Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

The Board has determined that each member of the DiversityHuman Capital Management and Compensation Committee is independent in 2021 was independent.accordance with the NYSE rules. The Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee consists of Messrs. Nix, Gunning, and Wilson. None of these individuals is a current or former officer or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries. Related party transactions and the independence of the non-employee members of the Company’s Board are discussed in more detail under the following sections, Director Independence and NYSE Requirements, and Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, of this Proxy Statement. No executive officer of the Company has served as a director or member of the compensation committee or other board committee of another entity that had an executive officer who served on the Company’s Board or Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee.

​Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company consists of Jerry W. Nix (Chairman), Patrick J. Gunning, John F. Wilson, Timothy C. Rollins and Amy R. Kreisler. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things:

The Company is not required by law or by the NYSE rules to have a nominating committee since we are a controlled corporation as described below under the heading “Director Independence and NYSE Requirements.” However, we have established a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a written charter to promote responsible corporate governance practices. We currently intend to maintain the committee going forward, but as a controlled company, we rely upon the exemption from the requirement that we have a nominating committee comprised entirely of independent directors.

Director Nominations

Under Delaware law, there are no statutory criteria or qualifications for directors. No criteria or qualifications have been prescribed by the Board at this time. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not have a formal policy with regard to the consideration of director candidates. As such, there is no formal policy relative to diversity, although as noted below, it is one of many factors that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has the discretion to factor into its decision making. This discretion would extend to how the Committee might define diversity in a particular instance – whether in terms of background, viewpoint, experience, education, race, gender, national origin or other considerations. The Committee acts under the guidance of the Corporate Governance Guidelines approved by the Board of Directors and posted on the Company’s website at www.rpc.net under the Governance section. The Board believes that it should preserve maximum flexibility in order to select directors with sound judgment and other desirable qualities. According to the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board of Directors is responsible for selecting nominees for election to the Board of Directors. The Board has delegated the screening process of director nominees for nomination to the Board and service on the committees of the Board to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and

Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for determining the appropriate skills and characteristics required of Board members in the context of the then current makeup of the Board. This determination takes into account all factors which the Committee considers appropriate, such as independence, experience, strength of character, mature judgment, technical skills, diversity, age and the extent to which the individual would fill a present need on the Board. The Bylaws provide that nominations for the election of directors may be made by any stockholder entitled to vote for the election of directors. Nominations must comply with an advance notice procedure which generally requires, with respect to nominations for directors for election at an annual meeting, that written notice be addressed to: The Corporate Secretary, RPC, Inc., 2801 Buford Highway NE, Suite 300, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, and received not less than 90 nor more than 130 days prior to the anniversary of the prior year’s annual meeting and set forth among other requirements specified in the Bylaws, the name, age, business address and, if known, residence address of the nominee proposed in the notice, the principal occupation or employment of the nominee for the past five years, the nominee’s qualifications, the class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Company which are owned beneficially or of record by the person and any other information relating to the person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings. Other requirements related to the notice are contained in the Bylaws and stockholders are advised to carefully review those requirements to ensure that nominations comply with the Bylaws; stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Board’s nominees must also comply with SEC Rule 14a-19(b). The Committee will consider nominations from stockholders that satisfy these requirements.

All of the nominees for directors being voted upon at the Annual Meeting to be held on April 23, 2024 are currently serving on the Board of Directors.

Board Leadership STRUCTURE

The Board believes the current leadership structure consisting of a separate Executive Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Lead Independent Director represents the appropriate structure for the Company at this time. Richard A. Hubbell is the Executive Chairman of the Board and sets the agendas for Board meetings in consultation with the CEO, Corporate Secretary, and other members of the Board, and presides over all Board meetings and the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Ben M. Palmer is the President and Chief Executive Officer and sets the operational leadership and strategic direction of the Company. Jerry W. Nix is the Lead Independent Director and serves as the liaison between the Executive Chairman, CEO and the independent directors, sets the agenda for, and presides over, the executive sessions of the non-employee and independent directors, consults with the Executive Chairman and CEO regarding information sent to the Board in connection with Board meetings and is available, if requested by the stockholders, when appropriate, for consultation and direct communication.

