UNITED STATES


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


WASHINGTON, DC 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 (Amendment No. )___)

 

Filed by the Registrant x

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ¨

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¨Preliminary Proxy Statement

¨Confidential, For Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

xDefinitive Proxy Statement

¨Definitive Additional Materials

¨Soliciting Material Pursuant to Section 240.14a-12

Commission File No. 0-20572

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

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

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

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¨Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
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Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

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¨Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the form or schedule and the date of its filing.
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LOGO

(PATTERSON LOGO)

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.


1031 MENDOTA HEIGHTS ROADMENDOTA HEIGHTS ROAD


ST. PAUL, MINNESOTAST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 55120

August 5, 20144, 2017

Dear Shareholder:

You are cordially invited to attend the annual meeting of shareholders of Patterson Companies, Inc. to be held at the Patterson Technology Center, 1201 Althoff Drive, Effingham, Illinois 62401,1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, on Monday, September 8, 2014,18, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. local time.

At the meeting you will be asked (1) to vote for the election of fiveeight directors, to approve our 2014 Sharesave Plan,(2) to vote upon an advisory proposal concerning our executive compensation program, (3) to vote upon an advisory proposal concerning the frequency of shareholder votes on our executive compensation program, and (4) to ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 25, 2015.28, 2018. I encourage you to vote for the nominees for director, for the above-referenced plan, for advisory approval of our executive compensation program, for advisory approval of shareholder votes on executive compensation every year, and for ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP.

Whether or not you are able to attend the meeting in person, I urge you to signit is important that your shares be represented and datevoted at the enclosedmeeting. After reading this proxy statement, please promptly vote and return it promptly insubmit your proxy. You may vote through the enclosed envelope, or follow theInternet, by telephone or Internet voting instructions that appear on the enclosedby requesting, signing and returning a proxy card. Your vote is important.

Very truly yours,

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.

-s- James W. Wiltz

James W. Wiltz

Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Director

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.
1031 MENDOTA HEIGHTS ROAD
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 55120

LOGO

Scott P. Anderson

President, Chief Executive Officer and

Chairman of the Board


PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.

1031 MENDOTA HEIGHTS ROAD

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 55120

NOTICE

OF

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS


TO BE HELD

SEPTEMBER 8, 201418, 2017


 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the annual meeting of shareholders of Patterson Companies, Inc., a Minnesota corporation, will be held at the Patterson Technology Center, 1201 Althoff Drive, Effingham, Illinois 62401,1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, on Monday, September 8, 2014,18, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. central time, or any adjournment or postponement thereof, for the following purposes, as more fully described in the accompanying proxy statement:

1.To elect fiveeight directors to have terms expiring in 2015,2018, and until their successors shall be elected and duly qualified;

2.To approve our 2014 Sharesave Plan;

3.To consider and vote upon an advisory proposal concerning our executive compensation program;

3.To consider and vote upon an advisory proposal concerning whether shareholder votes on our executive compensation program should be held every one, two or three years;
4.To ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 25, 2015;28, 2018; and

5.To consider such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

Only shareholders of record at the close of business on July 11, 201421, 2017 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting. In an effort to facilitate the voting process for substantially all of our shareholders, we are using the Securities and Exchange Commission rules that allow proxy materials to be furnished to shareholders over the Internet. You can vote by proxy over the Internet by following the instructions provided in the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials that was mailed to you on or about August 4, 2017, or, if you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you can also vote by mail or by telephone. Whether or not you expectplan to attend the meeting, your vote is important and your promptness in person, please mark, datevoting by proxy will assist in its expeditious and signorderly processing and will assure that you are represented at the enclosed proxy exactly as your name appears thereon and promptly return it in the envelope provided, which requires no postage if mailed in the United States, or follow the telephone or Internet voting instructions that appear on the enclosed proxy card.meeting. Proxies may be revoked at any time before they are exercised and, if you attend the meeting in person, you may withdraw your proxy and vote personally on any matter brought properly before the meeting.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

-s- Les B. Korsh

Les B. Korsh

LOGO

Jonelle R. Burnham

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

St. Paul, Minnesota

August 5, 2014

4, 2017

Important Notice Regarding the Internet Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting to be Held on September 8, 201418, 2017

In accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we are furnishing our proxy materials on the Internet. “Proxy materials” means this proxy statement, our 20142017 Annual Report and any amendments or updates to these documents. Our proxy materials are available on the Internet to the general public at https:http://materials.proxyvote.com/703395.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Page
Page

INFORMATION CONCERNING SOLICITATION AND VOTING

1

PROPOSAL NO. 1 ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

56

Nominees for Election as Director for Terms Expiring at the Annual Meeting in 2015

67

Directors Whose Terms Expire at the Annual Meeting in 2015

7

Vote Required

78

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES

89

Overview

89

Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

89

Lead Director Role of Chairman

910

Committee Overview

911

Committee Responsibilities

1012

Our Audit Committee and Its Report

1012

Our Compensation Committee and Its Report

1214

Our Governance and Nominating Committee and Its Procedures for Nominations

1416

Our Finance and Corporate Development Committee

17
Our Search Committee18
Communications with Board Members

1518

Board Member Attendance at Annual Meetings

1618

NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

1719

Compensation of Directors

1720

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

1922

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

2124

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

2125

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

2125

Executive Summary

25
Compensation Philosophy, Practices and Components27
Determining Executive Compensation34
Other Related Considerations35
Summary Compensation Table

2836

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

2938

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

3040

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

3141

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in ControlChange-in-Control

3242

Compensation Policies and Practices as They Relate to Risk Management

3344

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

3344

PROPOSAL NO. 2 APPROVAL OF 2014 SHARESAVE PLAN

34

Description of the Plan

34

Tax Consequences

35

New Plan Benefits

36

Vote Required

36

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

3645

PROPOSAL NO. 2 ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

46
Introduction46
Vote Required46
PROPOSAL NO. 3 ADVISORY VOTE ON FREQUENCY OF SHAREHOLDER VOTES ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

3747

Introduction

3747

Vote Required

3747

PROPOSAL NO. 4 RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

3848

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

3848

Recommendation

3949

ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS

3949

HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS

3949

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR THE 20152018 ANNUAL MEETING

3950

OTHER MATTERS

40

ANNEX A—PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC. 2014 SHARESAVE PLAN

A-150

 

i


PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.
1031 MENDOTA HEIGHTS ROADMENDOTA HEIGHTS ROAD


ST. PAUL, MINNESOTAST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 55120

 


PROXY STATEMENT

FOR

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TO BE HELD

SEPTEMBER 8, 201418, 2017

 


 

INFORMATION CONCERNING SOLICITATION AND VOTING

This proxy statement is furnished by the Board of Directors of Patterson Companies, Inc. and contains information relating to the annual meeting of shareholders to be held on Monday, September 8, 2014,18, 2017, beginning at 4:30 p.m. central time, at 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120.

In accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Patterson Technology Center, 1201 Althoff Drive, Effingham, Illinois 62401. ThisSecurities and Exchange Commission, we have elected to provide substantially all of our shareholders access to our proxy statement and accompanying proxy card are being distributedmaterials over the Internet, instead of mailing printed copies of those materials to each shareholder. Accordingly, a Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials will be mailed on or about August 5, 2014.4, 2017 to shareholders who owned our common stock at the close of business on July 21, 2017. Shareholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on a website referred to in the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials or request that a printed set of the proxy materials be sent to them by following the instructions therein.

The Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials will also provide instructions on how you can elect to receive future proxy materials electronically or in printed form by mail. If you choose to receive future proxy materials electronically, you will receive an email next year with instructions containing a link to the proxy materials and a link to the proxy voting site. Your election to receive proxy materials electronically or in printed form by mail will remain in effect until you terminate such election.

Choosing to receive future proxy materials electronically will allow us to provide you with the information you need in a timely manner, will save us the cost of printing and mailing documents to you and will conserve natural resources.

Why did I receive a notice in the mail regarding the Internet availability of the proxy materials this year instead of a paper copy of the proxy materials?

The Securities and Exchange Commission rules allow companies to furnish their proxy materials over the Internet. As a result, we are mailing to most of our shareholders a Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials instead of a paper copy of the proxy materials. All shareholders receiving the notice will have the ability to access the proxy materials over the Internet and request to receive a paper copy of the proxy materials by mail. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet or to request a paper copy may be found on the notice. In addition, the notice contains instructions on how shareholders may request to receive proxy materials in printed form by mail or electronically by e-mail on an ongoing basis.

How can I access the proxy materials over the Internet?

The Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials, proxy card or voting instruction card provided by your broker, trustee or nominee, will contain instructions on how to view our proxy materials for the annual meeting of shareholders on the Internet and how to instruct us to send our future proxy materials to you electronically by e-mail.

How may I obtain a paper copy of the proxy materials?

Shareholders receiving a Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials will find instructions about how to obtain a paper copy of the proxy materials on their notice.

What is the purpose of the annual meeting?

At our annual meeting, shareholders will vote on the following items of business:

1.The election of fiveeight directors to have terms expiring in 2015,2018, and until their successors shall be elected and duly qualified;

2.Approval of our 2014 Sharesave Plan;

3.Advisory approval of our executive compensation program;
Advisory approval concerning whether shareholder votes on executive compensation should be held every one, two or three years; and

4.Ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 25, 2015.28, 2018.

Shareholders will also vote on such other matters as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

What are the Board’s recommendations?

Our Board of Directors recommends that you vote:

FOR election of each of the nominees for director (see Proposal No. 1);

FOR approval of our 2014 Sharesave Plan (see Proposal No. 2);

FOR advisory approval of our executive compensation program (see Proposal No. 2);

1 YEAR on advisory approval of the frequency of shareholder votes on our executive compensation program (see Proposal No. 3); and

FOR ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 25, 201528, 2018 (see Proposal No. 4).

With respect to any other matter that properly comes before the meeting, the proxy holders will vote as recommended by our Board of Directors or, if no recommendation is given, in their own discretion.

What shares are entitled to vote?

As of July 11, 2014,21, 2017, the record date for the meeting, we had 103,341,63295,775,922 shares of common stock outstanding and approximately 2,1141,831 shareholders of record. Each share of our common stock outstanding on the record date is entitled to one vote on each item being voted on at the meeting. You can vote all the shares that you owned on the record date. These shares include (1) shares held directly in your name as the shareholder of record, and (2) shares held for you as the beneficial owner through a broker, bank or other nominee. Shareholders do not have the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors.

Shares are counted as present at the annual meeting if either the shareholder is present and votes in person at the annual meeting, or has properly submitted a proxy by Internet, by telephone, or by mail.

Does the way in whichHow do I vote?

Whether you hold my shares affect how I submit my vote?

Yes. Most shareholders hold their shares through a broker or other nominee rather than directly in their own name. As summarized below, there are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially.

Shareholder of Record.    If your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, you are considered, with respect to those shares,as the shareholder of record and weor through a broker, trustee or other nominee as the beneficial owner, you may direct how your shares are sending these proxy materials directly to you. Asvoted without attending the shareholder of record, you have the right to grant your voting proxy directly to the named proxy holders orannual meeting. There are three ways to vote in person atby proxy:

By Internet - Shareholders who receive a Notice Regarding the meeting. We have enclosedAvailability of Proxy Materials may submit proxies over the Internet by following the instructions on the notice. Shareholders who receive a paper copy of a proxy card for you to use.

Beneficial Owner.    If your shares are held in a brokerage account or voting instruction card provided by another nominee, you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by yourtheir broker, trustee or nominee together with aby mail may submit proxies over the Internet by following the instructions on the proxy card or voting instruction card. As

By Telephone - Shareholders of record may submit proxies by telephone by following the beneficial owner, youinstructions set forth on the website listed on the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials or the proxy card. You will need to have the right to directcontrol number that appears on your broker, trusteeNotice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials or nominee howproxy card available when voting by telephone.

By Mail - Shareholders who request and receive a paper copy of the proxy card or the voting instruction card by mail may submit proxies by completing, signing and dating their proxy card or voting instruction card and mailing it in the accompanying pre-addressed envelope.

How do I vote my Patterson Companies, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust (“ESOP”) or Patterson Dental Canada, Inc. Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (“DPSP”) shares?

If you participate in the ESOP or the DPSP, follow the directions on your proxy card to vote shares held for you in your ESOP or DPSP account, and are also invited to attendsuch shares will be voted in accordance with your instructions. If you do not provide instructions on or before Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Company dba Principal Trust Company, the annual meeting.

Since a beneficial owner is nottrustee of the shareholder of record, you may notESOP, will vote theseyour ESOP shares in person at the meeting unlesssame proportion as all shares held under the ESOP for which timely instructions are received. If you obtain a “legal proxy” fromdo not provide instructions on or before Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Standard Life Trust Company, the broker, trustee or nominee that holds your shares, giving youof the right to vote the shares at the meeting. Your broker, trustee or nominee has enclosed or provided voting instructions for you to use in directing the broker, trustee or nominee how toDPSP, will vote your shares.DPSP shares in the same proportion as all shares held under the DPSP for which timely instructions are received.

Who can attend the annual meeting?

All shareholders as of the record date, or their duly appointed proxies, may attend the meeting. Shareholders of record should bring a form of photo identification so their share ownership can be verified. If you are not a shareholder of record but hold shares through a broker or nominee (i.e., in street name), you should provide proof of beneficial ownership on the record date, such as your most recent account statement prior to July 11, 2014,21, 2017, a copy of the voting instruction card provided by your broker, trustee or nominee, or other similar evidence of ownership. Registration and seating will begin at 4:15 p.m. central time. Cameras, recording devices and other similar electronic devices will not be permitted at the meeting.

How can I vote my shares in person at the annual meeting?

Shares held in your name as the shareholder of record may be voted in person at the meeting. Shares held beneficially in street name may be voted in person only if you obtain a legal proxy from the broker, trustee or nominee that holds your shares giving you the right to vote the shares. Even if you plan to attend the meeting, we recommend that you also submit your proxy or voting instructions as described below so that your vote will be counted if you later decide not to attend the meeting.

How can I vote my shares without attending the annual meeting?

Whether you hold shares directly as the shareholder of record or beneficially in street name, you may direct how your shares are voted without attending the meeting. If you are a shareholder of record, you may vote by submitting a proxy. If you hold shares beneficially in street name, you may vote by submitting voting instructions to your broker, trustee or nominee. For directions on how to vote, please refer to the instructions included on your proxy card or, for shares held beneficially in street name, the voting instruction card provided by your broker, trustee or nominee.

Can I change my vote or revoke my proxy after I returnsubmit my proxy card?vote?

Yes. Even after you have submitted your proxy,voted, you may change your vote or revoke your proxy at any time before the votes are cast at the meeting by (1) delivering a written notice of your revocation to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive office, (2) executing and delivering a later dated proxy, or (3) appearing in person at the meeting, filing a written notice of revocation with our Corporate Secretary and voting in person the

shares to which the proxy relates. Any written notice or later dated proxy should be delivered to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attention: Jonelle R. Burnham,Les B. Korsh, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, or hand-delivered to Ms. BurnhamMr. Korsh before the vote at the meeting.

What constitutes a quorum?

The presence at the meeting, in person or by proxy, of the holders of at least a majority of the shares of our common stock outstanding as of the record date will constitute a quorum. There must be a quorum for any action to be taken at the meeting (other than an adjournment or postponement of the meeting). If you submit a properly executed proxy card, even if you abstain from voting, then your shares will be counted for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. Because brokers cannot vote shares on their customers’ behalf on “non-routine” proposals, such as Proposal Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in this proxy statement, without receiving voting instructions from a customer, if a broker does not receive voting instructions from its customer with respect to a non-routine proposal and is precluded from voting on that proposal, then a “broker non-vote” occurs. If a broker indicates onreturns a proxy that it lacks discretionaryindicating a lack of authority as to certain shares to vote on a particular matter, commonly referred to as “broker non-votes,” thosenon-routine proposals, the shares represented by the proxy will still be counteddeemed present at the meeting for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum, atbut not present for purposes of calculating the meeting.vote on such proposals.

What vote is required to approve each item?

Proposal No. 11..    Assuming the presence of a quorum, election as a director requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the meeting. For additional information, please see “How does the director resignation policy work?” below.

Proposal Nos. 2 3 and 44.. Assuming the presence of a quorum, the affirmative vote of the greater of (i)(1) a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on the item at the meeting and (ii)(2) a majority of the minimum number of shares entitled to vote that would constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the meeting, will be required for approval of each of these proposals. Abstentions

Proposal No. 3. The frequency receiving the greatest number of votes (every one, two or three years) will be considered shares entitledthe frequency selected by the shareholders.

What is the effect of an abstention or broker non-vote on each proposal?

With respect to vote in the tabulationelection of votes castdirectors, the advisory proposal on executive compensation, and will have the same effect as negativeproposal to ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP:

If you abstain from voting on a nominee or a proposal, your shares will be considered present at the annual meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and for purposes of calculating the shares present and entitled to vote on the nominee or the proposal and, accordingly, will have the same effect as a vote against the nominee or proposal.
If you do not vote (or a broker non-vote occurs) on a nominee or a proposal, your shares will not be deemed present for the purposes of calculating the vote on that nominee or proposal and will generally have no impact on determining whether the nominee is elected or the proposal is approved.

With regard to the advisory proposal on the frequency of shareholder votes on each of these proposals.executive compensation:

If you abstain or do not vote (or a broker non-vote occurs) on this proposal, the abstention or failure to vote will not have any impact on the outcome of this proposal.

If you hold your shares beneficially in street name and do not provide your broker or nominee with voting instructions, your shares may constitute “broker non-votes.” Generally, broker non-votes occur on a matter when a broker is not permitted to vote on that matter without instructions from the beneficial owners and instructions are not given. Broker non-votes are counted towards a quorum, but are not counted for any purpose in determining whether a proposal has been approved.

What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?

If you receive more than one proxy card, it means that you hold shares registered in more than one name or brokerage account. You should sign and return each proxy card that you receive in order to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

How can I vote on each of the proposals?

With respect to the first proposal, you may voteFOR the nominees, or your vote may beWITHHELD with respect to one or more nominees. With respect to each of the second, third and fourth proposals, you may voteFORorAGAINST the proposal,nominees, or you may indicate that you wish toABSTAIN from voting on the nominees. With respect to each of the second and fourth proposals, you may voteFOR orAGAINSTthe proposal, or you may indicate that you wish toABSTAINfrom voting on the proposal. With respect to the third proposal, you may vote every1 YEAR,2 YEARS,3 YEARS, or you may indicate that you wish toABSTAIN from voting on the proposal.

Each ofIf you vote by proxy, your shares will be voted according toat the annual meeting in the manner you indicate on your directions on the proxy card.proxy. If you sign youra paper proxy card or broker voting instruction card with no further instructions,but do not specify how you want your shares to be voted (and you do not hold your shares through a broker, bank or other financial institution), they will be voted in accordance with(1) FOR the recommendations of our Board of Directors (FORelection of the nominees for director named inbelow under the proxy statement,FOR approvalcaption “Proposal No. 1 – Election of our 2014 Sharesave Plan,Directors;” (2) FOR advisory approval of our executive compensation program, andprogram; (3) 1 YEAR on advisory approval of the frequency of shareholder votes on our executive compensation program; (4) FOR the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors).registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 28, 2018; and (5) in the discretion of the proxies named on the proxy card with respect to all other appropriate matters properly brought before the annual meeting.

How does the director resignation policy work?

Pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, any nominee for director in an uncontested election (i.e., an election where the number of nominees is not greater than the number of directors to be elected) who fails to

receive the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the meeting shall, promptly following certification of the shareholder vote, offer his or her resignation to our Governance and Nominating Committee. The resignation offer shall be in writing and shall be an irrevocable resignation offer pending acceptance or rejection by our Board of Directors following its receipt of the recommendation of our Governance and Nominating Committee. We will promptly disclose to the public each such resignation and decision by our Board.

Who will count the proxy votes?

All votes will be tabulated by Broadridge Financial Services as the inspector of election for the meeting. Such firm will separately tabulate affirmative and negative votes, abstentions and broker non-votes.

How will voting on any other business be conducted?

We do not expect any matters to be presented for a vote at the meeting other than the matters described in this proxy statement. If you grant a proxy, either of the proxy holders, Scott P. AndersonJames W. Wiltz or R. Stephen Armstrong,Ann B. Gugino, or his or her nominee(s) or substitute(s), will have the discretion to vote your shares on any additional matters that are properly presented for a vote at the meeting. If a nominee is not available as a candidate for director, the persons named as proxy holders may vote your proxy for another candidate nominated by our Board of Directors.

Who is paying for this proxy solicitation?

We will pay the expenses incurred in connection with the solicitation of proxies. We are soliciting proxies principally by mail. In addition, our directors, officers and other employees may solicit proxies personally, by telephone, by facsimile or by e-mail, for which they will receive no consideration other than their regular compensation. We will also request brokerage houses, nominees, custodians and fiduciaries to forward soliciting material to the beneficial owners of shares held as of the record date and will reimburse such persons for their reasonable expenses so incurred.

PROPOSAL NO. 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Because we are in the process of phasing-out our classified Board of Directors, it currently remains divided into two classes. As part of this phase-out, John D. Buck, Jody H. Feragen, Sarena S. Lin, Neil A. Schrimsher and Les C. Vinney, directors whose terms expire in 2014,Eight persons have been nominated for election as directors at the annual meeting, all of whom currently serve as directors. Our directors are elected annually, by a majority of the shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to a one-year term expiring in 2015vote at the meeting, to serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until their respective successors are elected and duly qualified. Andre B. Lacy, whose term expires in 2014, has decided not to run for re-election. There are four other directors whose terms of office expire in 2015. Therefore, following our 2014 Annual Meeting and assuming the five nominees are re-elected, our Board will consist of one class, namely nine directors whose terms will expire in 2015. There are no family relationships between any director or officer.

Our Bylaws provide for a Board of Directors consisting of one or more members, and further provide that the shareholders at each annual meeting shall determine the number of directors. The Board recommends that the number of directors be set at eight and it is intended that the proxies accompanying this proxy statement will be voted at the annual meeting to establish a Board consisting of eight members.

It is intended that votes will be cast pursuant to the enclosed proxy for the election of the nominees, except for those proxies that withhold such authority.vote against the nominees or abstain from voting on the nominees. As noted above, shareholders do not have cumulative voting rights with respect to the election of directors, and proxies cannot be voted for a greater number of directors than the number of nominees. If any nominee shall be unable or unwilling to serve as a director, it is intended that the proxy will be voted for the election of such other person as the proxies shall, in their discretion, determine. We have no reason to believe that any nominee will not be a candidate or will be unable to serve.

Set forth below is certain information concerning the nominees for election as director and the four directors whose terms of office do not expire in 2014.election:

NameAgePrincipal OccupationPosition with PattersonDirector Since
John D. Buck67Chief Executive Officer of Whitefish
Ventures, LLC
Chairman of the Board2006
Alex N. Blanco56Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer of Ecolab Inc.Director2017
Jody H. Feragen61Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hormel Foods Corp.Director2011
Sarena S. Lin46President of Cargill Feed and NutritionDirector2014
Ellen A. Rudnick66Senior Advisor on Entrepreneurship, University of Chicago Booth School of BusinessDirector2003
Neil A. Schrimsher53President and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.Director2014
Les C. Vinney68Former President and Chief Executive Officer of STERIS CorporationDirector2008
James W. Wiltz72Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Companies, Inc.Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Director2001

 

Name

  Age   

Principal Occupation

  

Position with Patterson

  Director Since 

Scott P. Anderson

   47    President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Patterson Companies, Inc.  President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman   2010  

John D. Buck

   64    Chief Executive Officer of Whitefish Ventures, LLC  Director   2006  

Jody H. Feragen

   58    Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hormel Foods Corp.  Director   2011  

Sarena S. Lin

   43    Corporate Vice President, Strategy and Business Development of Cargill, Inc.  Director   2014  

Ellen A. Rudnick

   63    Executive Director and Clinical Professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business  Director   2003  

Neil A. Schrimsher

   50    President and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.  Director   2014  

Harold C. Slavkin

   76    Former Professor at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry  Director   2001  

Les C. Vinney

   65    Former President and Chief Executive Officer of STERIS Corporation  Director   2008  

James W. Wiltz

   69    Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Companies, Inc.  Director   2001  

Nominees for Election as Director for Terms Expiring at the Annual Meeting in 2015

John D. Buck, age 64, serves as our non-executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Buck is the principal owner of Whitefish Ventures, LLC, a family investment fund. He has been its Chief Executive Officer since 2000. Mr. Buck was Chief Executive Officer of Medica, the second largesthealthlargest health benefits plan in Minnesota, from February 2002 to May 2003. From 1996 to 2000, he worked for Fingerhut Companies, Inc. with his last assignment as President and Chief Operating Officer, and played an integral role in developing the business services area of the company. Prior to Fingerhut, Mr. Buck was Vice President of Administration at Alliant Techsystems, a leading supplier of aerospace and defense technologies. Prior to that, Mr. Buck spent 21 years at Honeywell, Inc., including a four-year international posting, and most recently serving as Vice President of Administration. Mr. Buck is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medica, serves as a director of ValueVision Media, Inc./Shop HQ, and serves on the Board of Trustees of William Mitchell College of Law.Medica. He has been one of our directors since December 2006. Mr. Buck who was elected to a one-year term in 2013, brings financial, strategic and leadership experience, including health benefit plan experience, to our Board.

Alex N. Blancohas served as Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer for Ecolab Inc., a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources, since January 2013. From 1982 to 2012, Mr. Blanco held senior management positions at Procter & Gamble Co. (“P&G”), with his last position as Vice President Product Supply Global Beauty Sector. In his previous roles, he led the supply chain in other key P&G divisions and also had international assignments, in which Mr. Blanco was based outside of the United States from 1990 to 2004, having spent ten years in South America and four years in Europe, and during which time he had responsibility for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has been a director of YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities since June 2015. He has been one of our directors since April 2017. Mr. Blanco brings extensive supply chain and international experience to our Board.

