the officer’s family or other guests when

46



accompanying the officer on both business and non-business occasions is also included.

·


Also, from time to time, named executive officers who are members of the boards of directors of certain other companies and non-profit organizations travel on Company aircraft to those outside board meetings. These amounts may include travel related to participation on these outside boards.

·


Any aircraft travel by named executive officers for an annual executive physical under the corporate wellness program is included in these amounts.

Aggregate Incremental Cost Calculation

·


The aggregate incremental cost for the use of Company aircraft for personal travel, including travel to outside boards, is calculated by multiplying the hourly variable maintenance cost rate for the specific aircraft by the number of flight hours used, plus the actual costs for fuel, parking, landing fees, crew expenses and catering.

·


The maintenance rate for each aircraft is periodically reviewed by IBM’s flight operations team and adjusted as necessary to reflect changes in costs.

·


The aggregate incremental cost includes deadhead flights (i.e., empty flights to and from the IBM hangar or any other location).

·


The aggregate incremental cost for any charter flights is the full cost to IBM of the charter.

Ground Transportation

General Information

·


IBM’s security practices provide that the Chairman and CEO be driven to and from work by IBM personnel in a car leased by IBM or by an authorized car service.

·


In addition, under IBM’s security practices, the Chairman and CEO may use a Company-leased car with an IBM driver or an authorized car service for non-business occasions. Further, the family of the Chairman and CEO may use a Company-leased car with an IBM driver or an authorized car service on non-business occasions or when accompanying the Chairman and CEOthem on business occasions.

·


Other named executive officers may use a Company-leased car with an IBM driver or an authorized car service for business-related transportation, travel to outside board meetings, and an annual executive physical under IBM’s corporate wellness program. Family members and other guests may accompany these named executive officers other than the Chairman and CEO in a Company-leased car with an IBM driver or an authorized car service on these occasions.

·


Amounts reflect the aggregate incremental cost, if any, for the above-referenced items.

Aggregate Incremental Cost Calculation

·The incremental cost for


For the Company-leased car with an IBM driver, or an authorized car service for commutation and non-business eventsincremental cost is calculated by multiplying the variable rate by the applicable driving time. The variable rate includes a driver’s salary and overtime payments, plus a cost per mile calculation based on fuel and maintenance expense.

·The incremental cost for


For an authorized car service, the incremental cost is the full cost to IBM for such service.

Personal Security

General Information

·


Under IBM’s security practices, IBM provides security personnel for the Chairman and CEO on certain non-business occasions, and for thehis family of the Chairman and CEO on certain non-business occasions, or when accompanying herthem on business occasions.

·


Amounts include the aggregate incremental cost, if any, of security personnel for those occasions.

·


In addition, amounts also include the cost of home security systems and monitoring for the Chairman and CEO, and any other named executive officers, if applicable.

Aggregate Incremental Cost Calculation

·


The aggregate incremental cost for security personnel is the cost of any commercial airfare to and from the destination, hotels, meals, car services, and salary and travel expenses of any additional subcontracted personnel if needed.

·


The aggregate incremental cost for installation, maintenance, and monitoring services for home security systems reflects the full cost to IBM for these items.

Annual Executive Physical

·


IBM covers the cost of an annual executive physical for the named executive officers under IBM’s corporate wellness program.

·


Amounts represent any payments by IBM for the named executive officers under this program, if applicable.

Family Travel and Attendance at Business-Related Events

·


Business-related events attended by the named executive officers and their family members may include meetings, dinners, and receptions with IBM’s clients, executive management or board members.

·


Amounts represent the aggregate incremental cost, if any, of travel and/or meals and entertainment for the family members of the named executive officers to attend business-related events.

Other Personal Expenses

·


Amounts represent the cost of meals and lodging for the named executive officers who traveled for their annual executive physical under IBM’s corporate wellness program.

·


Amounts also include expenses associated with participation on outside boards other than those disclosed as Personal Travel on Company Aircraft and Ground Transportation.

·


Amounts also include home office equipment, items relating to business events and administrative charges incurred by executives.

47



2017 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

Name and
Principal
Position
(a)
Year
(b)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings(5)
($)
(h)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
(g)

 

Change in
Retention
Plan Value(3)
($)
(h)

 

Change in
Pension
Value(4)
($)
(h)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock
Awards(1)
($)
(e)

 

Option
Awards(2)
($)
(f)

 

 

 

 

 

All Other
Compensation(6)(7)
($)
(i)

 

 

 

 

Salary
($)
(c)

 

Bonus
($)
(d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total(8)
($)
(j)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V.M. Rometty, Chairman, President and CEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017

 

$

1,600,000

 

$

0

 

$

10,428,720

 

$

0

 

$

5,100,000

 

$

79,951

 

$

494,882

 

$

0

 

$

891,797

 

$

18,595,350

 

2016

 

1,600,000

 

0

 

12,822,238

 

12,094,414

 

4,950,000

 

87,660

 

300,605

 

0

 

840,782

 

32,695,699

 

2015

 

1,550,000

 

0

 

12,905,329

 

0

 

4,500,000

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

866,621

 

19,821,950

 

M.J. Schroeter, Senior VP and CFO(9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017

 

$

828,500

 

$

0

 

$

4,312,687

 

$

0

 

$

1,181,000

 

N/A

 

$

11,436

 

$

0

 

$

138,538

 

$

6,472,162

 

2016

 

754,000

 

0

 

4,820,379

 

0

 

1,046,430

 

N/A

 

6,227

 

0

 

173,159

 

6,800,195

 

2015

 

692,500

 

0

 

11,425,266

 

0

 

881,100

 

N/A

 

1,295

 

0

 

112,191

 

13,112,352

 

J.E. Kelly III, Senior VP, IBM Cognitive Solutions & IBM Research

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017

 

$

830,500

 

$

0

 

$

4,312,687

 

$

0

 

$

861,000

 

$

127,911

 

$

70,056

 

$

0

 

$

240,339

 

$

6,442,493

 

2016

 

754,500

 

0

 

5,302,514

 

0

 

927,350

 

0

 

66,423

 

0

 

240,583

 

7,291,370

 

2015

 

675,500

 

0

 

11,887,195

 

0

 

850,500

 

0

 

42,393

 

0

 

184,207

 

13,639,795

 

E. Clementi, Senior VP, IBM Global Markets(9)(10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017

 

$

754,500

 

$

0

 

$

4,312,687

 

$

0

 

$

869,840

 

N/A

 

N/A

 

$

0

 

$

227,742

 

$

6,164,769

 

2016

 

703,500

 

0

 

5,302,514

 

0

 

889,200

 

N/A

 

N/A

 

0

 

144,440

 

7,039,654

 

J.J. Kavanaugh, Senior VP, Finance and Operations(9)(10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017

 

$

649,000

 

$

0

 

$

3,136,575

 

$

0

 

$

919,000

 

$

11,766

 

$

33,651

 

$

0

 

$

119,808

 

$

4,869,800

 


Note: For assumptions used in determining the fair value

2023 Notice of stock and option awards, see Note R (Stock-Based Compensation) to IBM’s 2017 Consolidated Financial Statements.

(1)Amounts in this column reflect the total Performance Share Units (PSUs), Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Retention Restricted Stock Units (RRSUs). RRSUs were not awarded in 2016 or 2017.

Amounts include the aggregate grant date fair values of PSUs at the Target number (described in the 2017Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative), calculatedin accordance with accounting guidance; these amounts reflect an adjustment for the exclusionand Related Narrative 49


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2022 Grants of dividend equivalents. At the Maximum number, these values forMrs. Rometty would be: 2017: $10,168,002; 2016: $12,501,699; 2015: $19,357,994; for Mr. Schroeter: 2017: $4,204,970; 2016: $4,699,880; 2015: $6,549,863; forDr. Kelly: 2017: $4,204,970; 2016: $5,169,993; 2015: $7,277,472; for Mr. Clementi: 2017: $4,204,970; 2016: $5,169,993; and for Mr. Kavanaugh: 2017: $3,058,222.

Amounts also include the aggregate grant date fair values of RSUs and RRSUs granted to Mrs. Rometty, Mr. Schroeter, Dr. Kelly, Mr. Clementi and Mr. Kavanaugh, if applicable, calculated in accordance with accounting guidance; these amounts reflect an adjustment for the exclusion of dividend equivalents.

(2)There were no option awards granted to any of the named executive officers in the years shown in the 2017 Summary CompensationPlan-Based Awards Table except for Mrs. Rometty. In 2016, Mrs. Rometty was granted a one-time award of 1.5 million nonqualified stock options that vest three years from the date of grant, are exercisable in four equal tranches at premium prices of 105%, 110%, 115%, and 125% of the average of the high and low prices of IBM common stock on the date of grant.

(3)Assumptions can be found immediately after the 2017 Retention Plan Table. Although accruals under the Retention Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, changes in Retention Plan Value can occur based on changes to participants’ ages and actuarial assumptions. For 2015, 2016 and 2017, Change in Retention Plan Value for the eligible named executive officers was due to their age, changes in the discount rate, interest crediting rate, and mortality table. The change in Retention Plan Value for the eligible named executive officers resulted in negative amounts in 2016 for Dr. Kelly $(7,649), and negative amounts in 2015 for Mrs. Rometty $(18,082) and for Dr. Kelly $(584,946).

(4)Assumptions can be found immediately after the 2017 Pension Benefits Table. Although accruals under the IBM Personal Pension Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, changes in Pension Value can occur based on changes to participants’ ages and actuarial assumptions. For 2015, 2016 and 2017, Change in Pension Value for the named executive officers was due to their age, changes in the discount rate, interest crediting rate, and mortality table. For 2015, the change in Pension Value for the named executive officers resulted in the following negative amount for Mrs. Rometty: $(118,735).

(5)IBM does not provide above-market or preferential earnings on deferred compensation. See the 2017 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative for information about deferred compensation.

(6)Amounts in this column include the following for 2017: Mrs. Rometty: tax reimbursements of $21,833 and IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $655,000; for Mr. Schroeter: IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $112,496; for Dr. Kelly: tax reimbursements of $10,620 and IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $140,628; for Mr. Clementi: tax reimbursements of $25,407 and IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $98,622; and for Mr. Kavanaugh: IBM contributions to defined contribution plans of $114,700.

(7)Amounts in this column also include the following perquisites for 2017: for Mrs. Rometty: personal financial planning, personal travel on Company aircraft of $177,491, ground transportation, personal security, annual executive physical, family attendance at business-related events, and other personal expenses; for Mr. Schroeter: personal financial planning, personal security, annual executive physical, family attendance at business-related events, and other personal expenses; for Dr. Kelly: personal financial planning, personal travel on Company aircraft of $67,269, ground transportation, personal security, annual executive physical, family attendance at business-related events, and other personal expenses; for Mr. Clementi: personal financial planning, personal travel on Company aircraft of $33,087, ground transportation, annual executive physical, family attendance at business-related events, and other personal expenses. See the 2017 Summary Compensation Table Narrative for a description and information about the aggregate incremental cost calculations for perquisites.

(8)Amounts in this column reflect the total of the following columns: Salary, Bonus, Stock Awards, Option Awards, Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation, Change in Retention Plan Value, Change in Pension Value, Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings and All Other Compensation.

(9)In January 2018, Mr. Schroeter became Senior VP, IBM Global Markets, Mr. Clementi became Senior VP, IBM Global Integrated Accounts, and Mr. Kavanaugh became Senior VP and CFO.

(10)     Mr. Clementi was not a named executive officer in IBM’s 2016 Proxy Statement; therefore, this table does not provide 2015 data for him. Mr. Kavanaugh was not a named executive officer in IBM’s 2016 or 2017 Proxy Statements; therefore, this table does not provide 2015 or 2016 data for him.

48

Name
(a)
Type of
Award
(1)
Grant Date
(b)
Compensation
Committee
Approval
Date
Estimated Future Payouts
Under Non-Equity
Incentive Plan Awards
Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity
Incentive Plan Awards
(2)
All Other
Stock
Awards:
Number of
shares
of Stock
All Other
Option
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Exercise
or Base
Price of
Option
Closing
Price
on the
NYSE on
the Date
of Grant
($/Sh)
Grant Date
Fair Value
of Stock
and
Option
Threshold
($)
(c)
Target
($)
(d)
Maximum
($)
(e)
Threshold
(#)
(f)
Target
(#)
(g)
Maximum
(#)
(h)
 or  Units
   (#)
   (i)
(3)
Options
   (#)
   (j)
(3)
 Awards
($/Sh)
(k)
(4)
   Awards
($)
(l)
(5)
A. Krishna
AIPN/A1/31/202203,000,0006,000,000
PSU2/21/20221/31/202215,49161,963105,337$6,695,722
RSU2/21/20221/31/202220,655$2,231,979
SO2/21/20221/31/2022144,537$124.51$124.35$2,033,636
J.J. Kavanaugh
AIPN/A1/31/202201,436,0004,308,000
PSU2/21/20221/31/202210,14040,55868,949$4,382,697
RSU2/21/20221/31/202213,520$1,460,971
SO2/21/20221/31/202294,606$124.51$124.35$1,331,106
G. Cohn
AIPN/A1/31/202201,580,0004,740,000
PSU2/21/20221/31/20228,16832,67255,542$3,530,536
RSU2/21/20221/31/202210,891$1,176,881
SO2/21/20221/31/202276,211$124.51$124.35$1,072,289
T. Rosamilia
AIPN/A1/31/202201,206,0003,618,000
PSU2/21/20221/31/20227,32329,29249,796$3,165,294
RSU2/21/20221/31/20229,764$1,055,098
SO2/21/20221/31/202268,327$124.51$124.35$961,361
M.H. Browdy
AIPN/A1/31/202201,264,0003,792,000
PSU2/21/20221/31/20225,63322,53238,304$2,434,808
RSU2/21/20221/31/20227,511$811,639
SO2/21/20221/31/202252,559$124.51$124.35$739,505

(1)

2017 GRANTS OF PLAN- BASED AWARDS TABLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Other

 

All Other

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock

 

Option

 

 

 

 

 

Grant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awards:

 

Awards:

 

Exercise

 

Closing

 

Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated Future Payouts

 

Number of

 

Number of

 

or Base

 

Price

 

Fair Value of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated Future Payouts

 

Under Equity Incentive

 

Shares

 

Securities

 

Price of

 

on the

 

Stock and

 

Name

 

 

 

Compensation

 

Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards

 

Plan Awards(2)

 

of Stock

 

Underlying

 

Option

 

NYSE on

 

Option

 

(a)

 

 

 

Committee

 

Threshold

 

Target

 

Maximum

 

Threshold

 

Target 

 

Maximum

 

or Units(3)

 

Options

 

Awards

 

the Date

 

Awards(4)

 

Type of

 

Grant Date

 

Approval

 

($)

 

($)

 

($)

 

(#)

 

(#)

 

(#)

 

(#)

 

(#)

 

($/Sh)

 

of Grant

 

($)

 

Award(1)

 

(b)

 

Date

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

(f)

 

(g)

 

(h)

 

(i)

 

(j)

 

(k)

 

($/Sh)

 

(l)

 

V.M. Rometty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIP

 

N/A

 

01/31/2017

 

0

 

5,000,000

 

15,000,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12,350

 

49,400

 

74,100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,778,668

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26,600

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,650,052

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIP

 

N/A

 

01/31/2017

 

0

 

1,181,000

 

3,543,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,107

 

20,429

 

30,644

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,803,267

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,509,420

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIP

 

N/A

 

01/31/2017

 

0

 

1,148,000

 

3,444,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,107

 

20,429

 

30,644

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,803,267

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,509,420

 

E. Clementi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIP

 

N/A

 

01/31/2017

 

0

 

1,048,000

 

3,144,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,107

 

20,429

 

30,644

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,803,267

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,509,420

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIP

 

N/A

 

01/31/2017

 

0

 

919,000

 

2,757,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,715

 

14,858

 

22,287

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,038,815

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

01/31/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,097,760

 


(1)Type of Award:

AIP = Annual Incentive Program
PSU = Performance Share Unit
RSU = Restricted Stock Unit

SO = Stock Option
Each of these awards was granted under IBM’s 1999 Long-Term Performance Plan.Plan (LTPP). See the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative for additional information on these types of awards.

(2)
PSU awards will be adjusted based on performance and paid in February 2020.

2025.

(3)
RSU awards and SO awards vest 25% on June 8, 2018, June 8, 2019, June 8, 2020,February 21, 2023, February 21, 2024, February 21, 2025, and June 8, 2021,February 21, 2026, provided that in each case, the named executive officer is an employee of IBM as of those dates unless they meet certain requirements to be eligible for continued vesting (see 2017vesting. See 2022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative for a description of these eligibility requirements).

requirements.

(4)
All SOs have an exercise price equal to the average of the high and low prices of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as of the grant date.
(5)
The amounts in this column reflect the aggregate grant date fair values of PSU, RSU, and RSUSO awards calculated in accordance with accounting guidance. The values shown for the PSU awards are based on the Target number, as described in the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative.Table. The values shown for the PSUs and RSUs reflect an adjustment for the exclusion of dividend equivalents.

49



2017

502023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table


[MISSING IMAGE: grey-margin.jpg]

2022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table and Related Narrative

Option Awards (Columns(Columns (b)(f))

General Terms

·


In accordance with IBM’s Long-Term Performance Plan (LTPP), the exercise price of stock options is not less than the average of the high and low prices of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the date of grant.

·


Options generally expire ten years after the date of grant.

·


The option recipient must remain employed by IBM through each vesting date in order to receive any potential payout value.

·value, unless they meet certain requirements to be eligible for continued vesting.


IBM has not granted any option awards that are Equity Incentive Plan Awards.

Premium-priced options

Historically, the exercise price has been equal to 110% of the average of the high and low prices of IBM common stock on the NYSE on the date of grant and these options vested in four equal increments on the first four anniversaries of the grant date.

The one-time premium-priced award granted to Mrs. Rometty on January 26, 2016 is exercisable in four equal tranches at premium prices of 105%, 110%, 115% and 125% of the average of the high and low prices of IBM common stock on the NYSE on the date of grant and will vest three years from the date of grant and expires 10 years from the date of grant.

Stock Awards (Columns(Columns (g)(j))

Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (Column(Column (g))

The amounts in this column are the number of RSUs andor RRSUs that were outstanding as of December 31, 2017.

2022.

Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (Column(Column (h))

The amounts in this column are the value of the RSU andor RRSU awards disclosed in column (g), calculated by multiplying the number of units by the closing price of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the last business day of the 20172022 fiscal year ($153.42)140.89).

Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (Column(Column (i))

The amounts in this column are the number of PSUs or RPSUs that were outstanding as of December 31, 2017.

2022.

Performance Share Units

· and retention Performance Share Units


Amounts in column (i) reflect the Target number for each PSU and RPSU award.

·


The performance criteria for IBM’s PSU programIBM PSUs and RPSUs is based on cumulative three-year rolling targets. Therefore, measuring annual performance against these targets is not meaningful.

·


See Section 1 of the 20172022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis, as well as the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table, Narrative, for a detailed description of the PSU program and RPSUs, including payout calculations.

·


The table below provides the payout levels for all outstanding PSU and RPSU awards for each of the named executive officers.

2017 OUTSTANDING A Maximum number of PSUs earned is 170% of the Target number based on business objectives (inclusive of an additional 20 points based on the relative ROIC modifier for the relevant performance period). A Maximum number of RPSUs earned is 120% (inclusive of an additional 20 points based on the relative ROIC modifier for the relevant performance period).

2022 Outstanding PSU AWARD PAYOUT LEVELS

Name

 

Grant Date

 

Threshold

 

Target

 

Maximum

 

V.M. Rometty

 

06/08/2016

 

14,905

 

59,621

 

89,432

 

 

 

06/08/2017

 

12,350

 

49,400

 

74,100

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

06/08/2016

 

5,604

 

22,414

 

33,621

 

 

 

06/08/2017

 

5,107

 

20,429

 

30,644

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

06/08/2016

 

6,164

 

24,656

 

36,984

 

 

 

06/08/2017

 

5,107

 

20,429

 

30,644

 

E. Clementi

 

06/08/2016

 

6,164

 

24,656

 

36,984

 

 

 

06/08/2017

 

5,107

 

20,429

 

30,644

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

06/08/2016

 

3,923

 

15,690

 

23,535

 

 

 

06/08/2017

 

3,715

 

14,858

 

22,287

 

and RPSU Award Payout Levels

NameGrant DateThresholdTargetMaximum
A. Krishna12/17/201973,02991,286109,543
06/08/202115,98063,918108,661
02/21/202215,49161,963105,337
J.J. Kavanaugh06/08/20219,58838,35165,197
02/21/202210,14040,55868,949
G. Cohn01/04/20214,74818,99032,283
02/21/20228,16832,67255,542
T. Rosamilia06/08/20217,55430,21651,367
02/21/20227,32329,29249,796
M.H. Browdy06/08/20215,52022,08137,538
02/21/20225,63322,53238,304
Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (Column(Column (j))

The amounts in this column are the values of PSU and RPSU awards disclosed in column (i), calculated by multiplying the number of units by the closing price of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the last business day of the 20172022 fiscal year ($153.42)140.89).

50



2017 OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table and Related Narrative 51


TABLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Option Awards

 

Stock Awards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incentive

 

Equity Incentive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incentive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plan Awards:

 

Plan Awards:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plan Awards:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of

 

Market or

 

 

 

Number of

 

Number of

 

Number of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unearned

 

Payout Value

 

 

 

Securities

 

Securities

 

Securities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

or Units

 

Market Value

 

 

 

 

 

Shares, Units

 

of Unearned

 

 

 

Underlying

 

Underlying

 

Underlying

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of Stock

 

of Shares or

 

 

 

 

 

or Other

 

Shares, Units

 

 

 

Unexercised

 

Unexercised

 

Unexercised

 

Option

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That

 

Units of Stock

 

 

 

 

 

Rights That

 

or Other Rights

 

Name

 

Options
(#)

 

Options
(#)

 

Unearned
Options

 

Exercise
Price(1)

 

Option
Expiration

 

Type

 

 

 

Have Not 
Vested(2)

 

That Have 
Not Vested(3)

 

Type

 

 

 

Have Not 
Vested(4)

 

That Have Not
Vested(3)

 

(a)

 

Exercisable

 

Unexercisable

 

(#)

 

($)

 

Date

 

of

 

Grant

 

(#)

 

($)

 

of

 

Grant

 

(#)

 

($)

 

Grant Date 

 

(b)

 

(c)

  

(d)

  

(e)

  

(f)

 

Award

 

Date

  

(g)

 

(h)

 

Award

 

Date

 

(i)

 

(j)

 

V.M. Rometty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

01/26/16

 

0

 

375,000

 

N/A

 

$

129.08

 

01/25/26

 

RSU

 

06/08/16

 

24,078

 

$

3,694,047

 

PSU

 

06/08/16

 

59,621

 

$

9,147,054

 

01/26/16

 

0

 

375,000

 

N/A

 

135.22

 

01/25/26

 

RSU

 

06/08/17

 

26,600

 

4,080,972

 

PSU

 

06/08/17

 

49,400

 

7,578,948

 

01/26/16

 

0

 

375,000

 

N/A

 

141.37

 

01/25/26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

01/26/16

 

0

 

375,000

 

N/A

 

153.66

 

01/25/26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

0

 

1,500,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50,678

 

7,775,019

 

 

 

 

 

109,021

 

16,726,002

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RRSU

 

02/02/15

 

25,158

 

3,859,740

 

PSU

 

06/08/16

 

22,414

 

3,438,756

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/16

 

9,052

 

1,388,758

 

PSU

 

06/08/17

 

20,429

 

3,134,217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/17

 

11,000

 

1,687,620

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

45,210

 

6,936,118

 

 

 

 

 

42,843

 

6,572,973

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RRSU

 

12/30/15

 

27,961

 

4,289,777

 

PSU

 

06/08/16

 

24,656

 

3,782,724

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/16

 

9,957

 

1,527,603

 

PSU

 

06/08/17

 

20,429

 

3,134,217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/17

 

11,000

 

1,687,620

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48,918

 

7,505,000

 

 

 

 

 

45,085

 

6,916,941

 

E. Clementi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RRSU

 

02/02/15

 

12,579

 

1,929,870

 

PSU

 

06/08/16

 

24,656

 

3,782,724

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/16

 

9,957

 

1,527,603

 

PSU

 

06/08/17

 

20,429

 

3,134,217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/17

 

11,000

 

1,687,620

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

33,536

 

5,145,093

 

 

 

 

 

45,085

 

6,916,941

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RRSU

 

02/01/13

 

5,320

 

816,194

 

PSU

 

06/08/16

 

15,690

 

2,407,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RRSU

 

01/02/14

 

8,772

 

1,345,800

 

PSU

 

06/08/17

 

14,858

 

2,279,514

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/16

 

6,337

 

972,223

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/17

 

8,000

 

1,227,360

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28,429

 

4,361,577

 

 

 

 

 

30,548

 

4,686,674

 

OF CONTENTS

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2022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table
Option AwardsStock Awards
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned
Option
Exercise
OptionNumber
of Shares
or Units
of Stock
That Have
Market Value
of Shares
or Units
of Stock
That Have
Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares,
Units
or Other
Rights
That Have
Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or
Payout Value
of Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other
Rights
That Have
Name(#)OptionsPrice(2)ExpirationNot Vested(3)Not Vested(4)Not Vested(5)Not Vested(4)
(a)ExercisableUnexercisable(1)(#)($)DateType ofGrant(#)($)Type ofGrant(#)($)
Grant Date(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)AwardDate(g)(h)AwardDate(i)(j)
A. Krishna
0144,537N/A$124.5102/20/2032
RRSU12/11/1833,328$4,695,582RPSU12/17/1991,286$12,861,285
RSU06/07/194,022566,660PSU06/08/2163,9189,005,407
RSU06/08/2020,1822,843,442PSU02/21/2261,9638,729,967
RSU06/08/2125,8143,636,934
RSU02/21/2220,6552,910,083
Total0144,537104,001$14,652,701217,167$30,596,659
J.J. Kavanaugh
94,606N/A$124.5102/20/2032
RSU06/07/193,889$547,921PSU06/08/2138,351$5,403,272
RSU06/08/2011,3761,602,765PSU02/21/2240,5585,714,217
RSU06/08/2115,4892,182,245
RSU02/21/2213,5201,904,833
Total094,60644,274$6,237,76478,909$11,117,489
G. Cohn
76,211N/A$124.5102/20/2032
RRSU12/28/2023,151$3,261,744PSU01/04/2118,990$2,675,501
RSU01/04/2115,3392,161,112PSU02/21/2232,6724,603,158
RSU02/21/2210,8911,534,433
Total076,21149,381$6,957,28951,662$7,278,659
T. Rosamilia
68,327N/A$124.5102/20/2032
RSU06/07/193,889$547,921PSU06/08/2130,216$4,257,132
RSU06/08/208,8071,240,818PSU02/21/2229,2924,126,950
RSU06/08/2112,2041,719,422
RSU02/21/229,7641,375,650
Total068,32734,664$4,883,81159,508$8,384,082
M.H. Browdy
52,559N/A$124.5102/20/2032
RSU06/07/192,884$406,327PSU06/08/2122,081$3,110,992
RSU06/08/206,460910,149PSU02/21/2222,5323,174,534
RSU06/08/218,9181,256,457
RSU02/21/227,5111,058,225
Total052,55925,773$3,631,15844,613$6,285,526
Type of Award:

PSU = Performance Share Unit

RPSU = Retention Performance Share Unit
RSU = Restricted Stock Unit

RRSU = Retention Restricted Stock Unit

(1)
The stock option awards granted vest 25% per year on the first through fourth anniversaries of the respective grant dates.
(2)
The exercise prices for Mrs. Rometty’s premium-priced optionsshown in this column are equal to 105%, 110%, 115% and 125% of the average high and low prices of IBM common stock on the NYSE onNew York Stock Exchange as of the date of grant.

