2021 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

Table of ContentsPROXY SUMMARY

2019 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

PROXY SUMMARY

20182020 Business Highlights

We are a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) focused on the acquisition, ownership and operation of single-tenant, industrial properties throughout the United States. Our primary business objectives areobjective is to own and operate a balanced and diversified industrial real estate portfolio consisting mostly of binary risk investments (individual single-tenant industrial buildings) that maximizes cash flows and enhances stockholder value over time.

Our business strategy has resulted in a consistent track record of creating strong operational performance and long-term value for our stockholders.

TOTAL STOCKHOLDER RETURN AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

●·     We believe that the value creation produced from an investment in real estate should be assessed over a long-term period, and our strategy has focused on long-term value creation.

●

·                  During     Despite facing challenges related to the ongoing public health crisis of the novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) pandemic, we continue to execute on our operational goals and maintained strong occupancy and rent collections during the year. We (i) achieved an occupancy rate of 96.9% on the total portfolio and 97.2% on the operating portfolio as of December 31, 2020, and (ii) collected 99.6% of base rental billings for the year ended December 31, 2018:2020 (as of February 10, 2021), representing one of the highest collection rates in our industry. ●      As of and for the year ended December 31, 2020:

o     Net income was approximately $96.2$206.8 million as compared to net income of approximately $32.2$50.7 million in 2017,2019, an increase of approximately 198.9%307.9%. These amounts included approximately $135.7 million and $7.4 million, respectively, of gain from sales of properties in 2020 and 2019. Excluding gain from sales of properties, our net income increased approximately 64.2% from 2019 to 2020.

o     Funds from operations (“FFO”) was approximately $197.5$291.1 million as compared to FFO of approximately $160.4$238.2 million in 2017,2019, an increase of approximately 23.1%22.2%.*

o     Net operating income (“NOI”) was approximately $282.0$394.1 million as compared to NOI of approximately $243.3$330.8 million in 2017,2019, an increase of approximately 15.9%19.1%.*

* FFO and NOI meet the definition of “non-GAAP financial measures” as set forth in Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Please refer to Appendix A attached hereto for an explanation of why our management considers these measures, the historical amounts of these two measures and a reconciliation of the measures to the nearest measure under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Stockholder Engagement

OurExecutive Compensation Highlights

We are proud of the way our employees performed during the COVID-19 crisis. We succeeded due in large part to the stewardship and leadership of our executive management team, participates in an active stockholder engagement process each year:

We provide institutional investors with many opportunitieswho implemented policies to protect the safety and events to provide feedback directly to our management team throughout the year, including formal events, one-on-one sessions and group meetings throughout the year.  During 2018, our management team attended eight investor conferences, three non-deal roadshows and numerous other individual investor meetings, where they met with approximately 70 institutional investors, representing approximately 29%wellbeing of our outstanding common stock.  These meetings coveredemployees; steered us through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic; and executed successful strategies to drive strong operational performance, grow our portfolio (despite a rangenear total cessation in acquisition activity at the outset of topics, includingthe pandemic), strengthen our financial conditionbalance sheet and results of operations,increase stockholder value. We established our business investment, financebonus performance metrics early in 2020, before the COVID-19 crisis, and operation strategies, our stock price performance, economic, industry and market trends, corporate governance and executive compensation and other matters.

In addition to, and apart from, our regular investor meetings, in connection with the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders and thereafter, we spoke exclusively about executive compensation and corporate governance with 10 investors, representing an approximately 39% ownership of our outstanding common stock.  For more information about our stockholder engagement relateddid not adjust those metrics or otherwise make any changes to our executive compensation programs,program in response to the unprecedented pandemic. Below are certain features of our executive compensation program, which reflect our commitment to a pay-for-performance compensation structure:

For more information, see “Executive Officer Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Stockholder Engagement and Response to 2018 Say-On-Pay Vote.”Analysis” below.

We engage with stockholders throughout the year in order to:

·                  provide visibility and transparency into our business, performance and corporate practices;

·                  hear from our stockholders about issues that are important to them and their expectations for our company; and

·                  assess emerging issues that may affect our business, inform our decision making, enhance our public disclosures and help shape our practices.

Our management team recognized the benefits that come from this dialogue with our stockholders.  Stockholder feedback is thoughtfully considered and has led to modifications in our executive compensation program, governance practices and public disclosures.  Some of the actions we have taken in response to stockholder feedback include:

·                  redesigned our executive compensation program to, among other things, add rigorous performance goals tied to both company and operational performance to the annual cash incentive bonus program;

·                  amended our charter and bylaws to allow stockholders to adopt, alter or repeal our bylaws;

·                  adopted a true majority voting standard in director elections (with a director resignation policy);

·                  increased the management team’s focus on our policies, practices and disclosures related to environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governance practices; and

·                  started an initiative, led by the nominating and corporate governance committee, to add another female director to the board of directors.

Snapshot of Corporate Governance Practices

The table below presents a snapshot of our corporate governance policies.

Corporate Responsibility Highlights

During 2020, we enhanced and refined our corporate responsibility program and related initiatives. Significant milestones and accomplishments include:

Enhancing Board Diversity

We are committed to diversity and recognize the benefits of having a diverse board of directors.  In 2017, the board of directors resolved to strengthen its commitment to diversity by seeking to identify one or more qualified female candidates for appointment to the board and, in March 2018, the board of directors unanimously appointed Michelle S. Dilley to the board.  Women and minorities currently represent 25% of the board of directors.  Additionally, the board of directors has increased its focus on adding a second woman to the board and has started an initiative, led by the nominating and corporate governance committee, to determine the needed skill set and experience for an additional director and identify qualified nominees with a focus on identifying female candidates.

Redesigned Executive Compensation Program

In connection with the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders and thereafter, we decided to contact our institutional stockholders to better understand their concerns

