UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

(Rule 14a-101)

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.)

 

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xDefinitive Proxy Statement

 

¨Definitive Additional Materials

 

¨Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

 

 

PC CONNECTION, INC.


(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

  

 


(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)

 

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PC CONNECTION, INC.

730 Milford Road

Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054

(603) 683-2000

 


 

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held June 9, 2005May 21, 2008

 


 

The 20052008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of PC Connection, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2 Somerset Parkway (Exit 8 off the Everett Turnpike), Nashua, New Hampshire on Thursday, June 9, 2005Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, to consider and act upon the following matters:

 

 1.To elect six directors to serve until the 20062009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their respective successors shall have been duly elected and qualified;Stockholders;

 

 2.To approve an amendment to the Company’s 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended, to increase the number of shares of Common Stock authorized for issuance thereunder from 637,500 to 837,500 shares, representing an increase of 200,000 shares;Executive Bonus Plan;

 

 3.To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm for the current year;year ending December 31, 2008; and

 

 4.To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Stockholders of record at the close of business on April 22, 20052, 2008 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting or any adjournments thereof. TheOur stock transfer books of the Company will remain open. All stockholders are cordially invited to attend the meeting.

 

By Order of the Board of Directors,

LOGO

Steven Markiewicz,Secretary

By Order of the Board of Directors,
Patricia Gallup
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer

Merrimack, New Hampshire

May 2, 2005

April 10, 2008

WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE MEETING, PLEASE COMPLETE, DATE, AND SIGN THE ENCLOSED PROXY AND MAIL IT PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE IN ORDER TO ENSURE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR SHARES AT THE MEETING. NO POSTAGE NEED BE AFFIXED IF THE PROXY IS MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES.


PC CONNECTION, INC.

730 Milford Road

Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054

 


 

PROXY STATEMENT FOR THE 20052008 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held On June 9, 2005May 21, 2008

 


 

This Proxy Statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors of PC Connection, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), by our Board of Directors, for the 2005our 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, ofor the Company (the “Annual Meeting”)Annual Meeting, to be held on Thursday, June 9, 2005Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2 Somerset Parkway (Exit 8 off the Everett Turnpike), Nashua, New Hampshire or any adjournment or adjournments of the Annual Meeting. All proxies will be voted in accordance with the stockholders’ instructions. If no choice is specified, the proxies will be voted in favor of the matters set forth in the accompanying Notice of Meeting. Any proxy may be revoked by a stockholder at any time before its exercise by delivery of a written revocation or a subsequently dated proxy to the Secretary of the Companyour secretary or by voting in person at the Annual Meeting.

The Notice of Meeting, this Proxy Statement, the enclosed proxy, the Company’sand our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004,2007 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, (the “SEC”),or the SEC, and the Company’sour Annual Report to Stockholders for the year ended December 31, 20042007 are being mailed to stockholders on or about May 11, 2005.April 28, 2008.

Voting Securities and Votes Required

On April 22, 2005,2, 2008, the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting, there were outstanding and entitled to vote an aggregate of 25,135,72126,835,837 shares of Common Stock of the Company,our common stock, $.01 par value per share, (the “Common Stock”).or the Common Stock. Stockholders are entitled to one vote per share. Theshare of Common Stock. Our stock record books of the Company will remain open for inspection by stockholders of record for ten days prior to the Annual Meeting at theour offices of the Company at the above address and at the time and place of the Annual Meeting.

The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be considered as present for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present.

The affirmative vote of the holders of a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is required for the election of directors. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present or represented by proxy and voting at the Annual Meeting is required for the approval of Proposals 2 and 3.

Shares that abstain from voting in a particular matter, and shares held in “street name” by brokers of nominees who indicate on their proxies that they do not have discretionary authority to vote such shares as to a particular matter, will not be counted as votes in favor of such matter and will also not be counted as votes cast or shares voting on such matter. Abstentions and “broker non-votes” will have no effect on the voting on matters, such as the ones presented for stockholder approval at this Annual Meeting, that require the affirmative vote of a certain percentage of the shares voting on the matter.

 

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Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and ManagementSECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth, as of January 31, 2005,2008, the beneficial ownership of the Company’sour Common Stock by: (i) persons known by the Companyus to own more than 5% of theour outstanding shares of Common Stock;shares; (ii) each of the current and nominated directors of the Company;our directors; (iii) each of the current or formerour named executive officers of the Company named in the Summary Compensation Table under the heading “Executive Compensation” below; and (iv) all our current directors and executive officers of the Company as a group.

Except as otherwise set forth below, the street address of each beneficial owner is c/o PC Connection, Inc., 730 Milford Road, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054.

 

Name


  Shares of
Common Stock
Beneficially
Owned (1)


  Percentage of
Common Stock
Outstanding (2)


 

Patricia Gallup

  8,714,094(3) 34.732.4%

David Hall

  8,410,789(4) 33.5

FMR Corporation

1,704,361(5)6.831.2 

Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc.

  1,566,2322,268,356(6)(5) 6.2

Robert Wilkins

467,620(7)1.88.4 

David Beffa-Negrini

  274,626228,177(6)*

Jack Ferguson

77,612(7)*

Donald Weatherson

40,000(8) 1.1* 

Bradley Mousseau

  57,50033,750(9) * 

Peter BaxterBruce Barone

  50,25025,000(10) * 

Mark GavinTimothy McGrath

  37,54620,000(11) * 

Donald WeathersonJoseph Baute

  25,00015,000(12)*

Bruce Barone

13,500(13)*

Jack Ferguson

11,362(14)*

Joseph Baute

9,250(15) * 

All current directors and executive officers as a group (12(9 individuals)

  18,038,99117,564,422(16)(13) 69.964.7%

*Less than 1% of the total number of our outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company on January 31, 2005.2008.

 

(1)The number of shares beneficially owned by each director or executive officer is determined under rules promulgated by the SEC, and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under such rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which the individual has the sole or shared voting power or investment power and also any shares which the individual has the right to acquire as of January 31, 2008 or will have the right to acquire within 60 days of January 31, 2005thereof through the exercise of any stock option or other right. Unless otherwise indicated, each person has sole investment and voting power (or shares such power with his or her spouse) with respect to the shares set forth in the following table. The inclusion herein of any shares deemed beneficially owned does not constitute an admission of beneficial ownership of such shares.

 

(2)The number of shares of Common Stock deemed outstanding for purposes of determining such percentages include 25,132,25026,925,366 shares outstanding as of January 31, 20052008 and any shares subject to issuance upon exercise of options or other rights held by the person in question that were exercisable on or within 60 days after January 31, 2005.2008.

 

(3)Includes 8,169,094 shares of Common Stock held of record by the 1998 PC Connection Voting Trust and 15,000 shares held by Ms. Gallup’s spouse, as to which Ms. Gallup disclaims beneficial ownership. Ms. Gallup has the sole power to vote or direct the vote as to 530,000 shares and dispose or direct the disposition of 8,699,094 shares. Ms. Gallup has shared voting power as to 16,388,18816,338,188 shares.

 

(4)Includes 8,169,094 shares of Common Stock held of record by the 1998 PC Connection Voting Trust. Mr. Hall has the sole power to vote or direct the vote as to 241,695 shares and dispose or direct the disposition of all 8,410,789 shares. Mr. Hall has shared voting power as to 16,388,18816,338,188 shares.

 

(5)

The information presented herein is as reported in, and based solely upon a Schedule 13G13G/A (Amendment No. 2)5) filed with the SEC on February 14, 2005 by FMR Corp. (“FMR”). Fidelity Management & Research Company (“Fidelity”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR and an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, is the beneficial owner of 1,704,361 shares of the Company’s Common Stock as a result of acting as investment adviser to various investment companies

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registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. None of these investment companies owns more than 5% of the Company’s Common Stock. Edward C. Johnson III of FMR has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of all these shares. Neither FMR nor Edward C. Johnson III has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the shares owned directly by the funds, which power resides with the funds’ Boards of Trustees. Fidelity’s address is 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.

(6)The information presented herein is as reported in, and based solely upon a Schedule 13G (Amendment No. 2) filed with the SEC on February 9, 20056, 2008 by Dimensional Fund Advisors Inc.LP (“Dimensional”), an investment advisor registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. Dimensional

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furnishes investment advice to four investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and serves as investment manager to certain other commingled group trusts and separate accounts (together with the investment companies, the “Funds”). All shares of our Common Stock listed as owned by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are owned by the Funds, none of which, to Dimensional’s knowledge, owns more than 5% of the Company’s Common Stock.Funds. In its role as investment advisor or manager, Dimensional possesses voting and/sole power to vote or investment power overdirect the vote and to dispose or direct the disposition of 2,268,356 shares our Common Stock of the Company that is owned by the Funds, and may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 1,566,2322,268,356 shares of the Company’sour Common Stock held by the Funds. Dimensional disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares of Common Stock. Dimensional’s business address is 1299 Ocean Avenue, 11th Floor, Santa Monica, California 90401.

 

(7)Consists of 467,320 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Wilkins has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005 and 300 shares held of record by Mr. Wilkins’ children, as to which Mr. Wilkins disclaims beneficial ownership.

(8)(6)Includes 70,82978,750 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Beffa-Negrini has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005.2008.

(7)Includes 49,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Ferguson has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2008.

(8)Consists of 40,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Weatherson has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2008.

 

(9)Consists of 57,50033,750 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Mousseau has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005.2008.

 

(10)Consists of 30,250 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Baxter has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005, and 20,000 shares jointly owned by Mr. Baxter and his spouse.

(11)Consists of 37,546 shares of Common Stock owned by Mr. Gavin as of January 31, 2005. Mr. Gavin served as Chief Financial Officer from March 1998 until his resignation in October 2004.

(12)Consists of 25,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Weatherson has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005.

(13)Includes 1,5003,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Barone has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005.2008.

 

(14)(11)Includes 9,329Consists of 20,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. FergusonMcGrath has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005. Mr. Ferguson was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer upon the resignation of Mr. Gavin in October 2004.2008.

 

(15)(12)Includes 1,7502,500 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options which Mr. Baute has the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005.2008.

 

(16)(13)Includes an aggregate of 668,478227,000 shares of Common Stock issuable to the current directors and executive officers upon exercise of outstanding stock options which they have the right to acquire within 60 days after January 31, 2005.2008.

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PROPOSAL ONE

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Directors are to be elected at the Annual Meeting. TheOur Board of Directors is currently fixed at six members. The Company’sOur Bylaws provide that theour directors of the Company will be elected at each annual meeting of the Company’sour stockholders to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Mr. Baxter will not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting. Mr. Weatherson is nominated for election at the Annual Meeting.

The persons named in the enclosed proxy (Patricia Gallup and David Hall) will vote to elect the six nominees named below as our directors of the Company unless authority to vote for the election of any or all of the nominees is withheld by marking the proxy to that effect. Each nominee other than Mr. Weatherson, is presently serving as a director, and each nominee has consented to being named in this Proxy Statement and to serve, if elected. If for any reason any nominee should be unable to serve, the person acting under the proxy may vote the proxy for the election of a substitute nominee designated by theour Board of Directors. It is not presently expected that any of the nominees will be unavailable to serve, if elected.

 

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TheOur Board of Directors recommends a vote “FOR” the election of the nominees described below.

Set forth below are the name, age, and length of service as a director for each nominee of theour Board of Directors and the positions and offices held by him or her, his or her principal occupation and business experience for at least the past five years, and the names of other publicly-held companies of which he or she serves as a director. Information with respect to the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by each director or nominee, directly or indirectly, as of January 31, 2005,2008, appears under “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.”

Nominees for Election to theour Board of Directors

Patricia Gallup, age 51,54, is our Chairman, President, and CEO of the Company.Chief Executive Officer. She has served on the Company’sour Board of Directors since its inception, and has been Chairman since 1998. Ms. Gallup is a co-founderone of the Companyour co-founders and has served as an executive officer since 1982. She was Chief Executive Officer from 1990 to 2001, and from September 2002 to the present. She has held the title ofserved as our President of the Company since March 2003.

David Hall, age 56,58, is a co-founderone of the Companyour co-founders and has served on the Company’sour Board of Directors since its inception. Mr. Hall served as Vice Chairman of theour Board of Directors from March 1998 to December 2004. Mr. Hall was an executive officer of the Company from 1982 to 1997, and since then has served as a project manager and advisor to theour Company.

Bruce Barone, age 56,58, has served on the Company’sour Board of Directors since June 2002. Since December 1998, he has worked as an independent consultant. Prior to December 1998, Mr. Barone was the President and CEO of Overseas Partners Ltd, a global reinsurance and real estate company, and served in a variety of senior financial positions at United Parcel Service (UPS).Service.

Joseph Baute, age 77,80, has served on the Company’sour Board of Directors since June 2001. From 1979 to 1993, Mr. Baute served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Markem Corporation, an industrial marking and coding solutions provider. Since 1993, Mr. Baute has worked as an independent consultant. Mr. Baute serveshas served on the board of directors of several privately-heldpublic companies.

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David Beffa-Negrini,age 51,54, has served on the Company’sour Board of Directors since September 19941994. Mr. Beffa-Negrini has served as our Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Creative Services since February 2007. Mr. Beffa-Negrini served as Co-President of our Merrimack Services subsidiary from September 2005 to February 2007 and as our Vice President of Corporate Communications sincefrom June 2000. Prior2000 to this role,February 2007. Mr. Beffa-Negrini has served the Company in a variety of senior management capacities in the areas of merchandising, marketing, and communications. He has been employed by the Companyan employee since 1983.

Donald Weatherson,age 67, is being nominated for election.70, has served on our Board of Directors since June 2005. Mr. Weatherson has served on the board of directors of the Company’sour GovConnection subsidiary sincefrom May 2003. From November 2003 to May 2004,June 2005. Since August 2002, Mr. Weatherson has pursued personal and community interests and served on an interim basis as Chief Executive Officer of GovConnection.GovConnection from November 2003 to May 2004. From June 2000April 1994 to July 2002, Mr. Weatherson served as Vice Presidentin a variety of North American Operations and Strategy forsenior executive positions at Compaq Computer Corporation. From April 1994 to June 2000, Mr. Weatherson served as Vice President of Compaq’s Government and Education business. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Weatherson was Chief Executive Officer of the Navy Exchange System, a retail services company operated by the U.S. Navy. He retired from the Navy as a rear admiralRear Admiral in 1993. Mr. Weatherson also serves as Chairman of the Board of Enliven Marketing Technologies Corporation, an internet service marketing company.

No family relationship exists between any of our executive officers directors, or director nominees.directors.

 

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INFORMATION CONCERNING DIRECTORS, NOMINEES, AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Board Meetings and Attendance

TheOur Board of Directors met tenfour times during 2004,the year ended December 31, 2007, either in person or by teleconference. During 2004,2007, each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the number of Board meetings and the number of meetings held by all committees on which he or she then served. TheOur Board of Directors does not currently have a policy with regard to the attendance of board members at itsour annual meeting of stockholders. All of the directorsTwo board members, Ms. Gallup and Mr. Baute, attended the Company’s 2004our 2007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Board Committees

TheOur Board of Directors has established two standing committees–committees – Audit and Compensation. The Audit Committee operatesand Compensation Committees each operate under a charterwritten charters that hashave been approved by our Board of Directors. You can request a copy of these documents by writing to Investor Relations, PC Connection, Inc., 730 Milford Road, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054. We included the Board.charters of the Committees as appendixes to our 2007 Proxy Statement which can be obtained by accessing the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, by accessing our website at http://ir.pcconnection.com, or by contacting our investor relations department at PC Connection, Inc., Rt. 101A, 730 Milford Road, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054.