Risk Oversight

Our Board of Directors provides oversight of the Company’s overall risk management practices. “Risk” is an extremely broad concept that extends to multiple functional areas and crosses multiple disciplines. As such, risk may be addressed from time to time by the full Board or by one or more of our Committees. Senior management is responsible for identifying and managing material risks that we face while insurable risks and litigation risks are handled primarily by the risk management department. Senior management provides the Board with a summary of insurance coverage annually and updates as deemed necessary. Liquidity risk, credit risk and risks associated with our credit facilities and cash management are handled primarily by our finance department which regularly provides a financial report to both the Audit Committee and to the full Board. Operational, business, regulatory and political risks are handled primarily by senior executive management which regularly provides various operational reports to, among others, the full Board, the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee.

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Cybersecurity Risk Oversight

The Board has delegated its responsibility for oversight of the Company’s cybersecurity and information security framework and risk management to the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee receives information and updates at least quarterly and actively engages with senior leaders with respect to the effectiveness of the Company’s cybersecurity and information security framework, data privacy, and risk management. In addition, the Audit Committee receives reports summarizing threat detection and mitigation plans, audits of internal controls, training and certification, and other cyber priorities and initiatives, as well as timely updates from senior leaders on material incidents relating to information systems security, including cybersecurity incidents. The Audit Committee includes members with experience in risk management including cybersecurity.  

RPC’s cybersecurity program is overseen by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) as well as several key members of RPCs Enterprise Technology team including the Principal Security Architect. These key leaders collectively have over 50 years of experience in network security, cybersecurity and enterprise risk management. The Chief Executive Officer and CIO receive regular updates on cybersecurity matters, results of mitigation efforts related to existing risks and cybersecurity incident response and remediation.

Director Independence and NYSE Requirements

Controlled Company Exemption

The Company has elected to be treated as a “controlled company” as defined by NYSE Section 303A.00. This Section provides that a controlled company need not comply with the requirements of Sections 303A.01, 303A.04 and 303A.05 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. Section 303A.01 requires that listed companies have a majority of independent directors. As a controlled company, this Section does not apply to the Company. Sections 303A.04 and 303A.05 require that listed companies have a nominating and corporate governance committee and a compensation committee, in each case composed entirely of independent directors, and that each of these committees must have a charter that addresses both the committee’s purpose and responsibilities and the need for an annual performance evaluation by the committee. While the Company has a Nominating and Corporate Governance committee and a Human Capital Management and Compensation committee, and each of these committees has a written charter that is available on the Company’s website, it is not required to and does not comply with all of the provisions of Sections 303A.04 and 303A.05. The Company is a “controlled company” because a group that includes Gary W. Rollins, Pamela R. Rollins, Timothy C. Rollins, and Amy R. Kreisler, each of whom is a director of the Company, and certain companies under their control, controls in excess of 50% of the Company’s voting power. This means that they have the ability to determine the outcome of the election of directors at the Company’s annual meetings and to determine the outcome of many significant corporate transactions, many of which only require the approval of a majority of the Company’s voting power. Such a concentration of voting power could also have the effect of delaying or preventing a third party from acquiring the Company at a premium.

The Company’s Audit Committee is composed of four “independent” directors as defined by the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, the NYSE rules, the Exchange Act, SEC regulations thereunder, and the Company’s Audit Committee Charter. All of the members of the Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee, and a majority of the members of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are also “independent” directors. The current independent directors of the Company are Jerry W. Nix, Susan R. Bell Patrick J. Gunning, and John F. Wilson.

Independence Guidelines

Under NYSE listing standards, to be considered independent, a director must be determined to have no material relationship with the Company other than as a director. The NYSE standards set forth a nonexclusive list of relationships which are conclusively deemed material. The Company’s Independence Guidelines are posted on the Company’s website at www.rpc.net under the Governance section and include categorical standards for determining independence in specific situations.