●

Stockholder Engagement. We provide institutional investors with many opportunities and events to provide feedback directly to our management team throughout the year, including formal events, one-on-one sessions and group meetings throughout the year. During 2020, our management team attended (in-person and virtually) seven investor conferences and numerous other individual investor meetings, where they met with approximately 112 institutional investors, representing approximately 22% of our outstanding common stock. These meetings covered a range of topics, including our financial condition and results of operations, our business investment, finance and operation strategies, our stock price performance, economic, industry and market trends, ESG policies, corporate governance and executive compensation and other matters. In addition to, and apart from, our regular investor meetings, we speak exclusively about our executive compensation program and to identify areas for improvement. In response to the 2018 annual meeting voting results and to stockholder feedback and proxy advisory firm observations, our compensation committee worked with its compensation consultant, FPL Associates, L.P. (“FPL”), to re-design certain aspects of our executive compensation program and took the following actions: WHAT WE HEARD HOW WE RESPONDED Reduce overlap of performance metrics in annual and long-term incentive programs à We modified the annual cash incentive bonus program to be based on individual and corporate operational performance goals, while keepinggovernance with a number of our investors each year. ● Enhancing board diversity. We are committed to diversity and recognize the performance unit awards based on relativebenefits of having a diverse board of directors. As of January 2020, women and absolute TSR metrics Utilize rigorous individual and corporate operational performance goals for the annual cash incentive bonus program à We adjusted the annual cash incentive bonus program so 20% will be based on certain individual performance goals and 80% will be based on four corporate operational performance goals: (i) Core FFO per Share, (ii) Acquisition Volume, (iii) Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre and (iv) Same Store Cash NOI Growth Decrease volatility in payout levels for same levels of performance à We removed the muting methodology from the annual cash incentive bonus program Adopt rigorous performance goals for performance unit target payout levels à We set target payout levels for performance units granted in 2020 and beyond at the 55th percentileminorities represented 33% of the peer group such that we must outperformboard of directors. We remain focused on appointing women and other diverse candidates to achieve target More than half of the equity awards should be performance-based equity awards à We determined that annual equity awards should consist of approximately 35% to 40%board in LTIP units (subject to multi-year vesting) and 60% to 65% in performance units (with a multi-year measuring period) Disclose thesholds for minmum payouts under the annual cash incentive bonus program and performance units àfuture as opportunities arise. We disclosed that performance below threshold levels will earn 0% under the annual cash incentive bonus program and that relative return performance below the 30th percentile will result no payout (zero value) under the performance units For more information, about our stockholder outreachsee “Board of Directors and our redesigned executive compensation program, see “Executive Officer Compensation DiscussionIts Committees” and Analysis—Stockholder Engagement and Response to 2018 Say-On-Pay Vote.”“Corporate Responsibility” below. Environmental Stewardship and Social Responsibility As the long-term owner of industrial buildings, we have a vested interest in making investments and working with our tenants to create a portfolio of industrial buildings with modern sustainable features that will continue to meet tenant demand and help tenants run their operations as efficiently as possible. We have made progress on environmental issues in two primary areas – (1) investments to garner energy savings, including modernization of lighting and HVAC equipment, and (2) investments in alternative energy generation.  With respect to energy savings, we are working with our tenants to accelerate the replacement of inefficient equipment and, in doing so, generate significant electrical and natural gas cost savings.  These savings initially accrue to the tenants under our triple-net leases, but will make our buildings more competitive and attractive to potential tenants when exposed to market conditions in future lease negotiations.  In addition, when one of our buildings becomes vacant, we advance these cost-saving modernization efforts on our own initiative.  With respect to alternative energy, the most promising technology for local power generation at our industrial sites is solar (photovoltaic).  We have been aggressively pursuing installation in the states that are most receptive to these installations.  Our initial solar installations will go online this year. Our commitment to social responsibility extends to all, including employees, customers, communities, investors, suppliers and visitors.  Our mission is to extend our financial resources, time and core values and principles to improve communities.  We strive to collaborate with local non-profit organizations that provide opportunities to inspire and empower children and young adults.  Our employees demonstrate their personal commitment by volunteering time and resources into these organizations that we believe will help children and young adults realize their potential and make an impact to future generations. Early in our life as a public company, we established our Charitable Action Committee (the “CAC”) to promote quality interaction with our local community in Boston.  We currently support six local charities through a combination of financial support (both direct and employee matching) and numerous employee volunteer activities (such as food and clothing distribution, habitat improvement, etc.).  The CAC is funded by our company and is managed by our enthusiastic volunteer employees.  Each year we choose one of these charities for our “Impact Day” – a day-long, companywide effort to improve the facilities of the chosen charity.  For example, on August 8, 2018, more than half of our employees volunteered with The Home for Little Wanderers to paint, organize closets and rooms, assemble back-to-school backpacks, run activity stations and serve food at their Family Resource Center.  More information about our volunteer activities is available under “In the Community” in the “About Us” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. We are continuing to focus on enhancing our public disclosures related to our environmental stewardship, social responsibility and governance practices.  We expect to post more information on our initiatives in these areas on our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Matters to be Voted On at the 20192021 Annual Meeting Proposal Board Recommendation Proposal 1: Election of Directors FOR Proposal 2: Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm FOR Proposal 3: Advisory (Non-Binding) Vote on Executive Compensation FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING   Q: Why did I receive these proxy materials? Q:Why did I receive a notice of internet availability of proxy materials? A: The board of directors is soliciting proxies to be voted at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. You received these materials because you were a stockholder as of March 11, 2021, the record date fixed by the board of directors, and are therefore entitled to receive notice of the annual meeting and to vote on matters presented at the annual meeting, which will be held virtually on May 3, 2021. Pursuant to rules promulgated by the SEC, we are providing access to our proxy materials over the internet. On or about March 24, 2021, we are mailing to our stockholders of record on March 11, 2021, either (i) a copy of this proxy statement, the accompanying proxy card, our annual report and the notice of internet availability of proxy materials (the “Notice”), or (ii) the Notice only. The Notice and this proxy statement summarize the information you need to know in order to vote by proxy or at the virtual annual meeting.   A:                                   The board of directors is soliciting proxies to be voted at the 2019 annual meeting of stockholders. The annual meeting will be held at the offices of DLA Piper LLP (US) at 33 Arch Street, 26th Floor, in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, April 29, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., local time.  Pursuant to rules promulgated by the SEC, we are providing access to our proxy materials over the internet.  On or about March 20, 2019, we are mailing to our stockholders of record on March 8, 2019, either (i) a copy of this proxy statement, the accompanying proxy card, our annual report and the notice of internet availability of proxy materials (the “Notice”), or (ii) the Notice only.  The Notice and this proxy statement summarize the information you need to know in order to vote by proxy or in person at the annual meeting. Q: When was the Notice mailed? A: The Notice was mailed to stockholders beginning on or about March 24, 2021. Q: When and where is the annual meeting being held? A: The annual meeting will be held on Monday, May 3, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to support the health and welfare of our stockholders, the meeting will be held solely by remote communication in a virtual-only meeting format. You will be able to attend the annual meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/STAG2021. Note that the decision to proceed with a virtual-only meeting again this year will not mean we will utilize a virtual-only format or any means of remote communication for future annual meetings. Q: Who can attend the annual meeting? A: You are entitled to attend the annual meeting if you were a common stockholder of record (i.e., stockholders holding shares of common stock directly in their name with our transfer agent) as of the close of business on March 11, 2021, the record date for the annual meeting, or hold a duly authorized proxy for the meeting provided by your broker, bank or other nominee. You do not need to attend the annual meeting in order to vote. Q: How do I attend the annual meeting? A: You will be able to attend the annual meeting online through live audio webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/STAG2021. Online registration will begin 30 minutes before the meeting. To attend and vote at the annual meeting, you must login with your 16-digit control number included on your proxy card, voting instruction form or the Notice you previously received. Q: May stockholders ask questions at the annual meeting? A: Yes. Stockholders will be able to submit live questions during the virtual annual meeting online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/STAG2021, however, all live questions will be subject to time restrictions and we will do our best to accommodate as many as possible. Q: What if I have trouble accessing the annual meeting virtually? A: The virtual meeting platform is fully supported across browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari) and devices (desktops, laptops, tablets and cell phones) running the most updated version of applicable software and plugins. Participants should ensure that they have a strong internet connection wherever they intend to participate in the annual meeting. We encourage you to access the virtual meeting platform prior to the start time. Please allow ample time for online check-in, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the virtual meeting platform during the check-in time or during the annual meeting, in person in order to vote.please call the technical support number that will be posted on www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/STAG2021.   Q:When was the Notice mailed? Q: Who is entitled to vote at the annual meeting?   A:                                   The Notice was mailed to stockholders beginning on or about March 20, 2019. A: All common stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 11, 2021, the record date, are entitled to vote at the annual meeting.   Q:Who is entitled to vote? Q: What is the quorum for the meeting?   A:                                   All common stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 8, 2019, the record date, are entitled to vote at the annual meeting. A: A quorum at the annual meeting will consist of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders of all shares of common stock outstanding. No business may be conducted at the meeting if a quorum is not present. As of the record date, 159,082,448 shares of common stock were issued and outstanding. If less than a majority of outstanding shares entitled to vote are represented at the annual meeting, the chairman of the meeting may adjourn the annual meeting to another date, time or place, not later than 120 days after the original record date of March 11, 2021. Notice need not be given of the new date, time or place if announced at the meeting before an adjournment is taken.   Q:What is the quorum for the meeting? Q: How many votes do I have?   A:                                   A quorum at the annual meeting will consist of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders of all shares of common stock outstanding.  No business may be conducted at the meeting if a quorum is not present. As of the record date, 117,948,452 shares of common stock were issued and outstanding.  If less than a majority of outstanding shares entitled to vote are represented at the annual meeting, the chairman of the meeting may adjourn the annual meeting to another date, time or place, not later than 120 days after the original record date of March 8, 2019.  Notice need not be given of the new date, time or place if announced at the meeting before an adjournment is taken. A: You are entitled to one vote for each whole share of common stock you held as of the record date. Our stockholders do not have the right to cumulate their votes for directors.   Q:How many votes do I have? Q: What is the difference between holding shares as a stockholder of record and as a beneficial owner?   A:                                   You are entitled to one vote for each whole share of common stock you held as of the record date.  Our stockholders do not have the right to cumulate their votes for directors. Q:What is the difference between holding shares as a stockholder of record and as a beneficial owner? A:                                   If your shares are registered in your name with our transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, you are the “stockholder of record” of those shares. If your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other holder of record, A: If your shares are registered in your name with our transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, you are the “stockholder of record” of those shares. If your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other nominee, you are considered the “beneficial owner” of those shares. The Notice and proxy statement and any accompanying documents have been forwarded to you by your broker, bank or other nominee. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or other nominee how to vote your shares by following the instructions provided by the institution holding your shares for voting on the internet or by telephone or mail. Q: How do I vote? A: If you are the stockholder of record: ● On the internet. You may submit your proxy over the internet by following the instructions in the Notice, proxy card or voting instruction card that you received. ● By telephone: You may submit your proxy by telephone by following the instructions in the Notice, proxy card or voting instruction card that you received. ● By mail. If you received a paper copy of a proxy card or voting instruction card by mail, you may submit your proxy by completing, signing and dating your proxy card or voting instruction card and mailing it in the accompanying self-addressed stamped envelope. No postage is necessary if mailed in the United States. ● At the virtual annual meeting: You may vote during the virtual annual meeting by following the instructions available on the meeting website during the meeting. If you are the beneficial owner of shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee, you may instruct your broker, bank or other holder of record.  As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or other holder of record hownominee to vote your shares by usingfollowing the instructions that the institution holding the shares provides to you. If you are the beneficial owner and want to vote during the meeting, you must obtain a duly authorized proxy executed in your favor, from the institution holding the shares in order to vote your shares at the virtual annual meeting. Properly completed and submitted proxy cards and voting instruction cardcards, as well as proxies properly completed and submitted on the internet or by following theirtelephone prior to the annual meeting, will be voted at the annual meeting in accordance with the instructions provided as long as they are received in time for voting by telephone or on the internet.and not revoked.   Q:How do I vote? A:Whether or not you plan to attend the annual meeting, we urgerecommend that you to authorize youra proxy to vote your shares over the internetin advance as described in the Notice.  Alternatively,above so that your vote will be counted if you received a paper copy oflater decide not to attend the proxy card by mail, please complete, date, sign and promptly return the proxy card in the self-addressed stamped envelope provided.  You also may authorize your proxy to vote your shares by telephone as described in your proxy card.annual meeting. Authorizing your proxy over the internet, by telephone or by mailing a proxy card or by telephone,voting instruction card, will not limit your right to attend the annual meeting and vote your shares in person.  Your proxy (the individual named in your proxy card) will vote your shares per your instructions.shares.   Q: Can I change my vote after I have voted? Q:How do I vote my shares that are held by my broker? A: Yes. If you are the stockholder of record, you may revoke a proxy at any time prior to its exercise by filing with our corporate secretary a duly executed revocation of proxy, by properly submitting, either on the internet or by telephone or mail, a proxy bearing a later date or by attending the virtual annual meeting and voting. Attendance at the annual meeting will not by itself constitute revocation of a proxy. If you are the beneficial owner of shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee, please follow the instructions provided by the institution holding the shares regarding how to revoke your voting instructions. Q: What am I voting on? A: You will be voting on: ● Proposal 1: the election of nine directors to hold office until the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified; ● Proposal 2: the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to act as our independent registered public accounting firm for year ending December 31, 2021; and ● Proposal 3: the approval, by non-binding vote, of our executive compensation.   A:                                   If you have shares held by a broker, you may instruct your broker to vote your shares by following the instructions that the broker provides to you.  Most brokers allow you to authorize your proxy by mail, telephone and on the internet.  If you have shares held by a broker, you must obtain a written proxy executed in your favor, from the broker holding your shares in order to vote your shares in person at the annual meeting. Q:What am I voting on? A:                                   You will be voting on: ·                  Proposal 1: the election of eight directors to hold office until the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified; ·                  Proposal 2: the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to act as our independent registered public accounting firm for year ending December 31, 2019; and ·                  Proposal 3: the approval, by non-binding vote, of our executive compensation. In addition, you will be voting on such other business as may properly come before the annual meeting, including any adjournments or postponements thereof.   Q:What vote is required to approve the proposals assuming that a quorum is present at the annual meeting? Q: What vote is required to approve the proposals assuming that a quorum is present at the annual meeting?   A: Proposal 1: A:                                   Proposal 1:                                  The election of the director nominees must be approved by a majority of the votes cast. Proposal 2: The ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm requires a majority of the votes cast.  Proposal 3: The advisory vote approving executive compensation requires an affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast.   Proposal 2:                                 The ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm requires a majority of the votes cast. Q: How are abstentions and broker non-votes treated?    Proposal 3: A: If you are the beneficial owner of shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee, you must instruct the broker, bank or other nominee how to vote your shares. A “broker non-vote” occurs when a bank, broker or other nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because that holder does not have discretionary voting power for that particular item and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner. If your shares are held by a broker, bank or other nominee, your broker, bank or other nominee has discretionary voting authority under NYSE rules to vote your shares on the ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm even if the institution does not receive voting instructions from you. However, your broker, bank or other nominee does not have discretionary authority to vote on the election of directors or the advisory vote approving our executive compensation, in which case a broker non-vote will occur and your shares will not be voted on these matters.                                The advisory vote approving executive compensation requires an affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast. Pursuant to Maryland law, abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. For purposes of the election of directors and the vote on Proposal 3, abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote. For purposes of the vote on Proposal 2, abstentions will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote.   Q:How are abstentions and broker non-votes treated? Q: Will there be any other items of business on the agenda?   A:                                   If you are a beneficial owner whose shares are held of record by a broker, you must instruct the broker how to vote your shares.  A “broker non-vote” occurs when a bank, broker or other holder of record holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because that holder does not have discretionary voting power for that particular item (such as the election of directors and the approval of our executive compensation) and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner. A: The board of directors does not know of any other matters that may be brought before the annual meeting nor does it foresee or have reason to believe that proxy holders will have to vote for substitute or alternate nominees for election to the board of directors. If any other matter should come before the annual meeting or any nominee is not available for election, the persons named in the enclosed proxy will have discretionary authority to vote all proxies with respect to such matters in accordance with their discretion.   If you are a beneficial owner whose shares are held of record by a broker, your broker has discretionary voting authority under New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) rules to vote your shares on the ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm even if the broker does not receive voting instructions from you.  However, your broker does not have discretionary authority to vote on the election of directors or the advisory vote approving our executive compensation, in which case a broker non-vote will occur and your shares will not be voted on these matters. Pursuant to Maryland law, abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. Q: What happens if I submit my proxy without providing voting instructions on all proposals?   For purposes of the election of directors and the vote on Proposal 3, abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote. A: Proxies properly submitted via the internet, mail or telephone will be voted at the annual meeting in accordance with your directions. If the properly-submitted proxy does not provide voting instructions on a proposal, the proxy will be voted as follows:   For purposes of the vote on Proposal 2, abstentions will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote. ● if you are a stockholder of record, to elect (FOR) each of the director nominees listed in “Proposal 1: Election of Directors;” if you are a beneficial owner of shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee, a broker non-vote will occur; ● if you are a stockholder of record or a beneficial owner of shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee, in favor of (FOR) “Proposal 2: Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm;” and ● if you are a stockholder of record, in favor of (FOR) “Proposal 3: Advisory (Non-Binding) Vote on Executive Compensation;” if you are a beneficial owner of shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee, a broker non-vote will occur.   Important:  Beneficial owners of shares held in broker accounts are advised that if they do not provide timely instructions to their broker, pursuant to NYSE Rule 452, their shares will not be voted in connection with the election of directors or the proposal related to our executive compensation.  Accordingly, it is particularly important that beneficial owners instruct their brokers how they wish to vote their shares.   Q:Will there be any other items of business on the agenda? Q: Where can I find the voting results after the annual meeting?   A:                                   The board of directors does not know of any other matters that may be brought before the annual meeting nor does it foresee or have reason to believe that proxy holders will have to vote for substitute or alternate nominees for election to the board of directors.  If any other matter should come before the annual meeting or any nominee is not available for election, the persons named in the enclosed proxy will have discretionary authority to vote all proxies with respect to such matters in accordance with their discretion. A: We will announce the preliminary voting results at the annual meeting and will report the final voting results in a current report on Form 8-K, which we will file with the SEC within four business days after the meeting.   Q:What happens if I submit my proxy without providing voting instructions on all proposals? Q: Will anyone contact me regarding this vote?   A:                                   Proxies properly submitted via the internet, mail or telephone will be voted at the annual meeting in accordance with your directions.  If the properly-submitted proxy does not provide voting instructions on a proposal, the proxy will be voted as follows: A: No arrangements or contracts have been made with any solicitors as of the date of this proxy statement, although we reserve the right to engage solicitors at any time if we deem them necessary. Such solicitations may be made by mail, telephone, facsimile, e-mail or personal interviews.   ·                  if you are a stockholder of record, to elect (FOR) each of the director nominees listed in “Proposal 1: Election of Directors;” if you are a beneficial owner whose shares are held of record by a broker, a broker non-vote will occur; Q: Who has paid for this proxy solicitation?   ·                  if you are a stockholder of record or if you are a beneficial owner whose shares are held of record by a broker, in favor of (FOR) “Proposal 2: Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm;” and A: We have paid the entire expense of preparing, printing and mailing the Notice and, to the extent requested by our stockholders, the proxy materials and any additional materials furnished to stockholders. Proxies may be solicited by our directors, officers or employees personally or by telephone without additional compensation for such activities. We also will request persons, firms and corporations holding shares in their names or in the names of their nominees, which are beneficially owned by others, to send appropriate solicitation materials to such beneficial owners. We will reimburse such holders for their reasonable expenses.   ·                  if you are a stockholder of record, in favor of (FOR) “Proposal 3: Advisory (Non-Binding) Vote on Executive Compensation;” if you are a beneficial owner whose shares are held of record by a broker, a broker non-vote will occur. Q:Will anyone contact me regarding this vote? A:                                   No arrangements or contracts have been made with any solicitors as of the date of this proxy statement, although we reserve the right to engage solicitors at any time if we deem them necessary.  Such solicitations may be made by mail, telephone, facsimile, e-mail or personal interviews. Q:Who has paid for this proxy solicitation? A:                                   We have paid the entire expense of preparing, printing and mailing the Notice and, to the extent requested by our stockholders, the proxy materials and any additional materials furnished to stockholders.  Proxies may be solicited by our directors, officers or employees personally or by telephone without additional compensation for such activities.  We also will request persons, firms and corporations holding shares in their names or in the names of their nominees, which are beneficially owned by others, to send appropriate solicitation materials to such beneficial owners.  We will reimburse such holders for their reasonable expenses. Q:May stockholders ask questions at the annual meeting? A:                                   Yes.  There will be time allotted at the end of the meeting when our representatives will answer questions from the floor. Q:How many copies should I receive if I share an address with another stockholder? Q: How many copies should I receive if I share an address with another stockholder?   The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries, such as a broker, bank or other agent, to implement a delivery procedure called “householding.” Under this procedure, multiple stockholders who reside at the same address may receive a single copy of our proxy materials, unless the affected stockholder has provided us with contrary instructions. This procedure provides extra convenience for stockholders and cost savings for companies.   Our company and some brokers, banks or other agents may be householding our proxy materials. A single Notice and, if applicable, a single set of our proxy materials, including this proxy statement, the accompanying proxy card, our annual report and the Notice, will be delivered to multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected stockholders. Once you have received notice from your broker, bank or other agent that it will be householding communications to your address, householding will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If you did not respond that you did not want to participate in householding, you were deemed to have consented to the process. Stockholders may revoke their consent at any time by contacting Broadridge ICS, either by calling toll-free (800) 542-1061 or by writing to Broadridge ICS, Householding Department, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, New York, 11717.   Upon written or oral request, we will promptly deliver a separate copy of the Notice and, if applicable, a single set of our proxy materials, to any stockholder at a shared address to which a single copy of any of those documents was delivered. To receive a separate copy of the Notice and, if applicable, our proxy materials, you may send a written request to STAG Industrial, Inc., One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, Attention: Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Corporate Secretary. In addition, if you are receiving multiple copies of the Notice and, if applicable, our proxy materials, you can request householding by contacting our Corporate Secretarycorporate secretary in the same manner.   Q:What does it mean if I receive more than one Notice? Q: What does it mean if I receive more than one Notice?   A:                                   It means that you have multiple accounts at the transfer agent or with brokers.  Please submit all of your proxies over the internet, following the instructions provided in the Notice, by mail or by telephone to ensure that all of your shares are voted. A: It means that you have multiple accounts at the transfer agent or with brokers, banks or other nominees. Please submit all of your proxies over the internet, following the instructions provided in the Notice, by mail or by telephone to ensure that all of your shares are voted.   