Our Board of Directors has determined that all of the members of each of the two standing committees of our Board of Directors are independent as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market including, in the case of all members of the Audit Committee, the independence requirements contemplated by Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm;

 

overseeing the work of the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm, including through the receipt and consideration of certain reports from the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

reviewing and discussing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm the Company’sour annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures;

 

monitoring the Company’sour internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures, and code of business conduct and ethics;

 

overseeing the Company’sour internal audit function;

 

discussing the Company’sour risk management policies;

 

establishing policies regarding hiring employees from the independent registered public accounting firm and procedures for the receipt and retention of accounting related complaints and concerns;

 

meeting independently with the Company’sour internal auditing staff, independent registered public accounting firm, and management; and

 

reviewing and approving or ratifying any related person transactions; and

preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules (which is included on pages 19 and 20page 25 of this proxy statement)Proxy Statement).

The members of our Audit Committee currently consists ofare Messrs. Barone, Baute, and Baxter. TheWeatherson. Our Board of Directors has determined that each current member of theour Audit Committee members would qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in Item 401(h) of Regulation S K.by applicable SEC rules. The Audit Committee met fifteensix times during 2004.2007.

 

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Immediately followingCompensation Committee and Subcommittee

The Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include:

annually reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to CEO compensation;

determining our CEO’s compensation;

reviewing and approving, or making recommendations to our Board of Directors with respect to, the Annual Meeting,compensation of our other executive officers;

overseeing evaluations of our senior executives;

overseeing and administering our cash and equity incentive plans;

reviewing and making recommendations to our Board of Directors with respect to director compensation;

reviewing and discussing annually with management our “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” which is included beginning on page 10 of this Proxy Statement; and

preparing the Auditcompensation committee report required by SEC rules, which is included on page 18 of this Proxy Statement.

The processes and procedures followed by our Compensation Committee shall consistin considering and determining executive and director compensation are described below under the heading “Executive and Director Compensation Processes.”

The Compensation Committee met twice in 2007. The members of the Compensation Committee are Messrs. Barone, Baute, Barone, and Weatherson. Each of Messrs. BauteThe Compensation Committee has established a subcommittee and Barone is an “independent director”delegated to that subcommittee authority to issue equity awards and to determine other qualified performance-based compensation in accordance with NASDAQ National Market standards. the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Subcommittee, comprised of Messrs. Barone and Baute, who are “outside directors” under IRS regulations, met once during 2007 and approved the executive officer bonus payments for fiscal year 2006.

Director Independence

Under applicable NASDAQ rules, among other requirements a director of the Company will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of the Company’sour Board of Directors, that person does not have a relationship which would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. The Company’sOur Board of Directors has determined that none of Messrs. Baute, Barone, andor Weatherson, who will comprise our Audit and Compensation Committees, has a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Each of Messrs. Barone, Baute, and BauteWeatherson is an “independent director” as defined under NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market Inc. Marketplace Rule 4200(a)(15). Mr. Weatherson does not qualify

Executive and Director Compensation Processes

The Compensation Committee retained the services of Pearl Meyer & Partners, a national consulting firm, to conduct a competitive assessment in 2005 of our executive compensation for fiscal year 2006. Pearl Meyer & Partners provided to the Compensation Committee three studies as an independent director under Rule 4200(a)(15)described further in our Compensation Discussion and Analysis. These studies compiled individual compensation ranges for each executive position and compared this information to each executive’s actual salary level. These studies and the related ranges were updated in 2007 by our management to reflect current market conditions. The Compensation Committee targeted the median base salary of the survey data and adjusted the executive’s salary based on evaluation of the executive’s level of responsibility and experience as a result of his interim servicewell as company-wide performance. The Compensation Committee may, in its discretion, invite the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”)to be present during the approval of, or deliberations with respect to, other executive officer compensation.

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We adopted an Executive Bonus Plan for our executive officers and other senior management employees in 2007. Annual cash bonuses are based on the achievement of company-wide net income and expense leverage goals. Cash bonuses are set as a percentage of the Company’s GovConnection subsidiary from November 2003executive officer’s base salary. Please see our Compensation Discussion and Analysis for a further discussion of our Executive Bonus Plan.

We have generally set our compensation paid to May 2004. At the timenon-officer members of his election as CEO of GovConnection, Mr. Weatherson was serving as Chairman of the Board of GovConnection. Until May 8, 2007, Mr. Weatherson will not qualify as an “independent director” under NASDAQ rules. Theour Board of Directors of the Company,to be consistent with NASDAQ Stock Market Rule 4350(d)(2)(B), has determined that such prior service as interim CEOcompensation paid to directors of GovConnection does not interfere with Mr. Weatherson’s abilitysimilar-sized companies. In 2007 we paid an annual retainer of $36,000 to exercise independent judgment as a director or membereach of the Audit Committee. As such theMessrs. Barone, Baute, Hall, and Weatherson. Messrs. Barone, Baute, Hall, and Weatherson also each received $1,500 for each Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Weatherson is not precluded from membership on the Audit Committeemeeting attended, and that his membership is in the best interests of stockholders given his experience and background, as well as the circumstances surrounding his appointment as interim CEO of GovConnection.

Compensation Committee

The Company also has a standing Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors that administers the Company’s stock incentive plan and determines the salary and incentive compensation of the Chief Executive Officer. The Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include:

annually reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to CEO compensation;

determining the CEO’s compensation;

reviewing and approving, or making recommendations to the Board with respect to, the compensation of the Company’s other executive officers;

overseeing evaluations of the Company’s senior executives;

overseeing and administering the Company’s cash and equity incentive plans; and

reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with respect to director compensation.

During 2004, the Compensation Committee held one meeting. The members of the Compensation Committee for the year ended December 2004 and until the Annual Meeting are Messrs. Barone, Baute and Baxter. Immediately followingWeatherson each received $1,500 for each Board Committee meeting attended. As one of our executive officers, Mr. Beffa-Negrini did not receive any additional compensation in 2007 for his service on our Board of Directors. Ms. Gallup has never received compensation for her service on our Board of Directors.

The Compensation Committee has the Annual Meeting,authority to retain compensation consultants and other outside advisors to assist in the evaluation of executive officer compensation as evidenced by its retention of Pearl Meyer & Partners. During 2007 the Compensation Committee shall consist of Messrs. Barone, Baute, and Weatherson. A copy ofdid not employ a compensation consultant because the Compensation Committee Charter, asbelieved the August 2005 Pearl Meyer & Partners study, together with the updated salary information obtained in effect on the date of this proxy statement, is attached asAppendix A. See “Report of the Compensation Committee.”

2007, was sufficient to provide guidance in setting 2007 compensation levels.

Controlled Company Status

The Company isWe are a “Controlled Company” as defined in NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market Rule 4350(c). TheOur Board of Directors has based this determination on the fact that approximately 68%64% of theour voting stock of the Company is beneficially owned or controlled by Ms. Gallup and Mr. Hall.

The Company doesWe do not have a standing nominating committee, and the functions of evaluating and selecting directors have been performed by theour Board of Directors as a whole. TheWe believe that it is not necessary to have a nominating committee because our directors have generally served for extended terms. Our Board of Directors will from time to time evaluate biographical information and background material relating to potential candidates and interview selected candidates. TheOur Board of Directors does not currently have a charter or written policy with regard to the nomination process. We do not have a written policy due to the extended terms served by our directors.

6


Director Candidates

All of the Company’s current members of theour Board of Directors have served as directors since 1997,2002, except Mr. Barone,Weatherson, who became a director in June 2002, and Mr. Baute, who became a director in June 2001. Mr. Baxter will not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting, and Mr. Weatherson is nominated for election at the Annual Meeting.2005. Where called for, qualifications for consideration as a boarddirector nominee may vary according to the particular areas of expertise being sought as a complement to the existing board composition. Minimum qualifications include high-level leadership experience in business activities, breadth of knowledge about issues affecting the Company,us, experience on other boards of directors, preferably public company boards, and time available for meetings and consultation on Company matters. TheOur Board of Directors desires a diverse group of candidates who possess the background, skills, and expertise to make a significant contribution to theour Board theof Directors, our Company, and its stockholders. In the event of a need for a new or additional director, theour Board of Directors would evaluate potential nominees by reviewing their qualifications, results of personal and reference interviews, and such other information as theythe Board may deem relevant.

The Company doesWe do not currently employ an executive search firm, or pay a fee to any other third party, to locate qualified candidates for director positions.

TheOur Board of Directors has generally nominated the current directors for re-election at each annual meeting of stockholders. TheOur Board of Directors has therefore not established special procedures for security holders to

7


submit director recommendations. If the Companywe were to receive recommendations of candidates from the Company’sour security holders, the Board of Directors would consider such recommendations in the same manner as all other candidates.

Communicating with the Independent Directors

The Board of Directors hasWe have not implemented a process for our stockholders of the Company to send communications to the Board.

our Board of Directors, other than as set out elsewhere in this proxy. We have not done so primarily due to our status as a controlled company, as discussed earlier.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics Policy

The Company hasWe have adopted a written Code of Business Conduct and Ethics Policy (the “Policy”) that applies to the Company’sour directors, officers, and employees, including itsour principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principaland accounting officer, or controller, orand persons performing similar functions. The CodeWe have posted our Policy on our website (http://ir.pcconnection.com). In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law or Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of Ethics wasthe Policy.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our directors, executive officers, and holders of more than 10% of our Common Stock to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in beneficial ownership of our Common Stock. Based solely on our review of copies of reports filed as an exhibitby individuals required to make filings, or Reporting Persons, pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Company’s Form 10-KExchange Act or written representations from certain Reporting Persons, we believe that all such reports required to be filed under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2003.

2007 were timely filed.

Directors’Director Compensation

Messrs. Beffa-Negrini, Baxter, Baute, Barone, and HallOur non-officer directors each received a $22,000receive standard annual retainer and fees of $36,000 for their service on the Board as well as $1,500 for each Board and committee meeting attended, unless the committee meeting was attended on a day of theindividual Board meeting in which caseand Board Committee meeting they received $1,000attend. Our directors who are also officers do not receive any additional compensation for each committee meeting attended. In addition, thetheir role as directors. Board members also receive reimbursement for all reasonable expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings. Mr. Weatherson is nominated for election

As more fully described below, the following table describes compensation paid to each director not listed as a Named Executive Officer for the year ended December 31, 2007.

Director Compensation for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007

Name

  Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash
($)(1)
  Stock Awards
($)(2)(3)(4)
  Total
($)

Bruce Barone

  $54,000  $12,393  $66,393

Joseph Baute

   54,000   12,393   66,393

Donald Weatherson

   54,000   —     54,000

David Hall

   42,000   —     42,000

(1)The fees earned by each non-officer director consist of the following: (i) an annual retainer of $36,000 and (ii) a fee per Board and committee meeting attended of $1,500. In addition, Board members receive reimbursement for all reasonable expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings.

8


(2)Valuation is based on the dollar amount recognized for financial reporting purposes pursuant to Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 123(R) “Share-Based Payment,” or SFAS 123(R), except such compensation has not been reduced for estimated forfeitures. Please see Note 9, “Stockholders’ Equity and Share-Based Compensation” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, for further information regarding share-based compensation.

(3)The following table shows the aggregate number of shares of common stock subject to outstanding Restricted Stock Awards for each director not listed as a Named Executive Officer as of December 31, 2007, as well as the grant date fair value of each stock award:

Name

  Aggregate Number of
Shares Subject to Restricted
Stock Awards
  Value of awards
pursuant to SFAS 123(R) ($)

Bruce Barone

  3,750  $37,200

Joseph Baute

  3,750   37,200

Donald Weatherson

  —     —  

David Hall

  —     —  

(4)The following table shows the aggregate number of shares of common stock subject to outstanding stock options for each director not listed as a Named Executive Officer as of December 31, 2007, as well as the grant date fair value of each stock option:

Name

  Aggregate Number of
Shares Subject to Stock Options
  Value of awards
pursuant to SFAS 123(R) ($)

Bruce Barone

  3,000  $11,370

Joseph Baute

  2,500   22,050

Donald Weatherson

  —     —  

David Hall

  —     —  

9


EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion And Analysis

The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors oversees the design and therefore didimplementation of our executive compensation program. In this role, the Compensation Committee, which is comprised of three independent directors, evaluates the performance of, and reviews and approves annually all compensation decisions relating to our Chief Executive Officer. Our Chief Executive Officer annually reviews the performance of our other Named Executive Officers and makes recommendations regarding their compensation. Our Compensation Committee may adopt or revise such recommendations in making compensation decisions for our other Named Executive Officers. The Compensation Committee has established a subcommittee, comprised of two outside directors, and delegated to that subcommittee authority to issue equity awards and to determine other qualified performance-based compensation in accordance with the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Compensation Objectives

Our Compensation Committee’s primary objectives with respect to executive compensation are to attract, retain, and motivate our executives and to create long-term stockholder value. Additionally, the Committee seeks to ensure that executive compensation is aligned with our corporate strategies and business objectives, and that it promotes the achievement of key strategic and financial performance measures by linking short- and long-term cash and equity incentives to the achievement of measurable company performance goals.

To achieve these objectives, the Compensation Committee evaluates our executive compensation program with the goal of setting compensation at levels the Committee believes are competitive with those of other companies in our industry and our region that compete with us for executive talent. In addition, our executive compensation program ties a substantial portion of each executive’s overall compensation to managing their respective areas of responsibility and meeting key strategic, financial, and operational goals. These goals include success in (a) demonstrated leadership ability, (b) management development, (c) compliance with our policies, and (d) anticipation of, and response to, changing market and economic conditions that enhance our ability to operate profitably. From time to time, we also provide a portion of our executive compensation in the form of stock options and restricted stock grants that vest over time, which we believe helps to attract new management talent, as well as retain our existing executives. We believe such grants align our executives’ interests with those of our stockholders by allowing them to participate in the longer-term success of our company as reflected in stock price appreciation.

We compete with many other companies for executive personnel. Accordingly, the Compensation Committee generally targets overall base salary and bonus compensation for executives at or near the midpoint of compensation paid to similarly situated executives of companies analyzed in our survey data, described more fully below. The Committee is currently reviewing the various components of long-term incentives, including equity awards and deferred compensation, to determine how best to attract and retain key executives. We may vary this general target in certain situations when necessary, due to the experience level of the individual or other market factors.

Components of our Executive Compensation Program

The primary elements of our executive compensation program are:

base salary;

executive bonus plan;

equity awards;

benefits and other compensation; and

severance benefits.

10


Allocations between long-term and short-term compensation, cash and non-cash compensation, or the different forms of non-cash compensation vary, depending on our current initiatives and stated goals. Our goals for 2007 were focused on continuing the growth trend in consolidated net sales and net income that we established in 2006 and, additionally, achieving a better leveraging of our expense structure by reducing our selling, general and administrative, or SG&A, expenses as a percentage of net sales below that of 2006. Accordingly, our 2007 executive bonus plan was designed to help achieve these two objectives. A total of 60% of the bonus was allocated to the achievement of a net income target of $20.5 million, and 40% was allocated to achievement of an SG&A expense target of 10% of net sales. Each component was then applied to a multiplier based on the degree to which the respective target was met or exceeded, ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 for the expense target and from 0.5 to 1.7 for the net income target. No bonuses were to be paid for performance below $18.5 million of net income or SG&A expenses in excess of 10.6% of net sales.

Our 2007 net income was $23.0 million, and 60% of the 2007 executive cash bonus was subject to a multiplier of 1.2. Our SG&A expenses were 10.2% of net sales, and 40% of the 2007 executive cash bonus was subject to a multiplier of .82. Non-cash compensation was not receive anya significant factor in 2007.

Our executive officers work together as a team and all executives are assigned the same company-wide net income and expense leverage goals. Individual goals are not assigned.

In 2005 our Compensation Committee retained Pearl Meyer & Partners, a national consulting firm, as its independent compensation consultant to conduct a competitive assessment of our executive compensation and general compensation programs. Pearl Meyer & Partners provided comparative market data on compensation practices and programs based on an analysis of twelve peer companies deemed comparable in terms of product and service offerings and revenue levels. Pearl Meyer & Partners also provided two additional surveys with similar compensation data – the 2005 Clark Consulting SC/CHIPS Executive and Senior Management Survey and the 2005 Mercer Benchmark Database. From these three studies, two market composites were calculated, one reflecting the average of the Peer Group and Technology Industry and one reflecting the average of the Peer Group and the general industry survey data for similar size companies. We compiled individual compensation ranges for each executive position based on this information and compared the compensation ranges to actual salary levels. We updated our compensation ranges in 2007 by 2.6% after applying a combination of competitor trend information and consumer price indexes.

The peer group was used to benchmark executive compensation levels against companies that have executive positions with responsibilities similar in breadth and scope to ours and that compete with us for executive talent. The following companies were included in the peer group:

Agilysys, Inc.

Bell Microproducts Inc.

Black Box Corporation

CDW Corporation

GameStop Corp.

GTSI Corp.

Insight Enterprises, Inc.

PC Mall, Inc.

Pomeroy IT Solutions, Inc.

ScanSource, Inc.

Systemax Inc.

Zones, Inc.

11


An analysis based on currently available financial data shows that amongst the peer group we ranked seventh in revenue and eighth in market capitalization as of the date of the Pearl Meyer & Partners study.

The Compensation Committee used the updated survey data to assist it in the review and comparison of each element of base salary and bonus compensation for our executives. With this information, the Compensation Committee analyzed compensation for each executive. The Compensation Committee targeted different compensation levels for each element of compensation as a directordescribed below.

Base Salary

The median base salary level of the Company, whethersurvey data was targeted by the Compensation Committee as the base salaries of our executives. Adjustments to the median base salary level were made based on comparisons to the survey data and evaluation of the executive’s level of responsibility and experience as well as company-wide performance. The Compensation Committee also considered the executive’s success in achieving business results and demonstrating leadership.

While each executive is expected to manage his/her area of responsibility successfully, our success is believed to be dependent on the ability of our management group to integrate and work together to meet common goals. Accordingly, executives are not assigned specific individual goals but instead are collectively responsible for meeting company-wide goals.

The compensation levels of our executives are established to recognize the relative level of responsibility of each executive. Our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation is higher than the levels of our other executives reflecting the generally broader and more significant level of responsibility of our Chief Executive Officer. We have found that compensation survey results generally reflect this pattern for most companies.

Benchmarking and aligning base salaries is especially critical to a competitive compensation program. Other elements of compensation are affected by changes in base salary. Annual incentives are targeted and paid out as a percentage of base salary, and the target levels of long-term incentives are also set as a percentage of base salary.

Base salaries are reviewed at least annually by the Compensation Committee, and in the case of Named Executive Officers other than our Chief Executive Officer, are based on recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer. These salaries are adjusted from time to time to realign salaries with market levels after taking into account individual responsibilities, performance, experience, and the peer group data. The base salaries of the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Vice President of our Enterprise Group were each increased in 2007 by the Compensation Committee to a level slightly above the median levels reported for the peer group in recognition of each respective officer’s increased level of responsibility and experience over comparable officers included in the peer group. Our Chief Executive Officer was offered but declined a similar base compensation adjustment.

Executive Bonus Plan

In 2007, we had an executive bonus plan for our executives and other senior management employees. The annual cash or otherwise, in 2004.bonuses are intended to compensate for the achievement of a company-wide net income goal and an operating expense leverage goal.

Amounts payable under the executive bonus plan are calculated as a percentage of the applicable executive’s base salary with higher-ranked executives typically being compensated at a higher percentage of base salary. However, our success is believed to be dependent on the ability of the management group to integrate and work together to meet common company-wide goals. Accordingly, executives are not assigned specific individual goals but instead are collectively responsible for meeting company-wide goals. A consolidated net income goal of $20.5 million was established for 2007, reflecting our growth target for the year. Additionally, an

 

All12


expense leverage goal was established to reduce 2007 consolidated SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales to 10%, or 70 basis points below our 2006 expense ratio (which excluded special charges relating to events prior to 2006).

Our Compensation Committee works with our Chief Executive Officer to develop corporate goals that they believe can be reasonably achieved over the next year. Our Board of Directors approved the 2007 Executive Bonus Plan, and an aggregate of $1,555,100 was accrued for distribution to the Named Executive Officers under that plan for the year ended December 31, 2007, based on achievement of company-wide net income and expense-leverage targets.For our Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Presidents, the target bonus percentage is 100% of base salary. For the other named executive officers it is 50% of base salary. Our compensation program also provides incentives for our executives to reach beyond our target corporate goals. Those who perform above expectations are entitled to receive additional bonus amounts that can result in a total annual bonus of up to 142% of base salary for our Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Presidents, and up to 71% of base salary for our other named executive officers. Proportionally lower bonuses are provided for achievement levels between 90% and 100% of respective company-wide targets, and no bonuses are earned by any executive where less than 90% of the directorsrespective company-wide target is achieved.

The table below describes the bonus payments and the percentage of base salary for 2007 for the Named Executive Officers:

Name of Executive

  2007 Bonus Payments  Percentage of 2007 Base Salary 

Patricia Gallup

  $524,000  104.8%

Jack Ferguson

   324,900  104.8 

Timothy McGrath

   461,100  104.8 

Bradley Mousseau

   125,800  52.4 

David Beffa-Negrini

   119,300  52.4 

Equity Awards

Our equity award program is a vehicle for offering long-term incentives to our executives. We believe that equity grants help attract management talent and provide a strong link to our long-term performance and help to align the interests of our executives and our stockholders. In addition, the vesting feature of our equity grants furthers our goal of executive retention by providing an incentive to our executives to remain in our employ during the vesting period. In determining the size of equity grants to our executives, the Compensation Committee and the Chief Executive Officer consider comparative share ownership of executives in our compensation peer group, our company-wide performance, the applicable executive’s performance, the amount of equity previously awarded to the executive, the vesting of such awards, and the recommendation of management.

Our equity awards have typically taken the form of stock options and restricted stock awards. The Compensation Committee and our Chief Executive Officer review all components of the executive’s compensation when determining equity awards to ensure that an executive’s total compensation conforms to our overall philosophy and objectives.

Typically, the equity awards we grant vest in equal annual installments over four years, although shorter vesting periods may be applied in certain circumstances. Vesting and exercise rights cease shortly after termination of employment except in the case of death or disability. We do not have any equity ownership guidelines for our executives.

In 2007 we granted options to purchase 50,000 shares to Mr. Ferguson and options to purchase 140,000 shares to Mr. McGrath. Mr. Ferguson’s options vest in two installments of 25,000 shares on December 31, 2007 and 2008, respectively. Mr. McGrath’s options vest as follows: 20,000 shares on December 31, 2007; 30,000

13


shares on December 31, 2008, 40,000 shares on December 31, 2009; and 50,000 shares on December 31, 2010. Additionally, we granted 25,000 shares of restricted stock to Mr. Ferguson, which vest in full on December 31, 2008. Although we have provided equity based incentive compensation to our executive officers, we do not regularly grant equity based incentive compensation. We granted the options awards to Messrs. Ferguson and McGrath in 2007 to award them for their increased levels of responsibility. We believe that cash compensation using base salaries and annual incentive plan payments is a fair method of compensating our executive officers without equity dilution to our stockholders, although we are continuing to review long-term incentives as a means to attract and retain key executives.

Benefits and Other Compensation

We maintain broad-based benefits that are provided to all employees, including health and dental insurance, life and disability insurance, and a 401(k) plan. Executives are eligible to participate in all of our employee benefit plans, in each case on the Company’s 1997 Stock Incentive Plan.same basis as other employees. We provide a matching contribution equal to 25% of the employee’s deferral contributions that do not exceed 6% of their qualified compensation.

No executive officer received perquisites aggregating $10,000 or more in 2007.

Severance Benefits

Pursuant to employment agreements we have entered into with Timothy McGrath, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Group and Bradley Mousseau, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, each executive is entitled to specified benefits in the event of termination of their employment under specified circumstances, including termination following a change of control of our company. We have provided more detailed information about these benefits, along with estimates of their value under various circumstances, under the caption “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

We believe providing these benefits helps us compete for executive talent. After reviewing the practices of companies represented in the compensation peer group, we believe that our severance and change of control benefits are generally in line with severance packages offered to executives by the companies in the peer group.

Tax and Accounting Considerations

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, generally disallows a tax deduction for compensation in excess of $1.0 million paid to our Chief Executive Officer and our other officers whose compensation is required to be disclosed to our stockholders under the Exchange Act by reason of being among our four most highly compensated officers. Qualifying performance-based compensation is not subject to the deduction limitation if specified requirements are met. We periodically review the potential consequences of Section 162(m) and we intend to structure the performance-based portion of our executive compensation, where feasible, to comply with exemptions in Section 162(m) so that the compensation remains tax deductible to us. However, the Compensation Committee may, in its judgment, authorize compensation payments that do not comply with the exemptions in Section 162(m) when it believes that such payments are appropriate to attract and retain executive talent.

We account for equity compensation awarded to our employees per the methods prescribed by SFAS 123(R), which require us to recognize compensation expense in our financial statements for all share-based payments based upon an estimate of their fair value over the service period of the award. We record cash compensation as an expense at the time the obligation is accrued. Given our adoption of SFAS 123(R), we believe that the accounting impact of the different forms of equity compensation awards generally reflects their economic impact. Accordingly, the underlying accounting treatment is not a material consideration in determining the specific nature or size of equity awards granted. The tax impact of the awards on the recipient, together with the effectiveness of the award in retaining executives are more relevant considerations.

 

14


Summary Compensation Table

The following table describessets forth information for our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and our three other most highly compensated executive officers who were serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2007, collectively, the cash paymentsNamed Executive Officers for the fiscal years indicated.

Summary Compensation Table for Fiscal Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

Name and Principal Position

 Year Salary
($)
 Stock
Awards
($)(1)
 Option
Awards
($)(1)
 Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(2)
 All Other
Compensation
($)(3)
  Total
($)

Patricia Gallup

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board

 2007

2006

 $

 

500,000

476,731

 $

 

—  

—  

 $

 

—  

—  

 $

 

524,000

750,000

 $

 

3,375

3,300

(4)

(5)

 $

 

1,027,375

1,230,031

Jack Ferguson (6)

Executive Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer

 2007

2006

  

 

297,885

271,856

  

 

100,281

—  

  
 
156,320
—  
  

 

324,900

210,000

  

 

3,375

2,549

(4)

(5)

  

 

882,761

484,405

Timothy McGrath(7)

Executive Vice President, Enterprise Group

 2007

2006

  

 

423,846

300,000

  

 

—  

—  

  

 

226,367

52,424

  

 

461,100

75,000

  

 

3,341

2,218

(4)

(5)

  

 

1,114,654

429,642

Bradley Mousseau

Senior Vice President, Human Resources

 2007

2006

  

 

240,000

226,462

  

 

—  

—  

  

 

11,278

38,117

  

 

125,800

180,000

  

 

2,815

2,561

(4)

(5)

  

 

379,893

447,140

David Beffa-Negrini

Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Creative Services

 2007  217,692  —    11,278  119,300  3,375(4)  351,645

(1)We calculated compensation for stock and option awards granted to our executive officers per the methods prescribed by SFAS 123(R). Such compensation does not however reflect estimated forfeitures, as required under SFAS 123(R), and is as a result greater than the expense we recorded in our financial statements. Please see Note 9, “Stockholders’ Equity and Share-Based Compensation” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, for further information used to recognize share-based compensation.

(2)Non-equity incentive compensation for our executive officers was awarded pursuant to the Executive Bonus Plan.

(3)We have omitted perquisites and other personal benefits in those instances where the aggregate amount of such perquisites and other personal benefits totaled less than $10,000.

(4)Consists of: (a) our contributions for Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Ferguson, McGrath, Mousseau, and Beffa-Negrini under our 401(k) Plan in the amount of $3,375, $3,375, $3,341, $2,815, and $3,375, respectively.

(5)Consists of: (a) our contributions for Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Ferguson, McGrath, and Mousseau under our 401(k) Plan in the amount of $3,300, $2,549, $2,218, and $2,561, respectively.

(6)Mr. Ferguson was appointed Executive Vice President in May 2007.

(7)Mr. McGrath was appointed Executive Vice President, Enterprise Group in May 2007.

15


Grants of Plan Based Awards

The following table sets forth certain information regarding grants of plan-based awards made to our directorsNamed Executive Officers during 2004.2007.

Grants of Plan Based Awards for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007

 

Director


  

Cash
Payments for

Board and
Committees


Bruce Barone

  $53,500

Joseph Baute

   53,500

Peter Baxter

   52,000

David Hall

   38,500

David Beffa-Negrini

   38,500
    Estimated Future Payouts Under
Non-Equity Incentive Plan
Awards (1)
 All Other
Stock
Awards:
Number of
Shares of
Stock or
Units(#)
  All Other
Option
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Options(#)
  Exercise
or Base
Price of
Option
Awards

($/Sh)(2)
 Grant Date
Fair Value of
Stock and
Option
Awards

($)(3)

Name

 Grant
Date
 Threshold
($)
 Target
($)
 Maximum
($)
    

Patricia Gallup

 04/20/07 $250,000 $500,000 $710,000 —    —     —    —  

Jack Ferguson

 04/20/07  155,000  310,000  440,200 —    —     —    —  
 07/23/07  —    —    —   25,000(4) —     —    328,250
 07/23/07  —    —    —   —    50,000(5)  13.13  312,640

Timothy McGrath

 04/20/07  220,000  440,000  624,800 —    —     —    —  
 07/23/07  —    —    —   —    140,000(6) $13.13 $1,162,126

Bradley Mousseau

 04/20/07  60,000  120,000  170,400 —    —     —    —  

David Beffa-Negrini

 04/20/07  56,925  113,850  161,667 —    —     —    —  

(1)Threshold, target, and maximum amounts are based on the achievement of certain financial milestones.

(2)The exercise price of all options granted in 2007 equals the closing stock price of our Common Stock on the grant date.