(2)grant date.

(3)
The amounts shown in column (g) of the 20172022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table are unvested RSU and RRSU awards that have not yet vested.awards. See the 20172022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis and the 2022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative for additional information on these types of awards. Mr. Krishna’s and Mr. Cohn’s RRSU awards vest on the anniversary of the grant date in 2023 according to the vesting schedule in the table below, provided they are an employee of IBM on each vesting date. The Vesting Schedule for Unvested RSUs and RRSUs table below shows the vesting schedules for these outstanding awards. The remaining unvested portionIn 2019, 2020 and 2021, each named executive officer other than Mr. Cohn received RSU awards that vest 25% per year on the first through the fourth anniversaries of Mr. Schroeter’s and Mr. Clementi’s 2015 RRSU award will fully vestthe grant date (Mr. Cohn was hired at the end of 2020, so his RSU granted in January 2021 vests 25% per year on February 2, 2019, provided that in each case, they are employeesthe first through the fourth anniversaries of IBM as of that date. The remaining unvested portion of Dr. Kelly’s 2015 RRSU award vests 50% on December 30, 2018 and 50% on December 30, 2019, provided that in each case, he is an employee of IBM as of those dates. The remaining unvested portion of Mr. Kavanaugh’s 2013 RRSU award fully vested on February 1, 2018 and the remaining unvested portion of Mr. Kavanaugh’s 2014 RRSU award will fully vest on January 2, 2019, provided that he is an employee of IBM as of that date.grant date). In 2016 and 2017,2022 each named executive officer received RSU awards that vest 25% per year on the first through the fourth anniversaries of the grant date.

(3)

(4)
Values in these columns are calculated by multiplying the number of units by the closing price of IBM common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the last business day of the 20172022 fiscal year ($153.42)140.89).

(4)

(5)
The amounts shown in column (i) of the 20172022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table are PSU and RPSU awards that have not yet vested. See the 20172022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis and the Summary Compensation Table Narrative for additional information on PSU and RPSU awards. The Vesting Schedule for Unvested PSUs and RPSUs table below shows the vesting schedules for these outstanding PSU and RPSU awards (reflecting Target payout),. PSUs and RPSUs for all of whichNamed Executive Officers are paid out in February following the end of the respective performance period.

51



VESTING SCHEDULE FOR UNVESTED

522023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table and Related Narrative


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Vesting Schedule for Unvested RSUs ANDand RRSUs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vesting Schedule

 

Name

 

Type of Award

 

Grant Date

 

2018

 

2019

 

2020

 

2021

 

2022

 

V.M. Rometty

 

RSU

 

06/08/2016

 

8,026

 

8,026

 

8,026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

6,650

 

6,650

 

6,650

 

6,650

 

 

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

RRSU

 

02/02/2015

 

 

 

25,158

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2016

 

3,017

 

3,017

 

3,018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

 

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

RRSU

 

12/30/2015

 

13,980

 

13,981

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2016

 

3,319

 

3,319

 

3,319

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

 

 

E. Clementi

 

RRSU

 

02/02/2015

 

 

 

12,579

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2016

 

3,319

 

3,319

 

3,319

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

2,750

 

 

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

RRSU

 

02/01/2013

 

5,320

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RRSU

 

01/02/2014

 

 

 

8,772

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2016

 

2,112

 

2,112

 

2,113

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSU

 

06/08/2017

 

2,000

 

2,000

 

2,000

 

2,000

 

 

 

VESTING SCHEDULE FOR UNVESTED

Vesting Schedule
NameType of AwardGrant Date2023202420252026
A. Krishna
RRSU12/11/201833,328
RSU06/07/20194,022
RSU06/08/202010,09110,091
RSU06/08/20218,6048,6048,606
RSU02/21/20225,1635,1635,1635,166
J.J. Kavanaugh
RSU06/07/20193,889
RSU06/08/20205,6885,688
RSU06/08/20215,1635,1635,163
RSU02/21/20223,3803,3803,3803,380
G. Cohn
RRSU12/28/202023,151
RSU01/04/20215,1135,1125,114
RSU02/21/20222,7222,7222,7222,725
T. Rosamilia
RSU06/07/20193,889
RSU06/08/20204,4034,404
RSU06/08/20214,0684,0684,068
RSU02/21/20222,4412,4412,4412,441
M.H. Browdy
RSU06/07/20192,884
RSU06/08/20203,2293,231
RSU06/08/20212,9732,9722,973
RSU02/21/20221,8771,8771,8771,880
Vesting Schedule for Unvested PSUs

and RPSUs

Vesting Schedule

Name

Name

Grant Date

Dec-2018

Dec-2023

Dec-2019

Dec-2024

V.M. Rometty

A. Krishna

06/08/2016

59,621

12/17/2019

91,286

06/08/2017

2021

49,400

63,918

02/21/2022

61,963

M.J. Schroeter

J.J. Kavanaugh

06/08/2016

2021

22,414

38,351

06/08/2017

20,429

02/21/2022

40,558

G. Cohn

01/04/2021

18,990

J.E. Kelly III

06/08/2016

24,656

02/21/2022

32,672

T. Rosamilia

06/08/2017

2021

20,429

30,216

02/21/2022

29,292

E. Clementi

M.H. Browdy

06/08/2016

2021

24,656

22,081

06/08/2017

20,429

02/21/2022

J.J. Kavanaugh

06/08/2016

15,690

22,532

06/08/2017

14,858

2017 OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED TABLE

 

 

Option Awards

 

Stock Awards(1)

 

 

 

Number of

 

Value

 

Number of

 

Value

 

 

 

Shares

 

Realized

 

Shares

 

Realized

 

 

 

Acquired on

 

on

 

Acquired on

 

on

 

 

 

Exercise

 

Exercise

 

Vesting

 

Vesting

 

Name

 

(#)

 

($)

 

(#)

 

($)

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

V.M. Rometty

 

0

 

0

 

64,425

 

$

9,871,603

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

678

 

48,684

 

52,208

 

8,530,617

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

0

 

0

 

52,483

 

8,064,117

 

E. Clementi

 

0

 

0

 

32,860

 

5,298,304

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

559

 

42,209

 

22,771

 

3,486,234

 


2022 Option Exercises and Stock Vested Table

Option Awards
Stock Awards(1)
Name
(a)
Number of
Shares
Acquired
on Exercise
(#)
(b)
Value
Realized
on Exercise
($)
(c)
Number of
Shares
Acquired
on Vesting
(#)
(d)
Value
Realized
on Vesting
($)
(e)
A. Krishna0$0196,477$27,919,807
J.J. Kavanaugh0045,1656,372,901
G. Cohn0040,6175,721,214
T. Rosamilia0036,7255,182,916
M.H. Browdy0026,8203,785,050

(1)
Amounts shown in these columns reflect PSU, RPSU, RSU, and RRSU awards that vested during 2017.2022. The PSU and RPSU award for the 2015–20172020-2022 performance period vested on December 31, 2017,2022, and paid out to each named executive officer on February 1, 2018;2023; the value of this PSU award was determined by multiplying the number of shares by the closing price of IBM common stock on the vesting date.date ($140.89). See the 2017Compensation Discussion and Analysis and the 2022 Summary Compensation Table Narrative for details on these types of rewards.

awards.

Pay Ratio

The ratio of the CEO’s annual total compensation to that of the median employee’s annual total compensation is 341:271:1. This ratio is based on annual total compensation of $18,595,350$16,580,075 for the CEO (as reported in the Summary Compensation Table) and $54,491$61,242 for the median employee. The base salary for the median employee was $45,197. The median employee used for the pay ratio disclosure was determined as of October 1, 2021 using annual base pay for IBM employees as of October 1, 2017;on that date; all foreign currencies were converted to U.S. dollars. For purposes
2023 Notice of determining our median employee, approximately 17,000 employees* (which represents less than 5% of IBM’s total employees) were excluded either because they became IBM employees in connection with certain acquisitions who maintain separate terms of employment (some of which closed prior to 2017), or were employed by a limited number of subsidiaries that maintain separate terms of employment. The Company believes that this calculation is a reasonable estimate of the pay ratio.


* Certain employees from Aperto, Blue Express Computer Engineering Technology Company, BNP Paribas Partners for Innovation, Bluewolf, Cloudigo, exc.io, EXA Corporation, GesNext, Ingenieria De Software Avanzado, Innovative Solutions for Finance, Information Technology Nostrum, Iru Ederra XXI, ISM Canada, IT Now, KTS, Promontory, Proxxi, SI Solutions, SoftINSA, SoftLayer, Truven, Value Transformation Services,Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table and Wedoit Sociedad Tecnologias De la Information.

52


Related Narrative 53



2017

[MISSING IMAGE: grey-margin.jpg]

2022 Retention Plan Narrative

General Description and Purpose

During the mid-1990s, an additional form of retention compensation was created for certain IBM U.S. leaders. The plan, formally called the “IBM Supplemental Executive Retention Plan” (Retention Plan), began in 1995 during a particularly trying time in IBM’s history when it faced challenges that many thought put its very existence at risk. Some key leaders were recruited away from IBM duringat this time. In this environment, IBMtime and a retention plan, formally called the “IBM Supplemental Executive Retention Plan” ​(Retention Plan), was created this new plan to help retain for full careers the caliber of senior leaders needed to turn IBM around, preserve its long-term viability and position it for growth in the future.

Because its original purpose had been met, the

The Retention Plan was closed to new participants effective May 1, 2004, and will not be replaced by any other plan. Futurefuture accruals under the Retention Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, therefore, a2007. A participant’s Retention Plan benefit does not consider pay earned or service performed after such date.

Paymentsdate, and payments accrue based on age and service and are typically payable only after age 60, as a way to encourage senior leaders to continue working for IBM past the age when many others at IBM choose to retire.

Even though the Retention Plan provides for the payment of specified benefits after retirement, given the nature of this program as a retention vehicle, the

The Retention Plan is discussed in its own section instead of in the Pension Benefits section. As a consequence,section, and the amounts reflected below are separately presented in the 20172022 Retention Plan Table and are not included in the 20172022 Pension Benefits Table.

The 20172022 Retention Plan Table shows each eligible named executive officer’s number of years of credited service, present value of accumulated benefit and payments during the last fiscal year under the Retention Plan. The Retention Plan is a U.S. Plan and eligibility is based on U.S. employment. Mrs. Rometty, Dr. KellyMr. Kavanaugh and Mr. KavanaughRosamilia are eligible for a benefit under the Retention Plan. Mr. Schroeter isKrishna, Mr. Cohn and Ms. Browdy are not eligible for a Retention Plan benefit because he did not meet all of the eligibility criteria. Specifically, he did not continuously remain on the U.S. payroll, as he worked for IBM Australia from April 1, 2005 through June 30, 2011. Mr. Clementi began U.S. employment afterunder the Retention Plan was closed.

Plan.

Description of Retention Plan

·


The Retention Plan provides for payment of an annual benefit as long as the participant satisfies the age, service, pay, and job level requirements.

·


Effective July 1, 1999, IBM amended the Retention Plan to provide a new benefit formula, but allowed participants who met certain age, service, and pay level conditions as of June 30, 1999 to continue to earn benefits under the prior formula if the prior formula provides a greater benefit.

·


Retention Plan benefits are subject to forfeiture and rescission if an executive is terminated for cause or engages in competitive or other activity detrimental to IBM during or following employment.

Material Terms and Conditions: 1995 Retention Plan

·


The benefits provided under the Retention Plan for Dr. Kelly and Mr. Kavanaugh are determined under the Retention Plan formula in effect prior to the July 1, 1999 amendment (1995 Retention Plan).

·


Benefits are available under the 1995 Retention Plan only if a participant terminates employment, becomes disabled or dies on or after meeting the early retirement age and service requirement, holds an executive-level position immediately prior to termination or death, and has final average pay of at least $160,000 immediately prior to termination, disability or death.

·


The benefit provided under the 1995 Retention Plan is payable only as an annuity beginning on the first day of the
month following termination of employment (subject to a six-month delay for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code).

·


While Mr. Kavanaugh’s benefit is determined under the 1995 Retention Plan, he was partially grandfathered under this formula which means that his accruals stopped December 31, 2003 and the threshold to determine his benefit is $233,400 instead of $311,400 for fully grandfathered participants. If the participantMr. Kavanaugh terminates employment on or after age 60, the 1995his Retention Plan benefit expressed as an annual single life annuity is equal to:

·

[MISSING IMAGE: tb_20retpla-pn.jpg]

If the participant terminates employment before age 60, the annual single life annuity resulting from the sum of the amounts specified in (1) through (4) is reduced as specified in the Retention Plan. For example, if a participant terminates at age 59, the benefit is reduced by 3%, at age 58, by 7%, and at age 57, by 11%.

·


The benefit of a participant in the 1995 Retention Plan will not be less than the benefit that would be provided if the participant were in the 1999 Retention Plan, as described in the next subsection.

53



Material Terms and Conditions:

1999 Retention Plan

·


The benefits provided under the Retention Plan to Mrs. RomettyMr. Rosamilia are determined under the Retention Plan formula in effect on and after the July 1, 1999 amendment (1999 Retention Plan).

·


Benefits are available under the 1999 Retention Plan if a participant holds an executive-level position immediately prior to termination or death, has final average pay in excess of $405,400 on both January 1, 2007 and immediately prior to termination or death, and either:


Terminates employment for any reason other thancause or dies, in each case after attaining age 60 and completing at least five years of service; or


Terminates employment for any reason other than cause or dies, in each case after attaining age 55 and completing at least 15 years of service and either becomes disabled (as determined under IBM’s long-term disability plan), or if approved by the Board in the case of the two highest
542023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Retention Plan Narrative


[MISSING IMAGE: grey-margin.jpg]

paid officers (and if approved by the Compensation Committee and the chairman and chief executive officer in the case of any other officer of IBM).

·


If the participant terminates employment after attaining age 60 and completing at least five years of service, the 1999 Retention Plan benefit expressed as an annual single life annuity is equal to:

·

[MISSING IMAGE: tb_partic-pn.jpg]

In no event will the sum of the amounts in (1) and (2) exceed 65% times final average pay times a fraction (no greater than 1), the numerator of which is the participant’s years of service and the denominator of which is 35.

·


A participant who terminates employment after attaining age 55, but prior to attaining age 60, who completes at least 15 years of service, and who receives Compensation Committee and chairman and chief executive officer approval (or Board approval in the case of the two highest paid officers) as described above, will receive a reduced single life annuity. The reduced single life annuity will be determined by reducing the sum of the amounts specified in (1) and (2) by 0.5% for each month that the benefit commencement date precedes age 60.

Compensation Elements Included in Calculations

·


The definitions of eligible final average pay and eligible compensation for purposes of the Retention Plan have the same meanings as under the Pension Credit Formula in the IBM Personal Pension Plan.

Funding

·


The Retention Plan is unfunded and maintained as a book reserve (notional) account.

·


No funds are set aside in a trust or otherwise; participants in the Retention Plan are general unsecured creditors of IBM regarding the payment of their Retention Plan benefits.

Policy Regarding Extra Years of Credited Service

·


Generally, a participant’s years of credited service for benefits are based on the years an employee participated in the IBM Personal Pension Plan through December 31, 2007, the date accrual of future benefits stopped.

Available Forms of Payment

·


A participant’s benefit is only payable in the form of an annuity with monthly benefit payments beginning on the first day of the month following termination of employment (subject to a six-month delay for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue
Code). Lump sum payments are not available under the Retention Plan.

·


A participant may elect to receive his or her benefit in the form of a single life annuity or in certain other actuarially equivalent forms of payment.

Annual Retention Plan Benefit

·


The annual Retention Plan benefit that was earned as of December 31, 2007 and that is payable as a single life annuity beginning at the earliest unreduced retirement age (as defined in the next subsection) for each eligible named executive officer is detailed in the table below.

Name

 

Annual Retention Plan Benefit at
Earliest Unreduced Retirement Age

 

V.M. Rometty

 

$

101,008

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

594,917

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

16,007

 

NameAnnual Retention Plan Benefit at
Earliest Unreduced Retirement Age
J.J. Kavanaugh$11,785
T. Rosamilia84,832
Present Value of Accumulated Benefit

·


The present value of accumulated benefit shown in the 20172022 Retention Plan Table below is the value as of December 31, 20172022 of the annual Retention Plan benefit that was earned as of December 31, 2007.

·


The earliest unreduced retirement age is the earliest age an eligible named executive officer may start receiving the Retention Plan benefit without a reduction for early commencement. As of December 31, 2017, Mrs. Rometty and Dr. Kelly had2022, Mr. Rosamilia reached the earliest unreduced retirement age. Because Mr. Kavanaugh did not attain age 60 by December 31, 2017,2022, the earliest unreduced retirement age is his age on the first day of the month that coincides with or next follows the attainment of age 60.

54




·Certain assumptions were used to determine the present value of the annual accumulated Retention Plan benefit that is payable beginning at the earliest unreduced retirement age. Those assumptions are described immediately following the 20172022 Pension Benefits Table.

2022 Retention Plan Table.

2017 RETENTION PLAN TABLE

 

 

 

 

Number of 

 

Present

 

Payments

 

 

 

 

 

Years

 

Value of

 

During

 

 

 

 

 

Credited

 

Accumulated

 

Last

 

 

 

 

 

Service(1)

 

Benefit(2)

 

Fiscal Year

 

Name

 

Plan Name

 

(#)

 

($)

 

($)

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

V.M. Rometty

 

Retention Plan

 

26

 

$

1,739,925

 

$

0

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

Retention Plan

 

27

 

9,060,974

 

0

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

Retention Plan

 

12

 

202,937

 

0

 

Table
Number of
Years
Credited
Present
Value of
Accumulated
Payments
During
Last
Service(1)Benefit(2)Fiscal Year
Name
(a)
Plan Name
(b)
(#)
(c)
($)
(d)
($)
(e)
J.J. KavanaughRetention Plan12$139,638$0
T. RosamiliaRetention Plan251,174,4290

(1)
Reflects years of credited service as of December 31, 2007, which was the date accruals under the Retention Plan stopped. Each of the eligible named executive officers in this table has 1015 additional years of service with IBM after that date.

(2)
While the accruals under the Retention Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, the value of the Retention Plan benefit for the eligible named executive officers will continue to change based on their ages, the assumptions used to calculate the present value of the accumulated benefit, and the benefit that would be provided under the IBM Personal Pension Plan.

Assumptions For assumptions used to determine present value for each eligible named executive officer, as of December 31, 2017:

·Measurement date: December 31, 2017

·Interest rate for present value: 3.4%

·To determine Personal Pension Account benefit:

Interest crediting rate: 2.3% for 2018 and after

Interest rate to convert Personal Pension Account balance to single life annuity: 1.98% for years 1–5, 3.5867% for years 6–20, and 4.3267% for year 21 and after

Mortality table to convert Personal Pension Account balance to single life annuity is 2018 Personal Pension Account Optional Combined Unisex Table

·Mortality (pre-commencement): None

·Mortality (post-commencement):

Base Table: Modified RP-2014 White Collar sex-distinct annuitant tables with adjustment to 2011 by backing out MP-2014 improvement and further adjusting the mortality rates at each age (averaging approximately 1.06)

Improvement Scale: A modified Scale MP-2017 projection table with projected improvements starting in 2011 for healthy mortality. The modified table is based on the RPEC 2014 v2017 model, with the same 20 year diagonal convergence period and 10 year horizontal convergence period and underlying weighting percentages for the age/period and year-of-birth cohort periods. The long-term improvement rates are 0.75% up to age 85, linearly decreasing to 0.0% at age 115

·Withdrawal rates: None

·Retirement rates: None prior to Assumed Retirement Age

·Normal Retirement Age: Age 60 for Retention Plan, Age 65 for IBM Personal Pension Plan

·Assumed Retirement Age: Later of Age 60 for Retention Plan, Age 65 for IBM Personal Pension Plan, or current age

·Accumulated benefit is calculated based on credited service and final average pay as of December 31, 2007

·Offset for benefit payable under the IBM Personal Pension Plan is determined based on the single life annuity that would be payable under the plan beginning on the first day of the month following the assumed termination of employment

·Present value iscalculate the present value, ofsee the single life annuity payable at assumed retirement age beginning on the first day of the month following the assumed termination of employment. The six-month delay under the Retention Plan for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code was disregarded for this purpose

·All results shown are estimates only; actual benefits will be based on precise credited service and compensation history, which will be determined at termination of employment

Assumptions“Assumptions used to determine present value as of December 31, 2016:

·The column titled Change in2022 for each eligible named executive officer” immediately following the 2022 Pension Benefits table.

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Retention Plan Value in the 2017 Summary Compensation Table quantifies the change in the present value of the Retention Plan benefit from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017

·To determine the present value of the Retention Plan benefit as of December 31, 2016, the same assumptions that are described above to determine present value as of December 31, 2017 were used, except (1) a 3.8% interest rate and the Modified MP-2016 improvement scale, and (2) to determine the Personal Pension Account benefit, the following were used:

Interest crediting rate: 1.6% for 2017 and after

Interest rate to convert Personal Pension Account balance to annual single life annuity: 1.4767% for years 1–5, 3.3533% for years 6–20, and 4.29% for year 21 and after

·Mortality table for Personal Pension Account balance conversion: 2017 Personal Pension Account Optional Combined Unisex Table

Narrative 55






2017

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2022 Pension Benefits Narrative

The 20172022 Pension Benefits Tables show the number of years of credited service, present value of accumulated benefit and payments during the last fiscal year for each eligible named executive officer under the IBM U.S. defined benefit pension plan. Mrs. Rometty, Mr. Schroeter, Dr. Kelly,Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Mr. KavanaughRosamilia have pension benefits under the U.S. defined benefit pension plan, andplan. Neither Mr. Clementi does notCohn nor Ms. Browdy have a benefit under any IBM defined benefit pension plan.

U.S. Qualified Plan and Nonqualified Plan Descriptions — General

The IBM Personal Pension Plan consists of a tax-qualified plan and a non-tax qualified plan. Effective January 1, 2008, the non-tax qualified plan was renamed the IBM Excess Personal Pension Plan and is referred to herein as the Nonqualified Plan, and the tax-qualified plan is referred to as the Qualified Plan. The combined plan is referred to herein as the IBM Personal Pension Plan. Effective January 1, 2005, the IBM Personal Pension Plan was closed to new participants.

Plan Description

·


Effective July 1, 1999, IBM amended the IBM Personal Pension Plan to provide a new benefit formula, but allowed participants who met certain age and service conditions as of June 30, 1999, to elect to continue to earn benefits under the prior formulas, including the Pension Credit Formula.

·


Accrual of future benefits under the IBM Personal Pension Plan stopped on December 31, 2007. Accordingly, a participant’s pension benefit does not consider pay earned and service credited after such date.

·


The Qualified Plan provides funded, tax-qualified benefits up to the limits on compensation and benefits under the Internal Revenue Code.

·


The Nonqualified Plan provides unfunded, nonqualified benefits in excess of the limits on compensation.

IBM U.S. Personal Pension Plan (Qualified
(Qualified
Plan)

Purpose of the Qualified Plan

·


The Qualified Plan was designed to provide tax-qualified pension benefits that are generally available to all U.S. regular employees.

·


The cessation of accruals under the Qualified Plan and the continued IBM contributions under the tax-qualified defined contribution plan, the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan, reflects IBM’s desire to provide appropriate benefits for its employees, consistent with the changing needs of IBM’s workforce and the changing nature of retirement benefits provided by IBM’s current competition.

Material Terms and Conditions: Pension Credit Formula under the Qualified Plan

·


The benefits under the Qualified Plan for Mrs. Rometty are determined under the Pension Credit Formula. Mrs. Rometty satisfied the eligibility requirements for the Pension Credit Formula in 1999.

·        The Pension Credit Formula is a pension equity formula that provides annual benefits based on a participant’s total point value divided by an annuity conversion factor.

·        The total point value is equal to total base points times final average pay plus total excess points times final average pay in excess of Social Security Covered Compensation.

·        For purposes of the Pension Credit Formula, final average pay is equal to average compensation over the final five years of employment or the highest consecutive five calendar years of compensation, whichever is greater, prior to 2008.

·        The annuity conversion factor is pre-determined according to the IBM Personal Pension Plan document.

·        Prior to 2008, participants earned points as follows: 0.16 base points each year until a 4.25 base point cap was reached, and 0.03 excess points each year until a 0.75 excess point cap was reached.

·        The total point value is converted to an annuity at the benefit commencement date based on pre-determined annuity conversion factors.

·        A participant may receive his or her benefit immediately following termination of employment, or may defer benefit payments until any time between early retirement age and normal retirement age.

·        Early retirement age is defined as:

– Any age with 30 years of service;

– Age 55 with 15 years of service; or

– Age 62 with five years of service.

·        As of December 31, 2017, Mrs. Rometty had attained early retirement age.

·        Under the Pension Credit Formula, a participant who terminates employment and whose pension benefit commences before his or her normal retirement age will receive smaller monthly annuity payments than if his or her benefit commences at normal retirement age.

·        Instead of receiving his or her entire benefiteither under the Pension Credit Formula as an annuity, a participant may elect to receive a portion(for those who met certain eligibility criteria in 1999) or the Personal Pension Account described below. The named executive officers’ benefits under the Qualified Plan are determined under the Personal Pension Account formula and therefore this disclosure will only address the material terms of such formula under the benefit as an unsubsidized lump sum. The lump sum amount is based on the benefit the participant earned before January 1, 2000.

IBM Personal Pension Plan.

Material Terms and Conditions: Personal Pension Account Formula under the Qualified Plan

·        Mr. Schroeter’s, Dr. Kelly’s


Messrs. Krishna’s, Kavanaugh’s, and Mr. Kavanaugh’sRosamilia’s benefit under the Qualified Plan is determined under the Personal Pension Account formula, which is a cash balance formula.

·


According to the terms of the Qualified Plan, under the Personal Pension Account formula prior to 2008, the eligible named executive officers above receive pay credits and interest credits to their respective Personal Pension Accounts. The pay credits for a year were equal to 5% of the eligible named executive officers’ eligible compensation

56



for that year. The interest credits are based on the annual interest rate on one-year Treasury Constant Maturities plus 1%. Further, the eligible named executive officers may receive their benefit under the Personal Pension Account formula at any time following termination of employment, but may not defer the commencement of the benefit later than normal retirement age. If the eligible named executive officers’ benefit begins to be paid before normal retirement age, it will be reduced when compared to the benefit that would commence at normal retirement age. The eligible named executive officers may receive their benefit in the following forms: a lump sum equal to the Personal Pension Account balance, an annuity that is actuarially equivalent to the Personal Pension Account balance, or both a partial lump sum and a reduced annuity.

Compensation Elements Included in Calculations

·


Prior to 2008, eligible compensation was generally equal to the total amount that is included in income including:


Salary;


Recurring payments under any form of variable compensation plan (excluding stock optionsStock Options and other equity awards); and


Amounts deducted from salary and variable compensation under IBM’s Internal Revenue Code Section 125 plan (cafeteria plan), and amounts deferred under IBM’s 401(k) Plus Plan and Excess 401(k) Plus Plan.

·


Equity compensation – stock options,— Stock Options, RSUs, RRSUs, and PSUs  was excluded from eligible compensation.

·


Compensation for a year was limited to the compensation limit under the Internal Revenue Code. For 2007, the last year that benefits accrued under the Qualified Plan, the compensation limit was $225,000. In addition, benefits provided under the Qualified Plan may not exceed an annual benefit limit under the Internal Revenue Code (which in 20172022 was $215,000$245,000 payable as an annual single life annuity beginning at normal retirement age).

Qualified Plan Funding

·


Benefits under the Qualified Plan are funded by an irrevocable tax-exempt trust.

·        A participant’s


Participant’s benefits under the Qualified Plan are payable from the assets held by the tax-exempt trust.

562023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Pension Benefits Narrative


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Policy Regarding Extra Years of Credited Service

·


Generally, a participant’s years of credited service are based on the years an employee participates in the Qualified Plan.

·


The years of credited service for the eligible named executive officers are based only on their service while eligible for participation in the Qualified Plan. In 2005, Mr. Schroeter left IBM U.S. and became an executive of IBM Australia, and therefore, Mr. Schroeter’s years of credited service for benefit calculations in the 2017 Pension Benefits Table are based only on his service with IBM U.S. Because accruals under the Qualified Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, service performed after such date is not counted for any named executive officer.

IBM U.S. Excess Personal Pension Plan (Nonqualified Plan)

Purpose of the Nonqualified Plan

·


The Nonqualified Plan provides Qualified Plan participants with benefits that may not be provided under the Qualified Plan because of the tax limits on eligible compensation.

·


The benefit provided to a participant is payable following a separation from service from IBM (subject to the six-month delay for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code).

Material Terms and Conditions of the Nonqualified Plan

·


The Nonqualified Plan provides a benefit that is equal to the benefit that would be provided under the Qualified Plan if the compensation and benefit limits did not apply minus the benefit actually provided under the Qualified Plan disregarding the benefit limits.

Nonqualified Plan Funding

·


The Nonqualified Plan is unfunded and maintained as a book reserve (notional) account.

·


No funds are set aside in a trust or otherwise; participants in the Nonqualified Plan are general unsecured creditors of IBM with respect to the payment of their Nonqualified Plan benefits.

Policy Regarding Extra Years of Credited Service

·


The years of credited service for the eligible named executive officers are based only on their service while eligible for participation in the Qualified Plan. Because accruals under the Nonqualified Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, service performed after such date is not counted.

Available Forms of Payment

Pension Credit Formula

·        A portion of the benefit that is available to Mrs. Rometty under the Qualified Plan may be paid as a lump sum. The portion is determined on the benefit that was earned before January 1, 2000.

·        The benefit available to Mrs. Rometty under the Nonqualified Plan may only be paid as an annuity.

Personal Pension Account

·


Under the terms of the Qualified Plan, the entire benefit may be paid as a lump sum.

·        Under the terms of the Nonqualified Plan, Mr. Schroeter’s entire Nonqualified Plan benefit must be paid as a mandatory lump sum. Dr. Kelly


Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh, and Mr. KavanaughRosamilia have elected to receive their Nonqualified Plan benefit in a lump sum immediately following separation from service.

·


The maximum lump sum amount that the eligible named executive officers could have elected to receive under

57

the


the

Qualified Plan and Nonqualified Plan, as of January 1, 20182023 if they had a separation from service from IBM on December 31, 20172022 was equal to:

 

 

Maximum Lump Sum

 

Name

 

Qualified
Plan

 

Nonqualified
Plan

 

Total Available 
Lump Sum

 

V.M. Rometty

 

$

493,391

 

N/A

 

$

493,391

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

63,185

 

21,530

 

84,715

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

454,963

 

989,328

 

1,444,291

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

161,218

 

69,759

 

230,977

 

·

NameMaximum Lump Sum
Qualified
Plan
Nonqualified
Plan
Total Available
Lump Sum
A. Krishna$233,107$83,746$316,853
J.J. Kavanaugh179,36077,609256,969
T. Rosamilia362,784148,155510,939

A participant may elect to receive his or her entire benefit, or the portion of the benefit that is not paid as a lump sum, in the form of a single life annuity or in certain other actuarially equivalent forms of payment.

Annual Pension Benefits

·


The annual pension benefit that was earned as of December 31, 2007, and that is payable as a single life annuity beginning at normal retirement age for each of the eligible named executive officers is below. Because Mr. Schroeter, Dr. KellyMessrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh, and Mr. KavanaughRosamilia will receive a lump sum payment for their Nonqualified Plan benefits, no amount is represented for them in the Nonqualified Plan column below:

 

 

Annual Pension Benefit at Normal Retirement Age

 

Name

 

Qualified
Plan

 

Nonqualified
Plan

 

Total Benefit

 

V.M. Rometty

 

$

82,083

 

$

342,761

 

$

424,844

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

5,923

 

N/A

 

5,923

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

33,326

 

N/A

 

33,326

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

15,475

 

N/A

 

15,475

 

NameAnnual Pension Benefit at Normal
Retirement Age
Qualified
Plan
Nonqualified
Plan
Total Benefit
A. Krishna$23,347N/A$23,347
J.J. Kavanaugh21,043N/A21,043
T. Rosamilia34,552N/A34,552
Present Value of Accumulated Benefit

·


The present value of accumulated benefit is the value as of December 31, 20172022 of the annual pension benefit that was earned as of December 31, 2007.

·


The annual pension benefit is the benefit that is payable for the named executive officer’s life beginning at his or her normal retirement age.

·


The normal retirement age is defined as the later of age 65 or the completion of one year of service.

·


Certain assumptions were used to determine the present value of accumulated benefits. Those assumptions are described immediately following the 20172022 Pension Benefits Table.

2017 PENSION BENEFITS

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Pension Benefits Narrative 57


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2022 Pension Benefits Table
As noted in the General Description and Purpose to the 20172022 Retention Plan Narrative, the 20172022 Pension Benefits Table does not include amounts reflected in the 20172022 Retention Plan Table.

Name
(a)

 

Plan Name
(b)

 

Number of Years
Credited Service (1)
(#)
(c)

 

Present Value of 
Accumulated Benefit(2)
($)
(d)

 

Payments During 
Last Fiscal Year 
($)
(e)

 

V.M. Rometty

 

Qualified Plan

 

26

 

$

1,095,989

 

$

0

 

 

 

Nonqualified Plan

 

 

 

4,576,589

 

0

 

 

 

Total Benefit

 

 

 

$

5,672,578

 

$

0

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

Qualified Plan

 

4

 

$

57,325

 

$

0

 

 

 

Nonqualified Plan

 

 

 

18,988

 

0

 

 

 

Total Benefit

 

 

 

$

76,313

 

$

0

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

Qualified Plan

 

27

 

$

459,385

 

$

0

 

 

 

Nonqualified Plan

 

 

 

977,063

 

0

 

 

 

Total Benefit

 

 

 

$

1,436,448

 

$

0

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

Qualified Plan

 

12

 

$

140,390

 

$

0

 

 

 

Nonqualified Plan

 

 

 

60,275

 

0

 

 

 

Total Benefit

 

 

 

$

200,665

 

$

0

 

Number of YearsPresent Value ofPayments During
Credited Service(1)Accumulated Benefit(2)Last Fiscal Year
Name
(a)
Plan Name
(b)
(#)
(c)
($)
(d)
($)
(e)
A. KrishnaQualified Plan17$227,829$0
Nonqualified Plan80,6710
Total Benefit$308,500$0
J.J. KavanaughQualified Plan12$169,254$0
Nonqualified Plan72,3920
Total Benefit$241,646$0
T. RosamiliaQualified Plan25$377,922$0
Nonqualified Plan144,9770
Total Benefit$522,899$0

(1)
Reflects years of credited service as of December 31, 2007, which was the date accruals under the Qualified Plan and the Nonqualified Plan stopped. Each of the named executive officers in this table has ten15 additional years of service with IBM after that date.

(2)
While the accruals under the Qualified Plan and the Nonqualified Plan stopped on December 31, 2007, the value of the Qualified Plan and Nonqualified Plan benefits for the eligible named executive officers will continue to change based on their ages, annuity conversion rates, and the assumptions used to calculate the present value of the accumulated benefit.

58



Assumptions to determine present value as of December 31, 20172022 for each eligible named executive officer:

·


Measurement date: December 31, 2017

·2022


Interest rate for present value: 3.4%

·5.3%


To determine Personal Pension Account benefit:


Interest crediting rate: 2.3%4.9% for 20182023 and 4.40% for 2024 and after


Interest rate to convert Personal Pension Account balance to single life annuity: 1.98%4.4567% for years 1–1 – 5, 3.5867%5.2367% for years 6–6 – 20, and 4.3267%5.1467% for year 21 and after


Mortality table to convert Personal Pension Account balance to single life annuity is 2018 Personal2023 Pension AccountProtection Act Optional Combined Unisex Table

·


Mortality (pre-commencement): None

·


Mortality (post-commencement):


Base Table: Modified RP-2014PRI-2012 White Collar sex-distinct annuitant tables for retirees adjusted by a factor of 0.762 with adjustmentimprovement from 2012 to 2011 by backing out MP-2014 improvement and further adjusting the mortality rates at each age (averaging approximately 1.06)

December 31, 2022.


Improvement Scale: A modified Scale MP-2017MP-2021 projection table starting in 2011 for healthy mortality. The modified table is based on the RPEC 2014 v 2017 model, with the same 20 year diagonal convergence period and 10 year horizontal convergence period and underlying weighting percentages for the age/period and year-of-birth cohort periods. The long-term improvement rates are 0.75% up to age 85, linearly decreasing to 0.0% at age 115

·table.


Withdrawal rates: None

·


Retirement rates: None prior to Assumed Retirement Age

·


Normal Retirement Age: Age 60 for Retention Plan, Age 65 for IBM Personal Pension Plan

·


Assumed Retirement Age: Later of Age 60 for Retention Plan, Age 65 for IBM Personal Pension Plan, or current age

·


Accumulated benefit is calculated based on credited service and compensation history as of December 31, 2007

·        Benefit payable as a single life annuity in


In the case of the Pension Credit Formula and lump sum in the case of thequalified Personal Pension Account Formulaformula, the benefit is payable as a 90% lump sum/10% annuity for Messrs. Krishna and Kavanaugh, and a 50% lump
sum/50% annuity for Mr. Rosamilia, beginning on the first day of the month following a separation from service from IBM. The Excess Plan’s Personal Pension Plan Account formula benefit for Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Rosamilia is payable as a lump sum. The six-month delay under the Nonqualified Plan for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code was disregarded for this purpose

·        The Pension Credit Formula conversion factor is based on age at December 31, 2007 and commencement at age 65

·


All results shown are estimates only; actual benefits will be based on precise credited service and compensation history, which will be determined at separation from service from IBM

Assumptions to determine present value as of December 31, 2016:

·2021:


The column titled Change in Pension Value in the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table quantifies the change in the present value of the pension benefit from December 31, 20162021 to December 31, 2017

·2022


To determine the present value of the pension benefit as of December 31, 2016,2021, the same assumptions that are described above to determine the present value as of December 31, 20172022 were used, except (1) a (1) 3.8%2.6% interest rate, Modified RP-2014 White Collar sex-distinct annuitant table with adjustments to 2006 by backing out MP-2014 improvement and further adjusting the mortality rates by a factor of 1.016, and Modified MP-2016MP-2021 improvement scale, and (2) to determine the Personal Pension Account benefit, the following were used:


Interest crediting rate: 1.6%1.1% for 20172022 and after


Interest rate to convert Personal Pension Account balance to single life annuity: 1.4767%0.7433% for years 1–1 —  5, 3.3533%2.5967% for years 6-20,6 — 20, and 4.29%3.1133% for year 21 and after


Mortality table for Personal Pension Account balance conversion: 2017 Personal2022 Pension AccountProtection Act Optional Combined Unisex Table

2017

582023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Pension Benefits Narrative


[MISSING IMAGE: grey-margin.jpg]

2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative

IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan — U.S.

General Description and Purpose

·


Effective January 1, 2008, the IBM Executive Deferred Compensation Plan (EDCP) was amended and renamed the IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan. IBM employees, including the named executive officers, who are eligible to participate in the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan and whose eligible pay is expected to exceed the Internal Revenue Code compensation limit for the applicable plan year are eligible to participate in the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan. The purpose of the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan is to provide employees with the opportunity to save for retirement on a tax-deferred basis and provide benefits that would be provided under the qualified IBM 401 (k)401(k) Plus Plan if the compensation limits did not apply.

·


The 20172022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table shows the employee deferrals (executive contributions), IBM match (registrant contributions), automatic contributions (registrant contributions), discretionary awards (registrant contributions) and investment gain or loss (aggregate earnings) for each named executive officer during 2017.

·2022.


The table also shows the total balance that each named executive officer has accumulated over all the years he or she has participated in the plan.

·


Account balances in the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan are comprised of cash amounts that were deferred by the participant or contributed by IBM (Basic Account), and all deferred shares, comprised of shares that were deferred by the participant (Deferred IBM Shares). Generally, amounts deferred and vested prior to January 1, 2005 are not subject to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, while amounts deferred and vested on and after January 1, 2005 are subject to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.

59




·The Excess 401(k) Plus Plan balance is not paid to, and cannot be accessed by, the participants until after a separation from service from IBM.

·        The Excess 401(k) Plus Plan allows the clawback of


With respect to IBM matching and automatic contributions made to a participant’s account after March 31, 2010, if a participant engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM (including but not limited to competitive business activity, disclosure of confidential IBM information andor solicitation of IBM clients or employees).

, the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan allows for clawback of any such contributions made in the 12- month period prior to such detrimental activity through separation of employment.

Compensation Eligible for Deferral under Excess 401(k) Plus Plan

·


An eligible employee may elect to defer up to 80% of salary and eligible performance pay, which includes annual incentive program payments.

·


In both cases, the Internal Revenue Code requires the deferral elections to be made before the calendar year in which the compensation is earned.

Deferred IBM Shares

·


Prior to January 1, 2008, under the EDCP, any executive, including non-U.S. executives, could have elected to defer receipt of shares of IBM stock that otherwise would be paid
as a result of the vesting of certain restricted stock unit awards granted on or before December 31, 2007 under IBM’s Long-Term Performance Plan (LTPP). Such deferral occurred when the awards vested.

·


In addition, in accordance with Internal Revenue Service rules, an executive could have also elected to defer receipt of shares of IBM stock that otherwise would be paid on or before February 1, 2008 as a result of the vesting of Performance Share Unit (PSU) awards under IBM’s LTPP.

·


There are no outstanding deferral elections that would result in any future deferral of stock.

·


Dividend equivalents on Deferred IBM Shares are paid in cash at the same rate and on the same date as the dividends paid to IBM stockholders.

stockholders, and are contributed to the Basic Account.

Excess 401(k) Plus Plan Funding

·


The Excess 401(k) Plus Plan is unfunded and maintained as a book reserve (notional) account.

·


No funds are set aside in a trust or otherwise; participants in the plan are general unsecured creditors of IBM for payment of their Excess 401(k) Plus Plan accounts.

IBM Matching Contributions

·


IBM credits matching contributions to the Basic Account of each eligible participant who defers salary or eligible performance pay under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan.

·


The matching contributions equal the percentage of the sum of: (i) the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401 (k)401(k) Plus Plan; and (ii) the participant’s eligible compensation after reaching the Internal Revenue Code compensation limits. The maximum matching contribution percentage for a participant is the same as the participant’s percentage under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan. Generally, participants hired or rehired by IBM U.S. before January 1, 2005, are eligible for up to 6% matching contributions; generally, participants hired or rehired by IBM U.S. on or after January 1, 2005 and who complete one year of service, are eligible for up to 5% matching contributions. Mrs. Rometty, Dr. Kelly,Mr. Krishna, Mr. Kavanaugh, and Mr. KavanaughRosamilia are eligible for a 6% matching contributioncontribution. Mr. Cohn and Messrs. Schroeter and ClementiMs. Browdy are eligible for a 5% matching contribution. Effective January 1, 2016, the matching contributions equal the sum of: (i) a participant’s match rate times the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan; and (ii) the participant’s match rate times the eligible compensation after reaching the Internal Revenue Code compensation limits.

IBM Automatic Contributions

·


Effective January 1, 2008, IBM credits automatic contributions to the Basic Account of each eligible participant.

·


The automatic contributions equal a percentage of the sum of: (i) the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401 (k)401(k) Plus Plan; and (ii) the participant’s eligible compensation after reaching the Internal Revenue Code compensation limits. The automatic contribution percentage for a participant is the participant’s automatic
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative 59


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contribution percentage under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan. Generally, the percentage is 2% or 4% if the participant was hired or rehired by IBM U.S. before January 1, 2005 (depending on the participant’s pension plan eligibility on December 31, 2007), or 1% if the participant was hired or rehired by IBM U.S. on or after January 1, 2005 and completes one year of service. For purposes of calculating the automatic contributions under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan, the participant’s eligible pay excludes the amount the participant elects to defer under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan. The automatic contribution percentage is 4% for Mrs. Rometty;is; 2% for Dr. KellyMessrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Mr. Kavanaugh;Rosamilia; and 1% for each of Messrs. SchroeterMr. Cohn and Clementi.

·        MatchingMs. Browdy.


For 2022, matching contributions and automatic contributions are made once annually at the end of the year. In order to receive such IBM contributions each year, a participant must have completed the service requirement, and must be employed on December 15 of the plan year. However, if a participant separates from service (including going on long-term disability) prior to December 15, and the participant has:


At least 30 years of service;


At least 15 years of service and is at least age 55;


At least 5 years of service and is at least age 62; or


At least 1 year of service and is at least age 65;

or, effective July 1, 2016, if a participant dies prior to December 15 in a given year, then the participant will be eligible to receive such IBM contributions as soon as practicable following separation from service.

Effective January 1, 2023, matching contributions and automatic contributions are made each pay period for participants who have met the service requirement and are otherwise eligible for IBM contributions.
IBM Transition Credits

·


Effective for the period of January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009, IBM credited transition credits to an eligible

60



participant’s Basic Account for those employees who were receiving transition credits in their Personal Pension Account under the Qualified Plan as of December 31, 2007. According toUnder the terms of the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan, Dr. KellyMessrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Mr. KavanaughRosamilia were eligible to receive transition credits.

Earnings Measures

·


A participant’s contributions to the Basic Account are adjusted for earnings and losses, until it has been completely distributed, based on investment choices selected by the participant.

·


IBM does not pay guaranteed, above-market or preferential earnings in the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan.

·


The available investment choices are the same as the primary investment choices available under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan, which are as follows (with 20172022 annual rates of return indicated for each):

– Target Retirement 2010 Fund (8.52%)

Target Retirement 2015 Fund (10.29%)


Target Retirement 2020 Fund (12.31%(-15.13%)


Target Retirement 2025 Fund (14.46%(-15.90%)


Target Retirement 2030 Fund (16.63%(-16.64%)


Target Retirement 2035 Fund (17.88%(-17.38%)


Target Retirement 2040 Fund (18.14%(-18.17%)


Target Retirement 2045 Fund (18.15%(-18.60%)


Target Retirement 2050 Fund (18.13%(-18.72%)


Target Retirement 2055 Fund (18.17%(-18.70%)


Target Retirement 2060 Fund (-18.66%)

Target Retirement 2065 Fund (-18.62%)

Income Plus Fund (7.28%(-14.63%)


Conservative Fund (10.88%(-15.73%)


Moderate Fund (13.53%(-17.08%)


Aggressive Fund (18.13%(-18.60%)


Interest Income Fund (3.00%(2.31%)


Inflation Protected Bond Fund (3.05%(-11.77%)


Total Bond Market Fund (3.52%(-13.28%)


High Yield & Emerging Markets Bond Fund (10.99%(-11.47%)


Total Stock Market Index Fund (21.17%(-19.46%)


Total International Stock Market Index Fund (28.28%(-15.75%)


Global Real Estate Stock Index Fund (-25.64%)

Long-Term Corporate Bond Fund (-25.17%)

Large Company Index Fund (-18.12%)

Large-Cap Value Index Fund (-7.56%)

Large-Cap Growth Index Fund (-29.15%)

Small/Mid-Cap Stock Index Fund (-25.30%)

Small-Cap Value Index Fund (-14.45%)

Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (-26.25%)

European Stock Index Fund (-14.64%)

Pacific Stock Index Fund (-13.27%)

Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund (-17.74%)

Real Estate Investment Trust Index Fund (4.96%(-24.53%)

Global Real Estate Index Fund (9.09%)


International Real Estate Index Fund (18.93%(-27.63%)

Long-Term Corporate Bond Fund (12.30%)

Large Company Index Fund (21.82%)

Large-Cap Value Index Fund (13.68%)

Large-Cap Growth Index Fund (30.18%)

Small/Mid-Cap Stock Index Fund (18.16%)

Small-Cap Value Index Fund (7.96%)

Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (22.39%)

European Stock Index Fund (26.29%)

Pacific Stock Index Fund (25.08%)

Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund (31.44%)


IBM Stock Fund (-4.02%(10.61%)*


*
Performance includes dividend equivalent reinvestment

·


A participant may change the investment selections for new payroll deferrals as frequently as each semi-monthly pay cycle and may change investment selections for existing account balances daily, subject to excessive trading restrictions.

·


Effective January 1, 2008, the IBM match under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan is notionally invested in the investment options in the same manner participant contributions are notionally invested.

·


Because Deferred IBM Shares are credited, maintained, and ultimately distributed only as shares of IBM’s common stock, they may not be transferred to any other investment choice at any time.

·


On a quarterly basis, dividend equivalents are credited to a participant’s account with respect to all or a portion of such account that is deemed to be invested in the IBM Stock Fund at the same rate as dividends to IBM stockholders.

·

602023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative


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Aggregate earnings on Deferred IBM Shares during the last fiscal year, as reported in column (d) of the 20172022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table, are calculated as the change in the price of IBM’s common stock between December 31, 20162021 and December 31, 20172022 for all Deferred IBM Shares that were contributed prior to 2017.

·Shares.


Aggregate earnings reflect an $8 quarterly administrative fee.

Payouts, Withdrawals, and Other Distributions

·


No payouts, withdrawals or other distributions from the Basic Account are permitted prior to a separation from service from IBM.

·


At termination, the balance in an eligible executive’s Basic Account that was deferred prior to January 1, 2005 is paid to the executive in an immediate lump sum unless: (a) the balance exceeds $25,000; and (b) the executive satisfies the following age and service criteria:


At least age 55 with 15 years of service;

At least age 62 with 5 years of service;

At least age 65 with 1 year of service;


Any age with at least 30 years of service, provided that, as of June 30, 1999, the executive had at least 25 years of service or was at least age 40 with 10 years of service; or


Commencing benefits under the IBM Long-Term Disability Plan.

·


As of December 31, 2017, Mrs. Rometty2022, Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh and Dr. KellyRosamilia had satisfied the age and service criteria. Although Mr. Clementi also satisfied the age and service criteria, he does not have a pre-2005 account balance under the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan.

·


If the participant has satisfied the age, service, and account balance criteria at termination, but has not made a valid advance election of another form of distribution, the amount of the participant’s Basic Account that was deferred prior to January 1, 2005 is paid in a lump sum in February of the year following separation.

61




·If the participant has satisfied the age, service, and account balance criteria at termination and has made a valid advance election, the amount of the participant’s Basic Account that was deferred prior to January 1, 2005 is paid as elected by the participant from among the following choices:

1.
Lump sum upon termination;

2.
Lump sum in February of the year following termination; or

3.
Annual installments (beginning February 1 of the year following termination) for a number of years (between two and ten) elected by the participant.

·


The participant’s Basic Account with respect to amounts deferred on or after January 1, 2005 may be distributed in the following forms as elected by the participant:

1.
Lump sum upon separation;

2.
Lump sum in February of the year following separation; or

3.
Annual installments (beginning February 1 of the year following separation) for a number of years (between two and ten) elected by the participant.

However, if the participant has elected annual installments and the total balance of the participant’s Basic Account upon a separation from service from IBM is less than 50% of the applicable Internal Revenue Code compensation limit (in 2017,2022, 50% of this limit was $135,000)$152,500), the amounts deferred on or after January 1, 2005 are distributed in a lump sum on the date installments would have otherwise begun.

·


Distribution elections may be changed in advance of separation, in accordance with Internal Revenue Code rules.

·


Distribution elections apply to both the Basic Account and the Deferred Shares Account. Further, within the Basic Account and the Deferred Shares Account, different distribution elections are permitted to be made for the amounts that were deferred before January 1, 2005 and the amounts that were deferred on or after January 1, 2005.

·


At December 31, 2017,2022, the named executive officers had the following distribution elections on file:

– Mrs. Rometty –


Mr. Krishna — Lump sum paid in February of the year following separation for pre-2005 amounts, and immediate lump sum for post-2004 amounts.

Mr. Kavanaugh — 2 annual installments for pre-2005 amounts, and lump sum in February of the year following separation for post-2004 amounts.

Mr. Cohn — 10 annual installments for all amounts

amounts.


Mr. Schroeter –Rosamilia — lump sum in February of the year following separation for all amounts

– Dr. Kelly –amounts.


Ms. Browdy — immediate lump sum in February of the year following separation for pre-2005 amounts, and 10 annual installments for post-2004 amounts

– Mr. Clementi – 10 annual installments for all amounts

– Mr. Kavanaugh – 2 annual installments for pre-2005 amounts, and lump sum in the February of the year following separation for post-2004 amounts.

·


Deferred IBM Shares are distributed only in the form of shares of IBM’s common stock.

·


These distribution rules are subject to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, including, for example, the rule that a “specified employee” may not receive a distribution of post-2004 deferrals until at least six months following a separation from service from IBM. All named executive officers, were “specified employees” under Section 409A at the end of the last fiscal year.

IBM Italy Pension Fund

General Description

·        Mr. Clementi was an employee

2023 Notice of IBM Italy prior to his U.S. employment, which commenced January 1, 2009. While an employee of IBM Italy and an Italian citizen, Mr. Clementi is eligible for a pension under the social security system as required by law, and sponsored by the Italian government. IBM made legally required contributions to the social security system (INPS) on behalf of Mr. Clementi through December 31, 2008.

·        In addition to contributions to INPS, IBM Italy offers a supplementary plan, “Fondo Pensione Dirigenti IBM” (the “Supplementary Plan”) to its executive population, which provides additional pension benefits that exceed those provided by the social security system. The Supplementary Plan is a separate qualified legal entity under Italian law and is a defined contribution plan.

·        Generally, all executives employed by IBM Italy are eligible to participate in the Supplementary Plan. Participation is voluntary, and an executive must elect to participate in the Supplementary Plan.

Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Eligible for Deferral into the Supplementary Plan

·        Eligible executives can choose to participate in the Supplementary Plan in two ways: (i) by irrevocably transferring severance pay legally required to be set aside; or (ii) making contributions that are based on the participant’s pay (ranges from 2.5% for pay up to €46,123 to 7.3% for pay over €87,633).

·        Participants may also elect to make further voluntary monthly contributions to the Supplementary Plan.

Employer Contributions

·        For all participants, IBM Italy makes contributions to the Supplementary Plan on a monthly basis equal to a set amount that varies based on salary (2.5% to 5.48% of salary); provided that the employer contribution does not exceed 5.5% of the entire gross pay and that it is not less than the amount established under the applicable collective agreement (€4,800).

Earnings Measures

·        Participants choose to invest their account in one of three investment alternatives: the Insurance Fund, the Bond Securities Fund or the Share Fund. The default alternative is the Insurance Fund, which guarantees a minimum percentage return on capital depending on operating results (currently 2.0% annually calculated on the paid, consolidated capital as of January 1, 2013).

·        Participants may change their investment election for new contributions at any time, and may change their allocations among the investment alternatives once each year.

62Narrative 61



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·        The Bond Securities Fund and the Share Fund do not provide any guaranteed return.

·        The 2017 annual rates of return for the three investment options are as follows:

– Insurance Fund (2.74%)

– Bond Securities Fund (1.26%)

– Share Fund (7.75%)

Payouts, Withdrawals and Other Distributions

·        Participants are eligible (but are not required) to take a distribution after reaching pensionable age as set forth under law and have participated in the Supplementary Plan for at least five years.

·        Participants may receive their benefit as an annuity or as a combination of an annuity and partial lump sum payment — which lump sum payment shall not exceed 50%. Due to his hire date, Mr. Clementi may choose to take his entire benefit in a lump sum payment. Distribution elections are made at the time of retirement.

·        Any annuities paid from the Supplementary Plan are calculated in accordance with the Supplementary Plan regulations for converting plan accounts to annuities.

·        If the participant dies before accessing the benefits, the individual’s heirs or designated beneficiaries shall receive his account.

·        A participant can request an advance of his account under the following circumstances: (i) at any time, up to 75%, to cover health care costs in the event of a serious illness affecting the participant or his spouse or dependents; (ii) up to 75% for the purchase of his, or his children’s, primary residence or for maintenance to the residence, once a participant has participated for at least eight years; and (iii) up to a maximum of 30% for other purposes, once a participant has participated for at least eight years.

2017 NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION TABLE

 

 

 

 

Executive
Contributions
in Last FY(1)

 

 

 

Registrant
Contributions
in Last FY(2)

 

Aggregate
Earnings in
Last FY(3)

 

Aggregate
Withdrawal/
Distributions

 

Aggregate
Balance at
Last FYE(4)

 

Name

 

 

 

($)

 

 

 

($)

 

($)

 

($)

 

($)

 

(a)

 

Plan

 

(b)

 

 

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

(f)

 

V.M. Rometty

 

Basic Account

 

$

376,800

 

Match

 

$

376,800

 

$

592,368

 

$

0

 

$

13,128,950

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automatic

 

251,200

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred IBM Shares

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

(350,753

)

0

 

4,281,032

 

 

 

Total

 

$

376,800

 

 

 

$

628,000

 

$

241,615

 

$

0

 

$

17,409,982

 

M.J. Schroeter

 

Basic Account

 

$

98,996

 

Match

 

$

80,247

 

$

(57,262

)

$

0

 

$

2,155,717

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automatic

 

16,049

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred IBM Shares

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

Total

 

$

98,996

 

 

 

$

96,296

 

$

(57,262

)

$

0

 

$

2,155,717

 

J.E. Kelly III

 

Basic Account

 

$

497,305

 

Match

 

$

89,271

 

$

1,144,969

 

$

0

 

$

12,472,472

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automatic

 

29,757

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred IBM Shares

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

(40,727

)

0

 

497,081

 

 

 

Total

 

$

497,305

 

 

 

$

119,028

 

$

1,104,242

 

$

0

 

$

12,969,553

 

E. Clementi

 

Basic Account

 

$

735,585

 

Match

 

$

68,685

 

$

(65,556

)

$

0

 

$

4,571,516

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automatic

 

13,737

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred IBM Shares

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

0

 

 

 

Supplementary Plan(5)

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

50,609

 

0

 

1,898,466

 

 

 

Total

 

$

735,585

 

 

 

$

82,422

 

$

(14,947

)

$

0

 

$

6,469,982

 

J.J. Kavanaugh

 

Basic Account

 

$

129,800

 

Match

 

$

72,720

 

$

402,936

 

$

0

 

$

3,504,483

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automatic

 

24,240

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred IBM Shares

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

(1,873

)

0

 

22,860

 

 

 

Total

 

$

129,800

 

 

 

$

96,960

 

$

401,063

 

$

0

 

$

3,527,343

 



2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table
Executive
Contributions
Registrant
Contributions
Aggregate
Earnings in
Aggregate
Withdrawal/
Aggregate
Balance at
in Last FY(1)in Last FY(2)Last FY(3)DistributionsLast FYE(4)
Name
(a)
Plan($)
(b)
($)
(c)
($)
(d)
($)
(e)
($)
(f)
A. KrishnaBasic Account$248,100Match$248,100$(242,875)$0$6,512,707
Automatic82,700
Deferred IBM Shares00000
Total$248,100$330,800$(242,875)$0$6,512,707
J.J. KavanaughBasic Account$260,000Match$130,362$(1,113,187)$0$6,226,839
Automatic43,454
Deferred IBM Shares001,077020,992
Total$260,000$173,816$(1,112,110)$0$6,247,831
G. CohnBasic Account$920,750Match$120,670$(43,741)$0$1,022,293
Automatic24,134
Deferred IBM Shares00000
Total$920,750$144,804$(43,741)$0$1,022,293
T. RosamiliaBasic Account$98,220Match$98,220$370,561$0$4,895,928
Automatic32,740
Deferred IBM Shares00000
Total$98,220$130,960$370,561$0$4,895,928
M.H. BrowdyBasic Account$94,340Match$94,340$90,154$0$2,092,459
Automatic18,868
Deferred IBM Shares00000
Total$94,340$113,208$90,154$0$2,092,459
(1)
A portion of the amount reported in this column (b) for each named executive officer’s Basic Account, is included within the amount reported as salary for that officer in column (c) of the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table. These amounts are: $79,800 for Mrs. Rometty; $36,210$71,700 for Mr. Schroeter; $33,630 for Dr. Kelly; $24,225Krishna; $260,000 for Mr. Clementi; and $129,800Kavanaugh; $920,750 for Mr. Kavanaugh.

Cohn; $34,380 for Mr. Rosamilia; and $31,025 for Ms. Browdy.

(2)
For each of the named executive officers, the entire amount reported in this column (c) is included within the amount reported in column (i) of the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table. The amounts reported as IBM contributions to defined contribution plans in footnote 69 to the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table are larger because the amounts reported in that footnote also include IBM’s contributions to the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan.

(3)
None of the amounts reported in this column (d) are reported in column (h) of the 20172022 Summary Compensation Table because IBM does not pay above-market or preferential earnings on deferred compensation.

(4)
Amounts reported in this column (f) for each named executive officer include amounts previously reported in IBM’s Summary Compensation Table in previous years when earned if that officer’s compensation was required to be disclosed in a previous year. Amounts previously reported in such years include previously earned, but deferred, salary, and incentive and IBM matching and automatic contributions. This total reflects the cumulative value of each named executive officer’s deferrals, IBM contributions and investment experience, including an $8 quarterly administrative fee.

(5)Amounts disclosed as

622023 Notice of December 31, 2017 were €42,157 and €1,581,396, respectively, and the exchange rate from euros to U.S. dollars was 1.2005.

63


Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative



2017

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2022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative

Introduction

IBM does not have any plans, programs or agreements under which payments to any of the named executive officers are triggered by a change of control of IBM, a change in the named executive officer’s responsibilities or a constructive termination of the named executive officer.

The only payments or benefits that would be provided by IBM to a named executive officer following a termination of employment would be provided under the terms of IBM’s existing compensation and benefit programs (as described below). However, Mr. Clementi will be eligible for a payment upon termination pursuant to his IBM U.S. offer letter. This payment represents a one-time replacement payment to compensate Mr. Clementi for the retirement benefits that he would have continued to earn as an employee of IBM Italy.

In order to become eligible for a payment under his offer letter, Mr. Clementi had to complete five years of service following January 1, 2009. After completing such service Mr. Clementi’s payment is equal to $500,000, plus, for each year that Mr. Clementi works beyond January 1, 2014, the amount payable is increased by 10% for a maximum period of five years (through January 1, 2019).

The payment shall be made in a lump sum no later than the end of the year after Mr. Clementi separates from service with IBM.

The 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table that follows this narrative reports such payments and benefits for each named executive officer assuming termination on the last business day of the fiscal year end.

As explained below, certain of these payments and benefits are enhanced by or dependent upon the named executive officer’s attainment of certain age and service criteria at termination. Additionally, certain payments or benefits are not available following a termination for cause and/or may be subject to forfeiture and clawback if the named executive officer engages in certain activity that is detrimental to IBM (including but not limited to competitive business activity, disclosure of confidential IBM information andor solicitation of IBM clients or employees).

This 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative and the 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table do not reflect payments that would be provided to each named executive officer under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan or the IBM Individual Separation Allowance Plan following termination of employment on the last business day of the fiscal year end because these plans are generally available to all U.S. regular employees similarly situated in age, years of service and date of hire and do not discriminate in favor of executive officers.

Qualified Plan amounts and Nonqualified Plan amounts are not reflected in the 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table. Previously, these amounts were available under one plan, the IBM Personal Pension Plan, which was generally available to all U.S. regular employees similarly situated in years of service and dates of hire and did not discriminate in favor of executive officers. For amounts payable under the Qualified and Nonqualified Plans, see the 20172022 Pension Benefits Table.
The 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table also does not quantify the value of retiree medical and life insurance benefits, if any, that would be provided to each named executive officer following such termination of employment because these benefits are generally available to all U.S. regular employees similarly situated in age, years of service and date of hire and do not discriminate in favor of executive officers; however, the named executive officers’ eligibility for such benefits is described below. The 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table does not contain a total column because the Retention Plan payment is paid as an annuity, not a lump sum. Therefore, a total column would not provide any meaningful disclosure.

Annual Incentive Program (AIP)

·


The AIP may provide a lump sum, cash payment in March of the year following resignation, retirement or involuntary termination without cause. An AIP payment may not be paid if an executive engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM.

·


This payment is not triggered by termination; the existence and amount of any AIP payment is determined under the terms of the AIP applicable to all executives eligible to participate, who are employed through December 31 of the previous year.

·


AIP payments to executive officers are subject to clawback as described in Section 34 of the 20172022 Compensation Discussion and Analysis.

·


For purposes of the 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table below, it is assumed that the AIP payment made to each named executive officer following termination of employment on the last business day of the fiscal year end would have been the same as the actual payment made in March 2018.

2023.

IBM Long-Term Performance Plans (LTPP)

·


The named executive officers have certain outstanding equity grants under the LTPP including:


Stock Options;


Restricted Stock Units (RSUs);


Retention Restricted Stock Units (RRSUs); and/or


Performance Share Units (PSUs) or retention Performance Share Units (RPSUs).

·


The LTPP and/or the named executive officers’ equity award agreements contain the following terms:


Generally, unvested stock options,Stock Options, RSUs, RRSUs, PSUs and PSUsRPSUs are cancelled upon termination; and


Vested stock optionsStock Options may be exercised only for 90 days following termination.

·


Payment of these awards is not triggered by termination of employment (because the awards would become payable under the terms of the LTPP if the named executive officer continued employment), but if he or she resigns, retires or is involuntarily terminated without cause after attaining

64



age 55 with at least 15 years of service, the following terms apply:


Vested stock optionsStock Options continue to be exercisable for the remainder of their ten-year term if approved by the Board, Compensation Committee or other appropriate management;term; and


IBM prorates a portion of unvested PSU awards to continue to vest under their original vesting schedules.

·


If an executive dies, outstanding stock options,Stock Options, RSU awards and RRSU awards would vest immediately, and outstanding PSU and RPSU awards would remain outstanding and continue to vest under their original vesting schedules.

·


If an executive becomes disabled, outstanding stock options, RSU awardsStock Options, RSUs and RRSU awardsRRSUs would continue to vest under their original vesting schedules, and outstanding PSU awardsPSUs and
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative 63


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RPSUs would remain outstanding and continue to vest under their original vesting schedules.

·        Beginning with PSU and RSU awards granted in 2009, in


In cases other than death or disability, certain executives may be eligible for continued vesting of these awards after separation.


To ensure that the interests of the members of the Performance Team are aligned with IBM’s long-term interests as these leaders approach retirement, these executives, including the named executive officers, may be eligible to receive payouts of their full unvested PSU and RSU awards upon termination, and effective for Stock Options granted after 2021, unvested Stock Options may continue to vest upon termination, if the following criteria are met:

·met for our named executive officers:


The executive is on the Performance Team at the time of departure;

·


For RSU awards and Stock Options, at least one year has passed since the award grant date; and for PSU awards, at least one year has passed in the performance period;

·


The executive has reached age 55 with 15 years of service at the time of departure; and

·


The payout has been approved by appropriate senior management, the Compensation Committee or the Board, in their discretion.


The Chairman and CEO is also eligible for the payouts described upon termination, except shebut instead must have reachedreach age 60 with 15 years of service, and the payout must be approved by the Board, in its discretion.


Payouts of PSU awards after termination as described above will be made in February after the end of the three-year performance period and only ifbased on the performance goals are met.final program score. Payouts of RSU awards after termination, as described above, will be made in accordance with the original vesting schedule.

· Unvested Stock Options will continue to vest and vested Stock Options (including those that vest after termination of employment) will be exercisable for the remainder of the original contractual term of the Stock Option.


The 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table assumes the following:


Amounts shown include the payout of the 20152020 PSU awards calculated using the actual performance achieved for the 2015–20172020-2022 performance period and the 20172022 fiscal year-end closing price of $153.42$140.89 for IBM common stock; and


Outstanding 20162021 and 20172022 PSU awards were not included because there is no guarantee of payment on these awards as they are subject to meeting threshold performance criteria.


Amounts shown include the value of 20162019, 2020 and 2021 RSU awards, if the required retirement criteria is met, at the fiscal year-end closing price of $153.42$140.89 for IBM common stock because the one-year service requirement from grant has been completed; and


Outstanding 20172022 RSU and Option awards are not included because the required service of at least one year since the award date of grant has not been completed.

·


LTPP awards for executive officers are subject to forfeiture and rescission if an executive is terminated for cause or engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM prior to or within 12 months following payment.release, exercise or payment (or within 36 months for RRSU awards). LTPP awards for executive officers also contain a covenant that the recipient will not solicit IBM clients for a period of one year or employees for a period of two years following termination of employment.

IBM Supplemental Executive Retention Plan (Retention Plan)

·


Payments under the Retention Plan are triggered by resignation, retirement or involuntary termination without cause after attainment of eligibility criteria.

·


Eligibility criteria are described in the 20172022 Retention Plan Narrative.

·


Retention Plan payments are paid as an annuity beginning on the first day of the month following termination of employment (subject to a six-month delay for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code).

·


At termination, the executive chooses either a single life annuity or an actuarially equivalent joint and survivor annuity.

·


The 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table reflects the annual amount payable as a single life annuity.

·


This table does not reflect the following provisions that would apply in accordance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code:


The payment would be delayed six months following termination; and


Amounts not paid during the delay would be paid (with interest) in July 2018.

·2023.


Retention Plan payments are subject to forfeiture and rescission if an executive is terminated for cause or engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM at any time prior to or following commencement of Retention Plan payments.

IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan

·


As described in the 20172022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative, payment of the named executive officers’ Excess 401(k) Plus Plan accounts (Basic Accounts and any Deferred IBM Shares) is triggered by resignation, retirement or involuntary termination.

65




·        Under the terms of the LTPP, Deferred IBM Shares are subject to rescission if the named executive officer participates in activity that is detrimental to IBM within 12 months following the release date.

·With respect to IBM matching and automatic contributions made to a participant’s account after March 31, 2010, if a participant engages in activity that is detrimental to IBM, the Excess 401(k) Plus Plan allows the clawback of such IBM contributions made during the 12-month period prior to the detrimental activity through the date of termination.

·


The 20172022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Table indicates the estimated amount and the time and form of payment, determined by either the executive’s distribution election in effect, if any, or the plan’s default distribution provision.

·

642023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative


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Estimated payments were calculated using the aggregate account balance as of the last business day of the fiscal year end, without assumptions for the following between such date and the distribution date(s):


Investment gains and losses on the Basic Account (including dividend equivalent reinvestment for the IBM Stock Fund); and


Fluctuations in the market price of IBM stock for Deferred IBM Shares.

·


The tables do not reflect:


That payment of amounts deferred after December 31, 2004 (and the associated earnings) are subject to a six-month delay for “specified employees” as required under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code; or


Any other restriction on such payments imposed by the requirements of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.

IBM Italy Pension Fund

·        As described in the 2017 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative, payment to Mr. Clementi of his benefits under the Supplementary Plan is triggered by resignation, retirement or involuntary termination.

·        Estimated payment reflects a lump sum of the aggregate account balance as of the last business day of the fiscal year end, without assumptions for any investment gains or losses between such date and distribution.

Retiree Medical and Life Insurance

General Description

Benefits under IBM’s retiree medical and life insurance programs are triggered by a named executive officer’s retirement, as described below. IBM maintains the Retiree Benefits Plan, the Future Health Account, Access to Group Health Care Coverage and the Retiree Group Life Insurance Plan. Eligibility for a particular program is dependent upon date of U.S. hire, age, and years of service at termination. Future coverage under such programs remains subject to IBM’s right to amend or terminate the plans at any time. The named executive officers would not have been eligible for the Retiree Benefits Plan following a separation from service on the last business day of the fiscal year end because they had not met the eligibility requirements.

IBM Future Health Account (FHA)

·


Amounts credited by IBM to a hypothetical account may be used to offset the cost of eligible medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for former employees and their eligible dependents.

·


Generally, all regular full-time or part-time U.S. IBM employees who meet the following criteria are eligible to use amounts from the account for these purposes:


Hired before January 1, 2004;


Not within five years of earliest retirement eligibility under the prior IBM Retirement Plan on June 30, 1999; and


At termination they have attained 30 years of service (regardless of age) and were eligible for an opening balance on July 1, 1999, or have attained at least age 55 with 15 years of service. An employee was eligible for an opening balance on July 1, 1999 if the employee was at least age 40 and completed at least one year of service on June 30, 1999.

·        Mrs. Rometty


Messrs. Krishna, Kavanaugh, and Dr. KellyRosamilia would have been eligible for this benefit following a separation from service on the last business day of the fiscal year end.

·        Mr. Kavanaugh would not have been eligible for this benefit following a separation from service on the last business day of the fiscal year end because he had not met the eligibility requirement noted above.

Access to Group Health Care Coverage

·


Eligible employees may purchase retiree health care coverage under an IBM-sponsored retiree medical option. The cost of this coverage is paid solely by the employee, but the coverage is priced at IBM retiree group rates.

·


Generally, all regular full-time or part-time U.S. IBM employees who meet the following criteria are eligible to purchase such coverage:


Hired on or after January 1, 2004, and meet the following age and service requirements at separation from service:

·


At least age 55, with at least five years of service; and either

·


The employee’s age and years of service equal 65; or

·


Withdrawal-eligible for the Future Health Account and the funds in the account have been fully depleted.


Hired prior to January 1, 2004 but are not eligible for either the IBM Retiree Benefits Plan or the Future Health Account, and at separation of service employee is at least age 55 or later, and the employee’s age and years of service equal at least 65.

·        Mr. Clementi


Ms. Browdy would have been eligible for this benefit following a separation from service on the last business day of the fiscal year end.

66




·Mr. SchroeterCohn would not have been eligible for this benefit following a separation from service on the last business day of the fiscal year end because he had not met the eligibility requirement noted above.

IBM Retiree Group Life Insurance

·


Employees who retire on or after January 1, 2016 will have the option to purchase life insurance at preferred rates, paid solely at their expense.

2017 POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION

2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   2022 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative 65



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2022 Potential Payments upon Termination Table
LTPP
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
Excess 401(k)
(6)
Annual IncentiveStockStockRetentionBasicDeferred IBM
TerminationProgram(2)Options(3)Awards(4)Plan(5)AccountShares
NameScenario($)($)($)($)($)($)
A. Krishna
Termination(1)
$3,480,000$0$26,394,896N/A$6,512,707(7)$0(7)
For Cause000N/A6,181,907(7)0(7)
J.J. Kavanaugh
Termination(1)
1,665,76008,202,19311,5925,819,898(8)20,992(8)
For Cause00005,646,082(8)20,992(8)
G. Cohn
Termination(1)
1,832,80001,147,690N/A102,229(9)0
For Cause000N/A87,749(9)0
T. Rosamilia
Termination(1)
1,218,06006,503,76484,8324,895,928(10)0
For Cause00004,764,968(10)0
M.H. Browdy
Termination(1)
1,466,24004,769,690N/A2,092,459(11)0
For Cause000N/A1,979,251(11)0
(1)
Termination generally includes the following separation scenarios: resignation, retirement, and involuntary termination without cause (in all cases, assuming the executive is not entering into competitive or other activity detrimental to IBM).

(2)
Assumes that the AIP payment made to each named executive officer following termination of employment on the last business day of the fiscal year end would have been the same as the actual payment made in March 2018.

2023.

(3)
Assumes each named executive officer exercised all vested, in-the-money optionsStock Options at $153.42$140.89 (the fiscal year-end closing price of IBM common stock on the NYSE)stock).

(4)
Assumes IBM released each named executive officer’s PSU award, granted in 20152020 according to its policy, for the three-year performance period ending December 31, 2017.2022. PSU awards are adjusted for performance and released in shares of IBM common stock (with any fractional shares rounded to the nearest whole share) in February in the year following the end of the performance period. While outstanding 20162019, 2020 and 2021 RSU awards are included if required retirement criteria is met, 20172022 RSU awards are not included because the required service of at least one year since the award date of grant has not been completed.

(5)
Reflects the Retention Plan benefit payable for eligible named executive officers as an immediate annual single life annuity. See the IBM Supplemental Executive Retention Plan section above for more details.

(6)
Estimated payments to each named executive officer were calculated using the aggregate account balance as of the last business day of the fiscal year end. See the IBM Excess 401(k) Plus Plan section above for more details.

(7)Approximate annual
The amount payable for 10 years starting in February 2018. Deferred IBM Shares are paid as shares of IBM common stock.

(8)Payable in a lump sum in February 2018.

(9)Sum of the amount of Basic Account deferred prior to January 1, 2005 is payable in a lump sum in February 2018 ($4,239,557) and the approximate annual2023. The amount of the Basic Account deferred on or after January 1, 2005 is payable for 10 years starting in February 2018 ($823,292).a lump sum immediately following separation. Deferred IBM Sharesshares are paid as shares of IBM common stock.

(10)Approximate annual amount payable for 10 years starting For Cause, the termination payment from the Basic Account is reduced to reflect forfeiture of Match and Automatic Contribution made during the last 12 months under plan terms. See column (c) in February 2018.

(11)Amount represents a lump sum payment of the aggregate balance as of December 31, 2017. Under the terms of the plan, Mr. Clementi does not have to make a distribution election until retirement. He can choose to receive his benefit as an annuity, a lump sum, or a combination of an annuity and lump sum. See the 20172022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Narrative for more information.

(12)See the 2017 Potential Payments Upon Termination Narrative for more information.

(13)Table.

(8)
Sum of the approximate annual amount of Basic Account deferred prior to January 1, 2005 payable for 2 years starting in February 20182023 ($294,565)406,941) and the amount of the Basic Account deferred on or after January 1, 2005 payable in a lump sum in February 20182023 ($2,915,353)5,412,957). Deferred shares are paid as shares of IBM common stock.

67

For Cause, the termination payment from the Basic Account is reduced to reflect forfeiture of Match and Automatic Contribution made during the last 12 months under plan terms; the forfeiture causes a decrease in the payout of amounts that were deferred on or after January 1, 2005. See column (c) in 2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table.

(9)
Payable in an immediate lump sum following separation. For Cause, the termination payment from the Basic Account is reduced to reflect forfeiture of Match and Automatic Contribution made during the last 12 months under plan terms. See column (c) in 2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table.
(10)
Payable in a lump sum in February 2023. For Cause, the termination payment from the Basic Account is reduced to reflect forfeiture of Match and Automatic Contribution made during the last 12 months under plan terms. See column (c) in 2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table.
(11)
Payable in an immediate lump sum following separation. For Cause, the termination payment from the Basic Account is reduced to reflect forfeiture of Match and Automatic Contribution made during the last 12 months under plan terms. See column (c) in 2022 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Table.
Pay Versus Performance
Year
(a)
Summary
Compensation
Total for the
Principal
Executive
Officer
(“PEO”)
Compensation
Actually Paid
to the PEO
Summary
Compensation
Total for the
Principal
Executive
Officer
(“PEO”)
Compensation
Actually Paid
to the PEO
Average
Summary
Compensation
Table Total
for Non-PEO
Named
Executive
Officers
(“NEO”s)
Average
Compensation
Actually Paid
to Non-PEO
NEOs
Value of Initial Fixed $100
Investment Based on:
Total
Shareholder
Return
Peer Group
Total
Shareholder
Return
Net
Income
(in $M)
IBM
Revenue
(in $M)
(b)(1)(c)(1)( 7)(b)(2)(c)(2)( 7)(d)(3)(e)(3)( 7)(f)(g)(4)(h)(5)(i)(6)
2022$16,580,075$23,935,007N/AN/A$8,318,193$10,496,901$128$115$1,639$60,530
202117,550,95923,798,901N/AN/A8,706,3019,116,4351151795,74357,350
202017,009,68213,997,217$21,062,593$15,778,83112,913,98210,795,062991325,59055,179
(1)
Mr. Krishna was the PEO for all three years in the table. Amounts deducted from the Summary Compensation Table (“SCT”) total to calculate Compensation Actually Paid (“CAP”) to the PEO for the years 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, include ($10,961,337), ($12,605,507), and ($13,159,118) for the date of grant fair value of stock awards and stock options, as well as ($42,806) for the Change in Retention Plan Value in 2020. Amounts added to (or subtracted from) the SCT for the years 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively also include: $14,225,360, $11,384,777 and $12,175,943 for the fair value of stock awards and stock options that were granted in the year and remain outstanding at the end of the year; $2,501,683, $5,024,645 and ($1,508,093) for the change in fair

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value of stock awards that were granted in prior years and still outstanding at the end of each respective year; and $1,589,226, 2,444,027 and ($478,392) for the change in fair value of stock awards that were granted in prior years and vested during each respective year.
(2)
Ms. Rometty was the PEO through April 5, 2020 (when she became Executive Chairman), and then retired from IBM on December 31, 2020. Amounts subtracted from the SCT total to calculate CAP to the PEO include ($12,728,348) for the date of grant fair value of stock awards in 2020, as well as ($1,600,931) for the changes in Pension and Retention Plan Values in 2020. Amounts added to (or subtracted from) the SCT for 2020 also include: $11,607,652 for the fair value of stock awards that were granted in the year and remain outstanding at the end of the year; ($1,509,067), for the change in fair value during the year of stock awards that were granted in prior years and still outstanding at the end of the year; and ($1,053,068) for the change in fair value of stock awards that were granted in prior years and vested during the year.
(3)
For 2021 and 2022, Mr. Kavanaugh, Mr. Cohn, Mr. Rosamilia and Ms. Browdy were the Non-PEO NEOs. For 2020, Mr. Kavanaugh, Ms. Browdy, Mr. James Whitehurst, and Dr. John Kelly were the Non-PEO NEOs. Amounts subtracted from the Average SCT total to calculate Average CAP to the Non-PEO NEOs for the years 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, include ($5,530,546), ($6,014,451), and ($10,018,860) for the average date of grant fair value of stock awards and stock options, as well as ($4,797) and ($175,943) for the average Changes in Pension and Retention Plan Values in 2022 and 2020 respectively. Amounts added to (or subtracted from) the Average SCT for the years 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively also include: $7,177,407, $5,512,871 and $9,340,129 for the average fair value of stock awards and stock options that were granted in the year and remain outstanding at the end of the year; $487,843, 406,744 and ($752,872) for the average change in fair value of stock awards that were granted in prior years and still outstanding at the end of each respective year; $48,801, 504,970 and ($805,021) for the average change in fair value of stock awards that were granted in prior years and vested during each respective year; and in 2020, $293,646 for the average dollar value of dividends payable on stock awards during 2020 (related to Mr. Whitehurst’s Restricted Stock Awards assumed upon the acquisition of Red Hat).
(4)
Peer Group Total Shareholder return is calculated based on IBM’s Proxy Peer Group that was disclosed in the Compensation, Discussion & Analysis section of IBM’s Proxy Statement for each respective year shown in the table, weighted based on the Peer Group’s Market Capitalization as of December 31, 2019. As disclosed in IBM’s 2022 Proxy Statement, the Company updated its Peer Group in 2022 to increase the weighting of peers in the technology industry, reflect IBM’s increased orientation as a hybrid cloud and AI company, and align the 2022 Peer Group with the size and scope of IBM following the separation of Kyndryl on November 3, 2021. If IBM used the 2021 Peer Group in 2022, the cumulative Total Shareholder Return from 12/31/2019 to 12/31/2022 would have been $129 (compared to $115 for the current Peer Group).
(5)
Net Income in 2021 and 2020 includes the Managed Infrastructure business, which separated from IBM on November 3, 2021 as Kyndryl. Net Income from Continuing Operations, which would have excluded this business, would have been $4,712 million and $3,932 million for 2021 and 2020, respectively. Net Income in 2022 included a one-time, non-cash pension settlement charge of approximately $4.4 billion, net of tax.
(6)
IBM Revenue metric reflects Revenue from Continuing Operations to provide for consistent comparison before and after the separation of the Managed Infrastructure business as Kyndryl on November 3, 2021.
(7)
Fair value of stock awards and stock options included in Compensation Actually paid to the PEO and Average Compensation paid to the NEOs are calculated at the required measurement dates, consistent with the approach used to value the awards at the grant date as described in IBM’s Annual Report. Any changes to stock award fair values from the grant date (for current year grants) and from prior year-end (for prior year grants) are based on IBM’s updated stock price at the respective measurement dates (less the present value of foregone dividends), and updated performance metric scoring projections (if applicable). Changes to stock option fair values are based on the updated stock price at the respective measurement dates, in addition to an updated expected option term, volatility of the company’s stock over the updated expected option term, expected dividend yield, and risk-free rate assumptions. For 2022, the year-end stock option fair value increased meaningfully from the fair value on the grant date, primarily driven by an increase in IBM’s stock price and an
increase in the risk-free interest rate to approximately 4% at year-end from approximately 2% on the grant date.
Relationship between Compensation Actually Paid disclosed in the Pay Versus Performance table, and other table elements
Compensation Actually Paid (“CAP”) to Mr. Krishna and cumulative total shareholder return were both higher in 2022 and 2021, relative to 2020. As there were no changes to Mr. Krishna’s base salary, target annual incentive, or target equity grant planned value since Mr. Krishna became CEO in April 2020, the increase in PEO CAP was largely the result of the increase in IBM’s stock price over that same time period. The average NEO CAP was relatively flat over the reported period, primarily because of the change in NEOs in 2021 compared to 2020.
The increase in IBM’s stock price that largely contributed to the increased PEO CAP also drove the increase in IBM’s Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) in 2022 and in 2021. At the end of the three-year period, IBM’s cumulative TSR ended higher than the cumulative TSR of IBM’s 2022 Peer Group. While the TSR increased over the three-year period, the average NEO CAP was relatively flat for the reasons noted above.
IBM’s Revenue from Continuing Operations increased in 2022 and 2021 and was directionally aligned with PEO CAP for the reported period. Net Income also increased from 2020 to 2021, directionally in line with the PEO CAP. Net Income in 2022, which included a one-time non-cash pension settlement charge of $4.4 billion (net of tax), decreased in 2022. Without this charge, 2022 Net Income would have increased from 2021 to 2022 as well. Average NEO CAP was relatively flat for the reasons noted above.
Tabular List of IBM’s most important metrics that link Compensation Actually Paid to the PEO and other NEOs
We consider the list below to be IBM’s most important metrics that link compensation paid to our Named Executive Officers, as they are the key metrics that determine the payout of IBM’s Annual Incentive Plan and Performance Stock Units.
Revenue
Operating Cash Flow
Diversity
Operating EPS
Free Cash Flow
ROIC
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Pay Versus Performance 67


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Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

The Audit Committee hereby reports as follows:

1.
Management has the primary responsibility for the financial statements and the reporting process, including the system of internal accounting controls. The Audit Committee, in its oversight role, has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements with IBM’s management.

2.
The Audit Committee has discussed with IBM’s internal auditors and IBM’s independent registered public accounting firm the overall scope of, and plans for, their respective audits. The Audit Committee has met with the internal auditors and independent registered public accounting firm, separately and together, with and without management present, to discuss IBM’s financial reporting process and internal accounting controls in addition to other matters required to be discussed by the statement on Auditing Standards No. 1301, Communications with Audit Committees, as adopted byapplicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), as may be modified or supplemented.

.

3.
The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding PwC’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with PwC its independence.

4.
The Audit Committee has an established charter outlining the practices it follows. The charter is available on IBM’s website at: at http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/audit-committee-charter.html.

att/pdf/auditcomcharter.pdf.

5.
IBM’s Audit Committee has policies and procedures that require the pre-approval by the Audit Committee of all fees paid to, and all services performed by, IBM’s independent registered public accounting firm. At the beginning of each year, the Audit Committee approves the proposed services, including the nature, type, and scope of service contemplated and the related fees, to be rendered by the firm during the year. In addition, pursuant to authority delegated by the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee chair may approve engagements that are outside the scope of the services and fees approved by the Audit Committee, which are later presented to the Committee. For each category of proposed service, the independent registered public accounting firm is required to confirm that the provision of such services does not impair its independence. Pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the fees and services provided as noted in the table below were authorized and approved by the Audit Committee in compliance with the pre-approval policies and procedures described herein.

6.
Based on the review and discussions referred to in paragraphs (1) through (5) above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors of IBM, and the Board has approved, that the audited financial statements be included in IBM’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017,2022, for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

M.L. Eskew

P.R. Voser(chair)
D.N. Farr
M.J. Howard
F.W. McNabb III
682023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   D.N. Farr | J.W. Owens | P.R. Voser

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors


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Audit and Non-Audit Fees

Set forth below are the fees for services provided to IBM by its independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for the fiscal periods indicated.

(Dollars in millions)

 

2017

 

2016

 

Audit Fees

 

$

48.1

 

$

49.9

 

Audit-Related Fees

 

28.5

 

28.2

 

Tax Fees

 

4.2

 

7.8

 

All Other Fees

 

0.5

 

0.5

 

Total

 

$

81.3

 

$

86.4

 

(Dollars in millions)20222021
Audit Fees$48.9$53.7
Audit Related Fees21.348.8
Tax Fees0.81.2
All Other Fees0.60.7
Total$71.6$104.4
Description of Services

Audit Fees:comprise fees for professional services necessary to perform an audit or review in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, including services rendered for the audit of IBM’s annual financial statements (including services incurred with rendering an opinion under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002) and review of quarterly financial statements. Also includes fees for services that are normally incurred in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, such as comfort letters, statutory audits, attest services, consents, and review of documents filed with the SEC.

Audit-Related Fees:comprise fees for services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of IBM’s financial statements, including the support of business acquisition and divestiture activities, independent assessments for service organization control reports, and audit and review of IBM’s retirement and other benefit-related programs. For 2017,2022, these services included approximately $19$16 million for independent assessments for service organization control reports. For 2016,2021, these services included approximately $18$28 million for independent assessments for service organization control reports.

reports and approximately $15 million associated with the spin-off of IBM’s managed infrastructure services business.

Tax Fees:comprise fees for tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. Corporate tax services encompass a variety of permissible services, including technical tax advice related to U.S. international tax matters; assistance with foreign income and withholding tax matters; assistance with sales tax, value-added tax and equivalent tax-related matters in local jurisdictions; preparation of reports to comply with local tax authority transfer pricing documentation requirements; and assistance with tax audits.

All Other Fees:comprise fees primarily in connection with technical accounting and other software licenses, training services, certain benchmarking work, and other permissible advisory services, including general information services.

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2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Audit and Non-Audit Fees69


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2. Ratification of Appointmentof Independent RegisteredPublic Accounting Firm

IBM’s Audit Committee is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation (including advance approval of audit and non-audit fees), retention and oversight of the independent registered public accounting firm that audits IBM’s consolidated financial statements and its internal controls over financial reporting. In accordance with its charter, the Audit Committee has selected the firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), an independent registered public accounting firm, to be IBM’s auditors for the year 2018.2023. With the endorsement of the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee believes that this selection is in the best interests of IBM and its stockholders and, therefore, recommends to stockholders that they ratify that appointment. PwC served in this capacity for the year 2017.

2022.

Independent Auditor Engagement

The Audit Committee annually reviews PwC’s independence and performance in deciding whether to retain PwC or engage a different independent auditor. Prior to the selection of the independent auditor, the Committee considers many factors, including:

·


PwC’s capability and expertise in addressing and advising on the breadth and complexity of IBM’s global operations;

·


PwC’s independence and tenure as IBM’s auditor;

·


PwC’s strong performance on the IBM audit, including the extent and quality of PwC’s communications with the Audit Committee and the results of an internal, worldwide survey of PwC’s service and quality;

·


Analysis of known litigation or regulatory proceedings involving PwC;

·


Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reports;

·reports (PCAOB);


Appropriateness of PwC’s fees for audit and non-audit services; and

·


PwC’s reputation for integrity and competence in the fields of accounting and auditing.

Auditor Independence Controls

The Audit Committee and IBM management have robust policies and procedures in place to monitor and verify PwC’s independence from IBM on a continual basis. These policies and procedures include:

·


Private meetings between the Audit Committee and PwC throughout the year;

·


Annual evaluation by the Audit Committee;

·


Pre-approval by the Audit Committee of non-audit services;

·


Lead engagement partner rotation at least every 5 years; the Audit Committee selects a new lead audit engagement partner after a rigorous process, including candidate interviews;

·


Concurring audit partner rotation at least every 5 years;

·


Auxiliary engagement partner rotation at least every 7 years;

·


Hiring restrictions for PwC employees at IBM; and

·


Internal quality reviews by, or of, PwC, including the performance of procedures to monitor and assess PwC’s independence from its audit clients, as well as the results of peer reviews by other public accounting firms and PCAOB inspections.

Accountability to Stockholders

·


PwC’s representative will be present at the annual meeting and will have an opportunity to make a statement and be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Benefits of Long-Tenured Auditor

PwC has been the independent auditor of IBM since 1958. From 1923 until 1958, the independent auditors of IBM were firms that were ultimately acquired by PwC. The Audit Committee believes that having a long-tenured auditor is in the best interests of IBM and its stockholders in consideration of the following:

·


Institutional knowledge and deep expertise necessary for a large, multinational company with IBM’s breadth of global operations and business;

·


Higher audit quality developed through experience with more than 250 annual statutory audits in almost 100 countries; and

·


No onboarding or educating a new auditor, which would require a significant time commitment and expense, and distract from management’s focus on operational execution, financial reporting and internal controls.

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THE IBM BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE AUDIT COMMITTEE RECOMMEND A VOTE FOR THIS PROPOSAL.

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3. Management Proposal on Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (Say on Pay)

IBM is asking that you APPROVE the compensation of the named executive officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement.

Over the last several years, IBM has prioritized investments in our high growth strategic imperatives, while ensuring we deliver value to our investors. In 2017, 

IBM delivered $60.5 billion in revenue of $79.1B and pre-tax income of $11.4B. IBM returned$10.4 billion cash from operations. Revenue growth at constant currency(1) accelerated, growing at 11.6% year-to-year, including approximately 4 points from incremental sales to revenue growth in the 4th quarter of 2017, with revenue fromKyndryl. The Company’s portfolio mix reinforces our strategic imperatives reaching a critical mass at 46% of overall IBM revenue, or $36.5B. IBM is now established as the leading enterprise provider of cloud platforms and cognitive solutions, with security at the core. We achieved this performance while continuing to return cash to shareholders — in 2017, we raised our dividend for the 22nd consecutive year, and nearly 75% of free cash flow has been returned to shareholders over the past three years. Our compensation strategy supports IBM’s high value business model.

As discussed in the Compensation Discussionmodel, with 73% of revenue coming from our higher growth businesses of Software and Analysis, IBM’s executive compensation programs are designed to:

·        Ensure that the interestsConsulting. Overall, about 50% of IBM’s leaders are closely alignedrevenue is recurring, with those65% of our investors by varying compensation based on both long-termthat recurring revenue coming from Software. The Company also returned $5.9 billion to stockholders through dividends, and annual businessended the year with $8.8 billion in cash and marketable securities (up over $1 billion year-to-year).

These results and delivering a large portion ofreflect the total pay opportunity insignificant actions we have taken to strategically position IBM stock;

·        Balance rewards for both short-term results and the long-term strategic decisions needed to ensure sustained business performance over time;

·        Attract and retain the highly qualified senior leaders needed to drive a global enterprise to succeed in today’s highly competitive marketplace;

·        Motivate our leaders to deliver a high degree of business performance without encouraging excessive risk taking; and

·        Differentiate rewards to reflect individual and team performance.

high-value, sustainable growth.

In addition to the Company’s normal, extensive outreach to Stockholders, IBM enhanced its engagement practices in 2017. We2022, we once again engaged in a robust program to gather feedback from investors following the 2017 annual advisory vote on executive compensation (Say on Pay). IBM directors, including itsinvestor feedback. IBM’s CEO and Chairman, and independent PresidingLead Director, and the Chair of the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee, participated in this engagement along with members of IBM’s senior management in a significant portion of this engagement.management. The Company metoffered to engage with investors representing more than 55%57% of the shares that voted on Say on Pay at the 20172022 Annual Meeting.

Overall, Through our stockholders continue to be supportive ofdiscussions with investors and our formal Say on Pay vote results, investors reaffirmed their support for the Company’s compensation programpolicies and practices,programs, which focus on long-term financial performance that drives stockholder value. Therefore,

In the Company has continued its standard compensation program and structures. Nonetheless, the Committee and the Board reviewed and considered allcontext of investor feedback, and made the following key updates designed to further strengthen IBM’s pay for performance design and enhance our transparency:

·        Increased transparency into the rigor of our goal setting process by disclosing performance attainment relative to goals, for both the Annual Incentive Program and Performance Share Unit Program

·        Beginning in 2018, added a relative metric as a modifier to the Performance Share Unit payout formula, in the form of Relative Return on Invested Capital vs. IT peers and the broader S&P 500

·        Reduced the maximum incentive payment opportunity for the Chairman and CEO to two times target (from three times target) to align more closely with common market practice

·        Added clarity around stock ownership requirements by describing them as a multiple of base salary, which does not reduce the shares requireddecisions continued to be held, and remains at the high end of our peer group

IBM’s named executive officers are identified in the 2017 Summary Compensation Table, and pages 27–67 describe the compensation of these officers. 69% of target pay for the Chairman and CEO, and 63% of target pay for the other Named Executive Officers, is at risk and subject to rigorous performance targets. The rigor of these targets is evident in the payouts. For 2017, Mrs. Rometty earned 81% of her total target compensation. Over the longer term, the past 3 years, Mrs. Rometty has earned an average of 63% of her total target compensation.

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CEO TOTAL ACTUAL VS. TARGET COMPENSATION

Values in Millions ($)

Pay decisions were made in the context ofbased on our financial performance relative to our goals, while taking into consideration the transformationsignificant reshaping of IBM’s portfolio as a hybrid cloud and AI Company.

The Company’s performance metrics that were revamped in 2021 to reinforce the strategic focus on sustainable revenue growth and strong cash generation were maintained for the 2022 Annual Incentive Program and the 2022-2024
Performance Share Unit program. In addition, beginning in 2022, stock options were introduced as part of the overall equity pay mix for IBM executives, to ensure a portion of their equity does not generate value unless IBM’s stock price increases.
IBM’s named executive officers are identified in the 2022 Summary Compensation Table, and pages 31-67 describe the compensation of these officers. In 2023, approximately 77% of target pay for the Chairman and CEO, and 73% of target pay for the other named executive officers, is at risk and subject to rigorous performance targets and stock price growth. The rigor of these targets is evident in the payouts.
For 2022 performance, the Board approved an annual incentive payment of $3.48 million for Mr. Krishna, which was 116% of target and in line with the Company annual incentive score. This award is based on Mr. Krishna’s personal leadership in optimizing the Company’s portfolio, accelerating IBM’s revenue growth; driving the ongoing improvement in IBM’s diverse leadership representation; industry-leading innovation and the steps taken to strengthen IBM’s position for the future.

research in quantum computing and AI; and continued best in class employee engagement.

For the reasons expressed above and discussed in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee and the IBM Board of Directors believe that theseour compensation policies and practicesprograms are aligned with the interests of our stockholders and designed to reward for performance.

We are therefore requesting your nonbinding vote on the following resolution:

“Resolved, that the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the executive compensation tables and the narrative discussion, is approved.”

(1)
Non-GAAP financial metric. See Appendix A for information on how we calculate this performance metric.

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THE IBM BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS
A VOTE
FOR THIS PROPOSAL.

Note:The Company is providing this advisory vote as required pursuant to Section 14A of the Securities Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78n-1). The stockholder vote will not be binding on the Company or the Board, and it will not be construed as overruling any decision by the Company or the Board or creating or implying any change to, or additional, fiduciary duties for the Company or the Board.

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4. Advisory Vote Regarding the Frequency of the Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
IBM is requesting your nonbinding vote on whether an advisory vote to approve the compensation of its named executive officers as disclosed in the Proxy Statement (Say on Pay) should take place every three years, every two years or every year.
Currently, a Say on Pay proposal is provided to IBM stockholders every year. Recognizing stockholder expectations and market practice, the Board believes that holding a Say on Pay vote every year is appropriate.
VOTING RECOMMENDATION
The IBM Board of Directors recommends that an advisory vote on Say on Pay be held every year.
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THE IBM BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT AN ADVISORY VOTE ON SAY ON PAY BE HELD EVERY YEAR.
Note: IBM is providing this advisory vote as required pursuant to Section 14A of the Securities Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78n-1). The stockholder vote will not be binding on IBM or the Board, and it will not be construed as overruling any decision by IBM or the Board or creating or implying any change to, or additional, fiduciary duties for IBM or the Board.
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Stockholder Proposals

Some of the following stockholder proposals contain assertions about IBM that we believe are incorrect. We have not attempted to refute all of these inaccuracies.

Your Board of Directors opposes the following four proposals for the reasons stated after each proposal.

4.

5. Stockholder Proposal on Lobbying Disclosure

to Have an Independent Board Chairman

Management has been advised that Walden Asset Management, One Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108,Kenneth Steiner, 14 Stoner Ave., Great Neck, NY 11021, the beneficial owner of over $2,000 in market valueat least 100 shares of IBM shares, together with multiple co-filers, whose names, addresses and beneficial holdings are available on request,stock, intends to submit the following proposal at the meeting:

Proposal 5 — Independent Board Chairman
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Shareholders request that the Board of Directors adopt an enduring policy, and amend the governing documents as necessary in order that 2 separate people hold the office of the Chairman and the office of the CEO as follows:
Whenever possible, the Chairman of the Board shall be an Independent Director.
The Board has the discretion to select a Temporary Chairman of the Board who is not an Independent Director to serve while the Board is seeking an Independent Chairman of the Board.
Although it is a best practice to adopt this policy soon this policy could be phased in when there is a contract renewal for our current CEO or for the next CEO transition.
This proposal topic won 52% support at Boeing and 54% support at Baxter International. Boeing then adopted this proposal topic in June 2020. The roles of Chairman and CEO are fundamentally different and should be held by 2 directors, a CEO and a Chairman who is completely independent of the CEO and our company.
A lead director is thus no substitute for an independent board chairman. With the current CEO serving as Chair this means giving up a substantial check and balance safeguard that can only occur with an independent Board Chairman. A lead director cannot call a special shareholder meeting. A CEO/Chairman can overrule a lead director’s input.
A lead director can delegate many details of his lead director duties to management and then simply rubber-stamp it. Management has not explained how shareholders can be sure of what goes on in regard to lead director delegation.
Perhaps there should be a rule against a person who has been a CEO and a Chairman being named as Lead Director. Mr. Alex Gorsky, IBM Lead Director has years in the simultaneous positions of being a CEO and Chairman. Past and present holders of both roles would seem to have a special bond which is inconsistent with the oversight role of a Lead Director. There is clearly a need for a change because the IBM stock price was at $156 five years ago.
This proposal topic won 41% shareholder support at the 2021 IBM annual meeting. This 41% support could represent more than 51% support from the shares that have access to unbiased proxy voting advice. IBM management resistance to this proposal topic may be getting a free ride on the backs of small shareholders who do not have access to unbiased proxy voting advice. For a large company IBM seems to have a greater than usual percentage of small shareholders who do not have access to unbiased proxy voting advice.
The increased complexities of companies of more than $100 Billion in market capitalization, like IBM, demand that 2 persons fill the 2 most important jobs in the company — CEO and Chairman.
Please vote yes:
Independent Board Chairman — Proposal 5
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YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
The Board’s flexibility to determine the appropriate Board leadership structure is essential.
One of the most important tasks undertaken by a board is to select the leadership of the board and the company. In order to execute this critical function most effectively and in the best interests of the stockholders, a board must maintain the flexibility to determine the appropriate leadership in light of the circumstances at a given time. Because one size does not fit all situations, your Board has altered its structure at various times in response to the particular circumstances at that time. For example, your Board split the Chairman and CEO roles during the last two CEO transitions to ensure a seamless and successful leadership transition. The transitions have served as a model for public company succession planning. Limiting the candidate pool as suggested by the proponent will inhibit the ability of the Board to exercise its fiduciary obligation to identify the best leadership for IBM.
The Company’s Lead Director role is robust and ensures effective independent oversight at all times.
An essential part of our current leadership structure is the independent Lead Director position. The Company’s Lead Director role is robust and ensures effective independent oversight at all times. After a rigorous review by the Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board, the Lead Director is elected by the independent members of the Board on an annual basis. The Lead Director has the following robust and meaningful responsibilities serving to ensure a strong, independent, and active Board by enhancing the contributions of IBM’s independent directors. In particular, the Lead Director:

presides at all meetings of the Board at which the Chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors, which are held at every meeting of the Board;

serves as liaison between the Chairman and the independent directors;

approves information sent to the Board;

in collaboration with the Chairman, creates and approves meeting agendas for the Board;

approves meeting schedules to assure that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items;

has authority to call meetings of the independent directors; and

if requested by major stockholders, ensures that he or she is available, as necessary after discussions with the Chairman, for consultation and direct communication.
In addition to these core responsibilities, the Lead Director engages in other regular activities including:

one-on-one debriefs with the Chairman after each meeting;

spending time with senior management outside of Board meetings to ensure a deep understanding of the business and strategy of the Company;

occasionally attending meetings of each of the Board’s committees; and

overseeing the Board’s annual evaluation process, including conducting individual interviews with each IBM director and the Chairman.
IBM’s current leadership structure is optimal for the Company at this time.
The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board continuously evaluate the appropriate leadership structure for IBM. After its most recent review, in consideration of the strength of its independent Board and corporate governance practices, the full Board has determined that the existing board leadership structure of having a management director serve as Chairman, alongside a robust and independent Lead Director, best serves the needs of the Company and the stockholders at this time. Among other factors, the Board considered and evaluated:

the importance of consistent, unified leadership to execute and oversee the Company’s strategy;

the strength of Mr. Krishna’s vision for the Company and the quality of his leadership;

the strong and highly independent composition of the Board;

the views and feedback heard from our investors through our ongoing engagement program throughout the years expressing support for IBM’s leadership structure; and

the meaningful and robust responsibilities of the independent Lead Director, as discussed above.
The Board strongly believes that this current structure strikes the right balance of allowing our Chairman to promote a clear, unified vision for the Company’s strategy and to provide the leadership critical for effectively and efficiently implementing the actions needed to ensure strong performance over the long term, while ensuring robust, independent oversight by the Board and Lead Director.
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IBM’s strong, independent Board and commitment to good corporate governance adds further support to the Board leadership structure.
Continued enhancement of the Lead Director position is just one example of IBM’s ongoing commitment to strong corporate governance. Independent directors comprise over 90% of the Board and 100% of the Audit, Directors and Corporate Governance, and Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committees. After each regularly scheduled Board meeting, both the full Board and the independent directors of the Board meet in executive session, with the independent directors’ session chaired by the Lead Director.
In contrast to the exemplary performance and quality of the IBM Board over the years, the proponent provides no evidence demonstrating that the proposal would result in enhanced oversight, let alone increased value for IBM stockholders. Additionally, this proposal has been rejected by a majority of stockholder votes each time it has been voted on by IBM stockholders, most recently last year. In light of this lack of empirical support, IBM’s strong and independent Board, the Lead Director’s robust responsibilities and, most importantly, the support of our structure by our stockholders, this stockholder proposal is both inappropriate and unnecessary.
We believe that stockholders benefit when the Board can select the best candidates to run IBM at a given time.
THEREFORE, THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
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6. Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Lobbying Activities
Management has been advised that John Chevedden, 2215 Nelson Ave., No. 205, Redondo Beach, CA 90278, the owner of at least 25 shares of IBM stock, intends to submit the following proposal at the meeting:
Proposal 6 — Transparency in Lobbying
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Whereas,we believe in full disclosure of our company’s direct and indirectIBM’s lobbying activities and expenditures to assess whether ourIBM’s lobbying is consistent with IBM’s expressed goals and instockholder interests.
Resolved, the best interests of shareholders.

IBM spent approximately $24.4 million from 2012–2016 on federal lobbying (Senate reports). This total does not include expenditures to influence legislation in states and provides limited information regarding lobbying conducted by third parties.

Resolved, the shareholdersstockholders of IBM request the preparation of a report, updated annually, and disclosing:

1.
Company policy and procedures governing lobbying, both direct and indirect, and grassroots lobbying communications.

2.
Payments by IBM used for (a) direct or indirect lobbying or (b) grassroots lobbying communications, in each case including the amount of the payment and the recipient.

3.
Description of the decision makingmanagement’s decision-making process and the Board’s oversight by management and Board for lobbying expenditures.

making payments described above.

For purposes of this proposal, a “grassroots lobbying communication” is a communication directed to the general public that (a) refers to specific legislation or regulation, (b) reflects a view on the legislation or regulation and (c) encourages the recipient of the communication to take action with respect to the legislation or regulation. “Indirect lobbying” is lobbying engaged in by anya trade association or other organization of which IBM is a member.

Both “direct and indirect lobbying” and “grassroots lobbying communications” include efforts at the local, state and federal levels.

The report shall be presented to the Audit Committee or other relevant oversight committees and posted on IBM’s website.

Supporting Statement

We commend

IBM for its thoughtful policy regarding political spending and the electoral process prohibiting political contributions with company funds. We believe IBM should also establish high standards for evaluating and disclosing company participation and spending in the legislative process through lobbying as well.

IBMspent $61 million from 2010-2021 on federal lobbying. This does not include state lobbying expenditures, where IBM lobbied in at least 20 states in 2021 and spent over $810,000 on lobbying in California from 2010-2021. IBM also lobbies abroad, spending between €1,750,000 — 1,999,999 on lobbying in Europe for 2021.

Companies can give unlimited amounts to third party groups that spend millions on lobbying and often undisclosed grassroots activity, and these groups may be spending “at least double what’s publicly reported.”1 IBM fails to disclose its memberships in, orthird-party payments to trade associations and social welfare organizations, or the portions of these paymentsamounts used for lobbying. In contrast, competitors Microsoft, Xeroxlobbying to stockholders.
IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable, and Intel publicly disclose their indirect lobbying expenditures through their trade associations.

IBM sits on the board of the US Chamber of Commerce, which together have spent over $2.1 billion on federal lobbying since 1998 spent approximately $1.4 billion dollars on lobbying.1998. And while IBM does not disclosebelong to the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council, which is attacking “woke capitalism,”2 it is represented by its trade association, with the Chamber payments nor the portion used for lobbying.

sitting on its Private Enterprise Advisory Council.

IBM’s statement onlack of disclosure presents reputational risk when its lobbying contradicts company public positions. IBM believes in addressing climate change, policy states that “IBM recognizes climate change is a serious concern that warrants meaningful action on a global basis to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs).” In contrast, the Chamber has publicly attacked the EPA and sued to stop climate change solutions.

IBM is also a member ofyet the Business Roundtable an organization with approximately 200 CEOs as members. The BRT is leading an attacklobbied against shareholder rights to file resolutions. Yetthe Inflation Reduction Act3 and the Chamber opposed the Paris climate accord. IBM is justifiably proud of its record of engaging shareholders in constructive conversation.

IBM’s paymentscommitted to diversity and inclusion, yet the BRT & Chamber helplobbied against protecting voting rights.4

And while IBM has attracted scrutiny for avoiding federal income taxes,5 the Business Roundtable has lobbied against raising coproate taxes to fund such attacks.

This resolution received 26.54% vote in 2017. Wehealth care, education and safety net programs.6 Reputational damage stemming from these misalignments could harm stockholder value. Thus, I urge IBM to expand its public disclosurelobbying disclosure.

1
https://theintercept.com/2019/08/06/business-group-spending-on-lobbying-in-washington-is-at-least-double-whats-publicly-reported/.
2
https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/27/abandoning-free-market-and-libertv-principles-alec-takes-on-woke-capitalism-bodily-autonomy-and-more-
at-its-annual-meeting/.
3
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/19/top-us-business-lobby-group-climate-action-business-roundtable.
4
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/business/voting-rights-chamber-of-commerce/index.html.
5
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/30/what-to-make-of-the-historic-g7-tax-deal; https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-in-the-first-year-of-the-trump-tax-law/.
6
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/08/31/business-lobbying-democrats-reconciliation/.
762023 Notice of lobbying.

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  YOUR BOARD

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YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
This proposal does not properly consider IBM’s well-known disclosures, policies and practices in this area, or the consistent independent third-party recognition of IBM as a leader in lobbying and political spending disclosure. Accordingly, the Board recommends against this Proposal since it is unnecessary and therefore not in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
Independent Third Parties Consistently Recognize IBM as a Leader in Lobbying and Political Spending Disclosure
IBM consistently receives high ratings from independent analysts of corporate practices on lobbying and political spending, including the Center for Political Accountability and Transparency International UK. In fact, the Center for Political Accountability’s 2022 Report on Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability gave IBM a score of 98.6 out of 100, naming IBM as one of only 20 companies that fully prohibit the use of corporate assets to influence elections and as one of only 39 companies that prohibit both trade associations and non-profits from using Company contributions for election-related purposes.
IBM Already Provides the Disclosure Requested by This Proposal
This proposal requests additional disclosure of IBM’s policy and procedures governing lobbying, both direct and indirect, and grassroots lobbying communications. It also requests disclosure of IBM’s lobbying activities and expenditures, including payments made by IBM for lobbying activities. IBM already provides the disclosure requested on the Company’s public policy website (https://admin.blogs.pre.ibm.event.ibm.com/policy/philosophy-governance/). Further, on IBM’s public policy website the Company provides direct links to where it regularly files periodic reports with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate and the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives detailing its U.S. federal lobbying activities and expenditures (including expenditures for “indirect lobbying” via trade associations, as required by law), as well as with the European Union Transparency Register detailing its lobbying activities and expenditures with European Union institutions. Further, IBM files reports with state and municipal governments, where required.
Finally, this proposal requests a description of management’s decision-making process and the Board’s oversight of lobbying activities and expenditures. The Company provides this information on IBM’s public policy website. IBM has established clear oversight over such activities and expenditures through numerous written corporate policies, instructions, and guidelines, all of which are available on IBM’s public policy website.
To be clear, IBM’s public policy advocacy spans a range of issues relevant to our business, clients, stockholders, employees, communities and other stakeholders. We engage leaders worldwide to promote ideas that can help spur growth and innovation with new technologies, or address societal changes, such as building a skilled and diverse workforce. IBM has always been committed to meaningful management, oversight, and accurate reporting with respect to our public policy engagement, including with respect to trade associations, and we consistently seek to provide our stockholders with relevant data regarding our public policy engagement.
IBM Does Not Make Political Contributions of Any Kind
We have a long-standing policy not to make contributions of any kind (money, employee time, goods or services), directly or indirectly, to political parties or candidates, including through intermediary organizations, such as political action committees, campaign funds, or trade or industry associations.
IBM’s Lobbying Activities Support Growth and Innovation in the Digital Economy and Comply with All Applicable Laws
All IBM lobbying activities, including by third parties on behalf of IBM, require the prior approval of the IBM Office of Government and Regulatory Affairs — a globally integrated function providing public policy and government relations expertise in support of IBM’s business operations worldwide — and must comply with applicable law and IBM’s Business Conduct Guidelines. IBM also complies fully with U.S. state and local lobbying disclosure laws, which vary by jurisdiction, but which do, in most cases, require lobbyists to register and disclose their lobbying activities.
IBM Prohibits Trade Associations from Using IBM Funds to Engage in Political Expenditures
IBM joins trade and industry associations that add value to IBM, its stockholders and employees. Although IBM works to make our voice heard, there may be occasions where our views on an issue differ from those of a particular association. On these occasions, IBM regularly shares its dissenting views within its trade associations and, when helpful to the policy debate, in public fora. We perform comprehensive due diligence on all of our trade associations to confirm they are reputable and have no history of malfeasance. Company policy prohibits them from using any IBM funds to engage in political expenditures, and we implement robust procedures to ensure they comply.
2023 Notice of lobbying activities and expenditures. IBM already discloses lobbying activities and expenditures, including expenditures made through trade associations, as required by law. Furthermore, IBM has established clear oversight over such activities and expenditures through numerous written corporate policies, instructions and guidelines. This proposal does not appear to properly consider IBM’s well-known policies and practices in this area, and the Board recommends against this proposal.

IBM’s policy on Lobbying is set forth in the IBM Business Conduct Guidelines under the section entitled “Lobbying,” and is published by the Company on its website at:https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/BCG_English_Accessible_2018.pdf

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The Board and Management Exercise Strong Oversight of Public Policy Efforts
As part of the Board’s oversight function, the Company’s management periodically reports to its Board about IBM’s policies and practices in connection with governmental relations, public policy and related expenditures. IBM’s senior management, under the leadership of IBM Government and Regulatory Affairs, closely monitors and coordinates all public policy advocacy efforts, as well as lobbying activities.
Conclusion
For the reasons described above, the Board believes the adoption of this proposal is unnecessary and therefore not in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
THEREFORE, THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
782023 Notice of IBM and grassroots lobbying, require the prior approval of IBM’s Government and Regulatory Affairs office — a globally integrated function providing public policy and government relations expertise in support of IBM’s business operations worldwide. All IBM employees are required to comply with these guidelines. The IBM Government and Regulatory Affairs office works to advocate the public policy interests of IBM and its stockholders and employees with governments around the world.

The Company provides disclosure on its website about its key public policy positions as well as its policies and practices with regard to public policy matters, including trade and industry associations and lobbying activities and expenditures. Seehttp://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/public-policy-matters.html and https://www.ibm.com/blogs/policy

Further, IBM’s U.S. federal lobbying reports disclose in extensive detail all issues lobbied and total U.S. federal lobbying expenditures made by IBM. Contrary to the proposal’s supporting statement, IBM’s total reported U.S. federal lobbying expenditures do, in fact, include expenditures for “indirect lobbying” via trade associations, as required by law. These reports are available for public review athttp://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldsearch.aspx

IBM also complies fully with U.S. state and local lobbying disclosure laws, which vary by jurisdiction, but which do, in most cases, require lobbyists to register and disclose their lobbying activities. Finally, IBM periodically reports to its Board of Directors about IBM’s policies and practices in connection with governmental relations, public policy and related expenditures.

Given all of the foregoing, the Board views the proposal as unnecessary. THEREFORE, THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.

5.Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Stockholder Proposals


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7. Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report on Shareholder Ability to Call a Special Shareholder Meeting

Congruency in China Business Operations and ESG Activities

Management has been advised that John Chevedden, 2215 NelsonNational Center for Public Policy Research, 2005 Massachusetts Ave., No. 205, Redondo Beach, CA 90278, NW, Washington, DC 20036, the owner of at least 2535 shares of IBM stock, intends to submit the following proposal at the meeting:

Resolved, Shareowners ask our board

Congruency Proposal
Resolved: Shareholders request that the Board of Directors commission and publish a third-party review within the next year (at reasonable cost, omitting proprietary information) of whether the Company’s activities and expenditures related to takedoing business in China align with its ESG commitments, including its Human Rights Statement of Principles. The Board of Directors should report on how it addresses the steps necessary (unilaterallyrisks presented by any misaligned activities and expenditures and the Company’s plans, if possible)any, to amend our bylaws and each appropriate governing document to give holders in the aggregate of 10% of our outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareowner meeting. In other words this proposal asks for adoption of the most shareholder-friendly version of the shareholder right to call a special meeting as permitted by Delaware law. This proposal does not impact our board’s current power to call a special meeting.

This proposal topic won more than 70%-support at Edwards Lifesciences and SunEdison in 2013. A shareholder right to call a special meeting and to act by written consent and are 2 complimentary ways (written consent completely lacking at IBM) to bring an important matter to the attention of both management and shareholders outside the annual meeting cyclemitigate these risks, such as detailing its plans to shift these activities and expenditures to less repressive and hostile regimes.

Supporting Statement: IBM’s 2021 ESG report touts its alleged environmental and ethical impacts.1 It advertises the electioncompany’s goals of directors. More than 100 Fortune 500 companies provide for shareholders to call special meetingsreducing pollution and to actreaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by written consent.

This proposal is of particular importance to IBM shareholders because IBM shareholders completely lack the ability to act by written consent and do not have the full right to call a special meeting that is available under Delaware law. And this is at a time when IBM stock is slumping.

If shareholders had a more complete right to call a special meeting2030, as called for in this proposal shareholders would have a greater ability to engage our Board to improve the qualifications of our directors since a special meeting can be called in regard to the election of directors.

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Sadly IBM had a rooster of directors with no skin in the game. In 2017 it was reported that 8 of 13 IBM directors owned no IBM stock: Alex Gorsky, Andrew Liveris, Hutham Olayan, Joan Spero, Michael Eskew, Peter Voser, Shirley Jackson and Walter McNerney. If our stock slumps further these 8 directors can just smile and collect their $400,000 for perhaps 400 hours of work.

Kenneth Chenault and Sidney Taurel had 19 or 16 years long-tenure. Long-tenure can impair the independence of a director no matter how well qualified. Michael Eskew and Shirley Jackson were potentially distracted directors with work on 4 boards. And then Michael Eskew was given Lead Director duties. The 4 directors in this paragraph received our highest negative votes in 2017.

Any claim that a shareholder right to call a special meeting can be costly – may be largely moot. When shareholders have a good reason to call a special meeting – our board should be able to take positive responding action to make a special meeting unnecessary.

Please vote to improve shareholder oversight of our company:

Shareholder Ability to Call a Special Shareholder Meeting – Proposal 5

 YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.

The Board believes that the adoption of this proposal is unnecessary because of its existing special meeting by-law provision. The current provision, which allows stockholders owning at least 25% of IBM’s shares to call a special meeting, can be found in Article II, Section 3 of IBM’s by-laws athttps://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/by-laws.html.

The current 25% threshold is consistent with market practice and already accurately reflects the preference of IBM’s stockholders. At IBM’s 2010 and 2017 Annual Meetings, the same proponent presented this same proposal seeking to lower the 25% threshold to 10%. On both occasions, a majority of the votes cast voted against lowering the threshold, clearly demonstrating the stockholders’ support for the 25% threshold.

Lowering the threshold to 10% would allow special interest groups with small minority ownership interests to potentially cause disruption and substantial costs to be incurred by the other 90% of stockholders. Further, a lower threshold is not necessary in light of IBM’s history of strong governanceas policies and practices that it says prioritize qualities such as ethics and accountability.2 The ESG report also highlights the company’s commitment to human rights and its Human Rights Statement of Principles.3

But nothing about doing business in China, which is controlled by the dictatorial and inhumane Chinese Communist Party (CCP), does anything to further these ideals.
For starters, China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, emitting more greenhouse gases than the entire U.S. and the developed world combined.4 Exceeding more than 27 percent of the world’s total global emissions, China’s emissions have more than tripled over the last three decades.5
Furthermore, the Chinese government has an abhorrent human rights record. Its abuses against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang has sparked outrage, as evidence of forced labor programs, forced sterilizations, and torture at the hands of the CCP are undeniable.6 Chinese authorities also amplify the magnitude of trafficking crimes in the country by perpetrating genocide and using emerging technologies to carry out discriminatory surveillance and ethno-racial profiling measures designed to subjugate and exploit minority populations.7
This poor human rights record makes China’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan even more alaiming, as it makes claims of sovereignty over the island. It has recently sent warplanes towards the territory’s air defense zone, and has called for Taiwan’s “reunification” with China, stoking fears and geopolitical instability.8
IBM nonetheless conducts a significant amount of business in China. In fact, according to reports, IBM facilitates the Chinese regime’s mass surveillance against its own citizens.9 Indeed, IBM conducts business in China despite it leading the world in greenhouse gas emissions and committing genocide against ethnic minorities — actions that run directly counter to everything that IBM’s ESG report says the company stands for. As such, it is critical that the Board commission and publish a third-party review that includes experts who are fully aware of the dangers that China poses to the U.S. and its allies around the world, including its lead independent Presiding Directormilitary-civil fusion strategy10 and existing procedures giving stockholders the abilityenvironmental and human rights abuses, to communicate with the Board.

Therefore, the Board believesensure that the proponent’s proposal is counterproductiveIBM’s actions as a company live up to IBM’s already well-respected corporate governance practices. Additionally, this same proposal has already been reviewed and rejected by a majorityits words.

1
https://www.ibm.com/impact/files/reports-policies/2021/IBM_2021_ESG_Report.pdf
2
Id.
3
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/ibm_humanrightsprinciples.html
4
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/01/india-targets-2070-for-net-zero-emissions-china-makes-no-new commitments.html; https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/06/chinas-greenhouse-gas-emissions-exceed-us-developed-world-report.html; https://rhg.com/research/chinas-emissions-surpass-developed-countries/
5
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/06/chinas-greenhouse-gas-emissions-exceed-us-developed-world-report.html; https://rhg.com/research/chinas-emissions-surpass-developed-countries/
6
https://www.state.gov/forced-labor-in-chinas-xinjiang-region/; https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-59595952; https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Forced-Labor-The-Hidden-Cost-of-Chinas-Belt-and-Road-Initiative.pdf
7
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/22-00757-TIP-REPORT_072822-inaccessible.pdf
8
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chinese-aggression-taiwan-testing-us-resolve-afghanistan-withdrawal-experts; https://www.npr.org/2021/10/09/1044714406/xi-jinping-china-taiwan-peaceful-reunification; https://abcnews.go.com/lnternational/wireStory/taiwans-tsai-backing-chinese-aggression-92041196
9
https://www.top1Ovpn.com/research/huawei-china-surveillance-state/; https://theintercept.com/2019/07/11/china-surveillance-google-ibm-semptian/
10
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/What-is-MCF-One-Pager.pdf
2023 Notice of the votes cast at two prior annual meetings. As IBM has an existing by-law permitting stockholders to call special meetings, and this same proposal to lower the threshold failed to receive majority support each time it has been presented, the Board believes that this proposal is unnecessary. THEREFORE, THE IBM BOARDAnnual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Stockholder Proposals 79


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YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
The Board believes adoption of this proposal is unnecessary and would not provide additional useful information to the Company’s stockholders.
IBM adheres to the law across all of the countries where we do business, including government controls on the export and use of certain technologies. Further, IBM complies with all laws related to human rights and forced labor, including the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and similar rules proposed by the European Commission.
Globally, IBM practices the highest level of social, environmental and ethical responsibility in our global supply chains and we expect the same level of due diligence from our suppliers. The company was a founding member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), a nonprofit industry group that helps its members continuously develop and executive the highest level of ethical standards in global supply chains.
IBM requires our first-tier suppliers of hardware, software, and services to adhere to the RBA Code of Conduct, which contains provisions on labor, health and safety, environmental requirements, ethics, and management systems. We apply the same requirement across IBM’s own operations. And our suppliers must establish goals, disclose results, cascade IBM’s requirements to their next-tier suppliers, and more.
In addition to the above, IBM has robust processes in place to ensure that our technology is not used in ways that would conflict with our values, our commitment to uphold basic human rights and freedoms, and our long-standing focus on responsible stewardship of powerful innovations. These robust processes are underpinned by our longstanding values relating to ethics and responsible business practices as well as our Principles for Trust and Transparency and include:

Annual employee certification to the IBM Business Conduct Guidelines;

IBM’s AI Ethics Board, which supports a centralized governance, review, and decision-making process for IBM ethics policies, practices, communications, research, products and services; and

Technology ethics training programs provided to IBM business partners.
In conclusion, we see no conflict between IBM’s business activities in China, which accounts for only a small fraction of IBM’s total global revenue, and our commitments to corporate responsibility.
Conclusion
For the reasons described above, the Board believes the adoption of this proposal is unnecessary and not in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
THEREFORE, THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
802023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Stockholder Proposals


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8. Stockholder Proposal to Have an Independent Board Chairman

Requesting a Public Report on Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Efforts

Management has been advised that Kenneth Steiner, 14 Stoner Avenue, 2M, Great Neck, NY 11021,Jay Stanley Weisfeld Trust, P.O. Box 158, Rochester, VT 05767, the owner of at least 500150 shares of IBM stock, intends to submit the following proposal at the meeting:

Shareholders request our

Independent review of effectiveness of company efforts
to prevent harassment and discrimination
Whereas:
Concerns have been raised about International Business Machines’ (“IBM”) workplace practices. These have included gender, race and age discrimination allegations.
Given the severity of the allegations, investors and other stakeholders may have reduced confidence in the Company’s statements that “IBM has been a leader in corporate diversity and inclusion for decades and is deeply committed to fostering a healthy, safe, and productive work environment for all lBMers.”1
Indicating a possible discomfort with the Company’s use of concealment clauses, 64.7 percent of IBM’s investors supported a 2022 shareholder resolution which requested that IBM’s Board of Directors release a public report assessing the potential risks to adoptthe Company associated with its use of concealment clauses in the context of harassment, discrimination and other unlawful acts”.2 Concealment clauses are defined as policy,employment or post-employment agreements, such as arbitration or non-disclosure agreements, that IBM asks employees or contractors to sign which would limit their ability to discuss unlawful acts in the workplace, including harassment and amend our governing documentsdiscrimination.
IBM utilizes concealment clauses within a patchwork of state and federal laws. In September 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed “The Speak Out Act” which would limit non-disclosure agreements when sexual harassment is claimed.3 California and Washington already prohibit agreements that prevent employees from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as necessary,harassment or discrimination.
Given that IBM continues to require henceforth thatuse concealment clauses “in settlements of lawsuits, or as part of voluntarily agreed exit agreements,”4 shareholders are unable to assess the Chairbreadth of discrimination and related risks within the Company. This practice is not used by Alphabet5, Apple6, Microsoft7, or Salesforce8, among others.
Resolved:
Shareholders request the Board of Directors whenever possible, to becommission an independent memberreview of the Board. The Board would haveeffectiveness and outcomes of the discretionCompany’s efforts to phase in this policy forprevent harassment and discrimination against its protected classes of employees, and issue a public report summarizing the next CEO transition, implemented so it does not violate any existing agreement.

Iffindings.

Supporting Statement:
In its discretion, the Board determinesmay wish to consider including in the report disclosures such as:

the total number and aggregate costs associated with disputes settled by the Company related to harassment or discrimination in the previous three years;

the total number of pending harassment or discrimination complaints the Company is seeking to resolve through internal processes, arbitration or litigation;

the total number and aggregate costs associated with contracts that a Chairman who was independent when selected is no longer independent, the Board shall select a new Chairman who satisfies the requirementsinclude exit or other agreements where concealment clauses that restrict discussions of harassment or discrimination are present,

an estimate of the policy withinnumber of claims which may be made public, should existing non-disclosure or arbitration agreements be made null by changing legislation.
The report should not include the names or details of settlements without consent and should be prepared at a reasonable amountcost and omit any information that is proprietary, privileged, or violative of time. Compliance with this policy is waived if no independent director is available and willing to serve as Chairman. This proposal requests that all the necessary steps be taken to accomplish the above.

Caterpillar is an examplecontractual obligations.

1
https://sec.report/Document/0001104659-22-031075/
2
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000051143/000110465922053570/tm2213945d1_8k.htm
3
https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/cincinnati/news/2022/10/03/u-s--senate-passes-bill-limiting-ndas
4
https://sec.report/Document/0001104659-22-031075/
5
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000130817922000262/lgoog2022_def14a.htm
6
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312522003583/d222670ddef14a.htm
7
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/06/08/microsoft-announces-four-new-employee-workforce-initiatives/
8
https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-extends-workplace-protections-in-ca-sb331-bill-to-all-u-s-employees/
2023 Notice of a company recently changing course and naming an independent board chairman. Caterpillar had strongly opposed a shareholder proposal for an independent board chairman as recently as its June 2016 annual meeting. Wells Fargo also changed course and named an independent board chairman in October 2016.

It was reported that 53% of the StandardAnnual Meeting & Poors 1,500 firms separate these 2 positions (2015 report). This proposal topic won 50%-plus support at 5 major U.S. companies in 2013 including 73%-support at Netflix

An independent board chairman would have more time to cure weaknesses in our board members after 2018. David Farr and Joan Spero were tainted by a bankruptcy at another company where they served. Kenneth Chenault had 19-years long tenure and received our highest negative votes – as much as 5-times as many negative votes as other IBM directors. Sidney Taurel had 16-years tenure. Long-tenure can impair the independence of a director no mater how qualified. Independence is all-important for a director.

In response to this proposal top management could name one step it took to advance shareholder oversight of our company in 2017.

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Proxy Statement   |   Stockholder Proposals 81



The fact that our Lead Director cannot call a special shareholder meeting may be a red flag that our Board does not believe in a strong lead director to counter-balance the powerful dual role of our current CEO.

Please vote to enhance oversight of our CEO:

Independent Board Chairman — Proposal 6

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YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.
The Board has considered this proposal and determined that it is unnecessary and would not provide additional useful information to the Company’s stockholders.
IBM Has Already Issued a Report Responsive to the Concerns of This Proposal
Proponent asserts that “shareholders are unable to assess the breadth of discrimination and related risks within the Company” because IBM uses “concealment clauses.” The same proponent submitted Stockholder Proposal 6 at IBM’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders requesting a report assessing the potential risks to IBM from the use of concealment clauses in the context of harassment, discrimination and other unlawful acts. That proposal passed and consistent with the Company’s history, IBM committed to publishing a responsive report.
However, the proponent submitted this new stockholder proposal for IBM’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders before IBM completed its internal risk assessment and published its report.
IBM has since published a robust public report describing that: (1) IBM has clear policies, procedures and practices to protect and support IBMers; (2) IBM does not require concealment clauses and IBMers are free to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment; and (3) IBM has strong Board oversight of risk related to harassment, discrimination, and other unlawful acts.
As such, the limited use of such provisions does not pose an inappropriate risk to the Company and any risk is balanced with IBM’s culture of transparency and inclusiveness, as well as its deep commitment to fostering a healthy, safe and productive work environment for all IBMers.
IBM Has Clear Policies, Procedures, and Practices in Place to Protect and Support IBMers

IBM has a rich history of leadership in diversity and inclusion

IBM does not tolerate discrimination or harassment and has clear policies, procedures and practices relating to the prevention of harassment or bullying in the workplace

IBM does have extensive training, including mandatory training and recertification on Business Conduct Guidelines, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment

IBM does foster an inclusive workplace, where IBMers are supported by Allyship resources and over 200 Business Resource Groups globally

IBM does have clear communication channels where employees may understand their options, discuss concerns, and take action

IBM does promptly and thoroughly review all reports of unlawful or unethical conduct, including non-inclusive behavior

IBM does not tolerate threats or acts of retaliation against employees for reporting non-inclusive behavior
IBM Does Not Require Concealment Clauses and IBMers are Free to Discuss the Terms and Conditions of their Employment

IBM does not require employees to agree to arbitration as a condition of employment in the U.S.

IBM does not preclude IBMers from discussing the terms and conditions of their employment or their own experiences with non-inclusive behavior

IBM uses confidentiality provisions in post-employment agreements in limited circumstances only where mutually agreed by the parties and legally permitted

IBM does not prevent IBMers from filing claims with or participating in investigations conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or otherwise reporting to a government agency
IBM has Strong Board Oversight of Risk Related to Harassment, Discrimination, and Other Unlawful Acts

The Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committee of the IBM Board of Directors oversees IBM’s human capital management and diversity and inclusion programs

The Directors and Corporate Governance Committee of the IBM Board of Directors reviews and considers IBM’s position and practices on significant public policy issues

The Audit Committee of the IBM Board of Directors oversees implementation of and compliance with the Business Conduct Guidelines through employee education and certification. The Audit Committee also receives and discusses reports from IBM’s Chief Trust and Compliance Officer relating to investigations, including any trends on employment-related matters such as harassment and discrimination

Employees may directly contact IBM’s independent directors through email or mail with concerns
822023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Stockholder Proposals


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Conclusion
For the reasons described above, the Board has determined that the proposal is unnecessary and would not provide additional useful information to the Company’s stockholders. Therefore, the Board believes adoption of this proposal is not in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
THEREFORE, THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.

One

2023 Notice of the most important tasks undertaken by a board is to select the leadership of the board and the company. In order to do that job most effectively and in the best interests of the stockholders, a board should have the flexibility to combine or split the Chairman and CEO roles. Because one size does not fit all situations, your Board has altered its structure at various times depending upon the particular circumstances. For example, your Board split the Chairman and CEO roles during previous CEO transitions. These seamless and successful leadership transitions have served as a model for public company succession planning. We already have independent board leadership in the form of our Presiding Director, IBM’s lead independent director. We do not believe that requiring these roles always be split, or that the Chairman always be a non-management director, is in the best interest of IBM, and we recommend a vote against the proposal.

There is little doubt that selection of IBM’s Chairman and CEO is one of the most important functions for the Board. The responsibility is taken seriously by your Board, a diverse group of leaders in their fields, including current and former Chairmen and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and leaders of major academic and philanthropic institutions. The Board is uniquely positioned to see the opportunities and challenges IBM faces, and to test personally the candidates for the Chairman and CEO positions over time, in order to select the leadership needed for IBM for the long term. Limiting the candidate pool as suggested by the proponent will do nothing to enhance the ability of the Board to exercise its fiduciary obligation to identify the best leadership for IBM.

IBM already has an independent director holding the position of Presiding Director. The Presiding Director is elected by the independent members of the Board, with the following robust and meaningful responsibilities that serve to enhance the contributions of IBM’s independent directors. The Presiding Director:

·                  presides at all meetings of the Board at which the Chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors,

·                  serves as liaison between the Chairman and the independent directors,

·                  approves information sent to the Board,

·                  approves meeting agendas for the Board,

·                  approves meeting schedules to assure that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items,

·                  has authority to call meetings of the independent directors, and

·                  if requested by major stockholders, ensures that he or she is available, as necessary after discussions with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for consultation and direct communication.

In addition to these core responsibilities, the Presiding Director engages in other regular activities including:

·                  one-on-one debriefs with the Chairman after each meeting;

·                  spending time with senior management outside of Board meetings to ensure a deep understanding of the business and strategy of the Company; and

·                  attending certain other committee meetings in addition to the committee he chairs.

The Presiding Director position is just the latest example of IBM’s continued commitment to strong corporate governance. Independent directors comprise more than 93% of the Board and 100% of the Audit, Directors and Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation and Management Resources Committees. After each regularly scheduled Board meeting, both the full Board and the non-management directors of the Board meet in executive session, with the non-management directors’ session led by the independent Presiding Director.

In addition, the Board has a history of proactively responding to stockholder issues, such as implementing proxy access, a majority voting policy for director elections and granting stockholders owning at least 25% of the outstanding shares of the Company the power to call a special meeting of stockholders. In contrast to the exemplary performance and quality of the IBM Board over the years, the proponent provides no evidence demonstrating that separating the roles of Chairman and CEO at IBM would result in increased value for IBM stockholders. In light of this total lack of empirical support, IBM’s strong and independent Board, and IBM’s Presiding Director structure, this stockholder proposal is both inappropriate and unnecessary.

We believe that stockholders benefit when the Board can select the best candidates to run IBM at a given time. THEREFORE, THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE AGAINST THIS PROPOSAL.

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Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Stockholder Proposals 83



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Frequently Asked Questions

1.
What is a “stockholder of record”?

A stockholder of record or registered stockholder (“record owner”)(record owner) is a stockholder whose ownership of IBM common stock is reflected directly on the books and records of our transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A. If you hold IBM stock through a bank, broker or other intermediary, you are not a stockholder of record. Instead, you hold your stock in “street name,” and the “record owner”record owner of your shares is usually your bank, broker or other intermediary. If you are not a registered stockholder,record owner, please understand that IBM does not know that you are a stockholder, or how many shares you own.

2.
I want to attend the annual meeting.2023 Annual Meeting. What procedures must I follow?

Admission to the

The Annual Meeting will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and an admission ticket and picture identificationconducted virtually. All stockholders will be requiredable to enterattend the meeting. Any individual arriving without an admission ticket will not be admitted toAnnual Meeting via webcast by entering the meeting unless it can be verified that the individual is an IBM stockholder as of the record date for the meeting.

For stockholders of record that received a Proxy Statement by mail: An admission ticket is attached to the proxy card sent with this Proxy Statement.

For stockholders of record that received a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials: Please follow the instructions provided16-digit control number included on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, on your proxy card, or on the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/IBM2023 (Annual Meeting Website). If you do not have a control number, you will be able to request an admission ticket.

For holders in street name: Stockholders holding IBM stock in bank or brokerage accounts can obtain an admission ticket in advance by sending a written request, along with proof of stock ownership (suchregister as a brokerage statement) to our transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A., P.O. Box 505005, Louisville, KY 40233-5005. Ifguest; however, you hold your shares in street name and you wish to vote those shares at the meeting, you must also request a “legal proxy” directly from your bank, broker or other intermediary well in advance of the meeting and bring it to the meeting. Contact your bank, broker or other intermediary for specific information on how to obtain a legal proxy in order to attend and vote your shares at the meeting.

3.Are there specific restrictions on attending the annual meeting, and whatI can bring with me into the meeting?

This is a meeting for stockholders, and security at the meeting is very important. You will be asked to walk through an electronic screening device before entering the meeting hall. In addition, cameras, cell phones, recording equipment and electronic devices will not be permittedable to be brought intovote or submit questions before or during the meeting.

No recording of the Annual Meeting is allowed, including audio and video recording.
3.
What can I do if I need technical assistance during the Annual Meeting?
If you encounter any difficulties accessing the Annual Meeting webcast, please call the technical support number that will be posted on the Annual Meeting Website log-in page.
4.
Are there rules of conduct for the Annual Meeting?
Yes, the rules of conduct for the Annual Meeting will be available on the Annual Meeting Website on the date of the Annual Meeting. The rules of conduct will provide information on regarding the rules and procedures for participating in the Annual Meeting.
5.
What is the “record date” for the annual meeting?

Annual Meeting?

February 23, 2018.

5.24, 2023.

6.
Which IBM shares will be entitled to vote at the annual meeting?

Annual Meeting?

IBM’s common stock ($0.20 par value capital stock) is the only class of security entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Each stockholder of record owner and each stockholder who holds stock in street name at the close of business as of the record date is entitled to one vote for each share held at the meeting, or any adjournment or postponement.

6.

7.
Which IBM shares are included in the proxy card?

For stockholders of record: record owners:The proxy card covers the number of shares to be voted in your account as of the record date, including any shares held for participants in the Computershare CIP (the Direct Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plan) and the IBM Employees Stock Purchase Plans.

For stockholders who are participants in the IBM Stock Fund investment alternative under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan:The card serves as a voting instruction to the Trustee of the plan for IBM shares held in the IBM Stock Fund as of the record date.

For holders in street name:You will receive a voting instruction form directly from your bank, broker or other intermediary containing instructions on how you can direct your record holder to vote your shares. Contact your bank, broker or other intermediary if you have any questions regarding your IBM stock holdings as of the record date.

7.

8.
May I vote my shares in person at the annual meeting?

For stockholders of record: Annual Meeting?

Yes. However, we encourage you to vote by proxy card, the Internet or by telephone even if you plan to attend the meeting. If you wish to give a proxy to someone other thanTo vote during the individuals named as proxiesAnnual Meeting, log into the Annual Meeting Website with your 16-digit control number (found on theyour Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, your proxy card, you may replace the names appearing on theor your instructions that accompanied your proxy card with the name of some other person, sign the card and give the proxy card to that person for use at the meeting.

For holders in street name: Yes, but in order to do so you will first have to ask your bank, broker or other intermediary to furnish you with a legal proxy. You will need to bring the legal proxy with you to the meeting, and hand it in with a signed ballot that you can request at the meeting. You will not be able to vote your shares at the meeting without a legal proxy and a signed ballot.

76

materials).

9.

8.Can I vote my shares without attending the annual meeting?

Annual Meeting?

Yes. Whether or not you attend the meeting, we encourage you to vote your shares promptly.

For stockholders of record: record owners:Your shares cannot be voted unless a signed proxy card is returned, shares are voted using the Internet or the telephone, or other specific arrangements are made to have your shares represented at the meeting. You are encouraged to specify your choices by checking the appropriate boxes on the proxy card. Shares will be voted following your written instructions. However, it is not necessary to check any boxes if you wish to vote in accordance with the Board of Directors’ recommendations; in that case, merely sign, date, and return the proxy card in the enclosed envelope, or if you received noticeNotice of Internet availabilityAvailability of proxy materials,Proxy Materials, follow the instructions on how to access the proxy materials and vote online.

You can also vote your shares over the Internet, or by calling a designated telephone number. These Internet and telephone voting procedures are designed to authenticate your identity in order to allow you to provide your voting instructions, and to confirm that your instructions have been recorded properly. The procedures that have been put in place are consistent with the requirements of applicable law. Specific instructions for stockholders of record who wish to use the Internet or telephone voting procedures are set forth on the proxy card.

For participants in the IBM Stock Fund investment alternative under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan:In order to have the Trustee vote your shares as you direct, you must timely furnish your voting instructions over the Internet or by telephone by 12:01 a.m.11:59 p.m. EDT on April 23, 2018,2023, or otherwise ensure that your card is signed, returned, and received by such time and date. If instructions are not received over the Internet or by telephone by 12:01 a.m.11:59 p.m. EDT on April 23, 2018,2023, or if the signed card is not returned and received by such time and date, the IBM shares in the IBM Stock Fund under the IBM 401(k) Plus Plan will be voted by the Trustee in proportion to the shares for which the Trustee timely receives voting instructions, provided the Trustee determines such vote is consistent with its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

For holders in street name:You If you are not voting your shares in person at the Annual Meeting, you must timely deliver your voting instructions to your respective bank, broker or other intermediary, following the specific instructions that have been provided to you by your bank, broker or other intermediary.

9.

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10.
May I change or revoke my proxy?

For stockholders of record:record owners: Yes. A proxy may be revoked at any time prior to the voting at the meeting by submitting a later-dated proxy (including a proxy via the Internet or by telephone) or by giving timely written notice of revocation to the Secretary of IBM.

For holders in street name: Yes. You must follow 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.

10.

11.
How can I contact IBM’s transfer agent?

Contact our transfer agent either by writing Computershare Trust Company, N.A., P.O. Box 505005, Louisville, KY 40233-5005,43078, Providence, RI 02940-3078, or by telephoning 888-IBM-6700 (outside the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico 781-575-2727).

11.

12.
Other than the items in the proxy statement, what other items of business will be addressed at the annual meeting?

Annual Meeting?

Management knows of no other matters that may be properly presented at the meeting. If other proper matters are introduced at the meeting, the individuals named as proxies on the proxy card are also authorized to vote upon those matters utilizing their own discretion.

12.

13.
During the question period at the annual meeting,Annual Meeting, what topics will be discussed?

This part of the meeting is for stockholders to ask questions to the Chairman about Company matters. It is not the appropriate forum to raise personal grievances.

13.

14.
How can I ask questions during the Annual Meeting?
Stockholders of record may submit questions either before (by going to www.proxyvote.com) or during the meeting (by going to the Annual Meeting Website) and logging in using your 16-digit control number and following the instructions to submit a question. Additionally, each year IBM provides a portal through which stockholders may submit questions in advance of the Annual Meeting. To submit a question via the IBM portal, please visit https://www.ibm.com/investor/services/annual-meeting-of-stockholders.
If you do not have a control number, you will be able to register for the Annual Meeting as a guest; however, you will not be able to vote or submit questions on the Annual Meeting Website before or during the meeting.
15.
Who tabulates the votes?
Votes are counted by employees of Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc., IBM’s tabulator, and certified by the Inspectors of Election (who are employees of First Coast Results, Inc.).
16.
I understand that a “quorum” of stockholders is required in order for IBM to transact business at the annual meeting.Annual Meeting. What constitutes a quorum?

A majority of all “outstanding” shares of common stock having voting power, in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote, constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business at the meeting.

14.

17.
How many shares of IBM stock are “outstanding”?

As of February 9, 2018,10, 2023, there were 921,167,894907,105,611 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to be voted.

15.

18.
What is the voting requirement for electing IBM’s directors?

To be elected in an uncontested election, each director must receive a majority of the votes cast. In a contested election, a nominee receiving a plurality of the votes cast at such election shall be elected.

16.

19.
What is “broker discretionary voting”?

This refers to the NYSE rule allowing brokers to vote their customers’ shares on certain “routine” matters in the Proxy Statement at the brokers’ discretion when they have not received timely voting instructions from their customers. The NYSE rules on broker discretionary voting prohibit banks, brokers, and other intermediaries from voting uninstructed shares on certain matters, including the election of directors. Therefore, if you hold your stock in street name and you do not

77



instruct your bank, broker or other intermediary how to vote in the election of directors, no votes will be cast on your behalf. It is important that you cast your vote.

17.

20.
Are abstentions and broker non-votes counted as votes cast?

cast?

No. Under the laws of New York State, IBM’s state of incorporation, “votes cast” at a meeting of stockholders by the holders of shares entitled to vote are determinative of the outcome of the matter subject to vote. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be considered “votes cast” based on current New York State law requirements and IBM’s certificate of incorporation and by-laws.

18.

21.
Assuming there is a proper quorum of shares represented at the meeting,Annual Meeting, how many shares are required to approve the proposals being voted upon in this proxy statement?

The table below reflects the vote required in accordance with the laws of New York State:

Proposal

Do abstentions

Vote
Required

Do
abstentions
count as
votes cast?
Is broker


discretionary
voting
allowed?

Vote

count as

discretionary

Proposal

required

votes cast?

voting allowed?

Election of Directors

Majority of
votes cast

No

No

No

Ratification of Appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Majority of
votes cast

No

No

Yes

Management Proposal on

Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation*

Majority of
votes cast

No

No

No

Frequency of the Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation*Majority of
votes cast
NoNo
Stockholder Proposals*

Majority of
votes cast

No

No

No


*
Advisory and non-binding

19.Who tabulates the votes?

Votes are counted by employees of Computershare Trust Company, N.A., IBM’s transfer agent and registrar, and certified by the Inspectors of Election (who are employees of IVS Associates, Inc.).

20.

22.
Where can I find the voting results of the annual meeting?

Annual Meeting?

IBM intends to publish the final voting results on its website and will disclose the final voting results on a Form 8-K shortly after the Annual Meeting.

21.

23.
Will my votes be confidential?

Yes. All stockholder meeting proxies, ballots, and tabulations that identify individual stockholders are kept confidential and are not available for examination. In addition, the identity or the vote of any stockholder is not disclosed except as required by law.

22.

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24.
I received my proxy materials in hard copy. How may I arrange to receive them electronically?
To enroll for electronic delivery, go to our Investor Relations website at https://www.ibm.com/investor/help/consent-for-materials-online and follow the instructions to enroll.
25.
How do I submit a proposal for inclusion in IBM’s 20192024 proxy material?

materials?

Stockholder proposals may be submitted for IBM’s 20192024 proxy materialmaterials after the 20182023 Annual Meeting and must be received at our corporate headquarters no later than November 12, 2018.7, 2023. Proposals should be sent via registered, certified or express mail to: Office of the Secretary, International Business Machines Corporation, 1 New Orchard Road, Mail Drop 301, Armonk, NY 10504.

Management carefully considers all proposals and suggestions from stockholders. When adoption is clearly in the best interest of IBM and stockholders, and can be accomplished without stockholder approval, the proposal is implemented without inclusion in the Proxy Statement. Examples of stockholder proposals and suggestions that have been adopted over the years include stockholder ratification of the appointment of an independent registered public accounting firm, improved procedures involving dividend checks and stockholder publications, and changes or additions to the proxy materials concerning matters like abstentions from voting, appointment of alternative proxy, inclusion of a table of contents, proponent disclosure and secrecy of stockholder voting.

23.

26.
How do I submit an item of business for the 2019 annual meeting?

2024 Annual Meeting?

Stockholders who intend to present an item of business at the 20192024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (other than a proposal submitted for inclusion in IBM’s Proxy Statement), including nominations for election to the Board of Directors pursuant to the Company’s proxy access by-law provision, must provide notice of such business to IBM’s Secretary no earlier than October 13, 20188, 2023 and no later than November 12, 2018,7, 2023, as set forth more fully in, and in compliance with, IBM’s by-laws.

24. In addition, to comply with universal proxy rules, stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Company’s nominees must also provide the additional information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by no later than February 25, 2024.

27.
I did not receive a copy of the annual report.Annual Report. How can I get one?

Stockholders of record who did not receive an IBM Annual Report or who previously elected not to receive one for a specific account may request that IBM mail its Annual Report to that account by writing to our transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (address and phone number in Question 1011 above). If you are not a stockholder of record and did not receive an Annual Report from your bank, broker or other intermediary, you must contact your bank, broker or other intermediary directly.

78


28.

25.What is “householding” and does IBM do this?

Householding is a procedure approved by the SEC under which stockholders who have the same address and last name and do not participate in electronic delivery of proxy materials will receive only one copy of a company’s proxy statement and annual report from a company, bank, broker or other intermediary, unless one or more of these stockholders notifies
the company, bank, broker or other intermediary that they wish to continue to receive individual copies. At the present time, IBM does not “household” for any of our stockholders of record. However, as explained below, your bank, broker or other intermediary may be householding your account if you hold your shares in street name.

26.

29.
If I am a holder in street name, how may I obtain a separate set of proxy materials?

If you hold shares in street name, your bank, broker or other intermediary may be delivering only one copy of our Proxy Statement and the IBM Annual Report to multiple stockholders of the same household who share the same address, and may continue to do so, unless your bank, broker or other intermediary has received contrary instructions from one or more of the affected stockholders in the household. If you are such a beneficial holder, contact your bank, broker or other intermediary directly in order to receive a separate set of our proxy materials.

27.

30.
Members of our household own IBM shares through a number of different brokerage firms. Will we continue to receive multiple sets of materials?

Yes. If you and others sharing a single address hold IBM shares through multiple brokers, you will continue to receive at least one set of proxy materials from each broker.

28.

31.
I received a notice of internet availability of proxy materials. What does this mean?

Consistent with common practice and in accordance with SEC rules, IBM is distributing proxy materials to some stockholders over the Internet by sending a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that explains how to access our proxy materials and vote online. If you received a notice and would like a printed copy of the proxy materials (including the Annual Report, Proxy Statement and a proxy card in the case of stockholders of record owners, or a voting instruction form in the case of stockholders holding shares in street name), please follow the instructions included in your notice.

29.I received my proxy materials in hard copy. How may I arrange to receive them electronically?

To enroll for electronic delivery, go to our Investor Relations website athttp://www.ibm.com/investor/ and select “Stockholder services,” scroll down to “Consent for materials online,” click on either “if you own stock directly in your name” or “if you own stock beneficially through a brokerage account,” and follow the instructions to enroll.

30.

32.
I previously consented to receive electronic delivery of my proxy materials. Can you send me a hard copy of these proxy materials?

For stockholders of record: record owners:We will deliver promptly, upon written or oral request, a separate copy of these proxy materials. Contact our transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (address and phone number in Question 1011 above).

For holders in street name:You must contact your bank, broker or other intermediary to receive copies of these materials.

31.

33.
Who is making this proxy solicitation and approximately how much will these solicitation activities cost?

Solicitation of proxies is being made by IBM through the mail, in person and by telecommunications. The cost of this solicitation will be borne by IBM. In addition, management has retained Morrow Sodali LLC,Innisfree M&A Incorporated, to assist in soliciting proxies for a fee of approximately $45,000,$50,000, plus reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

Christina M. Montgomery

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Frank Sedlarcik
Vice President and Secretary


March 12, 2018

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6, 2023

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Appendix A — Non-GAAP Financial Information and Reconciliations

The rationale for management’s use of non-GAAP information in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis and Proxy Statement is as follows:

Operating (non-GAAP) Earnings Per Share and Related Income Statement Items

In an effort to provide better transparency into the operational results of the business, IBMsupplementally, the company separates business results into operating and non-operating categories. Operating earnings from continuing operations is a non-GAAP measure that excludes the effects of certain acquisition-related charges, intangible asset amortization, expense resulting from basis differences on equity method investments, retirement-related costs, discontinued operationscertain impacts from the Kyndryl separation and their related tax impacts. ForDue to the fourth-quarter and full-year 2017, operating (non-GAAP) earnings also excludes a one-time charge associated withunique, non-recurring nature of the enactment of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (U.S. tax reform duereform), the company characterizes the one-time provisional charge recorded in the fourth quarter of 2017 and adjustments to itsthat charge as non-operating. Adjustments primarily include true-ups, accounting elections and any changes to regulations, laws, audit adjustments that affect the recorded one-time charge. Management characterizes direct and incremental charges incurred related to the Kyndryl separation as non-operating given their unique and non-recurring nature. These charges primarily relate to any net gains or losses on the Kyndryl common stock and the related cash-settled swap with a third-party financial institution, which are recorded in other (income) and expense in the Consolidated Income Statement. Kyndryl separation charges in 2021 also include applicable employee awards and tax impacts related to the separation. For acquisitions, operating (non-GAAP) earnings exclude the amortization of purchased intangible assets and acquisition-related charges such as in-process research and development, transaction costs, applicable retention, restructuring and related expenses, and tax charges related to acquisition integration.integration and pre-closing charges, such as financing costs. These charges are excluded as they may be inconsistent in amount and timing from period to period and are dependent onsignificantly impacted by the size, type and frequency of IBM’sthe company’s acquisitions. All other spending for acquired companies is included in both earnings from continuing operations and in operating (non-GAAP) earnings. For retirement-related costs, IBMthe company characterizes certain items as operating and others as non-operating. IBMnon-operating, consistent with GAAP. The company includes defined benefit plan and nonpension postretirement benefit plan service cost, amortization of prior service costcosts, multi-employer plan costs and the cost of defined contribution plans in operating earnings. Non-operating retirement-related cost includescosts include defined benefit plan and nonpension postretirement benefit plan amortization of prior service costs, interest cost, expected return on plan assets, amortized actuarial gains/losses, the impacts of any plan curtailments/settlements including the one-time, non-cash, pre-tax settlement charge of $5.9 billion ($4.4 billion, net of tax) in the third quarter of 2022 and multi-employer plan costs, pension insolvency costs and other costs. Non-operating retirement-related costs are primarily related to changes in pension plan assets and liabilities which are tied to financial market performance, and IBMthe company considers these costs to be outside of the operational performance of the business.

Overall, IBMthe company believes that supplementally providing investors with a view of operating earnings as described above provides increased transparency and clarity into both the operational results of the business and the performance of IBM’sthe company’s pension plans; improves visibility to management decisions and their impacts on operational performance; enables better comparison to peer companies; and allows IBMthe company to provide a long-term strategic view of the business going forward. IBM’sIn addition, these non-GAAP measures provide a perspective consistent with areas of interest the company routinely receives from investors and analysts. The company’s reportable segment financial results reflect pre-tax operating earnings from continuing operations, consistent with IBM’sthe company’s management and measurement system.

Free Cash Flow/Operating Cash Flow

IBM

The company uses free cash flow as a measure to evaluate its operating results, plan share repurchasestockholder return levels, strategic investments and assess its ability and need to incur and service debt. Free cash flow and operating cash flow are presented on a consolidated basis, including activity from discontinued operations. The entire free cash flow amount is not necessarily available for discretionary expenditures. IBMThe company defines consolidated free cash flow as consolidated net cash from operating activities less the change in Global Financing receivables and net capital expenditures, including the investment in software. A key objective of the Global Financing business is to generate strong returns on equity, and increasingour Financing receivables isare the basis for that growth. Accordingly, management considers Global Financing receivables as a profit-generating investment, not as working capital that should be minimized for efficiency. Therefore, management includes presentations ofpresents both free cash flow and net cash from operating activities that excludeexcludes the effect of Global Financing receivables. Free cash flow guidancerealization is derived using an estimate of profit, working capital and operationalcalculated by dividing consolidated free cash outflows. Since IBM views Global Financing receivables as a profit-generating investment which it seeksflow over Operating (non-GAAP) net income.
Constant Currency
When the company refers to maximize,growth rates at constant currency or adjusts such growth rates for currency, it is done so that certain financial results can be viewed without the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, thereby facilitating period-to-period comparisons of its business performance. Financial results adjusted for currency are calculated by translating current period activity in local currency using the comparable prior year period’s currency conversion rate. This approach is used for countries where the functional currency is the local currency. Generally, when the dollar either strengthens or weakens against other currencies, the growth at constant currency rates or adjusting for currency will be higher or lower than growth reported at actual exchange rates.
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Appendix A — Non-GAAP Financial Information and Reconciliations87


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Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
For the 2020-2022 performance period, ROIC equals consolidated net operating profits after tax (consolidated GAAP net income plus after-tax interest expense) excluding the settlement charge resulting from the U.S. pension risk transfer, divided by the sum of the average debt and average total stockholders’ equity over the period, excluding goodwill associated with the Red Hat acquisition. In September 2022, IBM transferred $16 billion of its defined benefit pension obligations and related plan assets to two insurers. A non-cash settlement charge of $4.4 billion net of tax related to this transfer was excluded given its unique and non-recurring nature. Due to the significant nature of the Red Hat acquisition, the Company utilizes a computation of ROIC excluding goodwill associated with the acquisition. The goodwill that was generated is primarily attributable to the assembled workforce of Red Hat and the increased synergies expected to be achieved over time from the integration of Red Hat products into the Company’s various integrated solutions.
Key performance metrics are used to monitor the performance of the business and are viewed as useful decision-making information for management and stockholders, including:
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
ARR is a key performance metric management uses to assess the health and growth trajectory of the Hybrid Platform & Solutions business within IBM Software. ARR is calculated by estimating the current quarter’s recurring, committed value for certain types of active contracts as of the period-end date and then multiplying that value by four. This value is based on each arrangement’s contract value and start date, mitigating fluctuations during the contract term, and includes the following consumption models: (1) software subscription agreements, including committed term licenses, (2) as-a-service arrangements such as SaaS and PaaS (3) maintenance and support contracts, and (4) security managed services contracts. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue as this performance metric and its inputs may not considered when formulating guidance for free cash flow. As a result, IBM doesrepresent the amount of revenue recognized in the period and therefore is not estimate a GAAP Net Cash from Operations expectation metric.

80

intended to represent current period revenue or revenue that will be recognized in future periods. ARR is calculated at estimated constant currency.


The tabletables below provides a reconciliationprovide reconciliations of the Company’s income statement results as reported under GAAP to its operating earnings presentation, which is a non-GAAP measure.

($ in millions except per share amount)
For the year ended December 31, 2017

 

GAAP

 

Acquisition-
Related
Adjustments

 

Retirement-
Related
Adjustments

 

Tax
One-Time
Charge(1)

 

Operating
(Non-GAAP)

 

Gross Profit

 

$

36,227

 

$

449

 

$

799

 

 

$

37,475

 

Gross Profit Margin

 

45.8

%

0.6

Pts

1.0

Pts

 

47.4

%

S,G&A

 

20,107

 

(509

)

(472

)

 

19,126

 

R,D&E

 

5,787

 

 

(197

)

 

5,590

 

Other (Income) & Expense

 

(216

)

(39

)

 

 

(255

)

Total Expense & Other (Income)

 

24,827

 

(548

)

(669

)

 

23,609

 

Pre-tax Income from Continuing Operations

 

11,400

 

997

 

1,468

 

 

13,866

 

Pre-tax Income Margin from Continuing Operations

 

14.4

%

1.3

Pts

1.9

Pts

 

17.5

%

Provision for Income Taxes*

 

5,642

 

279

 

485

 

(5,475

)

931

 

Effective Tax Rate

 

49.5

%

-1.5

Pts

-1.7

Pts

-39.5

Pts

6.7

%

Income from Continuing Operations

 

5,758

 

718

 

983

 

5,475

 

12,935

 

Income Margin from Continuing Operations

 

7.3

%

0.9

Pts

1.2

Pts

6.9

Pts

16.3

%

Diluted Earnings Per Share: Continuing Operations

 

$

6.14

 

$

0.77

 

$

1.05

 

$

5.84

 

$

13.80

 

($ in millions except per share amount)
For the year ended December 31, 2022
GAAPAcquisition-
Related
Adjustments
Retirement-
Related
Tax
Reform
Impacts
Kyndryl
Related
Impacts
Operating
(Non-GAAP)
  Adjustments*
Gross Profit$32,687$682$$$$33,370
Gross Profit Margin54.0%1.1PtsPtsPtsPts55.1%
S,G&A$18,609$(1,080)$$$$17,529
Other (Income) & Expense5,803(3)(6,548)(351)(1,099)
Total Expense & Other (Income)31,531(1,083)(6,548)(351)23,549
Pre-tax Income from Continuing Operations1,1561,7656,5483519,821
Pre-tax Income Margin from Continuing Operations1.9%2.9Pts10.8PtsPts0.6Pts16.2%
Provision for/(benefit from) Income Taxes**$(626)$436$1,615$70$$1,495
Effective Tax Rate(54.2)%14.2Pts52.6Pts0.7Pts1.9Pts15.2%
Income from Continuing Operations$1,783$1,329$4,933$(70)$351$8,326
Income Margin from Continuing Operations2.9%2.2Pts8.1Pts(0.1)Pts0.6Pts13.8%
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Continuing Operations$1.95$1.46$5.41$(0.08)$0.38$9.13

(1) Operating (non-GAAP) earnings excludes

*
Includes a one-time, non-cash, pre-tax pension settlement charge of $5.5$5.9 billion associated with the enactment of U.S. tax reform due to its unique non-recurring nature.

($ in millions except per share amount)
For the year ended December 31, 2016

 

GAAP

 

Acquisition-
Related
Adjustments

 

Retirement-
Related
Adjustments

 

Operating
(Non-GAAP)

 

Gross Profit

 

$

38,294

 

$

494

 

$

316

 

$

39,104

 

Gross Profit Margin

 

47.9

%

0.6

Pts

0.4

Pts

48.9

%

S,G&A

 

21,069

 

(501

)

(253

)

20,315

 

R,D&E

 

5,751

 

 

(29

)

5,722

 

Other (Income) & Expense

 

145

 

(7

)

 

138

 

Total Expense & Other (Income)

 

25,964

 

(508

)

(282

)

25,174

 

Pre-tax Income from Continuing Operations

 

12,330

 

1,003

 

598

 

13,931

 

Pre-tax Income Margin from Continuing Operations

 

15.4

%

1.3

Pts

0.7

Pts

17.4

%

Provision for Income Taxes*

 

449

 

268

 

183

 

900

 

Effective Tax Rate

 

3.6

%

1.7

Pts

1.2

Pts

6.5

%

Income from Continuing Operations

 

11,881

 

735

 

415

 

13,031

 

Income Margin from Continuing Operations

 

14.9

%

0.9

Pts

0.5

Pts

16.3

%

Diluted Earnings Per Share: Continuing Operations

 

$

12.39

 

$

0.77

 

$

0.43

 

$

13.59

 

81

($4.4 billion after tax).

**

($ in millions except per share amount)
For the year ended December 31, 2015

 

GAAP

 

Acquisition-
Related
Adjustments

 

Retirement-
Related
Adjustments

 

Operating
(Non-GAAP)

 

Gross Profit

 

$

40,684

 

$

373

 

$

469

 

$

41,526

 

Gross Profit Margin

 

49.8

%

0.5

Pts

0.6

Pts

50.8

%

S,G&A

 

20,430

 

(324

)

(533

)

19,573

 

R,D&E

 

5,247

 

 

(48

)

5,200

 

Other (Income) & Expense

 

(724

)

(5

)

 

(729

)

Total Expense & Other (Income)

 

24,740

 

(330

)

(581

)

23,830

 

Pre-tax Income from Continuing Operations

 

15,945

 

703

 

1,050

 

17,697

 

Pre-tax Income Margin from Continuing Operations

 

19.5

%

0.9

Pts

1.3

Pts

21.6

%

Provision for Income Taxes*

 

2,581

 

141

 

316

 

3,037

 

Effective Tax Rate

 

16.2

%

0.2

Pts

0.9

Pts

17.2

%

Income from Continuing Operations

 

13,364

 

562

 

734

 

14,659

 

Income Margin from Continuing Operations

 

16.3

%

0.7

Pts

0.9

Pts

17.9

%

Diluted Earnings Per Share: Continuing Operations

 

$

13.60

 

$

0.57

 

$

0.75

 

$

14.92

 


* The tax impact on operating (non-GAAP) pre-tax income is calculated under the same accounting principles applied to the GAAP pre-tax income.

income which employs an annual effective tax rate method to the results.

882023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Appendix A — Non-GAAP Financial Information and Reconciliations


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($ in millions except per share amount)
For the year ended December 31, 2021
GAAPAcquisition-
Related
Adjustments
Retirement-
Related
Adjustments
Tax
Reform
Impacts
Kyndryl
Related
Impacts
Operating
(Non-GAAP)
Gross Profit$31,486$719$$$$32,205
Gross Profit Margin54.9%1.3PtsPtsPtsPts56.2%
S,G&A$18,745$(1,160)$$$(8)$17,577
Other (Income) & Expense873(2)(1,282)126(285)
Total Expense & Other (Income)26,649(1,162)(1,282)11824,324
Pre-tax Income from Continuing Operations4,8371,8811,282(118)7,881
Pre-tax Income Margin from Continuing Operations8.4%3.3Pts2.2PtsPts(0.2)Pts13.7%
Provision for Income Taxes*$124$457$251$(89)$(37)$706
Effective Tax Rate2.6%5.2Pts2.8Pts(1.1)Pts(0.4)Pts9.0%
Income from Continuing Operations$4,712$1,424$1,031$89$(81)$7,174
Income Margin from Continuing Operations8.2%2.5Pts1.8Pts0.2Pts(0.1)Pts12.5%
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Continuing Operations$5.21$1.57$1.14$0.10$(0.09)$7.93
*
The tax impact on operating (non-GAAP) pre-tax income is calculated under the same accounting principles applied to the GAAP pre-tax income which employs an annual effective tax rate method to the results.
($ in millions except per share amount)
For the year ended December 31, 2020
GAAPAcquisition-
Related
Adjustments
Retirement-
Related
Adjustments
Tax
Reform
Impacts
Kyndryl
Related
Impacts
Operating
(Non-GAAP)
Gross Profit$30,865$726$$$$31,591
Gross Profit Margin55.9%1.3PtsPtsPtsPts57.3%
S,G&A$20,561*$(1,117)$$19,445*
Other (Income) & Expense802(2)(1,073)(273)
Total Expense & Other (Income)28,293*(1,119)(1,073)26,101*
Pre-tax Income from Continuing Operations2,572*1,8451,0735,490*
Pre-tax Income Margin from Continuing Operations4.7%3.3Pts1.9PtsPtsPts9.9%
Provision for /(benefit from) Income Taxes**$(1,360)$411$208$110$$(630)
Effective Tax Rate(52.9)%25.3Pts14.1Pts2.0PtsPts(11.5)%
Income from Continuing Operations$3,932*$1,434$864$(110)$$6,120*
Income Margin from Continuing Operations7.1%2.6Pts1.6Pts(0.2)PtsPts11.1%
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Continuing Operations$4.38*$1.60$0.96$(0.12)$$6.82*
*
Includes a $1.5 billion pre-tax charge for structural actions in the fourth quarter resulting in an impact of ($1.33) to diluted earnings per share from continuing operations and diluted operating (non-GAAP) earnings per share.
**
The tax impact on operating (non-GAAP) pre-tax income is calculated under the same accounting principles applied to the GAAP pre-tax income which employs an annual effective tax rate method to the results.
2023 Notice of Annual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Appendix A — Non-GAAP Financial Information and Reconciliations89


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The table below provides a reconciliation of IBM’s net cash flows which is presented on a consolidated basis, including activity from discontinued operations related to the separation of Kyndryl. Free cash flow and operating activitiescash flow are non-GAAP measures.
($ in billions)
For the year ended December 31:
202220212020
Net cash from operating activities per GAAP*$10.4$12.8$18.2
Less: the change in Financing receivables(0.7)3.94.3
Net cash from operating activities, excluding Financing receivables11.28.913.8
Capital expenditures, net(1.9)(2.4)(3.0)
Free Cash Flow9.36.5**10.8
Acquisitions(2.3)(3.3)(0.3)
Divestitures1.30.10.5
Dividends(5.9)(5.9)(5.8)
Non-Financing Debt1.9(1.2)0.2
Other (includes Financing receivables and Financing debt) +(2.9)(3.0)(0.1)
Change in cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities$1.3$(6.7)++$5.3
*
Includes cash flows of discontinued operations of $1.6 billion and $4.4 billion in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
**
Includes cash impacts of approximately $1.4 billion for Kyndryl-related structural actions and separation charges.
+
Prior years were recast to conform to 2022 presentation.
++
Includes the distribution from Kyndryl of $0.9 billion.
The tables below provide reconciliation of revenue growth rates presented on a continuing operations basis and as reported under GAAP to its free cash flow,revenue adjusting for constant currency (@CC), which is a non-GAAP measure.

($ in billions)
For the year ended December 31,

 

2017

 

2016

 

2015

 

Net Cash from Operating Activities per GAAP

 

$

16.7

 

$

17.1

*

$

17.3

*

Less: the Change in Global Financing Receivables

 

0.4

 

1.7

 

0.2

 

Net Cash from Operating Activities, Excluding Global Financing Receivables

 

16.3

 

15.4

*

17.1

*

Capital Expenditures, Net

 

(3.3

)

(3.7

)

(3.8

)

Free Cash Flow

 

13.0

 

11.7

*

13.3

*

Acquisitions

 

(0.5

)

(5.7

)

(3.3

)

Divestitures

 

(0.2

)

(0.5

)

(0.4

)

Share Repurchase

 

(4.3

)

(3.5

)

(4.6

)

Common Stock Repurchases for Tax Withholdings

 

(0.2

)

(0.1

)*

(0.2

)*

Dividends

 

(5.5

)

(5.3

)

(4.9

)

Non-Global Financing Debt

 

1.1

 

1.3

 

(0.1

)

Other (includes Global Financing Receivables and Global Financing Debt)

 

0.7

 

2.3

 

0.0

 

Change in Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Marketable Securities

 

$

4.1

 

$

0.3

 

$

(0.3

)

FCF as Percent of Income from Continuing Operations

 

226

%**

98

%*

100

%*

2022
GAAP@CC
Reconciliation of Revenue Growth Rates:
Software7%12%
Hybrid Platform & Solutions5%9%
Red Hat13%17%
Consulting7%15%
GAAP@CC
Reconciliation of Total IBM Revenue Growth Rates:
20225.5%11.6%
20213.9%2.7%
2020(4.4)%(4.5)%

*    Reclassified to reflect adoption

902023 Notice of the FASB guidance on stock-based compensation of $0.1 billionAnnual Meeting & Proxy Statement   |   Appendix A — Non-GAAP Financial Information and $0.2 billion for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

** 116% excluding the one-time charge of $5.5 billion associated with the enactment of U.S. tax reform in 2017.

82


Reconciliations



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at IBM

·Under the guidance and supervision of the Board, IBM pursues the highest standards of corporate responsibility and sustainability, from how we support, protect and empower our employees, to how we work with our clients, to how we govern the Company and connect to our communities.

·Our corporate responsibility efforts reflect our expansive footprint and span environmental leadership, social responsibility, innovation and a culture of ethics and integrity that promotes transparency.

·For the past 27 consecutive years, IBM has voluntarily published a Corporate Environmental Report providing detailed information on our environmental programs and performance. IBM’s uninterrupted annual publication of this report since 1990 is unsurpassed across our industry.

Corporate Citizenship

·Created the P-TECH 9-14 school model – a pioneering education reform model to provide young people with the skills required for “New Collar” jobs; 120 schools around the world anticipated by the fall of 2018

·Introduced Teacher Advisor with Watson – a groundbreaking effort to strengthen teacher instruction through cognitive computing with nearly 10,000 teachers registered in the first 6 months of public availability

·More than 4,000 IBMers have served in IBM Corporate Service Corps, delivering $70M of expertise to communities in 40 countries

·IBMers have contributed nearly 21 million volunteer hours since 2003

·Recognition includes: CR Magazine 100 Best Corporate Citizens; Forbes Just 100 America’s Best Corporate Citizens; Fortune Change the World list; Points of Light The Civic 50

Supporting the IBMer

·From our in-house platform using cognitive computing to meet IBMers’ professional education needs to an exemplary well-being management system, IBM supports, protects and empowers its employees

·      Expansive family leave provides new birth mothers with up to 20 weeks of paid leave and 12 weeks for fathers, partners and adoptive parents

·      2018 Catalyst Award for leadership in building a workplace that values diversity and inclusion

·      U.S. Business Leadership Network 2017 Employer of the Year for People with Disabilities

·      Working Mother Media 2017 Top Ten Company for Working Mothers

·      Victory Media 2018 Military Friendly Employer of the Year

·      Perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for 15 consecutive years

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Environment

·Demonstrably committed to environmental leadership for over four decades

·IBM’s Green Horizon initiative harnesses the power of cognitive computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) to help fight air pollution in China; research collaborations with governments in India and South Africa are also leveraging this technology to combat air pollution

·In 1997, became the 1st major company to achieve a single global registration to the ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management Systems; 2017 marks 20 years of execution

·1st and only company to win the Climate Leadership Award (from The Climate Registry and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions) 6 times in the program’s 7-year tenure

·More than 40% of electricity consumed during 2016 came from renewable sources

·Over 38% reduction in CO2 emissions since 2005

Supply Chain

·With about 11,000 supplier locations worldwide, our upstream focus on social and environmental responsibility has far-reaching positive impacts

·Recognized leader with nearly 50 years of growing the diversity of our supply chain

·Endorses the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct for its global operations and requires direct suppliers to comply with this code

·Collaborates with industry groups to drive supply chain improvements in areas such as worker well-being and responsible sourcing of minerals

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IBM’s corporate responsibility report, which


[MISSING IMAGE: px_proxy01pg01-bw.jpg]
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION1 NEW ORCHARD RD, MD 325ARMONK, NY 10504 SCAN TOVIEW MATERIALS & VOTE VOTE BY INTERNETBefore The Meeting - Go to www.proxyvote.com or scan the QR Barcode aboveUse the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information.Vote by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 24, 2023, for shares held directly and by11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 23, 2023, for shares held in the 401(k) Plus Plan. Have yourproxy card in hand when you access the website and follow the instructions to obtain your recordsand to create an electronic Voting Instruction Form.During The Meeting - Go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/IBM2023You may attend the meeting via the Internet and vote during the meeting. Have the informationthat is printed in the box marked by the arrow available at https://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/, gives a comprehensive look at all of these initiatives, as well as informationand follow the instructions.VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions. Vote by 11:59 p.m.Eastern Time on other Company-wide sustainability programsApril 24, 2023, for shares held directly and practices. Our Corporate Environmental Report, publishedby 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time onApril 23, 2023, for shares held in June 2017, is available at https://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/annual/reporting.shtml.

83



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MMMMMMMMMMMM . Admission Ticket MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM C123456789 000004 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext ENDORSEMENT_LINE______________ SACKPACK_____________ Electronic Voting Instructions Instead of mailingthe 401(k) Plus Plan. Have your proxy you may choose one ofcard in hand when youcall, and then follow the two voting methods outlined belowinstructions.VOTE BY MAILMark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we haveprovided or return it to vote.Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood,NY 11717. If you vote by telephone or the Internet, please DO NOT mail back this proxy card. MR A SAMPLE DESIGNATION (IF ANY) ADD 1 ADD 2 ADD 3 ADD 4 ADD 5 ADD 6 Vote by Internet • Log on to: www.ibm.com/investor/vote Vote by telephone • Within USA, US territories & Canada, call toll-free 1-800-652-VOTE (8683) on a touch tone telephone. There is NO CHARGE to you for the call. • Outside USA, US territories & Canada, call 1-781-575-2300 on a touch tone telephone. Standard rates will apply. • Follow the instructions provided by the recorded message. Mark your votes with an X as shown in this example. Please do not write outside the designated areas. 1234 5678 9012 345 q IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNETProxy Card. TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR TELEPHONE, FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACHBLACK INK AS FOLLOWS: D96424-P83309 KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. q PROXY/VOTING INSTRUCTION CARD SIGNED PROXIES RETURNED WITHOUT SPECIFIC VOTING DIRECTIONS WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ RECOMMENDATIONS. + Abstain IBM’sDATED. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION IBM's Directors recommend a vote FOR each director (please mark your vote for each director separately). 1. Election of Directors for a Term of One Year For Against Abstain For Against Abstain For Against Abstain For Against 01 - K. I. Chenault 02 - M. L. Eskew 03 - D. N. Farr 04 - A. Gorsky 05 - S. A. Jackson 06 - A. N. Liveris 07 - H. S. Olayan 08 - J. W. Owens 09 - V. M. Rometty 10 - J. R. Swedish 11 - S. Taurel 12 - P. R. Voser 13 - F. H. Waddell IBM’sIBM's Directors recommend a vote FOR Proposalsproposals 2 and 3. For Against Abstain ForAgainst Abstain 2. Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered PublicRegisteredPublic Accounting Firm 3. Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation IBM’sIBM's Directors recommend a vote for 1 YEARfor proposal 4.4. Advisory Vote Regarding the Frequency of theAdvisory Vote on Executive Compensation IBM's Directors recommend a vote AGAINST Proposals 4, 5proposals5, 6, 7 and 6. ForAgainst Abstain ForAgainst Abstain 4. Stockholder Proposal on Lobbying Disclosure8. 5. Stockholder Proposal on Shareholder Ability to Call a Special Shareholder Meeting 6. Stockholder Proposal to Have an IndependMent BoarMd ChairmMan MMMM C 1234567890 J N T 1 6 4 7 1 MR A SAMPLE (THIS AREA IS SET UP TO ACCOMMODATE 140 CHARACTERS) MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND + 1 U P X 3 6 002CSP0080 02QPSE MMMMMMMMM C B A X IMPORTANT ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION

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Independent BoardChairman7. Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report onCongruency in China Business Operations and ESGActivities8. Stockholder Proposal Requesting a Public Report onHarassment and Discrimination Prevention Efforts Please sign exactly as your name appears hereon, date, and return in the enclosed envelope. If acting as executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, etc., youshould so indicate when signing. If the signer is a corporation, please sign the full corporate name by duly authorized officer. If shares are held jointly, eachstockholder named should sign. Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX] Date Signature (Joint Owners) Date 1a. Thomas Buberl 1b. David N. Farr 1c. Alex Gorsky 1d. Michelle J. Howard 1e. Arvind Krishna 1f. Andrew N. Liveris 1g. F. William McNabb III 1h. Martha E. Pollack 1i. Joseph R. Swedish 1j. Peter R. Voser 1k. Frederick H. Waddell 1l. Alfred W. Zollar


. Annual Meeting Admission Ticket This is your admission ticket[MISSING IMAGE: px_proxy01pg02-bw.jpg]

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:The Notice of Meeting, Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available at www.ibm.com/investor/material International Business Machines CorporationAnnual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, at 10 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 West Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203. Stockholders must have a ticket for admission to the meeting. This ticketStockholdersThis proxy is issued to the stockholder whose name appears on it and is non-transferable. PLEASE DETACH AND PRESENT THIS TICKET AND PHOTO IDENTIFICATION FOR ADMISSION TO THE ANNUAL MEETING. CAMERAS, CELLULAR PHONES, RECORDING EQUIPMENT AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WILL NOT BE PERMITTED AT THE MEETING. Dear IBM Stockholder: Your vote is important. Please read both sides of the attached 2018 IBM Proxy/Voting Instruction Card. You can vote your shares through the Internet, by telephone, or by marking, signing and returning your card. If you vote through the Internet or by telephone, there is no need to mail your card. You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, at 10 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 West Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203. If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, you should either mark the box provided below on the proxy card, or signify your intention to attend when you access the Internet or telephone voting system. We urge you to vote your shares. Thank you very much for your cooperation and continued loyalty as an IBM Stockholder. Christina M. Montgomery Vice President and Secretary q IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET OR TELEPHONE, FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. q Proxy Solicitedsolicited by the Board of Directors for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders — April 24, 2018 Virginia M. Rometty,DirectorsArvind Krishna, James J. Kavanaugh, Michelle H. Browdy and Christina M. Montgomery,Frank Sedlarcik, or any of them with the power of substitution, are hereby appointed Proxies of the undersigned to vote all common stock of International Business Machines Corporation owned on the record date by the + undersigned at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held virtually viawww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/IBM2023 at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 West Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203, at 1010:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, April 24, 2018,25, 2023, or any adjournment or postponement thereof. THEthereof.THE PROXIES WILL VOTE USING THE DIRECTIONS PROVIDED ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS CARD. IF YOU SIGN AND RETURN THIS PROXY, BUT DO NOT PROVIDE SPECIFIC DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO A VOTING ITEM, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED WITH RESPECT TO SUCH ITEM AS RECOMMENDED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE PROXIES ARE ALSO AUTHORIZED TO VOTE UPON ALL OTHER MATTERS AS MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING, OR ANY ADJOURNMENT OR POSTPONEMENT THEREOF, UTILIZING THEIR OWN DISCRETION AS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICE OF 2018THE 2023 ANNUAL MEETING AND PROXY STATEMENT. THISSTATEMENT.THIS CARD WILL ALSO BE USED TO PROVIDE VOTING INSTRUCTIONS TO THE TRUSTEE FOR ANY SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION HELD IN THE IBM STOCK FUND INVESTMENT ALTERNATIVE UNDER THE IBM 401(k) PLUS PLAN ON THE RECORD DATE, AS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICE OF 20182023 ANNUAL MEETING AND PROXY STATEMENT. UNLESSSTATEMENT.UNLESS YOU USE THE INTERNET OR THE TELEPHONE TO VOTE YOURTHESE SHARES, YOU MUST SIGN AND RETURN THIS PROXY IN ORDER FOR YOURTHESE SHARES TO BE VOTED. (Shares willVOTED.Continued and to be voted as directed if this card is: 1. signed and returned or 2. shares are voted over the Internet or by telephone or 3. other specific arrangements are made to have the shares represented at the meeting.) Please date and sign below, and return this card in the enclosed envelope, or you may vote by using the Internet or telephone. Date (mm/dd/yyyy) — Please print date below. Signature(s) — Please keep signature(s) within the box. + IF VOTING BY MAIL, YOU MUST DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THIS CARD. D Mark the box if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting.

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0000051143 6 2022-01-01 2022-12-31