Q:Can I change my vote after I have voted? Q: Can I find additional information on the company’s website?   A: Yes. Our website is www.stagindustrial.com. You can view additional information on the website, such as our corporate responsibility and ESG policies, our corporate governance guidelines, our code of business conduct and ethics, our stock ownership guidelines, charters of our board committees and reports that we file with the SEC. However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, part of this proxy statement or incorporated into any other filing that we submit to the SEC. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines, our code of business conduct and ethics, our stock ownership guidelines and each of the charters of our board committees also may be obtained free of charge by writing to STAG Industrial, Inc., One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, Attention: Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Corporate Secretary. A:                                   Yes.  Proxies properly submitted over the internet, by mail or by telephone do not preclude a stockholder from voting in person at the meeting.  A stockholder may revoke a proxy at any time prior to its exercise by filing with our corporate secretary a duly executed revocation of proxy, by properly submitting, either by internet, mail or telephone, a proxy bearing a later date or by appearing at the meeting and voting in person.  Attendance at the meeting will not by itself constitute revocation of a proxy.  If you have shares held by a broker, you must obtain a written proxy executed in your favor, from the broker holding your shares in order to vote your shares in person at the annual meeting. Q:Can I find additional information on the company’s website? A:                                   Yes.  Our website is www.stagindustrial.com.  You can view additional information on the website, such as our corporate governance guidelines, our code of business conduct and ethics, our stock ownership guidelines, charters of our board committees and reports that we file with the SEC.  However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, part of this proxy statement or incorporated into any other filing that we submit to the SEC. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines, our code of business conduct and ethics, our stock ownership guidelines and each of the charters of our board committees also may be obtained free of charge by writing to STAG Industrial, Inc., One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, Attention: Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Corporate Secretary. PROPOSAL 1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS   The board of directors currently consists of eightnine members with directors serving one-year terms and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The term for each director expires at each annual meeting of stockholders. At the 20192021 annual meeting, eightnine directors will be elected to serve until the 20202022 annual meeting and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The board of directors has nominated the following current directors (the “Nominees”) to serve as directors: Benjamin S. Butcher, Jit Kee Chin, Virgis W. Colbert, Michelle S. Dilley, Jeffrey D. Furber, Larry T. Guillemette, Francis X. Jacoby III, Christopher P. Marr and Hans S. Weger. The board of directors anticipates that each Nominee will serve, if elected, as a director. However, if anyone nominated by the board of directors is unable to accept election, the proxies will be voted for the election of such other person or persons as the board of directors may recommend.   Vote Required   The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at a meeting at which a quorum is present is required for the election of the Nominees. For purposes of the election of directors, abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote.   Recommendation   The board of directors recommends a vote FOR each Nominee.   Snapshot of Board Composition   The table below presents a snapshot of the expected composition of the board of directors.   Total number of directors 8 9 Percentage of independent directors 88% 89% Average age of independent directors 59 Average tenure of independent directors (years) 6.4 7.5 Lead independent director Yes Percentage of directors with CEO experience 50% Percentage of directors with CFO experience 50% Percentage of audit committee members designated as “audit committee financial experts” 100% 80% Percentage of women and minorities on the board (two of our directors are female, one of whom is Asian, and one of our directors is Black/African American) 25% 33% Director Nominees for Election to Term Expiring 20202022   The following tables and biographical descriptions set forth certain information with respect to each Nominee, including the specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that led to the conclusion by the board that such person should continue to serve as a director.     Director Nominees   Age   Principal Occupation   Director Since                       Benjamin S. Butcher   65   Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman   2010     Virgis W. Colbert   79   Former Executive Vice President of Miller Brewing Company   2014     Michelle S. Dilley   47   Chief Operating Officer of DSC Logistics   2018     Jeffrey D. Furber   60   Chief Executive Officer of AEW Capital Management   2011     Larry T. Guillemette   63   Former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Amtrol   2011     Francis X. Jacoby III   57   Chief Financial Officer of Leggat McCall Properties, LLC   2011     Christopher P. Marr   54   Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of CubeSmart   2012     Hans S. Weger   55   Former Chief Financial Officer of Focus Brands Inc.   2011   Director Nominees Age Principal Occupation Director Since Benjamin S. Butcher 67 Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman 2010 Jit Kee Chin 42 Executive Vice President, Chief Data Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Suffolk Construction 2020 Virgis W. Colbert 81 Former Executive Vice President of Miller Brewing Company 2014 Michelle S. Dilley 49 Chief Executive Officer of Awesome Leaders, NFP 2018 Jeffrey D. Furber 62 Global Chief Executive Officer of AEW 2011 Larry T. Guillemette 65 Former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Amtrol 2011 Francis X. Jacoby III 59 Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Leggat McCall Properties, LLC 2011 Christopher P. Marr 56 Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of CubeSmart 2012 Hans S. Weger 57 Strategic Consultant 2011   Director Qualifications Butcher Chin Colbert Dilley Furber Guillemette Jacoby Marr Weger CEO/public company executive ● ● ● ● ● ● Data analytics ● Finance/accounting ● ● ● ● Industrial operations ● ● ● ● Logistics ● ● ● Real estate / construction / development / finance ● ● ● ● ● ● Real estate or property technology ● Risk management ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Strategic planning ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Supply chain management ● ● ● Director Nominees   Butcher Colbert Dilley Furber Guillemette Jacoby Marr Weger Real estate / development / finance ü ü ü ü ü Industrial operations ü ü ü ü Logistics ü ü Supply chain management ü ü ü CEO / senior public company executive ü ü ü ü ü ü Strategic planning ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü Finance / accounting ü ü ü ü Risk management ü ü ü ü ü ü Director Nominees Benjamin S. Butcher Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board Committees:   ·Committees: ● Investment (Chair)   Mr. Butcher has served as our chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of directors since 2010. Prior to the formation of our company, Mr. Butcher oversaw the growth of our predecessor business, serving as a member of the board of managers of STAG Capital Partners, LLC, STAG Capital Partners III, LLC, and their affiliates from 2003 to 2011. From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Butcher was engaged as a private equity investor in real estate and technology. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Butcher served as a director at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he sourced and executed transactions for the principal transactions group (real estate debt and equity). Prior to that, he served as a director at Nomura Asset Capital from 1993 to 1997, where he focused on marketing and business development for its commercial mortgage-backed securities group. Mr. Butcher serves as a member of the board of trustees and a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee and compensation committee of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: WRE), an owner of office, multi-family and retail properties in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Mr. Butcher holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowdoin College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In light of his extensive company-specific operational, finance and market experience, his leadership abilities, his foundership of our company, and his expertise in the acquisition, ownership and management of single-tenant industrial properties, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Butcher to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting.   Jit Kee Chin Independent Director Committees: ●      Audit   Dr. Jit Kee Chin has served as executive vice president and chief data officer at Suffolk Construction Corporation Inc. (“Suffolk”), a national privately-held general contractor, since 2017 and additionally as chief innovation officer since 2019. In her roles, Dr. Chin is responsible for building a new capability for Suffolk, setting vision and strategy, driving business insight through analytics and operationalizing the data transformation. At Suffolk, she served on the enterprise steering committee from 2018 to 2020, which governs development and implementation of strategic initiatives. She is also part of the leadership team focused on disruptive technologies, leading Suffolk Technologies and its corporate venture program, which she set up in 2019. In that capacity, she serves as a board observer at EquipmentShare, a privately held construction solutions technology company. Before joining Suffolk, from 2008 to 2017, she served in various positions with McKinsey & Company, a global strategy consulting company, including as a senior expert in analytics from 2016 to 2017, where she specialized in the design and implementation of end-to-end analytics transformations, and as an associate principal from 2013 to 2016, where she focused on strategic, commercial and analytics consulting for transport, travel, hospitality and logistics clients. Dr. Chin holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology. In light of her extensive data, analytics and technology infrastructure expertise, including the development and implementation of strategic initiatives, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Dr. Chin to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting.    Virgis W. Colbert Independent Director Committees: ·Committees:Compensation ·●     Compensation ● Nominating and Corporate Governance   Mr. Colbert served in a variety of key leadership positions with Miller Brewing Company from 1979 until his retirement in 2005, including executive vice president of worldwide operations from 1997 to 2005 and senior vice president of operations from 1993 to 1997. As executive vice president, Mr. Colbert was responsible for plant operations, international operations, brewing, research and quality assurance, engineering, procurement, order production/planning and logistics. Since his retirement, he continues to serve as a senior advisor to MillerCoors LLC. In addition, Mr. Colbert currently serves on the board, including the audit committee thereof, of New Senior Investment Group Inc. (NYSE: SNR), a senior housing REIT, on the board of Drive Shack Inc. (NYSE: DS), an owner and operator of golf-related leisure and entertainment businesses, and on the boards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC and several affiliates. Mr. Colbert also serves on the board of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University (since 2013). He previously served on the boards of Lorillard, Inc. from 2008 to 2015 (including as lead director from 2013 to 2015), The Hillshire Brands Company (formerly known as Sara Lee Corporation) from 2006 to 2013, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) from 2008 to 2013, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. from 2006 to 2008, Stanley Black & Decker from 2003 to 2012 and The Manitowoc Company, Inc. from 2002 to 2012. He is the former chairman and current chairman emeritus of the board for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the former chairman of the board for Fisk University. Mr. Colbert received Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Fisk University in 2005 and from Kentucky State University in 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Central Michigan University. In light of his extensive public company board and corporate governance experience and his significant operational experience including addressing logistics, plant operations and other issues common to our tenants, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Colbert to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting. Michelle S. Dilley Independent Director Committees: ·Committees: ●     Compensation ● Nominating and Corporate Governance   Ms. Dilley has served as the chief executive officer of Awesome Leaders, NFP since July 2020. AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management and Education) is the supply chain industry’s most active and prominent organization focused on advancing and transforming the future of supply chain leadership. Prior to joining AWESOME, Ms. Dilley served as chief supply chain transformation officer and additionally as chief operating officer at DSC Logistics, Inc. (“DSC”), a logistics and supply chain management organization, since February 2019.from 2017 to 2020. In this role,these roles, she leads DSC’s transformation initiativeled the vision for the company’s operating platform, implemented strategic initiatives to deliver continuous improvement and iswas directly responsible for DSC’s network of logistics center operations.  Prior to this position, she served as the chiefcenters and supply chain transformation officer at DSC frompackaging operations throughout North America. From 2014 to 2017, to 2019.  Previously, she served as senior vice president, operations at LaSalle Bristol, LP, a building productsproduct distributor from 2014 to 2017,and manufacturer for factory-built housing, recreational vehicles and other markets, where she was accountable for supply chain operations and transportation throughout the United States and Canada. From 2009 to 2014, she served as vice president, supply chain at Ascension Health, a non-profit health system, where she led the supply chain business transformation and operational redesign. Ms. Dilleystarted her career at Whirlpool Corporation, where she served in a variety of roles, including general manager, global indirect goods & services sourcing from 2005 to 2009. Ms. Dilley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. In light of her significant supply chain, finance and operational experience, including experience in the development and implementation of strategic initiatives, and her recent experience with diversity initiatives in the supply chain industry, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Ms. Dilley to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting.   Jeffrey D. Furber Independent Director Committees:   ·Independent DirectorCompensation (Chair)   ·Committees: ●     Compensation (Chair) ● Investment   Mr. Furber serves as the global chief executive officer of AEW Capital Management (“AEW”) and chairman of AEW Europe.AEW. As one of the leading real estate investment advisors, AEW currently manages $75 billion of real estate assets and securities on behalf of a global client base of public and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations and high net worth investors. Mr. Furber has oversight responsibility for all of AEW’s operating business units in the United States, Europe and Asia. He chairs AEW’s management committee, which is responsible for AEW’s strategic direction and for managing the firm’s resources, and is a member of the firm’s risk management committee and the investment committees in North America, Europe and Asia. Mr. Furber joined AEW in 1997 from Winthrop Financial Associates (“Winthrop”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apollo Advisors, where he served as managing director of Winthrop and as president of Winthrop Management. In these capacities, he was responsible for acquisitions, asset management and capital markets activity, including the sourcing of equity and mezzanine debt investments. Mr. Furber is a member of the board of The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) and Boston Children’s Hospital Trust. Mr. Furber holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. In light of his significant leadership, corporate governance and capital markets experience and his 34 years of real estate investment experience,, including 21 years as chief executive officer of AEW,, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Furber to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting. Larry T. Guillemette Lead Independent Director Committees:   ·Lead Independent DirectorAudit   ·Committees:Compensation   ●      Audit ●     Compensation   Mr. Guillemette served as chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer and president of Amtrol Inc., a multi-national pressure vessel manufacturer (“Amtrol”), from 2006 to 2017. Mr. Guillemette also served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Amtrol from 2000 to 2006 and as executive vice president of marketing and business development from 1998 to 2000. Prior to joining Amtrol, Mr. Guillemette served as chief executive officer and president of Balcrank Products, Inc., a manufacturer of lubrication equipment for the automotive service market and other industrial product lines from 1991 to 1998. From 1990 to 1991, he served as senior vice president and senior financial officer of The O’Connor Group, a real estate investment, management and development firm. Prior to that, from 1986 to 1990, Mr. Guillemette served as a vice president for Hampton Partners/G.M. Cypres & Co., Inc., an investment banking partnership. From 1979 to 1986, Mr. Guillemette served in various management positions with units of the Henley Group and its predecessors, including Allied-Signal, The Signal Companies and Wheelabrator-Frye. Mr. Guillemette holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In light of his extensive leadership experience through his senior officer and director positions and his accounting and real estate experience, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Guillemette to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting.   Francis X. Jacoby III Independent Director Committees:   ·Independent DirectorAudit   ·Committees:Investment   ·●      Audit ●      Investment ● Nominating and Corporate Governance   Since 2016, and from 1995 to 2001, Mr. Jacoby has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Leggat McCall Properties, LLC, a real estate development company. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Jacoby served as an independent consultant providing real estate finance, development and disposition related services. From 2008 to 2013, he served as president of Kensington Investment Company, Inc., the wealth management office for a family that owns travel-related businesses and passenger ships and makes investments in real estate, private equity and venture capital. In addition, in 2012, Mr. Jacoby served as the chief financial officer of Grand Circle Corporation, an affiliate of Kensington Investment Company, Inc. From 2001 to 2008, Mr. Jacoby served as the senior vice president and chief financial officer for GID Investment Advisers LLC, a family wealth management office whose primary focus is developing, acquiring and managing apartment communities, suburban office properties and flex industrial business parks throughout the United States for its own account and for joint ventures with institutional investors. From 1983 to 1995, Mr. Jacoby held a variety of senior management positions in the acquisitions, asset management and finance departments of Winthrop Financial Associates, a real estate investment company which owned and managed multiple property types. Mr. Jacoby holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University. In light of his extensive investment and capital markets experience and his significant financial and real estate investment experience, including structuring, negotiating and closing complex transactions, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Jacoby to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting. Christopher P. Marr Independent Director Committees:   ·Independent DirectorAudit   ·Committees: ●      Audit ● Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair)   Mr. Marr has served as chief executive officer and member of the board of trustees of CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE), a real estate company that acquires, owns, operates and develops self-storage facilities in the United States, since 2014 and as president of CubeSmart since 2008. Previously, he served as chief operating officer of CubeSmart from 2012 to 2014 and as chief financial officer from June 2006 to November 2008 and as treasurer from 2006 to 2012. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Marr served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN), an office REIT. Prior to joining Brandywine Realty Trust, Mr. Marr served as chief financial officer of Storage USA, Inc., a publicly-traded self-storage REIT, from 1998 to 2002. Mr. Marr holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University. In light of his public company leadership, financial reporting and operations experience as thean executive officer of two publicly-traded REITs, including chief executive officer experience, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Marr to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting.   Hans S. Weger Independent Director Committees:   ·Independent DirectorAudit (Chair)   ·Committees:Compensation   ·●      Audit (Chair) ●     Compensation ● Investment   Mr. Weger provides consulting services to real estate and other companies. Prior to that, Mr. Weger served as chief financial officer of Focus Brands Inc., the franchisor and operator of restaurants and cafes in the United States, Puerto Rico and 63 foreign countries, from 2014 to 2016. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Weger served as chief financial officer of Outrigger Enterprises Group, a privately-held leisure lodging and hospitality company. From 1998 to 2011, Mr. Weger served as chief financial officer, executive vice president and treasurer of LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO), a REIT focused on the acquisition, ownership, redevelopment and leasing of primarily upscale and luxury full-service hotels. In addition, Mr. Weger served as secretary of LaSalle Hotel Properties from 1999 to 2011. Mr. Weger was responsible for all of the company’s financial, accounting, human resources and information technology activities. Prior to joining LaSalle Hotel Properties, Mr. Weger served as vice president and treasurer for La Quinta Inns, Inc. where he was responsible for all financing activities. From 1992 until 1997, Mr. Weger served in various management roles with Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. where he was responsible for strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions and project financing. Mr. Weger holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago. In light of his real estate and real estate financing knowledge and his financial reporting and operations experience as the chief financial officer of a publicly-traded real estate investment trust and a privately held company, the board of directors believes that it is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders for Mr. Weger to continue to serve as a director on the board of directors, subject to stockholder approval at the annual meeting. Biographical Information Regarding Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors   The biographical descriptions below set forth certain information with respect to each of our executive officers other than Mr. Butcher, whose information appears above.   William R. Crooker Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Age: 3941   Mr. Crooker has served as our chief financial officer, executive vice president and treasurer since 2016. Previously, Mr. Crooker served as our chief accounting officer from 2011 to 2016 and senior vice president of capital markets from 2015 to 2016. Prior to the formation of our company, Mr. Crooker served as chief accounting officer for STAG Capital Partners, LLC from 2010 to 2011, where he was responsible for the company’s accounting, tax, and financial reporting. From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Crooker worked for KPMG LLP in its real estate practice, focusing primarily on publicly-traded REITs. He held various positions with KPMG LLP, including most recently as senior manager. Mr. Crooker is a certified public accountant and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Bentley University. Stephen C. Mecke Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Age: 5658   Mr. Mecke has served as our chief operating officer and executive vice president since 2011. Prior to the formation of our company, Mr. Mecke served as chief investment officer for STAG Capital Partners, LLC and STAG Capital Partners III, LLC from 2004 to 2011, where he was responsible for all asset acquisition and asset management activities. Prior to joining our predecessor business, Mr. Mecke ran the acquisitions groups for M|P|A, a private real estate fund that represented a large east coast endowment fund, from 2001 to 2004. Mr. Mecke also worked at Meditrust Corporation, a publicly-traded REIT, as vice president of acquisitions and various other positions from 1992 to 2000. Mr. Mecke holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hobart College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Northeastern University. Jeffrey M. Sullivan Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Age: 5052   Mr. Sullivan has served as our executive vice president, general counsel and secretary since 2015. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Sullivan was a partner in the corporate group of Hunton & Williams LLP, and from 2005 to 2012, Mr. Sullivan was a partner in the finance group of DLA Piper LLP (US). Before joining DLA Piper LLP (US), Mr. Sullivan was an associate and then partner in the corporate transactions and securities group of Alston & Bird LLP from 1998 to 2005. While in private practice, Mr. Sullivan focused on securities law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters and general corporate law, primarily involving REITs and other real estate companies, private equity funds and underwriters. Mr. Sullivan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University Law School. David G. King Executive Vice President and Director of Real Estate Operations   Age: 5153   Mr. King has served as our executive vice president and director of real estate operations since 2011. Prior to the formation of our company, Mr. King served as a managing director for STAG Capital Partners, LLC and STAG Capital Partners III, LLC from 2005 to 2011, where he was responsible for portfolio management for the company. From 1997 to 2005, Mr. King worked for AMB Property Corporation, a publicly-traded REIT, as regional management officer, where he had primary responsibility for leasing, management, development, acquisition sourcing and dispositions of the firm’s industrial and office portfolios in the Mid-Atlantic region and in various other positions. Mr. King holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont and a Master of Public Administration degree from Indiana University. BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ITS COMMITTEES   Board of Directors   Our business is managed through the oversight and direction of the board of directors. A majority of the board of directors is “independent,” as determined by the board of directors, consistent with the rules of the NYSE. The one member of the board of directors who is not independent is our chief executive officer.   Board Meetings and Executive Sessions   Our directors stay informed about our business by attending meetings of the board of directors and its committees and through supplemental reports and communications. In 2018,2020, the board of directors held sixseven meetings and each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the board meetings and his or her respective committee meetings. The board of directors does not have a policy with respect to directors’ attendance at annual meetings of stockholders. Nevertheless, all of our directors attended the 20182020 annual meeting of stockholders.   As required by the NYSE rules, the independent directors of ourthe board regularly meet in executive session, without the presence of management or non-independent directors. Generally, these executive sessions follow after each quarterly meeting. In 2018,2020, the independent directors of the board and the audit committee andmet in executive session without management present four times (at each quarterly meeting), the compensation committee met in executive session without management present at least four times at each(at three quarterly meeting,meetings and one special meeting), and the nominating and corporate governance committee met in executive session three times.two times (at two quarterly meetings). Our lead independent director presides over such independent, non-management sessions of the board. Executive sessions of the audit, the compensation and the nominating and corporate governance committees are presided over by the respective chairperson of each committee.   Director Independence   Under the enhanced corporate governance standards of the NYSE, at least a majority of our directors, and all of the members of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee, must meet the test of “independence.” The NYSE standards provide that, to qualify as an “independent” director, in addition to satisfying certain bright-line criteria, the board of directors must affirmatively determine that a director has no material relationship with us (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). The board of directors considered a relationship between an affiliate of the company and one of the directors and determined that the relationship does not affect the director’s independence.  The board of directors has affirmatively determined that each of Dr. Chin, Ms. Dilley and Messrs. Colbert, Furber, Guillemette, Jacoby, Marr and Weger satisfies the bright-line independence criteria of the NYSE and that none has a relationship with us that would interfere with such person’s ability to exercise independent judgment as a member of the board of directors. Therefore, we believe that all of these directors, who constitute a majority of the board of directors, are independent under the NYSE rules.   We have implemented procedures for interested parties, including stockholders, to communicate directly with our independent directors. We believe that providing a method for interested parties to communicate directly with our independent directors, rather than with the full board of directors, would provide a more confidential, candid and efficient method of relaying any interested party’s concerns or comments. See “Corporate Governance Principles and Board Matters—Responsibility—Other Corporate Governance Matters—Communication with the Board of Directors, Independent Directors and the Audit Committee.”   Board Committees   The board of directors has established an investment committee, an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee and has adopted a written charter for each of these committees. Each of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee is composed exclusively of independent directors, as required by and defined in the rules and listing qualifications of the NYSE and, with respect to the members of the audit committee, Rule 10A-3 promulgated pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Moreover, the compensation committee is composed exclusively of individuals intended to be, to the extent required by Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, non-employee directors. The board of directors may from time to time establish other committees to facilitate the management of our company. Matters put to a vote at any one of our four committees must be approved by a majority of the directors on the committee who are present at a meeting at which there is a quorum or by unanimous written consent of the directors on that committee.   Director   Investment Committee   Audit Committee   Compensation Committee   Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Benjamin S. Butcher   Chair             Virgis W. Colbert           ü   ü Michelle S. Dilley               ü Jeffrey D. Furber   ü       Chair     Larry T. Guillemette       ü   ü     Francis X. Jacoby III   ü   ü       ü Christopher P. Marr       ü       Chair Hans S. Weger   ü   Chair   ü     Meetings Held in 2018   2   4   5   3 Director Investment Committee Audit Committee Compensation Committee Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee           Benjamin S. Butcher Chair       Jit Kee Chin   ●     Virgis W. Colbert     ● ● Michelle S. Dilley     ● ● Jeffrey D. Furber ●   Chair   Larry T. Guillemette   ● ●   Francis X. Jacoby III ● ●   ● Christopher P. Marr   ●   Chair Hans S. Weger ● Chair ●   Meetings Held in 2020 4 4 6 3 Investment Committee The board of directors has established an investment committee which is composed of four of our directors, at least three of whom must beare independent directors. The investment committee’s primary function is to review, evaluate and ultimately vote to approve all acquisitions and dispositions with an individual purchase or sale price of more than $50 million and up to $100 million, as well as all development and redevelopment projects with a development pricecost of more than $10$50 million and up to $100 million. Proposed acquisitions, dispositions and development and redevelopment projects with an individual purchase or sale price or development pricecost of more than $100 million require approval by the board of directors. The board of directors, in its discretion, may change the investment committee’s authority to approve acquisitions or dispositions from time to time, including the dollar thresholds.   The investment committee has adopted a written charter whichthat outlines certain specified responsibilities of the investment committee. A copy of the investment committee charter is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Audit Committee   The board of directors has established an audit committee, which is composed exclusively of independent directors. Each memberFour members of the audit committee qualifiesqualify as an audit committee financial expert,experts, as that term is defined by the SEC, and isall members are financially literate and able to read and understand fundamental financial statements. The audit committee assists the board in overseeing, among other things:   · ● our system of internal controls; ● our accounting and financial reporting processes; ● the integrity and audits of our consolidated financial statements; ·                our accounting and financial reporting processes; ● our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; ● our risk exposures and policies to assess and manage risks (including financial risks); ● the qualifications and independence of our independent auditors; and ● the performance of our independent auditors and any internal auditors. ·                the integrity and audits of our consolidated financial statements; ·                our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; ·                the qualifications and independence of our independent auditors; and ·                the performance of our independent auditors and any internal auditors. The audit committee also is responsible for engaging independent public accountants, reviewing with the independent certified public accountants the plans and results of the audit engagement, approving professional services provided by the independent public accountants, reviewing the independence of the independent public accountants, considering the range of audit and non-audit fees and reviewing the adequacy of our internal accounting controls. The audit committee has the power to investigate any matter brought to its attention within the scope of its duties and to retain counsel for this purpose where appropriate.   The audit committee has adopted a written charter whichthat outlines certain specified responsibilities of the audit committee and complies with the rules of the SEC and the NYSE. A copy of the audit committee charter is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Compensation Committee   The board of directors has established a compensation committee, which is composed exclusively of independent directors. The principal functions of the compensation committee are to:   ● evaluate the performance and compensation of our chief executive officer; ·                  evaluate the performance and compensation of our chief executive officer; ● review and approve the compensation and benefits of our executive officers and members of the board of directors; ● administer the STAG Industrial, Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated (the “2011 Equity Incentive Plan”), as well as any other compensation, stock option, stock purchase, incentive or other benefit plans; and ● produce an annual report on executive compensation for inclusion in our proxy statement after reviewing our compensation discussion and analysis.   ·                  review and approve the compensation and benefits of our executive officers and members of the board of directors; ·                  administer our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated (the “2011 Equity Incentive Plan”), as well as any other compensation, stock option, stock purchase, incentive or other benefit plans; and ·                  produce an annual report on executive compensation for inclusion in our proxy statement after reviewing our compensation discussion and analysis. OurThe compensation committee is primarily responsible for establishing and implementing our compensation program and policies. To fulfill its responsibilities, the compensation committee may engage, oversee and provide appropriate funding for advisors and consultants to advise the committee on executive compensation matters.   The compensation committee has adopted a written charter whichthat outlines certain specified responsibilities of the compensation committee and complies with the rules of the SEC and the NYSE. A copy of the compensation committee charter is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com.  23 Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee   The board of directors has established a nominating and corporate governance committee, which is composed exclusively of independent directors. The principal functions of the nominating and corporate governance committee include:   ● seeking, considering and recommending to the full board of directors qualified candidates for election as directors; ·                  seeking, considering and recommending to the full board of directors qualified candidates for election as directors; ● recommending a slate of nominees for election as directors at the annual meeting of stockholders; ● annually recommending to the board nominees for each committee of the board; ·                  recommending a slate of nominees for election as directors at the annual meeting of stockholders; ● annually facilitating the assessment of the board of directors’ performance as a whole and of each committee and the individual directors; ● reviewing and making recommendations on matters involving general operation of the board and our corporate governance, including our policies and practices concerning environmental sustainability, human rights and social responsibility (and related policies for tenants, communities and vendors); ·                  periodically preparing and submitting to the board for adoption the committee’s selection criteria for director nominees; ● reviewing our environmental sustainability risk oversight and management, corporate social responsibility and related governance reporting; and ·                  reviewing and making recommendations on matters involving general operation of the board and our corporate governance; ·                  annually recommending to the board nominees for each committee of the board; and ·                  annually facilitating the assessment of the board of directors’ performance as a whole and of the individual directors and reports thereon to the board. ● reviewing our performance metrics concerning environmental sustainability, human rights and social responsibility matters.   The nominating and corporate governance committee has adopted a written charter whichthat outlines certain specified responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee and complies with the rules of the SEC and the NYSE. A copy of the nominating and corporate governance committee charter is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com.   Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation   None of the members of the compensation committee is or has been employed by us. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past three years has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of another entity that has one or more executive officers serving on the board of directors or compensation committee. No member of the compensation committee has any other business relationship or affiliation with us other than his or her service as a director.   Board Compensation for 2018 In 2018, we paid an annual cash fee of $50,000 to each of our non-management directors for services as a director, as well as an annual grant of equity with a value of approximately $90,000 at the time of grant.  We pay an additional annual cash fee of $15,000 to the lead independent director, an additional annual cash fee of $15,000 to the chair of the audit committee, an additional annual cash fee of $10,000 to the chair of the compensation committee and an additional annual cash fee of $7,500 to the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee and any other committee of the board of directors.  All members of the board of directors are reimbursed for their costs and expenses in attending our board meetings.  Our directors have the option to receive fees in shares of common stock rather than in cash.  The value of such shares of common stock is based on the 10-day average of the closing price of our common stock determined three days prior to the quarterly fee payment date.  All of our independent directors elected to receive shares of our common stock in lieu of cash for payment of the fees payable to them in 2018.  If a director is also one of our officers, we will not pay any compensation for services rendered as a director. As mentioned above, we grant annual equity awards to our non-management directors.  In addition, any non-management director who joins the board of directors in the future receives an initial grant of LTIP units upon the commencement of his or her service.  The LTIP units granted annually vest on January 1 of the following year, subject to the recipient’s continued service as a director.  LTIP units can be converted to common units of our operating partnership, STAG Industrial Operating Partnership, L.P. (our “operating partnership”), on a one-for-one basis once a material equity transaction has occurred that results in the accretion of the member’s capital account to the economic equivalent of the common unit.Committee Evaluations   The board of directors (or a duly formed committee thereof) may revise our non-management directors’ compensation in its discretion. The following table summarizes the compensation that we paid to our non-management directors in 2018: 2018 Director Compensation Table Name   Fees Earned(2)   Stock Awards(3)(4)   Total Virgis W. Colbert   $50,000   $89,980   $139,980 Michelle S. Dilley(1)   $40,278   $89,997   $130,275 Jeffrey D. Furber   $60,000   $89,980   $149,980 Larry T. Guillemette   $65,000   $89,980   $154,980 Francis X. Jacoby III   $50,000   $89,980   $139,980 Christopher P. Marr   $57,500   $89,980   $147,480 Hans S. Weger   $65,000   $89,980   $154,980 (1)Ms. Dilley was appointed to the board of directors on March 12, 2018.  In connection with her appointment, Ms. Dilley received an initial grant of 3,930 LTIP units on March 12, 2018. (2)All of our independent directors elected to receive shares of our common stock in lieu of cash for payment of the fees payable to them for their service in 2018.  The aggregate numbers of shares of common stock earned by the independent directors for their service in 2018 were as follows: Mr. Colbert, 1,951; Ms. Dilley, 1,542; Mr. Furber, 2,340; Mr. Guillemette, 2,537; Mr. Jacoby, 1,951; Mr. Marr, 2,243; and Mr. Weger, 2,537.  These shares were issued based on the calculation previously disclosed in this proxy statement and are not indicative of the fair market value on the date the members received the shares. (3)As of December 31, 2018, the aggregate number of unvested LTIP units held by each independent director was as follows: Mr. Colbert, 3,592; Ms. Dilley, 3,930; Mr. Furber, 3,592; Mr. Guillemette, 3,592; Mr. Jacoby, 3,592; Mr. Marr, 3,592; and Mr. Weger, 3,592.  As of December 31, 2018, the aggregate number of LTIP units held by each independent director was as follows: Mr. Colbert, 16,690; Ms. Dilley, 3,930; Mr. Furber, 31,831; Mr. Guillemette, 31,831; Mr. Jacoby, 31,831; Mr. Marr, 24,421; and Mr. Weger, 31,831. (4)Represents 3,592 LTIP units granted to each of Messrs. Colbert, Furber, Guillemette, Jacoby, Marrits committees perform an annual performance evaluation, with each director performing a self-evaluation of his or her board and Weger on January 5, 2018 and 3,930 LTIP units granted to Ms. Dilley on March 12, 2018.committee experiences. The dollar value is computed in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (“ASC Topic 718”).  See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, for a discussion of our accounting of LTIP units and the assumptions used.  The grant date fair value of each award was $25.05 and $22.90 per LTIP unit on January 5, 2018 and March 12, 2018, respectively. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES AND BOARD MATTERS Snapshot of Corporate Governance Practices The table below presents a snapshot of our corporate governance policies. Annual election of directors Yes Majority voting standard for the election of directors (with a director resignation policy) Yes Regular executive sessions of independent directors Yes Annual board and committee self-evaluations, assisted by outside counsel Yes Stockholder ability to amend bylaws Yes No stockholder rights plan without stockholder approval or ratification Yes Stock ownership guidelines for executive officers Yes Stock ownership guidelines for directors Yes Anti-hedging and anti-pledging policies Yes Code of business conduct and ethics for employees and directors Yes Corporate Governance Profile We have structured our corporate governance in a manner we believe closely aligns our interests with those of our stockholders.  Notable features of our corporate governance structure include the following: ·                  the board of directors is not staggered; instead, each of our directors is subject to re-election annually; ·                  we have a majority voting standard for the election of directors and a policy requiring directors who do not receive a majority of the votes cast to offer to resign; ·                  all of the members of the board of directors, except for our chief executive officer, are independent of the company and management; ·                  all of the members of our audit committee qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC; ·                  we have a lead independent director whose authority and responsibilities are described below under “—Board Leadership;” ·                  the nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates annuallyoversees the effectivenessevaluation process and considers all methods of performing these evaluations. For the board as a whole, each committee and each individual director, and the committee engages2020 performance evaluation, we engaged outside counsel to conduct individualone-on-one interviews of the directorseach director to assist the committeeboard in its evaluations, which are designed, among other matters,purposes, to identify any areas in which the board would be better served by adding new members with different skills, backgrounds or experience;areas of experience. We believe using outside counsel fosters candor, facilitates participation in the evaluation process and enables individual assessments of each director. Generally, the evaluation process described below is managed by outside counsel with assistance from our corporate secretary and oversight by the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee to ensure the process remains as thorough and transparent as possible.   ● Organization and membership ● Key responsibilities ● Accountability and independence ● Meetings, information and resources     ·Board Refreshment and Nomination Process Board refreshment is important to our bylaws providecompany. Before each annual meeting of stockholders, the nominating and corporate governance committee (i) assesses the composition and needs of the board as a whole, including with respect to diversity (and such matters are also the subject of full board discussions annually), (ii) rigorously evaluates all current directors, and (iii) considers the nomination of all directors whose terms expire at the next annual meeting of stockholders. The nominating and corporate governance committee also considers new candidates whenever there is a vacancy on the board or whenever a vacancy is anticipated due to a change in the size or composition of the board, a retirement of a director or for any other reason. In addition to considering incumbent directors, the nominating and corporate governance committee may identify director candidates based on recommendations from the directors and executive officers and may engage the services of third-party search firms to assist in identifying or evaluating director candidates. The board of directors considers director candidates based on a number of factors including: ● whether the board member will be “independent,” as such term is defined by the NYSE listing standards; ● whether the candidate possesses the highest personal and professional ethics, integrity and values; ● whether the candidate has demonstrated leadership ability, with broad experience, diverse perspectives, and the ability to exercise sound business judgment; ● whether the candidate has experience in areas important to the operations of our company; ● whether the candidate has an inquisitive and objective perspective, practical wisdom and mature judgment; and ● whether the candidate provides a diversity of viewpoints, background, experience and demographics as compared to the current members of the board. Candidates also are evaluated based on their understanding of our business and willingness to devote adequate time to carrying out their duties. The nominating and corporate governance committee monitors the mix of skills, experience and background to assure that the provisionsboard has the necessary composition to effectively perform its oversight function. While diversity characteristics of a candidate are just one of several factors considered by the committee when evaluating director candidates, we believe that diversity is a valuable component of an effective and dynamic board and will continue to make diversity an integral part of the board’s search for future directors. See “Corporate Responsibility—Corporate Governance and Ethical Business Practices—Enhancing Board Diversity” below. In general, a candidate will neither be included nor excluded from consideration solely based on his or her diversity traits. The nominating and corporate governance committee conducts regular reviews of current directors in light of the considerations described above and their past contributions to the board of directors. The board reviews the effectiveness of its director nominating policies annually. The nominating and corporate governance committee successfully completed our most recent board refreshment process in 2020 with the appointment of Dr. Chin to serve as an independent director. The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider appropriate nominees for directors whose names are submitted in writing by a stockholder of our company. Director candidates submitted by our stockholders will be evaluated by the nominating and corporate governance committee on the same basis as any other director candidates. We did not receive any nominations of directors by stockholders for the 2020 annual meeting. Nominations must be addressed to STAG Industrial, Inc., One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, Attention: Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Corporate Secretary, indicating the nominee’s qualifications and other relevant biographical information and providing confirmation of the nominee’s consent to serve as director, if elected. To be considered for the next annual election of directors, any such written request must comply with the requirements set forth in our bylaws may be adopted, altered or repealed by the board of directors or by our stockholders, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the matter; ·                  we opted out of the control share acquisition statute and the business combination provisions in the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”) and we may not opt back in to these provisions without stockholder approval;below under “Other Matters—Stockholder Proposals.”   ·                  we do not have a stockholder rights plan (i.e., “poison pill”) and do not intend to adopt a stockholder rights plan unless our stockholders approve in advance the adoption of a plan or, if the board of directors adopts a plan for our company, we submit the stockholder rights plan to our stockholders for a ratification vote within 12 months of adoption, without which the plan will terminate; ·                  we have stock ownership guidelines for our non-management members of our board of directors and our executive officers; and ·                  our insider trading policy prohibits our directors and all of our officers and other employees from engaging in any hedging transactions with respect to our securities, and from pledging our securities as collateral for a loan or otherwise using our securities to secure debt. Board Leadership   The board of directors recognizes that one of its key responsibilities is to evaluate and determine its optimal leadership structure to provide independent oversight of management. The board understands that there is no single, generally accepted approach to providing board leadership and the right board leadership structure may vary as circumstances warrant. Consistent with this understanding, our independent directors consider the board’s leadership structure on an annual basis.   The board of directors annually will elect a chairman of the board, who may or may not be the chief executive officer of our company. Since our formation in 2010, Mr. Butcher has served as our chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Mr. Butcher is involved in both our day-to-day operations and our strategic decision making at the board level. Based on its most recent review of our leadership structure and the needs of our company, the board continues to believebelieves that having Mr. Butcher servingcontinuing to serve in these positions is optimal, because ithis service provides our company with strong, effective and consistent leadership.   If the chairman of the board and chief executive officer are the same person, our board of directors will annually elect a non-management and independent director to serve in a lead capacity, to coordinate the activities of the other non-management and independent directors and to perform any other duties and responsibilities that the board of directors may determine are advisable. Although this position is elected annually, it is generally expected that he or she will serve for more than one year. Mr. Guillemette has served as our lead independent director since 2015. The responsibilities of the lead independent director include (i) serving as liaison between the chairman and the independent directors, (ii) reviewing the type of information sent to the board, (iii) reviewing, in consultation with the chairman and others, agendas and board meeting schedules to determine whether sufficient time is allocated to agenda items, and (iv) holding the authority to call meetings of the independent directors.   In considering its leadership structure, the board has taken a number of factors into account. The board, which consists of a majority of independent directors (eight of the nine members), exercises a strong, independent oversight function. This oversight function is enhanced by the audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees being comprised entirely of independent directors. A number of board and committee processes and procedures, including regular executive sessions of independent directors and a regular review of our executive officers’ performance, provide substantial independent oversight of our management’s performance. Finally, under our bylaws and corporate governance guidelines, the board has the ability to change its structure, should that be deemed appropriate and in the best interest of our company and our stockholders. The board believes that these factors provide the appropriate balance between the authority of those who oversee our company and those who manage it on a day-to-day basis. The chairman of the board presides over all meetings of the stockholders and the board as a whole. The chairman performs such other duties, and exercises such powers, as from time to time shall be prescribed in our bylaws or by the board of directors.   Our lead independent director presides over all meetings of our board of directors where the chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors.   Director Resignation Policy We have a majority voting standard for uncontested election of directors and a plurality standard for elections in which the number of director nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected. Subject to the provisions of our charter related to preferred stock directors, pursuant to our bylaws, director nominees in uncontested elections of directors will be elected by the vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to the director, which means that the number of votes cast for a director must exceed the number of votes cast against the director. Our corporate governance guidelines require incumbent director nominees who fail to receive a majority of the votes cast to submit promptly a written offer to resign from the board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee will make a recommendation to the board of directors on whether to accept or reject the resignation. Taking into account the recommendation of the nominating and corporate governance committee, the board of directors will determine whether to accept or reject any such resignation within 90 days after the certification of the voting results, and we will report such decision in a current report on Form 8-K furnished to the SEC. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Role of the Board in Risk Oversight Overview While risk management is primarily the responsibility of our senior management team, the board of directors plays an active role in overseeing our risk management processes and controls. The board of directors administers this oversight function directly, with support from the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which addresses risks specific to their respective areas of oversight. While the committees assume responsibilities to evaluate certain risks and oversee management’s plan regarding such risks, the full board of directors keeps itself regularly informed regarding such risks through committee and management reports. Board of Directors One of the key functions of the board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. The full board of directors has primary responsibility for overseeing and evaluating: ●      Strategic and operational risk management ●      Information security risks (see “—Information Security” below for more information) ●      Management and board succession planning (see “—Management Succession Plans” below for more information) ●      Risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on financial, real estate and investment markets and our acquisition strategies, property operations and human safety Audit Committee Compensation Committee Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee ●     Financial risks, including our guidelines and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken ●     Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements ●     Internal audit function ●    Risks related to our compensation policies and programs, including whether any compensation program has the potential to encourage excessive risk taking ●    Corporate governance risks, including an evaluation of whether our corporate governance guidelines are successful in preventing illegal or improper liability-creating conduct ●    ESG risks, including environmental sustainability risks, corporate social responsibility and related governance reporting Senior Management Team Our senior management team reviews and prioritizes significant risks, allocates resources for mitigation and provides the board of directors or the applicable committee with regular reports on potential risks facing our company, including our primary strategic, operational, information security, ESG, human resources, financial, legal, REIT and regulatory risks, and the measures we are taking to mitigate such risks. Information Security Risks Disclosure Risks Environmental Risks ●     Our chief operating officer, to whom our data analytics and technology team (including information technology) reports, presents an information security update at each quarterly board of directors meeting. Aspects of information security are reviewed through internal audit. ●     See “—Information Security” below for more information. ●     Our disclosure committee, consisting of certain executives and senior employees, reports to our chief financial officer. Our disclosure committee meets at least quarterly and periodically as needed to ensure the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of our disclosure statements, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. ●     Our corporate responsibility committee, consisting of our general counsel, senior vice president–construction management and senior vice president–investor relations, administers our environmental stewardship efforts. In addition, our senior vice president–construction management, under the supervision of our director of real estate operations, is responsible for identifying, implementing and monitoring sustainability initiatives across our portfolio. In addition to the board of directors’ review of risks applicable to our company generally, as discussed under the “—Board and Committee EvaluationsEvaluations” section above, the board of directors conducts an annual self-evaluation in order to evaluate its performance for the purpose of improving board and committee processes and effectiveness. Information Security As discussed above, the board of directors has the primary responsibility for overseeing our information security risk management. Our chief operating officer, to whom our data analytics and technology team (including information technology) reports, presents an information security update at each quarterly board of directors meeting. Aspects of information security are reviewed through internal audit. We use third-party experts to review and test our information security systems, including regular penetration tests of our network. We also use third-party systems to monitor our information security continually. We maintain a cybersecurity insurance policy, and we conduct mandatory information security training for all employees several times a year and regularly test our employees for information security awareness and adherence to our information security recommendations. To our knowledge, we have not experienced an information security breach in the last three years or otherwise. Management Succession Plans   The board of directors oversees the recruitment, development, and retention of executive talent and reviews or discusses our management succession plans at least annually. Management succession is generally discussed throughout the year with the chief executive officer at board meetings and in executive sessions. Management succession discussions generally focus on the chief executive officer and other senior executive roles, but also include broader discussions about our employee workforce. The board of directors has regular and direct exposure to senior leadership and high-potential employees through board meetings held throughout each year. Our board of its committees performdirectors has framed and continues to evolve plans with an annual performance evaluation, with each director performingadaptable timeframe for orderly management succession. In addition, in order to minimize the potential disruption to our company upon the unexpected resignation, termination, death, disability or other form of absence of our chief executive officer, the board of directors reviewed and approved a self-evaluation of his or herchief executive officer emergency succession policy (the “CEO Emergency Succession Policy”). The CEO Emergency Succession Policy is general in nature and is intended to provide the board and committee experiences. Thethe nominating and corporate governance committee overseeswith contingency procedures upon a sudden succession of the evaluation processchief executive officer. Board Compensation for 2020 In 2020, we paid an annual cash fee of $50,000 to each of our non-management directors for services as a director, as well as an annual grant of equity with a value of approximately $100,000 at the time of grant. In 2020, we paid an additional annual cash fee of $25,000 to the lead independent director, an additional annual cash fee of $20,000 to the chair of the audit committee, an additional annual cash fee of $15,000 to the chair of the compensation committee and considers all methodsan additional annual cash fee of performing these evaluations.  For 2018, we engaged outside counsel$12,500 to conduct one-on-one interviews of each director to assist the board in its evaluations, which are designed, among other purposes, to identify any areas in which the board would be better served by adding new members with different skills, backgrounds or areas of experience.  We believe using outside counsel fosters candor, facilitates participation in the evaluation process and enables individual assessments of each director.  Generally, the evaluation process described below is managed by outside counsel with assistance from our corporate secretary and oversight by the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee and any other committee of the board of directors. All members of the board of directors are reimbursed for their costs and expenses in attending our board meetings. Our directors have the option to ensurereceive fees in shares of common stock rather than in cash. The value of such shares of common stock is based on the process remains10-day average of the closing price of our common stock determined three days prior to the quarterly fee payment date. All of our independent directors elected to receive shares of our common stock in lieu of cash for payment of the fees payable to them in 2020. If a director is also one of our officers, we will not pay any compensation for services rendered as thorough and transparenta director. 29 As mentioned above, we grant annual equity awards to our non-management directors. In addition, any non-management director who joins the board of directors in the future receives an initial grant of LTIP units upon the commencement of his or her service. The LTIP units granted annually vest on January 1 of the following year, subject to the recipient’s continued service as possible.a director. LTIP units can be converted to common units of our operating partnership, STAG Industrial Operating Partnership, L.P. (our “operating partnership”), on a one-for-one basis once a material equity transaction has occurred that results in the accretion of the member’s capital account to the economic equivalent of the common unit. The board of directors (or a duly formed committee thereof) may revise our non-management directors’ compensation in its discretion. The following table summarizes the compensation that we paid to our non-management directors in 2020: 2020 Director Compensation Table   Name   Fees Earned(1)   Stock Awards(2)(3)   Total                   Jit Kee Chin   $50,000   $99,992   $149,992   Virgis W. Colbert   $50,000   $99,992   $149,992   Michelle S. Dilley   $50,000   $99,992   $149,992   Jeffrey D. Furber   $65,000   $99,992   $164,992   Larry T. Guillemette   $75,000   $99,992   $174,992   Francis X. Jacoby III   $50,000   $99,992   $149,992   Christopher P. Marr   $62,500   $99,992   $162,492   Hans S. Weger   $70,000   $99,992   $169,992   Our board evaluations cover(1) All of our independent directors elected to receive shares of our common stock in lieu of cash for payment of the following topics: · Organizationfees payable to them for their service in 2020. The aggregate numbers of shares of common stock earned by the independent directors for their service in 2020 were as follows: Dr. Chin, 1,764; Mr. Colbert, 1,764; Ms. Dilley, 1,764; Mr. Furber, 2,294; Mr. Guillemette, 2,647; Mr. Jacoby, 1,764; Mr. Marr, 2,205; and membership · Key responsibilities · AccountabilityMr. Weger, 2,471. These shares were issued based on the calculation previously disclosed in this proxy statement and independence · Meetings, information and resources are not indicative of the fair market value on the date the members received the shares.   (2) As of December 31, 2020, the aggregate number of unvested LTIP units held by each independent director was as follows: Dr. Chin, 3,393; Mr. Colbert, 3,393; Ms. Dilley, 3,393; Mr. Furber, 3,393; Mr. Guillemette, 3,393; Mr. Jacoby, 3,393; Mr. Marr, 3,393; and Mr. Weger, 3,393. As of December 31, 2020, the aggregate number of LTIP units held by each independent director was as follows: Dr. Chin, 3,393; Mr. Colbert, 23,911; Ms. Dilley, 11,151; Mr. Furber, 39,052; Mr. Guillemette, 39,052; Mr. Jacoby, 39,052; Mr. Marr, 31,642; and Mr. Weger, 39,052. (3) Represents 3,393 LTIP units granted to each of Dr. Chin, Ms. Dilley and Messrs. Colbert, Furber, Guillemette, Jacoby, Marr and Weger on January 8, 2020. The dollar value is computed in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (“ASC Topic 718”). See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, for a discussion of our accounting of LTIP units and the assumptions used. The grant date fair value of each award granted on January 8, 2020 was $29.47. 30 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY   NominationWe are committed to having a robust corporate responsibility program that incorporates ESG strategies into our business to increase the sustainability and value of Directorsour portfolio. During 2020, we enhanced and refined our corporate responsibility program and related initiatives discussed below.   Before each annual meetingTo provide a board-guided leadership structure to oversee and drive our ESG initiatives, in April 2020, we amended the charter of stockholders, the nominating and corporate governance committee considersto add ESG oversight responsibilities, including (i) reviewing and making recommendations on our policies and practices concerning environmental sustainability, human rights and social responsibility (and related policies for tenants, communities and vendors), (ii) reviewing our environmental sustainability risk oversight and management, corporate and social responsibility and related governance reporting, and (iii) reviewing our performance metrics concerning environmental sustainability, human rights and social responsibility matters. For more information, see “Board of Directors and Its Committees—Board Committees—Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee” and “—Role of the nominationBoard in Risk Oversight” above. During 2020, we added a “Corporate Responsibility” tab to the front page of allour website at www.stagindustrial.com and an ESG section to our investor presentation (the most recent version of which is available on our website). In addition, in April 2020, the board of directors whoseadopted new ESG policies and practices, including an Environmental Sustainability Policy, a Human Rights Policy and a Vendor Code of Conduct, each of which is discussed in more detail below and copies of which are available under the “Corporate Responsibility” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Environmental Sustainability 2020 Environmental Sustainability Overview As the long-term owner of industrial buildings, we have a vested interest in making investments and working with our tenants to create a portfolio of industrial buildings with modern sustainable features that will continue to meet tenant demand and help our tenants run their operations as efficiently as possible. We have made progress on environmental issues in four primary areas – (i) investments to garner energy savings, including modernization of lighting and HVAC equipment, (ii) installation of alternative energy generating systems, (iii) working with our tenants on utility consumption transparency, and (iv) conversion of our portfolio from non-reflective to reflective roofing. With respect to energy savings, we are working with our tenants to accelerate the replacement of inefficient equipment and, in doing so, generate significant electrical and natural gas cost savings, decrease resource consumption and increase the value of and return on our properties. These cost savings initially accrue to the tenants under our triple-net leases but will make our buildings more competitive and attractive to potential tenants when exposed to market conditions in future lease negotiations. In addition, when one of our buildings becomes vacant, we advance these cost-saving modernization efforts on our own initiative. With respect to alternative energy, the most promising technology for local power generation at our industrial sites is solar (photovoltaic). We have been aggressively pursuing solar panel installations in the states that are most receptive to these installations and, as of December 31, 2020, our properties hosted or were undergoing construction for solar projects with more than 25 megawatts capacity in aggregate. Through the terms expirein our standard lease agreement, we are also working to develop more transparency in the energy consumption at our buildings. In 2020, we have been recognized by the Institute for Market Transformation as a Green Lease Leader at the nextGold level. We achieved this recognition by modifying our standard form of lease to require sharing of tenant utility usage so that we can identify those of our buildings that are outliers with respect to energy consumption. Our capital decisions are then prioritized based on where deployment would yield maximum utility savings. For reflective roofing, we continue to use white membranes in our re-roof projects exclusively. These white, or cool, roofs reflect sunlight and reduce heat load on our buildings, which allows our tenants to keep the buildings at comfortable temperatures while minimizing utility usage. 31 During 2020, we enhanced our environmental programs and related initiatives and achieved the following milestones and accomplishments: 2020 Environmental SUSTAINABILITY Highlights 3 Improved GRESB Rating Green Lease Leader – Gold Level In 2020, we achieved an improved score of ‘B’ from GRESB as a result of our 2020 public disclosure assessment. As of December 2020, we were ranked second out of the nine industrial companies rated by GRESB.   In 2020, in recognition of our form lease, which includes environmentally friendly provisions with an emphasis on energy efficiency to promote sustainability, we were recognized by the Institute for Market Transformation as a Green Lease Leader at the Gold level.   Reflective Roofing Lighting Conversions Since 2015, we have installed more than 16 million square feet of reflective roofing in our portfolio. This amounts to approximately 16% of the entire portfolio. As of December 31, 2020, more than 46% of our buildings benefit from reflective roofing. As of December 31, 2020, we had fluorescent or LED lighting systems in more than 90% of our portfolio. Since 2016, we have replaced less efficient lights with LED systems in more than 14 million square feet of our portfolio. We actively pursue additional opportunities for upgrade across our properties. Solar Panel Installations We pursue solar energy opportunities in our portfolio nationwide and have executed contracts for solar development/leasing in multiple states. As of December 31, 2020, our properties hosted or were undergoing construction for solar projects with more than 25 megawatts capacity in aggregate and we had identified 15 additional projects expected to commence in 2021. ●     In June 2020, we announced the groundbreaking of solar installations on four properties in Massachusetts and one in New Jersey. The projects will deliver energy to the local electrical grid, ultimately powering homes and businesses. These systems will have an aggregate capacity of 8.5 megawatts, which will generate more than 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually — the equivalent of powering nearly 1,000 homes with solar. ●     In November 2020, we announced the groundbreaking of solar installations on a property in Illinois and a property in Massachusetts. These projects are part of community solar programs and will provide low-cost renewable energy to local homes and businesses. These systems have an aggregate capacity of 3.5 megawatts and will generate more than 4.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually — the equivalent of powering approximately 360 homes with solar. ●     In November 2020, we announced the groundbreaking of three solar installations on properties in Maryland. These three projects are part of Maryland’s community solar program and will provide low-cost renewable energy to local homes and businesses. The systems have an aggregate capacity of 11.6 megawatts and will generate more than 15 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually — the equivalent of powering nearly 1,500 homes. The installations include a 9.2 megawatt system on our Hampstead facility, which will be the country’s largest rooftop community solar project. 32 Environmental Sustainability Policy In April 2020, the board of directors adopted an Environmental Sustainability Policy, which outlines our practices regarding understanding environmental risks and opportunities in our business and promoting greater tenant engagement and awareness and responsibility among our employees. A copy of our Environmental Sustainability Policy is available under the “Corporate Responsibility” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Tenant Engagement on Environmental Policies With respect to the properties in our existing portfolio, we are committed to appropriate environmental stewardship, monitoring the performance of our responsible investments and measuring our progress toward improving the environmental footprint of our properties through the implementation of targeted environmental efficiency projects and equipment upgrades, such as solar panel systems and LED lighting. Each year, we conduct a tenant survey to provide an opportunity for tenants to provide feedback on their properties that they did not communicate during our physical visits each year. We also use the survey as an opportunity to remind tenants that we are willing to finance capital improvements that lead to energy savings and to promote our capital investment program, where we invest additional capital in the building and, to pay for the project, receive monthly payments from the tenant that are less than or equal to the monthly savings realized through execution of the project. This program allows for a more efficient building at similar or reduced monthly operational cost. Environmental Considerations in Investment Decisions We are a growth-oriented company, and much of our growth comes from acquisitions. Accordingly, we believe our environmental strategies are most effective if they influence how we price and purchase a building, rather than being restricted to incremental improvement of already-owned real estate. We employ responsible investing practices as part of our acquisition due diligence process. Where feasible, in considering potential acquisitions, we evaluate and underwrite building systems, equipment and technologies that improve efficiency and conserve natural resources. Social Responsibility and Human Rights We are committed to good corporate citizenship. This commitment to social responsibility and human rights extends to all, including employees, tenants, communities, investors, suppliers and visitors. Our mission is to extend our financial resources, time and core values and principles to improve our communities and to provide a work environment that attracts, develops and retains high-performing individuals and that treats employees with dignity and respect. Human Rights Policy To evidence our commitment to maintaining a work environment where every employee is treated with dignity and respect, is free from discrimination and harassment, and is allowed to devote their full attention and best efforts to performing their job to the best of their respective abilities, in April 2020, the board of directors adopted a Human Rights Policy. This new policy solidifies our core principles regarding equal opportunity, competitive compensation, ethical behavior, workplace safety, open and risk-free communication and legal compliance. These commitments align seamlessly with our pledge to provide a work environment that attracts, develops and retains top talent by affording our employees an engaging work experience that allows for career development and opportunities for meaningful civic involvement. A copy of our Human Rights Policy is available under the “Corporate Responsibility” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Employee Engagement We continually assess and strive to enhance employee satisfaction and engagement. We regularly conduct internal and external surveys of our employees, many of whom have a relatively long tenure with our company, to measure our culture and our employees’ engagement. We chose to conduct these surveys to collect our employee’s feedback based on the recognition that they, more than any other stakeholder, best understand our culture. On an annual meetingbasis since 2016 and through 2019, we have participated in an employee engagement survey administered by a third party that provides employees an opportunity to share their perspectives on what is and is not working within our organization. In 2019, we participated in a second third-party survey of stockholdersour employees designed to identify opportunities for improving employee engagement and business success. The results of the survey included benchmarking scores against comparably-sized businesses. In addition, in 2018, we conducted an internally-developed survey of our employees centered on culture (as opposed to engagement). We created the survey based on professional frameworks to assess and explore how our employees view our culture by archetype and to gain insight on what makes certain employees successful in our culture. Our employee survey results helped us better understand morale, satisfaction and engagement and have informed our strategies for improving company culture and communicating with our employees. Diversity and Inclusion We offer equal employment opportunities to all of our employees and seek to foster a diverse and vibrant workplace with employees who possess a broad range of experiences, backgrounds and skills. We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within our company culture and throughout our operations. We believe diversity in the workplace contributes to a more positive and inclusive environment. We are further committed to creating a respectful environment in which our employees can flourish. As part of that commitment, we endeavor to maintain a workplace free from discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, military or veteran status, and political affiliate or activities, among others. We conduct training to prevent discrimination and harassment and monitor and address employee conduct. Employee Compensation and Benefit Programs We are committed to compensating our employees well and at competitive industry rates while, at the same time, monitoring our compensation programs to ensure that we are continuously attracting and retaining top talent. We also considers new candidates whenever thereprovide our employees with highly competitive health and wellness benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life and short-term disability insurance, with the premiums therefor entirely paid by us. We also offer flexible spending accounts for medical care, a program to pay commuting and office parking costs with pre-tax income and a competitive vacation policy, including paid holidays, personal time off and a variety of leave benefits. Employee Training and Development We believe that our employees’ training and development is critical to our long-term success. Our employees are offered regular opportunities to participate in personal growth and professional development programs and social or team building events. We believe that developing our employees through skill building, mentorship and educational opportunities fosters a more collaborative and sustainable work environment. We also recognize the importance of preparing employees for upward mobility and ensuring employees are capable of assuming other roles and responsibilities within the organization. We seek to identify and develop future leaders within our company and periodically review with our chief executive officer and board of directors the identity, skills and characteristics of those persons who could succeed to senior and executive positions. For additional information on our management succession plans, see “Board of Directors and Its Committees—Role of the Board in Risk Oversight—Management Succession Plans” above. COVID-19 Business Continuity We are committed to the health and safety of our employees and reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19. Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a vacancydirect reflection of our commitment to our employee’s health, safety and well-being, as well our commitment to training and preparedness. In response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, we acted swiftly to protect the health and safety of our employees while also ensuring the continuity of operations. By mid-March 2020, we transitioned substantially all employees to working remotely with no disruption to our financial, operational, communications and other systems. Throughout the year, we communicated frequently with employees through manager, department and company-wide video and audio meetings, email correspondence and other forms of electronic communication to enhance transparency and encourage open dialogue between leadership and employees. In addition, we developed and distributed safety guides for voluntary office visits in addition to equipping offices with personal protective equipment and enhanced cleaning regimens. Corporate Donations and Volunteering We strive to collaborate with local non-profit organizations that provide opportunities to inspire and empower children and young adults. Our employees demonstrate their personal commitment by volunteering time and resources into these organizations that we believe will help children and young adults realize their potential and make an impact to future generations. Charitable Action Committee Early in our life as a public company, we established the CAC to promote quality interaction with our local community in Boston. The CAC is funded by our company and is managed by our volunteer employees with differing seniorities and responsibilities. We currently support several local and national charities through a combination of financial support (both direct and employee matching) and numerous employee volunteer activities (such as food and clothing distribution, habitat improvement, etc.) with a focus on supporting children, young adults, equality and social justice. Charitable Action Fund In November 2020, we announced the establishment of the Charitable Action Fund in cooperation with the Boston Foundation. The Charitable Action Fund will support our social responsibility endeavors, including promoting equality and inspiring children and young adults, particularly those at risk, to realize their potential and benefit future generations. The Charitable Action Fund was formed to be the predominant channel for our monetary charitable giving and will augment our ongoing company-wide volunteer programs. The Charitable Action Fund is a donor advised fund sponsored by the Boston Foundation, which is a non-profit organization qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Our executive officers will oversee the Charitable Action Fund, in conjunction with the CAC. More information about our corporate donations and volunteer activities is available under “Social Responsibility” in the “Corporate Responsibility” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Corporate Governance and Ethical Business Practices Corporate Governance Overview We have structured our corporate governance in a manner we believe closely aligns our interests with those of our stockholders. Notable features of our corporate governance structure include the following: Annual election of directors ✓ Majority voting standard for the election of directors (with a director resignation policy) ✓ Regular executive sessions of independent directors ✓ Independent board; eight of our nine directors are “independent” under NYSE rules ✓ Designation of lead independent director ✓ All members of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are “independent” under NYSE rules ✓ Four of the five members of the audit committee qualify as “audit committee financial experts” as defined by the SEC ✓ Diverse board of directors; two of our directors are female, one of whom is Asian, and one of our directors is Black/African American ✓ Annual board, committee and director self-evaluations, assisted by outside counsel ✓ Regular board review or discussion of management succession plans ✓ Stockholder ability to amend bylaws ✓ No stockholder rights plan (i.e., “poison pill”) without stockholder approval or ratification ✓ Opted out of Maryland control share acquisition and business combination statutes and may not opt back in without stockholder approval ✓ Robust stock ownership guidelines for directors and executive officers ✓ Anti-hedging and anti-pledging policies ✓ Code of business conduct and ethics for employees and directors ✓ For more information about the board of directors and its committees, including board elections, board leadership, director independence and board policies related to annual self-evaluations and oversight of risk management, see “Board of Directors and Its Committees” above. Vendor Code of Conduct We encourage all our vendors to join our commitment to moral and ethical standards in conducting their businesses, and to refrain from engaging in or whenever a vacancy is anticipated duetolerating any unethical, improper or immoral business practices, including, but not limited to, a changebribery, corruption, extortion, fraud or misrepresentation. To promote that effort, in the size or composition ofApril 2020, the board of directors adopted a retirementVendor Code of Conduct, which sets uncompromising vendor standards for fair and ethical business practices, safe labor conditions, respect for human rights and environmental stewardship. A copy of our Vendor Code of Conduct is available under the “Corporate Responsibility” tab of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Stockholder Engagement Our management team participates in an active stockholder engagement process each year:   We provide institutional investors with many opportunities and events to provide feedback directly to our management team throughout the year, including formal events, one-on-one sessions and group meetings throughout the year. During 2020, our management team attended (in-person and virtually) seven investor conferences and numerous other individual investor meetings, where they met with approximately 112 institutional investors, representing approximately 22% of our outstanding common stock. These meetings covered a director or for anyrange of topics, including our financial condition and results of operations, our business investment, finance and operation strategies, our stock price performance, economic, industry and market trends, ESG policies, corporate governance and executive compensation and other reasons.matters. In addition to, considering incumbent directors, the nominatingand apart from, our regular investor meetings, we speak exclusively about executive compensation and corporate governance committee may identify director candidates based on recommendations from the directors and executive officers.  The committee may engage the services of third-party search firms to assist in identifying or evaluating director candidates. The board of directors considers director candidates based onwith a number of factors including:our investors each year. We engage with stockholders throughout the year in order to: ● provide visibility and transparency into our business, performance and corporate practices; ● hear from our stockholders about issues that are important to them and their expectations for our company; and ● assess emerging issues that may affect our business, inform our decision making, enhance our public disclosures and help shape our practices. Our management team recognizes the benefits that come from this dialogue with our stockholders. Stockholder feedback is thoughtfully considered and has led to modifications in our ESG practices, executive compensation program and public disclosures.   ·                  whether the board member will be “independent,” as such term is defined by the NYSE listing standards; ·                  whether the candidate possesses the highest personal and professional ethics, integrity and values; ·                  whether the candidate has demonstrated leadership ability, with broad experience, diverse perspectives, and the ability to exercise sound business judgment; ·                  whether the candidate has experience in areas important to the operations of our company; ·                  whether the candidate has an inquisitive and objective perspective, practical wisdom and mature judgment; and ·                  whether the candidate provides a diversity of viewpoints, background, experience and demographics as compared to the current members of the board. Candidates also are evaluated based on their understanding of our business and willingness to devote adequate time to carrying out their duties.  The nominating and corporate governance committee monitors the mix of skills, experience and background to assure that the board has the necessary composition to effectively perform its oversight function.  As noted above, diversity characteristics of a candidate are one of several factors considered by the committee when evaluating director candidates and are expected to be an important focus in the board’s search for a ninth director in 2019.  See “—Enhancing Board Diversity” below.  In general, a candidate will neither be included nor excluded from consideration solely based on his or her diversity traits.  The nominating and corporate governance committee conducts regular reviews of current directors in light of the considerations described above and their past contributions to the board of directors.  The board reviews the effectiveness of its director candidate nominating policies annually. The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider appropriate nominees for directors whose names are submitted in writing by a stockholder of our company.  Director candidates submitted by our stockholders will be evaluated by the nominating and corporate governance committee on the same basis as any other director candidates.  We did not receive any nominations of directors by stockholders for the 2019 annual meeting.  Nominations must be addressed to STAG Industrial, Inc., One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, Attention: Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Corporate Secretary, indicating the nominee’s qualifications and other relevant biographical information and providing confirmation of the nominee’s consent to serve as director, if elected.  To be considered for the next annual election of directors, any such written request must comply with the requirements set forth in our bylaws and below under “Other Matters—Stockholder Proposals.” Enhancing Board Diversity   We are committed to diversity and recognize the benefits of having a diverse board of directors. We view increasing diversity at the board level as essential to maintaining our competitive advantage and supporting the attainment of our strategic objectives. Not only does diversity promote the inclusion of different perspectives and ideas, and ensure that we have the opportunity to benefit from all available talent, but the promotion of a diverse board also makes prudent business sense and makes for better corporate governance. We believe that a truly diverse board will include and make good use of differences in the skills, regional and industry experience, background, race, gender, cultural and other distinctions between directors. These differences are considered in determining the optimum composition of our board. All board appointments are based on merit, in the context of the skills, experience, independence and knowledge which the board as a whole requires to be effective. As part of the annual performance evaluation of the effectiveness of the board of directors, board committees and individual directors (described (described above under “—“Board of Directors and Its Committees—Board and Committee Evaluations”), ourthe nominating and corporate governance committee considers the balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge of our company and the diversity representation of the board, including gender, ethnicity and race, how the board works together as a unit, and other factors relevant to its effectiveness.   In 2017, the board of directors resolved to strengthen its commitment to diversity by seeking to identify one or more qualified female candidates for appointment to the board and, in March 2018, the board of directors unanimously appointed Michelle S. Dilley to the board.  Additionally, the board of directors has increased its focus on adding a second woman to the board and has started an initiative, led by the nominating and corporate governance committee, to determine the needed skill set and experience for an additional director and identify qualified nominees with a focus on identifying female candidates. Director Resignation Policy The board of directors adopted a majority voting standard in uncontested election of directors, retaining the plurality standard for elections in which the number of director nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected. Subject to the provisions of our charter related to preferred stock directors, pursuant to our bylaws, director nominees in uncontested elections of directors will be elected by the vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to the director, which means that the number of votes cast for a director must exceed the number of votes cast against the director. In connection with the adoption of the amended and restated bylaws, the board of directors also updated our corporate governance guidelines to require incumbent director nominees who fail to receive a majority of the votes cast to submit promptly a written offer to resign from the board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee will make a recommendation to the board of directors on whether to accept or reject the resignation. Taking into account the recommendation of the nominating and corporate governance committee, the board of directors will determine whether to accept or reject any such resignation within 90 days after the certification of the voting results, and we will report such decision in a current report on Form 8-K furnished to the SEC.  A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Role of the Board in Risk Oversight One of the key functions of the board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process.  The board of directors administers this oversight function directly, with support from the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which addresses risks specific to their respective areas of oversight.  In particular, the audit committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken.  The audit committee also monitors compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, in addition to oversight of the performance of our internal audit function.  The compensation committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk-taking.  The nominating and corporate governance committee monitors the effectiveness of our corporate governance guidelines, including whether they are successful in preventing illegal or improper liability-creating conduct. Stock Ownership Guidelines   We have adopted stock ownership guidelines that apply to all our executive officers. The stock ownership guidelines require that the chief executive officer and president own qualified securities equal to six times his or her annual base salary and the chief financial officer, chief operating officer and other executive officers own qualified securities equal to three times his or her annual base salary. Qualified securities include the company’s common stock, preferred stock, common units and LTIP units, whether owned directly or indirectly. Newly appointed executive officers will have up to five years to comply with the stock ownership guidelines. All of our executive officers are in compliance with the stock ownership guidelines. In addition, we have adopted stock ownership guidelines that apply to all non-management members of the board of directors. The stock ownership guidelines require that the non-management members own qualified securities equal to five times their annual cash retainer. Qualified securities include the company’s common stock, preferred stock, common units and LTIP units, whether owned directly or indirectly. Newly appointed non-management members of the board of directors have up to five years to comply with the stock ownership guidelines. All of our non-management members of the board of directors are in compliance with our stock ownership guidelines.   Prohibition Against Hedging and Pledging   Our insider trading policy prohibits our officers, directors, employees and their respective family members from, among other prohibited activities, directly or indirectly engaging in short-term or speculative transactions in our securities or in other transactions in our securities that may lead to inadvertent violations of insider trading laws. The insider trading policy prohibits our officers, directors, employees and their respective family members from, among other prohibited activities, (i) directly or indirectly engaging in strategies using puts, calls, equity swaps or other derivative securities on an exchange or in any other market in order to hedge or offset any decreases in the market value of any directly or indirectly owned securities of the company;company, (ii) engaging in short sale transactions or forward sale transactions or any short-term or speculative transactions in our securities or in other transactions in our securities that may lead to inadvertent violations of insider trading laws;laws, and (iii) pledging our securities as collateral for a loan or otherwise using our securities to secure a debt, including through the use of traditional margin accounts with a broker.   Other Corporate Governance Matters   Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Corporate Governance Guidelines   We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics and corporate governance guidelines that apply to all of our executive officers and employees and each member of the board of directors. The corporate governance guidelines provide the framework for the governance of our company and represent the board’s current views with respect to selected corporate governance issues considered to be of significance to our stockholders. The corporate governance guidelines direct the board of director’s actions with respect to, among other things, board composition and director qualifications, selection of our chief executive officer, chairman of the board and lead independent director, composition of the board’s standing committees, director resignation policy, executive sessions, stockholder communications with the board, management succession planning and the board’s annual performance evaluation. Within the time period required by the SEC, we will disclose on our website any amendment to the code of business conduct and ethics and any waiver applicable to any director, executive officer or senior financial officer of any provision of the code of business conduct and ethics that would otherwise be required to be disclosed under the rules of the SEC or NYSE.   Copies of the code of business conduct and ethics and corporate governance guidelines are available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. Copies of such documents are also available in print to any stockholder who requests them. Requests should be sent STAG Industrial, Inc., One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, Attention: Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Corporate Secretary.   Related Party Transactions   The board of directors has adopted a policy for the review and approval of related person transactions requiring disclosure under Rule 404(a) of Regulation S-K. The policy provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for reviewing and approving or disapproving all related party transactions, including any transaction, arrangement or relationship in which (i) the amount involved may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any fiscal year, (ii) we will be a participant and (iii) a related person has a direct or indirect material interest. A related person is defined as an executive officer, director or nominee for election as director, or a greater than 5% beneficial owner of our common stock, or an immediate family member of the foregoing. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.” Conflicts of Interests   Our code of business conduct and ethics expressly prohibits the continuation of any conflict of interest by an employee, officer or director except under guidelines approved by the board of directors. Our policies provide that any transaction involving us in which any of our directors or officers has a material interest must be approved by a vote of a majority of our disinterested directors. Our code of business conduct and ethics requires any employee, officer or director to report any actual conflict of interest to our compliance officer, who will then seek guidance from the board of directors. In addition, our corporate governance guidelines require that each member of the board of directors consult the chairman of the board in advance of accepting an invitation to serve on another company’s board should there be a possible conflict and notify the nominating and corporate governance committee in writing of the outcome. Because the facts and circumstances regarding potential conflicts are difficult to predict, the board of directors has not adopted a written policy for evaluating conflicts of interests. If a conflict of interest arises, the board will review, among other things, the facts and circumstances of the conflict, our applicable corporate governance policies, the effects of any potential waivers of those policies, applicable state law, and the NYSE continued listing rules and regulations, and will consider the advice of counsel before making any decisions regarding the conflict.   Communication with the Board of Directors, Independent Directors and the Audit Committee   The board of directors may be contacted by any party via mail or e-mail at the addresses listed below:   Board of Directors STAG Industrial, Inc. One Federal Street, 23rd Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02110 boardofdirectors@stagindustrial.com   We believe that providing a method for interested parties to communicate directly with our independent directors, rather than to the full board, would provide a more confidential, candid and efficient method of relaying any interested party’s concerns or comments. The presiding director of independent executive sessions of directors is the lead independent director, and the lead independent director may be contacted by any party via mail or e-mail at the addresses listed below:   Lead Independent Director STAG Industrial, Inc. One Federal Street, 23rd Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02110 leadindependentdirector@stagindustrial.com   The audit committee has adopted a process for anyone to send communications to the audit committee with concerns or complaints concerning our company’s regulatory compliance, accounting, audit or internal controls issues.controls. The audit committee may be contacted by any party via mail or e-mail at the addresses listed below:   Chairman Audit Committee STAG Industrial, Inc. One Federal Street, 23rd Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02110 auditcommittee@stagindustrial.com   Alternatively, anyone may call our toll-free whistleblower hotline toll-free at (877) 472-2110. A copy of our whistleblower policy is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com.   Relevant communications are distributed to the board, or to any individual director or directors, as appropriate, depending on the facts and circumstances outlined in the communication. In that regard, the board of directors has requested that certain items that are unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the board should be excluded or redirected, as appropriate, such as: business solicitations or advertisements; junk mail and mass mailings; resumes and other forms of job inquiries; spam; and surveys. In addition, material that is unduly hostile, threatening, potentially illegal or similarly unsuitable will be excluded; however, any communication that is excluded will be made available to any outside director upon request. 40  EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS   This section discusses the principles underlying the material components of our executive compensation program for our executive officers who are named in the “Summary Compensation Table” below and the factors relevant to an analysis of the compensatory policies and decisions. Our “named executive officers” during 20182020 were:   · ● Benjamin S. Butcher, Chief Executive officer, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors ●  William R. Crooker, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer ●  Stephen C. Mecke, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer ●  Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary ● David G. King, Executive Vice President and Director of Real Estate Operations Executive Summary   ·2020 Say-On-Pay Vote                  William R. Crooker, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer   ·                  Stephen C. Mecke, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer ·                  Jeffrey M. Sullivan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary ·                  David G. King, Executive Vice President and Director of Real Estate Operations Executive Summary Stockholder Engagement and Response to 2018 Say-On-Pay Vote In connection withAt the 20182020 annual meeting of stockholders, and thereafter, we decided to contactapproximately 97.4% of the votes cast in the advisory vote on the 2019 compensation of our institutional stockholders to better understand their concerns about ournamed executive officers were in favor. The compensation committee considered these voting results as supportive of the committee’s general executive compensation program and to identify areas for improvement.practices.   This stockholder outreach was primarily meant to discuss: ·                  our executive compensation philosophy and the basis for the compensation committee’s decisions regarding plan structure, as well as to solicit investor feedback, including the concerns that resulted in the lower say-on-pay vote received in 2018; ·                  corporate governance developments and changes we have made recently; and ·                  director succession and refreshment. We welcomed the feedback we received during our engagement with stockholders and communicated the feedback to the compensation committee.  In response to the 2018 annual meeting voting results and to stockholder feedback and proxy advisory firm observations, our compensation committee worked with FPL to re-design certain aspects of our executive compensation program, particularly the annual cash incentive bonus program, to shift the bonus performance metrics away from relative total stockholder return, defined as common stock price appreciation plus dividends, assuming reinvestment of dividends into additional shares of common stock (“TSR”), and toward other rigorous goals tied directly to company operational performance, and took the following actions: WHAT WE HEARD HOW WE RESPONDED Reduce overlap of performance metrics in annual and long-term incentive programs à We modified the annual cash incentive bonus program to be based on individual and corporate operational performance goals, while keeping the performance unit awards based on relative and absolute TSR metrics Utilize rigorous individual and corporate operational performance goals for the annual cash incentive bonus program à We adjusted the annual cash incentive bonus program so 20% will be based on certain individual performance goals and 80% will be based on four corporate operational performance goals: (i) Core FFO per Share, (ii) Acquisition Volume, (iii) Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre and (iv) Same Store Cash NOI Growth Decrease volatility in payout levels for same levels of performance à We removed the muting methodology from the annual cash incentive bonus program Adopt rigorous performance goals for performance unit target payout levels à We set target payout levels for performance units granted in 2020 and beyond at the 55th percentile of the peer group such that we must outperform to achieve target More than half of the equity awards should be performance-based equity awards à We determined that annual equity awards should consist of approximately 35% to 40% in LTIP units (subject to multi-year vesting) and 60% to 65% in performance units (with a multi-year measuring period) Disclose thesholds for minmum payouts under the annual cash incentive bonus program and performance units à We disclosed that performance below threshold levels will earn 0% under the annual cash incentive bonus program and that relative return performance below the 30th percentile will result no payout (zero value) under the performance units For more information about our stockholder outreach and our redesigned executive compensation program, see “—Stockholder Engagement and Response to 2018 Say-On-Pay Vote” below. 20182020 Business Highlights   During 2018,2020, we continued to deliver strong operating and financial results, while creating significant long-term value for our stockholders. Key highlights include the following:   ·Our balance sheet enables capital access and liquidity and facilitates our strategic growth.  As of December 31, 2018, our ratio of net debt to total real estate cost basis was approximately 37.6% and our ratio of total long-term indebtedness to total enterprise value was approximately 31.1%.  In addition, during 2018, we (i) raised gross equity capital of approximately $390.4 million through our “at-the-market” common stock offering programs, (ii) maintained an investment grade rating from a nationally recognized statistical rating agency, (iii) obtained a second investment grade rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating agency, and (iv) paid a monthly dividend at an annualized rate of approximately $1.42 per share, which represents a dividend yield of approximately 5.7% based on the year-end closing stock price of $24.88. ● Our balance sheet enables capital access and liquidity and facilitates our strategic growth. As of December 31, 2020, our ratio of net debt to total real estate cost basis was approximately 32.4% and our ratio of total long-term indebtedness to total enterprise value was approximately 25.0%. In addition, during 2020, we (i) raised equity capital of approximately $439.3 million through follow-on common stock offerings (including net proceeds received upon physical settlement of certain forward sales agreements), (ii) maintained two investment grade ratings from nationally recognized statistical rating agencies, and (iii) paid a monthly dividend on shares of our common stock at an annualized rate of $1.44 per share, which represents a dividend yield of approximately 4.6% based on the year-end closing stock price of $31.32.   ·Our acquisition platform and process creates significant external growth.  Since our initial public offering in 2011, we have deployed more than $3.5 billion of capital, representing the acquisition of 370 buildings totaling approximately 75.2 million rentable square feet.  During 2018, we acquired 53 buildings totaling approximately 10.3 million rentable square feet for a total purchase price of approximately $676.5 million, a record acquisition volume for our company. ● Our acquisition platform and process create significant external growth. Since our initial public offering in 2011, as of December 31, 2020, we have deployed almost $5.5 billion of capital, representing the acquisition of 487 buildings totaling approximately 101.1 million rentable square feet. During 2020, we acquired 48 buildings totaling approximately 9.9 million rentable square feet for a total purchase price of approximately $775.8 million.   ·Our investment strategy and execution generates significant cash flow growth and earnings growth.  For the year ended December 31, 2018: ● Despite facing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to execute on our operational goals and maintained strong occupancy and rent collections during the year. We (i) achieved an occupancy rate of 96.9% on the total portfolio and 97.2% on the operating portfolio as of December 31, 2020, and (ii) collected 99.6% of base rental billings for the year ended December 31, 2020 (as of February 10, 2021), representing one of the highest collection rates in our industry.   o                Net income was approximately $96.2 million as compared to net income of approximately $32.2 million in 2017, an increase of approximately 198.9%. ● Our investment strategy and execution generate significant cash flow growth and earnings growth. For the year ended December 31, 2020:   o                FFO was approximately $197.5 million as compared to FFO of approximately $160.4 million in 2017, an increase of approximately 23.1%. ° Net income was approximately $206.8 million as compared to net income of approximately $50.7 million in 2019, a decrease of approximately 307.9%. These amounts included approximately $135.7 million and $7.4 million, respectively, of gain from sales of properties in 2020 and 2019. Excluding gain from sales of properties, our net income increased approximately 64.2% from 2019 to 2020.   o                NOI was approximately $282.0 million as compared to NOI of approximately $243.3 million in 2017, an increase of approximately 15.9%. ° FFO was approximately $291.1 million as compared to FFO of approximately $238.2 million in 2019, an increase of approximately 22.2%.   ·Our operating and financial performance has translated into significant stockholder returns.  We believe that the value creation produced from an investment in real estate should be assessed over a long-term period, and our strategy has focused on long-term value creation.  As of December 31, 2018, our TSR performance has been +60.2% over three years, +63.6% over five years and +230.2% over seven years. We have outperformed both the MSCI US REIT index and S&P 500 index over each of these periods. ° NOI was approximately $394.1 million as compared to NOI of approximately $330.8 million in 2019, an increase of approximately 19.3%.   ·Our short-term stockholder return performance has been in line with the performance of our peer groups and has turned positive on an absolute basis in the last 12 months. The median TSR for each of our peer groups was negative for 2018, as follows: the size-based peer group, -5.6%, the industry peer group, -0.4%, and the MSCI US REIT index, -8.2%. While our TSR performance for 2018 was also negative on an absolute basis, we outperformed both the size-based peer group and the MSCI US REIT index. In addition, our TSR performance was +27.0% for the trailing 12-month period ended March 15, 2019. ● Our operating and financial performance has translated into significant stockholder returns. We believe that the value creation produced from an investment in real estate should be assessed over a long-term period, and our strategy has focused on long-term value creation. As of December 31, 2020, our TSR performance has been +33.4% over three years, +122.3% over five years and +126.9% over seven years. We have outperformed the MSCI US REIT index over the three-year, five-year and seven-year periods. We also outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the five-year period (the S&P 500 Index returned 48.9% and 134.0% over the three- and seven-year periods, respectively).   ● Our short-term (2020) stockholder return performance has been in line with the performance of our peer groups. Our TSR for 2020 was 4.2%, which placed us at approximately the 39th percentile, the 62nd percentile and the 74th percentile in our 2020 industry peer group, our 2020 size-based peer group and the group of companies constituting the MSCI US REIT index, respectively. ·Our compensation program is designed to motivate and reward management for continued outperformance.  We continue to focus on employing a best-in-class executive compensation program that maintains a strong link between our named executive officers’ compensation and our performance.  We believe our compensation program is a thoughtful, balanced program with a pay-for-performance structure that emphasizes company performance, aligns the interests of our named executive officers with those of our stockholders and incentivizes the management team to deliver superior operating and TSR performance. Please refer to Appendix A attached hereto for (i)certain definitions of net debt, long-term indebtedness, real estate cost basis and enterprise value and (ii) an explanationreconciliations of why our management considers FFO and NOI the historical amounts of these two measures and a reconciliation of the measures to the nearest measure under GAAP.   Executive Compensation Program Highlights   Our executive compensation program is designed to provide a total compensation package intended to attract and retain high-caliber executive officers and employees, and also to incentivize employee contributions that are consistent with our corporate objectives and stockholder interests. It is our policy to provide a competitive total compensation package and share our success with our named executive officers, as well as our other employees, when our objectives are met.   The key components of compensation are designed to be flexible and complementary and to support, collectively, the goals and objectives of our executive compensation program. Below are certain features of our current executive compensation program, which reflect our commitment to a pay-for-performance compensation structure:   ·                  A substantial majority of executive officer compensation is tied to our performance and is not guaranteed.  The compensation committee sets clear goals for company performance and differentiates certain elements of compensation based on individual achievement. ● A substantial majority of executive officer compensation is tied to our performance and is not guaranteed. The compensation committee sets clear goals for company performance and differentiates certain elements of compensation based on individual achievement.   ·                  Two of the primary components of our executive compensation program are annual cash incentive bonuses and long-term equity awards, which consist of up to 40% of grant date value in LTIP units subject to multi-year vesting and 60% or more of grant date value in performance units. ● Two of the primary components of our executive compensation program are annual cash incentive bonuses and long-term equity awards, which consist of up to 40% of grant date value in LTIP units subject to multi-year vesting and 60% or more of grant date value in performance units.   oAnnual cash incentive bonuses – The annual cash incentive bonuses vary according to performance and are not guaranteed. ° Annual cash incentive bonuses – The annual cash incentive bonuses vary according to performance and are not guaranteed.   oLTIP units – In the absence of stock price appreciation, LTIP units will not have value beyond distributions actually paid.  Unlike common stock, LTIP units lack an immediate liquidation value upon grant and present the risk of never achieving a liquidation, or sale, value. o LTIP units – In the absence of stock price appreciation, LTIP units will not have value beyond distributions actually paid. Unlike common stock, LTIP units lack an immediate liquidation value upon grant and present the risk of never achieving a liquidation, or sale, value.   oPerformance units – The ultimate value of the performance units depends on our TSR over a three-year period compared to both relative return (TSR vs. three benchmarks) and an absolute return (as a condition for higher levels of value).  The performance units are intended as an additional long-term incentive designed to align the executive officers’ interests more closely with those of the stockholders. o Performance units – The ultimate value of the performance units depends on our TSR over a three-year period compared to both relative returns (TSR vs. three benchmarks) and an absolute return (as a condition for higher levels of value). The performance units are intended as an additional long-term incentive designed to align the executive officers’ interests more closely with those of the stockholders.   ·                  Our heavy reliance on corporate performance as a performance metric reflects the committee’s belief that the company should require a uniform commitment to corporate success from all of its senior officers, irrespective of their office.  A relatively small portion of pay is not dependent on company performance.  Annual base salaries for our executive officers are intended to be less than 25% of total compensation. ● Our heavy reliance on company financial and operational performance as performance metrics reflects the committee’s belief that the company should require a uniform commitment to corporate success from all of its senior officers, irrespective of their office. A relatively small portion of pay is not dependent on company performance. Annual base salaries for our executive officers are intended to be less than 25% of total compensation.   ·                  The ability to measure the company’s performance against sensible standards is essential, and the committee considers the comparison of the company’s TSR to the TSR of our peers to be a critical indicator of performance. ● We measure performance against multiple metrics and multiple indices to avoid the risk of poor correlation of performance and reward that is inherent in reliance on a single performance metric or peer index.   ·                  We measure performance against multiple indices to avoid the risk of poor correlation of performance and reward that is inherent in reliance on a single peer index. Below are additional features of our current executive compensation practices – both the practices we believe drive performance and the practices we have not implemented because we do not believe they would serve the stockholders’ long-term interests:   What We Do What We Don’t Do üWe mitigate undue risk, including utilizing retention provisions, multiple performance targets, and robust board and management processes to identify risk. û          We do not believe the executive compensation program creates risks that are reasonably likely to pose a material adverse impact to our company. ü     We tie pay to performance by linking a majority of equity compensation and total compensation to the achievement of short-financial and long-term financial goals (primarily through relative and absolute TSR for 2018 and a combination of TSR and corporate operational metrics for 2019).  In addition, a majority of our equity compensation is performance based.goals. û          We do not guarantee annual base salary increases. We do not guarantee bonuses of a minimum specific dollar amount (under our 2019 annual cash incentive bonus program, bonuses can be zero). We do not provide uncapped bonuses. ü     We require strong, positive TSR (25% or greater) as a condition to higher pay outs under performance units; relative TSR performance below the 30th percentile would result in no payout under the performance units. ü     The 2011 Equity Incentive Plan generally requires a minimum one-year vesting period for stock options and stock appreciation rights. ü     We have reasonable post-employment and change of control provisions. Our employment agreements generally provide for cash payments after a change of control only if an employee is also terminated within one year (a double-trigger). ü     We provide only modest perquisites that have a sound benefit to our business. ü     The compensation committee benefits from its utilization of an independent compensation consulting firm. ü    We have stock ownership guidelines for executive officers and directors.   û     We do not believe the executive compensation program creates risks that are reasonably likely to pose a material adverse impact to our company. û      We do not guarantee annual base salary increases or bonuses of a minimum amount (bonuses can be zero). We do not provide uncapped bonuses. û      The 2011 Equity Incentive Plan prohibits liberal share recycling. We may not reuse shares withheld or delivered to satisfy tax withholdings or an option’s exercise price. We also may not use “net share counting” in the exercise of stock appreciation rights. ü        The 2011 Equity Incentive Plan generally requires a minimum one-year vesting period for stock options and stock appreciation rights. û     We do not reprice stock options or stock appreciation rights without stockholder approval. The exercise price of stock options and the base price of stock appreciation rights may not be less than the grant date fair market value of our common stock. üû        We have reasonable post-employment and change of control provisions.     Our employment agreements with the named executive officers generally provide for cash payments after a change of control only if an employee is also terminated within one year of the change of control (a double-trigger). û          Our employment agreements with the executive officers do not include tax gross-up provisions with respect to payments contingent upon a change of control. We do not have pension plans. ü        We provide only modest perquisites that have a sound benefit to our business. û     We do not distribute dividends on unearned performance awards to the named executive officers.unit awards. ü        The compensation committee benefits from its utilization of an independent compensation consulting firm.  The reports prepared by the compensation consulting firm are used by the compensation committee to set executive compensation at levels that are competitive with our peers. û     The independent compensation consulting firm did not provide any services to us not related to compensation. ü        We have stock ownership guidelines forcompensation or succession planning and executive officers and directors.assessments. û     Our insider trading policy prohibits hedging and pledging of our common stock by executive officers and directors.   Stockholder Engagement and Response2020 Changes to 2018 Say-On-Pay VoteOur Equity Incentive Compensation Program   Stockholder Engagement Focused on Compensation and Governance Matters At the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, approximately 52% of the votes cast in the advisory vote on the 2017 compensation ofHistorically we have issued performance units to our named executive officers werethat may settle in favor.  Whileshares of common stock (or other securities) depending on our relative TSR performance over a three-year measuring period compared to three benchmarks: (i) the vote reflected continued majority supportTSR of our executive compensation program, this levelcompanies in an industry peer group, (ii) the TSR of support wascompanies in a size-based peer group, and (iii) the TSR of companies in a major real estate company stock index. The performance units also have a significant decline from the prior years’ advisory vote (approximately 94%, 74% and 96%, respectively, in 2017, 2016 and 2015) and less than what we consider satisfactory.absolute TSR as a condition to higher settlement, or payout, levels.   In connection with the 2018 annual meetingadoption of stockholders and thereafter, we decided to contact our institutional stockholders to better understand their concerns about ourredesigned executive compensation program andin 2019, the compensation committee determined that, effective for the performance units to identify areasbe issued after year-end 2019, the threshold for improvement.  During this engagement effort, we contacted 29a target payout would be increased from the 50th percentile to the 55th percentile. The compensation committee further determined that other terms of the performance units would be substantially similar to the terms of our largest institutional stockholders (representinghistorical performance units. Below are the key terms of the new performance unit awards: ü Performance units will have zero value (no payout) for performance below the 30th percentile ü Must outperform to earn target award; threshold for target payout is the 55th percentile ü Must achieve a cumulative 25% absolute TSR to receive a payout above target on 50% of the award The compensation committee specifically considered whether the performance units should pay out above target or otherwise in instances where we have had strong relative TSR performance but a negative absolute TSR (i.e., outperformance among the three peer groups when they have had overall negative performance). The compensation committee continues to believe that competitive pay practices require that executive officers be compensated at a reasonable level for outperforming peers in difficult economic environments, even if absolute TSR is negative. In this regard, the compensation committee took note of the following: ● by the terms of the award agreements, half of the performance units cannot pay above target without a 25% or greater positive absolute TSR (i.e., a positive absolute TSR below 25% would result in no more than target for half of the performance units); ● stockholders with whom we met with during a previous compensation and governance-focused outreach effort, with one exception, either expressly supported or did not object to the degree to which payouts under the performance units depended on relative TSR; ● in our regular, year-long engagement with stockholders, none expressed concern about performance unit pay outs in the case of substantial relative TSR outperformance (75th percentile or greater) but negative absolute TSR; and ● in the case of negative absolute TSR over the measuring period, the value of any settlement of the performance units would necessarily be less than the same settlement at the grant date stock price and the executive would experience an appropriate value decrement as a stockholder. Executive Compensation Objectives and Philosophy Objectives of Our Executive Compensation Program The compensation committee’s overarching goal is to attract and maintain an estimated 76% of our outstanding common stock) and offered to listen to their concerns specifically regarding ourexcellent executive management team that enhances stockholder value over the long term. The executive compensation practicesprogram is, therefore, designed to provide substantial incentives to focus executive management’s efforts accordingly. The compensation program also is designed to encourage and policies.  Our chief financial officerreward executives who contribute to company performance goals and general counsel met with 10 stockholders, who had accepted our invitation, representing approximately 39% of ourTSR performance by successfully executing the company’s business strategy, providing thoughtful and creative stewardship and exhibiting outstanding common stock.  In addition, our lead independent director, who is a memberperformance. The specific objectives of the compensation committee and its former chair, also made himself available upon request and participated in meetings with investors representing approximately 29% of our outstanding common stock (all who requested).  Our chief executive officer did not attend any of the meetings.program are to: ● align the interests of executive officers with the interests of stockholders; ● encourage and maintain a performance-driven company culture; ● provide the compensation committee with the flexibility and discretion to adjust executive compensation to appropriately reflect both individual circumstances and variable business conditions; and ● attract and retain talented and experienced executive officers. Pay-for-Performance Philosophy   This stockholder outreach was primarily meant to discuss: ·                  ourConsistent with these objectives, executive compensation philosophyfor 2020 was heavily weighted toward (i) company financial and the basisoperational performance metrics for the compensation committee’s decisions regarding plan structure, as well as to solicit investor feedback, including the concernsbonuses and (ii) TSR for long-term equity incentives. We believe that resulted in the lower say-on-pay vote received in 2018; ·                  corporate governance developments and changes we have made recently; and ·                  director succession and refreshment. We welcomed the feedback we received during our engagement with stockholders.  A number of our stockholders had similar reactions to our executive compensation program and provided instructive feedback for how we might improve those programs.  One area of focus forsupports these objectives by providing the named executive officers with a few investors wasmulti-faceted compensation package, comprising a base salary, the degreeopportunity to which we have historically relied on relative TSR, in both our annual cash incentive bonuses and our performance units, which together constituted roughly 60% of our chief executive officer’s total compensation for 2017.  In sum, relative TSR was viewed asearn an appropriate measurement for our performance units, but some stockholders expressed a desire or an openness for other, operationally-oriented measurements for the annual cash incentive bonus program.  In addition, we noted that the two leading proxy advisory firms expressed concern about the extent to which we relied on relative TSR across our executive compensation program.  We communicated the stockholder feedback we received to the compensation committee.  Moving forward, the compensation committee is capitalizing on these conversations to make design changes to our executive compensation programs that are appropriate for our company, align with current best practices and reflect the interests of our stockholders. Since our 2018 annual cash incentive bonus and equity awards under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. The graph below illustrates our long-term pay-for-performance alignment by comparing our chief executive officer’s total direct compensation to our TSR (indexed to a base date of December 31, 2015) for the past five years.    The compensation reported in this graph differs from compensation reported in the summary compensation table. The graph above aligns the value of equity incentive awards with the performance year for which they were earned, rather than the year in which they were granted. For example, compensation earned in any given year includes the fair value, as of the vesting date, of LTIP units that vested during the year, rather than the fair value, as of the grant date, of LTIP units granted in the year. As another example, compensation in 2019 includes the fair value of the LTIP units issued in satisfaction of the outperformance plan interests granted in 2016. Final Results of 2018 Performance Units – Alignment of Pay and Performance In January 2018, we issued performance units under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, which provided each executive officer the opportunity to earn a target number of awards as determined by our relative and absolute TSR performance over a three-year performance period compared to pre-established quantitative performance metrics. The following table shows the performance metrics and ultimate 140.7% achievement for the performance units at the completion of the three-year performance period from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. Benchmark Performance Metrics Performance Result(1) Metric Payout Percentage Weighting Calculated Payout Percentage(2)   30th Percentile 50th Percentile 75th Percentile 95th Percentile   Size-Based Peer Group 50% earned 100% earned 200% earned N/A 52nd percentile 109.3% 25% 27.3%   Industry Peer Group 50% earned 100% earned 200% earned N/A 32nd percentile 54.6% 25% 13.7%   MSCI US REIT Index(3) 50% earned 100% earned 200% earned 300% earned 75th percentile 199.4% 50% 99.7%                         Total Calculated Payout Percentage: 140.7%                         (1)       Rounded to the nearest whole percentile. (2)       Excludes deemed dividend shares. (3)       Awards above 100% for this benchmark require us to achieve a minimum absolute TSR of 25%. Our absolute TSR for the performance period from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020 was 29.2%. A comparison of this result to prior years illustrates the true variability of our long-term equity incentive compensation program. The total percentage of target achieved for the 2016-2018 and 2017-2019 performance units was 263% and 166%, respectively. How We Determine Executive Compensation The compensation committee determines compensation for the named executive officers and currently has five independent directors, Ms. Dilley and Messrs. Colbert, Furber, Guillemette and Weger. The compensation committee exercises independent discretion with respect to executive compensation matters and administers our equity incentive programs, had already beenincluding reviewing and approving equity grants to the named executive officers pursuant to the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. The compensation committee operates under a written charter adopted by the board of directors, a copy of which is available under “Corporate Governance” in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com. The initial compensation arrangements with the named executive officers were determined priorin negotiations with each individual executive officer and were formalized in the executive officers’ employment agreements, as described below in “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control—Employment Agreements.” In making compensation decisions for 2020, the compensation committee evaluated the performance of our chief executive officer and, together with our chief executive officer, assessed the individual performance of the other named executive officers. The compensation committee also reviewed market-based compensation data provided by its independent compensation consultant, FPL Associates, L.P. (“FPL”), and from data publicly available from other sources such as the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“Nareit”). Engagement of Compensation Consultant The compensation committee is authorized to retain the services of one or more executive compensation consultants, in its discretion, to assist with the establishment and review of our compensation programs and related policies. The compensation committee has sole authority to hire, terminate and set the terms of any future engagement of FPL or any other compensation consultant. For compensation advice in 2020, the compensation committee engaged FPL, an independent compensation consulting firm, to provide market-based compensation data to assist the committee in the implementation of our comprehensive executive compensation program. In connection with these efforts, FPL prepared for the compensation committee reports that included compensation analyses for each executive position, an analysis of a recommended peer group for the company and a description of the methodology used to provide the compensation analyses. FPL researched competitive market practices, reviewed the proxy statements of its recommended peer group and checked its own proprietary information data bases. The compensation committee reviewed the peer group compensation analyses and methodology provided to the company and approved the 2020 executive compensation program. Peer Groups Our focus on single tenant industrial properties that represent relative value is uncommon, making the identification of directly comparable companies difficult. For the 2020 performance units, FPL recommended 12 publicly-traded REITs with diverse investment focuses and with implied equity market capitalizations roughly comparable to our 2018 say-on-pay voteequity market capitalization (the “size-based peer group”). The companies in the size-based peer group are listed below: CoreSite Realty Corporation Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. EastGroup Properties, Inc. Physicians Realty Trust STORE Capital Corporation First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. PS Business Parks, Inc. Terreno Realty Corporation Lexington Realty Trust QTS Realty Trust, Inc. Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. For the 2020 performance units, the compensation committee also used a group of eight companies that primarily own industrial and/or single-tenant real estate (the “industry peer group”). The companies in the industry peer group are listed below: Duke Realty Corporation Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation EastGroup Properties, Inc. PS Business Parks, Inc. First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. Lexington Realty Trust Terreno Realty Corporation For more information regarding how the compensation committee used both the size-based peer group and stockholder engagement efforts, the substantive changes we madeindustry peer group to determine the 2020 performance units, see “—Equity Incentive Compensation Program—Performance Units.” Key Elements of Executive Compensation The following table summarizes the key elements of our executive compensation program will be reflected in our 2019for the named executive officers and each element’s program objectives, including annual cash incentivecompensation and equity awards. A more detailed discussion of each element of our executive compensation program follows this table. We established our bonus programperformance metrics early in 2020, before the COVID-19 crisis, and January 2020we did not adjust those performance unit awards.  Our compensation committee met in March of this year to approve certainmetrics or otherwise make changes to our executive compensation program in response to stockholder feedbackthe unprecedented pandemic. Element Description Objectives Annual Cash Compensation Annual Base Salary Fixed cash compensation. Reviewed and adjusted periodically. ●   Attract and retain executives ●   Provide steady source of income sufficient to permit executives to focus effectively on their professional responsibilities ●   Help ensure that total cash compensation is competitive but not in excess of market  Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program “At risk” variable cash compensation based on company performance goals and individual performance goals. ●   Encourage executives to achieve annual company and individual performance goals ●   Align executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests  Equity Incentive Compensation Program LTIP Units Awards vest in equal installments over multi-year periods, subject to continued service. Value of the award is “at risk” since (i) the award may never have any liquidation value in the absence of sufficient stock price appreciation, and (ii) the value fluctuates with the company’s common stock price. LTIP unit awards should generally constitute approximately 40% or less of total annual equity incentive compensation. ●  Promote long-term equity ownership by executives ●  Encourage the retention of executives ●  Align executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests  Performance Units “At risk” variable equity compensation based on company performance over three-year performance period. Awards are paid in common stock or LTIP units. Performance units should generally constitute approximately 60% or more of total annual equity incentive compensation. ●  Encourage executives to achieve long-term company performance goals ●  Align executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests ●  Attract and retain executives  Annual Base Salary Annual base salary provides a minimum level of compensation commensurate with an experienced and proxy advisory firm observations,motivated individual of the appropriate caliber and background to better alignperform an executive officer’s job. It should be benchmarked to current market rates to ensure that we are able to attract new executive officers, if necessary. Base salary levels are intended to provide a steady source of income sufficient to permit these officers to focus effectively on their professional responsibilities. Base salaries of the compensation of our named executive officers are reviewed and may be adjusted periodically by the compensation committee. No formulaic base salary increases are provided to the interestsnamed executive officers. The compensation committee has determined that executive officers’ salaries should generally constitute less than 25% of our stockholders.total annual compensation. Post-2018 Changes to Our Executive CompensationAnnual Cash Incentive Bonus Program   In response to the 2018 annual meeting voting results and to stockholder feedback and proxy advisory firm observations, our compensation committee worked with FPL to re-design certain aspects of our executive compensation program, particularly theThe annual cash incentive bonus program is intended to shiftcompensate the bonusnamed executive officers for achieving annual company performance metrics away from relative TSRgoals and toward other rigorous goals tied directly to company operational performance. In addition, theindividual performance goals. The compensation committee determinedbelieves that incentive cash compensation is central to take further action to revise the termsattainment of the executive compensation program’s objectives. Annual cash incentive bonuses encourage the named executive officers to achieve company performance units expected to be granted in January of next year, as described below. Changes to Our Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Programgoals, which fosters a performance-driven company culture that aligns the executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests.   The revised annual cash incentive bonus program will allowallows our executive officers to earn from 0% to either 150% or 187.5% (depending on executive)the executive officer) of base salary based on various pre-defined and pre-weighted annual company and individual performance goals established by the compensation committee (at least 80% of which are objective, calculable measurements) established by the compensation committee.  Each executive officer has been also assigned individualcompany performance goals for 2019.measurements). Individual performance goals will beare assessed subjectively and are focused, depending on position, on matters such as process efficiencies, capital transactions, investor relations activities, rollover rent and retention results, achievement of department initiatives and others.   The table below provides a summary of the recent changes made to our annual cash incentive bonus program, including the 20192020 performance goals and their relative weighting:     2018       2019     Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program       Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program                               Performance Metrics   100% 1-Year Relative TSR Performance Goals Relative TSR vs. Size-Based Peer Group Relative TSR vs. Industry Peer Group Relative TSR vs. MSCI US REIT Index à Performance Metrics   80% Corporate Performance Goals 50% Core FFO per Share 10% Acquisition Volume 10% Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre 10% Same Store Cash NOI Growth 20% Individual Performance Goals                                           Methodology   Performance adjusted using a “muting” methodology à Methodology   Muting methodology eliminated for 2019                                           Performance Bandwidths   Bonus payout levels (threshold, target, and maximum) determined based on peer market data à Performance Bandwidths   Defined performance bandwidths based on percentage of base salary:   CEO: Other NEOs: Threshold - 62.5% Target - 125% Maximum - 187.5% Threshold - 50% Target - 150% Maximum - 150%               Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program Performance Metrics 80% Corporate Performance Goals  50% Core FFO per Share  10% Acquisition Volume  10% Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre  10% Same Store Cash NOI Growth  20% Individual Performance Goals  Performance Bandwidths Defined performance bandwidths based on percentage of base salary: CEO:  Threshold - 62.5%  Target - 125%  Maximum -187.5%  Other NEOs:  Threshold - 50%  Target - 100%  Maximum - 150%    Each performance goal was assigned a weighting relative to the other annual performance goals. Results between threshold and target or between target and maximum will be based on linear interpolation. Performance below threshold will earnearns 0%, and performance above the maximum will beis capped at the maximum level (no additional amounts will beare paid for exceeding the maximum performance goal). The total annual cash incentive bonus to be earned by an executive officer will beis the sum of the weighted annual incentive amounts earned with respect to each goal. As discussed in more detail below under “—Company Performance Goals—Acquisition Volume,” the compensation committee did not adjust the 2020 performance goals in response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Company Performance Goals   Corporate Operational Performance Goals.For 2019,2020, 80% of the annual cash incentive bonuses will bewas based on the following corporate operationalcompany performance goals:   ·Core FFO per Share.  FFO is a widely acknowledged by the REIT industry as being a helpfulrecognized measure of the operating performance of a real estate company because it excludes depreciation and gains or losses relating to sales of depreciated real estate.REITs. We definecalculate FFO in accordance with the standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”).Nareit. FFO represents net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (losses)(or losses) from sales of depreciable operating property,buildings, impairment write-downs of depreciable real estate, real estate related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs and fair market value of debt adjustment) and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Core FFO“Core FFO” excludes transaction costs, intangible amortization in rental income,of above and below market leases, net, loss on extinguishment of debt, gain (loss) on involuntary conversion, gain (loss) on swap ineffectiveness, and non-recurring other expenses. We believe that Core FFO, which excludes items that by their nature are not comparable from period to period and tend to obscure actual operating results, is useful to compare our operating performance over a given time period to that of other companies and other time periods in a consistent manner.   ·With the 50% weighting of the Core FFO per Share component, our chief executive officer can earn between 31.3 percentage points (at the threshold level) and 93.8 percentage points (at the maximum level) and our other named executive officers can earn between 25.0 (at the threshold level) and 75.0 (at maximum level) under this performance goal component. As shown in the chart below, for 2020, our Core FFO per Share, assuming bonuses were paid at target levels, was $1.90, or 0.5% greater than the target Core FFO per Share goal. As a result, our chief executive officer earned 72.9 percentage points and the other named executive officers earned 58.3 percentage points under the Core FFO per Share performance goal component. See the table below under “—2020 Company Performance Results” for more detail on the calculation.   Acquisition Volume.  We are a growth-oriented company, and much of our growth is external, from acquisitions. Moreover, a significant portion of our employees and resources are directed toward acquisitions. Accordingly, our annual Acquisition volume, accordingly,Volume measures one of our core operations.   With the 10% weighting of the Acquisition Volume component, our chief executive officer can earn between 6.3 percentage points (at the threshold level) and 18.8 percentage points (at the maximum level) and our other named executive officers can earn between 5.0 (at the threshold level) and 15.0 (at maximum level) under this performance goal component. As shown in the chart below, for 2020, our Acquisition Volume was approximately $775.8 million, which was below the threshold Acquisition Volume goal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, related government shutdowns and other actions, the reactions of various market participants and the uncertainty of the ·pandemic’s effects on pricing and leasing, for a full quarter of the year we were limited in our ability to source, underwrite and complete acquisitions. Despite this, we made significant efforts once acquisition market activity resumed that resulted in a near achievement of our Acquisition Volume goal. The compensation committee deliberated as to whether to adjust the Acquisition Volume goal in light of the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including whether to evaluate the metric on an annualized basis, which would have resulted in a payout under this performance component. Ultimately, the compensation committee concluded that maintaining the Acquisition Volume goal, as originally established, was appropriate. As a result, our named executive officers did not earn any percentage points under the Acquisition Volume performance goal component. See the table below under “—2020 Company Performance Results” for more detail on the calculation.   Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre.   o               Net Debt isWe define “Net Debt” as our total long-term indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents on hand. o We defined EBITDAredefine “EBITDAre” in accordance with the standards established by NAREIT.Nareit. EBITDAre represents net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP) before interest income and expense, tax, depreciation and amortization, gains or losses on the sale of rental property, and loss on impairments. Adjusted EBITDAre“Adjusted EBITDAre” further excludes transaction costs, termination income, solar income, revenue associated with one-time tenant reimbursements of capital expenditures, straight-line rent adjustments, non-cash compensation intangibleexpense, amortization in rental income,of above and below market leases, net, gain (loss) on involuntary conversion, loss on extinguishment of debt, and other non-recurring items. Run“Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAreEBITDAre” is Adjusted EBITDAre furtherplus incremental Adjusted EBITDAre adjusted for a full period of acquisitions and dispositions. Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre does not reflect our historical results and does not predict future results, which may be substantially different. o We believe that EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre and Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre are helpful to investors as supplemental measures of the operating performance of a real estate company because they are direct measures of the actual operating results of our properties. We also use these measures in ratios to compare our performance to that of our industry peers, such as Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDre,EBITDAre, which we view as an important measurement of the strength of our balance sheet, the strength or riskiness of our earnings and our ability to withstand negative economic trends such as a decrease in our stock price.   ·With the 10% weighting of the Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre component, our chief executive officer can earn between 6.3 percentage points (at the threshold level) and 18.8 percentage points (at the maximum level) and our other named executive officers can earn between 5.0 (at the threshold level) and 15.0 (at maximum level) under this performance goal component. As shown in the chart below, for 2020, our Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre was 4.6x, or 3.2% better than the maximum Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre goal. As a result, our chief executive officer earned 18.8 percentage points and the other named executive officers earned 15.0 percentage points under the Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre performance goal component. See the table below under “—2020 Company Performance Results” for more detail on the calculation.   Same Store Cash NOI Growth.  Same Store Cash NOI Growth is a measurement of our internal growth and a primary financial measure for evaluating the core operating performance of our properties. We define NOI“NOI” as rental income, including reimbursements, and other income, less property expenses, which excludes depreciation, amortization, loss on impairments, general and administrative expenses, interest expense, interest income, transaction costs, gain or loss(loss) on involuntary conversion, loss on extinguishment of debt, gain on sales of rental property, and other expenses. We define Cash NOI“Cash NOI” as NOI less straight-line rent adjustments and less intangible amortization in rental income.of above and below market leases, net. We believe that NOI and Cash NOI are helpful toappropriate supplemental performance measures because they help investors as a supplemental measureand management understand the core operations of our operating performance because it is a direct measure of the actual operating results of our properties.buildings. Comparing Cash NOI on a “same store” basis (i.e., looking at the exact same set of stabilized properties over the periods being compared) allows for an apples-to-apples comparison. We also exclude lease termination fees, solar income and revenue associated with one-time tenant reimbursements of capital expenditures when calculating Cash NOI on a “same store” basis.   Changes to Our Equity Incentive Compensation Program Historically we have issued performance units to our executive officers that may settle in shares of common stock (or other securities) depending on our relative TSR performance over a three-year measuring period compared to three benchmarks:  (a)With the TSR of companies in an industry peer group, (b) the TSR of companies in a size-based peer group and (c) the TSR of companies in a major real estate company stock index.  The performance units also have a significant absolute TSR as a condition to higher settlement, or payout, levels. Under the performance units granted to date, if we perform below the 30th percentile, the performance units will have zero value (no payout).  If we perform at the 30th percentile, the performance units will pay out at 50%10% weighting of the nominal number of performance units.  If we perform at the 50th percentile, the performance units will pay out at the target level (100% of the nominal number of performance units).  If we perform at the 75th percentile to 95th percentile, the performance units will pay out up to 250% of the nominal number of performance units; anything above 150% of the nominal number of performance units also requires a minimum absolute TSR of 25% or greater over the measuring period. The compensation committee determined that, effective for the performance units to be issued after year-end 2019,Same Store Cash NOI Growth component, our chief executive officer can earn between 6.3 percentage points (at the threshold for a target payout will be increased fromlevel) and 18.8 percentage points (at the 50th percentile to the 55th percentile.  The compensation committee further determined thatmaximum level) and our other terms of the performance units will be substantially similar to the terms of our historical performance units.  Below are the key terms of the new performance unit awards: P Performance units will have zero value (no payout) for performance below the 30th percentile P Must outperform to earn target award; threshold for target payout is the 55th percentile P Must achieve a cumulative 25% absolute TSR to receive a payout above target on 50% of the award The compensation committee specifically considered whether the performance units should pay out above target or otherwise in instances where we have had strong relative TSR performance but a negative absolute TSR (i.e., outperformance among the three peer groups when they have had overall negative performance).  The compensation committee continues to believe that competitive pay practices require that executive officers be compensated to a reasonable level for outperforming peers in difficult economic environments, even if absolute TSR is negative.  In this regard, the compensation committee took note of the following: ·                  by the terms of award agreement, half of the performance units cannot pay above target without a 25% or greater positive TSR (i.e., a positive TSR below 25% would result in no more than target for half of the performance units); ·                  the stockholders with whom we met with in our compensation and governance-focused outreach, with one exception, either expressly supported or did not object to the degree to which payouts under our performance units depended on relative TSR; ·                  in our regular, year-long engagement with stockholders, none expressed concern about performance unit pay outs in the case of substantial relative TSR outperformance (75th percentile or greater) but negative TSR; and ·                  in the case of negative absolute TSR over the measuring period, the value of any settlement of the performance units would necessarily be less than the same settlement at the grant date stock price and the executive would experience an appropriate value decrement as a stockholder. Executive Compensation Objectives and Philosophy Objectives of Our Executive Compensation Program The compensation committee’s overarching goal is to attract and maintain an excellent executive management team that enhances stockholder value over the long term.  The executive compensation program is, therefore, designed to provide substantial incentives to focus executive management’s efforts accordingly.  The compensation program also is designed to encourage and reward executives who contribute to TSR and operating performance by successfully executing the company’s business strategy, providing thoughtful and creative stewardship and exhibiting outstanding performance. The specific objectives of the compensation program are to: ·                  align the interests of executive officers with the interests of stockholders; ·                  encourage and maintain a performance-driven company culture; ·                  provide the compensation committee with the flexibility and discretion to adjust executive compensation to appropriately reflect both individual circumstances and variable business conditions; and ·                  attract and retain talented and experienced executive officers. Compensation Philosophy Consistent with these objectives, executive compensation for 2018 was heavily weighted toward (i) TSR-based metrics for bonuses and (ii) long-term equity incentives.  We believe that the executive compensation program supports these objectives by providing the named executive officers withcan earn between 5.0 (at the threshold level) and 15.0 (at maximum level) under this performance goal component. As shown in the chart below, for 2020, our Same Store Cash NOI Growth was 1.7%, or 13.3% greater than the target Same Store Cash NOI Growth goal. As a multi-faceted compensation package, comprising a base salary, the opportunity to earn an annual cash incentive bonus and equity awards under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. The graph below illustrates our long-term pay-for-performance alignment by comparingresult, our chief executive officer’s total direct compensation to our TSR (indexed to a base date of December 31, 2013) forofficer earned 15.0 percentage points and the past five years. The compensation reported in this graph differs from compensation reported in the summary compensation table.  The graph above aligns the value of equity incentive awards with the performance year for which they were earned, rather than the year in which they were granted.  For example, compensation earned in any given year includes the fair value, as of the vesting date, of LTIP units that vested during the year, rather than the fair value, as of the grant date, of LTIP units granted in the year.  As another example, compensation in 2014 and 2018, respectively, includes the fair value of the LTIP units issued in satisfaction of the outperformance plan interests granted in 2011 and 2015. How We Determine Executive Compensation The compensation committee determines compensation for theother named executive officers and currently has four independent directors, Messrs. Colbert, Furber, Guillemette and Weger.  The compensation committee exercises independent discretion with respect to executive compensation matters and administers our equity incentive programs, including reviewing and approving equity grants toearned 12.0 percentage points under the named executive officers pursuant toSame Store Cash NOI Growth performance goal component. See the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan.  The compensation committee operatestable below under a written charter adopted by“—2020 Company Performance Results” for more detail on the board of directors, a copy of which is available on our website at www.stagindustrial.com.  The information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, part of this proxy statement or incorporated into any other filing that we submit to the SEC.calculation.   The initial compensation arrangements with the named executive officers were determined in negotiations with each individual executive officer and were formalized in the executive officers’ employment agreements, as described below in “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control—Employment Agreements.”  2020 Company Performance Results In making compensation decisions for 2018,January 2021, the compensation committee evaluated our performance against the company performance of our chief executive officer and, together with our chief executive officer, assessedgoals, which are set forth in the individual performance of the other named executive officers.  The compensation committee also reviewed market-based compensation data provided by FPL and from data publicly available from other sources such as NAREIT.table below.   Performance Metrics (Weighting) Percentage Points Available Performance Goals Percentage Points Earned (CEO / Other NEOs) Threshold (CEO / Other NEOs) Target (CEO / Other NEOs) Maximum (CEO / Other NEOs) Threshold Target Maximum Core FFO per Share  (50%)  31.3 / 25.0 62.5 / 50.0 93.8 / 75.0 $1.86 $1.89 $1.92 72.9 / 58.3  (33rd percentile between target and maximum)     Actual $1.90   Acquisition Volume  (10%)  6.3 / 5.0 12.5 / 10.0 18.8 / 15.0 $800 million $900 million $1 billion 0.0 / 0.0  (below threshold) Actual $775.8 million       Net Debt to Run Rate Adjusted EBITDAre  (10%)  6.3 / 5.0 12.5 / 10.0 18.8 / 15.0 6.00x 5.38x 4.75x 18.8 / 15.0  (above maximum)        Actual 4.60x   Same Store Cash NOI Growth  (10%)  6.3 / 5.0 12.5 / 10.0 18.8 / 15.0 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 15.0 / 12.0  (40th percentile between target and maximum)    Actual 1.70%                         Total Percentage Points Earned (CEO / Other NEOs): 106.7 / 85.3                                 Engagement of Compensation ConsultantIndividual Performance Goals The compensation committee is authorized to retain the services of one or more executive compensation consultants, in its discretion, to assist with the establishment and review of our compensation programs and related policies.  The compensation committee has sole authority to hire, terminate and set the terms of any future engagement of FPL or any other compensation consultant.   For compensation advice in 2018, the compensation committee engaged FPL, an independent compensation consulting firm, to provide market-based compensation data to assist the committee in the implementation of our comprehensive executive compensation program.  In connection with these efforts, FPL prepared for the compensation committee reports that included compensation analyses for each executive position, an analysis of a recommended peer group for the company and a description2020, 20% of the methodology used to provide the compensation analyses.  FPL researched competitive market practices, reviewed the proxy statements of its recommended peer group and checked its own proprietary information data bases.  The compensation committee reviewed the peer group compensation analyses and methodology provided to the company and it approved the 2018 executive compensation program. Peer Groups Our focus on single tenant industrial properties that represent relative value is uncommon, making the identification of directly comparable companies difficult.  For 2018 annual cash incentive bonuses and performance units, FPL recommended 12 publicly-traded REITs with diverse investment focuses and with implied equity market capitalizations roughly comparable (approximately 70% to 220%, at the time of recommendation) to our equity market capitalization (the “size-based peer group”).  The companies in the size-based peer group are listed below: ·                  CoreSite Realty Corporation ·                  PS Business Parks, Inc. ·                  EastGroup Properties, Inc. ·                  QTS Realty Trust, Inc. ·                  First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. ·                  Rexford Industrial Reality, Inc. ·                  Lexington Realty Trust ·                  STORE Capital Corporation ·                  Pebblebrook Hotel Trust ·                  Terreno Realty Corporation ·                  Physicians Realty Trust ·                  Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. For 2018 annual cash incentive bonuses and performance units, the compensation committee also used a group of nine companies that primarily own industrial and/or single-tenant real estate (the “industry peer group”).  The companies in the industry peer group are listed below: ·                  Duke Realty Corporation ·                  Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation ·                  EastGroup Properties, Inc. ·                  PS Business Parks, Inc. ·                  First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. ·                  STORE Capital Corporation ·                  Lexington Realty Trust ·                  Terreno Realty Corporation ·                  Liberty Property Trust For more information regarding how the compensation committee used both the size-based peer group and the industry peer group to determine the 2018 annual cash incentive bonuses and performance units, see “—Key Elements of Executive Compensation–2018—Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program–2018” and “—Key Elements of Executive Compensation–2018—Equity Incentive Compensation Program–2018—Performance Units.” Key Elements of Executive Compensation–2018 The following table summarizes the key elements of our executive compensation program for the named executive officers and each element’s program objectives, including annual cash compensation and equity awards.  A more detailed discussion of each element of our executive compensation program follows this table. Element Description Objectives Annual Cash Compensation Annual Base Salary Fixed cash compensation.  Reviewed and adjusted periodically.  Salaries plus annual cash incentive bonuses are targeted at the 50th percentile of the cash compensation for similar officer positions in the size-based peer group, before adjustment of the bonus for company under- or over-performancewas based on TSR. ·     Attract and retain executives ·      Provide steady source of income sufficient to permit executives to focus effectively on their professional responsibilities ·      Help ensure that total cash compensation is competitive but not in excess of market Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program “At risk” variable cash compensation based on the company’s TSR.  ·     Encourage executives to achieve annual company and individual performance goals ·      Align executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests Equity Incentive Compensation Program LTIP Units Awards vest in equal installments over multi-year periods, subject to continued service.  Value of the award is “at risk” since (i), in the absence of sufficient stock price appreciation, the award may never have any liquidation value and (ii) the value fluctuates with the company’s common stock price.  LTIP unit awards should generally constitute approximately 40% or less of total annual equity incentive compensation. ·     Promote long-term equity ownership by executives ·     Encourage the retention of executives ·     Align executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests Performance Units “At risk” variable equity compensation based on company performance over three-year performance period.  Awards are paid in common stock or LTIP units.  Performance units should generally constitute approximately 60% or more of total annual equity incentive compensation. ·     Encourage executives to achieve long-term company performance goals ·     Align executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests ·     Attract and retain executives Annual Base Salary Annual base salary provides a minimum level of compensation commensurate with an experienced and motivated individual of the appropriate caliber and background to perform an executive officer’s job.  It should be benchmarked to current market rates to ensure that we are able to attract new executive officers, if necessary.  Base salary levels are intended to provide a steady source of income sufficient to permit these officers to focus effectively on their professional responsibilities.  Base salaries of the named executive officers are reviewed and may be adjusted periodically by the compensation committee.  No formulaic base salary increases are provided to the named executive officers.  The compensation committee has determined that executive officers’ salaries should generally constitute less than 25% of total annual compensation. Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Program–2018 The annual cash incentive bonus program is intended to compensate the named executive officers for achieving annual financial goals. The compensation committee believes that incentive cash compensation is central to the attainment of the executive compensation program’s objectives.  Annual cash incentive bonuses encourage the named executive officers to achieve company performance goals, which fosters a performance-driven company culture that aligns the executives’ interests with the stockholders’ interests.  As described below, the compensation committee’s (and the chief executive officer’s with respect to the other named executive officers) determinationassessment of the 2018 annual cash incentive bonus program was guided byfollowing individual goals, as well as performance in the company’s TSR.context of the COVID-19 pandemic:   ● with respect to Mr. Butcher, the overall success of the company and succession planning; ● with respect to Mr. Crooker, acquisition activity, process efficiencies (accounting, corporate finance and modeling), our balance sheet (equity and debt transactions, costs of transactions, maturity schedule, etc.) and fixed charge coverage ratio, our ratings process, investor relations matters, accounting accuracy and compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and achievement of department initiatives; ● with respect to Mr. Mecke, process efficiencies, achievement of certain other officers’ individual goals, information security and achievement of department initiatives; ● with respect to Mr. Sullivan, process efficiencies (legal and credit), responsiveness to asset management and acquisitions, scalability of the legal and credit departments, corporate governance developments and the achievement of department initiatives; and ● with respect to Mr. King, process efficiencies (asset management and markets), rollover rental rates and retention results, disposition success (particularly opportunistic sales), sustainability initiatives and achievement of department initiatives. The compensation committee set With the target total cash compensation (annual base salary and annual cash incentive bonus) for each20% weighting of the individual performance component, our chief executive officer atcan earn between 12.5 percentage points (at the 50th percentile forthreshold level) and 37.5 percentage points (at the cash compensation for the same or equivalent position for the companies in the size-based peer group.  The compensation committee then determined that the annual cash incentive bonuses would be based entirely on company performance (as described in more detail below).  The compensation committee believes its focus on company performance metrics helps to closely identify themaximum level) and our other named executive officers’ interests with our stockholders’ interests.  The 50th percentile targetofficers can earn between 10.0 (at the threshold level) and the specified performance metrics were not a guarantee of a minimum bonus or a threshold for granting bonuses.  The compensation committee can award higher or lower amounts at its discretion, after taking into consideration changing business conditions, the performance of individual executive officers and other factors.30.0 (at maximum level) under   Company Performance—Total Stockholder Return In developing the annual cash incentive bonus program, the compensation committee focusedthis component. Based on TSR, which the compensation committee believed was the best measurement to align management’s interests with our stockholders’ interests. The compensation committee determined that our TSR performance should be measured in relation to the size-based peer group, the industry peer group and the MSCI US REIT index, in order to provide discrete, rational and measurable benchmarks for comparison of our performance.  Our initial TSR percentile is calculated by comparing our TSR for the year to the TSR for each of the size-based peer group, the industry peer group and the MSCI US REIT index for the year and then averaging those percentile rankings. For example, if our TSR ranks in the 50th percentile of the size-based peer group, the 70th percentile of the industry peer group and the 60th percentile of the MSCI US REIT index, then our initial TSR percentile for purposes of the cash bonus awards would be the 60th percentile.  That initial TSR percentile is then adjusted according to a “muting” methodology.  For performance above or below the 50th percentile, the initial TSR percentile is adjusted at one-quarter the variation from the 50th percentile to determine the final compensation percentile.  For example, if company performance results in an initial TSR percentile set at the 95th percentile, the final compensation percentile is muted down by one-quarter the variation from the 50th percentile to determine the final compensation percentile (i.e., to the 84th percentile, after rounding).  This muting methodology will no longer apply for the annual cash incentive bonus program. For 2018, we generated a TSR of -3.8% resulting in a percentile rank in the size-based peer group of 56%, the industry peer group of 41% and the MSCI US REIT index of 63% (using as comparison only those companies that were in the MSCI US REIT index at both the beginning and end of 2018), resulting in an initial TSR percentile rank of 53%.  The ranks were calculated based on a normal, or “z,” distribution.  After applying the muting methodology described above, the final compensation percentile for 2018 was 52%.  Therefore,this assessment, the compensation committee determined that each named executive officer should receive annual cash incentive bonus award atMessrs. Butcher, Crooker, Mecke, Sullivan and King earned 33.7, 28.0, 28.0, 27.0 and 27.0 percentage points, respectively, under the 52individual performance goal component. nd percentile of the size-based peers. Calculation of the Bonuses   Based on our actual performance in 2018 with respect to the specified performance metrics,2020, the compensation committee approved annual cash incentive bonuses for the named executive officers for 20182020 in the following amounts:   Executive 2018 Base Salary 2018 Total Cash Compensation of Size- Based Peer Group Muted Percentile Target Total Cash Compensation at Total Muted Percentile 2018 Bonus 25th Percentile 50th Percentile 75th Percentile Benjamin S. Butcher $650,000 $1,503,000 $1,670,000 $2,298,000 52.3 $1,726,520 $1,076,520 William R. Crooker(1) $360,000 $770,000 $903,000 $1,124,000 52.3 $922,890 $640,000 Stephen C. Mecke(1) $375,000 $1,133,000 $1,321,000 $1,403,000 52.3 $1,328,380 $725,000 Jeffrey M. Sullivan $300,000 $627,000 $691,000 $779,000 52.3 $698,920 $398,920 David G. King $300,000 $533,500 $645,000 $775,500 52.3 $656,745 $356,745 Executive  2020 Base Salary  2020 Annual Cash Incentive Bonus Opportunity  Percentage Points Earned   2020 Bonus  Below Threshold  Threshold  Target  Maximum  Company Performance   Individual Performance   Total  Benjamin S. Butcher $650,000 $0 $406,250 $812,500 $1,218,750 106.7 33.7 140.4 $912,708 William R. Crooker $400,000 $0 $200,000 $400,000 $600,000 85.3 28.0 113.3 $453,333 Stephen C. Mecke $450,000 $0 $225,000 $450,000 $675,000 85.3 28.0 113.3 $510,000 Jeffrey M. Sullivan $300,000 $0 $150,000 $300,000 $450,000 85.3 27.0 112.3 $337,000 David G. King $300,000 $0 $150,000 $300,000 $450,000 85.3 27.0 112.3 $337,000   (1)The compensation committee exercised discretion to adjust the annual cash incentive bonus amounts paid to Messrs. Crooker and Mecke by an increase of $77,110 and a decrease of $228,380, respectively.  The additional amount paid to Mr. Crooker is shown in the “Bonus” column of the “Summary Compensation Table” below. Equity Incentive Compensation Program–2018   The goals of our long-term, equity-based awards are to incentivize and reward increases in long-term stockholder value and to align the interests of the named executive officers with the interests of our stockholders. Because vesting is based on continued employment or the achievement of performance goals, our equity-based incentives also encourage the retention of the named executive officers through the awardmulti-year vesting period.or performance periods in the awards. The compensation committee considers this alignment of vital importance and, as a result, long-term, equity-based awards will generally constitute a majority of total annual compensation, subject to adjustment in the discretion of the compensation committee.   The compensation committee sets the total value of LTIP units and target performance units to be granted to each named executive officer based on a percentage such executive’s base salary (250% to 400% depending on the executive officer) and the full grant date fair value per unit determined in accordance with ASC Topic 718. For 2018,2020, the compensation committee determined that annual equity awards should consist of approximately 35% to 40% in LTIP units (subject to multi-year vesting) and 60% to 65% in performance units (with a multi-year measuring period).     The chart below shows the breakout of our equity incentive compensation for Messrs. Butcher, Crooker, and Mecke.       LTIP Units   The compensation committee has made and may make certain awards to the named executive officers in the form of LTIP units. LTIP units are a separate series of units of limited partnership interests in our operating partnership. LTIP units, granted either as free-standing awards or in tandem with other awards under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, will be valued by reference to the value of shares of our common stock, and will be subject to such conditions and restrictions as the compensation committee may determine, including continued employment or service, computation of financial metrics and/or achievement of pre-established performance goals and objectives. If applicable conditions and/or restrictions are not attained, participants will forfeit their LTIP units. Unless otherwise provided, LTIP unit awards, whether vested or unvested, will entitle the participant to receive current distributions from our operating partnership equivalent to the dividends that would be payable with respect to the number of shares of our common stock underlying the LTIP unit award.   While the compensation committee has the ability to grant various equity formulations to the executive officers under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, to date the compensation committee has deemed LTIP unit awards to be an effective means to ensure alignment of the executives’ interests with those of the stockholders. LTIP units are structured as “profits interests” for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and we do not expect the grant, vesting or conversion of LTIP units to produce a tax deduction for us based on current U.S. federal income tax law. The key feature of LTIP units is that, at the time of award, LTIP units, as profits interests, initially will not have full parity on a per unit basis, with our operating partnership’s common units with respect to liquidating distributions. Upon the occurrence of specified events, LTIP units can over time achieve full parity with common units and therefore accrete to an economic value for the participant equivalent to common units. If such parity is achieved, LTIP units may be converted, subject to the satisfaction of applicable vesting conditions, on a one-for-one basis into common units, which in turn are redeemable by the holder for shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis or for the cash value of such shares, at the company’sour election. However, there are circumstances under which LTIP units will not achieve parity with common units, and until such parity is reached, the value that a participant could realize for a given number of LTIP units will be less than the value of an equal number of shares of common stock and may be zero. The compensation committee believes that this characteristic of the LTIP units, that they achieve real value only if our share value appreciates, links executive compensation to our performance. Under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, each LTIP unit awarded will be equivalent to an award of one share of common stock reserved under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, thereby reducing the number of shares of common stock available for other equity awards on a one-for-one basis.   The compensation committee believes that using LTIP units for equity-based awards (i) links executive compensation to the performance of the company, (ii) serves our objectives by increasing the after-tax value of a given equity grant and, therefore, enhances our equity-based compensation package for executives as a whole, (iii) advances the separate goal of promoting long-term equity ownership by executives, (iv) has no worse effect on dilution as compared to using restricted stock, (v) does not increase our recorded expense on account of equity-based compensation awards, (vi) further aligns the interests of executives with the interests of stockholders and (vii) because LTIP units are offered by many of our peers, enables us to remain competitive with our peers in recruiting and retaining talented executives.   In January 2018,2020, the compensation committee approved equity awards for fiscal year 20182020 in dollar values, with the number of shares/units granted calculated by dividing the dollar value of the approved awards by the closing market price on the NYSE of a share of our common stock on the effective date of grant, after adjustment of the closing price by a discount or premium determined by a third-party valuation of the LTIP units. In determining the size of the long-term equity incentives awarded to the named executive officers for 20182020 service, the compensation committee considered, among other things, the role and responsibilities of the individual, competitive factors and individual performance history. These awards were intended to enable our executive officers to establish a meaningful equity stake in our company that would vest over a period of years based on continued service. We believe that these awards enable us to deliver competitive compensation value to the executive officers at levels sufficient to attract and retain top talent within our executive officer ranks.   The following table sets forth the number and value of the LTIP unit awardsunits granted to the named executive officers granted in January 20182020 for 20182020 compensation. The LTIP unit awardsunits vest over four years in equal installments on a quarterly basis beginning on March 31, 2020, subject to continued service. The LTIP units were issued on January 5, 2018,8, 2020, based on the full grant date fair value determined in accordance with ASC Topic 718. See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018,2020, for a discussion of our accounting of LTIP units.   Executive   Date of Grant   Number of LTIP Units Issued   Value of LTIP Unit Award               Benjamin S. Butcher   January 5, 2018   36,327   $909,991 William R. Crooker   January 5, 2018   13,832   $346,492 Stephen C. Mecke   January 5, 2018   18,338   $459,367 Jeffrey M. Sullivan   January 5, 2018   11,976   $299,999 David G. King   January 5, 2018   11,976   $299,999 The 2018 LTIP unit awards vest over four years in equal installments on a quarterly basis beginning on March 31, 2018, subject to continued service. Executive  Date of Grant  Number of LTIP Units Issued  Value of LTIP Unit Award  Benjamin S. Butcher January 8, 2020 30,879 $910,004 William R. Crooker January 8, 2020 13,064 $384,996 Stephen C. Mecke January 8, 2020 14,252 $420,006 Jeffrey M. Sullivan January 8, 2020 10,180 $300,005 David G. King January 8, 2020 10,180 $300,005   In January 2019,2021, the compensation committee approved the grant of an aggregate of 98,46682,297 LTIP units to the named executive officers for 20192021 compensation. The grants were made on January 7, 2019.2021. These LTIP unit awards vest over four years in equal installments on a quarterly basis beginning on March 31, 2019,2021, subject to continued service. The 20192021 grants of LTIP units will be reflected in the “Summary Compensation Table” and “2019“2021 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” table in our proxy statement for the 20202022 annual meeting of stockholders.   Performance Units   The compensation committee grants performance units to the named executive officers as an additional long-term incentive award designed to align the executive officers’ interests more closely with those of the stockholders. The ultimate value of the performance units depends on our TSR over a three-year period commencing January 1, 2018.2020. The award measures both relative return (TSR vs. three benchmarks) and, as a condition for higher levels of value, an absolute return.   At the end of the three-year measuring period, the performance units convert into shares of common stock (or other securities) at a rate depending on our TSR over the measuring period as compared to three different benchmarks and on the absolute amount of our TSR. A recipient of performance units may receive as few as zero shares or as many as 250% of the number of target units, plus deemed dividends on earned shares. That is, at the end of the measuring period, a recipient of 10,000 performance units may receive no value (no shares of common stock or other securities and no dividends) or receive as much as 25,000 shares of common stock (or other securities) plus dividends on earned shares (as if the dividends were paid and reinvested into additional shares of common stock during the measuring period).   The target amount of the performance units is nominally allocated:   ·                  25% to our TSR compared to the TSR of the size-based peer group; ● 25% to our TSR compared to the TSR of the size-based peer group;   ·                  25% to our TSR compared to the TSR of the industry peer group; and ● 25% to our TSR compared to the TSR of the industry peer group; and   ·                  50% to our TSR compared to the TSR of the companies in the MSCI US REIT index. ● 50% to our TSR compared to the TSR of the companies in the MSCI US REIT index.   The potential of the portion of the award allocated to each of the size-based and industry peer group comparison ranges from 0% to 200% of the allocated target amount. The potential of the portion of the award allocated to the MSCI US REIT index group comparison ranges from 0% to 300% of the allocated target amount, except that the portion of the award attributable to performance against the MSCI US REIT index group may not exceed target (100% of the allocated amount) unless we achieve a minimum absolute TSR of 25% over the measuring period.   The table below indicates the potential levels of awards within the industry peer group, the size-based peer group and the MSCI US REIT index group benchmarks. Awards for performance between the indicated percentile rankings (e.g., between the 30th percentile and the 5055th percentile) are determined by interpolating between the earned amounts (e.g., between 50% earned and 100% earned).   Percentile Ranking within Applicable Benchmark (Based on TSR) Benchmark Below 30th Percentile 30th Percentile 3055thth Percentile 75th Percentile 95th 50thPercentile(1) 75th Percentile 95th Percentile Size-Based Peer Group (Allocated (Allocated 25% of the Target Amount)   0% earned 50% earned 100% earned 200% earned [No increase for performance beyond 75%.] Industry Peer Group (Allocated (Allocated 25% of the Target Amount)   0% earned 50% earned 100% earned 200% earned [No increase for performance beyond 75%.] MSCI US REIT Index (Allocated(1) (Allocated 50% of the Target Amount)   0% earned 50% earned 100% earned   50%200% earned 300% earned 100% earned [ (1)       Awards above 100% for this benchmark require us to achieve a minimum absolute TSR of 25%.]

200% earned

300% earned