(3)The per-option SFAS 123(R) grant date fair values were $8.301 and $6.253 each for the options granted to Messrs. McGrath and Ferguson, respectively. There can be no assurance that the options will ever be exercised (in which case no value will be realized by the executive) or that the value on exercise will equal the SFAS 123(R) value. The SFAS 123(R) value for the restricted stock awarded to Mr. Ferguson was $13.13 per share. There can be no assurance that the value on distribution will equal the SFAS 123(R) value. Please see Note 9, “Stockholders’ Equity and Share-Based Compensation” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 for the valuation assumptions made in determining SFAS 123(R) values.

(4)Restricted stock awarded to Mr. Ferguson vests on December 31, 2008.

(5)Options granted to Mr. Ferguson vest as follows: 25,000 shares on December 31, 2008.

(6)Options granted to Mr. McGrath vest as follows: 30,000 shares on December 31, 2008; 40,000 shares on December 31, 2009; and 50,000 shares on December 31, 2010.

 

716


Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth certain information regarding outstanding equity awards held by our Named Executive Officers as of December 31, 2007.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007

   Option Awards  Stock Awards 

Name

  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised

Options (#)
Exercisable
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised

Options (#)
Unexercisable
  Option
Exercise

Price
($)(1)
  Option
Expiration

Date
  Number of
Shares or

Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
  Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
($)
 

Patricia Gallup

  —    —     —    —    —    —   

Jack Ferguson

  1,500  —    $18.333  1/21/2010  25,000(2) 283,750(3)
  1,000  —     51.813  7/17/2010  —    —   
  1,000  —     10.813  3/16/2011  —    —   
  20,500  —     5.380  12/30/2015  —    —   
  25,000  25,000(4)  13.130  7/23/2017  —    —   

Timothy McGrath

  20,000  50,000(5)  5.200  10/24/2015  —    —   
    120,000(6)  13.130  7/23/2017  —    —   

Bradley Mousseau

  30,000  —     18.333  1/21/2010  —    —   
  3,750  —     51.813  7/17/2010  —    —   

David Beffa-Negrini

  7,500  —     8.917  9/24/2009  —    —   
  3,750  —     18.333  1/21/2010  —    —   
  2,500  —     51.813  7/17/2010  —    —   
  2,500  —     10.813  3/16/2011  —    —   
  12,500  —     5.540  4/18/2013  —    —   
  50,000  —     8.640  12/12/2013  —    —   

(1)The option exercise price for all grants made to Named Executive Officers was set at the closing price of our Common Stock on the respective grant date.

(2)Restricted stock awarded to Mr. Ferguson vests on December 31, 2008.

(3)The market value of Mr. Ferguson’s restricted stock award was based on the closing price of our Common Stock on December 31, 2007 of $11.35 per share.

(4)Mr. Ferguson’s options vest on December 31, 2008.

(5)Mr. McGrath’s options vest annually in two installments of 25,000 shares beginning on October 24, 2008.

(6)Mr. McGrath’s options vest as follows: 30,000 shares on December 31, 2008; 40,000 shares on December 31, 2009; and 50,000 shares on December 31, 2010.

17


Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table sets forth certain information regarding stock options exercised by our Named Executive Officers in the year ended December 31, 2007.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007

   Option Awards

Name

  Number of Shares
Acquired on
Exercise

(#)
  Value Realized on
Exercise (1)

($)

Timothy McGrath

  25,000  $204,335

Bradley Mousseau

  20,000   132,278

(1)The value realized equals the difference between the closing price of our Common Stock as of the exercise date, less the option exercise price, multiplied by the total options exercised.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

We are a party to an employment agreement with Ms. Gallup. The agreement contains provisions for establishing her annual base salary and bonus and may be terminated by Ms. Gallup doesor us. We have entered into letter agreements with Messrs. McGrath and Mousseau, providing for severance payments for six months of their then respective annual base salary if we terminate their employment for any reason other than for cause or for a change in control (as defined therein). Under such circumstances, Mr. Mousseau’s and Mr. McGrath’s severance payments would have an aggregate value of $120,000 and $220,000, respectively. In the event of termination resulting from a change in control of our Company, Mr. Mousseau’s severance payments would extend for a total of twelve months and have an aggregate value of $240,000. Mr. McGrath’s severance payments would extend for a total of six months and have an aggregate value of $220,000. Each of Messrs. McGrath’s and Mousseau’s letter agreement includes certain non-compete obligations that extend for eighteen months after termination of employment. We assume, for the purpose of calculating values for all termination events, that the effective date of termination is December 31, 2007.

In event that we undergo a change in control (referred to as an “Acquisition Event” in the Amended and Restated 1997 Stock Incentive Plan and a “Reorganization Event” in the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan) and as a result our Board of Directors accelerates the vesting of all outstanding unvested equity awards, Mr. McGrath and Mr. Ferguson would realize $307,500 and $283,750, respectively, based on the closing price of our Common Stock on December 31, 2007 of $11.35 per share, assuming the exercise and sale by each of their in-the-money options.

Compensation Committee Report

Our Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with our management. Based on this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to our Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

By the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of PC Connection:

Donald Weatherson, Chairman

Bruce Barone

Joseph Baute

18


Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

The members of the Compensation Committee are Messrs. Barone, Baute, and Weatherson. Messrs. Barone and Baute were not receive compensation for her servicesat any time during 2007, or formerly, an officer or employee of the Company or any of our subsidiaries. None of our executive officers has served as a director or member of the Compensation Committee (or other committee serving an equivalent function) of any other entity, one of whose executive officers served as our director or a member of the Company’s Board of Directors.

our Compensation Committee.

Certain TransactionsCERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

The CompanyWe currently hashave leases for a facilityfacilities in Marlow and Merrimack, New Hampshire and two facilities in Keene, New Hampshire with Gallup & Hall, (“or G&H”),&H, a partnership owned solely by Patricia Gallup and David Hall, the Company’sour principal stockholders. The lease for one of the Keene, New Hampshire facilities expires in July 2008 and requires annual rental payments of $141,276 (subject to adjustment every three years for changes in the consumer price index). The lease for the Marlow, New Hampshiresecond facility expires in May 2007 and requires annualKeene is leased on a month-to-month basis requiring monthly rental payments of $6,000.$1,344. The second facility in Keene,Marlow, New Hampshire is leased on a month-to-month basis requiring monthly rental payments of $1,344.$500. We also lease on a month-to-month basis a facility in Merrimack, adjacent to our corporate headquarters requiring monthly rental payments of $18,141. These leases also obligate the Companyus to pay certain real estate taxes and insurance premiums on the premises. Rent expense under all such leases aggregated $163,404$381,102 for the year ended December 31, 2004.

2007.

In November 1997 the Companywe entered into a fifteen-year lease for a 114,000 square foot corporate headquarters in Merrimack, New Hampshire with G&H Post, L.L.C., an entity owned solely by Patricia Gallup and David Hall. The CompanyWe began occupying the new facility upon completion of construction in late November 1998, and lease payments began in December 1998. Annual lease payments under the terms of the lease are $911,400 for the first five years of the lease, increasing to $1,025,350 for years six through ten and to $1,139,400 for years 11 through 15. The lease is in its seventhtenth year. The lease requires the Companyus to pay itsour proportionate share of real estate taxes and common area maintenance charges as additional rent and also to pay insurance premiums for the leased property. The Company hasWe have the option to renew the lease for two additional terms of five years.

During 2004 the Company2007 we provided various facilities management, maintenance, financial, tax, and legal services to certain affiliates in connection with the operation of facilities leased by the Companyus from those affiliates. The Company wasG&H reimbursed $73,820 by G&Hus $34,601 during 20042007 for those services.

The 1998 PC Connection Voting Trust

In connection with the Company’sour initial public offering in March 1998, Patricia Gallup and David Hall placed substantially all of the shares of Common Stock that they beneficially owned immediately prior to the public offering into a Voting Trust (the “Voting Trust”) of which they serve as co-trustees. The Voting Trust is the record holder of 16,338,188 shares of Common Stock as of the record date, April 22, 2005.2, 2008. The terms of the Voting Trust require that both Ms. Gallup and Mr. Hall, as co-trustees, must agree as to the manner of voting the shares of our Common Stock of the Company held by the Voting Trust in order for the shares to be voted. In the event the co-trustees are deadlocked with respect to the election of directors at a meeting of stockholders, theour Board of Directors may require the co-trustees to execute and deliver to theour Secretary of the Company a proxy representing all shares issued and outstanding in the name of the Voting Trust and entitled to vote in the election of directors. Such proxy shall confer upon the proxyholder authority to attend the meeting for purposes of establishing a quorum and to vote for the directors nominated by theour Board of Directors, provided that such nominees are incumbent directors elected with the consent of the co-trustees. Each of Ms. Gallup and Mr. Hall may transfer shares of Common Stock for value to unaffiliated third parties. Any shares so transferred will no longer be subject to the Voting Trust and an equal number of the non-transferring co-trustee’s shares will be released from the Voting Trust. Transfers by either of Ms. Gallup or Mr. Hall in excess of 75,000 shares in any 90-day period, or that would decrease the shares held by the Voting Trust to less than a majority of the outstanding shares, will be

19


subject to a right of first refusal to the other. The Voting Trust will terminate when it holds less than 10% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock of the Company or at the death of both co-trustees. In addition, in the event of the death or incapacity of either co-trustee, or when either of Ms. Gallup or Mr. Hall holds less than 25% of the beneficial interest held by the other in the Voting Trust, the other will become the sole trustee of the Voting Trust with the right to vote all the shares held by the Voting Trust.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS

8

Our Board of Directors has adopted written policies and procedures for the review of any transaction, arrangement, or relationship in which we are a participant, the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and one of our executive officers, directors, director nominees, or 5% stockholders (or their immediate family members), each of whom we refer to as a “related person,” has a direct or indirect material interest.


If a related person proposes to enter into such a transaction, arrangement, or relationship, which we refer to as a “related person transaction,” the related person must report the proposed related person transaction to our Chief Financial Officer. The policy calls for the proposed related person transaction to be reviewed and, if deemed appropriate, approved by our Audit Committee. Whenever practicable, the reporting, review, and approval will occur prior to entry into the transaction. If advance review and approval is not practicable, the Audit Committee will review, and, in its discretion, may ratify the related person transaction. The policy also permits the chairman of the Audit Committee to review and, if deemed appropriate, approve proposed related person transactions that arise between committee meetings, subject to ratification by the Audit Committee at its next meeting. Any related person transactions that are ongoing in nature will be reviewed annually.

Executive CompensationA related person transaction reviewed under the policy will be considered approved or ratified if it is authorized by the Audit Committee after full disclosure of the related person’s interest in the transaction. As appropriate for the circumstances, the Audit Committee will review and consider:

 

Summary Compensation Table.The following table sets forth certain compensation information for the years ended December 31, 2004, 2003, and 2002 for all persons who served as Chief Executive Officerrelated person’s interest in the related person transaction;

the approximate dollar value of the Companyamount involved in the related person transaction;

the approximate dollar value of the amount of the related person’s interest in the transaction without regard to the amount of any profit or loss;

whether the transaction was undertaken in a similar capacity during 2004the ordinary course of our business;

whether the terms of the transaction are no less favorable to us than terms that could have been reached with an unrelated third party;

the purpose of, and the three other most highly compensated executive officerspotential benefits to us of, the Company who were serving as executive officers on December 31, 2004transaction; and one

any other executive officerinformation regarding the related person transaction or the related person in the context of the Company who ceased servingproposed transaction that would be material to investors in light of the circumstances of the particular transaction.

The Audit Committee may approve or ratify the transaction only if the Audit Committee determines that, under all of the circumstances, the transaction is not inconsistent with our best interests. The Audit Committee may impose any conditions on the related person transaction that it deems appropriate.

In addition to the transactions that are excluded by the instructions to the SEC’s related person transaction disclosure rule, our Board of Directors has determined that the following transactions do not create a material direct or indirect interest on behalf of related persons and, therefore, are not related person transactions for purposes of this policy:

interests arising solely from the related person’s position as an executive officer during 2004 (collectively,of another entity (whether or not the “Named Executive Officers”)person is also a director of such entity), as required under applicable rules ofthat is a participant in the SEC.transaction, where

 

Summary Compensation Table

Annual Compensation

Long-Term
Compensation
Awards


Name and Principal Position


Year

Salary ($)

Bonus ($)

Other Annual
Compensation
($) (1)


Securities
Underlying
Options (#)


All Other
Compensation($)


Patricia Gallup

President, Chief Executive

Officer, and Chairman of the

Board(2)

2004
2003
2002
$

430,000
430,000
417,308




—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
$

5,145
4,350
4,100
(3)
(4)
(5)

Robert F. Wilkins

Executive Vice President

2004
2003
2002


403,462
375,000
375,000




—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
300,000
—  


851
840
840
(3)
(4)
(5)

Mark A. Gavin

Senior Vice President of Finance

and Chief Financial Officer(6)

2004
2003
2002


260,000
247,500
210,000




—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
300,000
15,000


2,764
2,789
3,194
(3)
(4)
(5)

Bradley G. Mousseau

Vice President of Human

Resources

2004
2003
2002


190,480
165,250
155,385


$

30,000
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
100,000
15,000


3,007
3,252
3,051
(3)
(4)
(5)

Jack L. Ferguson

Treasurer and Interim

Chief Financial Officer(7)

2004
2003
2002


153,250
130,212
128,750
(8)



9,800
—  
2,500
—  
—  
—  
—  
—  
2,500


5,192
5,146
3,463
(3)
(4)
(5)

(1)In accordance with the rules of the SEC, perquisites and other personal benefits have been omitted in those instances where the aggregate amount of such perquisites and other personal benefits constituted less than the lesser of $50,000 or 10% of the total amount of annual salary and bonus for the executive officer for the fiscal year indicated.

(2)Ms. Gallup assumed the duties of the office of the President upon the resignation of the former President in March 2003, along with her existing duties as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Ms. Gallup also served as Chief Executive Officer until June 2001 and resumed the duties of that office in September 2002 upon the resignation of the former Chief Executive Officer.

(3)Consists of: (a) the Company’s contribution for Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Gavin, Mousseau, and Ferguson under the Company’s 401(k) Plan in the amount of $3,075, $2,200, $2,216, and $1,961, respectively; and (b) the taxable portion of group term life insurance premiums paid by the Company for Ms. Gallup, Messrs. Wilkins, Gavin, Mousseau, and Ferguson in the amounts of $2,070, $851, $564, $791, and $3,231, respectively.

(4)

Consists of: (a) the Company’s contribution for Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Gavin, Mousseau, and Ferguson under the Company’s 401(k) Plan in the amount of $3,000, $2,257, $2,479, and $1,935, respectively; and

920


 

(a) the related person and all other related persons own in the aggregate less than a 10% equity interest in such entity, (b) the taxable portion of group term life insurance premiums paid by the Company for Ms. Galluprelated person and Messrs. Wilkins, Gavin, Mousseau, and Fergusonhis or her immediate family members are not involved in the amountsnegotiation of $1,350, $840, $532, $773,the terms of the transaction and $3,211, respectively.do not receive any special benefits as a result of the transaction, (c) the amount involved in the transaction equals less than the greater of $200,000 or 5% of the annual gross revenues of the company receiving payment under the transaction; and

 

(5)Consists of: (a) the Company’s contributions for Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Gavin, Mousseau, and Ferguson under the Company’s 401(k) Plan in the amount of $2,750, $2,750, $2,331, and $1,823, respectively; and (b) the taxable portion of group term life insurance premiums paid by the Company for Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Wilkins, Gavin, Mousseau, and Ferguson in the amounts of $1,350, $840, $444, $720, and $1,640, respectively.

a transaction that is specifically contemplated by provisions of our charter or bylaws.

(6)Mr. Gavin served as Chief Financial Officer from March 1998 until his resignation from the Company in October 2004.

(7)Mr. Ferguson was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer upon the resignation of Mr. Gavin in October 2004.

(8)Mr. Ferguson’s salary reflects an additional $22,500 for the period during which he served as Interim Chief Financial Officer.

Employment and Severance Agreements

The Company is a party to employment agreements with Ms. Gallup and Messrs. Wilkins and Mousseau. Each employment agreement contains provisions for establishing the annual base salary and bonus for each such executive officer. The Named Executive Officers, except Mr. Gavin and Mr. Ferguson, are eligible to receive an annual bonus based upon the achievement of individual and Company goals. The employment agreements may be terminated by either Ms. Gallup, Mr. Wilkins, Mr. Mousseau, or the Company. Mr. Wilkins’ employment agreementpolicy provides that if the Company terminates his employment without cause (as defined therein), the Company is required to pay Mr. Wilkins’ severance payments at his then current base salary for a periodtransactions involving compensation of twelve months. Mr. Wilkins’ employment agreement includes certain non-compete obligations which extend for two years following termination of his employment. The Company has entered into a letter agreement with Mr. Mousseau, providing for severance payments for six months of his then annual base salary if the Company terminates his employment for any reason other than for cause or for a change in control (as defined therein). In the event of termination resulting from a change in control of the Company, such severance payments would extend for a total of twelve months. Mr. Mousseau’s letter agreement includes certain non-compete obligations which extend for eighteen months following his termination of employment.

The Company entered into a separation agreement with Mark A. Gavin on October 21, 2004. This agreement superseded his employment agreement dated February 5, 1998. In consideration for entering into the separation agreement, Mr. Gavin is entitled to receive his base salaryexecutive officers shall be reviewed and benefits for six months commencing on November 20, 2004. Mr. Gavin is entitled to an additional six months of salary continuance in consideration for his entering into a Non-Compete, Non-Solicitation Agreement with the Company. These non-compete, non-solicitation obligations extend for twelve months following his termination of employment in October 2004.

Option Grants

The Company did not grant any stock options or stock appreciation rights to its Named Executive Officers during the year ended December 31, 2004, and no stock options were exercisedapproved by the executive officers in 2004.

10


Option Exercises and Year-End Values.The following table sets forth certain information regarding the aggregate shares of Common Stock acquired upon stock option exercises by the Named Executive Officers and the value realized upon such exercises during the year ended December 31, 2004, as well as the number and value of unexercised stock options held by the Named Executive Officers as of December 31, 2004:

Aggregate Option Exercises in Last Fiscal Year and

Year-End Option Values

   Shares
Acquired on
Exercise (#)


  

Value

Realized

($)(1)


  Number of Securities
Underlying Unexercised
Options at Fiscal Year-End (#)


  Value of Unexercised
In-The-Money Options
At Fiscal Year End ($)(2)


Name


      Exercisable

  Unexercisable

  Exercisable

  Unexercisable

Patricia Gallup

  —    —    —    —    $—    $—  

Robert Wilkins

  —    —    462,320  280,000   135,698   782,500

Mark Gavin

  —    —    130,001  —     142,212   —  

Bradley Mousseau

  —    —    55,625  96,875   67,713   229,175

Jack Ferguson

  —    —    9,079  1,500   22,029   5,988

(1)Value is calculated based on the difference between the option exercise price and the closing market price of the Company’s Common Stock on the NASDAQ National Market on the date of exercise, multiplied by the number of shares exercised.

(2)Represents the difference between the last reported sales price of the Company’s Common Stock as reported by the NASDAQ National Market on December 31, 2004 ($9.52), the last trading day of 2004, and the exercise price of the option, multiplied by the number of shares subject to the option.

Report of the CompensationAudit Committee

This report is submitted by the Compensation Committee and addresses the Company’s compensation policies for 2004 as they affected Ms. Gallup and the Company’s other executive officers. In 2004 and until the Annual Meeting, the Committee consists of Messrs. Baxter, Barone, and Baute, each of whom is an independent, non-employee director. Immediately following the Annual Meeting, the Compensation Committee shall consist of Messrs. Barone, Baute, and Weatherson.

The Compensation Committee annually sets the compensation of the Chief Executive Officer. The Compensation Committee also reviews and approves or recommends for approval to the Board of Directors the recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer regarding the compensation of the Company’s other executive officers. In addition, the Committee administers the Company’s stock incentive plans as recommended by the Chief Executive Officer.

Each of the Named Executive Officers regularly makes presentations to the Board of Directors. As a result, the members of the Compensation Committee are personally familiar with the performance of each Named Executive Officer.

The Compensation Committee seeks to achieve three broad goals in connection with the Company’s compensation philosophy and decisions regarding compensation. First, the Company is committed to providing executive compensation designed to attract, retain, and motivate executives who contribute to the long-term success of the Company and are capable of leading the Company in achieving its business objectives in the competitive and rapidly changing industrymanner specified in which the Company operates. Second, the Company wants to reward executives for the achievement of business objectives of the Company and/or the individual executive’s particular area of responsibility. By tying compensation in part to achievement, the Company believes that a performance-oriented environment is created for the Company’s executives. Finally, compensation is intended to provide executives with an equity interest in the Company so as to link a meaningful portion of the compensation of the Company’s executives with the performance of the Company’s Common Stock.

Each executive’s total compensation depends upon the executive’s performance against specific objectives. These objectives include both quantitative factors related to the Company’s short-term financial objectives and qualitative factors such as (a) demonstrated leadership ability, (b) management development, (c) compliance with

11


Company policies, and (d) anticipation of and response to changing market and economic conditions, to enhance the Company’s ability to operate profitably. Compensation for the Company’s executives generally consists of three elements:

salary—levels are generally set by reviewing compensation for competitive positions in the market and considering the executive’s level of responsibility, qualifications, and experience, as well as the Company’s financial performance and the individual’s performance;

bonus—amounts are generally based on achievement of the Company’s performance goals in any given year; and

stock option grants—options provide long-term incentives to promote and identify long-term interests between the Company’s employees and its stockholders and to assist in the retention of executives.charter.

In addition, executives are also eligible to receive various benefits, including medical, disability, and life insurance plans, and may participate in the Company’s stock purchase plan and 401(k) qualified savings plan. All of these benefits are generally available to all employees of the Company.

In making decisions regarding the compensation of the Chief Executive Officer, the Compensation Committee considered the input of the Company’s other directors and other publicly available information relating to comparable direct marketing firms of information technology products. In order to attract, retain, and motivate the talented personnel it needs, the Company has structured its executive compensation program to provide its employees with cash compensation competitive with total compensation paid by comparable companies. Bonuses are primarily based on corporate performance, with actual awards varying greatly according to the Company’s overall performance and the individual’s impact on that performance.

Base Salaries for 2004

Ms. Gallup’s salary was set for 2004 at $430,000. The Compensation Committee also reviewed the annual salary levels for all other Named Executive Officers. These salary levels were designed to remain competitive within the market.

Bonus Compensation for 2004

Messrs. Mousseau and Ferguson received bonuses for 2004 based upon their achievement of certain performance goals. The other Named Executive Officers did not receive a bonus for 2004.

Stock Option Awards in 2004

The Compensation Committee reviews and approves all grants of stock options to the Company’s Named Executive Officers and reviews all grants of stock options to other employees. The Company did not grant any stock options to its Named Executive Officers in 2004, although it did make periodic grants to various managerial employees. All grants of stock options were reviewed by the full Board of Directors.

Compensation of Chief Executive Officer

The Company’s compensation plans are designed to provide incentive and reward for individual achievement and for meeting company goals. As with other executive officers, the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation reflects this philosophy. The factors of determining compensation for the CEO are generally the same as for other Company executives. Ms. Gallup did not participate in any decisions regarding her own compensation.

The Compensation Committee has determined that, based upon a review of the Company’s operations and salaries of Chief Executive Officers of comparable companies, Ms. Gallup’s salary for 2005 will be $445,000. In

12


light of her substantial current stock ownership, the Compensation Committee determined not to recommend to the Board of Directors any award of equity-based compensation. The Compensation Committee believes that Ms. Gallup’s compensation has been set at a level competitive with other companies in the industry.

Compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m)

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, generally disallows a tax deduction to a public company for certain compensation in excess of $1 million paid to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the four other most highly compensated executive officers. Certain compensation, including qualified performance-based compensation, will not be subject to the deduction limit if certain requirements are met. The Compensation Committee reviews the potential effect of Section 162(m) periodically and uses its judgment to authorize compensation payments that may be subject to the limit when the Compensation Committee believes such payments are appropriate and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, after taking into consideration changing business conditions and the performance of its employees.

Peter Baxter, Chairman

Bruce Barone

Joseph Baute

Compensation Committee and Interlocks and Insider Participation

The members of the Compensation Committee for 2004 and until the Annual Meeting are Messrs. Barone, Baute, and Baxter. No member of the Compensation Committee was at any time during 2004, or formerly, an officer or employee of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company. No executive officer of the Company has served as a director or member of the Compensation Committee (or other committee serving an equivalent function) of any other entity, one of whose executive officers served as a director of or member of the Compensation Committee of the Company. Immediately following the Annual Meeting, the Compensation Committee shall consist of Messrs. Barone, Baute, and Weatherson.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) requires the Company’s directors, executive officers, and holders of more than 10% of the Company’s Common Stock to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in beneficial ownership of Common Stock of the Company. Based solely on its review of copies of reports filed by individuals required to make filings (“Reporting Persons”) pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act or written representations from certain Reporting Persons, the Company believes that all such reports required to be filed under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act for 2004 were timely filed, except that Mr. Beffa-Negrini, a member of the Board, failed to timely file a Form 4 in December 2003 to report the receipt of a stock option grant of 50,000 shares, and Mr. Mousseau, an executive officer, failed to timely file a Form 4 in December 2003 to report the receipt of a stock option grant of 50,000 shares. Both reporting persons filed late the required Form 4s with the SEC on January 27, 2004.

13


Stock Performance Graph

The following stock performance graph compares cumulative total stockholder return on the Company’s Common Stock for the period from December 31, 1999 through December 31, 2004 with the cumulative total return for (i) the Russell 2000 Index and (ii) the Company’s Peer Group. This graph assumes the investment of $100 on December 31, 1999 in the Company’s Common Stock, the Russell 2000 Index, and the Company’s Peer Group and assumes dividends are reinvested. The Company’s Peer Group consists of CDW Computer Centers, Inc., PC Mall, Inc., Insight Enterprises, Inc., Zones, Inc., and Systemax, Inc.

LOGO

   Annual Return Percentage

   Years Ended

Company Name / Index


  Dec-00

  Dec-01

  Dec-02

  Dec-03

  Dec-04

PC Connection, Inc.

  -54.89  42.94  -65.81  62.23  15.74

Russell 2000 Index

  -3.02  2.49  -20.48  47.25  18.33

Peer Group

  -35.45  80.32  -26.83  47.99  16.09

   

Base

Period

Dec-99


  Indexed Returns

     Years Ended

Company Name / Index


    Dec-00

  Dec-01

  Dec-02

  Dec-03

  Dec-04

PC Connection, Inc.

  100  45.11  64.48  22.04  35.76  41.39

Russell 2000 Index

  100  96.98  99.39  79.03  116.38  137.71

Peer Group

  100  64.55  116.40  85.16  126.03  146.32

14


Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table provides information about the Company’sour Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of options, warrants, and rights under all of the Company’sour equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2004,2007, including the 1993 IncentiveAmended and Non-Statutory Stock Option Plan (the “1993 Plan”), as amended, theRestated 1997 Stock Incentive Plan as amended, and the Company’s2007 Stock Incentive Plan, or the 2007 Plan, and our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, (the “ESPP”). The Company’sor the ESPP. Our stockholders have approved all of these plans.

 

Plan Category


  Number of Securities to
be Issued Upon Exercise
of Outstanding Options,
Warrants, and Rights (1)


  Weighted-Average
Exercise Price of
Outstanding Options,
Warrants, and Rights


  

Number of Securities
Available for Future
Issuance Under Equity
Compensation Plans
(Excluding Securities
Reflected in

Column (a))(1)(2)(3)


Equity Compensation Plans Approved by Security Holders

  2,346,603  $10.90  1,035,745

Equity Compensation Plans Not Approved by Security Holders

  None   N/A  N/A
   
  

  

Total

  2,346,603  $10.90  1,035,745
   
  

  

Plan Category

  Number of Securities to be
Issued Upon Exercise of
Outstanding Options,
Warrants, and Rights (1)
  Weighted-Average
Exercise Price of
Outstanding Options,
Warrants, and Rights
  Number of Securities
Remaining Available

for Future
Issuance Under Equity
Compensation Plans
(Excluding Securities
Reflected in

Column (a)) (1)(2)

Equity Compensation Plans Approved by Security Holders

  875,998  $12.99  637,658

Equity Compensation Plans Not Approved by Security Holders

  —     —    —  
          

Total

  875,998  $12.99  637,658

(1)The number of shares is subject to adjustments in the event of stock splits and other similar events.

 

(2)Includes 56,268137,658 shares of Common Stock issuable under the Company’sour ESPP, all of which are issuable in connection with the current offering period which ends on June 30, 2005.2008.

 

(3)With respect to the 1993 Plan, the table excludes shares available for issuance because the Company does not intend to grant any additional options under the 1993 Plan and has not granted options under the 1993 Plan since March 1998.

21


PROPOSAL TWO

APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO 1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASEEXECUTIVE BONUS PLAN AS AMENDED

On April 9, 2008, our Board of Directors adopted, subject to stockholder approval, the Executive Bonus Plan, or the Bonus Plan.

TheOur Board of Directors believes that the continued growth and profitability of the Companyour future success depends, in large part, upon theour ability of the Company to maintain a competitive position in attracting, retaining, and retainingmotivating key personnel.Accordingly, in 1997, the Company adopted the ESPP which permits eligible employees to purchase shares of the Company’s Common Stock at a discounted price. In May 2002 and April 2003, the Board of Directors adopted increases in the number of shares issuable under the ESPP, and in June 2002 and 2003, the Company’s public stockholders also approved such respective increases. On April 22, 2005, the Board of Directors adopted resolutions, subject to stockholder approval, to approve an amendment to the ESPP, to increase the number of shares of Common Stock authorized for issuance thereunder from 637,500 to 837,500.

As of April 22, 2005, 56,268 shares were available for issuance under the ESPP.

Theour Board of Directors believes that the approvaladoption of the amendment to the ESPPBonus Plan is in the best interests of theour stockholders and our Company and its stockholders and recommends a vote “FOR” this proposal and the reservation of 200,000 shares of Common Stock for issuance thereunder.

Summaryapproval of the ESPPBonus Plan.

Description of the Bonus Plan

The following is a brief summary of the ESPP. The following summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the ESPP,Executive Bonus Plan, a copy of which is attached asAppendix BA to this Proxy Statement.

Administration and Eligibility

The ESPP is administered by theCompensation Committee of our Board of Directors orwill, through a Subcommittee consisting solely of outside directors within the Compensation Committee, which hasmeaning of Section 162(m) of the authority to makeInternal Revenue Code, administer the Plan.