Audit Committee Charter

Under the Company’s Audit Committee Charter, in accordance with NYSE listing requirements and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, all members of the Audit Committee must be independent of management and the Company. A member of the Audit Committee is considered independent as long as he or she (i) does not accept any consulting, advisory, or compensatory fee from the Company, other than as a director or committee member; (ii) is not an affiliated person of the Company or its subsidiaries; and (iii) otherwise meets the independence requirements of the NYSE and the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines.

Nonmaterial Relationships

After reviewing all of the relationships between the independent directors and the Company, the Board of Directors determined that none of independent directors had any relationships that impaired their independence and discussed the following:

As required by the Independence Guidelines, the Board of Directors unanimously concluded that the above-listed relationships would not affect the independent judgment of the independent directors, based on their experience, character and independent means, and therefore do not preclude an independence determination. All of the members of the Audit Committee are also independent under the heightened standards required for Audit Committee members. The Company’s non-management directors meet at regularly scheduled executive sessions, and the independent directors separately meet at least once annually, without management, in accordance with the NYSE corporate governance listing standards, and Mr. Jerry W. Nix, as Lead Independent Director, presided over the executive sessions held during 2023.

Corporate Governance Guidelines

We have adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines to formalize and promote better understanding of our policies and procedures. At least annually, the Board reviews these guidelines. As required by the rules of the NYSE, our Corporate Governance Guidelines require that our non-management directors meet in regularly scheduled executive sessions each year without management, and such meetings are currently required to occur at least twice annually.

At the Company’s website at www.rpc.net, under the Governance section, you may access a copy of the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, Audit Committee Charter, Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee Charter, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter, Code of Business Conduct, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for Directors and Executive Officers and Related Party Transactions Policy, and Independence Guidelines.

Code of Business Conduct

The Company has adopted a Code of Business Conduct applicable to all directors, officers and employees generally, as well as a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for Directors and Executive Officers and Related Party Transactions Policy applicable to the principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and directors. Both codes are available on the Company’s website at www.rpc.net under the Governance section.

Director Communications

The Company also has a process for interested parties, including stockholders, to send communications to the Board of Directors, Lead Independent Director, any of the Board committees or the non-management or independent directors as a group. Such communications should be addressed as follows:

The above instructions for communications with the directors are also posted on our website at www.rpc.net under the Governance section. All communications received from interested parties are forwarded to the Board of Directors. Any communication addressed solely to the Lead Director or the non-management or independent directors will be forwarded directly to the appropriate addressee(s).

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DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Overview of the Non-Employee Director Compensation Program

Members of the Board who are not employees (Non-Employee Directors) receive compensation for their service. As RPC employees, Messrs. Hubbell and Palmer do not receive compensation for their service as Board members. The compensation program for our Non-Employee Directors is intended to provide a total compensation package that enables us to attract and retain qualified and experienced individuals to serve as directors and to align our directors’ interests with those of our stockholders. All Non-Employee Directors are also entitled to reimbursement of expenses for all services as a director, including reasonable travel expenses incurred in connection with required in-person attendance at board and committee meetings, committee participation or special assignments.

The Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee annually reviews each element and the total of our Non-Employee Director Compensation Program and periodically makes recommendations for any changes to the Board. There were no changes made to the Non-Employee Director Compensation Program for 2024.

2023 Annual Non-Employee Director Compensation Program

Cash and Equity Compensation

Under the Director Compensation Program in effect in 2023, our Non-Employee Directors received an annual cash retainer and an annual equity grant in the form of fully vested Company common shares under the Company’s 2014 Equity Stock Incentive Plan (SIP); Committee Chairs and members received additional annual cash retainers. All cash retainers are payable in equal quarterly installments in arrears. For each Non-Employee Director who is elected or appointed for the first time, the first quarterly installment of the annual cash retainers will be paid for the first quarter that ends on or after the date of his or her initial election or appointment, prorated based on service during the quarter. In addition, equity retainers are not granted to the Non-Employee Director who is elected to the Board during the latter half of a year. The following table sets forth the 2023 Non-Employee Director Compensation Program: