Minimum Stock Ownership for Officers. The Board believes that, in order to align the interests of the Company’s senior management and its shareholders, officers should have a significant financial stake in the Company. In furtherance of this policy, the Board believes that, within four years of attaining a title listed below, such officers of the Company shall hold Company stock (excluding stock options) worth at least the specified amount set forth below:
| CEO |  |
6X base salary |
| Direct Reports to the CEO | |
3X base salary |
| SVP (not reporting to the CEO) | |
2X base salary |
| VP | |
1X base salary |
In order to facilitate the determination of the value of Company stock held at any time and reduce the possibility that unusual swings in Company stock prices will inadvertently impact compliance with this policy, the Company will utilize an assumed per share value based upon the average of the closing price of the Company’s common stock for each of the previous four (4) fiscal quarters. In addition, for purposes of clarity, (A) officer base salary means the actual base salary at the time of calculation and (B) compliance with stock ownership requirements will be determined using local currency for the base salary and converting the average closing price of the Company’s common stock into local currency, if applicable. The Board will evaluate whether exceptions should be made in the case of any officer who, due to his or her unique financial circumstances, would incur a hardship by complying with this requirement.