Eligibility

Each of our named executive officers, within the meaning of the rules and regulations for the administration of the ESPP. Each employee of the CompanySecurities and

15


its eligible subsidiaries, including any officer or director who is also an employee, Exchange Commission, is eligible to participate in the ESPP, provided he or she

is employed by the Company or any eligible subsidiary on the applicable offering commencement date;

is customarily employed by the Company or any eligible subsidiary for 20 or more hours per week and for more than five months in a calendar year; and

has been employed by the Company or any eligible subsidiary for at least six months priorthis Plan. In addition, other executive officers may be determined from time to enrolling in the ESPP. As of April 22, 2005, approximately 1,032 employees weretime to be eligible to participate in the ESPP.

Plan.

The following table sets forth (a)Determination of Bonus Awards

We refer to each fiscal year that the market valuePlan is in effect as a “Plan Year.” Within 90 days after the beginning of each Plan Year, the Compensation Committee will establish specific performance measures for the payment of bonus awards for that Plan Year. For each Plan Year, the performance measures will include the attainment of a certain minimum level of consolidated net income and may also be based on one or more of the sharesfollowing additional quantifiable performance measures selected by the Committee: consolidated SG&A expenses; earnings per share; operating income; gross revenue; profit margins; stock price targets or stock price maintenance; working capital; free cash flow, cash flow; return on equity; return on capital or return on invested capital; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, and strategic business criteria, consisting of one or more objectives based on meeting specified revenue, market penetration, geographic business expansion goals, cost targets, or objective goals relating to acquisitions or divestitures. The precise annual amounts and bonus allocation percentages with respect to each performance measure will also be established by the Committee. Performance measures are generally based on our operating forecasts. However, the Committee may determine, in its sole discretion, that significant unusual or extraordinary items should or should not be included in determining whether the performance measures have been met.

Bonuses are calculated as a percentage of the Company’s Common Stock issued underparticipating executive’s annual base salary. Base level bonuses are 100% of base salary for our Chief Executive Officer, 100% of base salary for our Executive Vice Presidents, and 50% of base salary for our Senior Vice Presidents. Actual bonus payouts may be higher or lower than the ESPP during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 basedbase level amounts, depending on the closing price of $9.52 ondegree to which each performance measure is met or exceeded. Each performance measure is subject to a multiplier table which determines the extent to which that date minus the purchase price of such shares and (b) the number of shares purchased under the ESPP by designated individuals and groups (including all associatesportion of the directors and executive officers included in the table) during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004:

1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Name and Position


  Dollar
Value ($)


  Number
of Units


Patricia Gallup

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board

  $—    —  

Robert Wilkins

Executive Vice President

   —    —  

Mark A. Gavin

Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer

   —    —  

Bradley G. Mousseau

Vice President of Human Resources

   —    —  

Jack Ferguson

Treasurer and Interim Chief Financial Officer

   —    —  

All current executive officers as a group

   12,121  3,050

All current directors who are not executive officers as a group

   —    —  

All employees, including all current officers who are not executive officers, as a group

   260,790  69,886

On April 22, 2005, the last reported sale pricebonus is paid out. Awards relating to net income can range from 50% to 170% of the Company’s Common Stock on the NASDAQ National Market was $6.03 per share.corresponding base bonus; however, no awards will be granted for net income below 90% of target. Awards relating to other

 

Offering Periods

The ESPP is implemented through a series of offerings, each of which is six months in length. Participants in an offering purchase shares with funds set aside through payroll withholding. An employee may elect to have a percentage up to 10% withheld from his or her pay for purposes of purchasing shares under the ESPP, subject to certain limitations on the maximum number of shares that may be purchased.

Payment of Purchase Price

The price of shares purchased pursuant to the ESPP is 85% of the closing price of the Company’s common stock on (i) the first business day of such plan period or (ii) the last business day of such plan period, whichever is lower.

1622


performance measures established by the Committee are subject to the multiplier percentages selected by the Committee.

The maximum bonus award payable to a participating executive for any Plan Year is 170% of that executive’s annual base salary and in no event will exceed $1,000,000.

Amendment orAmendments and Termination

TheOur Board of Directors may at any time amend, suspend, or terminate the Plan, provided such action is effected by written resolution. Amendments to the Plan requiring stockholder approval under the Internal Revenue Code or amend the ESPP, provided that no amendment may be made without prior approval of the stockholders of the Company ifSEC regulations will require such approval is required by Section 423 ofunder the Code, and in no event may any amendment be made which would cause the ESPP to fail to comply with Section 423 of the Code.

Plan.

Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following generally summarizes the United States federal income tax consequences that will arise with respect to participation in the ESPP and with respect to the sale of common stock acquiredPayments received by executive officers under the ESPP. This summary is based on the tax laws in effect as of the date of this proxy statement. Changes to these laws could alter the tax consequences described below.

Tax Consequences to Participants.    A participant will not have income upon enrolling in the ESPP or upon purchasing stock at the end of an offering.

A participant may have both compensation income and a capital gain or loss upon the sale of stock that was acquired under the ESPP. The amount of each type of income and loss will depend on when the participant sells the stock.

If the participant sells the stock more than two years after the commencement of the offering during which the stock was purchased and more than one year after the date that the participant purchased the stock at a profit (the sales proceeds exceed the purchase price), then the participant will have compensation income equal to the lesser of:

15% of the value of the stock on the day the offering commenced; or

the participant’s profit.

Any excess profitPlan will be long-term capital gain. If the participant sells the stock at a loss (if sales proceeds are less than the purchase price) after satisfying these waiting periods, then the loss will be a long-term capital loss.

If the participant sells the stock prior to satisfying these waiting periods, then he or she will have engaged in a disqualifying disposition. Upon a disqualifying disposition, the participant will have compensation income equal to the value of the stock on the day he or she purchased the stock less the purchase price. If the participant’s profit exceeds the compensation income, then the excess profit will be capital gain. If the participant’s profit is less than the compensation income, then the participant will have a capital loss equal to the value of the stock on the day he or she purchased the stock less the sales proceeds. This capital gain or loss will be long-term if the participant has held the stock for more than one year and otherwise will be short-term.

Tax Consequences to the Company.    There will be no tax consequences to the Company except that we will be entitled to a deduction when a participant has compensation income upon a disqualifying disposition. Any such deduction will be subject to tax at ordinary income rates when received. Since the limitationsPlan is intended to comply with the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code, if the Plan is approved by stockholders at the annual meeting, we expect that the bonus payments made in accordance with the terms of the Plan will qualify as performance-based compensation that is not subject to the limits of Section 162(m) of the Code and will therefore be deductible by us, subject to any other applicable limitations on deductibility under the Code.

New Plan Benefits

The following table sets forth, for illustrative purposes, the amounts which would be received by the named executive officers under the Executive Bonus Plan had the Executive Bonus Plan been in effect for 2007 based on 2008 performance targets, but with the percentage of the bonus payable based on our performance in 2007.

NEW PLAN BENEFITS

EXECUTIVE BONUS PLAN

(FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES)+

 

Name and Position

  Executive Bonus Plan
Dollar Value

Patricia Gallup

  $314,000

    Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

  

Jack Ferguson

   194,680

    Executive Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer

  

Timothy McGrath

   276,320

    Executive Vice President, Enterprise Group

  

Bradley Mousseau

   75,360

    Senior Vice President, Human Resources

  

David Beffa-Negrini

   71,498

    Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Creative Services

  

All Executive Officers As A Group

   931,858

Non-Executive Director Group

   —  

Non-Executive Officer Employee Group

   —  

17

+Past performance may not be indicative of future results.

23


PROPOSAL THREE

RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Audit Committee of theour Board of Directors has selected the firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, to serve as the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2005.2008. The ratification of this selection by the Audit Committee is not required under the laws of the State of Delaware, where the Company iswe are incorporated, but the results of this vote will be considered by the Audit Committee in selecting the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm. Deloitte & Touche LLP has served as the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm since 1984. It is expected that a member of Deloitte & Touche LLP will be present at the meeting with the opportunity to make a statement if so desired and will be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

TheOur Board of Directors recommends a vote “FOR” the ratification of the selection by the Audit Committee of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm.

Additional InformationPrincipal Accountant Fees and Services

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees

The following table summarizes the fees Deloitte & Touche LLP, the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and their affiliates (“Deloitte & Touche”) billed to us for each of the Company for audit and other services in 2004 and 2003, respectively.last two years. The Audit Committee of the Company’sour Board of Directors believes that the non-audit services described below did not compromise Deloitte & Touche’s independence.

 

Fee Category


  2004

  2003

Audit Fees(1)

  $462,000  $450,000

Audit-Related Fees(2)

   47,000   32,000

Tax Fees(3)

   154,000   134,000
   

  

Total Fees

  $663,000  $616,000
   

  


Fee Category

  2007  2006

Audit Fees(1)

  $1,382,000  $642,000

Audit-Related Fees(2)

   —     8,000

Tax Fees(3)

   178,000   240,000

All Other Fees(4)

   2,000   2,000
        

Total Fees

  $1,562,000  $892,000
        

(1)Audit fees consist of fees for the audit of our financial statements, the audit of internal control over financial reporting (2007 only), the review of the interim financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other professional services provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements. Fees for 2007 included $652,000 related to Deloitte & Touche’s initial audit of internal control over financial reporting.

 

(2)Audit-related fees consist of fees for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit and the review of our financial statements and which are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services relate to employee benefit audits and advisory services connected with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

(3)Tax fees consist of fees for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning services. Tax compliance services, which relate to preparation of original and amended tax returns, and claims for refunds and tax payment-planning services, accounted for $74,000$120,000 of the total tax fees billed in 20042007 and $63,000$108,000 of the total tax fees billed in 2003.2006. Tax advice and tax planning services relate to assistance with tax audits, employee benefit plans, and multi-state tax consulting.

 

(4)All Other Fees consist of a fee for an accounting and audit-related subscription.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

TheOur Audit Committee has adopted policies and procedures relating to the approval of all audit and non-audit services that are to be performed by the Company’sour independent registered public accounting firm. This policy generally provides that the Companywe will not engage its independent auditor to render audit or non-audit services unless the service is specifically approved in advance by theour Audit Committee or the engagement is entered into pursuant to one of the pre-approval procedures described below.

 

1824


From time to time, theour Audit Committee may pre-approve specified types of services that are expected to be provided to the Companyus by itsour independent registered public accounting firm during the next twelve months. Any such pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or type of services to be provided and is also generally subject to a maximum dollar amount.

TheOur Audit Committee may also delegate to each individual member of the Audit Committee the authority to approve any audit or non-audit services to be provided to the Companyus by itsour independent registered public accounting firm. Any approval of services by a member of theour Audit Committee pursuant to this delegated authority is reported on at the next meeting of theour Audit Committee.

Audit Committee Report

Our Audit Committee has reviewed our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, and discussed them with our management and our registered public accounting firm.

Report of the Audit Committee

The Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors is composed of three members and acts under a revised written charter adopted and approved in March 2004. In accordancehas also discussed with its written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the quality and integrity of the accounting, auditing, and financial reporting practices of the Company and other such duties as directed by the Board. Each member of the Audit Committee is free of any relationship that, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with his or her individual exercise of independent judgment, and meets the director independence requirements for serving on audit committees as set forth in the Audit Committee Charter and in the corporate governance standards of the NASDAQ National Stock Market.

During fiscal year 2004, the Audit Committee discussed the interim financial information contained in each quarterly earnings announcement with the Chief Financial Officer and the independentour registered public accounting firm prior to public release.

In discharging its oversight responsibility as to the audit process, the Audit Committee obtained from the independentvarious communications that our registered public accounting firm a formal written disclosure describing all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and the Company that might bear on the registered public accounting firm’s independence and the letteris required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1, “Independence Discussions with Audit Committees,” discussed with the registered public accounting firm any relationships that may impact their objectivity and independence, and satisfied itself as to the registered public accounting firm’s independence. The Audit Committee also discussed with management and the independent registered public accounting firm the quality and adequacy of the Company’s internal controls. The Audit Committee reviewed with the independent registered public accounting firm their audit plans, audit scope, and identification of audit risks. The Audit Committee also considered whether the independent registered public accounting firm’s provision of certain other, non-audit related services to the Company, which are referred to in this Proxy Statement under the heading “Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm,” is compatible with maintaining such registered public accounting firm’s independence.

Management representedprovide to the Audit Committee, thatincluding the Company’s financial statements had been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

The Audit Committee discussed and reviewed with the independent registered public accounting firm all matters required to be discussed by the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended “Communication(AICPA,Professional Standards, Vol. 1, AU section 380), as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T.

SAS 61, as amended, requires our registered public accounting firm to discuss with our Audit Committees” includingCommittee, among other things, the following:

 

methods to account for significant unusual transactions;

 

the effect of significant accounting policies in controversial or emerging areas for which there is a lack of authoritative guidance or consensus;

 

the process used by management in formulating particularly sensitive accounting estimates and the basis for the registered public accounting firms’firm’s conclusions regarding the reasonableness of those estimates; and

 

19


disagreements with management over the application of accounting principles, the basis for management’s accounting estimates, and the disclosures in the financial statements.

TheOur Audit Committee with and without management present, discussed and reviewedhas received the results of the independent registered public accounting firm’s examination of the financial statements.

The Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2004 with managementwritten disclosures and the independent registered public accounting firm. Management is responsible for the preparation of the Company’s financial statements and the independentletter from our registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an independent audit ofrequired by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions with Audit Committees), as adopted by the Company’s financial statementsPublic Company Accounting Oversight Board in accordanceRule 3600T, and has discussed with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and issuing a report on the financial statements. As appropriate, the Audit Committee reviews and evaluates and discusses with the Company’s management, internal accounting, financial, and auditing personnel, and the independentour registered public accounting firm the following:

the plan for, and the independent registered public accounting firms’ report on, each audit of the Company’s financial statements;

the Company’s financial disclosure documents, includingtheir independence. Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 requires auditors annually to disclose in writing all financial statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or sent to shareholders;

changesrelationships that in the Company’s accounting practices, principles, controls, or methodologies;

significant developments or changesauditor’s professional opinion may reasonably be thought to bear on independence, confirm their perceived independence, and engage in accounting and disclosure rules applicable to the Company; and

the adequacya discussion of the Company’s internal controls and accounting, financial, and auditing personnel.

independence.

Based on the above-mentioned review and discussions with management and the independent registered public accounting firm and its review of the representations and information provided by management and the independent registered public accounting firm,referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to theour Board of Directors that the Company’sour audited financial statements be included in itsour Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, for filing with2007.

By the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Audit Committee also recommended the reappointment, subject to shareholder approval, of the independent registered public accounting firm and the Board concurred in such recommendation.

of Directors of PC Connection:

Joseph Baute, Chairman

Bruce Barone

Peter BaxterDonald Weatherson

 

25


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Matters to be Considered at the Annual Meeting

TheOur Board of Directors does not know of any other matters which may come before the Annual Meeting. However, if any other matters are properly presented to the Annual Meeting, it is the intention of persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote, or otherwise act, in accordance with their judgment on such matters.

