Microsoft proposes election of new board members

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. on Monday released its annual proxy statement and announced two nominations to its board of directors. The nominees are Penny S. Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Capital and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International. Both are accomplished leaders and will bring significant global experience to Microsoft. They will be presented for election at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Nov. 29, 2017.

"Penny and Arne are both strong leaders with impressive accomplishments and contributions that span business and public service," said John Thompson, independent Microsoft board chairman. "They will serve as valuable additions to the board."

Pritzker, 58, is the founder and chairman of PSP Capital and its affiliate, Pritzker Realty Group. From June 2013 through January 2017, she served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. She is an entrepreneur, civic leader and philanthropist and has nearly 30 years of experience as a business executive across numerous industries, building dozens of successful companies. Pritzker is a member of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, and a co-chair of the Cyber Readiness Institute. She and her husband, Dr. Bryan Traubert, co-founded the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation that works to foster increased economic opportunity for Chicago's families.

Sorenson, 58, has served as president and chief executive officer of Marriott International since 2012 and was elected to Marriott's board of directors in 2011. In addition, he is the chairman of Marriott's Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and co-founded Marriott's Global Sustainability Council in 2007. In Sorenson's career at Marriott International, he has also served as chief operating officer, executive vice president, and chief financial officer and president of continental European lodging. Sorenson serves on the board of Brand USA. He is a member of the Luther College Board of Regents and is a member of the board of trustees for The Brookings Institution.

Other board members include John W. Thompson, Microsoft independent chairman; William H. Gates, Microsoft founder and technology advisor; Reid Hoffman, partner at Greylock Partners; Hugh Johnston, vice chairman and chief financial officer of PepsiCo; Teri L. List-Stoll, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Gap Inc.; Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft; Charles H. Noski, former vice chairman of Bank of America Corp.; Dr. Helmut Panke, former chairman of the board of management at BMW AG; Sandra E. Peterson, group worldwide chair for Johnson & Johnson; Charles W. Scharf, chief executive officer of The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.; John W. Stanton, chairman of Trilogy Equity Partners; and Padmasree Warrior, CEO and chief development officer of NIO USA Inc.  

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.