Jody H. Feragen, age 58, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hormel Foods Corp., a multinational marketer and manufacturer of brand name food and meat products, sincefrom November 2010.2010 to October 2016. Ms. Feragen served as Hormel’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from January 2007 to October 2010 and Hormel’s Vice President (Finance) and Treasurer from October 2005 to December 2006. She also has served on Hormel’s board of directors from 2007 to 2016. Ms. Feragen has served as a director, including a member of the audit and management organization and compensation committees, of Graco Inc., a supplier of technology and expertise for the management of fluids in both industrial and commercial applications, since 2007.September 2015. She has been one of our directors since September 2011. Ms. Feragen who was elected to a two-year term in 2012, brings extensive experience in public company financial management to our Board.

Sarena S. Lin, age 43, has served as President of Cargill Feed and Nutrition, a global animal feed and nutrition provider, since September 2014. Ms. Lin served as Corporate Vice President, Strategy and Business Development of Cargill, Inc., a global agriculture supply chain player and food producer, sincefrom May 2011.2011 to September 2014. From September 1998 to March 2011, Ms. Lin was a Principal at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, where she was Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Taipei office, as well as the co-founder of McKinsey’s Sourcing Center in Shanghai. She has been one of our directors since March 2014. Ms. Lin brings global and strategic management expertise to our Board.

Ellen A. Rudnick has served as Senior Advisor on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business since July 2016. Ms. Rudnick was previously the Executive Director and Clinical Professor of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business since March 1999. She served as Chairman of Pacific Biometrics, a medical diagnostics company which she co-founded, from 1993 to 1999; President of HCIA and CEO of Healthcare Knowledge Resources, both healthcare information service companies, from 1990 to 1992; and in a variety of capacities at Baxter Healthcare from 1975 to 1990, including Corporate Vice President of Baxter Healthcare and President and Founder of Baxter Management Services Division. Ms. Rudnick served as Founder and Chairman of CEO Advisors, a consulting firm established in 1992. Ms. Rudnick serves as director of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc., HMS Holdings Corporation and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. She has been one of our directors since December 2003. Ms. Rudnick brings experience with small businesses (our customer base), the medical products industry, academia and entrepreneurship to our Board.

Neil A. Schrimsher, age 50, has served as Chief Executive Officer of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., one of North America’s largest industrial parts distributors, since October 2011 and was also elected its President in August 2013. From January 2010 to August 2011, Mr. Schrimsher was Executive Vice President of Cooper Industries, a global electrical products manufacturer, where he led multiple businesses in Cooper’s Electrical Products Group and headed numerous domestic and international growth initiatives. Mr. Schrimsher joined Cooper Industries in May 2006 as the President of Cooper Lighting. Mr. Schrimsher’s other experience includes senior leadership positions for Siemens Energy & Automation, part of Siemens AG, the global electronics and electrical engineering company. He began his career at General Electric Company and rose through a succession of positions in GE Lighting. He also has served as a director of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. since DecemberOctober 2011. He has been one of our directors since March 2014. Mr. Schrimsher brings wholesale distribution and executive leadership experience to our Board.

Les C. Vinney, age 65, is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of STERIS Corporation, a leading provider of infection prevention and surgical products and services for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and research markets. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of STERIS Corporation from 2000 to 2007, after which time he served as Senior Advisor to STERIS Corporation until his retirement in 2009. Prior to becoming its President and Chief Executive Officer, he was such company’s Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations. He previously held various senior management positions with Goodrich Corporation (formerly B.F. Goodrich), including Chief FinancialOfficer.Financial Officer. Mr. Vinney also serves as a director of Campbell Soup Company.Company, where he has served as non-executive Chairman of the Board since November 2015. He has been one of our directors since December 2008. Mr. Vinney who was elected to a three-year term in 2011, brings financial, strategic and industry experience, including experience as an executive officer of a healthcare products company, to our Board.

Directors Whose Terms Expire at the Annual Meeting in 2015James W. Wiltz

Scott P. Anderson, age 47, was elected the became our Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Companies, Inc. in April 2010, and became our Chairman in April 2013. Mr. Anderson has worked with Patterson since 1993. Prior to June 2006 when he became President of Patterson Dental Supply, Inc., Patterson’s largestbusiness, Mr. Anderson held senior management positions in the dental unit, including Vice President, Sales, and Vice President, Marketing. Mr. Anderson started his career as a territory sales representative in the dental business before becoming national equipment manager, manager of the San Francisco branch and manager of the Minnesota branch, two of Patterson’s largest dental branch offices. Mr. Anderson became one of our directors in June 2010.2017. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the board of directors of the Dental Trade Alliance, the trade association that represents dental manufacturers, distributors and laboratories. He also has served as a director of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. since January 2012. Mr. Anderson, who was elected to a three-year term in 2012, brings over 20 years of leadership and dental industry experience to our Board.

Ellen A. Rudnick, age 63, has served as Executive Director and Clinical Professor of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business since March 1999. She served as Chairman of Pacific Biometrics, a medical diagnostics company which she co-founded, from 1993 to 1999; President of HCIA and CEO of Healthcare Knowledge Resources, both healthcare information service companies, from 1990 to 1992; and served in a variety of capacities at Baxter Healthcare from 1975 to 1990, including Corporate Vice President of Baxter Healthcare and President and Founder of Baxter Management Services Division. Ms. Rudnick also served as Founder and Chairman of CEO Advisors, a consulting firm established in 1992. Ms. Rudnick also serves as director of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc., HMS Holdings Corporation and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. She has been one of our directors since December 2003. Ms. Rudnick, who was elected to a three-year term in 2012, brings experience with small businesses (our customer base), the medical products industry, academia and entrepreneurship to our Board.

Harold C. Slavkin, age 76, was the Dean of the University of Southern California School of Dentistry from August 2000 until his retirement in December 2008. Dr. Slavkin retired as a member of the faculty of the USC School of Dentistry in June 2014. Dr. Slavkin joined USC after serving as the sixth director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, one of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Slavkin is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of both the American College of Dentistry and the International College of Dentistry, Past-President of the American Association for Dental Research and a member of the International Association for Dental Research. In 1968, Dr. Slavkin joined the faculty of the USC School of Dentistry. He has been one of our directors since December 2001. Dr. Slavkin, who was elected to a three-year term in 2012, brings leadership and dental industry experience, including experience in academia, dental research, government and private dental practice, to our Board.

James W. Wiltz, age 69, served as our President and Chief Executive Officer from May 2005 until his retirement in April 2010. Mr. Wiltz served as our President and Chief Operating Officer from April 2003 through May 2005. He began working with us in September 1969. From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Wiltz served as President of our subsidiary, Patterson Dental Supply, Inc. Since January 2010, Mr. Wiltz has served as a director of HealthEast Care System, a non-profit healthcare provider, and on its financecommittee.audit and finance committees. He has been one of our directors since March 2001. Mr. Wiltz who was elected to a three-year term in 2012, brings over 40 years of leadership, strategic and industry experience working for Patterson to our Board.

Vote Required

Election as a director requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the meeting.Our Board of Directors recommends that you voteFOR the election of the nominees listed above.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES

Overview

Our Board of Directors represents the interests of our shareholders as a whole and is responsible for directing the management of the business and affairs of our company, as provided by Minnesota law. Our Board held sixnine meetings and took action by written consent twicefive times during fiscal year 2014.2017. In addition to meetings of the full Board, directors also attended committee meetings. Each director then in office except Messrs. Frechette and Reich who did not stand for re-election at our 2013 Annual Meeting, attended at least 75% of all of the meetings of the Board and of those committees on which he or she served.

Our Board is comprised of a majority of independent directors as defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Marketplace Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market. As part of our Board’s evaluation of director independence, they considered our company’s ongoing transactions with Cargill Feed and Nutrition, where Sarena S. Lin is employed as President, and Ecolab Inc., where Alex N. Blanco is employed as Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer. Our Board reviewed such transactions and determined that they were entered into and provided in the ordinary course of business and were immaterial to either company’s revenues or operations. Our Board has therefore affirmatively determined the independence under that rulethe applicable Marketplace Rule as to each of our directors who are identified as independent directors in the chart that appears below within the subsection captioned “Committee Overview.” Furthermore, Charles Reich, who as noted above did not stand for re-election at our 2013 Annual Meeting, was an independent director.

The independent members of our Board meet in executive session at each regular meeting of our Board, with no members of management present.

Our company and our Board are members of the National Association of Corporate Directors (“NACD”). Our Board authorizes, recommends and encourages each Board member and our company’s senior management to attend educational courses offered by the NACD or similar accredited educational organization. We reimburse reasonable expenses incurred by our directors and senior management in attending such courses.

Our company has adopted and published Principles of Business Conduct and Code of Ethics. Our Principles of Business Conduct and Code of Ethics satisfy the requirements of Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K and applicable NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. Our Principles of Business Conduct and Code of Ethics are available on our website at www.pattersoncompanies.com or in print upon written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attention: Investor Relations. We intend to disclose any amendment to or waiver from a provision of our Principles of Business Conduct and Code of Ethics that requires disclosure on our website at www.pattersoncompanies.com.

Our company also has adopted and published Corporate Governance Guidelines. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines address various governance topics, including the role of our Board of Directors, the composition of our Board and selection of directors, functioning of our Board and its committees, compensation of directors, and conduct and ethics standards for directors. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines are available on our website at www.pattersoncompanies.com or in print upon written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, MN 55120, Attention: Investor Relations.

Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

Our Board of Directors, which elects its Chairman annually by a majority vote, does not have a fixed policy regarding whether the same person should serve as both the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, and our Board believes that flexibility on this point best serves our company by allowing us to employ a leadership structure that is most appropriate under the circumstances at any given time. Peter L. Frechette retired

Until his resignation as President and Chief Executive Officer effective June 1, 2017, Scott P. Anderson had served as Chairman of the Board effective April 27, 2013,in addition to President and subsequently retired from our Board on September 9, 2013. Effective April 28, 2013, our Board elected our Chief Executive Officer Scott P. Andersonsince April 2013. Upon Mr. Anderson’s resignation, John D. Buck, who had served as the newLead Director since March 2014, was appointed non-executive Chairman of the Board.Board and James W. Wiltz, one of our directors, was named Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. This created aended the unified leadership structure we had formerly utilized with Mr. Anderson executingone individual

acting as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the strategic direction set by our entire Board. We utilizeBoard along with a separate Lead Director to strengthen our corporate governance by counterbalancing any potential conflictDirector. We believe that bifurcating the roles of interest arising from having our Chief Executive Officer serve asand Chairman of the Board. Our Lead Director, who must have at least one full year of Board, service, is elected Lead Director annually by a majority vote and has the responsibilities described below, including chairing our Governance and Nominating Committee. We believe the strength of our independent Lead Director position, as well as the oversight exercised by the independent members of our Board through the work of the committees of our Board discussed below, enables this allocation of responsibilities to provide for strong and dynamic Board leadership.leadership, especially during the period that the Board and the Search Committee are conducting a search for a permanent successor to Mr. Anderson, and effectively allocates authority, responsibility and oversight between management and the independent members of our Board. Our Board has the discretion to separatecombine the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board in the future if it deems it advisable and in the best interest of our company to do so.

The separation of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer positions allows our Chairman to focus on governance of our Board, Board meeting agenda planning, Board committee succession planning, the recruitment of new directors, Board committee responsibilities, and other governance matters as further described below under the caption “Role of Non-Executive Chairman,” and our Chief Executive Officer to focus his attention on our business and execution of our company’s strategy. The Chairman also has an important role in the performance evaluation of the Chief Executive Officer, which helps the Governance and Nominating Committee evaluate the most effective Board leadership structure for our company. Our Board believes that these and other activities of the Chairman serve to enhance the independent leadership of the Board in order to provide robust oversight and promote overall Board effectiveness. Mr. Buck has an extensive leadership background, is actively engaged as Chairman on Board matters, and works closely with Mr. Wiltz. Mr. Buck frequently interacts with Mr. Wiltz and other members of management to provide his perspective on important issues facing our company and the informational needs of our Board. In addition to the Governance and Nominating Committee, which he chairs, and the Audit Committee and the Search Committee, where he currently serves as a member, Mr. Buck attends the meetings of our Board’s other committees and frequently communicates with the chairs of those committees and with other independent directors both inside and outside of our Board’s normal meeting schedule to discuss Board and company issues as they arise. In addition, our Board has a significant majority (7 of the 8 director nominees are independent directors) and all Board committees are comprised of independent directors.

Our management is primarily responsible for assessing and managing risk, while our Board oversees and reviews certain aspects of our company’s risk management efforts. As part of that oversight, our Board meets regularly to discuss the strategic direction and the issues and opportunities facing our company. Throughout the year, our Board provides guidance to management regarding strategy and critically reviews operating plans that are intended to implement that strategy. Each year, our Board holds an extensive meeting with senior management dedicated to discussing and reviewing operating plans and overall corporate strategy. A discussion of key risks to the plans and strategy as well as risk mitigation plans and activities is conducted during that meeting. The involvement of our Board in setting business strategy is critical to the determination of the types and appropriate levels of risk undertaken by our company. Also, more particularly, and as discussed below, our Audit Committee focuses on oversight of financial risks relating to our company; our Compensation Committee focuses primarily on risks relating to remuneration of officers and other employees; and our Governance and Nominating Committee focuses on reputational and corporate governance risks relating to our company.company; and our Finance and Corporate Development Committee focuses on risks associated with our capital structure, capital budget, capital expenditures, issuance and repurchase of securities, acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate investment and treasury policy.

Lead Director Role of Chairman

The role of our Lead DirectorChairman is designed to provide leadership to our Board and to provide support and advice to our Chief Executive Officer. The role is intended to foster an environment conducive to effective communication by and among our directorsDirectors and management and, if necessary, serve as a leader for our independent directors. Our Lead Director shall not inhibit or be a substitute for direct communications between directors. Our Lead Director shall coordinate the activities of the other independent directors and performsenior management. The Chairman performs such other duties and responsibilities as our Board may determine appropriate, including the following:

Calling meetings of the Board and meetings of our independent Directors;
Presiding over Board meetings, including executive sessions of our independent Directors;
Briefing the Chief Executive Officer on issues and concerns arising in the executive sessions of the Board;

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Being available, when requested and appropriate, for consultation and direct communication with shareholders;
Reviewing and approving all information sent to our Board, including the quality, quantity, appropriateness and timeliness of such information;
Establishing meeting agendas for our Board in consultation with members of senior management;
Reviewing and approving the scheduling of Board meetings, assuring there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items;
Coordinating Board input and review of management’s strategic plan for the Company;
Working with the Governance and Nominating Committee with respect to the recruitment, selection and orientation of new Board members as well as Committee composition;
Overseeing the Compensation Committee’s development of appropriate objectives for the Chief Executive Officer and monitoring performance against those objectives;
Coordinating and chairing the annual Board performance review of the Chief Executive Officer and communicating results to the Chief Executive Officer;
Leading the Board’s review of the succession plan for the Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers;
Coordinating the Board’s self-assessment and evaluation processes;
Attending all Committee meetings ex officio and serving as a member of Governance and Nominating Committee and such other Committees as assigned by the Board; and
Reviewing, on an annual basis and in consultation with our independent Directors, this list of responsibilities and recommending to our Board for approval any modifications or changes.

Presiding at all meetingsCommittee Overview

The current standing committees of our Board at which our Chairman is not present, including executive sessions of our independent directors;

Calling meetings of our independent directors;

Serving as a principal liaison between our Chairman and our independent directors; and

Being available, when requested and appropriate, for consultation and direct communication with shareholders.

Further, if the offices of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer are held by the same person, our Lead Director shall also have the power and authority to do the following:

Review and approve all information sent to our Board, including the quality, quantity, appropriateness and timeliness of such information;

Review and approve meeting agendas for our Board;

Review and approve the scheduling of Board meetings, assuring there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items; and

Review, on an annual basis and in consultation with our independent directors, this list of responsibilities and recommend to our Board for approval any modifications or changes.

Committee Overview

Our Board of Directors has anare the Audit Committee, athe Compensation Committee, and athe Governance and Nominating Committee and the Finance and Corporate Development Committee. Each committee consists solely of members who are independent as defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Marketplace Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market. In addition, each member of our Audit Committee is independent as defined in Exchange Act Rule 10A-3 and each member of our Compensation Committee is a non-employee director and is an outside director under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, respectively.respectively

Each standing committee has a charter, all of which are available on our website at http://investor.pattersoncompanies.com/governance.cfm or in print upon written request to Patterson Companies,

Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attention: Investor Relations. Such committees review and reassess the adequacy of their respective charters and recommend any changes to them at least annually. These charters were last reviewed in June 2014,2017, at which time no revisionscertain administrative changes were made.made to the Governance and Nominating Committee charter and the Finance and Corporate Development Committee charter. Our committees also engage in an annual review of committee performance.

In June 2017, upon the resignation of Scott P. Anderson as President and Chief Executive Officer, the Board formed a Search Committee tasked with identifying and evaluating potential candidates to serve as a permanent President and Chief Executive Officer.

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The following table shows the current membership of our committees and identifies our independent directors:

Name

AuditCompensationGovernance
and
Nominating
Finance and Corporate DevelopmentSearchIndependent Director
John D. Buck (a)X Independent
Director

Scott P. Anderson

X*
 XX

John D. Buck

Alex N. Blanco
XX  X
Jody H. FeragenX* XXXX

Jody H. Feragen

XSarena S. Lin X   X

Andre B. Lacy(a)

Ellen A. Rudnick
 X*XXX*X
Neil A. Schrimsher XXX*XX
Les C. Vinney   X X

Sarena S. Lin

XXJames W. Wiltz (b)   X 

Ellen A. Rudnick

XXScott P. Anderson (c)   X 

Neil A. Schrimsher

XXX

Harold C. Slavkin

XXX

Les C. Vinney

XXX

James W. Wiltz

XX 

 

*

* Denotes committee chairperson.

(a)As non-executive Chairman of the Board, Mr. Buck attends all committee meetings ex officio.
(b)Mr. Lacy doesWiltz, who began serving as our Interim President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2017, is no longer regarded as an independent director.
(c)Mr. Anderson will not intend to stand for re-election at our 2014 Annual Meeting.the 2017 annual meeting of shareholders.

Our standing committees meet throughout the year, with regularly scheduled meetings held adjacent to our Board’s regularly scheduled meetings. Additional meetings by the threestanding committees, either by phone or in person, are called when deemed necessary or desirable. The chairperson of each standing committee, with the advice and consultation of management and the committees’ outside advisors, if any, sets the committees’ annual calendar and the agenda for each meeting. Committee members receive detailed materials related to the topics on the agenda prior to each meeting.

Committee Responsibilities

Our Audit Committee and Its Report

Responsibilities and Composition. Our Audit Committee, chaired by Ms. Feragen, is empowered by our Board of Directors to review our financial books and records in consultation with our accounting and auditing staff and our independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”), and to review with our accounting staff and EY the scope of the audit, the audit plan and any questions raised with respect to accounting and auditing policy and procedure. EY reports directly to the committee, which is responsible for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accountants in regards to audit and attest services for our company. The committee’s charter, which discusses the full responsibilities of the committee, is available on our website at http://investor.pattersoncompanies.com/governance.cfm or in print upon written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attention: Investor Relations.

Our Audit Committee was established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act. As noted above, each member of the committee is an independent director as defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Marketplace Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market and Exchange Act Rule 10A-3. Further, no member of the committee participated in the preparation of the financial statements of our company or any current subsidiary of our company at any time during the past three years.

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Pursuant to our listing agreement with the NASDAQ Stock Market, each member of our Audit Committee is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including our balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement, and at least one member of the committee has past employment experience in finance or

accounting, requisite professional certification in accounting, or other comparable experience or background which results in the individual’s financial sophistication. In addition, our Board of Directors has determined that Jody H. Feragen is an “audit committee financial expert” as such term is defined by Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K.

Audit Committee Report. As noted above, our Audit Committee oversees our financial reporting process on behalf of our Board of Directors. Management has primary responsibility for the consolidated financial statements and the reporting process, including the system of internal control. In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the committee reviewed and discussed the audited consolidated financial statements included in our company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 26, 201429, 2017 with management, including a discussion of the quality, not just the acceptability, of the accounting principles; the reasonableness of significant estimates and judgments; and the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements.

Our Audit Committee meets after each quarter end, but prior to the release of earnings, with management and our independent registered public accounting firm to review the results of the most recently completed fiscal period, and then meets again prior to our filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the related periodic report to review and discuss such disclosures. Our Audit CommitteeThe committee held 1213 meetings during fiscal year 2014.2017.

Our Audit Committee has established procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by our company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. To report such matters, please call 877-888-0040.

EY has been our company’s independent registered public accounting firm since 1985, and the lead audit partner has served in that capacity since 2013.1985. When, in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules and EY policies, the lead audit partner is required to rotate after a maximum of five consecutive years of service in that capacity or due to other circumstances, the process for selection of our company’s lead audit partner pursuant to this rotation policy involves a meeting between the chair of our Audit Committee and the candidate for the role, as well as discussion by the full committee and with management. Our company’s lead audit partner was most recently changed in 2015.

Our Audit Committee reviewed with EY, the independent registered public accounting firm that is responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of those audited consolidated financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles, its judgments as to the quality, not just the acceptability, of our company’s accounting principles and such other matters as are required to be discussed with the committee by Auditing Standard No. 161301 (Communications Withwith Audit Committees), as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T. In addition, the committee has discussed with EY the firm’s independence from management and our company, including the matters in the written disclosures and the letter the committee received from EY as required by Rule 3526 of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence, and considered the compatibility of non-audit services performed by EY during the year on such firm’s independence prior to the commencement of the non-audit services.

Our Audit Committee is committed to ensuring the independence of our company’s independent registered public accountants and directs significant attention toward the appropriateness of the outside auditor to perform services other than the audit. The committee has adopted pre-approval policies and procedures in this regard.

As a matter of policy, the independent registered public accountants will only be engaged for non-audit related work if those services enhance and support the attest function of the audit, are an extension to the audit or audit related services, or relate to tax matters. Annually, the lead audit partner reviews with the committeeAudit Committee the services the outside auditor expects to provide in the coming year, and the related fees. In addition, management provides the committee with a quarterly status for the committee’s approval of any non-audit services that the outside auditor has been asked to provide or may be asked to provide in the next quarter. The committee pre-approves all audit and non-audit services provided by the company’s outside auditor.

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Our Chief Financial Officer is responsible for the implementation of the committee’sAudit Committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures. The committee pre-approved all of the services we received from EY during fiscal year 2014.2017.

The committeeAudit Committee discussed with our company’s internal auditors and EY the overall scope and plans for their respective audits. The committee meets with the internal auditors and EY, with and without management present, to discuss the results of their examinations, their evaluations of our company’s internal controls, and the overall quality of our company’s financial reporting.

In reliance on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the committeeAudit Committee recommended to our Board (and our Board approved) that our audited consolidated financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 26, 2014,29, 2017, for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The committeeAudit Committee and our Board have recommended and seek shareholder ratification of the selection of EY as our company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending April 25, 2015.28, 2018. In making this recommendation, the committee evaluated the independence of EY, their knowledge and experience with our company, the quality of their past work for our company, their industry knowledge, data relating to their audit quality and performance and the level of fees to be charged for the audit services. The committee and our Board believe that the appointment of EY as our company’s independent registered public accounting firm is in the best interests of our shareholders and our company.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Jody H. Feragen, Chairman

/s/ Alex N. Blanco

/s/ John D. Buck

/s/ Sarena S. Lin

/s/ Harold C. Slavkin

The Audit Committee

Our Compensation Committee and Its Report

Responsibilities and Composition. Our Compensation Committee, chaired by Ellen A. Rudnick, is authorized by our Board to establish general levels of compensation for our officers, to set the annual compensation of each of our executive officers, to grant options and make other awards to employees under our Amended and Restated Equity2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan, and to review and approve our compensation and benefit plans. Our Compensation Committee held fourfive meetings during fiscal year 2014.2017.

Our Board has determined that each member of our Compensation Committee is independent of management and our company. Further, as noted above, each member of the committee is an independent director, is a non-employee director, and is an outside director under the applicable rules of NASDAQ, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, respectively.

The committeeCompensation Committee has the dual responsibility of serving the interests of our shareholders and serving as an advisor to management. The committee assists our Board in fulfilling its responsibility to our shareholders so that our executive officers and certain other officers and managers are compensated in accordance with our company’s total compensation objectives and executive compensation policy. Management assists the committee by advising and recommending compensation policies, strategies and pay levels necessary to establish appropriate incentives for management and employees that are aligned with business strategies and goals that the committee believes will drive competitive advantage and deliver sustainable returns to shareholders. The committee does not delegate any of its duties or responsibilities to any subcommittee or other person. The committee’s specific responsibilities are to:include:

Evaluate annually our Chief Executive Officer’s and other executive officers’ compensation levels and payouts;

Evaluate annually our Chief Executive Officer’s and other executive officers’ compensation levels and payouts;
Determine for our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers all components of compensation, including annual base salary, annual incentive opportunity levels, long-term incentive opportunity levels, long-term incentive

opportunity levels, executive perquisites, change in controlchange-in-control provisions or agreements, severance agreements, benefits, supplemental benefits and any special financial compensation programs;

14 

 

Review and recommend to our Board any equity compensation program involving the use of our company’s securities, including stock options and restricted stock;

 

When appropriate, select, retain and terminate independent compensation consultants to advise the committee;

Administer the compensation for our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers and ensure consistency with our company’s executive compensation policy;

Advise and assist our company in defining its total compensation policy;

Review and comment on the compensation program to ensure that it supports our company’s strategic and financial plans;

Review and recommend to our Board for approval new incentive plans that are consistent with the total compensation policy, and monitor the appropriateness of payouts;

Review retirement plans to ensure they are meeting company objectives and are in compliance with relevant regulations;

Review the establishment, amendment and termination of employee benefits plans, including equity plans, and oversee the operation and administration of such plans;

Review our company’s compensation policies for regulatory and tax compliance, including structuring compensation programs to preserve tax deductibility and, as required, establishing performance goals and certifying that performance goals have been attained for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”);

Include a report on executive compensation in our company’s proxy statement as required by Securities and Exchange Commission rules;

Review annually our company’s risk assessment to determine whether compensation policies and practices are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company;

Review and discuss with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K, Item 402, and determine whether to recommend to our Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in our company’s annual proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders;

Annually review its charter and make recommendations for changes to our Board; and

Fulfill such other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned to the committee by our Board or Chairman of the Board.

Review and recommend to our Board any equity compensation program involving the use of our company’s securities, including stock options, restricted stock awards and restricted stock units;
When appropriate, select, retain and terminate independent compensation consultants to advise the committee;
Ensure that the compensation for our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers is consistent with our company’s executive compensation policy;
Advise and assist our company in defining its total compensation policy;
Review and comment on the compensation program to ensure that it supports our company’s strategic and financial plans;
Review and recommend to our Board for approval new incentive plans that are consistent with the total compensation policy, and monitor the appropriateness of payouts;
Review retirement plans to ensure they are meeting company objectives and are in compliance with relevant regulations;
Review the establishment, amendment and termination of employee benefits plans, including equity plans, and oversee the operation and administration of such plans;
Review our company’s compensation policies for regulatory and tax compliance, including structuring compensation programs to preserve tax deductibility and, as required, establishing performance goals and certifying that performance goals have been attained for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”);
Include a report on executive compensation in our company’s proxy statement as required by Securities and Exchange Commission rules;
Review annually our company’s risk assessment to determine whether compensation policies and practices are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company;
Review and discuss with management the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” required by Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K, Item 402, and determine whether to recommend to our Board that the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” be included in our company’s annual proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders; and
Fulfill such other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned to the committee by our Board or Chairman of the Board.

In fulfilling its duties and responsibilities, the committeeCompensation Committee may hire independent consultants, confer with our internal human resource professionals and consult with our Chief Executive Officer and other members of management. In each of the last four fiscal years, 2013 and 2014, the committee engaged Towers Watson (n/k/a Willis Towers Watson), an independent compensation consultant that has no other ties to our company or its management, to review compensation philosophy, competitiveness, pay for performance, and short term and long term incentive compensation design. The committee believes that Willis Towers Watson is independent of our management. Our management has not engaged Willis Towers Watson to provide any other services to our company.

During the committeeCompensation Committee meetings held in fiscal year 2014,2017, certain members of management were present to address specific topics within the scope of their responsibilities. In addition, Messrs.Mr. Anderson, our former Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Gugino, our Chief Financial Officer, and ArmstrongMr. Korsh, our Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, attended several of the meetings to provide certain recommendations to the committee regarding the compensation of other executive officers and to discuss the financial implications of various compensatory awards and benefit programs. Messrs.Mr. Anderson, Ms. Gugino and ArmstrongMr. Korsh were not present during the committee’s discussion and determination of their respective compensation.

15 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation. The members of our Compensation Committee are identified by name in the “Compensation” column of the chart that appears above within the subsection captioned “Committee Overview.” None of the members of the committee was an officer or employee of Patterson Companies, Inc. during fiscal year 20142017 or in any prior year, and none of the members of the committee had any relationship requiring disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K. There were no Compensation Committee interlocks as described in Item 407(e)(4) of Regulation S-K.

Compensation Committee Report. Our Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” that appears herein with management. Based on such review and discussions, the committee recommended to our Board that the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” be included in this proxy statement and, thereby, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 26, 2014.29, 2017.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Ellen A. Rudnick, Chairman

/s/ Andre B. Lacy

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Ellen A. Rudnick, Chairman
/s/ Sarena S. Lin

/s/ Neil A. Schrimsher

/s/ Les C. Vinney

The Compensation Committee

Our Governance and Nominating Committee and Its Procedures for Nominations

Responsibilities and Composition. Our Governance and Nominating Committee, chaired by Andre B. Lacy until March 2014 and since by John D. Buck, as Lead Director, performs the core function of providing the overall protocol for Board operation. It also serves as the nominating committee, making recommendations as to nominees to serve as members of our Board and regarding the composition of the committees of our Board. The committee’s responsibilities include establishing criteria for Board and committee membership, considering rotation of committee members, reviewing candidates’ qualifications and any potential conflicts with our interests, assessing the contributions of current directors in connection with their re-nomination, and making recommendations to the full Board on how to improve the effectiveness of our Board. The committee believes that diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds, skills, experience and expertise is a key attribute for directors. As a result, the committee seeks to have a diverse Board that is representative of our company’s customer, employee and shareholder base. The committee carefully considers diversity when considering nominees for director and periodically reviews its recruitment and selection protocols to ensure that diversity remains a component of each director search.

The committeeOur Governance and Nominating Committee has identified nominees based upon suggestions by non-management directors, executive officers, shareholders and third-party search firms. Our director selection criteria includes: integrity; high level of education; business experience; broad-based business acumen; understanding of our business and industry; strategic thinking and willingness to share ideas; network of contacts; and diversity of experiences, expertise and backgrounds among members. The committee has used these criteria to evaluate potential nominees. The committee does not evaluate proposed nominees differently depending upon who has made the recommendation.

In prior years, the committeeOur Governance and Nominating Committee has from time to time engaged third-party search firms to provide assistance in the identification and evaluation of potential nominees, whose qualifications and independence are then thoroughly evaluated by the committee. The committee has paid fees to third-party search firms for such assistance, including most recently the identification and evaluation of Sarena S. Lin and Neil A. Schrimsher, both of whomAlex N. Blanco, who joined our Board in March 2014.April 2017.

It is the committee’sour Governance and Nominating Committee’s policy to consider director candidates recommended by shareholders who appear to be qualified to serve on our Board. The committee may choose not to consider an unsolicited recommendation if no vacancy exists on our Board and the committee does not perceive a need to increase the size of our Board. The committee will consider only those director candidates recommended in accordance with the procedures set forth below.

16 

Nomination Procedures. To submit a recommendation of a director candidate to our Governance and Nominating Committee, a shareholder must submit the following information in writing, addressed to our Lead Director,Chairman of the Board, care of our Corporate Secretary, at the main office of Patterson Companies, Inc.:

(1)The name of the person recommended as a director candidate;

(2)All information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Exchange Act Regulation 14A;

(3)The written consent of the person being recommended as a director candidate to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected;

(4)As to the shareholder making the recommendation, the name and address, as they appear on the books of Patterson Companies, Inc., of such shareholder; provided, however, that if the shareholder is not a registered holder of common stock, the shareholder must submit his or her name and address along with a current written statement from the record holder of the shares that reflects ownership of our common stock; and

(5)A statement disclosing whether such shareholder is acting with or on behalf of any other person and, if applicable, the identity of such person.

Our Bylaws provide that in order for a person nominated by a shareholder to be eligible for election as a director at any regular or special meeting of shareholders, a written request that his or her name be placed in nomination must be received from a shareholder of record by our Corporate Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the date fixed for the meeting, together with the written consent of such person to serve as a director. A copy of our Bylaws may be obtained by written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attn: Jonelle R. Burnham.Les B. Korsh, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

Minimum Qualifications. In carrying out its responsibility to find the best-qualified persons to serve as directors, our Governance and Nominating Committee will consider appropriate data with respect to each suggested candidate, consisting of business experience, educational background, current directorships, involvement in legal proceedings during the last ten years which are material to the evaluation of the integrity of the candidate, and an indication of the willingness of the candidate to serve as a director.

In addition, prior to nominating an existing director for re-election to our Board, the committeeour Governance and Nominating Committee will consider and review an existing director’s Board and committee attendance and performance; length of Board service; experience, skills and contributions that the existing director brings to our Board; and his or her independence. Pursuant to ourthe Corporate Governance Guidelines we originally adopted during fiscal year 2013, independent directors generally may not stand for election following their attaining the age of 75, or 20 years of service as a director on our company’s Board.

The committeeOur Governance and Nominating Committee is also responsible for overseeing and reviewing our processes for providing information to our Board. The committee completes an annual review of the performance of our Chief Executive Officer. In addition, the committee recommends a succession plan to our Board for our Chief Executive Officer and reviews programs created and maintained by management for the development and succession of other executive officers and other individuals identified by management or the committee. Our Governance and Nominating CommitteeThe committee also sets director compensation. Our Governance and Nominating CommitteeThe committee held four meetings during fiscal year 2014.2017.

Our Finance and Corporate Development Committee

Purpose.The purpose of our Finance and Corporate Development Committee, established in June 2015, is to oversee our company’s capital structure, capital budget and capital expenditures, issuance and repurchase of equity and debt, and acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate investment and treasury policy and their consistency with our company’s overall financial and strategic plans.

17 

Responsibilities and Organization. Our Finance and Corporate Development Committee, chaired by Neil A. Schrimsher, has the following specific responsibilities:

Review and make recommendations to our Board regarding our company’s capital structure and all issuances, sales or repurchases of equity or long-term debt;

Review and recommend to our Board the annual operating plan, including the financing plan (including dividend policy and uses of cash) and the capital budget for each fiscal year, and approve or recommend to our Board, as appropriate, capital expenditures in excess of amounts to be determined by the committee;
Approve or review and recommend to our Board, as appropriate, acquisitions, divestitures, partnerships and combinations of business interests (“principal portfolio transactions”) valued in excess of amounts to be determined by the committee;
Review at least annually the results and effectiveness of significant recent capital expenditures and principal portfolio transactions;
Review our company’s treasury policy as it relates to management of customer credit, commodity risks, exposures relating to insurance and risk management programs, and other financial risks that our Board may delegate to the committee for review; and
Review our company’s principal investment policies, procedures and controls with respect to investments and derivatives, foreign exchange and hedging transactions.

Our Finance and Corporate Development Committee reports to our Board on the principal matters reviewed or approved at each meeting and provides recommendations as to actions to be taken by our Board. The committee has the sole authority to retain and terminate any outside financial or other consultants to assist in carrying out its duties, including the authority to approve consultant fees and other retention terms. The committee has the authority to obtain advice and assistance from internal or external legal, financial or other advisors. In addition, the committee has the authority to delegate any of its responsibilities to subcommittees, as it deems appropriate, subject to the requirements of applicable laws and regulations. The committee held four meetings during fiscal 2017.

Our Search Committee

Our Search Committee was formed upon Mr. Anderson’s resignation as President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2017 in order to begin the process of hiring a permanent President and Chief Executive Officer. This committee’s functions include identifying and evaluating potential candidates, and ultimately advising the Board on its recommendations for hiring a successor President and Chief Executive Officer. This committee, which is chaired by Ellen A. Rudnick, was created subsequent to the end of fiscal 2017 and has retained Spencer Stuart to conduct a search for a permanent President and Chief Executive Officer.

Communications with Board Members

Our Board of Directors has provided the following process for interested persons to send communications to our Board or individual directors. All communications from shareholders should be addressed to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attention: CorporateLes B. Korsh, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

Communications to individual directors may also be made to such director at our company’s address. All communications sent to the chair of our Audit Committee or to any individual director will be received directly by such individuals and will not be screened or reviewed by any company personnel. Any communications sent to our Board in the care of our Corporate Secretary will be reviewed by herhim to ensure that such communications relate to the business of our company or its subsidiaries before being reviewed by our Board.

Board Member Attendance at Annual Meetings

Under our Corporate Governance Guidelines, it is our policy that all directors should be present at the annual meeting of shareholders. We generally hold a Board of Directors meeting coincident with the shareholders’ meeting to minimize director travel obligations and facilitate their attendance at the shareholders’ meeting. All directors then in office attended the 20132016 annual meeting of shareholders.

18 

NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Non-employee directors receive cash compensation and equity-based compensation for their service on our Board of Directors. DuringAfter performing a peer group review and substantive analysis in fiscal year 2014,2016, we altered the compensation structure for our non-employee directors. For fiscal 2017, a 3% increase to the overall compensation for non-employee directors receivedwas approved, with all of such increase to be paid as equity and not as a cash retainer. As such, for fiscal 2017, non-employee director compensation included an overall retainer of $206,000, with $90,000 representing an annual cash retainer and $116,000 issued in the form of $62,000.restricted stock awards vesting one year from date of grant. Committee Member and Committee Chair cash retainers were as follows: $10,000 for each Member of the Audit Committee members received anand $20,000 for the Chair of the Audit Committee; $5,000 for each Member of the Compensation Committee and $15,000 for the Chair of the Compensation Committee; no additional annualcash retainer for each Member of $4,000 duringthe Governance and Nominating Committee but a $10,000 cash retainer for the Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee; and $5,000 for each Member of the Finance and Corporate Development Committee and $15,000 for the Chair of the Finance and Corporate Development Committee. The cash retainer for the former Lead Director was $30,000; however, such retainer was replaced with a $100,000 cash retainer for the non-executive Chairman of the Board in June 2017. In addition, although our Search Committee was created subsequent to the end of fiscal year 2014. During fiscal year 2014, we also paid an additional annual2017, each Member of the Search Committee will receive a fixed cash retainer of $10,000 and the Chair of the Search Committee will receive a fixed cash retainer of $15,000, payable upon conclusion of the search for a successor President and Chief Executive Officer. Non-employee directors may elect to the chairpersonreceive shares of each committeecommon stock in lieu of our Board, and, as of September, increased the annual retainer for our Lead Director to $25,000.their director fees otherwise payable in cash. Directors are also reimbursed for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with their service on our Board.

Non-employee directors also receive stock option awards andThe value of the above-referenced restricted stock awards is reviewed annually. Under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan, such annual restricted stock awards vest in full on the first anniversary of the date of grant. Non-employee directors who have a term expiring not more than 29 days prior to the natural vesting date of their restricted stock award, are deemed to remain in service as a non-employee director until such natural vesting date, but only for purposes of satisfying the vesting restrictions. Otherwise, unvested restricted stock awards are forfeited on the effective date of termination of service as a director.

Prior to fiscal 2016, restricted stock awards granted to non-employee directors under our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan. Upon election to our Board, whether elected by our shareholders or by our Board to fill a vacancy, a non-employee director receives a stock option award for 12,000 shares. Thereafter, on the date of the annual meeting of shareholders, each reelected or continuing non-employee director receives a restricted stock award. However, in general, if a non-employee director has received an initial stock option award within six months of an annual restricted stock award, such initial stock option award is in lieu of that year’s annual restricted stock award. For fiscal year 2014, each such restricted stock award was for a number of shares approximately equal in value to $100,000. The value of such restricted stock awards is reviewed annually. For fiscal year 2015, each reelected or continuing non-employee director will continue to receive a restricted stock award for a number of shares approximately equal in value to $103,000. Initial stock option awards and annual restricted stock awards vestPlan vested to the extent of one-third everyper year, commencing upon the first anniversary of the date of grant. All stock options expire upon the earlier of ten years from the date of award or one year from the date of termination of service as a director. Unvested restricted stock awards granted under such plan are forfeited on the 30th30th day after termination of service as a director.

Because Mr. Anderson served as a director and an employee of our company during fiscal year 2014,2017, information regarding his compensation is set forth within the section captioned “Executive Compensation.” Because Mr. Wiltz did not begin serving as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer until June 2017, information regarding his compensation is set forth below under the caption “Compensation of Directors.”

19 

Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth the compensation of our non-employee directors for fiscal year 2014:2017:

Name

  Fees
Earned

or
Paid in
Cash

($)
   Stock
Awards

($)(c)
   Option
Awards

($)(d)
   Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
   Change in
Pension Value
and
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings

($)
   All Other
Compensation

($)
   Total
($)
 

Fees Earned

or

Paid in Cash

($)

Stock Awards

($)(c)

Option Awards

($)(d)

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation
($)

Change in Pension Value and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings

($)

All Other Compensation

($)

Total

($)

John D. Buck

   79,125     100,006     —       —       —       —       179,131  140,000116,007--256,007
Alex N. Blanco(a)----

Jody H. Feragen

   66,000     100,006     —       —       —       —       166,006  120,000116,007-236,007

Peter L. Frechette(a)

   —       —       —       —       —       —       —    

Andre B. Lacy(b)

   80,125     100,006     —       —       —       —       180,131  

Sarena S. Lin

   7,750     —       —       —       —       —       7,750  100,000116,007-216,007

Charles Reich(a)

   18,833     —       —       —       —       —       18,833  

Ellen A. Rudnick

   69,500     100,006     —       —       —       —       169,506  115,000116,007-231,007

Neil A. Schrimsher

   7,750     —       —       —       —       —       7,750  100,000116,007-216,007

Harold C. Slavkin

   66,000     100,006     —       —       —       —       166,006  

Les C. Vinney

   62,000     100,006     —       —       —       —       162,006  115,000116,007-231,007

James W. Wiltz

   62,000     100,006     —       —       —       —       162,006  
James W. Wiltz(b)90,000116,007-206,007

 

(a)Messrs. Frechette and Reich decidedBecause Mr. Blanco began serving on our board of Directors on the first day of fiscal year 2018, he did not to stand for re-election at our 2013 Annual Meeting.receive compensation during fiscal year 2017.

(b)Having become our Interim President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2017, Mr. Lacy does not intendWiltz currently receives (1) a monthly base salary of $80,000, (2) eligibility to standparticipate in employee benefit plans, subject to plan terms, and (3) eligibility for re-electiona discretionary bonus in cash or equity at our 2014 Annual Meeting.the end of his interim service.

(c)Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of the 2,4842,534 shares of restricted stock awarded to each non-employee director on September 9, 2013,12, 2016, the date of our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. Information on the assumptions used to calculate the value of awards is set forth in Note 1514 to the consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 26, 2014.29, 2017. The aggregate number of unvested shares of restricted stock outstanding at fiscal year-end 2017 held by our non-employee directors was as follows:

The aggregate number of unvested shares of restricted stock outstanding at fiscal year-end 2014 held by those who served as non-employee directors during fiscal year 2014 was as follows:

Name

Name

Number of Shares

of Restricted Stock

John D. Buck

5,4163,374

Alex N. Blanco

-
Jody H. Feragen

4,4343,374

Peter L. Frechette

—  

Andre B. Lacy

5,416

Sarena S. Lin

—  3,374

Charles Reich

—  

Ellen A. Rudnick

5,4163,374

Neil A. Schrimsher

—  3,374

Harold C. Slavkin

5,416

Les C. Vinney

5,4163,374

James W. Wiltz

5,4163,374

Total

36,93023,618


(d)The aggregate number of unexercised stock options outstanding at fiscal year-end 20142017 held by those who served asour non-employee directors during fiscal year 2014 was as follows:

Name

Name

Number of Stock

Options

John D. Buck

7,500-

Alex N. Blanco

-
Jody H. Feragen

12,000   

Peter L. Frechette

Sarena S. Lin
—  9,000 

Andre B. Lacy

31,866

Sarena S. Lin

12,000

Charles Reich

—  

Ellen A. Rudnick

29,000-

Neil A. Schrimsher

12,000  

Harold C. Slavkin

12,384

Les C. Vinney

—  -

James W. Wiltz

—  -

Total

116,75033,000  

21 

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN

BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of July 11, 2014,21, 2017, unless otherwise noted, by (a) each person who is known to us to own beneficially more than 5% of our common stock, (b) each director and nominee for director, (c) each executive officer named in the Summary Compensation Table below, and (d) the current directors and executive officers as a group. The table lists voting securities, including restricted stock held by our directors and executive officers over which they have sole voting power but no investment power. Otherwise, except to the extent noted below, each person identified below has sole voting and investment power over the shares reported. Except as otherwise noted below, we know of no agreements among our shareholders which relate to voting or investment power with respect to our common stock and none of the stated shares has been pledged as security.

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(a) 

Amount and Nature

of Beneficial

Ownership(a)

 

Percent of

Class(b)  

Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Company dba

Principal Trust Company 

 13,202,739(c) 13.8%
The Vanguard Group  7,990,047(d) 8.3%
Parnassus Investments  7,914,917(e) 8.3%
BlackRock, Inc.  6,724,341(f) 7.0%
Scott P. Anderson  107,548(g)(h) *
Paul A. Guggenheim  72,475(g)(h) *
James W. Wiltz  71,300(i) *
John D. Buck  48,735  *
Ellen A. Rudnick  42,235  *
Ann B. Gugino  33,129(g)(h) *
Les C. Vinney  30,561  *
Jody H. Feragen  25,897(j)(k) *
David G. Misiak  24,455(g) *
Sarena S. Lin   19,488(j) *
Neil A. Schrimsher  19,488(j) *
Les B. Korsh  8,786(g) *
John E. Adent  136(g) *
Alex N. Blanco  -  -
All current directors and executive officers as a group
(14 persons)  
 

 

439,952

 

(l)

 

 

*

 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

  Amount and Nature
of Beneficial
Ownership(1)
  Percent of
Class(2)
 

Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Company

   17,147,421(3)   16.6

1013 Centre Road

   

Wilmington, DE 19805

   

The Vanguard Group

  ��5,385,861(4)   5.2

100 Vanguard Blvd.

   

Malvern, PA 19355

   

Janus Capital Management LLC

   5,252,134(5)   5.1

151 Detroit Street

   

Denver, CO 80206

   

R. Stephen Armstrong

   154,577(6)(7)   *  

Scott P. Anderson

   114,473(7)   *  

James W. Wiltz

   133,812(8)   *  

Andre B. Lacy

   128,313(9)(10)   *  

Paul A. Guggenheim

   98,490(7)   *  

George L. Henriques

   50,670(7)   *  

Ellen A. Rudnick

   49,747(10)   *  

John D. Buck

   38,747(10)   *  

Les C. Vinney

   23,073    *  

Harold C. Slavkin

   21,329(10)(11)   *  

Ranell M. Hamm

   20,916(7)   *  

Jody H. Feragen

   18,409(10)   *  

Sarena S. Lin

   0    *  

Neil A. Schrimsher

   0    *  

All directors and executive officers as a group (19 persons)

   972,534(12)   *  
   

* Represents less than 1%.

*Represents less than 1%.

(1)(a)

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and includes voting or investment power with respect to securities. Securities “beneficially owned” by a person may include securities owned by or for, among others, the spouse, children or certain other relatives of such person as well as other securities as to which the person has or shares voting or investment power or has the option or right to acquire within 60 days. The same shares may be beneficially owned by more than one person. Includes shares of common stock held by our Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust (the “ESOP”).ESOP. Shares reported as owned by the ESOP trustee are also reported as beneficially owned by our executive officers to the extent that shares


have been allocated to the ESOP accounts of the named persons. Allocated shares are voted by the ESOP trustee in accordance with the direction of ESOP participants. Generally, unallocated shares and allocated shares as to which no direction is made by the participants are voted by the ESOP trustee in the same percentage as the allocated shares as

to which directions are received by the ESOP trustee. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each shareholder is c/o Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120.

(2)(b)Percentage of beneficial ownership is based on 103,341,63295,775,922 shares outstanding as of July 11, 2014.21, 2017. Shares issuable pursuant to options are deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of the person holding such options but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of any other person.

(3)(c)As set forth in Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Company dba Principal Trust Company as trustee for our ESOP on February 10, 2014,2017, represents shares over which shared voting power and shared dispositive power is claimed. The ESOP is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The reporting person acts as the trustee for our ESOP. The securities reported include all shares held of record by the trustee. The trustee follows the directions of our company, or other parties designated in the trust agreement between our company and the trustee, with respect to voting and disposition of the shares. The trustee, however, is subject to fiduciary duties under ERISA. The trustee disclaims beneficial ownership of the reported shares. As of July 11, 2014,21, 2017, the number of shares reported as beneficially owned included approximately 2,736,9702,189,144 shares held in the unallocated account of the ESOP and approximately 13,810,37510,050,959 shares held in the allocated account of the ESOP. The reporting person’s address is 1013 Centre Road, Suite 300, Wilmington, DE 19805-1265.

(4)(d)As set forth in Schedule 13G13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by The Vanguard Group (“Vanguard”) on February 12, 2014.10, 2017. The Schedule 13G13G/A reports that Vanguard is an investment adviser with sole voting power over 139,034132,120 shares, shared voting power over 17,780 shares, sole dispositive power over 5,264,2277,836,672 shares, and shared dispositive power over 121,634153,375 shares. The Schedule 13G13G/A further reports that Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vanguard, is the beneficial owner of 105,434106,920 shares as a result of its serving as investment manager of collective trust accounts and that Vanguard Investments Australia, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vanguard, is the beneficial owner of 49,80071,655 shares as a result of its serving as investment manager of Australian investment offerings. The reporting person’s address is 100 Vanguard Blvd., Malvern, PA 19355.

(5)(e)As set forth in Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Janus Capital Management LLCParnassus Investments (“Janus”Parnassus”) on January 31, 2014.February 14, 2017. The Schedule 13G13G/A reports that JanusParnassus is an investment adviser with sole voting power and sole dispositive power over the reported shares. The Schedule 13G/A further reports that these securities are beneficially owned by clients of Parnassus, which include registered investment companies. The reporting person’s address is 1 Market Street, Suite 1600, San Francisco, CA 94105.
(f)As set forth in Schedule 13G/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”) on January 25, 2017. The Schedule 13G/A reports that BlackRock is a parent holding company/control person and has a direct 96.74% ownership stake in INTECHfor BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors, LLC, BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Capital Management, BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Managers Ltd., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (“INTECH”) and a direct 99.61% ownership stake in Perkins(Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management, LLC, (“Perkins”). Janus, INTECHBlackRock Japan Co Ltd., BlackRock Life Limited. The Schedule 13G/A reports that BlackRock has sole voting power over 5,895,930 shares and Perkins are registered investment advisers, each furnishing investment advice tosole dispositive power over 6,724,341 shares. The Schedule 13G/A further reports that various registered investment companies and to individual and institutional clients (collectively, the “Managed Portfolios”). As a result of Perkins’ role as an investment adviser or sub-adviser to the Managed Portfolios, Perkins may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 4,782,134 shares held by the Managed Portfolios. However, Perkins does notpersons have the right to receive anyor the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or proceeds from the sale of, the shares held in the Managed Portfolios and disclaims any ownership associated with such rights. As a result of INTECH’s role as an investment adviser or sub-adviser to the Managed Portfolios, INTECH may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 470,000 shares held by the Managed Portfolios. However, INTECH does not have the right to receive any dividends from, or proceeds from the sale of, the shares held in the Managed Portfolios and disclaims any ownership associated with such rights. The Managed Portfolios have the right to receive all dividends from, and the proceeds from the sale of the reported shares, heldbut no one person’s interest in their respective accounts.the reported shares is more than 5% of the total outstanding shares. The reporting person’s address is 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055.


(6)Includes 59,786 shares pledged as collateral in connection with a margin brokerage account.

(7)(g)Includes the following shares allocated to the ESOP account of the following persons: R. Stephen Armstrong (13,237 shares); Scott P. Anderson (16,579(18,130 shares); Paul A. Guggenheim (12,874(10,655 shares); George L. Henriques (11,490Ann B. Gugino (9,139 shares); David G. Misiak (14,862 shares); Les B. Korsh (320 shares); and Ranell M. Hamm (662John E. Adent (136 shares). The ESOP trustee has the right to receive, and the power to direct the receipt of, dividends from such shares.

(8)(h)Includes shares purchasable by the named person upon the exercise of options granted under our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan or our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan: Scott P. Anderson (20,200 shares); Paul A. Guggenheim (6,600 shares); and Ann B. Gugino (7,400 shares).
(i)Of the shares reported as beneficially owned, 11,7486,748 shares are held in trust for members of Mr. Wiltz’s family and 70,16512,817 shares are held in a revocable trust of which Mr. Wiltz is a trustee.

(9)Of the shares reported as beneficially owned, 57,900 shares are held in a revocable trust of which Mr. Lacy is the trustee and 7,800 shares are held by Mr. Lacy’s Grantor Retained Annuity Trust.

(10)(j)Includes shares purchasable by the named person upon the exercise of options granted under our 2001 Non-Employee Directors’ Stock Option Plan or our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan: Andre B. Lacy (31,866 shares); Ellen A. Rudnick (29,000 shares); John D. Buck (7,500 shares); Harold C. Slavkin (12,384 shares); and Jody H. Feragen (12,000 shares); Sarena S. Lin (7,000 shares); and Neil A. Schrimsher (12,000 shares).

(11)(k)Of the shares reported as beneficially owned, 3501,000 shares are held by Dr. Slavkin’s spouse.in a revocable trust of which Ms. Feragen is a trustee.

(12)(l)Includes 82,03442,556 shares allocated to ESOP accounts, 116,75058,600 shares purchasable upon the exercise of options, and 267,59846,659 shares over which there is sole voting power but no investment power.

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission and provide us with copies of such reports. Based solely on our review of the copies of such forms received by us, or written representations from certain reporting persons that no Forms 5 were required for those persons, we believe that, during the past fiscal year, our officers, directors and greater than 10% shareholders complied with applicable filing requirements.requirements, except that a Form 4 was filed late on behalf of Mr. Misiak reporting the sale by Mr. Misiak of 301 shares of common stock on March 2, 2017.

24 

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Compensation Philosophy

Our company is committed to a compensation philosophy that links executive compensation to the attainment of business objectives and earnings performance, over the near and longer term, which in turn will enable us to attract, retain and reward executive officers who contribute to our success. In keeping with our company’s compensation philosophy, our Compensation Committee’s goal is to provide market-competitive compensation packages that emphasize our commitment to consistent long-term profitable growth and our belief that a substantial portion of the total compensation received by our executive officers should be dependent upon the performance of the business annually and over time.

Our Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) annually evaluatesoversees and determines all components of compensation formakes decisions regarding our Chief Executive Officer and the other executive officers. The Committee considers current salary ranges, salaries and bonus potential for each position, management’s overall salary objectives, the amount of compensation to be placed at risk, the use of short-term versus long-term incentives, the use of equity awards, the alignment of executive compensation and benefit programs. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the enhancementSummary Compensation Table, and related tables and footnote disclosures setting forth the compensation of shareholder value, the levelsfollowing named executive officers:

Named Executive OfficerPosition
Scott P. Anderson (a)Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Companies
Ann B. GuginoExecutive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer of Patterson Companies
John E. Adent (b)Former Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Animal Health
Paul A. Guggenheim (c)Western Region President of Patterson Dental (Former Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Dental and Former Chief Innovation Officer of Patterson Companies)
David G. Misiak (d)President of Patterson Dental North America
Les B. KorshVice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Patterson Companies

(a)Mr. Anderson ceased serving as our President and Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2017.
(b)Mr. Adent ceased serving as Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Animal Health on July 2, 2017.
(c)Mr. Guggenheim ceased serving as Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Dental effective June 15, 2016, and ceased serving as our Chief Innovation Officer effective June 1, 2017.
(d)Mr. Misiak became President of Patterson Dental North America on November 1, 2016.

Executive Summary

During fiscal 2017, Patterson continued to move through a period of strategic investment and change, responding to the evolving needs of our customers and implementing an enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system to modernize our technology infrastructure for future capabilities. While we have made tremendous progress on these initiatives, our fiscal 2017 financial performance did not meet our expectations. Therefore, we have taken steps to reflect this performance in our executive compensation.

Below is a summary of our fiscal 2017 financial results from continuing operations that we believe is helpful in understanding our compensation decisions and philosophy:

Net Sales: Consolidated net sales in fiscal 2017 were $5.6 billion, an increase of 3.8% from the prior fiscal-year period. The inclusion of Animal Health International, Inc. results for approximately six additional weeks in fiscal 2017 had a 3.6% favorable impact on sales.
Gross Profit: Consolidated gross profit margin decreased 130 basis points from the prior year to 23.3%. The decrease in the gross profit margin rate was predominantly the result of the inclusion of sales and cost of sales from Animal Health International, Inc. in our results for a full year in fiscal 2017, as that business traditionally has lower gross margins than our historical businesses. In addition, the Animal Health segment gross margin rate declined when compared to the prior year, primarily as a result of pricing pressure from branded pharmaceutical manufacturers.

25 

Operating Income: Operating income from continuing operations, a key driver of incentive compensation, was $287.9 million, or 5.1% of net sales, in fiscal 2017, compared to $347.7 million, or 6.5% of sales, in fiscal 2016. The decrease in operating income from continuing operations was driven primarily by an impairment charge based on our November 2016 decision not to extend sales exclusivity for the full Sirona portfolio of products and increased expenses related to our ERP system initiative. The decrease in operating income as a percent of sales was mainly due to these same factors.
Net Income and Earnings Per Share from Continuing Operations: Net income from continuing operations decreased 6.4% to $173.8 million in fiscal 2017, compared to $185.7 million in the prior year. Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations were $1.82 in fiscal 2017, compared to $1.90 in the prior year.

The following table provides a summary of our Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) performance over the past three years, both on an absolute basis and relative to the S&P 400 constituent companies:

Historical TSR
Measurement Period
Patterson TSR

Percentile Rank of Patterson’s TSR

Relative to S&P 400 Constituents

1 Year (FY17)-0.7%18th percentile
2 Years (FY16 – FY17)-3.5%27th percentile
3 Years (FY15 – FY17)14.9%37th percentile

While we experienced many positive developments in fiscal 2017, at the end of the year the overall value of our fiscal 2017 executive compensation package was below the targeted level, reflecting our performance orientation and challenging goals.

Fiscal 2017 Direct Compensation—Value Reflecting Fiscal 2017 Performance*

(BAR CHART)

*     Actual annual incentives are earned amounts, based on fiscal 2017 corporate, business unit, and individual performance. Long-term incentives (“LTI”) consist of stock options, restricted stock units and performance units, and for all employeespurposes of this chart are valued based on the stock price at the end of the fiscal 2017 and other issues. The Committee also considers other available information, including other published reports, data and surveys not specifically prepared forrelative-TSR performance through the Committee, general compensation trends, market conditions, and the Committee members’ experience with other organizations. In addition, in eachend of fiscal years 20132017. As a result, the actual LTI values presented in this chart might not be paid. Furthermore, the actual LTI values presented include zero value for stock options because all stock options, including the July 1, 2015 special one-time option grant referenced in the Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End table below, were underwater at the end of fiscal 2017, and 2014, the Committee engaged Towers Watson, an independent compensation consultant that has no other ties to our company or its management, to review compensation competitiveness, payzero value for performance and short term andunits since relative-TSR performance was at the 20th percentile of the S&P 400 through the end of fiscal 2017.

 26

Also, we also had prior long-term incentive compensation design. Our compensation structure isgrants that vested during fiscal 2017, including the result of the Committee’s analysis of the effectiveness and competitiveness of the composition of our compensation structure, including cash (both base salary and annual incentives), equity and deferred compensation programs, compared to trends in the market as determined by publicly available data and as informed by our compensation consultant’s review.

In each of fiscal years 2013 and 2014, our peer group consisted of 14 local, regional and national representatives in distribution, dental manufacturing, and general industries that would potentially compete for the same talent that we would seek to recruit. The names of such companies appear below:following:

 

Portions of the restricted stock awarded during fiscal 2012 through 2016 vested and were released during fiscal 2017 (i.e., each award vests in 20% increments over five years).
C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.Henry Schein, Inc.School Specialty, Inc.
Dentsply International Inc.MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc.Sirona Dental Systems, Inc.
Donaldson Company, Inc.MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc.Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
Ecolab Inc.Owens & Minor, Inc.United Stationers Inc.
Fastenal CompanyW. W. Grainger, Inc.Performance units granted during fiscal 2015 had performance criteria based on Operating Income Growth and Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”) for the performance period of fiscal years 2015 through 2017. However, the committee’s assessment of performance resulted in the decision to provide zero payout for these performance units.

Based onCompensation Philosophy, Practices and Components

Compensation Philosophy

The committee is guided by the foregoing reviews,following objectives that are believed to be key to the Committee has determined that the compensationsuccessful execution of our Chief Executive Officerstrategic business imperatives, enhancing growth opportunities and the other executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table below is consistent with our compensation philosophy, properly aligned with performance as comparedproviding benefits to our peer group, market-competitive, reasonable and not excessive.shareholders:

(GRAPHIC)

Compensation PoliciesPractices

Employment Agreements:    We have not entered into any employment agreements withThe committee leverages best practices in governing our named executive officers. All of our named executive officers are employed at will.

Change-in-Control Arrangements:    In July 1999, we entered into a letter agreement with R. Stephen Armstrong, our Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Armstrong is entitled to receive certain benefits upon a change-in-control termination. If (a) within the 210 calendar-day-period immediately following a change-in-control Mr. Armstrong’s employment is terminated for any reason other than death, cause, disability or retirement, (b) within such 210 calendar-day-period, Mr. Armstrong terminates his employment for good reason, or (c) prior to a change-in-control the termination of Mr. Armstrong’s employment was either a condition of the change-in-control or was at the request or insistence of a person (other than our company) related to the change-in-control, then we will make a lump-sum cash payment to Mr. Armstrong in an amount equal to the sum of (i) 12 times his monthly base compensation plus (ii) an amount equal to his target incentive under the then-existing management incentive plan at the 100% payout level. Further, on the first anniversary of the date of termination, we will make an additional lump-sum cash payment to Mr. Armstrong equal in amount to the aggregate initial lump-sum cash payment made under the letter agreement.

Our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan provides that awards issued under that plan are fully vested and all restrictions on the awards lapse in the event of a change in control, as defined in such plan. Additionally, our Capital Accumulation Plan provides that on an event of acceleration, as defined in the plan, the restrictions on awards of restricted stock lapse and such stock becomes fully vested.

Impact of Tax and Accounting Treatment on Compensation Decisions:    The Committee makes every reasonable effort to ensure that all compensation paid to our executives is fully deductible, provided it determines that application of applicable limits are consistent with our needs and executive compensation philosophy.programs. Therefore, there are certain things that we proudlydo and do not do:

What We DoWhat We Do Not Do

Our income tax deduction for executive compensation is generally limited by Section 162(m) of the Code to $1 million per executive per year. This limit applies

■    Generally target executive compensation to be competitive at the median

■    Emphasize the majority of our program in variable pay

■    Use equity to drive a long-term perspective aligned with shareholders

■    Promote stock ownership with competitive stock ownership guidelines

■    Provide change-in-control cash severance payments exceeding three times base salary and target annual incentives

■    Allow stock option repricing or discounted stock option granting

■    Offer change-in-control tax gross-ups to our Chief Executive Officer and the other named executive officers


What We DoWhat We Do Not Do

■    Include shareholder perspectives in our program plans and designs, including the incorporation of clawback and double trigger protections

■    Cap payouts in our annual short-term incentive awards (MICP)

■    Annually review our pay for performance relationship and conduct a compensation risk assessment

■    Pay dividends or dividend equivalents on unearned or unvested performance shares

■    Allow our executives or directors to hedge or pledge company stock

■    Use employment or golden parachute agreements for executives, except in specific circumstances that provide a commensurate benefit to the company

By incorporating the above practices, and avoiding problematic practices, the committee believes that we are in a strong position to accomplish our business strategy and compensation philosophy.

Compensation Components

To assist in understanding the intended goals of the committee, we have described, at a high level, each of our primary compensation elements in the following table:

ElementPurposeKey Features
Base Salary

■    Provide a fixed level of compensation

■    Reflect competitive practices

■    Salary levels set based on an assessment of:

   Level of responsibility

   Experience and time in position

   Individual performance

   Future potential

   Competitiveness

   Internal pay equity considerations

   Salary levels are reviewed annually
by the committee and adjusted as appropriate

Annual Management Incentive Compensation Plan (“MICP”)

■    Provide formulaic incentives to achieve or exceed annual budgeted Adjusted Operating Income (“AOI”) and revenue growth

■    Include individual performance objectives for each executive

■    Link pay to performance

■    Incentive payouts range from threshold to maximum levels, depending on level of performance

■    Performance below the threshold level will result in zero payout

Performance Units

■    Provide executive officers with incentives to achieve long-term success

■    Performance measure represents relative TSR versus the S&P 400



ElementPurposeKey Features

■    Align executive officers’ interests with the interests of our shareholders

■    TSR results at or above the 50th percentile are required for a target (or higher) payout

■    3-year performance period

Stock Options■    Encourage sustained shareholder value creation via stock price increases

■    10-year term

■    3-year vesting

Restricted Stock Units

■    Provide opportunities for equity ownership

■    Encourage retention of executives

■    5-year ratable vesting criteria

Base Salary

The committee annually reviews base salaries for the executive officers to determine an appropriate amount considering the factors identified in the Summary Compensation Table below. However, Section 162(m) also provides that qualifying performance-based compensation will not be subject to the deduction limit if certain requirements are met. The Committee does not have a policy requiring aggregate compensation to meet the requirements for deductibility under Section 162(m).

Stock Ownership Guidelines:    In March 2007, the Committee established stock ownership guidelines, which were approved by our Board of Directors, for our key executives and non-employee directors. We believe

that promoting share ownership aligns the interests of our key executives with those of our shareholders and provides strong motivation to build shareholder value. We plan to periodically review the stock ownership guidelines. Under our stock ownership guidelines, key executives are expected to own shares of a value equal to a multiple of their annual base pay as follows:

Chief Executive Officer – 5x

Subsidiary Presidents, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer – 3x

Corporate and Subsidiary Vice Presidents – 2x

Our guidelines also provide that non-employee directors are expected to own shares of a value equal to a multiple of five times their annual cash retainer.

Executives and directors are expected to achieve target levels over a period of five years. If an executive or director is below the guideline, he or she is expected to retain 75% of the net shares (after satisfying tax obligations) received upon exercise of a stock option or lapsing of restrictions on restricted stock. If the executive or director has met the minimum ownership guideline, he or she is expected to retain 25% of the net shares received. As of July 11, 2014, our executives and directors were in compliance with applicable stock ownership guidelines.

Role of Executive Officers:    Messrs. Anderson and Armstrong attended several of the Committee’s meetings to provide certain recommendations to the Committee regarding the compensation of other executive officers and to discuss the financial implications of various compensatory awards and benefit programs. Messrs. Anderson and Armstrong were not present during the Committee’s discussion and determination of their respective compensation.

Components of Executive Officer Compensation

Our executive officer compensation is designed to reward both company performance and individual performance. Accountability, level of revenue and impact to the organization determine the total compensation value for a position. We believe that a substantial portion of an executive officer’s compensation should be at-risk. Toward that end, we keep base salaries below market medians, and have structured our incentive programs so that if our near and long-term goals are achieved, an executive could obtain total compensation at or above market medians for comparable positions. This practice is compatible with our compensation philosophy that links executive compensation to the attainment of business objectives and earnings performance, over the near and long term, which in turn enables us to attract, retain and reward executive officers who contribute to our success.

There are three core components of our executive officer compensation structure: base salary, annual incentives, and long-term awards and incentives. Our compensation philosophy is to target the base pay for our executives at approximately 85% of the market median and bring the executive compensation package at or above market with at-risk pay. Our at-risk pay includes annual incentives and long-term awards and incentives. Our executive officers also have an opportunity to purchase restricted stock under our Capital Accumulation Plan, which is described below. In addition, we provide our executive officers with certain perquisites and other personal benefits. Each individual component of executive compensation is discussed in detail below. The actual pay mix among base salary, annual incentives and long-term awards and incentives for our Chief Executive Officer and our other named executive officers for fiscal year 2014, which is described below, is depicted in the following pie charts:table.

 

MICP

LOGO

Base Salary.    Annual base salary levels for executive officers are determined by the potential impact of the individual on our company, the skills and experience required by the position, the individual performance of the executive, our overall performance and external pay practices. The Committee annually evaluates and determines the base salary for our executive officers. Our base salary ranges for fiscal year 2014 were consistent with our compensation philosophy.

Annual Incentives.    Our named executive officers are eligible for anto earn annual cash incentive paid incompensation under the MICP. A cash throughincentive is payable if a threshold level of performance is achieved, and the Management Incentive Compensation Plan (“MICP”). The objective of the MICP is to encourage greater initiative, resourcefulness, teamwork and efficiency on the part of all key employees whose performance and responsibilities directly affect our profits. The overall goal of the MICP is to reward these officers for achieving superiorultimate payout varies with performance. These annual incentives provide a direct financial incentive to executives to achieve our annual profit goals.

The fiscal 2017 MICP was structured in a manner similar to that in place for fiscal 2016. The primary performance measures are reviewed and approved in advancemetric selected by the Committee eachcommittee was Adjusted Operating Income. The committee selected this measure for the following reasons:

It is a well-understood financial measure that is communicated in Patterson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K

It is a balanced metric that encourages top line revenue growth, profit margins and cost containment

The committee believes that this financial measure influences Patterson’s stock price performance and its use effectively aligns the interests of executive officers and shareholders

Similar to the prior fiscal year. Individual annualMICP, incentive targetspayouts are designed to vary according to performance outcomes as follows:

 FY 2017 MICP Performance Goals: 
Level of AchievementAdjusted Operating Income ($mils)Payout
Potential
Total CompanyDentalAnimal Health
Threshold$396.3$244.8$68.925%
Target$466.2$288.0$81.0100%
Maximum$536.1$331.2$93.2175%
Actual Outcome$381.3$222.1$48.9 
   % of Target82%77%60% 

In addition to these financial performance objectives, the committee included individual strategic objectives for each named executive officer are approved byofficer. Objectives for this element considered items such as net sales, Next Generation System (SAP) implementation success, succession planning and team development and integration synergies. This individual element accounts for 15% of the Committee. The targets are positioned at or abovetarget annual incentive opportunity (for corporate officers the market median in order to achieve total direct cash compensation at market levels. The annual targeted bonus potentials for our named executive officers ranged from 75% to 125% of base salary in fiscal year 2014. The annual incentives in fiscal year 2014 for Messrs. Anderson and Armstrong and Ms. Hamm wereremaining 85% is based on our company’s actual income before taxes, LIFO provisionAdjusted Operating Income; for business unit leadership, the remaining 85% is split 15% corporate and incentive compensation (the “Company

70% business unit performance).

MICP Income”) compared to budgeted Company MICP Income. The annual incentives in fiscal year 2014 for Messrs. Guggenheim and Henriques were based on the actual Company MICP Income compared to budgeted Company MICP Income (25%), and such officer’s individual business unit’s income after a net working asset charge and before taxes, LIFO provision and incentive compensation (the “Business Unit’s MICP Income”) compared to such officer’s budgeted Business Unit’s MICP Income (75%). The budgets are approved in advance by our Board. The targeted bonus potential pays out at 100% if budgeted performance is achieved. Each executive has the opportunity to increase his or her targeted bonus potential as a percentage of base salary by 3% for each 1% that actual performance exceeds budgeted performance up to 105% of budgeted performance, and by 6% for each 1% thereafter, subject to a cap at a 175% payout for actual performance equal to 115% of budgeted performance. Conversely, the MICP allowed 25%In consideration of the targeted bonus potential to be paid if 85% of the budgetedoverall performance was achieved. No bonus was to be paid if the actual performanceresults for fiscal year 2014 did2017, the minimum financial objectives were not achieve at least 85% of budgeted performance. For fiscal year 2014,met, and, in their discretion, the Company MICP Incomecommittee determined that no payments would be made to executive team members for individual performance target was $401,070,522. Subsequently, our Compensation Committee determined to adjustobjectives.

Long-Term Incentives

As noted earlier, the Company MICP Income performance target to exclude restructuring charges incurred during fiscal year 2014 due to the nature and determination of such charges relative to the setting of the annual targets for fiscal year 2014. Our company achieved 96% of that adjusted target. For Mr. Guggenheim, his individual budgeted Business Unit’s MICP Income performance target was $269,178,428 and his unit achieved 92% of that target. For Mr. Henriques, his individual budgeted Business Unit’s MICP Income performance target was $27,831,962 and his unit achieved 98% of that target; however, Mr. Henriques was paid an additional bonus of 2% of that target on a discretionary basis due to his exemplary efforts on our company’s U.K. Veterinary acquisition and integration.

The composition of the annual incentive plan performance targets for fiscal year 2015 is consistent with that established in fiscal year 2014, while budgeted Company MICP Income has been increased approximately 12% and budgeted Business Unit’s MICP Income for each unit has been increased approximately 7% to 21% over the levels achieved for fiscal year 2014. Individual performance can also be rewarded at the discretion of management and the Committee. For fiscal year 2015, the annual targeted bonus potentials for our named executive officers will range from 75% to 150% of base salary. The targeted bonus potential will pay out at 100% if budgeted performance is achieved. Each executive will have the opportunity to increase his or her targeted bonus potential as a percentage of base salary by 3% for each 1% that actual performance exceeds budgeted performance up to 105% of budgeted performance, and by 6% for each 1% thereafter, subject to a cap at a 175% payout for actual performance equal to 115% of budgeted performance.

Long-Term Awards and Incentives.    Our Board has adopted a Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) to address a need in our overall compensation package. The objectives of the LTIP are to: (1) create anlong-term incentive program to increase shareholder value over a longer term which does not compete with other benefit plans currently in place; (2) provide a program that assists in retention of and rewards new management employees by creating equity ownership in our company; and (3) recognize that equity compensation may not be appropriate for all management employees. Participants include officers, regional managers, branch managers and other key managers.

The LTIP originally provided for awards ofemphasizes performance via stock options and performance units, but also provides retention incentives via restricted stock units. The table below highlights the provisionvalue and number of life insurance. Stock options wereawards granted underto each named executive officer (a thorough description of each vehicle follows).

Executive Performance Units
($ / #)
  Stock
Options

($ / #)
  Restricted
Stock Units

($ / #)
  Total
                
Scott P. Anderson $1,125,000
19,455
  $562,500
68,681
  $562,500
11,605
  $2,250,000
Ann B. Gugino $325,000
5,620
  $162,500
19,841
  $162,500
3,353
  $650,000
John E. Adent $275,000
4,756
  $137,500
16,789
  $137,500
2,837
  $550,000
Paul A. Guggenheim $250,000
4,323
   -
-
  $250,000
5,158
  $500,000
David G. Misiak $162,500
2,999
   -
-
  $162,500
3,432
  $325,000
Les B. Korsh $170,000
2,940
   $85,000
10,379
  $85,000
1,754
  $340,000

* Note: the employee stock option plans adoptedvalues in 1992 and 2002, andthis table may not exactly equal the life insurance was a split dollar policy owned bySummary Compensation Table due to rounding.

Performance Units

Effective in fiscal 2016, the individual but funded by our company. The premiums on each such life insurance policy paid by our company created a lien againstcommittee redesigned the policy and were repayable on the earlierperformance unit element of the policy owner’s 65th birthday or 15 years fromexecutive compensation program to emphasize shareholder value creation in a direct way. The committee decided to reference relative TSR versus the initiation ofS&P 400 as its performance measure rather than internal financial objectives, which the policy. Stock options vested incrementally over a three-to-nine year periodcompany had used previously. The program has the following pay for performance relationship, and the life insurance created an immediate death benefit while providing long-term cash value over fiveother features:

 30

Patterson Relative TSR Pay for Performance Relationship

(LINE GRAPH)

Additional Performance Features:

■    If absolute TSR is negative, then the payout is capped at the target level

■    The performance units do not have rights to regular dividends during the performance period

Similar to 15 years as a supplemental source of retirement income. We ceased paying the premiumsfiscal 2016, for the split dollar life insurance policies under the LTIP in fiscal year 2004 in order to comply with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our Chief Financial Officer opted to maintain his split dollar life insurance policy with premium payments in lieu of certain equity awards in fiscal years 2006 through 2014. The premium payments are treated as cash compensation and current taxable income. We discontinued awarding stock options to U.S. participants under the LTIP in fiscal year 2006, but resumed again for certain executives in fiscal year 2015, as described below.

As to any award not intended to constitute “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, the LTIP permits us to accelerate the vesting of options and the lapsing of restrictions on restricted stock awards upon an executive’s termination of employment following attainment of age 65 with at least ten years of service.

Beginning in fiscal year 2005, the Committee revised the LTIP to provide awards of restricted stock and performance units under the Equity Incentive Plan. The restricted stock and performance unit ranges are set to provide flexibility in structuring individually appropriate compensation and to create a market competitive component of the overall compensation package for each executive. Annually, the Committee determines a level of compensation under the LTIP for each executive position. Through fiscal year 2014, the approved award level was weighted 75% to restricted stock and 25% to performance units and, except for promotions or new hires that occur during the fiscal year, the numbers of units of these equity components were determined on the first daygranted as part of the fiscal year based upon the closing price2017 compensation program, TSR of our company’s common stock on such date.

For fiscal year 2015, the approved award level for the CEO and three business unit Presidents is weighted 25% to restricted stock, 50% to performance units and 25% to stock options and, for the remaining executives, is weighted 50% to restricted stock and 50% to performance units. Our Committee reinstituted the award of stock options to certain executives in fiscal year 2015 to reflect current trends in equity compensation practices, to cause a greater percentage of non-cash compensation to be performance-based, and to facilitate retention through use of a longer term to full vesting. As to all of our executives, the reduced percentage of restricted stock granted in fiscal year 2015 was intended to increase the percentage of equity-based compensation that is performance-based. The numbers of units of these equity components were determined on July 1, 2014 based upon the closing price of our company’s common stock on that date.

In general, the restricted stock awards vest 20% each year beginning on the first anniversary of the date of grant,Patterson and the performance units vest on the third anniversary of the award. Prior to fiscal 2012, the restricted stock awards vested 20% each year beginning on the third anniversary of the date of the grant. Upon achievement of pre-determined performance objectives, the outstanding performance units mayS&P 400 will be settled in cash or stock, at the discretion of the Committee. The stock option awards vest three years from the date of award and expire ten years from the date of award.

The right to receive the value of the performance units is conditioned upon achieving, during a three-year period, the financial targets established by the Committee at the beginning of the period. In particular, the total value of the award is equivalent to the number of units multiplied by the unit value, which for the awards to date has been the closing price of our company’s common stock on the first day of the fiscal year. For participants to earn 100% of the award, the performance targets must be achieved. The targets, which are established at time of grant, for the awards granted under this program through and including fiscal year 2013, require achieving a specified operating margin in the third year of the performance period and achieving a specified average return on equity for the three-year period. The performance targets for the awards granted under this program in each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015 require achieving specified average operating income growth and average return on invested capital over a three-year period. No units are earned if a specified minimum average operating margin for the relevant three-year period and a specified minimum average return on equity for the relevant three-year period are not achieved. If the minimum performance targets are not met, all units are cancelled. For performance units awarded in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the number of units an award recipient can earn for performance above the targeted performance is a maximum of 150% of the units awarded. The minimum and maximum ranges are determined by subtracting or adding 20 basis points to the performance targets for the specific award period.

The financial targets for performance units awarded in fiscal years 2006 through 2009 were not achieved and, consequently, such awards have been cancelled. In fiscal years 2010 and 2011, the Committee determined that it could better achieve its objectives of incentivizing and retaining our named executive officers by increasing the restricted stock awards made to such officers and not granting performance units. Such

determination was made because the uncertainty in the general economy made the selection of performance objectivesmeasured over a three-year period difficult. The Committee believed thatto promote longer-term perspectives, with payouts achieved based on such relative performance.

Note, the units granted to Mr. Anderson and Ms. Gugino in fiscal 2015 have expired unvested as a result of Operating Income Growth and ROIC falling below expectations for fiscal years 2015 through 2017. This was the last grant under the prior performance unit design.

Stock Options

In fiscal 2015 the committee reintroduced stock options into the long-term incentive mix. We maintained this uncertainty could cause the performance units to lose their effectiveness in incentivizing our executives due to circumstances and conditions beyond their control. Commencing fiscal year 2012, the Committee determined that the market in which the company operates had stabilized such that management’s performance objectives could be identified and performance units could effectively incentivize our named executive officers. Consequently,approach in fiscal years 2012, 2013, 20142016 and 2017, as we believe that there is direct alignment between management and shareholder interests. Our recently adopted 2015 Incentive Plan, as described in last year’s proxy statement (and approved by an overwhelming majority of our shareholders), has several positive features that reinforce the Committee awarded performance units withand retention objectives in our compensation philosophy including:

10-year term provides a long-term perspective
Flexible vesting criteria can be utilized

We believe that the design of this element of long-term incentive compensation inspires a long-term perspective, encourages shareholder value creation and aligns the interests of management and shareholders.

Restricted Stock Units

While the committee adheres to an overall executive compensation program that is heavily performance-based, we also recognize our objectives of retention and stock ownership. Therefore, 25% of the long-term incentive value is denominated in time-based restricted stock units. This element accomplishes these objectives via the multi-year vesting conditioned upon achieving performance objectivesperiod (20% per year over a three-year period in addition to restricted stock. The minimum performance targets5 years) and highlights our preferences for performance units awarded in fiscal year 2012 were not achieved,an ownership mentality.

Other Executive Compensation Arrangements, Policies and Practices

Capital Accumulation Plan

To encourage employee ownership and as a result, such awards have been cancelled.

Capital Accumulation Plan.    Our companyfurther means for retention, Patterson has a deferred compensation, restricted stock purchase plan that is available to certain employees, including executive officers.officers (the “Capital Accumulation Plan”). Under our Capital Accumulation Plan, annually the participants may defer annually up to 25% of their pre-tax compensation into the plan. Restrictedto be used to purchase restricted stock. The stock is purchased with the corresponding salary deferralsdeferral is bought at a 25% discount from the market price of our common stock at the beginning of the calendar year or the end of the calendar year, whichever is lower. In general, the restricted stock purchased

 31

under the plan vests in full on the third anniversary of the date of the agreement granting the participant the right to purchase the stock. The participant may elect to defer the compensation beyond the initial deferral period, with the restrictions also continuing for the additional period, with the minimum deferral period being five years. If the participant voluntarily leaves employment during the initial restriction period, 100% of the deferred compensationpurchased restricted stock is forfeited.

Health, Welfare and Retirement Benefits

Patterson provides a full range of benefits to its executives, including the standard medical, dental and disability benefits generally available to our employees. We also sponsor a qualified 401(k) plan which allows participants to make plan contributions on a pre-tax basis.

Perquisites and Other Personal Benefits.    Our company

Patterson provides ourthe named executive officers with perquisites and other personal benefits that the Committeecommittee believes are reasonable and consistent with our overall compensation philosophy.

Automobile Reimbursement: Each executive is provided the use of a car under the fleet program maintained by our company.

Executive Physicals: OurThe executives are encouraged to participate in an executive health program at the Mayo Clinic. A comprehensive evaluation emphasizing all aspects of preventative care is conducted by physicians who are specialists in Internal Medicine and Preventative Medicine. The cost of the physical is reimbursed by our company.

Executive Life Insurance Premiums: Our named executive officersThe executives participate in a company-sponsored executive life insurance program. This program provides our named executive officers with a life insurance benefit equal to three times their base salary plus the targeted annual incentive under the MICP. The life insurance benefit is capped at $1,300,000. Premiums, which are set each June, are paid by our company through a payroll gross-up.

Amounts Reimbursed for the Payment of Taxes: Our companyPatterson pays an amount necessary to cover executives’ tax obligations for certain perquisites and other personal benefits. In fiscal year 2014, our company2017, Patterson reimbursed executives for the payment of taxes on automobile reimbursement and executive life insurance premiums.

Company Contributions to the ESOP: In general, our company makes an annual contribution to the leveraged Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP):    During fiscal year 2014, our(“ESOP”) based on company made a contribution to the ESOPperformance and other considerations equal to approximately 3%a certain percentage of an executive’s eligible compensation, subject to certain statutory limitations. This percentage benefitcontribution is available generally to all our U.S. employees, subject to plan requirements.

Say-on-Pay

The Committee values However, due to overall company performance being below expectations, there was a nominal contribution for fiscal 2017 resulting from a minimum payment on the opinions of our company’s shareholdersESOP note.

Incentive Trips: Expenses incurred by the executive and has implemented anfamily members while attending special events or trips scheduled as rewards for incentivizing sales or other business achievements and for family members traveling with the executive for any purpose, are reported as imputed income to the executive.

Stock Ownership Guidelines

We believe that promoting share ownership aligns the interests of our executives and directors with those of our shareholders and provides strong motivation to build shareholder value. Under our stock ownership guidelines, key executives are expected to own shares of a value equal to a multiple of their annual base pay as follows:

Chief Executive Officer – 5x
Subsidiary Presidents, Chief Financial Officer– 3x

 32

Corporate and Subsidiary Vice Presidents – 2x
Non-employee directors – 5x annual advisory vote on our executive compensation program. Atcash retainer

Executives and directors are expected to achieve target levels over a period of five years. If an executive or director is below the guideline, he or she is expected to retain 75% of the net shares (after satisfying tax obligations) received upon exercise of a stock option or lapsing of restrictions on restricted stock. If the executive or director has met the minimum ownership guideline, he or she is expected to retain 25% of the net shares received. As of July 21, 2017, our executives and directors were in compliance with applicable stock ownership guidelines.

Employment Agreements

Our company does not use employment or golden parachute agreements for executives, except in specific circumstances that provide a commensurate benefit to the company. Therefore, Patterson has not entered into any employment agreements with the named executive officers and the named executive officers are employed at will, except as described below.

In May 2015, just prior to the company’s acquisition, Animal Health International, Inc. entered into an employment agreement with John Adent, which provided for Mr. Adent’s employment as President and Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Animal Health. The agreement provided that Mr. Adent would be paid an annual base salary and such bonuses and other compensation as set by Patterson Animal Health from time to time, as well as participate in other employee benefit plans and expense reimbursement. In the event of a termination without cause of Mr. Adent, or for good reason by Mr. Adent, within 30 days prior, on the date of, or within two years following a change in control of Patterson Animal Health, Mr. Adent would have been entitled to severance pay in an amount of two times the sum of (1) his then-current annual base salary and (2) the average annual cash incentive bonus paid or payable to Mr. Adent in respect of the two most recent fiscal years ending prior to such date. Mr. Adent also would have been eligible for payment of a prorated portion of his expected annual cash incentive bonus for the fiscal year in which the effective date of the termination occurs, based on actual performance through such date, and 18 months of COBRA coverage payments. In the event of a termination without cause of Mr. Adent, or for good reason by Mr. Adent, on or after two years following a change in control of Patterson Animal Health, Mr. Adent would have been entitled to severance pay in an amount equal to 12 months of his base salary. Mr. Adent agreed to certain restrictive covenants, including nondisclosure, non-competition, non-recruitment, non-interference, and non-disparagement provisions, for the period of his employment and for certain periods thereafter. The severance agreement we entered into with Mr. Adent dated June 21, 2017 is described below under the caption “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control.”

Change-in-Control Arrangements

Although we have not entered into any other change-in-control agreements, our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan provides that awards issued under that plan are fully vested and all restrictions on the awards lapse in the event of a change in control, as defined in such plan. Furthermore, under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan, if the surviving or acquiring company in a change in control assumes our company’s outstanding incentive awards or provides for their equivalent substitutes, such plan provides for accelerated vesting of incentive awards following a change in control only upon the termination of the employee’s service, a material reduction in an employee’s base salary, a discontinuation of participation in certain long-term cash or equity benefits provided to comparable employees, a significant change in job responsibilities or the need to relocate, provided these events occur within two years of a change in control. Additionally, our Capital Accumulation Plan provides that on an event of acceleration, as defined in the plan, the restrictions on shares of restricted stock lapse and such stock becomes fully vested.

 33

Determining Executive Compensation

The committee is responsible for the review and approval of all aspects of the executive compensation program. The committee meets regularly each year to (among other items):

Establish the 2013 annual meeting of shareholders, more than 99%base salary and MICP target opportunity for each of the votes cast onexecutives for the say-on-pay advisory proposal were cast in favorcurrent fiscal year
Determine the actual annual incentive compensation to be paid to each executive for services provided during the prior year
Establish plan targets and performance measures for the three-year performance period for performance units beginning with the current year for long-term incentive awards
Determine the number of our company’sperformance units earned, if any, under the long-term incentive program for the three-year performance period ending with the prior fiscal year
Determine restricted stock units and stock option awards and any other equity-based awards to be granted to executive compensation program. In light of the approval by a substantial majority of our company’s shareholders of our company’s executive compensation program at the 2013 annual meeting of shareholders, the Committee did not make any material changes to our company’s executive compensation program during fiscal year 2014.officers

When making individual compensation decisions for the executives, the committee takes many factors into account. These factors include subjective and objective considerations of each individual’s skills, performance and level of contribution towards desired business objectives, our company’s overall performance, retention concerns, the individual’s tenure and experience with our company and in his or her current position, the recommendations of management and the independent compensation consultant, the individual’s current and historical compensation, the committee’s compensation philosophy, and comparisons to other comparably situated executives (both those of our company and those of peer companies). The committee’s process utilizes input, analysis and review from a number of sources, including our company’s management, other independent directors of the Board, the committee’s independent compensation consultant, and market studies and other comparative compensation information as discussed below.

The committee uses this information in conjunction with its own review of the various components of our executive compensation program to determine the base salary and annual short-term and long-term incentive targets and opportunities of the executive officers as a group and individually.

Role of Executive Officers in Determining Compensation

The committee meets with the Chief Executive Officer annually to review the performance of the other executives. The meeting includes an in-depth review of each executive officer, achievement of individual performance objectives established at the beginning of the year and individual contributions towards achievement of our business goals. A summary of the performance review is presented to the full Board each year.

The committee considers input from the Chief Executive Officer and other select executives when developing and selecting metrics and performance objectives that may be referenced in the annual short-term or long-term incentive program, and evaluating performance against such pre-established metrics and objectives. The committee also receives recommendations from the Chief Executive Officer regarding base salary amounts, annual short-term and long-term incentive award amounts for the other executive officers. In determining the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, the committee considers comparative compensation information and input from its independent compensation consultant.

Role of the Compensation Consultant

Willis Towers Watson provides the committee with an annual compensation market analysis for the executives; makes recommendations on the executive pay programs; reviews, participates and comments on executive compensation matters; and provides updates on regulatory changes in compensation related issues and other developments and trends in executive compensation.

 34

Market Competitiveness Review

The committee reviews recommendations from the independent compensation consultant on a peer group of companies about which competitive compensation data is obtained. For purposes of setting fiscal 2017 compensation, we reanalyzed our peer group in light of the company’s evolving business situation, in particular the divestiture of the Patterson Medical segment and expansion of the Animal Health segment through the acquisition of Animal Health International, Inc. Both management and the committee believe that the resulting peer group of 16 companies provided a robust statistical set of compensation data to serve as a basis for fiscal 2017 compensation decisions.

The companies comprising the peer group used to establish fiscal 2017 compensation opportunities of the executive officers are listed below:

Anixter International Inc.

Summary Compensation TableCR Bard Inc.

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our named executive officers for fiscal years 2012, 2013 and 2014.DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc.

Essendant Inc.

Name and Principal Position

Fiscal
Year
Salary
($)
Bonus
($)
Stock
Awards
($)(a)
Option
Awards
($)
Non-Equity
Incentive  Plan
Compensation
($)(b)
Change in
Pension  Value
and
Non-qualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
All
Other
Compen-
sation
($)(c)
Total
($)

Scott P. Anderson

President, Chief Executive

Officer and Chairman of

Patterson Companies,

Fastenal Company

Henry Schein, Inc.

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.

MRC Global Inc.

MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc.

Owens & Minor Inc.

PharMerica Corporation

Pool Corp.

VCA Inc.

VWR Corporation

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

WESCO International Inc.


2014

2013

2012



601,800

601,800

601,800



—  

—  

—  



1,266,720

1,299,300

1,225,437



—  

—  

—  



661,980

364,089

391,790



—  

—  

—  



40,009

46,337

43,643



2,570,509

2,311,526

2,262,670


R. Stephen Armstrong(d)

Executive Vice President,

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

of Patterson Companies, Inc.


2014

2013

2012



296,875

291,054

279,589



—  

—  

—  



434,681

461,038

404,382



—  

—  

—  



261,250

160,080

181,908



—  

—  

—  



195,834

185,812

189,576



1,188,640

1,097,984

1,055,455


Paul A. Guggenheim

President of Patterson

Dental Supply, Inc.


2014

2013

2012



296,514

290,700

290,700



—  

—  

—  



520,260

511,350

509,904



—  

—  

—  



159,006

177,145

125,364



—  

—  

—  



36,894

48,588

44,150



1,012,674

1,027,783

970,118


George L. Henriques

President of Webster Veterinary

Supply, Inc.


2014

2013

2012



275,363

264,772

264,772



4,007

—  

—  



482,500

463,624

463,871



—  

—  

—  



196,319

183,685

106,736



—  

—  

—  



36,790

46,399

44,736



994,979

958,480

880,115


Ranell M. Hamm

Chief Information Officer of

Patterson Companies, Inc.


2014

2013

2012



228,896

224,408

220,008



—  

—  

—  



301,600

293,174

365,360



—  

—  

—  



151,071

92,568

107,254



—  

—  

—  



38,415

48,588

30,213



719,982

658,738

722,835


 

(a)Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock and performance units computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. Information on the assumptions used to calculate the value of awards is set forth in Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 26, 2014.

In connection with compensation decisions the committee made for fiscal 2017, Willis Towers Watson utilized compensation data from both the Towers Watson 2016 General Industry Executive Compensation Database and our peer group companies.

The reports furnished by compensation consultants provided the committee with market information at the 25th, 50th, and 75thpercentiles for each executive position and pay component, and for total direct compensation, and compared the market compensation data to current pay for each executive. This market information is an important element reviewed by the committee, and provides a basis for adjusting a component of pay, or total direct compensation generally, above or below these ranges to recognize the specific circumstances of individual executive officers in a manner consistent with the stated objectives of the compensation program.

Shareholder Approval of our Executive Compensation Program

In deciding on the structure of the executive compensation program for fiscal 2017, the committee took into account the perspectives of our shareholders. Historically, Patterson’s shareholders have strongly supported our executive compensation programs with the overwhelming majority of shares voted at our annual meetings approving, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers. We continue to consider the perspectives of our shareholders in the design and administration of our executive compensation programs.

Other Related Considerations

Compensation Risk Assessment

The committee annually considers the designs of our executive compensation programs relative to risk. This assessment includes an analysis of our overall compensation philosophy, the program value and plan design, and our governance processes to ensure that we are promoting superior performance in a responsible way relative to risk. In addition, in fiscal 2017, the committee engaged Willis Towers Watson to assess the potential for risk stemming from our compensation programs. Following its assessment, including its review of the report of its compensation consultant, the committee concluded that our executive compensation programs are unlikely to create a material adverse effect on Patterson.

 35

Impact of Tax and Accounting Treatment on Compensation Decisions

The committee makes every reasonable effort to ensure that all compensation paid to our executives is fully deductible, provided it determines that application of applicable limits are consistent with our needs and executive compensation philosophy.

Our income tax deduction for executive compensation is generally limited by Section 162(m) of the Code to $1 million per executive per year. This limit applies to our Chief Executive Officer and the other named executive officers identified in the Summary Compensation Table below. However, Section 162(m) also provides that qualifying performance-based compensation will not be subject to the deduction limit if certain requirements are met. The committee has flexibility to disregard the requirements for deductibility under Section 162(m) when necessary to ensure compensation appropriately aligns with the compensation philosophy.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our named executive officers for fiscal 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Name and Principal Position

Fiscal

Year

Salary

($)(b)

Bonus

($)

Stock Awards

($)(c)

Option
Awards ($)

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation

($)(d)

Change in Pension Value and Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Earnings

($)

All Other Compensation

($)(e)

Total

($)

Scott P. Anderson (a)

Special Advisor to Patterson Companies (Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Companies)

2017

2016

2015

816,693

770,477

619,353

-

-

-

1,714,654

1,542,935

1,233,355

562,497

2,498,856   

174,528

-

826,160

934,295

-

-

-

29,232

46,872

40,851

3,123,076

5,685,300

3,002,382

Ann B. Gugino

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Patterson Companies

2017

2016

2015

428,754

399,167

295,000

-

-

-

501,648

461,185

409,051

162,498

1,096,357   

63,936

-

283,815

295,000

-

-

-

29,287

46,948

40,897

1,122,187

2,287,472

1,103,884

John E. Adent (a)

Former Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Animal Health

2017

2016

408,345

350,000

-

-

431,031

312,497

137,502

791,307

-

650,800

-

-

30,215

17,819

1,007,093

2,122,423

Paul A. Guggenheim (a)

Western Region President of Patterson Dental (Former Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Dental and Former Chief Innovation Officer of Patterson Companies)

2017

2016

2015

405,220

384,482

305,162

-

-

-

534,983

374,988

392,436

-

834,296

 57,024

-

139,200

219,811

-

-

-

30,507

51,982

47,133

970,710

1,784,948

1,021,746

David G. Misiak (a)
President of Patterson Dental North America

2017

2016

2015

345,025

288,016

226,686

-

-

-

331,705

233,441

286,399

-

585,500

-

-

108,841

 78,733

-

-

-

31,247

44,709

37,239

707,977

1,260,508

629,057

Les B. Korsh (a)

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Patterson Companies

2017

2016

2015

333,365

280,833

154,167

-

-

-

265,667

249,993

155,001

 85,004

238,000

-

-

132,000

 55,875

-

-

-

27,964

25,167

4,213

712,000

925,993

369,256

(a)Mr. Anderson ceased serving as our President and Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2017. Mr. Adent, who started with Patterson concurrent with our acquisition of Animal Health International, Inc. on June 16, 2015, ceased serving as Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Animal Health on July 2, 2017. Mr. Guggenheim ceased serving as Chief Executive Officer, Patterson Dental and became our Chief Innovation Officer effective June 15, 2016. Mr. Guggenheim ceased serving as our Chief Innovation Officer and became

Western Region President of Patterson Dental effective June 1, 2017. Mr. Misiak became President of Patterson Dental North America on November 1, 2016. Mr. Korsh started with Patterson in June 2014 and became Vice President and General Counsel effective July 1, 2015.

(b)Includes amounts foregone at the election of the executive to purchase stock under our Capital Accumulation Plan. The receipt of such stock is reported in the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table below.
(c)Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units and performance units computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. Information on the assumptions used to calculate the value of awards is set forth in Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 29, 2017. The entries in this column represent the sum of the aggregate grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units and performance units as well as the incremental value of the aggregate grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock, performance units and restricted stock purchased pursuant to our Capital Accumulation Plan.

(b)
(d)Represents cash compensation earned under our Management Incentive Compensation Plan.

(c)All other compensation for fiscal year 2014 was as follows:

Name

 Automobile
Reimbursement
($)
  Executive
Physicals
($)
  Executive
Life
Insurance
Premiums
($)
  Amount
Reimbursed
for the
Payment of
Taxes
($)
  Compensation
Used Towards
Insurance Policy
in Lieu of Stock
Awards
($)
  Company
Contributions
to ESOP

($)
  Total
($)
 

Scott P. Anderson

  19,202    2,149    3,327    6,452    —      8,879    40,009  

R. Stephen Armstrong

  18,449    —      5,200    6,199    157,107    8,879    195,834  

Paul A. Guggenheim

  18,574    —      3,200    6,241    —      8,879    36,894  

George L. Henriques

  18,175    —      3,811    5,925    —      8,879    36,790  

Ranell M. Hamm

  18,449    —      5,268    6,199    —      8,499    38,415  

Mr. Armstrong chose to apply a substantial portion of the value of his long-term incentive grants toward the premiums on his split-dollar life insurance policy. These payments are treated as cash compensation and are fully taxableearned under our MICP. Although a nominal amount could have been paid out on certain goals, our Compensation Committee exercised its discretion to him in the year paid to the insurance company. As discussed above, we ceased paying the premiums for split-dollar insurance policies in fiscal year 2004 in order to comply with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As part of our executive compensation program, policy holders were allowed to continue their insurance policies in lieu of equity awards. Prior to the adoption of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the premium payments were not considered compensation, but created a lien against the policy to be repaid to our company upon a maturity event under the policy.

(d)Mr. Armstrong plans to step down as our Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer effective as of October 31, 2014.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table sets forth information concerning estimated possible payouts underaward no non-equity incentive plan awards for fiscal year 2014 performance and equity incentive plan awards granted in fiscal year 2014compensation to our named executive officers. The terms and conditions applicableofficers for fiscal 2017.

(e)All other compensation for fiscal 2017 was as set forth in the table below. In addition, infrequently, a family member may accompany an executive traveling on a prepaid corporate flight to these awards are described above ina specific destination for business purposes at no incremental cost to our “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Componentscompany.
Name

Automobile Reimbursement

($)

Executive

Physicals

($)

Executive Life Insurance Premiums
($)

Amount Reimbursed for the Payment of Taxes

($)

Company Contributions to ESOP

($)

Incentive Trips
($)

Total

($)

Scott P. Anderson14,434-3,5328,4631,6171,18629,232
Ann B. Gugino14,434-3,5688,4821,6171,18629,287
John E. Adent14,501-5,5108,5871,617-30,215
Paul A. Guggenheim14,434-3,3909,0971,6171,96930,507
David G. Misiak14,4341,9894,4396,9961,6171,77231,247
Les B. Korsh14,434-4,7257,1881,617-27,964


Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table sets forth information concerning estimated possible payouts under non-equity incentive plan awards for fiscal 2017 performance and equity incentive plan awards granted in fiscal 2017 to our named executive officers. The terms and conditions applicable to these awards are described above in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”

NameType of Grant (a)Grant Date

Estimated Possible Payouts
Under Non-Equity Incentive
           Plan Awards (b)             

Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity Incentive Plan
                 Awards (d)                

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)

Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards

($)(e)

Threshold

($)

Target

($)

Maximum

($)(c)

Threshold

(#)

Target

(#)

Maximum
(#)
 
Scott P. AndersonMICP7/1/2016235,750943,0001,650,250   ---- ---
PU7/1/2016---4,86419,45538,910- --1,124,888   
RS7/1/2016------11,605(f)--562,494
CAP1/1/2017------  2,658(g)--  27,271
SO7/1/2016------- 68,68148.47562,497
Ann B. GuginoMICP7/1/2016  80,719322,875565,031---- ---
PU7/1/2016---1,4055,62011,240- --324,948
RS7/1/2016------3,353(f)--162,520
CAP1/1/2017------1,382(g)--  14,179
SO7/1/2016------- 19,84148.47162,498
John E. AdentMICP7/1/2016  71,750287,000502,250---- ---
PU7/1/2016---1,1894,756 9,512- --274,992
RS7/1/2016------2,837(f)--137,509
CAP1/1/2017------1,806(g)--  18,530
SO7/1/2016------- 16,78948.47137,502
Paul A. GuggenheimMICP7/1/2016  61,500246,000430,500---- ---
PU7/1/2016---1,0814,323 8,646- --249,956
RS7/1/2016------5,158(f)--250,008
David G. MisiakMICP7/1/2016  38,393153,570268,748---- ---
PU7/1/2016---   5412,162 4,324- --125,007
PU11/1/2016---   209   837 1,674- --  37,498
RS7/1/2016------2,579(f)--125,004
RS11/1/2016------  853(f)--  37,481
CAP1/1/2017------  657(g)--    6,741
Les B. KorshMICP7/1/201651,000204,000357,000---- ---
PU7/1/2016---   7352,9405,880- --169,991
RS7/1/2016------1,754(f)--  85,016
CAP1/1/2017------1,039(g)--  10,660
 SO7/1/2016------- 10,37948.4785,004

(a)“MICP” means estimated possible payout of Executive Officer Compensation.”

Name

 Grant
Date
  

 

 

Estimated Possible Payouts
Under Non-Equity Incentive
Plan Awards(a)

  

 

Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity Incentive Plan
Awards(c)

  All
Other

Stock
Awards:
Number
of
Shares
of Stock
or Units
(#)(d)
  Grant
Date
Fair
Value of
Stock
and
Option
Awards
($)(e)
 
  Threshold
($)
  Target
($)
  Maximum
($)(b)
  Threshold
(#)
  Target
(#)
  Maximum
(#)
   

Scott P. Anderson

  

 

4/29/2013

4/29/2013

  

  

  188,063    752,250    1,316,438    8,800    17,600    26,400    16,000    

 

663,520

603,200

  

  

R. Stephen Armstrong

  

 

4/29/2013

4/29/2013

  

  

  74,219    296,875    519,531    2,215    4,430    6,645    7,100    

 

167,011

267,670

  

  

Paul A. Guggenheim

  

 

4/29/2013

4/29/2013

  

  

  55,596    222,386    389,175    3,450    6,900    10,350    6,900    

 

260,130

260,130

  

  

George L. Henriques

  

 

4/29/2013

4/29/2013

  

  

  51,631    206,522    361,414    3,900    7,800    11,700    5,000    

 

294,060

188,500

  

  

Ranell M. Hamm

  

 

4/29/2013

4/29/2013

  

  

  42,918    171,672    300,426    2,000    4,000    6,000    4,000    

 

150,800

150,800

  

  

(a)Represents amounts that could have been paid under our Management Incentive Compensation Plan for service rendered during fiscal year 2014.annual incentive compensation under the MICP. “PU” means estimated future payout under performance unit. “RS” means restricted stock or restricted unit awards. “CAP” means shares purchased under our Capital Accumulation Plan. “SO” means stock options.

(b)Represents amounts that could have been paid under our Management Incentive Compensation Plan for service rendered during fiscal 2017.

(b)
(c)Each executive had the opportunity to increase his or her targeted bonus potential as a percentage of base salary by 3% for each 1% that actual performance exceeded budgeted performance up to 105% of budgeted performance, and by 6% for each 1% thereafter, subject to a cap at a 175% payout for actual performance equal to 115% of budgeted performance.

(c)
(d)Represents performance units which vest only if performance criteria are met three years after the grant date.

(d)Represents restricted stock awards subject to time-based vesting. These awards vest 20% each year, starting one year after the date of grant. Dividends declared and paid on shares of our common stock are accrued at the same rate on this restricted stock.
(e)Represents the grant date fair value of performance units, shares of restricted stock, stock options and restricted stock units awarded to each named executive officer, computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.
(f)Represents restricted stock units subject to time-based vesting. These awards vest 20% each year, starting one year after the date of grant. Dividends declared and paid on shares of our common stock are accrued at the same rate on this restricted stock (dividend equivalents in the case of restricted stock units). Accrued amounts are forfeitable and not paid until the related restricted stock award vests. No preferential dividends are paid on such awards.

(e)Represents the grant date fair value of performance units and shares of restricted stock awarded to each named executive officer on April 29, 2013, computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth information concerning outstanding equity awards held by
(g)Represents shares purchased under our named executive officers at fiscal year-end 2014:

  Option Awards  Stock Awards 

Name

 Grant
Date
 Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Unexercisable
  Option
Exercise
Price
($)
  Option
Expiration
Date
  Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock
That Have
Not
Vested
(#)
  Market
Value of
Shares
or Units
of Stock
That
Have
Not
Vested
($)
  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number
of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Market
or Payout
Value of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
That
Have Not
Vested
($)
 

Scott P. Anderson

 5/1/2004  8,666(a)(b)   —      37.75    5/1/2014    

 

 

24,000

40,360

3,222

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

  

 

 

982,320

1,651,935

131,812

  

  

  

  37,000(h)   1,514,410  

R. Stephen Armstrong

 N/A  —      —      N/A    N/A    

 

 

5,460

17,140

13,150

(c) 

(d) 

(f) 

  

 

 

223,478

701,540

538,230

  

  

  

  9,380(h)   383,923  

Paul A. Guggenheim

 N/A  —      —      N/A    N/A    

 

 

 

7,900

17,220

8,642

12,350

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

  

 

 

 

323,347

704,815

353,544

505,486

  

  

  

  

  14,400(h)   589,392  

George L. Henriques

 N/A  —      —      N/A    N/A    

 

 

8,460

11,880

12,350

(c) 

(d) 

(f) 

  

 

 

346,268

486,248

505,486

  

  

  

  16,400(h)   671,252  

Ranell M. Hamm

 N/A  —      —      N/A    N/A    

 

 

9,900

2,796

2,118

(d) 

(e) 

(g) 

  

 

 

86,690

114,384

405,207

  

  

  

  8,300(h)   339,719  

(a)Represents incentive stock options.Capital Accumulation Plan.

 

(b)Vested to the extent of 2,564 shares on each of May 1, 2007, May 1, 2008 and May 1, 2013, and 974 shares on May 1, 2009.

39 

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth information concerning outstanding equity awards held by our named executive officers at fiscal year-end 2017:

 

Option Awards

Stock Awards

Name

Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options

(#)

Exercisable

Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options

(#)

Unexercisable

Option Exercise Price

($)

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

($)

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

(#)

Equity Incentive Plan Awards:

Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested

($)

Scott P. Anderson

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

68,681(a)

42,698(b)

211,938(c)  

20,200(d)

-

-

-

-

48.47

49.27

56.66

39.64

-

-

-

-

7/1/2026

7/1/2025

7/1/2025

7/1/2024

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

 20,919(f)

 11,605(g)

   6,462(h)

-

-

-

-

-

930,686

516,306

287,494

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

  37,063(i)  

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,648,933     

Ann B. Gugino

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

19,841(a)

12,809(b)

100,000(c)  

   7,400(d)

-

-

-

-

48.47

49.27

56.66

39.64

-

-

-

-

7/1/2026

7/1/2025

7/1/2025

7/1/2024

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

   6,036(f)

   3,353(g)

   2,436(h)

-

-

-

-

-

268,542

149,175

108,378

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

  10,902(i)  

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

485,030

John E. Adent

-

-

-

-

-

-

16,789(a)

75,000(c)

  8,895(e)

-

-

-

48.47

56.66

45.21

-

-

-

7/1/2026

7/1/2025

9/21/2025

-

-

-

-

-

-

    4,681(g)

   1,806(h)

-

-

-

-

208,258

  80,349

-

-

-

-

-

-

   8,926(i)

-

-

-

-

-

397,118

Paul A. Guggenheim

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

10,674(b)

75,000(c)

  6,600(d)

-

-

-

-

49.27

56.66

39.64

-

-

-

-

7/1/2025

7/1/2025

7/1/2024

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

   6,890(f)

   5,158(g)

   8,642(h)

-

-

-

-

306,536

229,479

384,483

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

8,725(i)

-

-

-

-

-

-

388,175

David G. Misiak

-

-

-

-

-

50,000(c)

-

-

-

-

56.66

-

-

-

-

7/1/2025

-

-

-

-

-

   5,330(f)

   3,432(g)

   1,426(h)

-

-

237,132

152,690

  63,443

-

-

-

-

-

5,200(i)

-

-

-

-

231,348

Les B. Korsh

-

-

-

-

-

-

10,379(a)

25,000(c)

-

-

-

-

48.47

56.66

-

-

-

-

7/1/2026

7/1/2025

-

-

-

-

-

-

   3,166(f)

   1,754(g)

   1,039(h)

-

-

-

140.855

  78,035

  46,225

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,141(i)

-

-

-

-

-

228,723


(a)Represents nonqualified stock options granted on July 1, 2016, which vest 100% after three years.

(c)Represents restricted stock which vests 20% each year, starting three years after the grant date. Grant dates for each executive are at the beginning of each fiscal year or when the executive is hired or promoted, if such date is after the initial grant at the beginning of the fiscal year.
(b)Represents nonqualified stock options granted on July 1, 2015, which vest 100% after three years.

(d)Represents restricted stock which vests
(c)Represents one-time special nonqualified stock options granted on July 1, 2015, which vest 25% after three years, another 25% after four years and the remaining 50% after five years.
(d)Represents nonqualified stock options granted on July 1, 2014, which vest 100% after three years.
(e)Represents nonqualified stock options granted on September 21, 2015, which vest 100% after three years.
(f)Represents restricted stock awards which vest 20% each year, starting one year after the grant date. Grant dates for each executive are at the beginning of each fiscal year or when the executive is hired or promoted, if such date is after the initial grant at the beginning of the fiscal year.

(e)
(g)Represents restricted stock units which vest 20% each year, starting one year after the grant date. Grant dates for each executive are at the beginning of each fiscal year or when the executive is hired or promoted, if such date is after the initial grant at the beginning of the fiscal year.
(h)Represents restricted stock purchased under our Capital Accumulation Plan. The restriction period is three years from the grant date, unless an extension is elected by the plan participant.

(f)Represents restricted stock which vests 20% after three years, another 30% after four years and the remaining 50% after five years.
(i)Represents performance units which vest only if performance criteria are met three years after the grant date. Performance units granted on July 1, 2014 (with a performance period ending April 28, 2017) were determined to payout at zero percent.

 

(g)Represents restricted stock which vests 100% after five years.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table sets forth information concerning the exercise of options and vesting of restricted stock for our named executive officers during fiscal 2017:

 

Option Awards

 

Stock Awards

NameNumber of Shares
Acquired on Exercise
(#)
  Value Realized on
Exercise
($)
 Number of Shares
Acquired on Vesting
(#)
  Value Realized on
Vesting
($)
Scott P. Anderson -     -    37,284  1,751,973
Ann B. Gugino -     -    7,565  355,865
John E. Adent -   -  460  21,258
Paul A. Guggenheim -     -    12,689  601,653

David G. Misiak

 -   -  7,091  334,634
Les B. Korsh -     -    2,929  143,665

 

(h)Represents performance units which vest only if performance criteria are met three years after the grant date. All unvested performance units at fiscal year-end 2014 were granted at the beginning of fiscal year 2013 or 2014 and therefore will vest only if performance criteria are met after fiscal year 2015 or 2016, respectively.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table sets forth information concerning the exercise of options and vesting of restricted stock for our named executive officers during fiscal year 2014:

   Option Awards   Stock Awards 

Name

  Number of Shares
Acquired on Exercise

(#)
   Value Realized on
Exercise

($)
   Number of Shares
Acquired on Vesting

(#)
   Value Realized  on
Vesting

($)
 

Scott P. Anderson

   —       —       15,020     584,372  

R. Stephen Armstrong

   3,930     9,550     12,222     489,738  

Paul A. Guggenheim

   1,688     5,485     13,130     525,120  

George L. Henriques

   3,022     9,775     12,170     488,789  

Ranell M. Hamm

   —       —       1,680     63,928  

For stock awards in fiscal year 2014, the number of shares in the table above represents the vesting of restricted stock awards, except for 2,735 of the shares listed for Mr. Anderson which are shares purchased under our Capital Accumulation Plan for which the restrictions lapsed. The values in the table above are based on the closing price of our common stock on the date the shares vested or the restrictions lapsed.

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

Upon the termination of a named executive officer, such person may be entitled to payments or the provision of other benefits, depending on the event triggering the termination. The events that would trigger a named executive officer’s entitlement to payments or other benefits upon termination, and the value of the estimated payments and benefits are described in the following table, assuming a termination date and, where applicable, a change in control date of April 26, 2014, and a stock price of $40.91 per share, which was the closing price of one share of our common stock on April 25, 2014 (the last trading day of fiscal year 2014):

   Scott P.
Anderson
   R. Stephen
Armstrong
   Paul A.
Guggenheim
   George L.
Henriques
   Ranell M.
Hamm
 

Involuntary Termination without Cause

          

Severance/Salary Continuation

  $150,450    $74,219    $74,129    $68,841    $57,224  

Capital Accumulation Plan Benefits

   78,387     —       181,783     —       67,553  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total:

  $228,837    $74,219    $255,912    $68,841    $124,777  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Involuntary Termination without Cause following Change in Control, or Voluntary Termination following Change in Control

          

Severance/Salary Continuation

  $150,450    $1,113,281    $74,129    $68,841    $57,224  

Gain on Accelerated Stock Options

   —       —       —       —       —    

Accelerated Restricted Stock and Performance Unit Awards

   4,148,665     1,187,729     2,123,040     1,503,768     831,616  

Capital Accumulation Plan Benefits

   131,812     —       353,544     —       114,384  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total:

  $4,430,927    $2,301,010    $2,550,713    $1,572,609    $1,003,224  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Death or Disability

          

Gain on Accelerated Stock Options

  $—      $—      $—      $—      $—    

Accelerated Restricted Stock and Performance Unit Awards

   861,167     1,004,422     1,103,882     771,531     67,944  

Capital Accumulation Plan Benefits

   131,812     —       353,544     —       114,384  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total:

  $992,979    $1,004,422    $1,457,426    $771,531    $182,328  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Retirement

  $—      $—      $—      $—      $—    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total:

  $—      $—      $—      $—      $—    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Our severance policy generally provides 90 days of salary continuation, subject to management discretion to increase or decrease such severance benefit. Our severance policy may also be superseded by an individual agreement with a named executive officer. This is the case in connection with the above-described agreement with R. Stephen Armstrong, our Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Compensation Policies – Change-in-Control Arrangements”

For stock awards in fiscal 2017, the number of shares in the table above represents the vesting of restricted stock awards, except for 3,163 of the shares listed for Mr. Anderson, 887 of the shares listed for Ms. Gugino, and 494 of the shares listed for Mr. Misiak, which are shares purchased under our Capital Accumulation Plan for which the restrictions lapsed. The values in the table above are based on the closing price of our common stock on the date the shares vested or the restrictions lapsed.


Potential Payments upon Termination or Change-in-Control

Upon the termination of a named executive officer, such person may be entitled to payments or the provision of other benefits, depending on the event triggering the termination. The events that would trigger a named executive officer’s entitlement to payments or other benefits upon termination, and the value of the estimated payments and benefits are described in the following table, assuming a termination date and, where applicable, a change-in-control date of April 29, 2017, and a stock price of $44.49 per share, which was the closing price of one share of our common stock on April 28, 2017 (the last trading day of fiscal 2017). Information regarding the actual payments upon termination of the named executive officers who are no longer executive officers of our company appears in the narrative below the table.

 Ann B. GuginoDavid G. MisiakLes B. Korsh
Involuntary Termination without Cause            
Severance/Salary Continuation $107,625  $96,250  $85,000 
Capital Accumulation Plan Benefits  78,277   46,340   32,000 
Total: $185,902  $142,590  $117,000 

 

Involuntary Termination without Cause following Change-in-Control, or Voluntary Termination following Change-in-Control

            
Severance/Salary Continuation $107,625  $96,250  $85,000 
Gain on Accelerated Stock Options  35,890   -   - 
Accelerated Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units and Performance Units  1,231,973   763,537   447,614 
Capital Accumulation Plan Benefits  108,378   63,443   46,225 
Total: $1,483,866  $923,230  $578,839 

 

Death or Disability

            
Gain on Accelerated Stock Options $-  $-  $- 
Accelerated Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units and Performance Units  417,717   389,821   218,891 
Capital Accumulation Plan Benefits  108,378   63,443   46,225 
Total: $526,095  $453,264  $265,116 

 

Retirement

 $-  $-  $- 
Total: $-  $-  $- 
             

We have a practice of generally providing 90 days of salary continuation, subject to management discretion to increase or decrease such severance benefit. Our severance policy may also be superseded by an individual agreement with a named executive officer. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” for further information.

Although we have not entered into any other change-in-control agreements, our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan provides that awards issued under that plan are fully vested and all restrictions on the awards lapse in the event of a change-in-control, as defined in such plan. Furthermore, under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan, if the surviving or acquiring company in a change-in-control assumes our company’s outstanding incentive awards or provides for their equivalent substitutes, such plan provides for accelerated vesting of incentive awards following a change-in-control only upon the termination of the employee’s service, a material

42 

reduction in an employee’s base salary, a discontinuation of participation in certain long-term cash or equity benefits provided to comparable employees, a significant change in job responsibilities or the need to relocate, provided these events occur within two years of a change-in-control. Additionally, our Capital Accumulation Plan provides that on an event of acceleration, as defined in the plan, the restrictions on shares of restricted stock lapse and such stock becomes fully vested. An event of acceleration occurs if (a) a person has acquired a beneficial ownership interest in 30% or more of the voting power of our company, (b) a tender offer is made to acquire 30% or more of our company, (c) a solicitation subject to Rule 14a-11 of the Exchange Act relating to the election or removal of 50% or more of our Board of Directors occurs, or (d) our shareholders approve a merger, consolidation, share exchange, division or sale of our company’s assets.

On June 1, 2017, Scott P. Anderson ceased serving as our President and Chief Executive Officer. We entered into a transition agreement with Mr. Anderson, dated June 1, 2017, pursuant to which Mr. Anderson will serve in a non-officer Special Advisor capacity through July 1, 2019 during which time he has agreed to be available to us to advise on certain matters at our sole request. Upon July 1, 2019, Mr. Anderson will retire from our company (the “Retirement Date”). The period between June 1, 2017 and the Retirement Date or Mr. Anderson’s earlier termination date is the “Transition Period.” Mr. Anderson will remain subject to termination for cause during the Transition Period. During the Transition Period, conditioned upon Mr. Anderson’s continued employment during that time, he will (a) continue to be paid his current annualized salary of $820,000, (b) not be eligible for any bonuses or further equity awards, (c) continue to vest in his existing equity awards, and (d) remain eligible to participate in the Capital Accumulation Plan and our other employee benefit plans, subject to plan terms. Upon signing a separation and release agreement at the end of the Transition Period, unless he has been terminated for cause, Mr. Anderson will receive a severance payment of $1,100,000 (the “Severance Payment”), which amount will be paid in installments over the course of the non-competition provision described below. If Mr. Anderson breaches any provision of the transition agreement or we terminate his employment prior to the Retirement Date with cause, payment obligations to Mr. Anderson would cease and he would be obligated to repay to our company all moneys paid to him to which he would not otherwise be entitled absent the transition agreement. Among the commitments entered into in the transition agreement, Mr. Anderson agreed to post-employment non-compete and non-solicitation provisions through June 30, 2020, as well as a non-disclosure provision. If Mr. Anderson is terminated for cause prior to the Retirement date, he has acknowledged and agreed that, despite being ineligible to receive the Severance Payment, he will nevertheless remain bound by these and his other commitments contained in the transition agreement.

On July 2, 2017, John E. Adent ceased serving as Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Animal Health. We entered into a severance agreement with Mr. Adent, dated June 21, 2017. Under the terms of the severance agreement and in consideration of a general waiver and release of claims, Mr. Adent will be paid (a) the severance pay and COBRA coverage payments provided in his Employment Agreement dated May 2, 2015 (“Employment Agreement”) based on a deemed termination date of June 15, 2017; provided, however, that his Cash Compensation (as defined in the Employment Agreement) for purposes of calculating such severance will be the sum of (i) his current annual base salary and (ii) the average annual cash incentive bonus paid to him in respect of fiscal years 2016 and 2015, and (b) a cash payment based on value of the unvested restricted stock units he holds that are outstanding on July 2, 2017. If Mr. Adent materially breaches the severance agreement, payment obligations to Mr. Adent cease unless and until a court or arbitrator determines otherwise. If a court or arbitrator determines Mr. Adent has materially breached the severance agreement, he would be obligated to repay to our company all moneys paid to him under the severance agreement. Among the commitments entered into in the severance agreement, Mr. Adent has agreed to post-employment non-compete and non-solicitation provisions through June 21, 2019, as well as a non-disclosure provision.

On June 15, 2016, Paul A. Guggenheim ceased serving as Chief Executive Officer of Patterson Dental. At that time, he became our Chief Innovation Officer. Although Mr. Guggenheim ceased to be an executive officer of our company at that time, he received no additional payments or other benefits due to the transition. Instead, his salary remained unchanged, his equity continues to vest, he remains eligible to receive future equity awards and he remains eligible to participate in employee benefit plans, subject to plan terms. Effective June 1, 2017, Mr. Guggenheim became Western Region President of Patterson Dental.

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Compensation Policies and Practices as They Relate to Risk Management

Our Compensation Committee conducts an annual risk assessment of its compensation policies and practices for all employees, including executive officers. As noted above in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” the committee reviewed our company’s risk assessment process and results and determined that our compensation programs are unlikely to create a material adverse effect on Patterson.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

Our Audit Committee, which is responsible for reviewing any proposed transaction with a related person, has adopted a written policy and procedures for the review, approval and ratification of any related party transaction requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. This policy states that such committee is responsible for reviewing and approving or disapproving all interested transactions, which are defined as any transaction, arrangement or relationship in which (a) the amount involved may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any fiscal year, (b) our company will be a participant, and (c) a related person has a direct or indirect material interest. A related person is defined as an executive officer, director or nominee for director, or a greater than five percent beneficial owner of our company’s common stock, or an immediate family member of the foregoing. There were no transactions requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K during fiscal 2017. All future transactions between us and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders and their affiliates will be reviewed and approved or disapproved by our Audit Committee pursuant to the foregoing policy.

Despite not being transactions requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, our Board of Directors reviewed and considered our company’s ongoing transactions with Cargill Feed and Nutrition (“CFN”), where Sarena S. Lin is employed as President, and Ecolab Inc. (“Ecolab”), where Alex N. Blanco is employed as Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Claim Officer. In the ordinary course of business, (1) our company purchased approximately $0.4 million of products from CFN during the CFN fiscal year that is most closely aligned with our fiscal 2017, which amount represented less than 5% of CFN’s consolidated gross revenues for that year and which amount was immaterial to either company’s revenues or operations, (2) our company purchased approximately $15.0 million of products from Ecolab, and Ecolab purchased approximately $1.0 million of products from our company, during the Ecolab fiscal year that is most closely aligned with our fiscal 2017, which aggregate amount represented less than 5% of Ecolab’s consolidated gross revenues for that year and which aggregate amount was immaterial to either company’s revenues or operations.


EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table provides information as of April 29, 2017 about our common stock that may be issued under our existing equity compensation plans.

Plan Category Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights
(a)
 

Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights

(b)(1)

  

Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))

(c)

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders   1,349,708(2) $52.12   6,308,091(3)
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders   

 
-

   -   

 
-

 
Total   1,349,708  $52.12   6,308,091 
              

(1)The weighted average exercise price does not take into account the shares issuable upon vesting of outstanding performance unit awards, which have no exercise price.
(2)Includes 973,474 shares of our common stock to be issued upon exercise of outstanding stock options and 56,991 performance stock units granted at target and unvested under the Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan; and includes 218,656 shares of our common stock to be issued upon exercise of outstanding stock options and 100,587 performance stock units granted and unvested under the 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan at target.
(3)Includes 2,900,138 shares of our common stock available for issuance under the 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan, which replaced our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan provides that(under which no new awards issued under that plan are fully vested and all restrictions on the awards lapse in the event of a change in control, as defined in such plan. Additionally, our Capital Accumulation Plan provides that on an event of acceleration, as defined in the plan, the restrictions on shares of restricted stock lapse and such stock becomes fully vested. An event of acceleration occurs if (a) a person has acquired a beneficial ownership interest in 30% or more of the voting power of our company, (b) a tender offer is made to acquire 30% or more of our company, (c) a solicitation subject to Rule 14a-11 of the Exchange Act relating to the election or removal of 50% or more of our Board of Directors occurs, or (d) our shareholders approve a merger, consolidation, share exchange, division or sale of our company’s assets.

Compensation Policies and Practices as They Relate to Risk Management

Our company conducted a risk assessment of its compensation policies and practices for all employees, including executive officers. Our Compensation Committee reviewed our company’s risk assessment process and results and determined that our compensation programs are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

Our Audit Committee, which is responsible for reviewing any proposed transaction with a related person, has adopted a written policy and procedures for the review, approval and ratification of any related party transaction requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. This policy states that our Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving or disapproving all interested transactions, which are defined as any transaction, arrangement or relationship in which (a) the amount involved may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any fiscal year, (b) our company will be a participant, and (c) a related person has a direct or indirect material interest. A related person is defined as an executive officer, director or nominee for director, or a greater than five percent beneficial owner of our company’s common stock, or an immediate family member of the foregoing. There were no transactions requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K during fiscal year 2014. All future transactions between us and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders and their affiliates will be reviewed and approved or disapproved by our Audit Committee pursuant to the foregoing policy.

PROPOSAL NO. 2

APPROVAL OF 2014 SHARESAVE PLAN

Our Board of Directors has approved the adoption of the Patterson Companies, Inc. 2014 Sharesave Plan (the “Sharesave Plan”)granted), subject to shareholder approval. The aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be subject to future grants under our Sharesave Plan is 200,000 shares, subject to adjustment as provided in the Sharesave Plan. The following summary of our Sharesave Plan is qualified in its entirety by the full text of our Sharesave Plan, which is attached asAnnex A to this Proxy Statement.

Description of the Plan

Purpose.    The purpose of the Sharesave Plan is to provide employees subject to United Kingdom (“U.K.”) taxation a benefit in the form of “share options” and in accordance with the applicable U.K. tax legislation that is comparable to the opportunity offered to full-time employees in the United States to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). Under our Sharesave Plan, an officer authorized by our Board (the “Administrator”) invites eligible employees to apply for options to purchase993,074 shares of our common stock available for cash, at a price not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the fair market value of such shares at the time the invitations are issued.

Approval of the Sharesave Plan will serve the interests of our company and our subsidiaries by providing employees subject to U.K. taxation with an opportunity to purchase common stock at a discount to fair market value through accumulated payroll deductions. We believe it is in the best interests of our shareholders that our employees own our common stock, and that ownership enhances our ability to attract and retain highly qualified people capable of assuring our growth, profitability and long-term success.

Administration.    Our Sharesave Plan is administered by the Administrator with the assistance of an appointed independent savings carrier.

Eligibility.    The persons eligible to apply for an option under our Sharesave Plan on any occasion on which invitations are issued are employees of our company or subsidiaries of our company who are U.K. tax residents and who have been continuously employed for a minimum period not exceeding five years (in practice we propose to set a qualifying period of employment of six months), and any other employees nominated by our Board of Directors. Currently, there are approximately 650 such eligible employees.

Invitations and Transferability.    The Administrator has authority to issue invitations under our Sharesave Plan. Invitations are expected to be issued annually, commencing January 2015. Options granted under our Sharesave Plan are not transferable except that, in the event of the participant’s death, the participant’s option generally may be exercised by his or her personal representatives within one year of death.

Payment of Option Price.    Any eligible employee who applies for an option under our Sharesave Plan must enter into a “save as you earn” contract (the “Sharesave Contract”) with an appointed independent savings carrier. In the Sharesave Contract, the participant agrees to make monthly savings by payroll deduction of a fixed amount, not less than £10 and up to £500 per month (or such other maximum amount permittedissuance under the relevant legislation from time to time) for a three-year or five-year savings period (three-year is the minimum permissible savings period). Upon expiration of the Sharesave Contract, the participant may be entitled to a tax-free bonus from the savings carrier in addition to repayment of the savings contributions (although at present no such bonuses are payable). The proceeds of the Sharesave Contract can then be used to exercise the option to acquireEmployee Stock Purchase Plan, 2,214,952 shares of our common stock at an option price set in U.S. dollars at the date of invitation, which shall not be less than 85% of the fair market value of a share at the date of invitation.

Because the option price is set forth in U.S. dollars and eligible employees must save in U.K. pounds sterling, the number of shares that may be acquired on exercise of an option will be the largest whole number of shares that can be acquired at the option price with the repayment dueavailable under the relevant Sharesave Contract at the date of exercise. For these purposes, the repayment will be converted into U.S. dollars at an exchange rate prevailing at the date of exercise.

Exercise and Lapse of Options.    Options are normally only exercisable within six months from the end of the Sharesave Contract. Options can only be exercised using the proceeds of the Sharesave Contract, including, if applicable, the tax-free bonus. The maximum number of shares that can be acquired on the exercise of an option is the number that can be acquired using the proceeds of the Sharesave Contract at the time of exercise. If the participant does not wish to exercise, he or she may still benefit from the proceeds of the Sharesave Contract, including, if applicable, the tax-free bonus.

Termination of Employment.    Options will be treated as follows upon termination of participant’s employment:

Termination due to death, injury, disability, redundancy or retirement, the transfer of the entity that employs the participant out of the group or, provided the option has been held for at least three years, any other reason apart from the termination of his employment by his employer: a participant may exercise his or her options until six months following the termination of employment (one year if termination is due to death) or the expiration of the term of the option, whichever comes first; options can only be exercised to the extent of the proceeds of the Sharesave Contract at that point; and

Termination for any other reason: options lapse upon termination.

Adjustments to Options.    Our Board of Directors will make appropriate adjustments to the number of shares subject to options and the exercise price of options, to reflect stock splits, reverse stock splits, and other similar events affecting our common stock, provided that such amendments are permitted by and in accordance with the applicable U.K. tax legislation.

Change of Control.    In the event that a company obtains control of us in certain circumstances or there is a solvent liquidation of our company, then options will be exercisable for a specified period of time. On a change of control of our company, a participant may agree with the acquiring company to release his or her options for the grant of equivalent options over shares of the acquiring company.

Amendment and Termination.    Our SharesaveCapital Accumulation Plan may be amended by our Board of Directors at any time. However, without the approval of our shareholders, no amendment may be made that would, absent such approval: (i) increase the number of shares that may be issuedwhich includes 288,717 restricted awards unvested under the Sharesave Plan; (ii) permit the grant of options with an option price which is less than 85 percent of the value of a share at the date of invitation; (iii) permit the repricing of outstanding options; (iv) extend the term of the Sharesave Plan; (v) change the class of persons eligible to participate in the Sharesave Plan; or (vi) otherwise implement any amendment required to be approved by shareholders under the rules of any applicable stock exchange or NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. No amendment may be made to the material disadvantage of participants in the SharesaveCapital Accumulation Plan, unless consent is sought from the affected participants and given by a majority of them.

Our Board of Directors or a duly constituted committee may terminate our Sharesave Plan at any time and no further options shall be granted after that date, but the rights of existing participants will not be affected by any termination.

Ten-Year Term.    No options may be granted under our Sharesave Plan after September 8, 2024, unless renewed by a resolution of our Board of Directors, which amendment shall also be subject to shareholder approval.

Tax Consequences

Our Sharesave Plan is designed to enable U.K. tax resident participants to receive favorable tax treatment under the tax laws of the U.K. The following paragraphs provide a brief summary of these tax benefits for the participant and the employer company respectively. The three-year savings period described above is the minimum permissible period under applicable U.K. law.

For the participant the principal tax consequences of our Sharesave Plan are that:

any bonus received under the Sharesave Contract is tax-free;

no U.K. income tax (or U.K. social security contributions) applies on the grant of an option; and

no U.K. income tax (or U.K. social security contributions) arises upon the exercise of an option, provided that the exercise takes place more than three (3) years after grant in accordance with the rules of our Sharesave Plan. In certain circumstances, no U.K. income tax or U.K. social security contributions arise upon the exercise of an option within three years of the date of grant.

Where an option is exercised by a U.K. employee, the participant’s employer company should, subject to satisfaction of the requirements of U.K. tax legislation, ordinarily be able to claim U.K. corporation tax relief for the difference between the amount paid by the participant on the exercise of options and the market value of the option shares on acquisition. This relief is given for the tax period in which the participant acquires the shares.

New Plan Benefits

It is not possible to determine specific amounts that may be awarded under our Sharesave Plan in the future because we cannot determine who will elect to participate, which participants will exercise their options or elect to withdraw his or her savings or which participants will remain in our employ for the prescribed period of time.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of the greater of (i) a majority of the outstanding199,927 shares of our common stock available under the 2014 Sharesave Plan.

45 

PROPOSAL NO. 2
ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Introduction

We are committed to a compensation philosophy that links executive compensation to the attainment of business objectives and earnings performance, over the near and longer term, which in turn enables us to attract, retain and reward executive officers who contribute to our success.

To fulfill this philosophy, our Compensation Committee seeks to provide market-competitive compensation packages that emphasize our commitment to consistent long-term profitable growth and our belief that a substantial portion of the total compensation received by our executive officers should be dependent upon the performance of the business annually and over time.

We have structured our annual and long-term incentive-based cash and non-cash executive compensation programs to motivate executives to achieve the business goals of our company and reward them for achieving these goals. We believe our executive compensation program is strongly aligned with the long-term interests of our shareholders. We urge you to read the “Executive Compensation” section of this proxy statement for additional details regarding our executive compensation.

Congress has enacted requirements commonly referred to as “say on pay” rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. As required by these rules and related SEC rules under Section 14A of the Exchange Act, we are asking our shareholders to vote on the adoption of the following resolution:

BE IT RESOLVED by the shareholders of Patterson Companies, Inc. (“Patterson”) that the shareholders approve the compensation of Patterson’s named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s compensation disclosure rules.

As an advisory vote, this proposal is non-binding. Although this vote is non-binding, our Board of Directors and Compensation Committee value the opinions of our shareholders, and will, as they did last year, consider the outcome of this vote when making future compensation decisions for our named executive officers. Our Compensation Committee has implemented an annual advisory vote on our executive compensation program, so, subject to the advisory vote outcome on Proposal No. 3, it is anticipated that the next advisory vote on executive compensation will occur at our 2018 annual meeting of shareholders.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of the greater of (1) a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on this proposal at the meeting and (2) a majority of the minimum number of shares entitled to vote that would constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the meeting, is required to approve this proposal. Abstentions will be considered for purposes of calculating the vote, but will not be considered to have been voted in favor of such matter. Broker non-votes are counted towards a quorum, but are not counted for any purpose in determining whether this matter has been approved. If you own shares through a bank, broker, or other holder of record, you must instruct your bank, broker, or other holder of record how to vote in order for them to vote your shares on this proposal.Our Board of Directors recommends that you voteFOR approval of this proposal.

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PROPOSAL NO. 3
ADVISORY VOTE ON FREQUENCY OF SHAREHOLDER VOTES ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Introduction

In accordance with the requirements of Section 14A of the Exchange Act (which was added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and related rules of the SEC), we are seeking the input of our shareholders on the frequency with which to hold advisory votes on executive compensation. In voting on this proposal, shareholders are provided with four choices. Shareholders may indicate their preference as to whether the advisory vote on executive compensation should occur every one, two or three years; or the shareholders may abstain from voting on this proposal.

When this vote was last held at our 2011 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders expressed a preference for holding an advisory vote on executive compensation every year. In light of that preference, our Board of Directors determined that it would include an advisory vote to approve executive compensation in our company’s proxy materials every year. After careful consideration, the Board remains of the opinion that shareholder voting on executive compensation should be held every year. We view the manner in which we compensate our executive officers as an essential part of our strategy for achieving sustainable economic growth. We believe that such a vote should be conducted every year so that shareholders may annually express their views on our executive compensation program.

While the Board recommends voting on executive compensation every year, shareholders are not voting to approve or disapprove the Board’s recommendation. Rather, shareholders are being provided with the opportunity to cast an advisory vote through the resolution set forth below, on whether the advisory vote on executive compensation should occur every one, two or three years, or to abstain from voting on the matter.

BE IT RESOLVED that the shareholders determine, on an advisory basis, whether the advisory vote on executive compensation of the named executive officers of Patterson Companies, Inc. (“Patterson”) as set forth in Patterson’s proxy statement should occur every one, two or three years.

Vote Required

As an advisory vote, this proposal is non-binding. Although this vote is non-binding, our Board and its Compensation Committee, which is responsible for designing and administering our executive compensation program, value the opinions of our shareholders and will consider the outcome of this vote when making a determination regarding how frequently future advisory votes on executive compensation should be held. The alternative receiving the greatest number of votes (every one, two or three years) will be the frequency that shareholders approve.Our Board of Directors recommends a vote, on an advisory basis, for a “say-on-pay” vote every 1 YEAR.


PROPOSAL NO. 4
RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Our Audit Committee has appointed EY as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending April 28, 2018. If the shareholders do not ratify the appointment at the meeting, such committee will consider selection of another firm of independent registered public accountants, but reserves the right to uphold the appointment.

Representatives of EY are expected to be present at the meeting, will have an opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so, and are expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions from shareholders in attendance.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

EY was our independent registered public accounting firm for the two most recently completed fiscal years. Aggregate fees for professional services rendered for our company by EY for such fiscal years were as follows:

 

Fiscal Year Ended

April 29, 2017

Fiscal Year Ended

April 30, 2016

Audit Fees $3,001,159  $2,526,572 
Audit-Related Fees  65,000   454,001 
Tax Fees  156,546   418,337 (a)
All Other Fees  1,995   1,995 
Total $3,224,700  $3,400,905 
         

(a)Does not include $408,800 of fees paid to EY by proxy and entitledLanai Holdings III, Inc. (“Lanai”) for costs incurred to vote on this proposal atperform the meeting and (ii)tax analysis required as a majorityresult of the minimum number of shares entitleddirect foreign purchases Lanai elected to vote that would constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the meeting, is required to approve this proposal. Abstentions will be considered for purposes of calculating the vote, but will not be considered to have been votedmake in favor of such matter. Broker non-votes are counted towards a quorum, but are not counted for any purpose in determining whether this matter has been approved. If you own shares through a bank, broker, or other holder of record, you must instruct your bank, broker, or other holder of record how to vote in order for them to vote your shares on this proposal.Our Board of Directors recommends that you voteFOR approval of this proposal.

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table provides information as of April 26, 2014 about our common stock that may be issued under all of our existing equity compensation plans. All of these plans have been approved by our shareholders, except the Canadian Plan.

Plan Category

  Number of securities to
be issued upon exercise
of outstanding options,
warrants and rights
(a)
   Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights

(b)
   Number of securities
remaining available for
future issuance under  equity
compensation plans
(excluding securities reflected
in column (a))

(c)
 

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders

   389,052    $35.29     7,381,573  

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

   —       —       1,919,895  
  

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total

   389,052    $35.29     9,301,468  
  

 

 

     

 

 

 

Effective June 2000, we adopted the Canadian Plan. The Canadian Plan permits eligible employees who are designated and awarded an option to purchase such option through salary deductions. The option purchase price is equal to 37.5% of the market price on the date of grant. Options may be exercised three years after the grant date and terminate five years after the grant of the option. Options may be exercised to purchase shares at a price equal to the remaining 62.5% of the market price on the date of grant. A total of 2,000,000 shares of common stock were originally reserved for issuance under the Canadian Plan.

PROPOSAL NO. 3

ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Introduction

We are committed to a compensation philosophy that links executive compensation to the attainment of business objectives and earnings performance, over the near and longer term, which in turn will enable us to attract, retain and reward executive officers who contribute to our success.

To fulfill this philosophy, our Compensation Committee seeks to provide market-competitive compensation packages that emphasize our commitment to consistent long-term profitable growth and our belief that a substantial portion of the total compensation received by our executive officers should be dependent upon the performance of the business annually and over time.

We have structured our annual and long-term incentive-based cash and non-cash executive compensation programs to motivate executives to achieve the business goals of our company and reward them for achieving these goals. We believe our executive compensation program is strongly aligned with the long-term interests of our shareholders. We urge you to read the “Executive Compensation” section of this proxy statement for additional details regarding our executive compensation.

Congress has enacted requirements commonly referred to as “say on pay” rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. As required by these rules under Section 14A of the Exchange Act, we are asking our shareholders to vote on the adoption of the following resolution:

BE IT RESOLVED by the shareholdersPatterson’s sale of Patterson Companies,Medical Holdings, Inc. (“Patterson”) that the shareholders approve the compensation of Patterson’s named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s compensation disclosure rules.

Audit fees were for professional services rendered for the audits of the consolidated financial statements, statutory audits of subsidiaries, and reviews of Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Audit-related fees were for employee benefit plan audits, audits in connection with proposed transactions, and due diligence assistance on proposed transactions. Tax fees were for assistance with U.S. and international tax compliance, planning, transaction cost analyses and other tax advisory services related to various company initiatives. All other fees were for use of an online research tool proprietary to EY.

Our Audit Committee has determined that the provision of services covered by the foregoing fees is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence. See “Our Board of Directors and Committees – Committee Responsibilities – Our Audit Committee and Its Report.”

The projects and categories of service are as follows:

Audit – These services include the work necessary for the auditor to render an opinion on our consolidated financial statements. Audit services also include audit or attest services required by statute or regulation, such as comfort letters, consents, reviews of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, statutory audits in non-U.S. locations and attestation reports on internal control over financial reporting required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Audit Related Services – These services consist primarily of audits of benefit plans, due diligence assistance, accounting consultation on proposed transactions and internal control reviews.

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Tax Services – Tax services consist of acquisition due diligence, transaction cost analysis, integration matters, review and consultation on tax provision and filings and other tax matters.

Other Services – The committee believes that other services are not an integral part of the examination of our company’s financial statements, and that other services may raise a real or perceived question as to the auditor’s independence. Accordingly, a very strong rationale must be presented to support the selection of the auditor for other services, and alternative service providers should also be considered.

Recommendation

Our Audit Committee and our Board of Directors recommend that you voteFOR the ratification of the appointment of EY as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 28, 2018.

ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS

The Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials will contain instructions as to how you can access our annual report to shareholders, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K containing financial statements for the fiscal year ended April 29, 2017, over the Internet. It will also tell you how to request, free of charge, a paper or e-mail copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K. No part of our annual report to shareholders is incorporated herein and no part of the annual report to shareholders is to be considered proxy-soliciting material.

We will furnish to each person whose proxy is being solicited, upon written request of such person, a copy of any exhibit described in the exhibit list accompanying the Form 10-K, upon the payment, in advance, of reasonable fees related to our furnishing of such exhibit(s). Written requests for copies of such exhibit(s) should be sent to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55120, Attention: Investor Relations.

HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries (e.g., brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for the proxy materials, including the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials, with respect to two or more shareholders sharing the same address by delivering a single set of proxy materials, including the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials, addressed to those shareholders, unless the affected shareholder has provided contrary instructions. This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially means extra convenience for shareholders and cost savings for companies.

This year, a number of brokers with account holders who are Patterson shareholders will be “householding” our proxy materials, including the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials. A single Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials and, if applicable, a single set of proxy materials will be delivered to multiple shareholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected shareholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that it will be “householding” communications to your address, “householding” will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in “householding” and would prefer to receive a separate Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials and, if applicable, a separate set of proxy materials, please notify your broker or us. Direct your written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55120, Attention: Investor Relations. Shareholders who currently receive multiple copies of the proxy materials, including the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials, at their addresses and would like to request “householding” of their communications should contact their brokers.

49 

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR THE 2018 ANNUAL MEETING

If a shareholder wishes to present a proposal for consideration for inclusion in the proxy materials for the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, the proposal must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and must be received at the executive offices of Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attn: Les B. Korsh, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, no later than April 6, 2018. All proposals must conform to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our Bylaws provide that, except in the case of proposals made in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, for shareholder proposals to be considered at an annual meeting of shareholders, the shareholder must have given timely notice thereof in writing to our Corporate Secretary. To be timely for consideration at the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, a shareholder’s notice must be delivered to or mailed and received at our executive offices by June 20, 2018. In addition, the proxy solicited by the Board for the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders will confer discretionary authority to vote on any proposal presented by a shareholder at that meeting for which we have not been provided with notice on or prior to June 20, 2018. A copy of our Bylaws may be obtained by written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attn: Les B. Korsh, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

As an advisory vote, this proposal is non-binding. Although this vote is non-binding, our Board of Directors and Compensation Committee value the opinions of our shareholders, and will, as it did last year, consider the outcome of this vote when making future compensation decisions for our named executive officers. Our Compensation Committee has implemented an annual advisory vote on our executive compensation program, so the next such shareholder advisory vote will occur at our 2015 annual meeting of shareholders.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of the greater of (i) a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on this proposal at the meeting and (ii) a majority of the minimum number of shares entitled to vote that would constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the meeting, is required to approve this proposal. Abstentions will be considered for purposes of calculating the vote, but will not be considered to have been voted in favor of such matter. Broker non-votes are counted towards a quorum, but are not counted for any purpose in determining whether this matter has been approved. If you own shares through a bank, broker, or other holder of record, you must instruct your bank, broker, or other holder of record how to vote in order for them to vote your shares on this proposal.Our Board of Directors recommends that you voteFOR approval of this proposal.

PROPOSAL NO. 4

RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Our Audit Committee has appointed EY as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending April 25, 2015. If the shareholders do not ratify such appointment at the meeting, our Audit Committee will consider selection of another firm of independent registered public accountants, but reserves the right to uphold the appointment.

Representatives of EY are expected to be present at the meeting, will have an opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so, and are expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions from shareholders in attendance.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

EY was our independent registered public accounting firm for the two most recently completed fiscal years. Aggregate fees for professional services rendered for our company by EY for such fiscal years were as follows:

   Fiscal Year Ended
April  26, 2014
   Fiscal Year Ended
April  27, 2013
 

Audit Fees

  $1,674,557    $1,542,594  

Audit-Related Fees

   55,000     50,000  

Tax Fees

   614,712     626,923  

All Other Fees

   3,555     3,790  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $2,347,824    $2,223,307  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Audit fees were for professional services rendered for the audits of the consolidated financial statements, statutory audits of subsidiaries, and reviews of Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Audit-related fees were for employee benefit plan audits. Tax fees were for assistance with transaction cost analysis, Canadian tax filings and audits, international tax advisory services, other tax advisory services and other tax matters. All other fees were for use of an online research tool proprietary to EY.

Our Audit Committee has determined that the provision of services covered by the foregoing fees is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence. See “Our Board of Directors and Committees – Committee Responsibilities – Our Audit Committee and Its Report.”

The projects and categories of service are as follows:

Audit—These services include the work necessary for the auditor to render an opinion on our consolidated financial statements. Audit services also include audit or attest services required by statute or regulation, such as comfort letters, consents, reviews of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, statutory audits in non-U.S. locations and attestation reports on internal control over financial reporting required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Audit Related Services—These services consist primarily of audits of benefit plans, due diligence assistance, accounting consultation on proposed transactions and internal control reviews.

Tax Services—Tax services consist of acquisition due diligence, transaction cost analysis, integration matters, review and consultation on tax provision and filings and other tax matters.

Other Services—The committee believes that other services are not an integral part of the examination of our company’s financial statements, and that other services may raise a real or perceived question as to the auditor’s independence. Accordingly, a very strong rationale must be presented to support the selection of the auditor for other services, and alternative service providers should also be considered.

Recommendation

Our Audit Committee and our Board of Directors recommend that you voteFOR the ratification of the appointment of EY as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April  25, 2015.

ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS

A copy of our annual report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended April 26, 2014, which includes our Annual Report on Form 10-K, accompanies the notice of annual meeting, this proxy statement and the related proxy card. No part of the annual report to shareholders is incorporated herein and no part of the annual report to shareholders is to be considered proxy-soliciting material. We will send a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 26, 2014, or any exhibits thereto, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to any shareholder upon written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55120, Attention: Investor Relations.

HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS

The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries (e.g., brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for the proxy materials with respect to two or more shareholders sharing the same address by delivering a single set of proxy materials addressed to those shareholders. This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially means extra convenience for shareholders and cost savings for companies.

This year, a number of brokers with account holders who are Patterson Companies, Inc. shareholders will be “householding” our proxy materials. A single set of proxy materials will be delivered to multiple shareholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected shareholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that it will be “householding” communications to your address, “householding” will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in “householding” and would prefer to receive a separate set of proxy materials, please notify your broker or us. Direct your written request to Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55120, Attention: Investor Relations. Shareholders who currently receive multiple copies of the proxy materials at their addresses and would like to request “householding” of their communications should contact their brokers.

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR THE 2015 ANNUAL MEETING

If a shareholder wishes to present a proposal for consideration for inclusion in the proxy materials for the 2015 annual meeting of shareholders, the proposal must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and must be received at the executive offices of Patterson Companies, Inc., 1031 Mendota Heights Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55120, Attn: Jonelle R. Burnham, no later than April 7, 2015. All proposals must conform to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under Securities and Exchange Commission rules, if a shareholder notifies us of his or her intent to present a proposal for consideration at the 2015 annual meeting of shareholders after June 21, 2015, we, acting through the persons named as proxies in the proxy materials for such meeting, may exercise discretionary authority with respect to such proposal without including information regarding such proposal in our proxy materials.

OTHER MATTERS

Our Board of Directors does not know of any other matter that will be presented at the annual meeting other than the proposals discussed in this proxy statement. However, if any other matter properly comes before the meeting, your proxies will act on such matter in their discretion.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

-s- James W. Wiltz

LOGO

Scott P. Anderson

James W. Wiltz
Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, and

Chairman of the Board

Director

St. Paul, Minnesota
August 4, 2017


August 5, 2014

(PATTERSON COMPANIES INC)

ANNEX A

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC. 2014 SHARESAVE PLAN

Adopted by the board of directors of Patterson Companies, Inc. on June 10th 2014 (subject to shareholder approval)

1.DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

1.1In this Plan, unless otherwise stated, the words and expressions below have the following meanings:

“Appropriate Period”

the relevant period referred to in paragraph 38(3) of Schedule 3;

“Associated Company”

the meaning given by paragraph 47 of Schedule 3 except for the purpose of rules 5.6.5 and 5.10 when that expression shall have the meaning described in paragraph 35(4) of Schedule 3;

“Board”

subject to rule 7.9, the board of the Company or a duly authorised committee of the board or any officer of the Company to whom the board of the Company has delegated authority for the purposes of the Plan, provided, however, that the board of the Company may not delegate authority to an officer of the Company to take action with respect to the following: the term “Eligible Employee” in rule 1.1, rule 7.1; rule 7.7; rule 10.1; rule 11.1; and rule 13.1;

“Bonus”

any sum payable to a Participant by way of a terminal bonus on completion of a Sharesave Contract;

“Bonus Date”

in respect of any Option, the earliest date on which any Bonus becomes payable under the related Sharesave Contract;

“Company”

Patterson Companies, Inc. incorporated in Minnesota under number7L-610;

“Constituent Company”

a)      the Company; and

b)      any other company which:

i)       is a Subsidiary of the Company; and

ii)     is under the Control of the Company;

“Control”

the meaning given by section 995 of the Income Tax Act 2007 except for the purposes of rule 5.6.5 where that expression shall have the meaning described in sections 450 and 451 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010;

“Date of Invitation”

the date on which the Board invites applications for Options;

“Dealing Day”

any day on which NASDAQ is open for business;

“Dealing Restrictions”

restrictions imposed by any share dealing code adopted by the Company, or any applicable laws or regulations which impose restrictions on share dealing;

“Eligible Employee”

a)      any person who is an employee (but not a director) or a Full-Time Director of a Constituent Company and:

i)       who has such qualifying period (if any) of continuous service (being a period not exceeding five years prior to the Grant Date) as the Board may in its absolute discretion determine from time to time; and

ii)     whose earnings from the office or employment by reason of which he satisfies the requirement in paragraph (a) are (or would be if there were any) general earnings to which section 15 of ITEPA applies; and

b)      any other director or employee of any Constituent Company whom the Board may in its absolute discretion select from time to time;

“Full Time Director”

an employee who is a director of any Constituent Company and is required under his contract of employment to work for more than 25 hours per week (excluding meal breaks);

“Grant Date”

the date on which an Option is granted;

“HMRC”

HM Revenue & Customs;

“ITEPA”

the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003;

“ITTOIA”

the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005;

“Market Value”

on any day the market value of a Share as agreed with HMRC on or before that day for the purposes of the Plan and in no event less than the closing price of a Share on NASDAQ on the previous Dealing Day, provided that, where the Shares are subject to a Restriction, their Market Value shall be determined as if they were not subject to such Restriction;

“Maximum Contribution”

the maximum aggregate Monthly Contribution which a Participant may make under all Sharesave Contracts linked to options granted to him under the Plan or any other savings-related share option plan that meets the requirements of Schedule 3, being the lesser of:

(a)    £500 per month or such other maximum amount as may be permitted by paragraph 25(3)(a) of Schedule 3 from time to time; and

(b)    such other maximum Monthly Contribution as may be determined from time to time by the Board;

“Minimum Contribution”

£10 or such other greater amount as the Board may determine from time to time but not exceeding the minimum monthly contribution permitted by paragraph 25(3)(b) of Schedule 3;

“Monthly Contributions”

monthly contributions agreed to be paid by a Participant under the Sharesave Contract and expressed in UK Pounds Sterling;

“NASDAQ”

the Nasdaq Global Select Market of the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.

“Non-UK Company Reorganisation”

the meaning given by paragraph 47A of Schedule 3;

“Option”

a right to acquire Shares under the Plan;

“Option Price”

subject to any adjustment pursuant to rule 10, the price per Share, expressed in US Dollars as determined by the Board, at which an Eligible Employee may acquire Shares upon the exercise of an Option being not manifestly less than 85 per cent of the Market Value of a Share on the Date of Invitation or a date specified in the invitation to apply for an Option (such date being no earlier than the Date of Invitation and no later than the Grant Date) provided that, if the Shares may only be subscribed for, such price shall not be less than the par value of a Share;

“Participant”

any person who holds an Option, or following his death, his personal representatives;

“Plan”

Patterson Companies, Inc. 2014 Sharesave Plan in its present form or as from time to time amended;

“Repayment”

in relation to a Sharesave Contract, the aggregate of the Monthly Contributions which the Participant has made and, subject to rule 2.3.5, any Bonus due at the Bonus Date;

“Restriction”

the meaning given by paragraph 48(3) of Schedule 3;

“Schedule 3”

Schedule 3 to ITEPA;

“Scheme-Related Employment”

the office or employment by reference to which a Participant is eligible to participate in the Plan within the meaning given by paragraph 10 of Schedule 3;

“Share”

a fully paid up non-redeemable share of the common stock of the Company, par value $0.01 per share, which satisfies the conditions specified in paragraphs 18 to 22 of Schedule 3;

“Sharesave Contract”

a contract under a certified SAYE savings arrangement (within the meaning of section 703(1) of ITTOIA;

“Subsidiary”

the meaning given by section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006;

“Variation”

any capitalisation issue or offer or invitation made by way of rights relating to, or any subdivision, consolidation, reduction or any other variation of, the share capital of the Company in respect of which Options may be adjusted in accordance with rule 10 and the requirements of Schedule 3.

1.2References in the Plan to:

1.2.1any statutory provisions are to those provisions as amended or re-enacted from time to time;

1.2.2the singular include the plural and vice versa;

1.2.3the masculine include the feminine and vice versa; and

1.2.4legislation are to legislation of the UK.

1.3Headings do not form part of the Plan.

1.4Terms not otherwise defined in the Plan shall have the same meanings as are set out in Schedule 3.

2.APPLICATION FOR OPTIONS

2.1Subject to rule 2.2, the Board may at any time invite Eligible Employees to apply for Options.

2.2The issue of invitations to apply for an Option shall be subject to obtaining any approval or consent required by any relevant authority, any Dealing Restrictions and any other applicable laws or regulations (whether in the UK or overseas).

2.3Any invitation to apply for Options shall be sent in writing to all Eligible Employees and shall include details of:

2.3.1the Option Price or the mechanism by which the Option Price will be determined (which may be different in respect of three and five year Sharesave Contracts);

2.3.2the Maximum Contribution payable;

2.3.3the Minimum Contribution payable;

2.3.4whether the Eligible Employees may elect for a three or five year Sharesave Contract;

2.3.5whether, for the purpose of determining the number of Shares over which an Option is to be granted, the Repayment under the Sharesave Contract is to be taken as including the Bonus or not; and

2.3.6the date by which applications must be received (being not earlier than 14 days after the Date of Invitation).

2.4Applications for Options must incorporate or be accompanied by an application for a Sharesave Contract.

2.5An application for an Option shall be in writing or in electronic format and in such form as the Board may determine from time to time, provided that the applicant shall be required to state:

2.5.1the Monthly Contribution (being a multiple of £1 and not less than the Minimum Contribution) which he wishes to make under the Sharesave Contract to be made in connection with the Option for which an application is made;

2.5.2that his proposed Monthly Contribution (when taken together with any monthly contribution he makes under any other Sharesave Contract whether entered into in connection with the grant of an Option under the Plan or in connection with the grant of an option under any other plan that meets the requirements of Schedule 3) will not exceed the Maximum Contribution; and

2.5.3if the Eligible Employee may elect for a three or five year Sharesave Contract, his election in that respect.

2.6If an Eligible Employee’s application for an Option specifies a proposed Monthly Contribution which (when taken together with any monthly contribution he makes under any other Sharesave Contract whether entered into in connection with the grant of an Option under the Plan or in connection with the grant of an option under any other plan that meets the requirements of Schedule 3) exceeds the Maximum Contribution, the Board shall be authorised to reduce his Monthly Contribution so as to comply with the Maximum Contribution.

2.7Each application shall be deemed to be for an Option over the largest whole number of Shares which can be acquired at the Option Price with the Repayment due when the Option is exercised under the Sharesave Contract entered into in connection with the Option. For these purposes, the Repayment shall be converted into US Dollars at the time of exercise at an exchange rate prevailing at that time as determined by the Board.

3.GRANT OF OPTIONS

3.1Subject to the other provisions of this rule 3, within 30 days of the earliest date by reference to which the Option Price is determined, the Board shall grant to each Eligible Employee who has submitted a valid application (within any applicable time limit) an Option over the largest whole number of Shares (rounded down to the nearest whole Share) which can be acquired at the Option Price with the Repayment under that Eligible Employee’s Sharesave Contract at the applicable Bonus Date.

3.2No Option shall be granted to any person if at the Grant Date that person shall have ceased to be an Eligible Employee.

3.3No Eligible Employee shall be granted an Option to the extent it would at the proposed Grant Date cause the aggregate amount of his contributions under all Sharesave Contracts to exceed the Maximum Contribution.

3.4No amount shall be paid in respect of the grant of an Option.

3.5The grant of an Option shall be subject to obtaining any approval or consent required by any relevant authority, any Dealing Restrictions and any other applicable laws or regulations (whether in the UK or overseas).

3.6No Options can be granted unless and until the Plan meets the requirements of Schedule 3.

3.7No Options shall be granted after the tenth anniversary of the date on which the Plan was approved by the shareholders of the Company.

3.8At the time an Option is granted, it shall be stated whether or not the Shares which may be acquired on the exercise of the Option may be subject to any Restriction, and if so, the details of such Restriction.

4.PLAN LIMIT

4.1

The maximum number of Shares that may be issued under the Plan is 200,000, provided that in the event that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, shares, other securities or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merge, consolidation, split-up, spin-off, combination, repurchase or exchange of shares or other securities of the Company or other similar transaction or event affecting shares of the Company would be reasonably likely to result in the diminution

or enlargement of any of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan, the Board shall, in such manner as it shall deem equitable or appropriate in order to prevent such diminution or enlargement of any such benefits or potential benefits adjust this number.

5.RIGHTS TO EXERCISE OPTIONS

5.1Subject to rules 5.5 to 5.7 and 7, an Option shall not be exercised earlier than the Bonus Date under the relevant Sharesave Contract.

5.2Subject to rule 5.5, an Option shall not be exercised later than six months after the Bonus Date under the relevant Sharesave Contract, at which time it shall lapse.

5.3An Option may be exercised in whole or in part. However, if partial exercise occurs, the unexercised part of the Option shall lapse at the date of exercise.

5.4Subject to rules 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 and 5.9, a Participant may exercise an Option only while he continues to hold Scheme-Related Employment.

5.5The personal representatives of a deceased Participant may exercise his Option within:

5.5.1one year following the date of his death, if such death occurs before the Bonus Date; or

5.5.2one year following the Bonus Date, if such death occurs on or within six months of the Bonus Date,

after which time it shall lapse.

5.6If a Participant ceases to hold Scheme-Related Employment because of:

5.6.1injury or disability;

5.6.2redundancy within the meaning of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

5.6.3retirement;

5.6.4a relevant transfer within the meaning of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006;

5.6.5if the Participant holds office in or is employed by a company which is an Associated Company, that company ceasing to be an Associated Company by reason of a change of Control; or

5.6.6the transfer or sale of the undertaking or part-undertaking in which he is employed to a person who is not an Associated Company where the transfer is not a relevant transfer within the meaning of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006,

he may, subject to rule 5.2, exercise his Option within six months of the date of such cessation after which time, subject to rule 5.5, it shall lapse.

5.7If a Participant ceases to hold Scheme-Related Employment after the third anniversary of the Grant Date other than as a result of a reason referred to in rule 5.5, rule 5.6 or the termination of the Participant’s employment by his employer, he may, subject to rule 5.2, exercise his Option within six months of the date of such cessation after which time, subject to rule 5.5, it shall lapse.

5.8If the Participant ceases to hold office or employment with a Constituent Company or an Associated Company in any circumstances where none of rules 5.5, 5.6 or 5.7 apply, his Option shall lapse at that time (regardless of whether such cessation is lawful or unlawful).

5.9If a Participant ceases to be a director or employee of a Constituent Company but on the Bonus Date is an employee or director of an Associated Company, he may exercise his Option within six months of that date, after which time, subject to rule 5.5, it shall lapse.

5.10No person shall be treated for the purposes of this rule 5 as ceasing to hold the office or employment by virtue of which that person is eligible to participate in the Plan until that person ceases to hold any office or employment with the Company or any company which is an Associated Company of the Company.

5.11Notwithstanding any other rule of the Plan, the Option shall lapse on the date on which the Participant gives notice or is deemed to give notice under the Sharesave Contract that he intends to stop paying contributions under the Sharesave Contract or applies for his savings to be repaid.

6.RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AND BANKRUPTCY

6.1An Option must not be transferred, assigned, charged or otherwise disposed of in any way (except in the event of the Participant’s death, to his personal representatives) and shall lapse immediately on any attempt to do so.

6.2An Option shall lapse immediately if the Participant is declared bankrupt.

7.TAKEOVER, RECONSTRUCTION AND LIQUIDATION

7.1Where any of the events described in rule 7.2 occur, then subject to rules 7.4 and 7.7, any Option may be exercised, subject to rules 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6, within a period of one month (or such longer period as the Board may determine not exceeding six months) of such event, after which time it shall lapse.

7.2The events referred to in rule 7.1 are:

General offer

If any person (either alone or together with any person acting in concert with him):

7.2.1obtains Control of the Company as a result of making

i)a general offer to acquire the whole of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company other than that which is already owned by him and persons connected with him (which is either unconditional or is made on a condition such that if it is satisfied the person making the offer will have Control of the Company); or

ii)a general offer to acquire all the shares in the Company which are of the same class as the Shares other than those which are already owned by him and persons connected with him; or

7.2.2already having Control of the Company, makes an offer to acquire all of the Shares other than those which are already owned by him and persons connected with him,

(notwithstanding that such offer may be made to different shareholders by different means) and such offer becomes wholly unconditional.

Non-UK Company Reorganisation

A Non-UK Company Reorganisation applicable to or affecting:

i)all the ordinary share capital of the Company or all of the shares as are of the same class as the Shares to which the Options relate; or

ii)all the shares, or all of the shares of that same class, which are held by a class of shareholders identified otherwise than by reference to their employment or directorships or their participation in a plan that meets the requirements of Schedule 3,

becoming binding on the shareholders covered by it.

7.3Subject to rule 7.4, if the Company passes a resolution for voluntary winding-up, an Option may be exercised, subject to rules 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6, within six months of the passing of the resolution, after which time it shall lapse.

7.4An Option shall not become exercisable under rules 7.1 but may, with the agreement of the Participant, be exchanged on the terms set out in rule 7.5 to the extent that:

7.4.1the relevant event is part of an offer, scheme, compromise or arrangement whereby Control of the Company is to be obtained by another company (the “New Company”);

7.4.2immediately after the New Company obtains Control of the Company, all or substantially all of the issued share capital of the New Company will be owned directly or indirectly by the persons who were shareholders in the Company immediately before the change of Control; and

7.4.3the New Company agrees to grant New Options in accordance with rule 7.5 in consideration for the release of any Options which have not lapsed.

Any Option which is not so exchanged shall lapse at the end of the Appropriate Period.

7.5If any company (the “Acquiring Company”) obtains Control of the Company in accordance with rule 7.1, any Participant may, at any time within the Appropriate Period, by agreement with the Acquiring Company, release any Option which has not lapsed (the “Old Option”) in consideration of the grant to him of an option (the “New Option”) which is equivalent to the Old Option but relates to shares in a different company falling within paragraph 18(b) or (c) of Schedule 3 (whether the Acquiring Company or some other company).

7.6The New Option shall not be regarded for the purposes of rule 7.5 as equivalent to the Old Option unless the conditions set out in paragraph 39(4) of Schedule 3 are satisfied. For the purposes of the New Option, the provisions of the Plan shall be construed as if:

7.6.1the New Option is an option granted at the same time as the Old Option;

7.6.2the Sharesave Contract applicable to the Old Option applies to the New Option; and

7.6.3except for the purposes of the definitions of “Constituent Company” and “Subsidiary” in rule 1.1, the reference to Patterson Companies, Inc. in the definition of “the Company” in rule 1.1 were a reference to the different company mentioned in rule 7.5.

7.7Where rule 7.2 applies, the Board may in its discretion allow Options to be exercised during the period of 20 days ending on the date of the relevant event.

7.8Where Options are exercised pursuant to rule 7.7, if the event referred to in rule 7.2 does not occur, the exercise of those Options shall be of no effect.

7.9Any reference to the Board in this rule 7 means the members of the Board immediately prior to the relevant event.

7.10Where, as a result of a person obtaining Control of the Company in accordance with rule 7.1 Shares cease to satisfy the requirements of paragraph 18 to 22 of Schedule 3, an Option may be exercised under rule 7.1 to 7.3 within 20 days of that person obtaining Control, notwithstanding that the Shares no longer satisfy those requirements (but not later than six months after Control has passed).

8.MANNER OF EXERCISE

8.1An Option may only be exercised during the periods specified in rules 5 and 7 and only with monies not exceeding the amount of the Repayment under the Sharesave Contract as at the date of such exercise.

8.2An Option may be exercised, in whole or in part, subject to rule 9.2 by the Participant giving notice in writing or in electronic format and in such form as the Board may from time to time prescribe, to the secretary of the Company or his duly appointed agent. Any notice of exercise will only take effect on receipt along with the relevant Option Price or an instruction to withdraw and apply monies from the Sharesave Contract equal to the aggregate Option Price.

8.3An Option shall be exercised over the largest whole number of Shares (rounded down to the nearest whole Share) which can be acquired at the Option Price with the Repayment due when the Option is exercised. For these purposes, the Repayment shall be converted into US Dollars at the time of exercise at an exchange rate prevailing at that time as determined by the Board.

9.ISSUE OR TRANSFER OF SHARES

9.1Subject to rule 9.2, the number of Shares in respect of which the Option has been exercised will be issued or transferred as applicable to the Participant within 30 days.

9.2The exercise of the Option and the issue or transfer of Shares under the Plan shall be subject to obtaining any approval or consent required by any relevant authority, any Dealing Restrictions or any other applicable laws or regulations (whether in the USA, UK or overseas).

10.ADJUSTMENTS

10.1The number of Shares subject to an Option and the Option Price thereof (and if an Option has been exercised but no Shares have been allotted or transferred pursuant to such exercise, the number of Shares which may be so allotted or transferred and the price at which they may be acquired) shall be adjusted in such manner as the Board shall determine in the event of any Variation provided that no such adjustment shall be made that does not meet the requirements of Schedule 3.

11.AMENDMENTS

11.1Except as described in this rule 11, the Board may at any time amend the rules of the Plan. If any such amendment would result in the Plan ceasing to meet the requirements of Schedule 3, the amendment will not have effect unless and until the Board has determined that the amendment shall take effect even if this causes the Plan to cease to meet the requirements of Schedule 3.

11.2Without the approval of the shareholders of the Company, no amendment may be made that would, absent such approval:

11.2.1increase the number of Shares that may be issued under the Plan;

11.2.2permit the grant of Options with an Option Price which is manifestly less than 85 per cent of the Market Value of a Share on the Date of Invitation or a date specified in the invitation to apply for an Option (such date being no earlier than the Date of Invitation and no later than the Grant Date);

11.2.3permit the repricing of outstanding Options;

11.2.4extend the term of the Plan;

11.2.5change the class of persons eligible to participate in the Plan;

11.2.6otherwise implement any amendment required to be approved by shareholders under the rules of any applicable stock exchange or NASDAQ Marketplace Rules.

11.3No amendment to the material disadvantage of existing rights or Participants will be made under this rule 11 unless:

11.3.1every Participant who may be affected by such amendment has been invited to indicate whether or not he approves the amendment; and

11.3.2the amendment is approved by a majority of those Participants who have so indicated.

12.LEGAL ENTITLEMENT

12.1This rule 12 applies during a Participant’s employment with the Company or any Associated Company and after the termination of such employment, whether or not the termination is lawful.

12.2Nothing in the Plan or its operation forms part of the terms of employment of a Participant and the rights and obligations arising from a Participant’s employment with the Company or any Associated Company are separate from, and are not affected by, his participation in the Plan. Participation in the Plan does not create any right to continued employment for any Participant.

12.3The grant of any Option to a Participant does not create any right for that Participant to be granted any further Options or to be granted Options on any particular terms, including the number of Shares to which Options relate.

12.4By participating in the Plan, a Participant waives all rights to compensation for any loss in relation to the Plan, including:

12.4.1any loss or reduction of any rights or expectations under the Plan in any circumstances or for any reason (including lawful or unlawful termination of the Participant’s employment); or

12.4.2the operation, suspension, termination or amendment of the Plan.

13.GENERAL

13.1The Plan will terminate upon the date stated in rule 3.7 or at any earlier time by the passing of a resolution of the Board or an ordinary resolution of the Company in general meeting. Termination of the Plan will be without prejudice to the existing rights of participants.

13.2Shares issued or transferred from treasury under the Plan will rank equally in all respects with the Shares then in issue, except that they will not rank for any voting, dividend or other rights attaching to Shares by reference to a record date preceding the date of issue or transfer from treasury.

13.3If it is found following a Grant Date that as a result of an error or omission:

13.3.1an Eligible Employee has not been given the opportunity to participate in the Plan in respect of any invitation to apply for an Option; or

13.3.2the number of Shares over which an Option was expressed to be granted to any Eligible Employee is incorrect

any Option expressed to have been granted in respect of more than the correct number of Shares shall be void as to the excess, any Option expressed to have been granted in respect of fewer than the correct number of Shares shall relate to the correct number of Shares and the Company and any relevant Associated Company may do all acts and things as may be agreed with HMRC to rectify such error or omission notwithstanding that such actions may not otherwise be in accordance with the terms of the Plan.

13.4By participating in the Plan, a Participant consents to the collection, holding, processing and transfer of his personal data by the Company, any Associated Company or any third party for all purposes relating to the operation of the Plan, including but not limited to, the administration and maintenance of Participant records, providing information to future purchasers of the Company or any business in which the Participant works and to the transfer of information about the Participant to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area or elsewhere.

13.5The Plan will be administered by the Board. The Board will have full authority, consistent with the Plan, to administer the Plan, including authority to interpret and construe any provision of the Plan and to adopt regulations for administering the Plan. Decisions of the Board will be final and binding on all parties.

13.6Any notice or other communication in connection with the Plan may be delivered personally or sent by electronic means or post, in the case of a company to its registered office (for the attention of the company secretary), and in the case of an individual either to his last known address, or, where he is a director or employee of an Associated Company, either to his last known address or to the address of the place of business at which he performs the whole or substantially the whole of the duties of his office or employment. Unless otherwise stated in the Plan, where a notice or other communication is given by post, it will be deemed to have been received 72 hours after it was put into the post properly addressed and stamped, and if by electronic means, when the sender receives electronic confirmation of delivery or, if not available, 24 hours after sending the notice.

13.7No third party will have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this Plan (without prejudice to any right of a third party which exists other than under that Act).

13.8The rules of the Plan will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any person referred to in this Plan submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.

LOGO

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.

1031 MENDOTA HEIGHTS ROAD

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 55120

VOTE BY INTERNET -www.proxyvote.com

Use the internetInternet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time the day before the meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form.

ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF FUTURE PROXY MATERIALS

If you would like to reduce the costs incurred by our company in mailing proxy materials, you can consent to receiving all future proxy statements, proxy cards and annual reports electronically via e-mail or the Internet. To sign up for electronic delivery, please follow the instructions above to vote using the Internet and, when prompted, indicate that you agree to receive or access proxy materials electronically in future years.

VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903

Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time the day before the meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions.

VOTE BY MAIL

Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.

 

 

 

TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK ININK AS FOLLOWS:

 

E31605-P95389KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS
 M77444-P53635KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS
 DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY

THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED.

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.For
All
Withhold
All
For All
Except

The Board of Directors Recommends a Vote “FOR” Items 1, 2, 3 and 4.

¨¨¨

1.     To elect five directors (Buck, Feragen, Lin, Schrimsher and Vinney) to have terms expiring in 2015 and until their successors shall be elected and duly qualified.

01) John D. Buck            04) Neil A. Schrimsher

02) Jody H. Feragen        05) Les C. Vinney

03) Sarena S. Lin           

To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “For All Except” and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below.

ForAgainstAbstain

2.     Approval of our 2014 Sharesave Plan.

¨¨¨

3.     Advisory approval of executive compensation.

¨¨¨

  4.     To ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for

          the fiscal year ending April 25, 2015.

¨¨¨

  5.     In their discretion, the proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come

          before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

THIS PROXY WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED OR, IF NO DIRECTION IS GIVEN, WILL BE VOTED FOR ITEMS 1, 2, 3 AND 4.

For address changes and/or comments, please check this box and write them on the back where indicated.

¨

Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer.

  Signature (PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX)

Date

Signature (Joint Owners)

Date


Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:

The Notice and Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available at www.proxyvote.com.

 

 

M77445-P53635

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.

The Board of Directors Recommends you vote
“FOR” the listed nominees in Item 1, “FOR” Item
2, “1 YEAR” on Item 3 and “FOR” Item 4.

  

 1.To elect eight directors to have terms expiring 
in 2018, and until their successors shall be
elected and duly qualified.

 

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.
ForAgainstAbstain
01)John D. Buck
02)Alex N. Blanco
03)Jody H. Feragen
04)Sarena S. Lin
05)Ellen A. Rudnick
06)Neil A. Schrimsher
07)Les C. Vinney
08)James W. Wiltz

ForAgainstAbstain
2.Advisory approval of executive compensation.

1 Year2 Years3 YearsAbstain
3.Advisory vote on frequency of shareholder votes on executive compensation.

ForAgainstAbstain
4.To ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending April 28, 2018.

NOTE: At their discretion, the proxies are authorized to vote on any other business properly brought before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

THIS PROXY WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED OR, IF NO DIRECTION IS GIVEN, WILL BE VOTED “FOR” ITEMS 1, 2 AND 4, AND “1 YEAR” ON ITEM 3.

 

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
For address changes and/or comments, please check this box and write them on the back where indicated.

Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer.

Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX]DateSignature (Joint Owners)Date

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:
The Notice and Proxy Statement and Annual Report Including Form 10-K are available at www.proxyvote.com.

 

Monday, September 8, 2014

4:30 p.m. local time

Patterson Technology Center

1201 Althoff Drive

Effingham, Illinois 62401

 

Patterson Companies, Inc.

1031 Mendota Heights Road

St. Paul, Minnesota 55120

Proxy

This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors for use at the Annual Meeting on Monday, September 8, 2014.

The shares of stock held in your account will be voted as you specify on the reverse side.
If no choice is specified, the proxy will be voted “FOR” Items 1, 2, 3 and 4.
By signing the proxy, you revoke all prior proxies and appoint Scott P. Anderson and R. Stephen Armstrong, or either of them, with full power of substitution, to vote these shares on the matters shown on the reverse side and any other matters which may come before the Annual Meeting or at any adjournment or postponement thereof.

E31606-P95389

PATTERSON COMPANIES, INC.
ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
Monday, September 18, 2017
4:30 p.m. local time
1031 Mendota Heights Road
St. Paul, Minnesota 55120
Patterson Companies, Inc.
1031 Mendota Heights Road
St. Paul, Minnesota 55120
Proxy
This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors for use at the Annual Meeting on Monday, September 18, 2017.
The shares of stock held in your account will be voted as you specify on the reverse side.
If no choice is specified, the proxy will be voted “FOR” Items 1, 2 and 4, and “1 YEAR” on Item 3.
By signing the proxy, you revoke all prior proxies and appoint James W. Wiltz and Ann B. Gugino, or either of them, with full power of substitution, to vote these shares on the matters shown on the reverse side and any other matters which may come before the Annual Meeting or at any adjournment or postponement thereof.

Address
Changes/Comments:________________________________________________________________________________________

(If you noted any Address Changes/Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.)
See reverse for voting instruction.

  

Address Changes/Comments:

(If you noted any Address Changes/Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.)

See reverse for voting instruction.