Householding of Annual Meeting Materials

Some banks, brokers, and other nominee record holders may be participating in the practice of “householding” proxy statements and annual reports. This means that only one copy of the Company’s proxy statement or annual report may have been sent to multiple stockholders in your household. The CompanyWe will promptly deliver a separate copy of either document to you if you write or call us at the following address or

20


phone number: PC Connection, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 730 Milford Road, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054 (603-683-2000). If you wish to receive separate copies of the annual report and proxy statement in the future, or if you are receiving multiple copies and would like to receive only one copy for your household, you should contact your bank, broker, or other nominee record holder, or you may contact the Companyus at the above address and phone number.

A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 20042007, as filed with the SEC, except for exhibits, will be furnished without charge to any stockholder upon written request to PC Connection, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 730 Milford Road, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054 (603-683-2000)(603-683-2322).

Solicitation of Proxies

All costs of solicitations of proxies will be borne by the Company.us. In addition to solicitations by mail, the Company’sour directors, officers, and regular employees, without additional remuneration, may solicit proxies by telephone, telegraph, and personal interviews. The CompanyWe will also request brokers, custodians, and fiduciaries to forward proxy soliciting material to the owners of stock held in their names, and the Companywe will reimburse them for their out-of-pocket expenses in this regard.

Deadline for Submission of Stockholder Proposals

Proposals of stockholders intended to be presented at the 20062009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must be received by the Companyus at itsour principal office in Merrimack, New Hampshire not later than January 11, 2006,December 29, 2008, for inclusion in the proxy statement for that meeting.

If a stockholder of theour Company who holds less than 40% of the shares of our capital stock of the Company issued and outstanding and entitled to vote wishes to present a proposal before the 20062009 Annual Meeting but has not complied with the requirements for inclusion of such proposal in the Company’sour proxy materials pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, such stockholder must give timely notice of such proposal to theour Secretary of the Company at theour principal offices of the Company.offices. The required notice must be delivered to or mailed and received at theour principal executive offices of the Company not later than April 10, 2006March 22, 2009 nor earlier than March 11, 2006.February 20, 2009. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company provideswe provide less than 70 days’days notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the meeting is given or made to stockholders, notice by the stockholder or stockholders to be timely must be delivered or mailed to the Secretary not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the date on which the notice of the meeting was mailed or public disclosure was made, whichever occurs first.

The advance notice provisions of the Company’s bylaws supercede the notice requirements contained in the recent amendments to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

LOGOPatricia Gallup

Steven MarkiewiczChairman of the Board and

Chief Executive Officer

April 10, 2008

 

May 2, 200526


THEOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS HOPES THAT STOCKHOLDERS WILL ATTEND THE MEETING. WHETHER OR NOT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND, YOU ARE URGED TO COMPLETE, DATE, SIGN, AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED PROXY IN THE ACCOMPANYING ENVELOPE. PROMPT RESPONSE WILL GREATLY FACILITATE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MEETING, AND YOUR COOPERATION WILL BE APPRECIATED.

 

2127


APPENDIXAppendix A

PC CONNECTION, INC.Connection, Inc.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE CHARTEREXECUTIVE BONUS PLAN

 

A.I.Purpose of the Plan

The purpose of the Compensation Committee isPC Connection, Inc. (the “Company”) has established this Executive Bonus Plan (the “Plan”) as an incentive program pursuant to assist the Board of Directors in the discharge of its responsibilities relatingwhich annual performance-based bonuses may be awarded to compensation of the Company’s CEO and itseligible executive officers.

 

B.II.Structure and MembershipEligible Participants in the Plan

1.    Number.    The Compensation Committee shall consist of at least three membersEach of the Board of Directors.

2.    Independence.    Except as otherwise permitted byCompany’s named executive officers, within the applicable NASDAQ rules, each membermeaning of the Compensation Committee shall be an “independent director” as defined by the applicable NASDAQ rules.

3.    Chair.    Unless the Board of Directors elects a Chairrules and regulations of the Compensation Committee,Securities and Exchange Commission, is eligible to participate in this Plan. In addition, other executive officers may be determined from time to time to be eligible to participate in the Compensation Committee shall elect a Chair by majority vote.

4.    Compensation.    The compensation of Compensation Committee members shall be as determined by the Board of Directors.

5.    Selection and Removal.    Members of the Compensation Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Chairman. The Board of Directors may remove members of the Compensation Committee from such committee, with or without cause.Plan.

 

C.III.Authority and ResponsibilitiesAdministration of the Plan

 

General

3.1The Plan has been adopted by the Company’s Board of Directors, (the “Board”), effective January 1, 2008. The Compensation Committee of the Board (the “Committee”) shall, through its Subcommittee consisting solely of outside directors within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, administer the Plan and shall periodically review it and make determinations with respect to the application of specific performance measures in the determination of incentive compensation. Consolidated net income, however, shall always be one of the performance measures under the Plan. All references in this document to actions by the Committee shall be appropriately supported as necessary by corresponding actions taken by the Subcommittee.

 

The Compensation Committee shall discharge its responsibilities, and shall assess the information provided by the Company’s management, in accordance with its business judgment.

3.2Each fiscal year that the Plan is in effect is referred to as a “Plan Year.” Within 90 days after the beginning of each Plan Year, the Compensation Committee will establish specific performance measures for the payment of bonus awards for that Plan Year. For each Plan Year, the performance measures will include the attainment of a certain minimum level of consolidated net income and may also be based on one or more of the following additional quantifiable performance measures selected by the Committee: consolidated SG&A expenses; earnings per share; operating income; gross revenue; profit margins; stock price targets or stock price maintenance; working capital; free cash flow, cash flow; return on equity; return on capital or return on invested capital; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA); and strategic business criteria, consisting of one or more objectives based on meeting specified revenue, market penetration, geographic business expansion goals, cost targets, or objective goals relating to acquisitions or divestitures. The precise annual amounts and bonus allocation percentages with respect to each performance measure will also be established by the Committee.

 

Compensation Matters

1.    Executive Officer Compensation.    The Compensation Committee, or a majority of the independent directors serving on the Board of Directors, shall review and approve, or recommend for approval by the Board of Directors, the compensation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (the “CEO”) and, together with the recommendations of the CEO, the Company’s other executive officers, including salary, bonus, and incentive compensation levels; deferred compensation; executive perquisites; equity compensation (including awards to induce employment); severance arrangements; change-in-control benefits and other forms of executive officer compensation. The Compensation Committee or the independent directors, as the case may be, shall meet without the presence of executive officers when approving or deliberating on CEO compensation but may, in its or their discretion, invite the CEO to be present during the approval of, or deliberations with respect to, other executive officer compensation.

2.    Evaluation of Senior Executives.    The Compensation Committee shall be responsible for overseeing the evaluation of the Company’s senior executives. In conjunction with the Audit Committee in the case of the evaluation of the senior financial management, the Compensation Committee shall determine the nature and frequency of the evaluation and the persons subject to the evaluation, supervise the conduct of the evaluation and prepare assessments of the performance of the Company’s senior executives, to be discussed periodically with the Board of Directors.

A-1


3.    Plan Recommendations and Approvals.    The Compensation Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board of Directors with respect to incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to approval by the Board of Directors. In addition, in the case of any tax-qualified, non-discriminatory employee benefit plans (and any parallel nonqualified plans) for which stockholder approval is not sought and pursuant to which options or stock may be acquired by officers, directors, employees, or consultants of the Company, the Compensation Committee, or a majority of the independent directors serving on the Board of Directors, shall approve such plans. The Compensation Committee may delegate authority to the CEO to grant options under such equity-based plans consistent with this Charter.

4.    Administration of Plans.    The Compensation Committee shall exercise all rights, authority and functions of the Board of Directors under all of the Company’s stock option, stock incentive, employee stock purchase, and other equity-based plans, including without limitation, the authority to interpret the terms thereof, to grant options thereunder and to make stock awards thereunder; provided, however, that, except as otherwise expressly authorized to do so by this charter or a plan or resolution of the Board of Directors, the Compensation Committee shall not be authorized to amend any such plan. To the extent permitted by applicable law and the provisions of a given equity-based plan, and consistent with the requirements of applicable law and such equity-based plan, the Compensation Committee may delegate to one or more executive officers of the Company the power to grant options or other stock awards pursuant to such equity-based plan to employees of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company who are not directors or executive officers of the Company. The Compensation Committee, or a majority of the independent directors serving on the Board of Directors, shall approve any inducement awards granted in reliance on the exemption from shareholder approval contained in NASDAQ Rule 4350(i)(1)(A)(iv).

5.    Director Compensation.    The Compensation Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board of Directors with respect to director compensation.

6.    Management Succession.    The Compensation Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board of Directors relating to management succession planning, including policies and principles for CEO selection and performance review, as well as policies regarding succession in the event of an emergency or the retirement of the CEO.

7.    Compensation Committee Report on Executive Compensation.    The Compensation Committee shall prepare for inclusion where necessary in a proxy or information statement of the Company relating to an annual meeting of security holders at which directors are to be elected (or special meeting or written consents in lieu of such meeting), the report described in Item 402(k) of Regulation S-K.

8.    Compensation Committee Report on Repricing of Options/SARs.    If during the last fiscal year of the Company (while the Company was a reporting company pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Exchange Act”)) any adjustment or amendment was made to the exercise price of any stock option or stock appreciation right previously awarded to a “named executive officer” (as such term is defined from time to time in Item 402(a)(3) of Regulation S-K), the Compensation Committee shall furnish the report required by Item 402(i) of Regulation S-K.

9.    Additional Powers.    The Compensation Committee shall have such other duties as may be delegated from time to time by the Board of Directors.

3.3Performance measures are generally based on the Company’s operating forecasts. However, the Committee may determine, in its sole discretion, that significant unusual or extraordinary items should or should not be included in determining whether the performance measures have been met.

 

D.IV.ProceduresCalculation and AdministrationPayment of Bonus Awards

 

4.1Bonuses are calculated as a percentage of the participating executive’s annual base salary. Base-level bonuses are set as follows:

1.    Meetings.    The Compensation Committee shall meet as often as it deems necessary in order to perform its responsibilities, but not less than once each year. The Compensation Committee may also act by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting. The Compensation Committee shall keep such records of its meetings as it shall deem appropriate.

•    Chief Executive Officer

100% of base salary

•    Executive Vice President

100% of base salary

•    Senior Vice President

50% of base salary


4.2Actual bonus payouts may be higher or lower than the base-level amounts, depending on the degree to which the individual performance measures are met or exceeded. Each performance measure is subject to a multiplier table which determines the extent to which that portion of the bonus is paid out. Awards relating to net income can range from 50% to 170% of the corresponding base bonus; however, no awards are granted for net income below 90% of target. Awards relating to other performance measures established by the Committee are subject to the multiplier percentages selected by the Committee. The maximum bonus award payable to a participating executive for any Plan Year is 170% of that executive’s annual base salary and in no event will exceed $1 million.

4.3At the end of each Plan Year, the Committee shall, in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer, determine the amount, if any, to be paid to each participating executive based on the extent that the performance measures for that Plan Year were achieved and shall authorize payment by the Company, in cash or other consideration or combination thereof, to such participating executive;provided that the Committee may use negative discretion to decrease (but not increase) the amount of any bonus award otherwise payable to any participating executive under the Plan.

4.4Bonus awards shall be paid only to individuals who continue in the Company’s employ through the bonus payment date, unless otherwise approved by the Committee (which may be in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer);provided that no bonus (whether prorated or full) will be paid unless all of the applicable requirements set forth in this Plan are met, including without limitation that the Committee determines that all of the performance measures for the applicable Plan Year have been met and authorizes the payment of bonus awards.

4.5Any payment to which an executive becomes entitled under the Plan shall be subject to the Company’s collection of all applicable federal and state income and employment withholding taxes.

4.6

Any bonus awards determined under the Plan will be paid to participating executives in cash or other consideration within 2 1/2 months following the end of the applicable Plan Year.

V.General Provisions

5.1The Plan is effective as of January 1, 2008, and the initial bonuses will be established based on performance measures relating to the Company’s 2008 fiscal year. The Plan is subject to stockholder approval. Once approved, the Board may at any time amend, suspend, or terminate the Plan, provided such action is effected by written resolution; however, amendments to the Plan requiring stockholder approval under the Internal Revenue Code or SEC regulations require stockholder approval.

5.2No bonuses awarded under the Plan shall actually be funded, set aside or otherwise segregated prior to payment. The obligation to pay the bonuses awarded hereunder shall at all times be an unfunded and unsecured obligation of the Company. Plan participants shall have the status of general creditors and shall look solely to the general assets of the Company for the payment of their bonus awards.

5.3No Plan participant shall have the right to alienate, pledge or encumber his/her interest in any bonus award to which he/she may become entitled under the Plan, and such interest shall not (to the extent permitted by law) be subject in any way to the claims of the employee’s creditors or to attachment, execution or other process of law.

5.4Neither the action of the Company in establishing the Plan, nor any action taken under the Plan by the Committee, nor any provision of the Plan shall be construed so as to grant any person the right to remain in the employ of the Company for any period of specific duration. Rather, each employee of the Company will be employed “at-will,” which means that either such employee or the Company may terminate the employment relationship of that individual at any time for any reason, with or without cause.

5.5The laws of the State of Delaware (other than its choice of law provisions) govern this Plan and its interpretation.

 

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2.    Subcommittees.    The Compensation Committee may form and delegate authority to one or more subcommittees as it deems appropriate from time to time under the circumstances (including (a) a subcommittee consisting of a single member and (b) a subcommittee consisting of at least two members, each of whom qualifies as a “non-employee director,” as such term is defined from time to time in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, and an “outside director,” as such term is defined from time to time in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder).



¡

PC CONNECTION, INC.

 

3.    Reports to Board.    The Compensation Committee shall report regularly to the Board of Directors.

4.    Charter.    The Compensation Committee shall periodically review and reassess the adequacy of this Charter and recommend any proposed changes to the Board of Directors for approval.

5.    Consulting Arrangements.    The Compensation Committee shall have the authority to retain and terminate any compensation consultant to be used to assist in the evaluation of executive officer compensation and shall have authority to approve the consultant’s fees and other retention terms. The Compensation Committee shall also have authority to commission compensation surveys or studies as the need arises. The Compensation Committee is empowered, without further action by the Board of Directors, to cause the Company to pay the compensation of such consultants as established by the Compensation Committee.

6.    Independent Advisors.    The Compensation Committee shall have the authority, without further action by the Board of Directors, to engage such independent legal, accounting, and other advisors as it deems necessary or appropriate to carry out its responsibilities. Such independent advisors may be the regular advisors to the Company. The Compensation Committee is empowered, without further action by the Board of Directors, to cause the Company to pay the compensation of such advisors as established by the Compensation Committee.

7.    Investigations.    The Compensation Committee shall have the authority to conduct or authorize investigations into any matters within the scope of its responsibilities as it shall deem appropriate, including the authority to request any officer, employee, or advisor of the Company to meet with the Compensation Committee or any advisors engaged by the Compensation Committee.

PC Connection, Inc. Compensation Committee Charter adopted April 22, 2005.

Attest:/s/    Steven Markiewicz            

    Steven Markiewicz, Secretary

A-3


APPENDIX B

PC CONNECTION, INC.

1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN, AS AMENDED

November 21, 1997

Amended on May 16, 2002, April 28, 2003, and April 22, 2005

The purpose of this Plan is to provide eligible employees of PC Connection, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries with opportunities to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, $.01 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), commencing on January 1, 1999. Three Hundred Thirty-Seven Thousand Five Hundred (337,500) shares of Common Stock in the aggregate have been reserved for this purpose.

1.    Administration.    The Plan will be administered by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) or by the Compensation Committee appointed by the Board (the “Committee”). The Board or the Committee has authority to make rules and regulations for the administration of the Plan, to determine any brokerage and other fees to be paid or subsidized by the Company, and to determine the number of shares in each Offering; its interpretation and decisions with regard thereto shall be final and conclusive.

2.    Eligibility.    Participation in the Plan will neither be permitted nor denied contrary to the requirements of Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and regulations promulgated thereunder. All employees of the Company, including Directors who are employees, and all employees of any subsidiary of the Company (as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code) designated by the Board or the Committee from time to time (a “Designated Subsidiary”), are eligible to participate in any one or more of the offerings of Options (as defined in Section 9) to purchase Common Stock under the Plan provided that:

(a) they are customarily employed by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for more than 20 hours a week and for more than five months in a calendar year; and

(b) they have been employed by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary for at least six months prior to enrolling in the Plan; and

(c) they are employees of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary on the first day of the applicable Plan Period (as defined below).

No employee may be granted an option hereunder if such employee, immediately after the option is granted, owns 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of the stock of the Company or any subsidiary. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the Code shall apply in determining the stock ownership of an employee, and all stock which the employee has a contractual right to purchase shall be treated as stock owned by the employee.

3.    Offerings.    The Company will make one or more offerings (each, an “Offering”) to employees to purchase shares of Common Stock under this Plan. Offerings will begin each January 1 and July 1, or the first business day thereafter (the “Offering Commencement Dates”). Each Offering Commencement Date will begin a six-month or one-year period (a “Plan Period”) during which payroll deductions will be made and held for the purchase of Common Stock at the end of the Plan Period.

4.    Participation.    An employee eligible on the Offering Commencement Date of any Offering may participate in such Offering by completing and forwarding a payroll deduction authorization form to the employee’s appropriate payroll office, or in any other manner determined to be appropriate by the Board or the Committee (“Appropriate Authorization”), at least ten (10) days prior to the applicable Offering Commencement Date. The Appropriate Authorization will authorize a regular payroll deduction from the Compensation received by the employee during the Plan Period. Unless an employee notifies the Company of a new Appropriate

B-1


Authorization or withdraws from the Plan, his deductions and purchases will continue at the same rate for future Offerings under the Plan as long as the Plan remains in effect. The term “Compensation” means the amount of money reportable on the employee’s Federal Income Tax Withholding Statement, excluding allowances and reimbursements for expenses such as relocation allowances, travel expenses, income or gains on the exercise of Company stock options or stock appreciation rights, whether or not shown on the employee’s Federal Income Tax Withholding Statement, but including, in the case of salespersons, sales commissions.

5.    Deductions.    The Company will maintain payroll deduction accounts for all participating employees. With respect to any Offering made under this Plan, an employee may authorize a payroll deduction in any dollar amount up to a maximum of 10% of the Compensation he receives during the Plan Period. In no event may an employee’s total payroll deductions during a calendar year exceed $20,000. The minimum payroll deduction is such percentage of Compensation as may be established from time to time by the Board or the Committee.

No employee may be granted an Option (as defined in Section 9) which permits his rights to purchase Common Stock under this Plan and any other employee stock purchase plan (as defined in Section 423(b) of the Code) of the Company and its subsidiaries, to accrue at a rate which exceeds $25,000 of the fair market value of such Common Stock (determined as of the last business day of the Plan Period) for each calendar year in which the Option is outstanding at any time.

6.    Deduction Changes.    An employee may increase, decrease or discontinue his or her payroll deduction once during any Plan Period, by effecting a new Appropriate Authorization. If an employee elects to discontinue his or her payroll deductions during a Plan Period, but does not elect to withdraw his or her funds pursuant to Section 8 hereof, funds deducted prior to his or her election to discontinue will be applied to the purchase of Common Stock on the Exercise Date (as defined below).

7.    Interest.    Interest will not be paid on any employee accounts.

8.    Withdrawal of Funds.    An employee may at any time prior to the close of business on the last business day in a Plan Period and for any reason permanently draw out the balance accumulated in the employee’s account and thereby withdraw from participation in an Offering. Partial withdrawals are not permitted. Any employee who withdraws from participation in an Offering shall not be permitted to participate in the Plan again until the start of the next Plan Period.

9.    Purchase of Shares.    On the Offering Commencement Date of each Plan Period, the Company will grant to each eligible employee who is then a participant in the Plan an option (“Option”) to purchase on the last business day of such Plan Period (the “Exercise Date”), at the Option Price hereinafter provided for, the largest number of whole shares of Common Stock of the Company as does not exceed the number of shares determined by dividing $12,500 (in the case of a six-month Plan Period) or $25,000 (in the case of a one-year Plan Period) by the closing price (as defined below) on the Offering Commencement Date of such Plan Period.

The purchase price for each share purchased will be 85% of the closing price of the Common Stock on (i) the first business day of such Plan Period or (ii) the Exercise Date, whichever closing price shall be less. Such closing price shall be (a) the closing price on any national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed, (b) the closing price of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq National Market or (c) the average of the closing bid and asked prices in the over-the-counter-market, whichever is applicable, as published in The Wall Street Journal. If no sales of Common Stock were made on such a day, the price of the Common Stock for purposes of clauses (a) and (b) above shall be the reported price for the next preceding day on which sales were made.

Each employee who continues to be a participant in the Plan on the Exercise Date shall be deemed to have exercised his or her Option at the Option Price on such date and shall be deemed to have purchased from the Company the number of full shares of Common Stock reserved for the purpose of the Plan that his or her accumulated payroll deductions on such date will pay for, but not in excess of the maximum number determined in the manner set forth above.

B-2


Any balance remaining in an employee’s payroll deduction account at the end of a Plan Period will be automatically refunded to the employee, except that any balance which is less than the purchase price of one share of Common Stock will be carried forward into the employee’s payroll deduction account for the following Offering, unless the employee elects not to participate in the following Offering under the Plan, in which case the balance in the employee’s account shall be refunded.

10.    Issuance of Certificates.    Certificates representing shares of Common Stock purchased under the Plan may be issued only in the name of the employee, in the name of the employee and another person of legal age as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, or (in the Company’s sole discretion) in the name of a brokerage firm, bank, or other nominee holder designated by the employee. The Company may, in its sole discretion and in compliance with applicable laws, authorize the use of book entry registration of shares in lieu of issuing stock certificates.

11.    Rights on Retirement, Death or Termination of Employment.    In the event of a participating employee’s termination of employment prior to the last business day of a Plan Period, no payroll deduction shall be taken from any pay due and owing to an employee and the balance in the employee’s account shall be paid to the employee or, in the event of the employee’s death, (a) to a beneficiary previously designated in a revocable notice signed by the employee (with any spousal consent required under state law) or (b) in the absence of such a designated beneficiary, to the executor or administrator of the employee’s estate or (c) if no such executor or administrator has been appointed to the knowledge of the Company, to such other person(s) as the Company may, in its discretion, designate.

12.    Optionees Not Stockholders.    Neither the granting of an Option to an employee nor the deductions from his or her pay shall constitute such employee a stockholder of the shares of Common Stock covered by an Option under this Plan until such shares have been purchased by and issued to him or her.

13.    Rights Not Transferable.    Rights under this Plan are not transferable by a participating employee other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and are exercisable during the employee’s lifetime only by the employee.

14.    Application of Funds.    All funds received or held by the Company under this Plan may be combined with other corporate funds and may be used for any corporate purpose.

15.    Adjustment in Case of Changes Affecting Common Stock.    In the event of a subdivision of outstanding shares of Common Stock, or the payment of a dividend in Common Stock, the number of shares reserved for issuance under this Plan, the number of shares issuable in any Offering, and the share limitation set forth in Section 9, shall be increased proportionately, and such other adjustment shall be made as may be deemed equitable by the Board or the Committee. In the event of any other change affecting the Common Stock, such adjustment shall be made as may be deemed equitable by the Board or the Committee to give proper effect to such event.

16.    Merger.    In the event of a proposed sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or a merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation (other than a merger in which the Company is the surviving corporation and the holders of the capital stock of the Company immediately prior to such merger continue to hold at least 50% by voting power of the capital stock of the Company) or the proposed dissolution or liquidation of the Company during a Plan Period, the Board or the Committee shall set a new Exercise Date (the “New Exercise Date”) for such Plan Period, and such Plan Period shall end on the New Exercise Date. The New Exercise Date shall be before the date of such asset sale, merger, consolidation, dissolution, or liquidation. The Board or the Committee shall send written notice to each employee participating in the Offering for such Plan Period, at least ten business days prior to the New Exercise Date, that the Exercise Date for such Offering has been changed to the New Exercise Date and that the employee’s Option shall be exercised automatically on the New Exercise Date, unless prior to such date the employee has withdrawn from such Offering as provided in Section 8 hereof.

B-3


16A.    Holding Period.    Beginning on July 1, 2002 and each Plan Period thereafter, no employee participating in the Plan may sell or in any way transfer (other than by testamentary or intestate disposition) shares acquired under the Plan for a period of one year following the Exercise Date of a Plan Period.

17.    Amendment of the Plan.    The Board may at any time, and from time to time, amend this Plan in any respect, except that (a) if the approval of any such amendment by the shareholders of the Company is required by Section 423 of the Code, such amendment shall not be effected without such approval, and (b) in no event may any amendment be made which would cause the Plan to fail to comply with Section 423 of the Code.

18.    Insufficient Shares.    In the event that the total number of shares of Common Stock specified in elections to be purchased under any Offering plus the number of shares purchased under previous Offerings under this Plan exceeds the maximum number of shares issuable under this Plan, the Board or the Committee will allot the shares then available on a pro rata basis. Any balance remaining in an employee’s payroll deduction account at the end of a Plan Period due to an insufficiency of shares will be refunded to the employee without interest.

19.    Termination of the Plan.    This Plan may be terminated at any time by the Board. Upon termination of this Plan all amounts in the accounts of participating employees shall be promptly refunded.

20.    Governmental Regulations.    The Company’s obligation to sell and deliver Common Stock under this Plan is subject to listing on a national stock exchange or quotation on the Nasdaq National Market and the approval of all governmental authorities required in connection with the authorization, issuance or sale of such stock.

21.    Governing Law.    The Plan shall be governed by New Hampshire law except to the extent that such law is preempted by federal law.

22.    Issuance of Shares.    Shares may be issued upon exercise of an Option from authorized but unissued Common Stock, from shares held in the treasury of the Company, or from any other proper source.

23.    Notification upon Sale of Shares.    Each employee agrees, by entering the Plan, to promptly give the Company notice of any disposition of shares purchased under the Plan where such disposition occurs within two years after the date of grant of the Option pursuant to which such shares were purchased.

24.    Effective Date and Approval of Shareholders.    The Plan shall take effect on January 1, 1999, but is subject to approval by the stockholders of the Company as required by Section 423 of the Code, which approval must occur within twelve months of the adoption of the Plan by the Board.

Adopted by the Board of Directors

on November 21, 1997

Approved by the stockholders on

February 17, 1998

B-4


Amendment No. 1 to

PC Connection, Inc.

1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The last sentence of the first paragraph is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is inserted

in lieu thereof:

“Five Hundred Thirty-Seven Thousand Five Hundred (537,500) shares of Common Stock in the

aggregate have been reserved for this purpose.”

Amendment Adopted by the Board of Directors on May 16, 2002

Amendment Approved by the stockholders on June 18, 2002

B-5


Amendment No. 2 to

PC Connection, Inc.

1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The last sentence of the first paragraph is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is inserted

in lieu thereof:

“Six Hundred Thirty-Seven Thousand Five Hundred (637,500) shares of Common Stock in the

aggregate have been reserved for this purpose.”

Amendment Adopted by the Board of Directors on April 28, 2003

Amendment Approved by the stockholders on June 3, 2003

B-6


Amendment No. 3 to

PC Connection, Inc.

1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The last sentence of the first paragraph is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is inserted

in lieu thereof:

“Eight Hundred Thirty-Seven Thousand Five Hundred (837,500) shares of Common Stock in the

aggregate have been reserved for this purpose.”

Amendment Adopted by the Board of Directors on April 22, 2005

B-7


PC CONNECTION, INC.

ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

To be held on June 9, 2005May 21, 2008

 

THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY

 

The undersigned, revoking all prior proxies, hereby appoints Patricia Gallup and David Hall, each of them, with full power of substitution, as Proxies to represent and vote as designated hereon all shares of stock of PC Connection, Inc. (the “Company”) which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if personally present at the 20052008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company to be held on Thursday, June 9, 2005Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza, 2 Somerset Parkway, Nashua, New Hampshire, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, or any adjournment thereof, with respect to the matters set forth on the reverse side hereof.

 

PLEASE FILL IN, DATE, SIGN, AND MAIL THIS PROXY

IN THE ENCLOSED RETURN ENVELOPE.

 

CONTINUED AND TO BE SIGNED ON REVERSE SIDE


DETACH HERE

xPlease mark votes as in this example.

 

IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR¡

14475

¡


ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OF

PC CONNECTION, INC.

May 21, 2008

Please date, sign, and mail

your proxy card in the

envelope provided as soon

as possible.

ê Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided.ê

¡

20633000000000001000     2052108
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF ALL DIRECTOR NOMINEES.DIRECTORS AND “FOR” PROPOSALS NO.2 AND NO.3. PLEASE SIGN, DATE, AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN HEREx

 

1.To elect the following six directors for the ensuing year:

1. To elect the following six directors for the ensuing year:

2.       To approve the Executive Bonus Plan.

FOR

 

Nominees:¨

AGAINST

¨

ABSTAIN

¨

NOMINEES:

3.       To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for the current year ending
December 31, 2008.

¨

¨

¨

¨FOR ALL NOMINEES

O  Patricia Gallup

O  David Hall

O  Bruce Barone

O  Joseph Baute

O  David Beffa-Negrini and

O  Donald Weatherson.Weatherson

 

¨

WITHHOLD AUTHORITY

FOR ALL NOMINEES

¨

FOR ALL EXCEPT

(See instructions below)

¨ For


 ¨ Withheld
For all nominees except as noted above    

2.To approve an amendment to the Company’s 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended, to increase the number of shares of Common Stock authorized for issuance from 637,500 shares to 837,500 shares.

¨ For¨ Against¨ Abstain

3.To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for the current year.

¨ For¨ Against¨ Abstain

MARK HERE FOR ADDRESS CHANGE AND NOTE AT LEFT¨

MARK HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING¨

In their discretion, the Proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED “FOR” THE ELECTION OF ALL DIRECTOR NOMINEES AND “FOR” PROPOSALS NO.2. AND NO.3.

INSTRUCTIONS:  To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark“FOR ALL EXCEPT” and fill in the circle next to each nominee you wish to withhold, as shown here:l

 

MARK HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING¨

To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above. Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method.¨

Signature of Stockholder 

Date: Signature of Stockholder Date: 

¡

Note:

Please sign exactly as your name appears hereon. If the stock is registered in theor names of two or more persons,appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as an executor, administrator, attorney, trustee, guardian, or attorney,guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by anduly authorized officer.officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in full partnership name by an authorized person.

 

Signature:

¡


Date:

Signature:


Date: