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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 No.  )

Filed by the Registrantx

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant¨

Check the appropriate box:

Check the appropriate box:
x
Preliminary Proxy Statement
¨
Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
¨
 ☐
Definitive Proxy Statement
¨
 ☐
Definitive Additional Materials
¨
 ☐
Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, 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):

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
x
No fee required.required
¨
Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
Fee computed on table belowin exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.0-11

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Dear Shareholders,
As I reflect on 2023, I could not be prouder of the outstanding results that we delivered. The strength of our company was demonstrated by our focus on exceptional people, exceptional food and exceptional throughput.
With 115,000 purpose-driven employees and a record number of new restaurant openings, our mission to Cultivate a Better World impacted more communities than ever before. Our Food with Integrity principles guided our responsible sourcing and further enhanced our menu of real ingredients while we expanded access and convenience at an accelerated pace. We executed on all parts of our value proposition by making delicious food fresh daily, which kept our guests craving more.
Our strategic priorities helped us win, and remain our primary focus today. These include:
1.
(1)Title of eachSustaining world class of securities to which transaction applies:

(2)Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

(3)Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculatedpeople leadership by developing and state how it was determined):

retaining diverse talent at every level;
2.
(4)Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

Running successful restaurants with a people-accountable culture that provide delicious food with integrity while delivering exceptional in-restaurant and digital experiences;
3.
(5)Total fee paid:

Making the brand visible, relevant, and loved to improve overall guest engagement;

4.
Amplifying technology and innovation to drive growth and productivity at our restaurants, support centers, and in our supply chain; and
5.
¨Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
¨Check box if any part of the fee is offset as providedExpanding access and convenience by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2)accelerating new restaurant openings in North America 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.internationally.
(1)     Amount Previously Paid:

The foundational ingredient to Chipotle’s success is our best-in-class people. We grew the careers of 24,000 team members in our restaurants, including 90% of all restaurant management roles being internal promotions. At the General Manager level in particular, we saw some of our most encouraging retention rates in years. Recently, we expanded our already industry-leading benefits with enhanced mental health care, a student loan retirement match, and additional financial wellness tools to further support our team members.
Through Project Square One, we reset our operational standards and built a culture of excellence. We made adjustments to achieve a better balance of labor between the digital makeline and the front line. Our enhanced feedback and coaching enabled our teams to deliver an increased number of entrees during peak periods, which demonstrated that great people executing delicious culinary with fast throughput results in a terrific guest experience.
Menu innovations like Chicken al Pastor and Carne Asada helped drive traffic and incremental transactions, and positioned us to be visible and relevant with consumers. We also led culture and drove sales with the launch of our TikTok inspired fajita quesadilla. Our Behind the Foil advertising campaign continued to resonate with guests, highlighting key differentiators of Chipotle, with our real team members preparing real ingredients using classic culinary techniques. Additionally, we leveraged our Real Food for Real Athletes program to highlight the all-stars in sports being fueled by Chipotle as they competed on the world’s biggest stages.
We enhanced our app functionality and launched Freepotle, a series of free food drops, which drove enrollment and increased engagement with our 38 million member Rewards program.
The Cultivate Next venture fund continued to make progress with investments such as Hyphen, which we partnered with to develop an automated makeline; and Vebu, which in conjunction with our teams co-created Autocado, a device that cuts, cores and scoops avocados for our signature guacamole. Both technologies aim to remove less favorable tasks for our crew, and further improve the guest experience by providing on time, accurate and delicious food. The fund also invested in Greenfield Robotics, which provides regenerative agriculture solutions without chemicals using fleets of autonomous robots to weed fields, and Nitricity, a company that uses technology to tackle greenhouse gas emissions by creating natural fertilizer products that are better for fields, farmers, and the environment. We believe these investments could play an important role in ensuring a more sustainable future for farms within our supply chain.
We also expanded access and convenience for our guests by opening 271 new restaurants, which brought our total to over 3,400 locations at year end, 800 of which are Chipotlanes. In Canada, we entered our first new province since 2011 with our Calgary restaurant, which broke opening day records and sustained extraordinary volumes. Our phenomenal team’s commitment to bring real food to more communities is evident, and we’re well on our way to achieving, and potentially exceeding, our long-term goal of 7,000 restaurants in North America. Additionally, we opened several more locations throughout the United Kingdom, and in Europe we signed our first-ever development agreement to open restaurants in the Middle East in partnership with the Alshaya Group.
Our unwavering commitment to doing what’s right, and laser focus on our strategic priorities, resulted in unprecedented growth, and we are just getting started. Our average unit volumes surpassed $3.0 million, and we are now setting our sights on our next goal of $4.0 million.
Looking forward, we believe we have the right teams and strategies in place to achieve our aggressive goals. I am optimistic about our future and confident that we’ll continue to deliver on our promise to Cultivate a Better World.
Sincerely,

Brian Niccol
Chairman and CEO, Chipotle Mexican Grill
(2)    Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

(3)    Filing Party:

(4)    Date Filed:


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LOGO

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

1401 Wynkoop Street, Suite 500

Denver, CO 80202

March 24, 2016

DEAR SHAREHOLDER:

You are cordially invited to attend the annual meeting of shareholders of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., which will be held on May 11, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado. Details of the business to be conducted at the annual meeting are given in the notice of meeting and proxy statement that follow.

Please vote promptly by following the instructions in this proxy statement or in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that was sent to you.

Sincerely,

/s/ Steve Ells

  Chairman of the Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer


LOGO


NOTICE OF MEETING


The 20162024 annual meeting of shareholders of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will be helda virtual meeting conducted exclusively via live webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024 on May 11, 2016Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado. (PDT).
Shareholders will consider and take actionhave an opportunity to vote on the following matters:

items:
1.
Election ofElect the nine directorsten director nominees named in thisthe accompanying proxy statement, Al Baldocchi, Darlene Friedman, John Charlesworth, Kimbal Musk, Monty Moran, Neil Flanzraich, Pat Flynn, Stephen Gillett and Steve Ells, each to serve a one-year term;

2.
AnApprove, on an advisory vote to approvebasis, the compensation of our executive officers as disclosed in the accompanying proxy statement (known as “say on pay”);
3.
Ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2024;
4.
Approve amendments to Chipotle’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock;
5.
Approve amendments to Chipotle’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to clarify the Board’s authority to make future amendments;
6.
Vote on the shareholder proposals described in this proxy statement, (or “say-on-pay”);if properly presented; and
7.
Transact such other business properly brought before the meeting.
Information about these matters is contained in the proxy statement that accompanies this notice.
Only shareholders of record at the close of business on April 9, 2024 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting. To participate in the virtual annual meeting, you will need the 16-digit control number that appears on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, proxy card or the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials.
Your vote is important. Please note that if you hold your shares through a broker, your broker cannot vote your shares on the election of directors, on the say on pay vote, on the two proposals to amend our Certificate of Incorporation, or on the shareholder proposals unless they have your specific instructions on how to vote. In order for your vote to be counted, please make sure that you submit your vote to your broker.
By order of the Board of Directors


Roger Theodoredis
General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer

April [ ], 2024


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PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY
Information About the Annual Meeting




Date and Time:
Thursday, June 6, 2024
8:00 am (PDT)
Location:
Live webcast online at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024
Record Date for
Shareholders Entitled to Vote:
April 9, 2024
Matters to be Voted on at the Annual
Meeting and Board Recommendations
Item
Board’s Voting
Recommendation
1. Election of the ten director nominees named in this proxy statement (page 13)
For
2. Advisory vote to approve Named Executive Officer compensation (“say-on-pay”) (page 33)
For
3. Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm (page 34)
For
4. Approval of amendments to Chipotle’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock (page 37)
For
5. Approval of amendments to Chipotle’s Certificate of Incorporation to clarify the Board’s authority to make future amendments (page 39)
For
6. Shareholder proposal – Requesting an audit of safety practices (page 40)
Against
7. Shareholder proposal – Requesting adoption of a non-interference policy (page 43)
Against
8. Shareholder proposal – Requesting a report on adoption of automation (page 46)
Against
9. Shareholder proposal – Requesting a report on harassment and discrimination statistics (page 48)
Against
Highlights of Director Nominees
Name
Director
Since
Independent
Age
Audit &
Risk
Committee
Compensation,
People &
Culture
Committee
Nominating &
Corporate
Governance
Committee
Albert Baldocchi
1997
70
 
 
Matthew Carey
2021
59
 
 
Gregg Engles
2020
66
 
 
Patricia Fili-Krushel
2019
70
 
Chair
 
Laura Fuentes
2023
49
 
 
Mauricio Gutierrez
2021
53
 
 

2024 Proxy Statement 1

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PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY (CONT.)
Name
Director
Since
Independent
Age
Audit &
Risk
Committee
Compensation,
People &
Culture
Committee
Nominating &
Corporate
Governance
Committee
Robin Hickenlooper
2016
45
 
 
Chair
Scott Maw(1) (2)
2019
56
Chair
 
 
Brian Niccol
2018
 
50
 
 
 
Mary Winston(2)
2020
62
 
 
(1)
Lead Independent Director.
(2)
Designated as an “Audit Committee Financial Expert” under the SEC rules.
Highlights of our Board of Directors

Board Skills, Experience and Attributes

Corporate Governance Highlights
Nine of the ten members on our Board of Directors are independent.
The Board annually appoints a Lead Independent Director who has substantive responsibilities, including engaging in planning and approval of meeting schedules and agendas, presiding over executive sessions of independent directors, and consulting with major shareholders.

2024 Proxy Statement 2

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PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY (CONT.)
Two of the three standing Committees of the Board are chaired by female directors. The average tenure of the directors is seven years, and the average age of the directors is 58.
All directors stand for election on an annual basis.
Directors are elected by a majority of votes cast in uncontested elections and any director who does not receive a majority of votes cast is required to submit his or her resignation for consideration by the Board.
Our Executive Compensation Recovery Policy is more expansive than the NYSE requirements and also allows the Board to require forfeiture of an executive officer’s compensation if they engaged in egregious conduct substantially detrimental to the company.
Independent Board members meet in executive session at each quarterly Board meeting.
All executive officers and directors are prohibited from hedging/pledging shares of our common stock.
Our Bylaws contain proxy access provisions that enable qualifying shareholders to nominate directors for election to our Board.
We have robust stock ownership requirements for executive officers and directors, which are among the highest CEO and CFO ownership requirements of our peer group of companies, as described in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”
Our Bylaws permit holders of at least 25% of our outstanding common stock to call special meetings of shareholders.
We do not have a shareholder rights plan or “poison pill.”
We engage with major shareholders to seek their input on issues and to address their questions and concerns.
See the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section of this proxy statement for significant compensation policies and procedures we employ to motivate our employees to build shareholder value and promote the interests of all our shareholders.
Highlights of our Business
Chipotle’s Five Key Strategies to Win Today While We Grow Our Future
1.
Sustaining world class people leadership by developing and retaining diverse talent at every level;
2.
Running successful restaurants with a people accountable culture that provides delicious food with integrity while delivering exceptional in-restaurant and digital experiences;
3.
Making the brand visible, relevant, and loved to improve overall guest engagement;
4.
Amplifying technology and innovation to drive growth and productivity at our restaurants, support centers and in our supply chain; and
5.
Expanding access and convenience by accelerating new restaurant openings in North America and internationally.
2023 Financial Performance at a Glance
$9.9 billion revenue
14.3% growth year-over-year
7.9% comp sales
Comparable restaurant sales growth from 2022
$3.0 million AUVs
Average Unit Volumes at 2023 year end
26.2% RLM*
2023 restaurant level operating margin, an increase of 230 basis points year over year.
*Appendix A includes a reconciliation of restaurant level operating margin to the most directly comparable measure reported under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

2024 Proxy Statement 3

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PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY (CONT.)
Total Shareholder Return Since 2018


BRAND GROWTH HIGHLIGHTS
We reduced our Scope 1 & Scope 2 GHG emissions by 13% below 2019 GHG emissions while growing restaurant operations by 8.5% in 2023. We continue to seek out efficiencies, such as re-inventing our cookline to reduce energy demand, resulting in nearly 4% emission reductions at the re-designed restaurants.
Supporting our local communities and farmers remains a priority for Chipotle. We donated $99.5 million in support of 362,660 local community fundraisers from 2006-2023. We also provided 327,000 pounds of food to local organizations, and purchased over 40 million pounds of produce in support of local farmers (i.e., food sourced from within 350 miles of a distribution center) in 2023.
We achieved 100% compliance with our Food with Integrity standards. In addition, over 262 million pounds of our pork, chicken and beef met third-party animal welfare standards.
We offer attractive benefits to our employees and retain talent to grow with us. In 2023 we had more than 24,000 internal promotions. Our innovation, management and talent earned us recognition again by Fortune as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies.

2024 Proxy Statement 4

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2024 Proxy Statement 5


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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This proxy statement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this proxy statement other than statements of historical fact, including statements relating to trends in or expected impacts of our initiatives, strategies, and plans, trends in or expectations regarding our future financial performance, long-term growth, and our business strategy, plans and objectives for future operations such as growth in our average unit volumes, our goal for new restaurants and our sustainability goals, are forward-looking statements. The words “can,” “believe,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “seek,” “goal” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends and currently available operating, financial and competitive information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this proxy statement may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this proxy statement as a result of new information, future events or other developments, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

2024 Proxy Statement 7

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ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION
This proxy statement contains information related to the virtual annual meeting of shareholders of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. to be held on Thursday, June 6, 2024, beginning at 8:00 a.m. (PDT) online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024. This proxy statement was prepared under the direction of Chipotle’s Board of Directors to solicit your proxy for use at the annual meeting. It was made available to shareholders on or about April [], 2024.
Virtual-only Annual Meeting Format
To make the annual meeting accessible to more shareholders, the Board of Directors has determined to hold this year’s annual meeting in a virtual-only format via live audio webcast.
Attending the Annual Meeting
To attend the virtual annual meeting, you must be a shareholder as of the close of business on the record date of April 9, 2024. Shareholders may attend the virtual annual meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024. The meeting will only be conducted via webcast; there will be no physical meeting location. To participate in the virtual annual meeting, you will need the 16-digit control number that appears on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, proxy card or the instructions that accompanied the proxy materials. If you would like to attend the virtual meeting and you have your control number, please go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024 around 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to log in. If you came through your brokerage firm’s website and do not have your control number, you can gain access to the meeting by logging into your brokerage firm’s website 15 minutes prior to the meeting start, selecting the shareholder communications mailbox to link through to the meeting and the control number will automatically populate. For optimal viewing and usage, this site is best viewed with a screen resolution of 1024x768 and above.
If You have Technical Difficulties or Trouble Accessing the Annual Meeting
Beginning 15 minutes prior to the meeting start, technicians will be available to assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing the meeting. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the annual meeting or during the meeting time, please call the technical support number that will be posted on the meeting website.
Participation During the Virtual Annual Meeting
Shareholders will have the ability to submit questions during the annual meeting via the annual meeting website at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024. After the formal business of the annual meeting, we will hold a question and answer session, during which we will answer questions submitted during the meeting that are pertinent to Chipotle and the meeting matters, as time permits.
Shareholders Eligible to Vote
If you were a shareholder of record of our common stock as of the close of business on April 9, 2024, you are entitled to vote at the annual meeting, or at any postponement or adjournment of the annual meeting using the 16-digit control number that appears on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, proxy card or the instructions that accompanied the proxy materials. On each matter to be voted on, you may cast one vote for each share of common stock you hold. As of April 9, 2024, there were [27,611,604] shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote.

2024 Proxy Statement 8

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Matters to be Voted on at the Annual Meeting and Board Recommendations
You will be asked to vote on nine proposals:
Proposals
Board Recommendation
Proposal 1 –
Election of the ten director nominees named in this proxy statement (page 13)
FOR
Proposal 2 –
Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement (“say on pay”) (page 33)
FOR
Proposal 3 –
Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016;2024 (page 34)
FOR

4.A proposal
Proposal 4 –
Approval of amendments to approve an amendment to the Amended and RestatedChipotle’s Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., to remove a provision allowing only the Boardauthorized shares of Directors or the Chairmancommon stock (page 37)
FOR
Proposal 5 –
Approval of the Board to call special meetings of shareholders;

5.A proposal to approve amendments to the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Amended and Restated Bylaws to adopt a “proxy access” bylaw allowing a shareholder, or group of not more than 20 shareholders, owning an aggregate of not less than 5% of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years to submit a limited number of candidates for election to our Board, and to require us, subject to satisfaction of the requirements of our bylaws, to include such candidate(s) in our proxy materials for the meeting at which such election will be held;

6.Five shareholder proposals, if properly presented at the meeting; and

7.Such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournments or postponements of the meeting.

Information with respect to the above matters is set forth in the proxy statement that accompanies this notice.

The record date for the meeting has been fixed by the Board of Directors as the close of business on March 14, 2016. Shareholders of record at that time are entitled to vote at the meeting.

By order of the Board of Directors

/s/ Monty Moran

Co-Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Director

March 24, 2016

Please execute your vote promptly by following the instructions included on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that was sent to you, or as described under “How do I vote?” on page 2 of the accompanying proxy statement.


Proxy Statement Summary

LOGO

MATTERS TO BE VOTED ON AT THE ANNUAL MEETING AND BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS

1.    Election of Directors (p.     )

NameYears of
Service
IndependentBoard
Recommendation

Albert Baldocchi

19YesFor

The election of directors at the annual meeting will complete our phasing out of the classification of the Board of Directors. From this meeting forward, all directors will be re-elected annually.

Darlene Friedman

21YesFor

John Charlesworth

17YesFor

Kimbal Musk

3YesFor

Monty Moran

10NoFor

Neil Flanzraich

9YesFor

Pat Flynn

18YesFor

Stephen Gillett

1YesFor

Steve Ells

20NoFor

2.    Say-on-Pay (p.     )

For

See below under “Performance” and “Compensation” for additional discussion.

3.    Ratification of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors (p. )

For

4.    Eliminate restrictions allowing only the Board of Directors or Chairman to call special meetings of shareholders (p.     )

For

Approval of this proposal will result in bylaw amendments becoming effective that will allow holders of 25% or more of our common stock to call special meetings.

5.    Adopt proxy access bylaw (p.     )

For

6.    Shareholder proposals (p.     )AGAINST

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  i


Proxy Statement Summary

(continued)

LOGO

PERFORMANCE

Our business performance has been consistently strong and we have been tremendously successful in building long-term shareholder value. The graph below reflects the growth of an investment in our common stock at the close of the first day of trading following our initial public offering in January 2006, versus the performance of the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 indexes over a comparable 10 year period.

LOGO

2015 was not without challenges, however. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, a number of food-borne illness incidents associated with Chipotle restaurants, and related negative publicity, had a significant adverse impact on our sales and profitability. As a result of these business challenges, our stock price declined significantly. Although our long-term performance has been strong as compared to our restaurant industry peer group, the same did not hold true in 2015.

COMPENSATION

Changes we made in 2015 to our executive compensation programs were well received, with the say-on-pay vote at the annual meeting in May 2015 being approved by over 95% of the shares voted.

In light of the challenges we faced during the second half of 2015 and the resulting decline in the price of our common stock, in February 2016 the Compensation Committee of the Board awarded performance shares to our executive officers that will be tied solely to highly challenging absolute stock price performance goals over a three-year performance period. We believe this will align executive officer compensation with restoring and further enhancing shareholder value.

Details regarding executive compensation for 2015, and the executive officer equity awards made in early 2016, can be found in the compensation disclosures beginning on page 39.

ii    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Proxy Statement Summary

(continued)

LOGO

GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Seven of the nine members of our Board of Directors are independent.
Independent directors are led by an independent Lead Director.
Phase-out of classified board structure will be complete at annual shareholders meeting.
Directors are elected by majority vote in uncontested elections rather than plurality.
Independent Board members meet in executive session at each regularly-scheduled Board meeting.
Board conducts an annual self-assessment, the results of which are reported to the full Board.
Each independent director is subject to Board stock ownership requirements.
No shareholder rights plan or “poison pill.”
Board is recommending adoption of bylaws permitting holders of at least 25% of our outstanding common stock to call special meetings of shareholders.
Board is recommending adoption of proxy access for qualifying long-term shareholders.

For significant compensation policies and procedures we employ to motivate our employees to build shareholder value, while protecting the interests of all our shareholders, see page 43.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  iii


Table of Contents

LOGO

Proxy Statement Summaryi
Annual Meeting Information1

Beneficial Ownership of Our Common Stock

5

Proposal 1 — Election of Directors

7

Information Regarding the Board of Directors7

Biographical Information

7

A Majority of our Board Members are Independent

11

Committees of the Board

11

Director Compensation

13
Corporate Governance14

Chairman of the Board

14

Lead Director

14

How to Contact the Board of Directors

15

Executive Sessions

15

Director Nomination Process

15

Policies and Procedures for Review and Approval of Transactions with Related Persons

17

Role of the Board of Directors in Risk Oversight

17

Proposal 2 — An Advisory Vote to Approve the Compensation of our Executive Officers as Disclosed in this Proxy Statement

19

Proposal 3 — Ratification of Appointment of Ernst  & Young LLP as Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

20

Audit Committee Report21

Policy for Pre-Approval of Audit and Permitted Non-Audit Services

21

Proposal 4 — A Proposal to Approve an Amendment to the Amended and RestatedChipotle’s Certificate of Incorporation of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. to Remove a Provision Allowing Onlyclarify the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the BoardBoard’s authority to Call Special Meetings of Shareholdersmake future amendments (page 39

)

22

FOR

Proposal 5 — A Proposal to Approve Amendments to the Amended and Restated Bylaws6 –
Shareholder proposal – Requesting an audit of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. to Provide for Shareholder Access to the Company’s Proxy Materials for Shareholder-Nominated Candidates for Election to the Board of Directorssafety practices (page 40

)

24

AGAINST

Proposal 6 — An Advisory Vote on a Shareholder Proposal Requesting That We Adopt A Bylaw to Provide For Shareholder Access to the Company’s Proxy Materials for Shareholder-Nominated Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors28

Statement in Opposition by our Board of Directors

iv    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Table of Contents

(continued)

LOGO

Proposal 7 — An Advisory Vote on a
Shareholder Proposalproposal – Requesting Adoption of a Stock Retention Policy For Senior Executives
29

Statement in Opposition by our Board of Directors

Proposal 8 — An Advisory Vote on a Shareholder Proposal Regarding Special Meetings of the Shareholders31

Statement in Opposition by our Board of Directors

Proposal 9 — An Advisory Vote on a Shareholder Proposal Requesting Chipotle to Issue an Annual Sustainability Report Meeting Specified Criteria32

Statement in Opposition by our Board of Directors

Proposal 10 — An Advisory Vote on a Shareholder Proposal Requesting That Executive Compensation Be Linked to Sustainability Performance35

Statement in Opposition by our Board of Directors

Executive Officers38
Compensation Discussion and Analysis39
Letter From the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors39
Compensation Committee Report53

Summary Compensation Table

54

Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2015

55

Terms of 2015 Performance Share Awards

55

Outstanding Equity Awards at December 31, 2015

56

Option Exercises and Stock Vested in 2015

57

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation for 2015

57

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control

59
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance62
Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions63
Shareholder Proposals and Nominations for 2017 Annual Meeting64
Availability of SEC Filings, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Conduct, Codes of Ethics and Committee Charters64
Delivery of Materials to Shareholders with Shared Addresses64
Miscellaneous65
Appendix A — Proposed Amendment to Certificate of IncorporationA-1
Appendix B — Proposed Amendment to BylawsB-1

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  v


Annual Meeting Information

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ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION

This proxy statement contains information related to the annual meeting of shareholders of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. to be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, beginning at 8:00 a.m. at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado. This proxy statement was prepared under the direction of Chipotle’s Board of Directors to solicit your proxy for use at the annual meeting. It will be made available to shareholders on or about March 24, 2016.

Who is entitled to vote and how many votes do I have?

If you were a shareholder of record of our common stock on March 14, 2016, you are entitled to vote at the annual meeting, or at any postponement or adjournment of the annual meeting. On each matter to be voted on, you may cast one vote for each share of common stock you hold. As of March 14, 2016, there were             shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote.

What am I voting on?

You will be asked to vote on ten proposals:

Board
Recommendation:
PROPOSAL 1 –Election of nine directors: Al Baldocchi, Darlene Friedman, John Charlesworth, Kimbal Musk, Monty Moran, Neil Flanzraich, Pat Flynn, Stephen Gillett and Steve Ells.FOR
PROPOSAL 2 –An advisory vote to approve the compensation of our executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement (“say-on-pay”).FOR
PROPOSAL 3 –Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016.FOR
PROPOSAL 4 –

A proposal to approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., to remove a provision allowing only the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board to call special meetings of shareholders.

Approval of this proposal will result in bylaw amendments becoming effective that will allow holders of 25% or more of our outstanding common stock to call special meetings of shareholders, subject to certain limitations.

FOR
PROPOSAL 5 –A proposal to approve amendments to the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Amended and Restated Bylaws to adopt a “proxy access” bylaw allowing a shareholder, or group of not more than 20 shareholders, owning an aggregate of not less than 5% of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years to submit a limited number of candidates for election to our Board and to require us to include such candidate(s), subject to satisfaction of the requirements of our bylaws, in our proxy materials for the meeting at which such election will be held.FOR
PROPOSAL 6 –A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting that the Board of Directors adopt and present for shareholder approval a “proxy access” bylaw to allow a shareholder or group of shareholders owning an aggregate of 3% or more of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years to submit a limited number of candidates for election to our Board and to require us to include such candidate(s) in our proxy materials for the meeting at which such election will be held.AGAINST

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  1


Annual Meeting Information

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Board
Recommendation:
PROPOSAL 7 –A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting adoption of a stock retentionnon-interference policy for senior executives.(page 43)AGAINST
AGAINST
PROPOSAL
Proposal 8 –
A shareholder
Shareholder proposal if properly presented at the meeting, requesting that the Board of Directors implement changes to Chipotle’s governing documents to allow shareholders owning an aggregate of 10% of our outstanding common stock to call special meetings of shareholders.
AGAINST
PROPOSAL 9 A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting Chipotle to issue an annual sustainability report meeting specified criteria.AGAINST
PROPOSAL 10 –A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting that our Compensation Committee prepare and disclose Requesting a report on the feasibilityadoption of incorporating sustainability measures into executive officer incentive compensation programs.automation (page 46)
AGAINST
Proposal 9 –
Shareholder proposal – Requesting a report on harassment and discrimination statistics (page 48)
AGAINST

The Board of Directors is not aware of any other matters to be presented for action at the meeting.

Information About How do I vote?

to Vote

If you hold your shares through a broker, bank or other nominee in “street name,” you need to submit voting instructions to your broker, bank or other nominee in order to cast your vote. In most instances you can do this over the Internet. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that was provided to you has specific instructions for how to submit your vote, or if you have received or requestrequested a hard copy of this proxy statement you may mark, sign, date and mail the accompanying voting instruction form in the postage-paid envelope provided. Your vote is revocable by following the procedures outlined in this proxy statement. However, since you are not a shareholder of record you may not vote your shares in person at the meeting without obtaining authorization from your broker, bank or other nominee.

If you are a shareholder of record, you can vote your shares over the Internet as described in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that was provided to you, or if you have received or request a hard copy of this proxy statement and accompanying form of proxy card you may vote by telephone as described on the proxy card, or by mail by marking, signing, dating and mailing your proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided. Your

designation of a proxy is revocable by following the procedures outlined in this proxy statement. The method by which you vote will not limit your right to vote in person at the annual meeting. If you receive hard copy materials and sign and return your proxy card without specifying

choices, your shares will be voted as recommended by the Board of Directors.

Will my shares held in street name be voted if I do not provide voting instructions?

Under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, on voting matters characterized bythat the NYSE characterizes as “routine,” NYSE member firms have the discretionary authority to vote shares for which their customers do not provide voting instructions. On non-routine proposals, such “uninstructed shares” may not be voted by member firms.your broker. Only the proposal to ratify the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm is considered a routine matter for this purpose. None of the other proposals presented in this proxy statement are considered routine matters. Accordingly, if you hold your shares through a brokerage firm and do not provide timely voting instructions, your shares will be voted, if at all, only on Proposal 3.We strongly encourage you to exercise your right to vote in the election of directors and other matters to be voted on at the annual meeting.

Can I change my

If you are a shareholder of record, you can vote your shares in advance of the meeting over the Internet as described in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that was provided to you, or revoke my proxy?

if you have received or requested a hard copy of this proxy statement and accompanying form of proxy card you may vote by telephone as described on the proxy card, or by mail by marking, signing, dating and mailing your proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided. Your vote is revocable by following the procedures outlined in this proxy statement. The method by which you vote will not limit your right to vote online at the virtual annual meeting. Instructions for voting online at the virtual annual meeting will be available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMG2024.

If you receive hard copy materials and sign and return your proxy card without specifying choices, your shares will be voted as recommended by the Board of Directors.
Revocation of your proxy
You can change your vote or revoke your proxy at any time before it is voted at the annual meeting by:

re-submitting your vote on the Internet;

Internet, by telephone or by mail;

if you are a shareholder of record, by sending a written notice of revocation to our corporateCorporate Secretary at our principal offices, 1401 Wynkoop Street,610 Newport Center Dr., Suite 500, Denver, Colorado, 80202;1100, Newport Beach, CA 92660; or

if you are a shareholder of record, by attending the virtual annual meeting and voting in person.

online using your 16-digit control number.

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Annual Meeting Information

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Attendance at the virtual annual meeting will not by itself revoke your proxy. If you hold shares in street name and wish to cast your vote in person at the meeting, you must contact your broker, bank or other nominee to obtain authorization to vote.


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What do I need to attend the meeting?

We generally limit attendance at the meeting to shareholders. Attendees will be required to present proof of ownership of Chipotle common stock as of the record date, as well as valid picture identification, in order to be admitted to the meeting. Evidence of share ownership may be in the form of a valid stock certificate, or an account statement from our transfer agent or from a broker, bank, trust or other nominee that evidences ownership as of the record date. Note that in order to vote at the meeting, beneficial owners who own shares in “street name” must present a legal proxy from the record holder of the shares. Seating at the meeting will be first come first served, and due to space constraints we can’t guarantee seating for all attendees.

What constitutes a quorum?

Quorum requirement
A quorum is necessary to conduct business at the annual meeting. At any meeting of our shareholders, the holders of a majority in voting power of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote at the meeting, present in personvia webcast or by proxy, constitutes a quorum for all purposes. You are part of the quorum if you have voted by proxy. Abstentions and broker non-votes and votes withheld from director nominees count as “shares present” at the meeting for purposes of determining whether a quorum exists.
Broker non-votes
A broker non-vote occurs when a broker, bank or other nominee who holds shares for another does not vote on a particular item because the nominee has not received instructions from the owner of the shares and does not have discretionary voting authority for that item.

What vote is See “Information About How to Vote” above for more information.

Votes required to approve each proposal?

proposal

Proposal 1 — Re-election of each nominee for director requires that such nominee receive a majority of the votes cast regarding his or her election. Abstentions and broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the outcome of the re-electionelection of any nominee.

directors.

Proposals 2, 3 &and 6 through 109 — The say-on-pay“say on pay” advisory vote (Proposal 2), the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for(Proposal 3) and the year ending December 31, 2016, and approval of each of the five shareholder proposals (ifdescribed in this proxy statement, if properly presented at the meeting) all(Proposals 6 through 9), require the affirmative vote of a majority of

the votes castvoting power present at the annual meeting and entitled to vote on the matter in order to be approved. Abstentions represent shares entitled to vote, and therefore will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” a proposal. Broker non-votes, which are expected to occur with respect to Proposals 2 and 6 through 9, are not counted as entitled to vote on these matters and therefore will have no effect on the outcome of the votes on these proposals.

Because the say-on-pay“say on pay” advisory vote (Proposal 2) and the votesvote on the shareholder proposals (Proposal 6 through 9) are advisory, theythe vote results will not be binding on the Board or Chipotle.the company. However, the Board will review the voting results and take them into consideration when making future decisions regarding executive compensation and on the subject matters of the shareholder proposals. Ratification of our appointment of the independent auditorsregistered public accounting firm is not required and therefore the vote on Proposal 3 is also advisory only. See Proposal 3 for additional information about the effect of the voting outcome on this proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the outcome of any of these proposals.

Proposals 4 &and 5ApprovalThe amendments to our Certificate of Incorporation to increase the proposal to amend our certificatenumber of incorporationauthorized shares of common stock (Proposal 4) and the proposalamendments to amend our bylaws eachthe Certificate of Incorporation to permit the Board to make future amendments to the Certificate of Incorporation (Proposal 5) require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares of common stock in order to be approved. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have the same effect as votesa vote “AGAINST” these proposals.

What

Consequences if a nominee for director does not receive a majority of votes cast regarding his or her election?

Such director(s) would be required toelection.

Our bylaws require that any director who does not receive at least a majority of votes cast must submit an irrevocable resignation to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board, and the committee wouldCommittee must make a recommendation to the Board as to whether to accept or reject the resignation or whether other action should be taken. The Board wouldmust then act on the resignation, taking into accountconsidering the committee’sCommittee’s recommendation, and publicly disclose (by a press release and filing an appropriate disclosure with the SEC) its decision regarding the resignation, and if such resignation is rejected the rationale behind the decision, within 90 days following certification of the election results. The committeeCommittee in making its recommendation and the Board in making its decision each may consider any factors and other information that they consider appropriate and relevant.

How is this

Delivery of proxy statement being delivered?

materials

We have elected to deliver our proxy materials electronically over the Internet as permitted by rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. As required by those rules, we are distributing to our shareholders of record and beneficial owners as of the close of business on March 14, 2016April 9, 2024 a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. On the date of distribution of the notice, all shareholders and beneficial owners will have the ability to access all of the proxy materials at the URL address included in the notice. These proxyIf you would like to request a copy of the materials are also available free of charge upon request atfor this and/or future shareholder meetings, you may (1) visit wwww.ProxyVote.com, (2) call 1-800-579-1639, or

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  3


Annual Meeting Information

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by e-mail at (3) send an email to sendmaterial@proxyvote.com. Requests by e-mail or in writing should include the 12-digit control number included on the notice you received. If you would like to receive the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials via e-mail rather than regular mail in future years, please follow the instructions on the notice, or enroll on the Investors page of our web sitecorporate website at www.chipotle.com.ir.chipotle.com. Delivering future notices by e-mail will help us reduce the cost and environmental impact of our annual meeting.


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Who is bearing the cost of this proxy solicitation?

Proxy solicitation costs
We will bearpay the cost of preparing, assembling and mailing the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials; of

making these proxy materials available on the Internet and providing hard copies of the materials to shareholders who request them; and of reimbursing brokers, nominees, fiduciaries and other custodians for the out-of-pocket and clerical expenses of transmitting copies of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials and the proxy materials themselves to beneficial owners of our shares. A few of our directors, officers and employees may participate in the solicitation of proxies, without additional compensation, by telephone, e-mail or other electronic means or in person. We have also engaged Alliance Advisors, LLC to assist us in the solicitation of proxies, for which we have agreed to pay a fee of $22,500$27,000 plus reimbursement of customary expenses.

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  NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Ownership Information

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BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK
The following tables set forth information as of March 14, 2016 as totable shows the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock as of April 9, 2024 (unless otherwise noted) by:

each person (or group of affiliated persons) known to us to beneficially own more than 5 percent of our common stock;

each of the named executive officers listed in the 2023 Summary Compensation Table appearing later in this proxy statement;

each of our directors; and

all of our current executive officers and directors as a group.

The number of shares beneficially owned by each shareholder is determined under SEC rules and generally includes shares for which the holder has voting or investment power. The information does not necessarily indicate beneficial ownership for any other purpose. The percentage of beneficial ownership shown in the following tables is based on [] outstanding shares of common stock as of March 14, 2016.April 9, 2024. For purposes of calculating each person’s or group’s percentage ownership, shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the terms of stock options, stock appreciation rights or restricted stock units exercisable or vesting within 60 days after March 14, 2016April 9, 2024 are included as outstanding and beneficially owned for that person or group, but are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person or group.

  Name of Beneficial Owner  

Total Shares

Beneficially Owned

   Percentage of
Class Beneficially
Owned
 

Beneficial holders of 5% or more of outstanding common stock

    

FMR LLC(1)

   3,678,947     12.25

The Vanguard Group, Inc.(2)

   2,606,014     8.67

BlackRock, Inc.(3)

   2,239,823     7.46

T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.(4)

   2,092,817     6.97

Sands Capital Management, LLC(5)

   1,559,938     5.19

Directors and named executive officers

    

Steve Ells(6)(7)

   359,302     1.19

Montgomery Moran(6)(8)

   492,255     1.62

John Hartung(9)

   110,464     *  

Mark Crumpacker(10)

   26,000     *  

Albert Baldocchi(6)(11)(12)

   72,918     *  

John Charlesworth(11)

   3,403     *  

Neil Flanzraich(11)

   3,631     *  

Patrick Flynn(11)

   6,313     *  

Darlene Friedman(6)(11)(13)

   4,864     *  

Stephen Gillett(14)

          

Kimbal Musk(15)

          

All directors and executive officers as a group (11 people)(16)

   1,079,150     3.52

group
Name of Beneficial Owner
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
(Outstanding)
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
(Right to
Acquire)(1)
Total
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
Percentage
of Class
Beneficially
Owned
Beneficial holders of more than 5% of outstanding common stock
The Vanguard Group, Inc.(2)
2,707,220
0
2,707,220
9.86%
BlackRock, Inc.(3)
2,034,440
0
2,034,440
7.40%
Directors and Named Executive Officers
Brian Niccol
28,853
38,616
67,469
*
Jack Hartung(4)
67,112
17,453
84,565
*
Curt Garner
7,117
21,222
28,339
*
Christopher Brandt
7,600
4,686
12,286
*
Scott Boatwright
2,906
4,941
7,847
*
Albert Baldocchi(5)
65,521
0
65,521
*
Matthew Carey
1,046
0
1,046
*
Gregg Engles
1,929
0
1,929
*
Patricia Fili-Krushel
687
0
687
*
Laura Fuentes
78
0
78
Mauricio Gutierrez
373
0
373
*
Robin Hickenlooper
799
0
799
*
Scott Maw
733
0
733
*
Mary Winston
466
0
466
*
All directors and executive officers as a group (17 people)
189,143
91,259
280,402
1.02%
*
Less than one percent.

(1)
Consists of shares underlying stock-only stock appreciation rights that are vested or that will vest within 60 days of April 9, 2024.
(2)
Based solely on a report on Schedule 13G/A filed on February 12, 2016. Various persons have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt13, 2024, reflecting ownership as of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the shares of common stock reflected as beneficially owned by FMR LLC. The interest of one person, Fidelity Contrafund, an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, in the shares of common stock reflected as beneficially owned by FMR LLC amounted to 1,947,253 shares or 6.48% of the total outstanding common stock at March 14, 2016. The address of FMR LLC is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02210.

(2)Based solely on a report on Schedule 13G/A filed on February 11, 2016.December 29, 2023. The address of The Vanguard Group, Inc. is 100 Vanguard Blvd., Malvern, Pennsylvania, 19355. Of the total shares of common stock beneficially owned, The Vanguard Group, Inc. has sole voting power with respect to zero shares, shared voting power with respect to 36,600 shares, sole dispositive power with respect to 2,588,925 shares and shared dispositive power with respect to 118,295 shares.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  5


Ownership Information

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(3)
Based solely on a report on Schedule 13G/A filed on February 10, 2016.January 26, 2024, reflecting ownership as of December 31, 2023. The address of BlackRock, Inc. is 55 East 52nd Street,50 Hudson Yards, New York, New York, 10055.10001. Of the total shares of common stock beneficially owned, BlackRock, Inc. has sole voting power with respect to 1,844,023 shares, shared voting power with respect to zero shares, sole dispositive power with respect to 2,034,440 shares and shared dispositive power with respect to zero shares.

(4)Based solely on a report on Schedule 13G/A filed on February 9, 2016. Shares beneficially owned by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (Price Associates) are owned by various individual and institutional investors which Price Associates serves as investment adviser with power to direct investments and/or sole power to vote the securities. For purposes of the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Price Associates is deemed to be a beneficial owner of such securities; however, Price Associates expressly disclaims that it is, in fact, the beneficial owner of such securities. The address of Price Associates is 100 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202.

(5)Based solely on a report on Schedule 13G/A filed on February 16, 2016. The address of Sands Capital Management, LLC is 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 2300, Arlington, Virginia, 22209.

(6)A portion of the shares beneficially owned by Mr. Ells, Mr. Moran, Mr. Baldocchi and Ms. Friedman are entitled to piggyback registration rights.

(7)Shares beneficially owned by Mr. Ells include 162,500 shares underlying vested stock appreciation rights.

(8)Shares beneficially owned by Mr. Moran include 337,500 shares underlying vested stock appreciation rights.

(9)
Shares beneficially owned by Mr. Hartung include: 19,782include 18,989 shares in a revocable trust for Mr. Hartung’s benefit, which is managed by an independent trustee, and of which his spouse is14 shares in trusts for the trustee; 72 shares beneficially owned by his children; and 80,000 shares underlying vested stock appreciation rights.benefit of Mr. Hartung disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares beneficially owned byand his children.wife.

(10)Shares beneficially owned by Mr. Crumpacker include 23,000 shares underlying vested stock appreciation rights.

(11)Shares beneficially owned by Messrs. Baldocchi, Charlesworth, Flanzraich and Flynn and Ms. Friedman include 658 shares underlying unvested restricted stock units, which are deemed to be beneficially owned because each such director is retirement-eligible and the vesting of the awards accelerates in the event of the director’s retirement.

(12)(5)
Shares beneficially owned by Mr. Baldocchi include 69,64828,500 shares ownedheld in a trust established for benefit of his children, and 37,271 shares he holds jointly by Mr. Baldocchi andwith his spouse.

(13)Shares beneficially owned by Ms. Friedman include 4,000 shares held by a revocable trust of which Ms. Friedman is a co-trustee.

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(14)Mr. Gillett was appointed to the Board in March 2015. Directors are expected to own shares of common stock having a total value of five times the annual cash retainer payable to outside directors within five years of being elected to the Board. Excludes 152 shares underlying unvested restricted stock units which will vest on May 13, 2018.
PROPOSAL 1

(15)Mr. Musk was appointed to the Board in September 2013. Directors are expected to own shares of common stock having a total value of five times the annual cash retainer payable to outside directors within five years of being elected to the Board. Excludes 70 shares underlying unvested restricted stock units which will vest on September 1, 2016, 242 shares underlying unvested restricted stock units which will vest on May 15, 2017, and 189 shares underlying restricted stock units which will vest on May 13, 2018.

(16)See Notes (6) through (15).

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Proposal 1

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Election of Directors

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Our Board of Directors currently has nineten members, currently divided into two classes. Beginning in 2014, we commencedwith each director serving for a one-year term. At the phase-outannual meeting, shareholders will vote on the ten nominees named below.
Each of the classification of our Board, such that each director is nownominees was elected to a one year term and will continue in office until a successor has been elected and qualified, subject toat the director’s earlier resignation, retirement or removal from office. The current term of office of all of our directors will end at this year’s2023 annual meeting of shareholders, except for Laura Fuentes, who was elected to the Board in September 2023. Ms. Fuentes initially was recommended to our Board by an executive recruiting firm retained by the Board to assist in identifying, evaluating and as a result, following this annual meeting, all directors will be electedconducting due diligence on an annual basis.

Al Baldocchi, Darlene Friedman, John Charlesworth, Kimbal Musk, Monty Moran, Neil Flanzraich, Pat Flynn, Stephen Gillett and Steve Ells are the nominees for election as directors to serve for a one year term expiring at the 2017 annual meeting.potential director candidates. Each of the nomineesdirector nominee was nominated byfor re-election to the Board upon the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and has consented to serve if elected. Ifelected; however, if any nominee is unable to serve or will not serve for any reason, the directors may decide to reduce the size of the Board or the persons designated on the accompanying form of proxy will vote for other candidates in accordance with their judgment. We are not aware of any reason why the nominees would not be able to serve if elected.

Re-election

The Board of each nominee forDirectors held four meetings in 2023. Each director requires that such nominee receive a majorityattended at least 75% of the votes cast regarding hismeetings of the Board and of Committees of which he or her election. Abstentionsshe was a member during the time in which they served as a member of the Board in 2023. The Board requests that each director attend our annual shareholder meeting absent extenuating circumstances, and broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast and will have no effectall directors who were serving on the outcomedate of the election of any director.

2023 annual meeting attended the meeting.

There are no family relationships among our directors, or between our directors and executive officers.
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the election of Ms. Friedman and Messrs. Baldocchi, Charlesworth, Ells, Flanzraich, Flynn, Gillett, Moran and Musk as directors.

each of the director nominees.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTOR NOMINEES

Biographical Information

The following is biographical information about each current director,nominee, including a description of the experience, qualifications and skills that have led the Board to determine that each directornominee should serve on the Board. The respective currentIf elected, the terms of all directorsdirector nominees will expire onas of the dates set forth below or continuedate of next year’s annual meeting of shareholders. Each director will hold office until their successors are elected and have qualified.

CLASS I DIRECTORS WHOSE TERMS EXPIRE AT THE 2016 ANNUAL MEETING OF

SHAREHOLDERS AND WHO ARE NOMINEES FOR TERMS EXPIRING AT THE 2017 ANNUAL

MEETING

   AGE   

DIRECTOR

SINCE

   
John S. Charlesworth Mr. Charlesworth is currently the sole owner/member of Hunt Business Enterprises LLC and EZ Street LLC, which own commercial properties and own and operate car care facilities. Before retiring in 2000, Mr. Charlesworth worked for McDonald’s for 26 years, most recently as President of the Midwest Division of McDonald’s USA from July 1997 to December 2000. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Vice President in Southeast Asia from April 1995 to July 1997. His international experience included strategic planning and risk assessment for the growth and development of McDonald’s across Southeast Asia, as well as serving as the McDonald’s partner representative to seven Southeast Asian joint ventures. His experience with McDonald’s included responsibility for managing a large and diverse employee workforce similar in many ways to Chipotle’s, and also gave him a detailed knowledge of restaurant operations and food safety, site selection and related matters. He also has developed strong financial acumen through his experience at McDonald’s as well as running his own business interests. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business, majoring in economics, from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. 69 1999

qualified or their earlier resignation or removal. The age of each director is as of June 6, 2024, the date of the annual meeting.

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Albert S. Baldocchi
Age: 70
Director Since:
1997
Background:
Mr. Baldocchi has been self-employed since 2000 as a financial consultant and strategic advisor for, and investor in, a variety of privately held companies. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University.
Qualifications:
Mr. Baldocchi’s extensive involvement with restaurant companies for almost 30 years has given him an in-depth knowledge of restaurant company finance, operations and strategy. He also has considerable experience with high-growth companies in the restaurant industry and in other industries, and his experience as a senior investment banker at a number of prominent institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Solomon Brothers and Montgomery Securities, helped him develop solid capabilities in accounting and finance as well.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito with white rice, pinto beans, barbacoa, tomatillo-green chili salsa and sour cream, with a side of guacamole and chips.

Matthew A. Carey
Age: 59
Director Since:
2021
Background:
Mr. Carey has served as the Executive Vice President of Customer Experience of The Home Depot, Inc., a home improvement retailer, since April 2022, and previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of The Home Depot since September 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Carey served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at eBay Inc. He also held various positions with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with his final role as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Carey has significant cybersecurity expertise through his current and prior positions as the chief technology officer of large retail companies. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Geeknet Inc. and TransUnion Corp. Mr. Carey received an Associate of Applied Science degree from Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee.
Qualifications:
Mr. Carey has significant operational and strategic leadership experience and also brings to our Board extensive experience with information technology, cybersecurity and managing a global retail environment.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito Bowl with ½ black beans, ½ pinto beans, double chicken, tomatillo-green chili salsa, cheese and a side of guacamole.

Gregg L. Engles
Age: 66
Director Since:
2020
Background:
Mr. Engles is the Founder and Managing Partner of Capitol Peak Partners LLC, a capital investment company, since April 2017. He also serves as Chairman of Borden Dairy Company, a dairy company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer from July 2020 to November 2022. Mr. Engles previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of The WhiteWave Foods Company, a global food and beverage company, from October 2012 until April 2017 when it was acquired by Danone S.A. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Dean Foods Company, a food and beverage company and former parent company of WhiteWave, from April 1996 until WhiteWave’s initial public offering in October 2012. Mr. Engles currently serves on the Board of Directors of Liberty Broadband Corporation and he previously served on the Boards of Directors of Danone S.A., The WhiteWave Foods Company (until it was acquired by Danone S.A.), GCI Liberty (until it merged into Liberty Broadband Corporation), Liberty Expedia Holdings, Inc., and Dartmouth College. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Dartmouth College and a Juris Doctorate from Yale University.
Qualifications:
Mr. Engles has significant operational, strategic leadership and Board experience gained through his senior leadership positions at WhiteWave and other large public companies. He provides our Board with executive leadership perspective on the operations and management of public companies, which will assist our Board in evaluating strategic opportunities.
How I Chipotle:
Salad with Carne Asada, brown rice, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, fajita veggies, sour cream, cheese and Chipotle honey vinaigrette dressing.

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Patricia Fili-Krushel
Age: 70
Director Since:
2019
Background:
Ms. Fili-Krushel served as Chief Executive Officer of Coqual (formerly Center for Talent Innovation), a New York City–based think tank that focuses on global talent strategies, from January 2019 until February 2021. She currently serves as a director of Coqual and previously served as Chair of its Board of Directors. From 2011 to 2016, she served as an executive at Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company; as Division Chairman, NBCUniversal News Group; and as Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal. Prior to that, Ms. Fili-Krushel served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Time Warner Inc., a global media and entertainment company, from 2001 to 2011; as President & CEO, WebMD Health Division, of WebMD Health Corp., from 2000 to 2001; as President, ABC Television Network, and President, ABC Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group, of The Walt Disney Company, a diversified worldwide entertainment company; and as Senior Vice President, Programming of Lifetime Entertainment Services, an entertainment and media company, from 1988 to 1992. She also serves as a director of Dollar General Corporation and Reddit, Inc. Ms. Fili-Krushel received a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Saint John’s University, and an MBA from Fordham University.
Qualifications:
Ms. Fili-Krushel has extensive leadership, human resources and compensation experience and her contributions to the Board include broad experience in managing global businesses, developing business strategy, talent management and creating organizational cultures. She also brings experience serving on the boards of directors of other public companies.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito bowl with brown rice, chicken, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, cheese, guacamole and chips.

Laura Fuentes
Age: 49
Director Since
2023
Background:
Ms. Fuentes is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., a role she’s held since 2020. Prior to that, she held the position of Chief Talent and Diversity Officer and several other executive roles at Hilton since joining the company in 2013. For six years, Ms. Fuentes served in various Corporate Strategy and Human Resources roles at Capital One Financial Corporation. Before that, she worked at McKinsey & Company advising clients across various industries in their Madrid, New York, and Washington, D.C offices. She serves as a board member for two nonprofit organizations, Make-a-Wish Mid-Atlantic and Arlington Free Clinic. Additionally, she represents Hilton on the Tent US Advisory Council for refugees and serves on the board for the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce.

Originally from Spain, Ms. Fuentes holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia, a Masters of Science in Structural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Columbia University.
Qualifications:
Ms. Fuentes brings to the Board broad global people leadership experience and a deep understanding of the global hospitality industry. She also has extensive experience with strategic planning, leading a senior management team and creating an international organizational culture.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito bowl with white rice, fajita vegetables, black beans, guacamole, fresh tomato salsa, cheese and sour cream.

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Mauricio Gutierrez
Age: 53
Director Since:
2021
Background:
Mr. Gutierrez served as President and Chief Executive Officer of NRG Energy, Inc., an integrated power company, from December 2015 to November 2023. He joined NRG in August 2004 and served in multiple executive positions within NRG, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NRG from July 2010 to December 2015; Executive Vice President–Commercial Operations from January 2009 to July 2010; and Senior Vice President–Commercial Operations from March 2008 to January 2009. Mr. Gutierrez also served as the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Clearway Energy, Inc. (formerly NRG Yield, Inc.), an energy infrastructure investor and owner that was spun off from NRG Energy in 2015, from December 2015 to May 2016, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Clearway from December 2012 to December 2015. Mr. Gutierrez held various positions within Dynegy’s commercial and trading organization and Mexico City-based DTP Consultores. He serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) and Drexel University, and previously served on the board of NRG Energy, Inc. and Clearway Energy, Inc. Mr. Gutierrez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Panamericana, a Master’s Degree in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a Master’s Degree in Petroleum Economics from the French Petroleum Institute.
Qualifications:
Mr. Gutierrez’s experience as a chief executive officer brings to our Board management’s perspective on leading day-to-day business operations. He also has extensive experience with strategic planning, leading a senior management team, risk management and environmental and sustainability issues.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito with Carne Asada, white rice, pinto beans, guacamole, with tomatillo-green chili salsa and chips.

Robin Hickenlooper
Age: 45
Director Since:
2016
Background:
Ms. Hickenlooper is Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Liberty Media Corporation, an owner of media, communications and entertainment businesses, and has served in senior corporate development roles at Liberty Media and its affiliates since 2010. Prior to joining Liberty Media in 2008, Ms. Hickenlooper worked at Del Monte Foods and in investment banking at Thomas Weisel Partners. Ms. Hickenlooper currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sirius XM Holdings Inc., and she previously served on the Board of Directors of FTD Companies, Inc. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy from Duke University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Qualifications:
Ms. Hickenlooper brings to the Board significant experience in marketing and new media, as well as public company corporate governance.
How I Chipotle:
Salad with brown rice, chicken, fresh tomato salsa, tomatillo-green chili salsa, cheese and guacamole, with a touch of sour cream and chips crumbled on top.


Scott Maw
Age: 56
Director Since:
2019
Background:
Mr. Maw served as a Managing Director at WestRiver Group, a private equity investment firm, from August 2019 to August 2020 and as a Senior Advisor from August 2020 until February 2021. He was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Starbucks Corporation, a global roaster and retailer of specialty coffee, from 2014 until his retirement at the end of 2018. He also was Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance at Starbucks from 2012 to 2013, and Senior Vice President and Global Controller from 2011 to 2012. From 2010 to 2011, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SeaBright Holdings, Inc., a specialty workers’ compensation insurer. From 2008 to 2010, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Consumer Bank at JP Morgan Chase & Company. Prior to this, Mr. Maw held leadership positions in finance at Washington Mutual, Inc. from 2003 to 2008, and GE Capital from 1994 to 2003. Prior to joining GE Capital, Mr. Maw worked at KPMG’s audit practice from 1990 to 1994. He currently serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of Avista Corporation and Alcon Inc. and serves on the Board of Trustees of Gonzaga University. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Root, Inc. Mr. Maw holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Gonzaga University.
Qualifications:
Mr. Maw brings to our Board expert knowledge in finance, accounting, risk management and public corporate governance and has extensive experience leading global teams.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito bowl with Carne Asada or chicken, white rice, black beans, cheese, fresh tomato salsa and tomatillo-red chili salsa.

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Brian Niccol
Age: 50
Director Since:
2018
Background:
Mr. Niccol has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a director since March 2018 and in the additional role as Chairman of the Board since March 2020. From January 2015 to February 2018, Mr. Niccol served as Chief Executive Officer of Taco Bell, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc., a global restaurant company. He joined Taco Bell in 2011 as Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer and served as President from 2013 to 2014. Prior to his service at Taco Bell, from 2005 to 2011 he served in various executive positions at Pizza Hut, another division of Yum! Brands, including General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer. Before joining Yum! Brands, Mr. Niccol spent 10 years at Procter & Gamble Co., serving in various brand management positions. Mr. Niccol serves on the Board of Directors of KB Home (until April 18, 2024), one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., and Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, Chipotle’s nonprofit organization. He previously served on the Board of Harley-Davidson, Inc. Mr. Niccol holds an undergraduate degree from Miami University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Qualifications:
Mr. Niccol brings us extensive experience in brand management, executive leadership, marketing and operations, as well as a proven track record of driving outstanding results at multiple restaurant brands. He also adds to the Board’s experience in corporate governance and public company oversight.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito with white rice, chicken, mild salsa, corn salsa, fajita veggies, cheese with a side of guacamole and chips.

Mary Winston
Age: 62
Director Since:
2020
Background:
Ms. Winston is the Founder and President of WinsCo Enterprises, Inc., a consulting firm providing financial and board governance advisory services since 2016. She served as interim Chief Executive Officer of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., a retail chain, from May 2019 to November 2019, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Family Dollar Stores, a leading discount retailer, from 2012 until it was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015. Prior to that, Ms. Winston served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Giant Eagle, Inc., a supermarket chain, from 2008 to 2012, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Scholastic Corporation, a global children’s publishing, education and media company, from 2004 to 2007. Ms. Winston currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Acuity Brands, Inc., TD Bank Group and Northrop Grumman Corporation. She also serves on the Boards of Directors of Toronto-Dominion Bank’s U.S. subsidiary and Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Ms. Winston previously served on the Boards of Directors of Dover Corporation, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Domtar Corporation, Plexus Corporation and Supervalu Inc. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin, an MBA in Finance, Marketing and International Business from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School, and is a CPA, as well as a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow.
Qualifications:
Ms. Winston brings us extensive experience and expertise from years of broad financial management and executive leadership experience, including serving as CFO of three large companies. She also brings to the Board valuable experience in risk oversight and capital allocation, executive compensation and general corporate governance matters.
How I Chipotle:
Burrito bowl with chicken, brown rice, fajita veggies, cheese and fresh tomato salsa.

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Board Skills, Experience and Attributes
The table below summarizes the key experience, qualifications, and attributes of each director nominee and highlights the balanced mix of experience, qualifications, and attributes of the board as a whole. We believe these skills, experiences and attributes are important to our company’s achievement of its strategic goals and enhancing our economic model to benefit our shareholders. Assuming all director nominees are elected at the annual meeting, the average age of our directors will be 58, and the average tenure will be seven years. The summary below is not intended to be an exhaustive list of each director nominee’s skills or contributions to the board. No individual experience, qualification, or attribute is solely dispositive of becoming a member of our board.
Director Skills and Experience
Albert
Baldocchi
Matthew
Carey
Gregg
Engles
Patricia
Fili-Krushel
Laura
Fuentes
Mauricio
Gutierrez
Robin
Hickenlooper
Scott
Maw
Brian
Niccol
Mary
Winston
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT
Leadership
  7


X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

Proposal 1

(continued)

Restaurant / Food Industry

LOGO

CLASS I DIRECTORS WHOSE TERMS EXPIRE AT THE 2016 ANNUAL MEETING OF

SHAREHOLDERS AND WHO ARE NOMINEES FOR TERMS EXPIRING AT THE 2017 ANNUAL

MEETING (CONT’D)

   AGE   DIRECTOR
SINCE
   
Kimbal Musk Mr. Musk is an entrepreneur and restaurateur who has helped found and advise several companies and non-profits including: The Kitchen Restaurant Group, a restaurant company with restaurants in Boulder and Denver, CO and Chicago, IL; The Kitchen Community; Zip2 Corporation (acquired by Compaq Computer Corporation); PayPal, Inc. (acquired by eBay Inc.); Everdream Corporation (acquired by Dell Inc.); Tesla Motors, Inc.; Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX); OneRiot (acquired by Wal Mart Stores, Inc.) and SolarCity Corporation. Mr. Musk has been Chief Executive Officer of The Kitchen Restaurant Group since April 2004, and Executive Director of The Kitchen Community, a non-profit organization that creates learning gardens in schools across the United States, since November 2010. After success in the technology business, Mr. Musk decided to pursue his passion for food and cooking and attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City. His extensive experience with fast-growing and innovative companies as well as restaurants and other retail operations, and his experience on numerous boards of directors, are an asset to our Board. Mr. Musk is a member of the board of directors of Tesla Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA) as well as a number of privately-held companies and charitable organizations. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at New York University, and is a graduate of Queen’s Business School in Canada and the French Culinary Institute. 43��2013
   
Montgomery F. (Monty) Moran Mr. Moran is our Co-Chief Executive Officer and Secretary. He was appointed as Co-Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2009, after serving as our President and Chief Operating Officer since March 2005. Mr. Moran previously served as chief executive officer of the Denver law firm Messner & Reeves, LLC, where he was employed since 1996, and as general counsel of Chipotle. His experience as our outside general counsel from the time we had only a few restaurants through our growth to several hundred restaurants at the time he joined us as an employee has given him an in-depth knowledge and understanding of every aspect of our business. His legal experience ran from trial and employment matters to real estate and other transactional matters, as well as general corporate counseling. As a result he has an outstanding skill set in such areas as risk management and crisis handling, and also is thoroughly familiar with management personnel throughout our organization. In addition, Mr. Moran was the visionary and creator of our Restaurateur program and other aspects of instilling a culture of high performers throughout Chipotle, and his leadership in this area has been critical to our success. He is also one of the largest individual shareholders of our company. Mr. Moran holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Colorado and a J.D., cum laude, from Pepperdine University School of Law. 49 2006
   
Patrick J. Flynn Prior to retiring in 2001, Mr. Flynn spent 39 years at McDonald’s where he held a variety of executive and management positions, most recently as Executive Vice President responsible for strategic planning and acquisitions. From his background as a senior-level restaurant industry executive, Mr. Flynn developed strong capabilities in guiding corporate strategy, and tremendous knowledge of the operational aspects of the restaurant business as well. In addition, Mr. Flynn’s past experience as a director of a publicly-held financial institution, and his background in analyzing financial statements of businesses he has led and companies he has considered for acquisition, have given him strong financial analysis skills. 73 1998

X
X
X
X
X
8  
HR / Talent Management /
Compensation
  NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


X
X
X
X
X

Proposal 1

(continued)

Finance / Accounting

LOGO

CLASS I DIRECTORS WHOSE TERMS EXPIRE AT THE 2016 ANNUAL MEETING OF

SHAREHOLDERS AND WHO ARE NOMINEES FOR TERMS EXPIRING AT THE 2017 ANNUAL

MEETING (CONT’D)

   AGE   DIRECTOR
SINCE
   
Stephen Gillett Mr. Gillett was appointed to our Board on March 12, 2015. Since October 2015, Mr. Gillett has served as an Executive in Residence at Google Ventures, an affiliate of Alphabet Inc. and Google Inc., where he provides leadership resources and mentoring to portfolio companies. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC) until December 31, 2014. In this role, he was responsible for corporate strategy, business segment management, eBusiness, IT, marketing, communications, sales and marketing operations, customer care, product renewals and cloud platform engineering. Mr. Gillett also served as a member of Symantec’s Board of Directors from January 2012 to December 2012. Prior to joining Symantec, Mr. Gillett was Executive Vice President and President, Best Buy Digital, Global Marketing and Strategy of Best Buy Co., Inc., from March 2012 to December 2012. From May 2008 to March 2012, Mr. Gillett was Executive Vice President, Digital Ventures and Chief Information Officer at Starbucks, Inc. Mr. Gillett served as Chief Information Officer of Corbis Corporation, a digital media company, from May 2006 to May 2008. Prior to his role at Corbis, Mr. Gillett held senior technology positions with various technology companies including Yahoo! Inc., CNET Networks and Sun Microsystems, Inc. Mr. Gillett’s extensive experience with technology and cybersecurity is valuable to the Board in exercising its oversight of our IT systems and related security matters. He also has extensive leadership experience, including with global organizations, and considerable financial planning experience, all of which are also assets to our Board. He received a Bachelor’s degree from University of Oregon and an MBA from San Francisco State University. 

40

 2015
   
Steve Ells 

Mr. Ells founded Chipotle in 1993. He is Co-Chief Executive Officer and was appointed Chairman of the Board in 2005. Prior to launching Chipotle, Mr. Ells worked for two years at Stars restaurant in San Francisco. Mr. Ells’s vision – that food served fast doesn’t have to be low quality and that delicious food doesn’t have to be expensive – is the foundation on which Chipotle is based. This visionary thinking has led Chipotle to extraordinary accomplishments, such as growing from a single restaurant to over 2,000 and serving more responsibly-raised meat than any other restaurant company. This thinking has also resulted in Mr. Ells remaining a principal driving force behind making our company innovative and striving for constant improvement, and he continues to provide important leadership to our executive officers, management team, and Board. He is also one of the largest individual shareholders of our company. Mr. Ells graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history, and is also a 1990 Culinary Institute of America graduate.

 50 1996

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT
Cybersecurity / IT Systems
  9


X
X

Proposal 1

(continued)

Risk Management

LOGO

CLASS II DIRECTORSWHOSE TERMS EXPIRE AT THE 2016 ANNUALMEETING OF

SHAREHOLDERSAND WHO ARE NOMINEES FOR TERMS EXPIRING AT THE 2017 ANNUAL

MEETING

   AGE   DIRECTOR SINCE
   
Albert S. Baldocchi Mr. Baldocchi has been self-employed since 2000 as a financial consultant and strategic advisor for and investor in a variety of privately-held companies. His extensive involvement with restaurant companies over a period of 17 years has given Mr. Baldocchi an in-depth knowledge of restaurant company finance, operations and strategy. He also has considerable experience with high-growth companies in the restaurant industry and in other industries, and his experience as a senior investment banker at a number of prominent institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Salomon Brothers and Montgomery Securities, helped him develop solid capabilities in accounting and finance as well. Mr. Baldocchi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University. 61 1997
   
Darlene J. Friedman Prior to retiring in 1995, Ms. Friedman spent 19 years at Syntex Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company, where she held a variety of management positions, most recently as Senior Vice President of Human Resources. While at Syntex, Ms. Friedman was a member of the corporate executive committee and the management committee, and was responsible for the analysis, recommendation and administration of the company’s executive compensation programs and worked directly with the compensation committee of Syntex’s board. This experience and Ms. Friedman’s talent in the areas of people management and compensation are invaluable in connection with her service as a director and as a member of our Compensation Committee. Ms. Friedman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Colorado. 73 1995
   
Neil W. Flanzraich Mr. Flanzraich has been a private investor since February 2006. He is also the Executive Chairman of Cantex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly ParinGenix, Inc.), a privately-owned biotech company. From 1998 through its sale in January 2006 to TEVA Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd., he served as Vice Chairman and President of IVAX Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Flanzraich served as Chairman of the Life Sciences Legal Practice Group of Heller Ehrman LLP, a law firm, and from 1981 to 1994, served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel and member of the Operating and Executive Committees of Syntex Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company. Mr. Flanzraich’s executive experience has helped him develop outstanding skills in leading and managing strong teams of employees, and in oversight of the growth and financing of businesses in a rapidly-evolving market. His legal background also is valuable to us in the risk management area, and Mr. Flanzraich brings to us extensive experience serving as an independent director of other public and privately-held companies. He is a director of Equity One Inc. (NYSE:EQY). Mr. Flanzraich was a director of BELLUS Health Inc. until May 2012, a director of Continucare Corporation until October 2011, and a director of Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until July 2010. Mr. Flanzraich received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. 72 2007

X
X
X
X
X
10  
Branding / Marketing /
Media
  NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


X
X
X
X
X
X

Proposal 1

(continued)

Digital / Social Media /
Consumer Trends

LOGO

X
X
X
X
X
Real Estate / Commercial
Leasing
X
X
International Operations
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Sustainability /
Environmental
X
X
X
X
X
Government Relations
X
Investor Relations/
Corporate Governance
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Identity
Gender Expression
Male
Male
Male
Female
Female
Male
Female
Male
Male
Female
Race/Ethnicity
White
White
White
White
Latino
Latino
White
White
White
Black
Descriptions
Leadership – experience serving in a significant leadership position, including as CEO or executive officer of an organization or a large business division or unit; experience serving on a public company board
Restaurant / Food Industry – experience in the restaurant industry, including as an executive at a restaurant company, a restaurant owner or manager; experience with sourcing and supply or food safety / quality assurance
HR / Talent Management / Compensation – experience in recruiting, talent development, Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, management, labor relations and employment compliance
Finance / Accounting – experience in preparing and/or overseeing financial reporting and accounting systems, public company reporting requirements and internal controls; knowledge of financial markets, financing, and capital structure activities
Cybersecurity / IT Systems – experience or expertise in information technology systems and policies, information security, data privacy and/or cybersecurity
Risk Management – experience identifying, managing and/or overseeing the mitigation of enterprise risks
Branding / Marketing / Media – experience in marketing and branding products, product innovation, building brand awareness, enhancing corporate reputation, overseeing customer relations or crisis management
Digital / Social Media / Consumer Trends – experience in digital and/or ecommerce environments, online consumer engagement and retention, social media strategy and digital revenue generating opportunities
Real Estate / Commercial Leasing – experience in site selection, construction, property management and administration
International Operations – experience in operating or overseeing business outside the U.S., including developing a growth strategy, overseeing expansion, knowledge of non-U.S. regulations, organizational structures and tax implications, understanding global business cultures, consumer preferences, and economic, regulatory and political conditions

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The

Sustainability / Environmental – experience leading or overseeing efforts to mitigate environmental impact, achieve waste reduction, initiate strategic and responsible sourcing and understanding social and governance issues
Government Relations – experience with lobbying, advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and overseeing regulatory changes, investigations and compliance
Investor Relations / Corporate Governance – knowledge of corporate governance practices and policies, experience engaging with shareholders and other stakeholders regarding strategy, financial results, executive compensation and corporate governance
Board Composition and Refreshment
We seek to strike the right balance between retaining directors with deep knowledge of Directors heldthe company and adding directors who bring a fresh perspective. Of the ten director nominees, five meetings in 2015. Each director attended at least 75have served on the Board for four years or less. Forty percent of the meetingsBoard is composed of female directors, and two of the three standing Committees of the Board and of committees of which they were members during 2015.are chaired by female directors. The Board has requested that each member attend our annual shareholder meetings absent extenuating circumstances,is committed to actively seeking to include highly qualified women and all directors attendedindividuals with underrepresented backgrounds in the 2015 annual meeting.

pool from which new director candidates are selected. From time to time the Board retains an executive recruiting firm to assist in identifying, evaluating and conducting due diligence on potential director candidates. Each recruiting firm retained by the Board is instructed to identify candidates who, in addition to having particular skills and experience, also would add to the gender, racial and ethnic diversity of the Board.

A MajorityIndependence of our Board Members are Independent

Directors

Our Board of Directors, under the direction of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, reviews the independence of our directors to determine whether any relationships, transactions or arrangements involving any director or any family member or affiliate of a director may be deemed to compromise the director’s independence from us, including under the independence standards contained in the rules of the NYSE. Based on that review, in March 20162024 the Board determined that none of our directors haveor director nominees has any relationships, transactions or arrangements that would compromise theirhis or her independence, except Messrs. Ells and Moran,Brian Niccol who serves as our Co-Chief Executive Officers.CEO. In particular,making its determination as to the independence of Board members, the Board determined that the following transactionsregistration rights granted to Mr. Baldocchi as described under “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions” do not constitute relationships that would create a material conflictsconflict of interest or otherwise compromise the independence of the directorsMr. Baldocchi in attending to theirhis duties as a Board members: (i) the registration rights granted to Mr. Baldocchi and Ms. Friedman, as described below under “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions;” (ii) a grant of $250,000 to The Kitchen Community (representing less than 10% of the total 2015 donations to The Kitchen Community), a non-profit organization founded and chaired by Mr. Musk, by Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, our company charitable foundation; and (iii) our business relationships with Google Inc., the parent of Google Ventures, at which Mr. Gillett serves as Executive in Residence.member. Accordingly, the Board concluded that each director and director nominee, other than Messrs. Ells and MoranMr. Niccol, qualifies as independent.
Board Commitments
To ensure that our directors can devote appropriate time to Chipotle matters and as a matter of good governance, our Board of Directors maintains limits on the number of public company boards on which a Chipotle director can serve. Our policy is contained in our Corporate Governance Guidelines and states that a director should not serve on more than four publicly traded companies’ boards (including Chipotle’s Board) or, if the Director is serving as an independent director.

executive officer of a public company, no more than two publicly traded companies’ boards (including Chipotle’s Board). In addition, directors who are members of our Audit & Risk Committee may not sit concurrently on the audit committees of more than three publicly traded companies (including Chipotle’s Audit & Risk Committee). The Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and our Lead Independent Director regularly review compliance with this policy and, as of April 2024, all of our directors were in compliance.

Committees of the Board

Our Board of Directors has three standing committees: (1) the Audit & Risk Committee, (2) the Compensation, People and Culture Committee, and (3) the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and each is composed entirely of persons the Board has determined to be independent as described above. Each member of the Audit & Risk Committee has also been determined by the Board to be independent under the definition included in SEC Rule 10A-3(b)(1), of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and each member of the Compensation, People and Culture Committee has been determined to be independent under NYSE Rule 303A.02(a)(ii). and Rule 10C-1 of the Exchange Act. Each committeeCommittee operates pursuant to a

written charter adopted by our Board of Directors, which sets forth the committee’s rolesCommittee’s role and responsibilities and provides for an annual evaluation of its performance. The charters of all three standing committees are available on the Investors page of our corporate website atir.chipotle.com under the Corporate Governance link.

Governance.

Audit & Risk Committee

In accordance with its charter, the Audit & Risk Committee acts to oversee the integrity of our financial statements and system of internal controls,controls; the annual independent audit of our financial statements,statements; the performance of our internal audit services function (including review of audit plans, budget and staffing); the implementation and effectiveness of our risk assessment and risk management policies and procedures; our cybersecurity, privacy and data security programs, policies and initiatives; our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and our response to actual and alleged violations, including claims of harassment, discrimination or alleged violations of applicable employment laws; and the implementation and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures,procedures. In performing its functions, the Audit & Risk Committee acts only in an oversight capacity and necessarily relies on the work and assurance of the company’s management and independent registered public accounting firm which, in its reports,

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express opinions on the fair presentation of the company’s financial statements and the evaluation and oversighteffectiveness of risk issues, and also acts to ensure open lines of communication among our independent auditors, accountants,the company’s internal audit andcontrols over financial management.reporting. The committee’sAudit & Risk Committee’s responsibilities also include review of the qualifications, independence and performance of the independent auditors, who reportregistered public accounting firm, which reports directly to the Audit & Risk Committee. The committeeCommittee also reviews and approves our annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC, our earnings press releases, and all transactions with related persons or situations that pose a potential conflict of interest that are required to be disclosed in the Company’s proxy statement or other SEC reports. The Committee regularly holds executive sessions with the audit partner for continued assessment of the performance, effectiveness and independence of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit & Risk Committee also retains, determines the compensation of, evaluates and, when appropriate, replaces our independent auditorsregistered public accounting firm and pre-approves audit and permitted non-audit services provided by our independent auditors.registered public accounting firm. The Audit & Risk Committee has adopted the “Policy Relating to Pre-Approval of Audit and Permitted Non-Audit Services” under which audit and non-audit services to be provided to us by our independent auditorsregistered public accounting firm are pre-approved. This policy is summarized on page 2136 of this proxy statement. The committeeCommittee determined that the fees paid to the independent auditorregistered public accounting firm in 2015,2023, including in connection with non-audit services, were appropriate, necessary and cost-efficient in the management of our business, and did not present a risk of compromising the auditor’s independence.

The Audit & Risk Committee also has adopted and annually reviews compliance with the company’s “Hiring Policy for Former Employees of Independent Auditor Firm,” which further ensures that the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm is not impaired.

As required by law, the Audit & Risk Committee has establishedapproved procedures to handle complaints received regarding our accounting, internal controls or auditing matters. It is also required to ensure the confidentiality of employees who have provided information or expressed concern regarding questionable accounting or auditing practices. The committeeAudit & Risk Committee also fulfills the oversight function of the Board with respect to risk management, as described under “Corporate Governance – Role of the Board of Directors in Risk Oversight.” The committeeCommittee may retain independent advisors at our expense that it considers necessary for the completionperformance of its duties.

The Audit & Risk Committee held eight meetings in 2015.2023. The members of the Audit & Risk Committee are Messrs. BaldocchiMaw (Chairperson), Charlesworth, Flanzraich and Gillett.Carey and Ms. Winston. Our

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Board of Directors has determined that all of the Audit & Risk Committee members meet the enhanced independence standards required of audit committee members by SEC regulations of the SEC, and are financially literate as defined in the NYSE listing standards of the NYSE.standards. The Board has further determined that each of Mr. BaldocchiMaw and Ms. Winston qualifies as an “Audit Committee Financial Expert” as defined in SEC regulations.

No In 2023 no member of the Audit & Risk Committee served on more than three audit or similar committees of publicly held companies, including Chipotle, in 2015.Chipotle. A report of the Audit & Risk Committee is found under the heading “Audit & Risk Committee Report” on page 21.

35.

Compensation, People and Culture Committee

The Compensation, People and Culture Committee oversees our executive compensation policies and programs. In accordance with its charter, the committeeCommittee determines the compensation of our Co-ChiefChief Executive OfficersOfficer based on an evaluation of theirhis performance and approves the compensation levellevels of our other executive officers following an evaluation of their performance and recommendation by the Co-ChiefChief Executive Officers.Officer. The manner in which the committeeCommittee makes determinations as to the compensation of our executive officers is described in more detail below under “Executive Officers and Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Overview of ExecutiveAnalysis.”
The Compensation, Determinations.”

The CompensationPeople and Culture Committee charter also grants the committeeCommittee the authority to: review and make recommendations to the Board with respect to the establishment and terms of anyall new incentive compensation and equity-based plans; review and approve the terms of written employment agreements and post-service arrangements for executive officers; review our compensation programs generally to confirm that those plans provide reasonable benefits to us;ensure they support the company’s overall business strategy and avoid undue risk; recommend compensation to be paid to our outside directors; review and advise the Board on executive compensation-related disclosures to be filed with the SEC and distributed to our shareholders regarding executiveshareholders; oversee our management of and response to human capital matters, including diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives, recruitment and retention of employees, gender and racial/ethnic pay equity and relative compensation and recommendbenefits offered to employees across the company; with the full Board, oversees the succession planning process relating to executive officer positions; oversee and make recommendations to the Board the filingregarding amendments to and enforcement of such disclosures;our Executive Compensation Recovery Policy; assist the Board with its functions relating toresponsibilities for our compensation and benefits programs generally; and perform other administrative matters with regardrelating to our compensation programs and policies. The committeeCommittee may delegate any of its responsibilities to a subcommittee comprised of one or more members of the committee,Committee, except where such delegation is not allowed by legal or regulatory requirements.

The Compensation, People and Culture Committee has also been appointed by the Board to administeradministers our Amended and Restated 2011

2022 Stock Incentive Plan and to makemakes awards under the plan, including as described below under “Executive Officers and Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Components of2023 Compensation Program Long-Term Incentives.Fiscal 2023 Annual LTI Awards.” The committee has in some years, including 2015, delegatedCommittee annually delegates its authority under the plan to our executiveseveral officers to make grantsgrant equity awards to non-executive officer level employees, within limitations specified by the committeeCommittee in its delegation of authority.

The Compensation, People and Culture Committee retained Compensation StrategiesFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (“FW Cook”), an outsideindependent executive compensation consulting firm, to provideadvise the committee with adviceCommittee regarding compensation matters for 20142023 and for the equity compensation awards made to our executive officers in February 2015. In September 2015, the committee retained Pay Governance, LLC, another outside executive compensation consulting firm, to provide the committee with advice regarding executive compensation matters for the remainder of 2015.2023. All of the fees paid to Compensation Strategies and Pay GovernanceFW Cook during 20152023 were in connection with eachthe firm’s work on executive and director compensation matters on behalf of the committee;Committee; no fees were paid to eitherthe firm for any other work. Each firmFW Cook was retained pursuant to an engagement letter with the Compensation, People and Culture Committee, and the committeeCommittee determined that eachthe firm’s service to Chipotle did not and does not give rise to any conflict of interest, and considers each firmFW Cook to have sufficient independence from our company and executive officers to allow it to offer objective advice.

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The Compensation, People and Culture Committee held fourteenseven meetings in 2015, including a number of meetings with shareholders to discuss executive compensation matters.2023. A report of the committeeCommittee is found under the heading “Executive Officers and Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Compensation, People and Culture Committee Report” on page 53.

70.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

Mr. Flanzraich was appointed Chairperson of our Compensation Committee in September 2015, and the other

The members of the committeeCompensation, People and Culture Committee are Ms. FriedmanMses. Fili-Krushel (Chairperson) and Fuentes and Mr. Flynn.Engles. There are no relationships between the members of the committeeCommittee and our executive officers of the type contemplated in the SEC’s rules requiring disclosure of “compensation committee interlocks.” None of the members of the committeeCompensation, People and Culture Committee is our employee and no member has been an officer of our company at any time. The Board has determined that each member of the committeeCommittee qualifies as a “Non-Employee Director” under SEC Rule 16b-3, and as an “Outside Director” under Section 162(m) of the

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Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and that each member satisfies the standards of NYSE Rule 303A.02(a)(ii) regarding independence of compensation committee members. No member of the committeeCommittee nor any organization of which any member of the committeeCommittee is an officer or director received any payments from us during 2015,2023, other than the payments disclosed under “– Compensation of Directors”“ – Director Compensation” below. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for a description of agreements we have entered into with Ms. Friedman.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The responsibilities of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee include reviewing, at least annually, the adequacy of our corporate governance principles and recommending to the Board any changes to such principles as deemed appropriate, andappropriate; recommending to the Board appropriate guidelines and criteria to determine the qualifications to serve and continue to serve as a director.director; overseeing our policies and programs relating to environmental, sustainability and social responsibility and the effectiveness of those policies and programs; and overseeing our government affairs initiatives and policies. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies and reviews the qualifications of, and recommends to the Board, (i) individuals to be nominated by the Board for election to the Board at each annual meeting, (ii) individuals to be nominated and electedappointed to fill any vacancy on the Board which occurs for any reason (including increasing the size of the Board) and, (iii) appointments to committees of the Board.

Board, and (iv) the selection of a chair for each Board committee. The committee,Committee, at least annually, reviews the size, composition and organization of the Board and its committees and recommends any policies, changes or other action it deems necessary or appropriate, including recommendations to the Board regarding retirement age, resignation or removal of a director, independence requirements, leadership structure of the Board, frequency of Board meetings and terms of directors. A number of these matters are covered in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, which the committee alsoCommittee reviews at least annually. The committeeCommittee also reviews the nominationany potential shareholder proposals, including director candidates nominated by our shareholders, of candidates for election to the Board if such nominationsproposals are within the time limits and meet other requirements established by our bylaws.bylaws and makes recommendations to the Board regarding those proposals. The committeeCommittee oversees the annual evaluation of the performance of the Board and its committees, the effectiveness of our policies and reviewsprograms relating to environmental, sustainability and makes recommendations regarding succession planssocial responsibility policies, goals and programs, our Government Affairs initiatives and policies and orientation and education programs for positions held by executive officers.

directors.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held threefour meetings in 2015.2023. The members of the committeeCommittee are Mr. FlynnMs. Hickenlooper (Chairperson), Ms. Friedman and Mr. Gillett.

Messrs. Baldocchi and Gutierrez.


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2023 Director Compensation

The Compensation, People and Culture Committee of the Board reviews and makes recommendations to the full Board on compensation provided to non-employee directors at least biennially, as required by its charter. In May 2023, the Board approved an increase of $40,000 in the grant value of the annual equity grant to non-employee directors, bringing the total grant value to $215,000. Directors who are also employees of Chipotle do not receive compensation for their services as directors. Directors who areAccordingly, Mr. Niccol did not employees of Chipotle received an annual retainer during 2015 of $195,000, of which $75,000 was paid in cash and $120,000 was paid in restricted stock units representing shares of our common stock, basedreceive additional compensation for service on the closing price of the stock on the grant date, which is the date of our annual shareholders meeting each year. Each director who is not an employee of ChipotleBoard in 2023. We also received a $2,000 cash payment for each meeting of the Board of Directors he or she attended and $1,500 for each meeting of a committee of the Board of Directors he or she attended ($750 in the case of telephonic attendance at an in-person committee meeting). Annual cash retainers are paid to the chairperson of each committee of the Board of Directors, in the following amounts for 2015: $20,000 for the Audit Committee Chairperson, $15,000 for the Compensation Committee Chairperson, $10,000 for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chairperson, and $5,000 for the chairperson of any other committee established by the Board of Directors unless otherwise specified by the Board. In 2015 we also began to pay an annual retainer of $15,000 to the Lead Director. Additionally,reimburse directors are reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with their service as directors, including travel expenses for meetings.

We have also adopted a requirement that The table below describes the compensation program for our non-employee directors, as amended in May 2023.

Non-Employee Director Compensation
Cash Retainer(1)
Restricted Stock Units(2)
Annual Director Retainer
$110,000
$215,000
Committee Chair Retainers:
Audit & Risk
$42,500
Compensation, People & Culture
$37,500
Nominating and Corporate Governance
$30,000
Committee Member Retainers (Excluding Committee Chair):
Audit & Risk
$15,000
Compensation, People & Culture
$15,000
Nominating and Corporate Governance
$10,000
Lead Independent Director
$50,000
(1)
All cash retainers are paid in arrears, on a pro-rata basis, at the end of May and November. Directors also would be paid an additional $2,000 fee for each formal Committee meeting in excess of eight formal meetings in which the director participates as a Committee member.
(2)
Restricted stock units, or RSUs, represent the right to receive shares of our common stock upon vesting. RSUs are granted to non-employee directors on or about the date of our annual meeting of shareholders each year and vest in full on the grant date. The number of shares subject to the award is based on the closing price of our common stock on the grant date. Directors may elect to defer receipt upon vesting of the shares underlying the RSUs.
Under our stock ownership requirements for our directors, each non-employee director is expectedrequired to own Chipotle common stock with a market value of five times the annual cash retainer within five years of the director’s appointment or election to the Board. All non-employee directors other than Mr. Musk, who was appointed to the Board in September 2013, and Mr. Gillett, who was appointed to the Board in March 2015, met this requirement as of December 31, 2015. Unvested restricted stock units received as compensation for2023, except Laura Fuentes who was elected to the Board service count as shares owned for purposes of this requirement.

in September 2023.

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The compensation ofwe paid to each of our non-employee directorsdirector who served on the Board in 20152023 is set forth below.

NAME  FEES EARNED OR
PAID IN CASH
   STOCK  AWARDS(1)   TOTAL 

Albert S. Baldocchi

  $115,750    $120,075    $235,825  

John S. Charlesworth

  $95,000    $120,075    $215,075  

Neil W. Flanzraich

  $123,250    $120,075    $243,325  

Patrick J. Flynn

  $117,750    $120,075    $237,825  

Darlene J. Friedman

  $117,750    $120,075    $237,825  

Stephen Gillett(2)

  $78,247    $96,569    $174,816  

Kimbal Musk

  $83,750    $120,075    $203,825  

2023 Director Compensation
Director
Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash(1)
Stock Awards(2)
Total
Albert Baldocchi
$120,000
$216,079
$336,080
Matthew Carey
$125,000
$216,079
$341,080
Gregg Engles
$125,000
$216,079
$341,080
Patricia Fili-Krushel
$147,500
$216,079
$363,580
Laura Fuentes(3)
$21,247
$149,797
$171,044
Mauricio Gutierrez
$125,000
$216,079
$341,079
Robin Hickenlooper
$140,000
$216,079
$356,080
Scott Maw
$202,500
$216,079
$418,580
Mary Winston
$125,000
$216,079
$341,080
(1)
Reflects cash compensation paid to each director in 2023 for service on the Board, a Committee of the Board and as Lead Independent Director.
(2)
Reflects the grant date fair value under FASB Topic 718 of restricted stock unitsRSUs awarded for the equity portion of each non-employee director’s annual retainer. Restricted stock unitsretainer, which is made on or about the date of the annual meeting of shareholders. On May 25, 2023, RSUs in respect of 189105 shares of common stock (152 shares in the case of Mr. Gillett, who joined the Board in March) were granted to each non-employee director on May 13, 2015. The restricted stock unitswho was re-elected to the Board, which RSUs were valued at $635.32,$2,057.90 per share, the closing price of ourChipotle common stock on the grant date. The restricted stock units vestgrant covered the one-year service period from the 2023 annual meeting to the 2024 annual meeting and the RSUs vested immediately on the third anniversarygrant date. On September 20, 2023, an RSU in respect of 78 shares of common stock was granted to Laura Fuentes in connection with her election to the Board, which RSU was valued at $1,920.48 per share, the closing price of Chipotle common stock on the grant date subject to the director’s continued service as a director through that date. Vesting accelerates in the event of the retirement of a director who has served for a total of six years (including any breaks in service), or in the event the director leaves the Board following certain changes in control of Chipotle. Directors may elect in advance to defer receipt upon vesting of the shares underlying the restricted stock units. EachRSUs to a future date. In 2023 one director, serving asMary Winston, elected to defer her receipt of December 31, 2015, other than Mr. Musk and Mr. Gillett, held 658 unvested restricted stock units as of that date; Mr. Musk held 501 unvested restricted stock units as of that date, and Mr. Gillett held 152 unvested restricted stock units as of that date.the RSUs.

(2)(3)
Mr. GillettLaura Fuentes was appointedelected to the Board effective March 12, 2015.on September 15, 2023 and received prorated compensation for service through the 2024 annual meeting.

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE


Our Board of Directors has adopted a number of policies to support our values and provide for good corporate governance, including our Corporate Governance Guidelines, which set forth our principles of corporate governance; our Board committee charters; and the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Code of Conduct,Ethics, which applies to all Chipotle directors, executive officers directors and employees; and separate Codes of Ethics for our directors, our Co-Chief Executive Officers and our Chief Financial Officer/principal accounting officer. Theemployees. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines Code of Conduct, and each of the Codesour Code of Ethics are available on the Investors page of our corporate website at ir.chipotle.com under the Corporate Governance link.

Governance.

If we make any substantive amendment to, or grant a waiver from, a provision of the Code of Conduct or our Codes of Ethics that applyapplies to our executive officers, we willintend to satisfy the applicable SEC disclosure requirement by promptly disclosing the nature of the amendment or waiver on the Investors page of our corporate website at ir.chipotle.com under the Corporate Governance link.

Governance.

ChairmanBoard Leadership Structure
Our current Board leadership structure consists of the Board

Mr. Ells, our founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, also serves as Chairman of the Board. Thea combined Chairman of the Board presidesand Chief Executive Officer, a position held by Brian Niccol; an independent director serving as Lead Independent Director; Board committees led by independent directors; executive sessions of the directors at each regular Board meeting; and active oversight by all directors. Our Board regularly reviews (at least annually) the Board’s leadership structure and continues to believe that the combined Chairman and CEO role, together with a strong Lead Independent Director with clearly defined and robust responsibilities, and independent directors leading the Committees provides the best leadership structure for the company at this time. The Board believes that the current structure provides appropriate safeguards to the combined Chairman and Chief Executive Officer role and facilitates the oversight of risk by combining independent leadership with an experienced Chairman who has intimate knowledge of our business, industry and challenges.

The Board also believes we can most effectively execute our business strategies and growth plans if our Chairman is a member of our management team, providing unified leadership and focus. The experience and operating expertise that Mr. Niccol brings to the Board as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, combined with the strong independent leadership of our Lead Independent Director, allows the Board to promptly identify and raise key risks, hold special meetings of the Board when necessary to address critical issues, and exercisesfocus management’s attention on areas of concern.
If our Board (particularly the Lead Independent Director and performs such other powersthe Chair of the Nominating and duties as mayCorporate Governance Committee) believes that a different leadership structure would be

periodically assigned to him more appropriate in that capacity bylight of challenges, opportunities and needs of our business and the Board or prescribed by our bylaws. We believe it is not only appropriate but also important for Mr. Ells to serve as Chairman in addition to serving as Co-Chief Executive Officer. As the foundergrowth state of our company he has since our inception beenin the principal architect of our corporate strategy and vision, and continues to be a primary driving force to keep our company innovative and striving for constant improvement. The Board believes that its oversight responsibilities can be most effectively fulfilled iffuture, the Board is led by that same driving force, and also believes that it is appropriate for Mr. Ells to leadwould reconsider the Board due to his being one of the largest individual shareholders of our company.

current leadership structure.

Lead Independent Director

Mr. Flanzraich was appointed

Scott Maw currently serves as our Lead Director in September 2014.Independent Director. The Board believes that maintaining a Lead Independent Director position held by an independent director ensureshelps ensure that our outside directors remain independent of management, and provideprovides objective oversight of our business and strategy.strategy, and supports the relationship between the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the independent directors. The responsibilities of the Lead Independent Director chairsare contained in our Corporate Governance Guidelines and include: (1) presiding at meetings of the Board at which the Chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors; (2) approving information sent to the Board; (3) approving the scheduling of Board meetings during any sessions conductedand the agenda and materials for each meeting and executive session of the independent directors to provide that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items; (4) serving as executive sessions without employee directors or other employeesliaison between the Chairman and the independent directors; (5) if requested by major shareholders, being present,available for periodic consultation and also consultsdirect communication with major shareholders; (6) with the Chairman the Co-Chief Executive Officers and the Chief Financial Officer on business issues and with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, on Board management. Other responsibilities of the Lead Director include (i) coordinating activities of the other independent Directors and serving as a liaison between the

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Chairman and independent Directors; (ii) calling meetings of the independent Directors when determined to be necessary or appropriate; (iii) reviewing meeting agendas and consulting with the Chairman regarding agenda items; (iv) interviewing, along with the Chairman and the Chair and members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee,evaluating all Directordirector candidates and making recommendations to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee; (v) leading, in conjunction(7) collaborating with the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to complete the annual Board and Committee performance self-evaluation process; (vi) advisingand (8) with the NominatingChair of the Compensation, People and Culture Committee, leading the annual performance evaluation of the Chief Executive Officer. See our Corporate Governance CommitteeGuidelines, posted on the compositionInvestors page of Board committees and selection of committee chairs; (vii) providing leadership to the Board if circumstances arise in which the rolesour corporate website at ir.chipotle.com under Corporate Governance for a full description of the Chairman and the Co-Chief Executive Officers may, or may be perceived to be, in conflict; (viii) considering Board succession planning matters; and (ix) participating in shareholder outreach efforts relating to executive compensation and corporate governance matters.

role of Lead Independent Director.

Board Performance and Self-Evaluation Process

The Chairman

In consultation with the Lead Independent Director, the Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees an annual evaluationBoard and committee self-evaluations. The directors’ self-evaluation process during which each director evaluatesincludes a written questionnaire soliciting input on topics such as the overall effectiveness of the Board as a whole and its committees in performing their individual contributions tooversight responsibilities, the composition of the Board and each membercommittee, the quality, rigor and effectiveness of meetings, the standing committeesqualifications and effectiveness of incumbent directors, and whether the Board of Directors evaluates the committees on which he or she serves.

The committee self-evaluations consider whether and how well each committee has performed the responsibilities in its charter, whether the committeepossess members possesswith the right skills and experience to performfulfill their responsibilities, whetherresponsibilities. The questionnaire is supplemented by candid, one-on-one discussions between the meeting materialsCommittee Chair and independent directors on similar topics. Responses and observations from this process are effective,discussed by the full Board and other matters.form the basis for process changes and setting future agendas. The individual director evaluations consider, among other factors, (i) the extent to which directors understand Chipotle’s products, marketsNominating and business initiatives; (ii) the extent to which individual director experience, information and insight contribute to the effectiveness of the Board; and (iii) the availability of training and development opportunities, if necessary, to enhance individual contributions to the Board. The Board self-evaluations consider whether and how the Board has performed the responsibilities in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, evaluateCommittee believes that our current self-evaluation process is designed to generate candid and real-time feedback on the compositionefficacy of the Board and its committees,


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relationship with management and assessconsiders annually whether changes in the quality of meetings,process would be advisable. Based on the responses to the 2023 self-evaluations, the directors added additional topics to the quarterly meeting agendas, presentations and meeting materials.

For 2015,determined to extend the Chairmanexecutive sessions of the NominatingBoard, and Corporate Governance Committee conducted an interview with each directorrequested management to discuss the matters described above, and to

communication more frequently between meetings, as appropriate.

conduct individual director self-evaluations and identify any other issues regarding Board or committee performance. The results of these discussions were then compiled and presented in discussions with the full Board. In some years, the Board self-evaluation also results in changes to the Board’s policies, procedures and priorities in order to best enable the Board to discharge its oversight responsibilities.

How to Contact the Board of Directors

Any shareholder or other interested party may contact the Board of Directors, including the Lead Independent Director or the non-employee directors as a group, or any individual director or directors, by writing to the intended recipient(s)recipient in care of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 1401 Wynkoop Street,610 Newport Center Dr., Suite 500, Denver, Colorado, 80202,1100, Newport Beach, CA 92660, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Any communication to report potential issues regarding accounting, internal controls and other auditing matters will be directed to the Audit & Risk Committee. Our corporateCorporate Secretary, or general counsel, or their designees, will review and sort communications before forwarding them to the addressee(s), although communicationsaddressee. Communications that do not, in the opinion of the Corporate Secretary, our general counsel or their designees, deal with the functions of the Board or a committeeCommittee or do not otherwise warrant the attention of the addressees, may not be forwarded.

Executive Sessions

Non-management directors met in executive session without management

Executive sessions are scheduled at the end of each regularly-scheduled Boardregular, quarterly meeting during 2015. The Lead Director chaired the non-employee executive sessionsof each standing Committee of the Board, held during 2015. The Board expects to conduct an executive session limited to non-employee Board members at each regularly-scheduled Board meeting during 2016, and independent directors may schedule additional sessions in their discretion.

At regularly-scheduled meetings of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, executive sessions are generally held at the end of each meeting, with only the committeeCommittee members or the committeeCommittee members and their advisors present, to discuss any topics the committeeCommittee members deem necessary or appropriate.

Our independent directors met in executive session without management present at the end of each regularly scheduled Board meeting during 2023 and the Lead Independent Director chaired these non-employee executive sessions. The Board expects to continue to conduct executive sessions of the independent directors at each regularly scheduled Board meeting during 2024, and independent directors may schedule additional sessions at their discretion.
Director Nomination Process

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for establishing criteria for nominees to serve on our Board, screening candidates, and recommending for approval by the full Board candidates for vacant Board positions and for election at each annual meeting of shareholders. The committee’sCommittee’s policies and procedures for

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consideration of Board candidates are described below. Each member of the Board is a nomineeAll 10 nominees for election as a director at this year’s annual meeting andare incumbent members of the Board. Each nominee was recommended to the Board as a nominee by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

The committeeCommittee considers candidates suggested by its members, other directors, senior management and shareholders. The committee isCommittee’s charter also authorized under its charterauthorizes it to retain, at our expense, search firms, consultants and any other advisors it may deem appropriate to identify and screen potential candidates. The committeeCommittee may also retain a search firm to evaluate and perform background reviews on director candidates, including those recommended by shareholders. Any advisors retained by the committee willCommittee report directly to the committee.

Committee.

Candidate Qualifications and Considerations

The committeeNominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks to identify candidates of high integrity who have a strong record of accomplishment and who display the independence of mind and strength of character necessary to make an effective contribution to the Board and to represent the interests of all shareholders. Candidates are selected for their ability to exercise good judgment and to provide practical insights and diverse perspectives. In addition to considering the Board’s and Chipotle’s needs at the time a particular candidate is being considered, the committeeCommittee considers candidates in light of the entirety of their credentials, including:

including each candidate’s:

Their integrity and business ethics;

Their strength of character and judgment;

Their ability and willingness to devote sufficient time to Board duties;

Their potential contribution to the diversity and culture of the Board;

Their educational background;

Their business and professional achievements and experience and industry background, particularly in light of our principal business and strategies, and from the standpoint of alignment with our vision and values;

Their independence from management, including under requirements of applicable law and listing standards, and any potential conflicts of interest arising from their other business activities; and

Relevant provisionsexperience on public company boards and knowledge of our Corporate Governance Guidelines.

corporate governance practices.

These factors may be weighted differently depending on the individual being considered orand the needs of the Board at the time. We do not haveThe Board believes that a particular policy regarding the diversity of nominees or Board members. The Board does believe that diverse membership with varying perspectives and breadth of experience is an important attribute of a well-functioning Board; diversity (whether based on factors commonly associated with diversity suchBoard, as race, gender, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation or identity, as well as on broader principles such as diversitydescribed under “Election of perspectiveDirectors – Board Composition and experience) is one of many elements that will be considered in evaluating a particular candidate. Search firms with which we work to identify potential Board nominees will be instructed to specifically focus on identifying candidates that would, in addition to bringing particular skills and experience to the Board, also add to the gender and/or ethnic diversity on the Board.Refreshment.”


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Consideration of Shareholder-Recommended Candidates and Procedure for Shareholder Nominations

Shareholders wishing to recommend candidates to be considered by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee must submit to our corporateCorporate Secretary the following information: a recommendation identifying the candidate, including the candidate’s contact information; a detailed resume of the candidate and an autobiographical statement explaining the candidate’s interest in serving on our Board; and a statement of whether the candidate meets applicable law and listing requirements pertaining to director independence. Candidates recommended by shareholders for consideration will be evaluated in the same manner as any other candidates, as described below under “Candidate“– Candidate Evaluation Process,” and in view of the qualifications and factors identified above under “Candidate“– Candidate Qualifications and Considerations.”

Under our bylaws, shareholders also may also nominate candidates for election as a director at our annual meeting. To do so,nominate a candidate, a shareholder must comply with the provisions of our bylaws regarding shareholder nomination of directors, including compliance with the deadlines described under “Other Business and Miscellaneous – Shareholder“Shareholder Proposals and Nominations for 20162025 Annual Meeting – Bylaw Requirements for Shareholder Submission of Nominations and Proposals” on page 64.

83. Our bylaws also permit qualified shareholders or groups of shareholders to include nominations for election as a director in our proxy materials by complying with the proxy access provisions in our bylaws. These provisions are described under “Shareholder Proposals and Nominations for 2025 Annual Meeting – Inclusion of Director Nominations in Our Proxy Statement and Proxy Card under Our Proxy Access Bylaws” on page 82.

Candidate Evaluation Process

The committeeNominating and Corporate Governance Committee initially evaluates candidates in view of the qualifications and factors identified above under “Candidate“ – Candidate Qualifications and Considerations,Considerations” and “Election of Directors – Board Composition and Refreshment,” and in doing so may consult with the Chairman, the Lead Independent Director, other

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directors, senior management or outside advisors regarding a particular candidate. The committeeCommittee also takes into accountconsiders the results of recent Board and Board committeeCommittee self-evaluations and the current size and composition of the Board, including expected retirements and other anticipated vacancies. In the course of this evaluation, some candidates may be eliminated from further consideration because of conflicts of interest, unavailability to attend Board or committeeCommittee meetings or other reasons. Following the initial evaluation, if one or more candidates were deemed worthy of further consideration, the committeeCommittee would arrange for interviews of the candidates.candidates deemed appropriate for further consideration. To the extent feasible, candidates would beare interviewed by the Chairman, the Co-Chief Executive OfficersLead Independent Director, and a majoritythe members of committee members,the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and potentially other directors as well. The results of these interviews would be considered by the committeeCommittee in its decision to recommend a candidate to the Board. Those candidates approved by the Board as nominees are named in the proxy statement for election by the shareholders at the annual meeting (or, if between annual meetings, one or more nominees may be elected by the Board itself if needed to fill vacancies, including vacancies resulting from an increase in the number of directors).

Shareholder Engagement
We engage with our shareholders in a variety of ways throughout the year, with the participants and topics dependent on the shareholders engaged. The table below generally summarizes our engagement process. Our Investor Relations team, often with our Chairman and CEO or Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, regularly meets with investors, prospective investors and investment analysts. Members of management and, upon request, members of our Board also regularly engage with our shareholders to provide updates and solicit their views and input on our executive compensation program, sustainability initiatives, corporate governance matters, human capital management and other topics of interest to them. We report the shareholders’ feedback and input to our Board and the applicable Committees, which take them into account as we review and update our compensation, corporate governance and sustainability practices and policies.

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Timing/Frequency
Chipotle Participants
Discussion Topics
Annual Meeting-Related
Each fall during the proxy off-season, we initiate discussions with our largest shareholders. We also reach out to them again after the proxy statement is filed, and we are open to discussions throughout the year, as requested by shareholders.
Any or all of:
  Representatives from our Corporate Secretary, Corporate Governance and Compensation, Sustainability and
Investor Relations functions
  Lead Independent Director or the Chair of our Compensation, People and Culture or Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees may participate
  Results of shareholder votes at the last annual meeting and how the
company should respond
  Executive compensation, including award design and performance
metrics
  Sustainability, environmental, human capital management and diversity
matters
 Incentive and equity plan parameters
  Board composition and refreshment, nomination and election procedures
and related matters
 Corporate governance
 Proxy statement disclosures
Issue-Based Engagement
Before or after the proxy statement
is filed
Any or all of:
  Representatives from our Corporate Secretary, Corporate Governance and Compensation, Sustainability and
Investor Relations functions
  Lead Independent Director or the Chair of our Compensation or Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees may participate
  Shareholder proposals submitted for the proxy and the company’s planned
response
 Proposed changes to our executive
compensation program
  Sustainability, environmental, human capital management and diversity, equity and inclusion matters
Investor Meetings and Conferences
Throughout the year (meetings with investors at company or investor offices, and at analyst-sponsored conferences)
  Senior Management and Investor Relations
 Company strategy
 Financial results and outlook
Investor Calls - Quarterly Earnings
Quarterly and special calls from time to time
  Senior Management and Investor Relations
 Company strategy
 Financial results and outlook
Our management and directors actively engage with shareholders to seek their input on emerging issues and to address shareholder questions and concerns. In the fall of 2023, we contacted shareholders collectively holding 64% of our outstanding common stock as part of our regular proxy off-season engagement and to discuss the vote results from the 2023 annual meeting. Although many shareholders did not respond to our engagement request or declined to engage, we were able to engage with shareholders representing 32% of our outstanding common stock. See “2023 Advisory “Say on Pay” Vote on Executive Compensation and Shareholder Outreach” under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” for a summary of those discussions.
We also reached out to all shareholders that submitted proposals for consideration at the 2024 annual meeting to discuss their proposals and our existing policies and practices.
Response to 2023 Advisory “Say on Pay” Vote on Executive Compensation
Every year we provide our shareholders with the opportunity to cast an advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers. At our 2023 annual meeting of shareholders, we received over 96% support from votes cast for our “say on pay” advisory vote proposal, which we believe demonstrates that shareholders are supportive of Chipotle’s executive compensation program.
See “Executive Officers and Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis – 2023 Advisory “Say on Pay” Vote on Executive Compensation and Shareholder Outreach” for more information on the feedback we received from our shareholders and the Board’s response.

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Response to Shareholder Proposals
We strive to be responsive to input and feedback of our shareholders and other stakeholders as expressed through our active engagement and annual meeting processes. At our 2023 annual meeting, shareholders voted on a proposal requesting that we adopt a noninterference policy with respect to our employees’ freedom of association and the right to pursue collective bargaining. Although the proposal was defeated by a wide margin, we implemented certain aspects of the proposal by amending our Code of Ethics to more expressly emphasize that we recognize the fundamental right of freedom of association, which is guided by the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and expressly state that we respect our employees’ rights to choose whether to organize under the National Labor Relations Act. For the reasons described in Proposal 7, we do not believe additional actions are necessary.
Policies and Procedures for Review and Approval of Transactions with Related Persons

We recognize that transactions in which our executive officers, directors or principal shareholders, or family members or other associates of our executive officers, directors or principal shareholders, have an interest may raise questions as to whether those transactions are consistent with the best interests of Chipotle and our shareholders. Accordingly, our Board has adopted written policies and procedures requiring the Audit & Risk Committee to approve in advance, with limited exceptions, any transactions in which any person or entity in the categories named above has any material interest, whether direct or indirect, unless the value of all such transactions in which a related partyperson has an interest during a year total less than $10,000.$120,000. We refer to such transactions as “related person transactions.” Current related person transactions to which we are a party are described on page 63.

82.

A related person transaction will only be approved by the Audit & Risk Committee if the committeeCommittee determines that the related person transaction is beneficial to usChipotle and the terms of the related person transaction are fair to us. No member of the Audit & Risk Committee may participate in the review, consideration or approval of any related person transaction with respect to which such member or any of his or her immediate family members is the related person.

Role of the Board of Directors in Risk Oversight

While our executive officers and various other members of management are responsible for the day-to-day management of risk, the Board of Directors exercisesand its standing Committees oversee the significant risks facing our company. The responsibility for overseeing risks related to the following topical areas has been allocated to the Board and its Committees as follows:
Areas of Risk Oversight
Board of Directors
Our strategic plans, financial and operating performance and shareholder returns
Review and assess the effectiveness of our enterprise risk assessment and mitigation of critical risks, including regular reviews of our food safety, cybersecurity and privacy programs
Regular review and analysis with management of most significant business risks as identified by the Board, the Audit & Risk Committee, and/or management
Succession planning for our CEO and other executive officers and development of our senior management
Audit & Risk
Committee
Accounting practices and policies, financial statements and reporting and disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls
Internal controls and the performance of the internal audit function
Performance of our independent registered public accounting firm and the lead audit partner
Cybersecurity, privacy and data security programs, policies and risk assessment and mitigation
Ethics and Compliance program, including the confidential whistleblower hotline and procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints, and the company’s risk management framework and the process for identifying, assessing and mitigating key risks
Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the company’s response to actual and alleged violations, including claims of harassment, discrimination or other violations of applicable employment laws
Company’s risk assessment and risk management processes and compliance with and training on the Code of Ethics
Transactions with related persons and compliance with our Policy and Procedures with respect to Related Person Transactions

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Areas of Risk Oversight
Compensation,
People and Culture
Committee
Compensation and evaluation of our CEO and other executive officers, including employment agreements and post-service arrangements and perquisites
Evaluation of risks relating to our compensation programs
Human capital management, including diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives, recruitment and retention of employees, gender, racial and ethnic pay equity and relative compensation and benefits offered to employees across the company
Our compensation and benefits programs generally, including retirement and welfare plans and equity compensation plans
Maintenance of and compliance with our Stock Ownership Policy and Executive Officer Recovery Policy
Director compensation program
Nominating and
Corporate Governance
Committee
Corporate governance policies and processes and compliance with key corporate governance documents, including our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Committee charters
Policies and programs relating to environmental, sustainability and corporate responsibility policies, goals and programs
Government Affairs initiatives and policies
Policies and programs relating to social responsibility, corporate citizenship and public policy issues significant to the company
Annual process of evaluating the performance of the Board and each Committee
Board refreshment and identification, evaluation and selection of potential director candidates
Board leadership structure
Emerging corporate governance issues and practices
With respect to the Board’s role in risk oversight, our Lead Independent Director is well positioned to lead the Board in overseeing the identification, assessment, and management of the Company’s exposure to various risks due to his current role as Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee, which assists the Board in overseeing the Company’s enterprise risk management program and actions taken by management to identify, manage, and mitigate risk exposures. All of our directors receive regular reports on the most significant risks facing our business and are promptly informed regarding developments in our risk profile. For example, our Board receives quarterly reports from our food safety and quality assurance teams, which establish and monitor our quality and food safety programs and work closely with suppliers to ensure our high standards are met throughout the supply chain. Our Board also has access to our Food Safety Advisory Council, which is an oversight roleadvisory board of independent, highly respected experts in the food industry that meets quarterly to discuss and review our company-wide food safety program and any food safety related issues. We also provide our Board with human capital data each quarter, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee biannually receives a report on the Company’s policies and programs relating to environmental, sustainability and corporate responsibility.
In addition, our Audit & Risk Committee receives quarterly reports from our Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Customer and Technology Officer about the Company’s cybersecurity, privacy and data security programs, the status of projects to strengthen internal cybersecurity, results from third-party assessments, and any significant cybersecurity incidents, including recent incidents at other companies and the emerging threat landscape, and our Board of Directors receives an annual report and quarterly written updates regarding our cybersecurity program. Similar to most organizations, we are susceptible to information security breaches and cybersecurity-related incidents, and we are committed to protecting and consistently enhancing the security of our systems, networks and general technology environment. We have established a cybersecurity program, which includes appropriate security risk assessments, security monitoring, incident response policies, operating standards, global regulatory compliance and employee training. We continually invest in enhancing our preventive and defensive capabilities in alignment with globally recognized information security standards, maintaining appropriate information security risk insurance policies, and implementing other measures to mitigate or minimize the impacts from potential threats. Additionally, independent external audits are conducted, including penetration testing and overall review of program maturity based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

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Role of the Board of Directors in Succession Planning and Leadership Development
Our Board believes that leadership development and human capital management are critical to Chipotle’s continued growth and success. We believe in investing and supporting our people because they are our most important asset and give us a competitive advantage in our business.
One of the primary responsibilities of the Board is planning for the succession of the Chief Executive Officer and overseeing the planning for the succession of the other executive officers. The Board believes that succession planning should be an ongoing process, with the goal of providing sufficient lead time before an expected transition while also being prepared for and responsive to unexpected developments. The Board annually reviews our Chief Executive Officer succession plans and, together with the Compensation, People and Culture Committee and our Chief Human Resources Officer, periodically reviews the succession planning process for other executive officer positions. To facilitate the process, our Chief Executive Officer annually provides the Board with an assessment of our executive officers and other high-potential executives, their potential to succeed to the position of Chief Executive Officer and development areas and opportunities for each. In addition, the Board and Committees regularly receive presentations from high-potential executives and have opportunities to meet with these executives in small group settings.

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BRAND GROWTH MATTERS
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility
Chipotle’s sustainability efforts are focused in three key pillars: Food & Animals, People and the Environment. Goals are published in each of these three areas in our Sustainability Report on our website chipotle.com/sustainability. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing Chipotle’s policies and programs relating to environmental, sustainability and social responsibility and the effectiveness of those policies and programs. We report on our sustainability initiatives and progress towards achieving our sustainability goals at least twice a year to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
In 2021, Chipotle introduced a metric that tied a portion of our cash annual incentive plan (“AIP”) for executive officers to achievement of certain predetermined Brand Purpose performance goals. The 2023 Brand Purpose modifier was aligned around the same three key pillars – Food & Animals, People and the Environment – and a 5% weight was assigned to each pillar. As described in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” the Brand Purpose modifier increased the 2023 AIP payout by +5% based on the level of achievement against these quantitative targets. The Compensation, People and Culture Committee approved a new set of goals for 2024 to continue holding our executive leadership team accountable to make business decisions that Cultivate a Better World.
Our 2022 Sustainability Report aligns with reporting frameworks set by The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The 2023 Sustainability Report is an interim report with progress updates on our sustainability efforts.
Food & Animals
Food & Animals are at the core of our business, and we believe that how we grow our food is how we grow our future. We focus significant efforts to advancing our Food with Integrity principles, which means sourcing real ingredients with respect for the people and communities that produce it, the animals that are raised for it, and the environment that nurtures it.
A unique and impactful part of our sustainability strategy is to risk issues facingsource both organic and local ingredients. Organic farming practices protect water resources and promote healthy ecosystems, biodiversity, and healthy soils through the elimination of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. In 2023, Chipotle purchased 40 million pounds of local ingredients, which is an increase of 3.6 million pounds over 2022. We have also continued to support the transition of 400 acres of conventional farmland to organic.
We are taking action to reinvigorate the fading farming industry for future generations and support food access. Some of these initiatives include:
Tractor Beverage Co. Partnership: All Tractor Beverages sold by Chipotle help strengthen the U.S. agricultural industry, with 5% of Chipotle’s profits from its sale of these beverages donated to support farmers. Since 2021 we have donated over $1.0 million to support young farmers through this initiative and have a goal of providing $5.0 million to support farmers by 2025.
Local Line: Chipotle is supporting Local Line to expand market reach of farmers. Local Line is a leading local food sourcing platform for regional food systems, serving farms, producers, food hubs, and food buyers by helping them digitize their operations and sell products.
People
We believe that our company, principally through considering risks associatedpeople and culture give us a competitive advantage in our business, and we strive to develop employees and provide continuing opportunities for them to grow in their leadership skills. In 2023, we had approximately 24,000 internal promotions. Additionally, 90% of all restaurant management roles were internal promotions, including 100% of U.S. Regional Vice President roles, 87% of Team Directors, and 87% of Field Leader positions. We provide our employees various learning opportunities to ensure that we maintain a diverse pipeline of talent available to regularly promote employees to leadership positions. In 2022, we successfully launched the inaugural Leadership Evolution and Development Program (“LEAD”) aimed at developing emerging leaders with the aspiration and motivation to thrive in higher roles at Chipotle. LEAD focuses on preparing a cross-functional cohort of mid-level managers for the future of work and leadership. During the nine-month program, participants learn the critical capabilities of leading oneself, leading others, and leading the business with topics designed to stretch capabilities and improve decision-making skills.
Beyond the leadership program, we support continuing education with our companydebt-free degrees. We now have nearly 100 degrees and 10 universities in which our employees can receive a degree completely tuition debt free.
We are also dedicated to supporting people in the communities we serve. Through our Round Up for Real Change program, restaurant guests are offered the opportunity to round up their bill to the next highest dollar amount in the Chipotle app and on chipotle.com. In 2023, approximately $3.3 million was donated through this feature to organizations such as National Young Farmers, Coalition, Folds of Honor, The Trevor Project, American Red Cross, Kids in Need Foundation, National Urban League Project and the Farmlink Project among others.

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Environment
Environmental sustainability is a key driving force in our mission to Cultivate a Better World and we acknowledge the need for all businesses, including our own, to take actions to address climate change. As a result, Chipotle has committed to reducing our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. We also have committed to reducing our absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions 50% within the same timeframe. Our goal was approved by Science Based Targets initiative (‘SBTi”) and is in alignment with scientific recommendations of emission reductions required to keep global warming from exceeding 1.5°C.
Our strategy starts with seeking out energy efficiency opportunities to reduce our overall demand on energy resources, utilization and development of alternative low carbon resources, and use of renewable energy. We continue to identify design strategies to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels (e.g. natural gas) in our restaurants to support greater use of renewable resources. In 2023, we opened 21 all-electric restaurants removing the use of fossil fuels at these restaurants. We also matched over 51% of our electricity use with renewable energy (including on-site solar generation and a mix of renewable energy certificates). In 2023 we reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 13% compared to 2019. To address Scope 3 emissions requires dedicated engagement with our supply chain partners to influence process changes and innovation to achieve our climate goals. We are committed to identifying strategies for greenhouse gas emission reductions in our value chain.
Fresh water is vital to our operations, from cooking and cleaning, to growing and processing the ingredients in the meals we serve our guests. We have optimized water use in our restaurants through recovery, reuse, recycling and proper wastewater disposal. We also prioritized supporting conservation and restoration efforts in high-risk watersheds to build resiliency and support watershed health. We believe collaboration is essential to drive change in a multi-stakeholder area like watershed conservation and management. We intend to engage in public-private partnerships, collaboration with NGOs and direct engagement with suppliers to support restoration and conservation efforts.
We are proud of our achievements in 2023 but recognize there is more work to do. We look forward to sharing our strategies and progress annually on our website at chipotle.com/sustainability.
Culture and Inclusion
One of our core values is to “foster a culture that values and champions our diversity, while leveraging the individual talents of all team members to grow our business and Cultivate a Better World.” We are proud of our culture, which champions diversity, ensures equity, and celebrates inclusion. As of December 31, 2023, more than 50% of our U.S.-based employee population was female and approximately 68% of our U.S based employee population was comprised of racial and ethnic minorities. In December 2021, Chipotle began pursuing Black Equity at Work Certification through Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a leading national nonprofit organization that, for the past 20 years, has developed and placed more than 10,000 primarily Black and Latino MBAs and college graduates in corporations and non-profits, provided best-in-class career advancement programs that have consistently enabled Black and Latino professionals to secure promotions, and advised more than 100 companies on how to increase diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to pursuing a Black Equity at Work Certification, in early 2023 we engaged an independent third-party consultant to conduct a Talent Management Equity Audit to identify places in our talent management cycle where we may need to eliminate bias and/or create more equitable policies, practices, and procedures; identify potential blockers and new opportunities to create and sustain equity in talent management; and identify key strengths and pockets of risk. We plan to disclose key results and action plans from both the Talent Management Equity Audit and the Black Equity at Work Certification Program in our Sustainability Report or elsewhere on our website. Our most recent EEO-1 consolidated report is posted on the Investors page of our corporate website at ir.chipotle.com under Corporate Governance – Human Capital Information, and additional details about the demographics of our employee population is included in our biennial Sustainability Report and interim Update Report on our website chipotle.com/sustainability.

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Gender and Racial Pay Equity
We believe people should be paid for what they do and how they do it, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity or other personal characteristics. To fulfill that commitment, we benchmark pay using competitive market data, set pay ranges based on market data and consider factors such as partan employee’s role and experience, the location of its oversighttheir job, and their performance. We regularly review our compensation practices, both in terms of our overall strategic direction,workforce and individual employees, to ensure our pay is fair and equitable.
In 2023, we again retained an independent third-party consulting firm to conduct a pay equity analysis of our U.S. and Canadian workforce, including factors of pay (e.g., grade level, tenure in role, most recent promotion) and external market conditions (e.g., geographic location) to ensure consistency and equitable treatment amongst our employees. Our review included 99% of our U.S. and Canadian employee population, excluding only approximately 50 of our most senior management employees. Since there are not many common roles among our 50 most senior executives, we consider both internal equity by level as well as delegationindividualized market data to the Audit Committeehelp ensure we maintain pay equity among this group. The 2023 analysis, summarized below, identified small, isolated pay gaps for certain segments of the responsibilitypopulation, and we subsequently made pay adjustments to close those gaps.
Adjusted Pay Gap(1)
Median Pay Gap
2023
2022
2023
2022
Females compared to Males
(0.3%)
(0.3%)
(0.5)%
0.0%
Non-White compared to White(2)
0.0%
0.1%
3.2%
3.3%
(1)
Adjusted pay gap takes into account almost 20 factors that impact pay, including job factors such as job level and grade; employee characteristics such as tenure, time in job and last promotion date; and external market conditions such as work location.
(2)
Non-white employees include Black, Latinx, Asian and other non-Caucasian employees.
We will continue to review compensation and engage in a range of initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and ensuring equal pay and opportunity for evaluating enterprise risk issues. Under the termsall employees.
Prohibition on Hedging and Pledging
We prohibit our directors, executive officers and certain employees who have access to material, nonpublic information about our business, from hedging any shares of its charter, the Audit Committee discusses with management, our internal auditors and our independent auditors our major risk exposures, whether financial, operatingChipotle stock, holding shares of Chipotle stock in a margin account or otherwise as well as the adequacy and effectiveness of steps management has taken to monitor and control such exposures (including, for instance, our internal control over financial reporting). The Audit Committee’s oversight of risk management includes its review each year of an annual risk assessment conducted by our internal audit department, which functionally reports to the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee also recommends from time to time that key identified risk areas be considered by the full Board, and individual Board members also periodically ask the full Board to consider an area of risk. In those cases the Board considers the identified risk areas at its regularly-scheduled meetings, including receiving reports from and conducting discussions with the appropriate management personnel.

Enhanced Oversight of Food Safety Risks

In the wake of food-borne illness incidents that had a significant negative impact on our business during 2015 and into 2016, the Audit Committee and management agreed on additional procedures to enhance the committee’s oversight over food safety risks. This enhanced oversight will involve increased reporting to the Audit Committee regarding food safety-related matters, as well as participation by one or more members of the Board in certain food safety audits, trainings, and other activities. In light of his extensive background in operations for large-scale restaurant enterprises, Mr. Charlesworth has been designated as the principal liaison to the Audit Committee in connection with its enhanced food safety oversight role.

Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

The Board believes our current leadership structure facilitates its oversight of risk by combining independent leadership through the Lead Director, independent Board committees, and majority independent Board composition, with an experienced Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer and additional Co-Chief Executive Officer with

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intimate knowledge of our business, industry and challenges. The Co-Chief Executive Officers’ in-depth understanding of these matters and levels of involvement in the day-to-day managementpledging shares of Chipotle allow them to promptly identifystock as collateral for loans, and raise key risks to the Board,engaging in put options, call special meetings of the Board when necessary to address critical issues, and focus the Board’s attentionoptions, covered call options or other derivative securities in Chipotle common stock on areas of

an exchange or in any other organized market.

concern. This is effectively balanced by the independent oversight of the Lead Director, independent Board committees, and independent directors as a whole, who can objectively assess the risks identified by the Board or by management, as well as management’s effectiveness in managing such risks.

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PROPOSAL 2

Proposal 2

LOGO

An Advisory Vote to Approve the Compensation of our Executive Officers as Disclosed in this Proxy Statement

APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF OUR named EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AS DISCLOSED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT
As required by Section 14A of the Securities Exchange Act, of 1934, we are asking shareholders to cast an advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement. This proposal, commonly known as a “say-on-pay”“say on pay” proposal, gives shareholders the opportunity to endorse or not endorse our executive compensation programs and policies applicable to, and the compensation paid to, our named executive officers. We have committedIn accordance with the results of the last advisory vote to holding say-on-payapprove the frequency of the “say on pay” vote, which occurred at our 2023 annual meeting, we will hold “say on pay” votes at each year’s annual meeting, until at least the annual meeting to occur in 2017.

2015 meeting.

Executive Compensation

In response to the say-on-pay vote held at our annual meeting in May 2014 Disclosures

Detailed discussion and prior to making decisions regarding executive compensation for 2015, our Compensation Committee and management team had extensive dialogue with our shareholders, including contacting shareholders representing nearly two-thirdsanalysis of our outstanding common stock. Changes we made in our executive compensation followingprograms begins on page 54. See, in particular, the 2014 say-on-pay votedisclosures under “Executive Officers and Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis – 2023 Advisory “Say on Pay” Vote on Executive Compensation and Shareholder Outreach” for a concise description of our extensive shareholder engagement are summarized below. These changes were implemented for officer equity awards made in early 2015, and are reflected inoutreach relating to the compensation disclosures appearing beginning on page 39.

Reduced grant-date value of officer equity grants for 2015 by up to 41% versus the values on which last year’s say-on-pay vote was held.

Determined size of 2015 equity awards by reference to market value of awards on grant date.

Revised performance framework to base vesting on performance versus restaurant industry peer group.

Implemented straightforward performance vesting schedule that is fully disclosed.

Adopted three year cliff vesting, subject to performance versus restaurant industry peer group.

Reduced Co-CEO equity amounts by greatest amount, while broadening pool of non-officer grantees, including restaurant managers.

We believeour named executive officers, compensation decisions the Compensation, People and Culture Committee respondedmade for 2023, and measures we’ve taken to align our named executive officer compensation with company performance and the 2014 say-on-pay vote in a manner that addressescreation of shareholder concerns, while continuing to incentivize our highly capable management team to achieve extraordinary results.

value.

For 2015, as a result of the food-borne illness incidents that negatively impacted our results beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, our results fell significantly short of our performance targets, resulting in no bonuses being paid to the executive officers under the AIP.

2016 Executive Compensation

In reviewing the compensation information included in this proxy statement, it is important to bear in mind that consistent with past practice, compensation decisions for 2015 were made early in the year, before our business was adversely impacted by food-borne illness incidents late in the year. Consequently, the amounts and awards reflected in the compensation tables beginningSay on page 54reflect decisions made before the significant downturn in our business late in the year. Disclosures of executive compensation decisions made in early 2016 in response to the food-borne illness incidents and related downturn in our business can be found beginning on page 39.

Say-on-PayPay Resolution

The Compensation, People and Culture Committee of our Board of Directors believes that our executive compensation programs, continueincluding the programs applicable to our named executive officers, emphasize performance-oriented components that encourage and reward strong operating and financial performance and stock price gains, and that have alignedalign the interests of our officer team with those of our shareholders. Accordingly, our Board asks that you vote in favor of the following shareholder resolution:

“RESOLVED, that the compensation of the named executive officers of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. as disclosed pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s compensation disclosure rules, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section, compensation tables and related material in the company’s proxy statement, are hereby approved.”

The say-on-pay“say on pay” vote is advisory and therefore will not be binding on the Compensation, People and Culture Committee, the Board of Directors, or Chipotle. However, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee and Board will review the voting results and take them into consideration when making future decisions regarding executive compensation.

compensation for our named executive officers. The Compensation, People and Culture Committee sought feedback from shareholders on the 2023 “say on pay” vote and considered changes to our executive compensation program in response. See “Executive Officers and Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis – 2023 Advisory “Say on Pay” Vote on Executive Compensation and Shareholder Outreach.”

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the say-on-paysay on pay proposal.


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PROPOSAL 3

Proposal 3

LOGO

Ratification of Appointment of Ernst

RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF ERNST & YoungYOUNG LLP as Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Audit & Risk Committee, which is responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of our independent auditors,registered public accounting firm, has engaged Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditorsregistered public accounting firm to audit our consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31, 20162024 and to perform other permissible, pre-approved services. As a matter of good corporate governance, we are requesting that shareholders ratify the Audit Committee’s appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors.registered public accounting firm. If shareholders do not ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young, LLP, the committeeCommittee will reevaluate the appointment. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may select a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during fiscal 20162024 if it determines that such a change would be in the best interests of Chipotle and our shareholders.

In addition

The Audit & Risk Committee annually evaluates the performance of our independent registered public accounting firm, including the senior audit engagement team, and determines whether to reengage our current independent registered public accounting firm or consider other audit firms. Factors considered by the selectionCommittee in deciding whether to retain include:
Ernst & Young’s capabilities considering the scope and complexity of our business, and the resulting demands placed on Ernst & Young in terms of technical expertise and knowledge of our industry and business;
the quality and candor of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors,Young’s communications with the Audit Committee is involved in and management;
Ernst & Young’s independence;
the selectionquality and efficiency of the lead audit partner. In conjunction with the mandatory rotation of lead engagement partners every five years, the Audit Committee andservices provided by Ernst & Young, LLP selected a new lead engagement partner for including input from management on Ernst & Young’s performance and how effectively Ernst & Young demonstrated its independent judgment, objectivity and professional skepticism;
external data on audit quality and performance, including recent Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) reports on Ernst & Young and its peer firms; and
the 2016 audit. The members of the committee believe that the continued retentionappropriateness of Ernst & Young’s fees, tenure as our independent registered public accounting firm, including the benefits of a longer tenure, and the controls and processes in place that help ensure Ernst & Young’s continued independence.
Based on this evaluation, the Audit & Risk Committee and the Board believe that retaining Ernst & Young LLP to serve as our independent external auditorregistered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, is in the best interests of Chipotle and our shareholders.

The committeeAudit & Risk Committee also oversees the process for, and ultimately approves, the selection of our independent registered public accounting firm’s lead engagement partner at the end of each five-year mandatory rotation period. Our current lead engagement partner was appointed beginning with the 2022 audit. In selecting the lead engagement partner, Ernst & Young identified candidates for consideration and the candidates were interviewed by members of our management. After considering the candidates recommended by Ernst & Young, management made a recommendation to the Committee regarding the lead engagement partner. The Committee discussed the qualifications of the proposed lead engagement partner with the current lead engagement partner and then, individually and as a group, interviewed the leading candidate and approved the appointment of the lead engagement partner as a Committee.
The Audit & Risk Committee has adopted a policy whichthat sets out procedures that the committeecompany must follow when retaining the independent auditorregistered public accounting firm to perform audit, review and attest engagements and any engagements for permitted non-audit services. This policy is summarized below under “Policy“ – Policy for Pre-Approval of Audit and Permitted Non-Audit Services” and will beis reviewed by the Audit Committee periodically, but no less frequently than annually, for purposes of assuring continuing compliance with applicable law. All services performed by Ernst & Young LLP for the years ended December 31, 20152023 and 20142022 were pre-approved by the Audit & Risk Committee in accordance with this policy, following a determination by the committeeCommittee that the fees to be paid to Ernst & Young LLP in each year, including in connection with non-audit services, were appropriate, necessary and cost-efficient in the management of our business, and did not present a risk of compromising the independence of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors.

registered public accounting firm. Ernst & Young LLP has served as our independent auditorsregistered public accounting firm since 1997. Prior to the 2018 audit, Ernst & Young’s Denver, Colorado office managed the audit; however, after Chipotle relocated its headquarters to the current location in 2018, Ernst & Young’s Southern California office has managed the audit. Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP are expected to be present atattend the virtual annual meeting and 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.


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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ FEE

REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM’S FEES

The aggregate fees and related reimbursable expenses for professional services provided by Ernst & Young LLP for the years ended December 31, 20152023 and 20142022 were:

Fees for Services  2015   2014 

Audit Fees(1)

  $754,899    $606,825  

Audit-Related Fees(2)

   2,148     2,147  

Tax Fees(3)

   510,107     359,839  

All Other Fees(4)

          

Total Fees

  $1,267,154    $968,811  

Fees for Services
2023
2022
Audit Fees(1)
$1,875,275
$1,708,105
Audit-Related Fees
Tax Fees(2)
$612,841
$398,367
All Other Fees
Total Fees
$2,488,116
$2,106,472
(1)
Includes fees and expenses related to the fiscal year audit and interim reviews, notwithstanding when the fees and expenses were billed or when the services were rendered. Audit fees also include fees and expenses, if any, related to SEC filings, comfort letters, consents, SEC comment letters and accounting consultations.consultations

(2)Represents fees for a subscription to an Ernst & Young online service used for accounting research purposes.

(3)
Represents fees for tax compliance, consulting and advisory services and for 2015, tax compliance services as well.

(4)Represents reimbursement of costs and expenses in connection with litigation and regulatory proceedings.

The Audit & Risk Committee and the Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016.

20    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Proposal 3

(continued)

LOGO

2024.

AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE REPORT


With regard to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015,2023, the Audit & Risk Committee (i) reviewed and discussed with management our audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 20152023 and for the year then ended; (ii) discussed with Ernst & Young LLP, the independent auditors, theregistered public accounting firm, matters required by applicable standardsrequirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB;PCAOB and SEC; (iii) received the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young LLP required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding Ernst & Young LLP’s communications with the Audit & Risk Committee regarding independence; and (iv) discussed with Ernst & Young LLP their independence.

Based on the review and discussions described above, the Audit & Risk Committee recommended to our Board of Directors that our audited consolidated financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 20152023 for filing with the SEC.

The Audit & Risk Committee:
Scott Maw, Chairperson
Matt Carey
Mary Winston

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Albert S. Baldocchi, Chairperson

John S. Charlesworth

Neil W. Flanzraich

Stephen Gillett

POLICY FOR PRE-APPROVAL OF AUDIT AND PERMITTED NON-AUDIT SERVICES


The Board of Directors has adopted a policy for the pre-approval of all audit and permitted non-audit services proposed to be provided to Chipotle by its independent auditors.registered public accounting firm. This policy provides thatrequires the Audit & Risk Committee mustto pre-approve all audit, review and attest engagements, and may do soeither on a case-by-case basis or on a class basis if

the relevant services are predictable and recurring. Any internal control-related service may not be approved on a class basis but must be individually pre-approved by the committee.Committee. The policy prohibits the provision of any services that the auditor is prohibited from providing under applicable law or the standards of the PCAOB.

Pre-approvals on a class basis for specified predictable and recurring services are granted annually at or about the start of each fiscal year. In considering all pre-approvals, the committeeCommittee may take into accountconsider whether the level of non-audit services, even if permissible under applicable law, is appropriate in light of the independence of the auditor. The committeeCommittee reviews the scope of services to be provided within each class of services and imposes fee limitations and budgetary guidelines in appropriate cases.

The committeeCommittee may pre-approve a class of services for the entire fiscal year. Pre-approval on an individual service basis may be given or effective only up to six months prior to commencement of the services.

The committeeCommittee periodically reviews a schedule of fees paid and payable to the independent auditorregistered public accounting firm by type of covered service being performed or expected to be provided. Our Chief Financial and Administrative Officer is also required to report to the committeeCommittee any non-compliance with this policy of which he becomes aware. The committeeCommittee may delegate pre-approval authority for individual services or a class of services to any one of its members, provided that delegation is not allowed in the case of a class of services where the aggregate estimated fees for all future and current periods would exceed $500,000. Any class of services projected to exceed this limit or individual service that would cause the limit to be exceeded must be pre-approved by the full committee.Committee. The individual member of the committeeCommittee to whom pre-approval authorization is delegated reports the grant of any pre-approval by the individual member at the next scheduled meeting of the committee.

Committee.


2024 Proxy Statement 36
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PROPOSAL 4

Proposal 4

LOGO

A Proposal

APPROVAL of Amendments to Approve an Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to Increase the Number of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. to Remove Restrictions Allowing Only the BoardAuthorized shares of Directors or the Chairman of the Board to Call Special Meetings of Shareholders

Common Stock

General
We are asking that shareholders to approve an amendmentamendments to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation as amended,(the “Charter”) to eliminate a provision limitingincrease the abilitynumber of authorized shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, from 230 million to call special meetings of shareholders to only the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board.

As a result of the inclusion in our certificate of incorporation of the provision limiting the ability to call special meetings of shareholders, our shareholders do not presently have the right to call special meetings. If this proposal is approved, the resulting elimination of the limitations on the right to call special meetings of shareholders would provide us the flexibility to adopt provisions allowing shareholders to call special meetings of shareholders. In order11.5 billion (the “Share Increase Proposal”) to implement a stock split of our common stock in the right for shareholders to call special meetings, theform of a stock dividend. The Board has adopted bylaw amendments, the effectiveness of which is conditioned on shareholder approval of the amendment to our certificate of incorporation described in this proposal, that would provide shareholders the right to call special meetings of shareholders, with the terms and limitations further described below under “—Terms of Pending Bylaw Amendments Allowing Shareholders to Call Special Meetings.” Regardless of whether this proposal is approved, the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Board will continue to have the ability to call special meetings of shareholders when, in the exercise of their fiduciary obligations, they determine appropriate.

The Board determined that the adoption of a right of shareholders to call special meetings,Charter amendment is advisable and hence the amendment described in this proposal, are appropriate following review of the policies and preferences of a number of our most significant shareholders, as well as a review of the shareholder proposal included in Proposal 8 below. The Board of Directors recognizes that providing shareholders the ability to call special meetings is viewed by many shareholders as a corporate governance best practice. The Board also believes, however, that special meetings of shareholders would likely result in our incurring substantial expenses, and may be disruptive to our business operations and therefore counter to the best interests of Chipotle and its shareholders as a whole. Accordingly,and has approved the Board believes that special meetings of shareholders

Share Increase Proposal, subject to shareholder approval.

should be extraordinary events that should be held only if a significant minority of shareholders is in agreement that a special meeting is appropriate, and also believes that such extraordinary meetings should not be held in close proximity to an annual meeting or when the matters to be addressed have been recently considered or are planned to be considered at another meeting.

The description aboveShare Increase Proposal would amend Article IV of the proposed amendmentCharter as follows (additions are shown as double underlined and deletions are shown as struck through):

ARTICLE IV – STOCK
Section 1. Authorized Stock. The Corporation shall have the authority to our Amendedissue eight hundred thirty million (830,000,000)twelve billion one hundred million (12,100,000,000) shares of capital stock, consisting of two hundred thirty million (230,000,000)eleven billion five hundred million (11,500,000,000) shares of common stock with a par value of $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), and Restated Certificatesix hundred million (600,000,000) shares of Incorporation,preferred stock with a par value of $0.01 per share (the “Preferred Stock”). The number of authorized shares of Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding) by such affirmative vote as amended,may be required at that time by the DGCL.
The above summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to and should be read in conjunction with the full text of our certificate of incorporation, asthe amended by the proposed Certificate of AmendmentCharter, attached to this proxy statement asAppendix AB. Furthermore, the description above
Purpose and Effect of the pending amendmentsShare Increase Proposal
The primary purpose of increasing the number of authorized shares of our common stock is to facilitate a fifty-for-one stock split (the “Stock Split”) in the form of a one-time special stock dividend. On March 19, 2024, our Board approved the Stock Split, subject to and contingent upon shareholder approval and the effectiveness of the Certificate of Amendment to our bylawsCharter. As of April 9, 2024, there were approximately [] shares of common stock issued and outstanding and approximately [] million shares reserved for issuance under Chipotle’s equity compensation plans. This leaves approximately [] shares of common stock remaining available for issuance, which number is not sufficient to implementeffectuate the Stock Split.
The Share Increase Proposal would increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 230 million to 11.5 billion. The additional 11.27 billion shares would be a part of the existing class of common stock and, if and when issued, would have rights identical to currently outstanding shares of common stock of the Company. The preferred stock, of which none are outstanding, would not be affected.
The Board believes the Stock Split is in the best interests of Chipotle. The trading price of our common stock has risen significantly over the past couple of years and our common stock currently trades higher than most other S&P 500 companies. We believe the Stock Split would help reset the market price of the common stock, which would give employees more flexibility in managing their Chipotle shares and make our common stock more accessible to a broader range of potential investors.
If the Share Increase Proposal is approved, each shareholder of record at the close of business on June 18, 2024 (the “Record Date”) will receive, on the June 25, 2024 distribution date, 49 additional shares of common stock for each share of common stock held by such shareholder as of the Record Date. All shares issued in connection with the Stock Split will be issued in book-entry form, either through the Direct Registration System (“DRS”) or as a credit to an existing account of a shareholder of record. If you hold certificates representing shares of common stock, keep the certificate and do not return it to the Company or to its transfer agent, as it will not be necessary to submit outstanding certificates for exchange.
In connection with the Stock Split, and pursuant to the anti-dilution adjustment provisions in Chipotle’s equity compensation plans, including the 2022 Stock Incentive Plan and any other equity incentive plan or arrangement maintained by Chipotle, proportionate adjustments will be made to the number of shares of common stock that remain available for issuance pursuant to such plans, as well as to the outstanding awards under such plans. Specifically, the number of shares that remain available for issuance pursuant to such plans as well as the per-person annual award limits set forth in such plans will increase by a multiple of 50, the number of shares subject to outstanding awards under such plans will increase by a multiple of 50, and the exercise price per share of stock options granted under such plans will be divided by 50.

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Future issuances of shares of common stock could have a dilutive effect on the shareholdings of current shareholders. In addition, the availability of additional shares of common stock for issuance could, under certain circumstances, discourage or make more difficult any efforts to obtain control of Chipotle. We do not believe, however, that the Share Increase Proposal and Stock Split would have an anti-takeover effect, and we have not proposed the increase in the authorized number of shares of common stock with the intention of using the additional shares for anti-takeover purposes.
Effective Date of the Share Increase Proposal and Issuance of Shares for Stock Split
If shareholders approve the Share Increase Proposal at the annual meeting, we intend to file a corresponding Certificate of Amendment to our Charter reflecting the approved amendment and, if approved, the Charter Amendment Proposal covered by Proposal 5, with the Delaware Secretary of State as soon as practicable following the annual meeting, at which time the increase in the number of authorized shares of common stock would become effective.
If the Board proceeds with the Stock Split, shareholders of record as of the Record Date will receive 49 additional shares for each share held, which will be distributed after market close on June 25, 2024. Chipotle’s shares are expected to begin trading on a post-split basis at the market open on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
The Board reserves the right, notwithstanding shareholder approval of the Share Increase Proposal and without further action by the shareholders, to call special meetings is qualified by referenceelect not to and should be read in conjunctionproceed with the more detailed description belowShare Increase Proposal if, at any time prior to filing the Certificate of Amendment to our Charter, the bylaw amendments, which will only become effective if this proposalBoard determines that it is approved.

Theno longer in the best interests of Chipotle and its shareholders to proceed with the Stock Split.

For the foregoing reasons, our Board believes that approving the Share Increase Proposal would be in the best interests of Chipotle and its shareholders.
Our Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the proposed amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to remove the limitations on calling special meetings of shareholders.

Terms of Pending Bylaw Amendments Allowing Shareholders to Call Special Meetings

If the amendment described in Proposal 4 is approved by stockholders, bylaw amendments conditionally adopted by our Board would become effective, and will provide that we will be required to call a special meeting of shareholders upon the written request of one or more stockholders who own shares representing at least 25% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. The bylaw amendments utilize a “net long” definition of stock ownership for purposes of determining whether shareholders requesting a special meeting satisfy the 25% ownership threshold. Under the “net long” definition, a person will be deemed to “own” only those shares of outstanding common stock as to which the person possesses (i) the sole power to vote or direct the voting; (ii) the sole economic incidents of ownership (including the right to profits and risk of loss); and (iii) the

4.

22  

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PROPOSAL 5

Proposal 4

(continued)

LOGO

sole power to dispose of or direct the disposition of such shares. The “net long” definition excludes ownership of derivative securities, as detailed further in the bylaw provisions.

The bylaw amendments further provide that to be in proper form to call a special meeting of shareholders, the shareholder request(s) for a meeting must include certain information, including a statement of the purposes of the meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting, as well as an acknowledgement that any sales of shares by the requesting shareholder(s) will be deemed a revocation of the special meeting request in respect of the shares disposed of, and that such shares will no longer be counted for purposes of determining that the 25% ownership requirement has been satisfied. The requesting shareholder(s) will also be required to update the information provided to ensure that it is true and correct as of the record date for notice of the special meeting, and as of 15 days prior to such special meeting.

The bylaw amendments also excuse us from calling a shareholder-requested special meeting if we receive the request(s) for the meeting during the period beginning 90 days prior

APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO CLARIFY THE BOARD’S AUTHORITY TO MAKE FUTURE AMENDMENTS
General
In addition to the first anniversary date of the preceding annual meeting ofShare Increase Proposal, we also are asking shareholders and ending immediately following the final adjournment of the next annual meeting,

or if a substantially similar item was presented at any meeting of shareholders held within 180 days prior to our receipt of the special meeting request(s) or is included in our notice of a shareholder meeting that has been called but not yet held. In addition, if a shareholder-requested meeting is called, our Board may instead present the proposed item(s) of business at another meeting of shareholders held within 90 days after receipt of the shareholder request(s) for the special meeting.

If the conditions of the bylawapprove amendments are satisfied, we would be required to hold a shareholder-requested special meeting within 120 days after receipt of shareholder request(s) for the meeting, unless the proposed item(s) of business are presented at another meeting as described above. Business transacted at the meeting would be limited to the purpose(s) stated in the shareholder request(s) for a special meeting, and any other matters submittedCharter to the meeting by our Board.

In the event the amendment described in Proposal 4 is approved, these bylaw amendments would become effective without any further action by the Board or the shareholders. Inclarify that case, we will file the Amended and Restated Bylaws, as amended to include these provisions, as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed to report the results of the annual meeting.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  23


Proposal 5

LOGO

A Proposal to Approve Amendments to the Amended and Restated Bylaws of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. to Provide for Shareholder Access to the Company’s Proxy Materials for Shareholder-Nominated Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors,

We are asking that shareholders approve amendments to our Amended in certain circumstances and Restated Bylaws to provide a means for shareholders to include shareholder-nominated director candidates in our proxy materials for annual meetings of shareholders, which is commonly known as “proxy access.” Proxy access for U.S. publicly traded companies was virtually nonexistent prior to 2012, when rules ofconsistent with Delaware General Corporation Law, may amend the Securities and Exchange Commission first allowed shareholders to make advisory proposals asking companies to adopt proxy access provisions. Since that time, a small number of companies have adopted proxy access bylaws, and the Board and its advisors have actively monitored developments in this area. Charter without shareholder approval (the “Charter Amendment Proposal”).

The Board began to seriously consider the possible adoption of a proxy access bylaw following receipt of a shareholder proposal on this topic in late 2014.

It is important to note that, irrespective of this proposal or the shareholder proposal included as Proposal 6, shareholders already have a meaningful voice in electing directors at Chipotle. As described on page 16, we allow shareholders to recommend candidates for the Board to our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and our Amended and Restated Bylaws allow shareholders to formally nominate candidates for election to the Board by following the procedures set forth in the bylaws. Additionally, the federal securities laws enable shareholders to solicit proxies for their own nominees. Notably, no shareholder has ever recommended a candidate to our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee or sought to nominate a candidate for election under our bylaws. Shareholders also have significant influence over director elections as a result of our implementation of majority voting for uncontested director elections, and the completion of the phase-out of our classified Board, in each case effective with this year’s annual meeting.

However, recognizing that proxy access has come to be viewed by many (though not all) investors as a good governance practice, our Board reviewed and considered the issue and approved the terms of this proposal as those the Board believes to be most appropriate for Chipotle at the present time. The proposal provides for a proxy access bylaw under which a shareholder or group of not more than

20 shareholders owning an aggregate of not less than 5% of our outstanding common stock for a minimum of three years may nominate candidates for election to our Board at an annual meeting, and require us to list such candidates in our proxy materials for the meeting. The proposal further provides that such proxy access nominees will be limited to a number of candidates not exceeding 20% of our Board.

The non-binding shareholder proposal in Proposal 6 calls for us to adopt a 3%/three year ownership standard, would not limit the number of shareholders who could aggregate their holdings for purposes of meeting the ownership standard, and calls for a limit on the number of proxy access candidates of 25% of our Board. Our Board believesdetermined that the higher ownership threshold, restrictions on shareholders aggregating ownership of shares,Charter amendment is advisable and lower cap on the number of shareholder nominees that are proposed in this proposal are more appropriate for Chipotle and in shareholders’ best interests because, among other things:

Allowing proxy access with lesser ownership requirements and other precautions than those included in this proposal may encourage potentially costly and disruptive contested elections, which would be particularly inappropriate in circumstances in which shareholders seeking to make one or more nominations to our Board do not perceive sufficient benefits from the nomination(s) to justify such shareholders’ incurring their own expenses to solicit proxies for their candidate(s);

The limits on aggregation in this proposal allow a reasonable number of shareholders to join together to list a nominee in our proxy materials, while helping to provide assurance that proxy access will not be subject to abuse by short-term investors or investors without a substantial investment in our company;

The limits included in this proposal on the total number of proxy access candidates that a shareholder may include in our proxy materials will help avoid a shareholder or group of shareholders having a level of influence on the makeup of our Board that is disproportionate to the level of share ownership of such shareholder or group of shareholders;

24    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Proposal 5

(continued)

LOGO

Proxy access is a very recent development in the corporate governance of U.S. companies, and the vast majority of companies do not provide for shareholder proxy access at all, so it is appropriate to approach this issue with caution in order to see how these provisions actually operate in practice at the small number of companies that have implemented proxy access, and to allow for further development of market practices in this rapidly evolving area;

Our long-term company performance has been outstanding, and it is not in the best interests of Chipotle and its shareholders and has approved the Charter Amendment Proposal, subject to facilitate potentially disruptive changesapproval by shareholders. If this Proposal is approved, we will file amendments to a Board that has overseen consistently strong business resultsthe Charter incorporating the Charter Amendment Proposal and, if approved by shareholders, the creationShare Increase Proposal covered by Proposal 4, with the Secretary of significant shareholder value; and

Our largest shareholders continue to hold a range of views regarding proxy access, including some holders who support one or moreState of the standards includedState of Delaware as soon as practicable after the 2024 Annual Meeting, at which time the amendments will become effective.

Summary of the Proposed Amendments
The Charter Amendment Proposal would amend Article XI as follows (additions are shown as double underlined and deletions are shown as struck through):
ARTICLE XI – AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
The Corporation reserves the right to amend or repeal any provision contained in this proposal, those who support one or moreCertificate of Incorporation in the standards included in Proposal 6, as well as holders who do not support proxy access atmanner prescribed by the DGCL and all leading our Board to conclude that the standards included in this proposalrights conferred upon shareholders are the best compromise among the various positions of the investors with whom we discussed the issue, the views of our internal and external advisors, and the beliefs of the Board in relationgranted subject to this issue.

In deciding on the provisionsreservation.Subject to include in our binding proposal to adopt a proxy access bylaw, the Board also considered that under the standards included in this binding proposal, we believe that fourany requirement of our existing shareholders would be eligible to use proxy access immediately and without aggregating withapplicable law or any other shareholders. In addition, numerous other shareholders would have the abilityprovision of this Certificate of Incorporation and to use proxy access by aggregating holdings with other holders as permitted by the terms of the bylaw provisions being proposed herein. Accordingly, this proposal will, if approved, provide for a meaningful immediate rightany voting rights granted to a significant number of shareholders.

Because of the range of views of our shareholders and others regarding proxy access and the uncertainties surrounding how these provisions will affect companies that adopt them, and consistent with good governance practice, our Board decided to submit the proposed proxy access amendments to shareholders for approval. The amendments will not become effective unless approvedor held by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the Corporation reserves the right at leastany time from time to time to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation, and any other provisions authorized by the DGCL at the time in force may be added or inserted, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by law; and all rights, preferences and privileges of whatsoever nature conferred upon shareholders, directors or any other persons whomsoever by and pursuant to this Certificate of Incorporation in its present form or as hereafter amended are granted subject to the right reserved in this Article. In addition to any affirmative vote required by applicable law or any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation or specified in any agreement, and in addition to any voting rights granted to or held by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock.

At our 2015 annual meeting of shareholders, holders of approximately 29% of our outstanding common stock

voted in favor of a proposal identical to this one. Holders of approximately 41% of our outstanding common stock voted in favor of a proposal substantially the same as Proposal 6.

A more detailed descriptionvoting power of the proposed proxy access bylaw amendments is set forth below. This descriptionoutstanding Common Stock shall be required to amend, add, alter, change, repeal or adopt any provisions inconsistent with this Certificate of Incorporation.

The above summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to and should be read in conjunction with, the full text of the proposed bylaw amendments, which areamended Charter, attached to this proxy statement asAppendix B.

Terms

Purpose and Effect of Proposed Proxy Access Bylaw

Shareholder eligibility. Our proposed proxy access bylaw would permit any single shareholder or groupthe Share Increase Proposal

In reviewing the Charter in preparation for the Stock Split, it became clear that the language of up to 20 shareholders who have maintained qualifying ownershipArticle XI– AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION is ambiguous and potentially contradictory regarding the rights of 5% or more of our outstanding common stock continuously for three years to nominate candidates for election to the Board and requirethe shareholders to approve amendments to the Charter. In comparison to similar provisions in the Certificates of Incorporation of other large Delaware public companies, the Board believes that we list such nomineesArticle XI does not align with current market practice. To prevent any future ambiguity, the Board’s nominees in our proxy statement forCharter Amendment Proposal would amend Article XI to align with market practice and allow the annual meeting of shareholders. Proxy access will be unavailableBoard to amend or repeal any shareholders at any special meetingprovision of the shareholders.

NumberCharter, without shareholder approval, if and to the extent the Board has been granted that authority under Delaware General Corporation Law. Under Delaware General Corporation Law, holders of shareholder-nominated candidates.Undercommon stock would retain the proposed proxy access bylaw, a qualifying shareholder or group of shareholders would be permittedright to nominate the greater ofvote on any Charter amendment, except for amendments that: (i) one director orchange Chipotle’s corporate name; (ii) 20%delete provisions of the Boardoriginal Charter that named the incorporators, the initial board of Directors, rounding down to the nearest whole number of board seats. If the Board decides to reduce the size of the Board after the nomination deadline, the 20% calculation will be applied to the reduced size of the Board, with the potential results that a shareholder-nominated candidate may be disqualified.

Nominating shareholders submitting more than one nominee would be required to rank their nominees in order. If the number of the shareholder-nominated candidates exceeds the greater of (i) one director or (ii) 20% of the Board, rounding down to the nearest whole number of Board seats, the highest ranking qualified individual from the list proposed by each nominating shareholder, beginning with the nominating shareholder with the largest qualifying ownership and proceeding through the list of nominating shareholders in descending order of qualifying ownership, will be selected for inclusion in the proxy materials until the maximum number is reached.

Shareholder-nominated candidates that the Board determines to include in the proxy materials as Board-nominated candidates will be counted against the greater of (i) one director or (ii) 20% maximum.

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Proposal 5

(continued)

LOGO

Calculation of ownership.In order to ensure that the interests of shareholders seeking to include director nominees in our proxy materials are aligned with those of our other shareholders, a nominating shareholder would be considered to own only the shares for which the shareholder possesses the full voting and investment rightsdirectors and the full economic interest. Borrowedoriginal subscribers for shares; (iii) delete provisions in a Charter amendment that were necessary to reflect a change, exchange, reclassification, subdivision, combination or hedgedcancellation of shares of common stock that has become effective; and (iv) proportionately increase Chipotle’s authorized shares to effectuate a forward stock split. Otherwise, shareholders’ rights would not count as “owned” shares.

Nominating procedure.In order to provide adequate time to assess shareholder-nominated candidates, requests to include shareholder-nominated candidates in our proxy materials must be received no earlier than 150 days and no later than 120 days before the anniversary of the date that we issued our proxy statement for the previous year’s annual meeting of shareholders.

Information required of all nominating shareholders.Each shareholder seeking to include a director nominee in our proxy materials is required to provide certain information, including:

proof of qualifying stock ownership as of a date within seven calendar days prior to the date of the submission and the record date for the annual meeting;

the shareholder’s notice on Schedule 14N required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission;

the written consent of the shareholder nominee to being named in the proxy statement and serving as a director, if elected; and

the information required by the advance notice provision of our bylaws.

Nominating shareholders are also required to make certain representations and agreements regarding:

lack of intent to effect a change of control;

intent to maintain qualifying ownership through the relevant annual meeting date;

intentions with respect to maintaining qualifying ownership for one year after the meeting date;

only participating in the solicitation of their nominee or Board of Director nominees; and

complying with solicitation rules and assuming liabilities related to and indemnifying us against losses arising in connection with the nomination.

Information required of all shareholder nominees. Each shareholder nominee is required to provide the representations and agreements required of all nominees

for election as director, including representations and agreements regarding:

such nominee not being a party or subject to, and refraining from entering into, any voting commitment not disclosed to us or that could limit or interfere with such nominee’s fiduciary duties as a director;

refraining from entering into agreements, arrangements or understanding with any person or entity other than Chipotle with respect to compensation, reimbursement or indemnification for service as a director; and

compliance with our policies and guidelines applicable to directors.

Shareholder nominees also must submit completed and signed questionnaires required of all of our directors and officers and provide consent to being named in our proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected.

Disqualification of shareholder nominees. We will not be required to include any nominee information in our proxy materials for any director nominee submitted by shareholders:

for which our Secretary receives a notice that a shareholder has nominated such person pursuant to the advance notice requirements for shareholder nominations or other business set forth in Article II, Section 9(a) of our bylaws;

changed if the shareholder that has nominated such nominee has orCharter Amendment Proposal is currently engaged in, or has been or is a “participant” in another person’s, “solicitation” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in support of the election of any individual as director at the annual meeting other than its nominee(s) or a nominee of our Board;

if the nominee is or becomes a party to any compensatory, payment or other financial agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than Chipotle, or is receiving or will receive any such compensation or other payment from any person or entity other than Chipotle, in each case in connection with service as a director on our Board;

if the nominee is not independent under the listing standards of each principal U.S. exchange upon which our common stock is listed, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any publicly disclosed standards used by our Board in determining and disclosing independence of our directors, in each case as determined by our Board;

26    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Proposal 5

(continued)

LOGO

whose election would cause us to be in violation of our bylaws, our certificate of incorporation, as amended, the rules and listing standards of the principal U.S. exchanges upon which our common stock is traded, or any applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation;

who is or has been, within the past three years, an officer or director of a competitor, as defined in Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914;

who is named subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses) or has been convicted in such a criminal proceeding within the past 10 years;

who is subject to any order of the type specified in Rule 506(d) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933; or

if the nominee or the applicable nominating shareholder provided information to us in respect to such nomination that was untrue in any material respect or omitted to state a material fact, as determined by our Board or any committee thereof.

Supporting statement. Shareholders will be permitted to include in our proxy statement a statement not exceeding 500 words in support of their nominees. We may omit any information or statement that we, in good faith, believe would violate any applicable law or regulation.

Invalidation of shareholder nominations. In the event a shareholder or group of shareholders making a nomination under this provision, or the nominee(s) of such shareholder or group of shareholders, violate the terms of the proxy access bylaw, such shareholder nomination(s) will be declared invalid and the shareholder or group of shareholders will be ineligible to make nominations under the proxy access bylaw for the next two annual meetings.

Re-nomination of shareholder nominees. Shareholder nominees who are included in our proxy materials but subsequently withdraw from or become ineligible for election at the meeting or do not receive at least 25% of the vote cast in the election would be ineligible for nomination under the proxy access bylaw for the next two annual meetings.

approved. The Board believes that adoptingremoving the proxy access amendmentscurrent ambiguity in the Charter regarding the Board’s ability to our Amended and Restated Bylaws as described aboveamend certain Charter provisions would provide benefitsclarity to our shareholders by allowing greater shareholder influence overstakeholders regarding when and how the makeup ofCharter can be amended.

For the foregoing reasons, our Board while balancingbelieves that approving the Board’s concerns regarding potential abuse by parties who are not aligned withCharter Amendment Proposal would be in the long-termbest interests of all of ourChipotle and its shareholders. Accordingly, the Board recommends an amendment to the Amended and Restated Bylaws to include the proxy access bylaw described above.

The

Our Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the proposed amendment to our Amended and Restated Bylaws to provide for proxy access.

Proposal 5.


2024 Proxy Statement 39
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SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS

Shareholder Proposals

LOGO

Proposals 6 through 10 are shareholder proposals. If

Shareholders have submitted the following proposals, which will be voted on at our annual meeting if properly presented by the applicable shareholder proponent ofor their qualified representative. In accordance with SEC rules, we are reprinting each proposal or representative who is qualified under state law, isand supporting statement in this proxy statement as it was submitted to us. We do not believe that all assertions about Chipotle in these shareholder proposals are correct, but we have not attempted to refute all these inaccuracies. Receipt of the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power present at the annual meeting and submitsentitled to vote on the applicable proposal for a vote, that proposalis required to approve each of the following shareholder proposals. We will be voted upon. The shareholder proposalsfurnish the address and related supporting statements are included in this proxy statement as submittednumber of shares held by the proponents and we accept no responsibilityof any of the following shareholder proposals upon receipt of a request to the Corporate Secretary for their contents. The Board’s statements in opposition tosuch information. Our Board of Directors has recommended a vote AGAINST each proposal are presented immediatelyof these proposals for the reasons set forth following each proposal.
Proposal 6 – Proposal requesting an audit of safety practices
The SOC Investment Group has advised us that they intend to submit the following proposal and supporting statement. The name and addressfor consideration at the annual meeting. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content of the proposal, which is presented as received from the proponent in accordance with SEC rules. As explained below, our Board recommends that you vote “AGAINST” this shareholder proposal.
Resolved: Shareholders request the Board of each proposal and the amount of stock owned by such proponent will be promptly provided to any shareholder making an oral or written request for such information to our corporate Secretary at our headquarters.

Proposal 6

AN ADVISORY VOTE ON A SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL REQUESTING THAT WE ADOPT A BYLAW TO PROVIDE FOR SHAREHOLDER ACCESS TO THE COMPANY’S PROXY MATERIALS FOR

SHAREHOLDER-NOMINATED CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Resolved:

ShareholdersDirectors of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (the “Company”(“the Company”) askcommission an independent third-party audit on the boardimpact of directors (the “Board”) to take the steps necessary to adopt a “proxy access” bylaw. Such a bylaw shall requireCompany’s policies and practices on the Company to include in proxy materialssafety and well-being of workers. A report on the audit, prepared for a shareholder meeting at which directors are toreasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, should be elected the name, Disclosure and Statement (as defined herein) of any person nominated for election to the board by a shareholder or group (the “Nominator”) that meets the criteria established below. The Company shall allow shareholders to vote on such nomineemade available on the Company’s proxy card.

website.

The numberaudit should include:
Evaluation of shareholder-nominated candidates appearingmanagement and business practices that contribute to an unsafe or violent environment, including staffing capacity;
Meaningful consultation with workers and customers to inform appropriate solutions; and,
Recommendations for actions and regular reporting with progress on identified actions.
Supporting Statement:
Workplace violence is recognized as a national cause for concern. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that acts of violence and other injuries are the third leading cause of fatal occupational injury in proxy materials shall not exceed one quarterthe U.S.1 OSHA states, “However it manifests itself, workplace violence is a major concern for employers and employees nationwide.”2
Chipotle has been the subject of media reports over the directors then serving. This bylaw, which shall supplement existing rightspast year showing staff exposure to customer violence. We believe these reports represent a growing reputational risk to Chipotle and shareholders.
In 2023, there were terrifying reports of workers being robbed at gunpoint in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Rochester, Minnesota; and Columbus, Ohio as well as Chipotle workers being assaulted by customers in Parma, Ohio.
Chipotle workers have been exposed to unsanitary conditions. A Chipotle restaurant in South Florida was the subject of an investigative TV news report on health risks from unclean conditions. The report revealed overflowing sewage from the restrooms into the dining and food service areas and observed workers standing in the sewage during cleanup efforts.
The Company has come under Company bylaws, should provide thatfire for failure to protect employees’ mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) filed a Nominator must:

a)have beneficially owned 3% or more of the Company’s outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years before submitting the nomination;
b)give the Company, within the time period identified in its bylaws, written notice of the information required by the bylaws and any Securities and Exchange Commission rules about (i) the nominee, including consent to being named in the proxy materials and to serving as director if elected; and (ii) the Nominator, including proof it owns the required shares (the “Disclosure”); and
c)certify that (i) it will assume liability stemming from any legal or regulatory violation arising out of the Nominator’s communications with the Company shareholders, including the Disclosure and Statement; (ii) it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations if it uses soliciting material other than the Company’s proxy materials; and (iii) to the best of its knowledge, the required shares were acquired in the ordinary course of business and not to change or influence control at the Company.

The Nominator may submit withsuit against the Disclosure a statement not exceeding 500 words in support of each nominee (the “Statement”). The Board shall adopt procedures for promptly resolving disputes over whether noticecompany alleging management harassment of a nomination was timely, whetherfemale Muslim Chipotle worker in Lenexa, Kansas.

The EEOC claims a manager repeatedly requested the Disclosureworker to remove her hijab and Statement satisfyeventually forcibly took the bylawhijab off her head. Her complaints to management went unheeded and applicable federal regulations,she resigned. The Company eventually offered her a position at another location and fired the priority to be given to multiple nominations exceeding the one-quarter limit.manager for an unrelated issue.
1
https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence
2
Ibid.

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Supporting statement:

We believe proxy accessproblems of understaffing can exacerbate workers’ anxiety over health and safety risks. In Augusta, Maine Chipotle workers cited safety concerns due to understaffing. An Augusta worker stated, “I think there were two people manning an entire kitchen meant for at least seven people.”3
Chipotle’s Code of Ethics states the Company protects the health and safety of its employees. We believe that however well-intentioned the policy, this commitment is a fundamental shareholder right that will make directors more accountable and enhance shareholder value. A 2014 CFA Institute study concluded that proxy access would “benefit both the markets and corporate boardrooms, with little cost or disruption” and could raise overall US market capitalization by up to $140.3 billion if adopted market-wide. (http://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/ccb.v2014.n9.1)

The proposed terms are similar to those in vacated SEC Rule 14a-11 (https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2010/33-9136.pdf). The SEC, following extensive analysis and input from companies and investors, determined that those terms struck the proper balance of providing shareholders with a viable proxy access right while containing appropriate safeguards.

28    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Shareholder Proposals

(continued)

LOGO

A similar proposal received 49.9% of votes cast at the Company’s 2015 annual meeting and similar bylaws have been adopted by more than 60 companies.

not being met. We urge shareholders to vote FOR this proposal.

Board of Directors’ Statement in Opposition
The Board recommends a vote against this shareholder proposal because Chipotle already has an effective safety and security program and is committed to the safety and security of our employees. We do not believe an independent third-party audit is necessary or will meaningfully improve the safety of Chipotle employees for the following reasons:
We believe that our Global Security & Resilience (GS&R) team is effective in protecting employees and guests and creating safe spaces.
Chipotle’s commitment to the safety and security of our employees is supported by strong policies and investment in staffing.
We regularly review our safety and security policies and procedures to ensure they are effective and address top risks.
We believe that our Global Security & Resilience (GS&R) team is effective in protecting employees and guests and creating safe spaces.
The mission of the GS&R team is to support the personal safety of employees and guests, secure Chipotle’s property, and investigate incidents of theft, fraud, or other dishonesty. The team conducts periodic audits of our restaurants and offices to evaluate and identify any vulnerabilities to workplace violence or life safety hazards, and they take prompt corrective action to reduce any risks identified. GS&R’s 24/7 Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) constantly monitors for severe weather, public protests, civil unrest, geopolitical disruptions, and other external threats that could impact a Chipotle facility or employee and proactively implements safety precautions, which may include onsite security personnel, closure of a facility, and implementation of a customized Employee Protection Plan.
We also monitor any known harassment, violence, or threats from any person toward any of our employees and proactively implement safety precautions. We investigate and report to the police any threat that is direct or specific, and we assign an onsite security guard until the threat is assessed and resolved. All Chipotle restaurants are equipped with a duress button that will trigger a silent alarm to the GSOC and our third-party alarm monitoring partners in the event of an emergency in the restaurant. Our restaurants are open to the public and we are subject to state and local laws and regulations that may restrict some safety measures otherwise available to us, but our commitment is unwavering: we abhor any violence or threats of violence against our employees or guests and we are committed, to the extent it is within our reasonable control, to protect the safety and security of all people who enter our premises.
Chipotle’s commitment to the safety and security of our employees is supported by strong policies and investments in staffing.
We believe our strong safety and staffing policies and procedures evidence our commitment to providing a safe workplace for our employees. We have numerous policies to ensure the safety of all people who enter our facilities, including our Workplace Violence Policy; Theft and Criminal Conduct Policy; Restaurant Security Policy; Heat Illness Prevention Plan; Environment, Health and Safety Program Manual; Injury, Illness Prevention Program; and Restaurant Emergency Procedures that cover natural disaster, active aggressor, bomb threat, fire and similar occurrences. We regularly monitor circumstances and implement best practices to create a safe workplace environment.
We also maintain policies on the staffing of our restaurants to ensure we always have sufficient employees to safely operate the restaurant and will close restaurants or limit services offered in the event we fall short of our staffing model. The shareholder proponent cites our former restaurant in Augusta, Maine and alleges that Chipotle workers raised safety concerns due to understaffing. What the proponent does not state is that Chipotle engaged in a prolonged, aggressive recruiting effort to hire additional employees at that restaurant to meet the requirements of our staffing policies. When we were unable to hire sufficient employees for that location, we acted in the best interest of our employees’ safety and permanently closed the Augusta, Maine restaurant (at significant cost to Chipotle) and offered all employees of that restaurant positions at other Chipotle restaurants.
3

Statement in Opposition

This advisory proposal conflicts with the company’s Proposal 5, a binding proposal calling for shareholder adoption of a proxy access bylaw with different parameters than those included in this proposal. The Board recommends that you vote AGAINST this proposal and FOR Proposal 5.

For the reasons set forth in Proposal 5, the Board believes that the company’s binding proxy access proposal better balances the interests of all shareholders in having a strong voice on the Board, but also in avoiding potential disruption of a Board that has proven to be highly adept at ensuring the creation of shareholder value, than does this proposal.

https://www.wabi.tv/2023/03/27/former-chipotle-workers-augusta-reach-240000-settlement-with-restaurant- chain-months-after-store-was-closed-while-workers-attempt-form-union/

2024 Proxy Statement 41

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We regularly review our safety and security policies and procedures to ensure they are effective and address top risks.
It is Chipotle’s policy that all policies should be reviewed at least annually to ensure they remain relevant and to update them for changes in processes and regulations and for experiences and learnings acquired since the last update. Our GS&R team also conducts periodic audits of our restaurants and offices to evaluate and identify any vulnerabilities to workplace violence or life safety hazards, and promptly take necessary corrective action to reduce any risks identified and update our programs and practices to reflect changes.
For all of the foregoing reasons, our Board believes that Chipotle already has sufficient policies and procedures to protect the safety and security of all people who enter our premises, to the extent it is within our reasonable control, and that the proposed audit is neither necessary nor will meaningfully improve the safety of Chipotle employees.
Our Board of Directors recommends a vote AGAINST the shareholder proposal.Proposal 6.

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Proposal 7

AN ADVISORY VOTE ON A SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL REQUESTING

ADOPTION OF A STOCK RETENTION POLICY FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVES

Resolved:

Shareholders – Proposal requesting adoption of a Non-Interference Policy

The Comptroller of the City of New York has advised us that they intend to submit the following proposal for consideration at the annual meeting. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content of the proposal, which is presented as received from the proponent in accordance with SEC rules. As explained below, our Board recommends that you vote “AGAINST” this shareholder proposal.
RESOLVED: the Board of Directors of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (“Chipotle”) shall adopt and disclose a Noninterference Policy (the “Company”“Policy”) urgeupholding the Compensation Committeerights to freedom of association and collective bargaining in its operations as reflected in the BoardInternational Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (“Fundamental Principles”) and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGP”). The Policy should contain commitments to the following:
Noninterference when employees exercise their right to form or join trade union, which includes prohibiting Chipotle from undermining this right or pressuring employees seeking to form or join a trade union;
Good faith and timely collective bargaining if employees form or join a trade union;
Where national or local law is silent or differs from international human rights standards, Chipotle will follow the higher standards; and
Processes to identify, prevent, account for and remedy any practices that violate or are inconsistent with the Policy.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT:
Freedom of Directors (the “Committee”association and collective bargaining are fundamental human rights under internationally recognized human rights frameworks, including the Fundamental Principles, UNGP, and United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“Declaration”).
According to the International Labour Organization, “Freedom of association refers to the right of workers …to create and join organizations of their choice freely and without fear of reprisal or interference.”4
As stated in the UNGP guide, “…where national laws and regulations offer a level of human rights protection that falls short of internationally recognized human rights standards, enterprises should operate to the higher standard.”5
Chipotle’s Code of Ethics is indeterminant as to which standards prevail if applicable laws offer human rights protections that fall short of international human rights standards: “[w]e conduct our business in a way that respects fundamental human rights…and we support and align around the standards set out in [Declaration] and other applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws.”6 Chipotle should adopt a policy requiringPolicy upholding workers’ exercise of their fundamental rights under international standards and U.S. law.
Since May 2022, Chipotle has settled 11 unfair labor practice charges brought before the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) involving workers’ right to organize.7 Alleged tactics include retaliatory firings, restaurant closure, anti-union consultants, and captive audience meetings.8 In November 2023, Chipotle reportedly faced five open unfair labor practice charges at the Board.9 In 2023, Chipotle agreed to pay 24 employees $240,000 after closing a Maine store where workers tried to unionize.10
Microsoft has adopted company-wide noninterference Principles11 and announced a “labor neutrality agreement” at Activision Blizzard, which “reflects a fundamental belief ... that senior executives retainenabling workers to freely and fairly make a significant percentage of shares acquired through equity compensation programs until reaching normal retirement age or terminating employment with the Company. For the purpose of this policy, normal retirement age shall be defined by the Company’s qualified retirement planchoice about union representation will benefit Microsoft and its employees...”12
Chipotle’s failure to similarly respect workers’ rights presents reputational, legal, and operational risks that has the largest number of participants. The shareholders recommend that the Committee adopt a share retention percentage requirement of at least 50 percent of net after-tax shares. The policy should prohibit hedging transactions for shares subject to this policy which are not sales but reduce the risk of loss to the executive. This policy shall supplement any other share ownership requirements that have been established for senior executives, and should be implemented so as not to violate the Company’s existing contractual obligations or the terms of any compensation or benefit plan currently in effect.

Supporting Statement:

Equity-based compensation is an important component of senior executive compensation at our Company. While we encourage the use of equity-based compensation for senior executives, we are concerned that our Company’s senior executives are generally free to sell shares received from our Company’s equity compensation plans. In our opinion, the Company’s current share ownership guidelines for its senior executives do not go far enough to ensure that the Company’s equity compensation plans continue to build stock ownership by senior executives over the long-term.

Our Company’s share ownership guidelines require the co-Chief Executive Officers (“CEO”) to hold 31,000 shares each. In comparison, co-CEO Steve Ells owns 246,802 shares and co-CEO Montgomery Moran owns 154,755 shares, as of March 2015 according to the 2015 proxy statement.

We believe that requiring senior executives to only hold shares equal to a set target loses effectiveness over time. After satisfying these target holding requirements, senior executives are free to sell all the additional shares they receive in equity compensation.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  29


Shareholder Proposals

(continued)

LOGO

Our proposal seeks to better link executive compensation withmay negatively impact long-term performance by requiring a meaningful share retention ratio for shares received by senior executives from the Company’s equity compensation plans. Requiring senior executives to hold a significant percentage of shares obtained through equity compensation plans until they reach retirement age will better align the interests of executives with the interests of shareholders and the Company. A 2009 report by the Conference Board Task Force on Executive Compensation observed that such hold-through-retirement requirements give executives “an ever growing incentive to focus on long-term stock price performance as the equity subject to the policy increases” (available athttp://www.conference-board.org/pdf_free/ExecCompensation2009.pdf).

shareholder value.

We urge shareholders to vote FOR this proposal.

4
https://www.ilo.org/actrav/events/WCMS_315488/lang--en/index.htm
5
https://studylib.net/doc/8645493/the-corporate-responsibility-to-respect-human-rights

6

https://ir.chipotle.com/download/Code+of+Ethics_English_Sept+2023_external.pdf
7
https://www.nlrb.gov/search/case/Chipotle
8
https://hellgatenyc.com/chipotle-nyc-worker-organizing-retaliation
9
https://www.newsweek.com/chipotle-teamsters-rally-lansing-union-wage-negotiations-1840842
10
https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/region-01-boston/nlrb-region-1-boston-obtains-settlement-with-chipotle-with-240000-in
11
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/06/02/employee-organizing-engagement-labor-economy/
12
https://news.microsoft.com/2022/06/13/cwa-microsoft-announce-labor-neutrality-agreement

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Board of Directors’ Statement in Opposition
Chipotle’s vision is to cultivate an environment where our employees can thrive, pursue their passion and become lifelong leaders. We are committed to investing and supporting our employees because our people are our most important asset and give us a competitive advantage in our business – without an engaged and committed workforce, we will not be able to meet our strategic and growth goals. Our Board recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal for the following reasons:
We already have a clear policy supporting our employees’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and we timely bargain, in good faith, if employees vote to form a union.
We are committed to complying with all applicable U.S. federal, state and local laws, which cover 98% of our workforce and which we believe provide strong human rights protections.
We have created a culture of open communication, which places no restrictions on our employees’ ability to freely discuss their wages and conditions of employment, and we maintain multiple avenues for employees to report concerns.
We already have a clear policy supporting our employees’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and we timely bargain, in good faith, if employees vote to form a union.
We respect our employees’ right to form and to join – and to not join, if that is their preference – collective bargaining associations. In 2023, we discussed a virtually similar proposal with the shareholder proponent and, in response to that discussion, we expanded the language in our Code of Ethics to more clearly express our support for employees’ rights to organize – expressly referencing the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the National Labor Relations Act – and emphasize our intolerance of retaliation. Our Code of Ethics now states that:
“We recognize the fundamental right of freedom of association, which is guided by the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and we respect our employees’ rights to choose whether to organize under the National Labor Relations Act. We are committed to working collaboratively when our employees choose to exercise their rights, and we prohibit discrimination or harassment against any employee based on their decision to support or not to support a collective bargaining proposal.”13
We demonstrated our commitment to timely bargain in good faith when employees voted to form a union at our Lansing, Michigan restaurant. In August 2022, employees at that restaurant voted to form a union and throughout the entire campaign process no charges were filed claiming that Chipotle engaged in any misconduct. Since that election, Chipotle has engaged in good faith bargaining with the Lansing, Michigan employees’ group, meeting regularly with them to work towards a collective bargaining agreement.
The shareholder proponent seems to imply that we closed our Augusta, Maine restaurant due to employees’ efforts to unionize. That is not true. The truth is that we closed the Augusta, Maine restaurant due to our inability to properly staff the restaurant, despite our sustained recruiting efforts. We ensure we always have at least the minimum number of employees needed to safely operate our restaurants and we will close restaurants or limit services if we have too few employees. Chipotle engaged in a prolonged, aggressive recruiting effort to hire additional employees for the Augusta, Maine restaurant to try to meet our staffing policies. When we were not able to hire sufficient employees for that location, we acted in the best interest of our employees and permanently closed the restaurant and offered all employees of that restaurant positions at other Chipotle restaurants. Contrary to the proponent’s suggestions, we reviewed this situation as we would any other restaurant with unique staffing challenges and made the decision unrelated to any organizing activities occurring in the restaurant.
Chipotle respects the right of employees to organize under the National Labor Relations Act. While unfair labor practices charges have been filed against Chipotle, charges are not lawsuits. They can be filed by anyone for any reason and the NLRB will investigate them even if they have no merit. In none of the unfair labor practice charges filed against Chipotle has there been any legal decision concluding that Chipotle has violated the law. Nonetheless, in some of those cases, Chipotle decided that entering into a settlement was in the best interest of Chipotle and our crew and avoided expending resources on litigation.
We are committed to complying with all applicable U.S. federal, state and local laws, which cover 98% of our workforce and which we believe provide strong human rights protections.
We are committed to complying with applicable law in every jurisdiction in which we operate, and we believe those laws provide strong protection for our employees. As of December 31, 2023, we employed over 116,000 people and over 98% of our employees work in the United States. We believe that federal, state and local laws in the United States regarding employment, employees’ rights and human rights are among the strongest and most comprehensive in the world, in addition to being applicable to almost all of our restaurants. We have employees working in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and the proponent’s request that “where national or local law is silent or differs from international human rights standards, Chipotle will follow the higher standards” is not only unworkable but also would create confusion among our employees regarding what rights they have and how to enforce them. In the United States, we comply with the federal National Labor Relations Act (in addition to other applicable laws), which provides a clear, consistent standard governing the vast majority of our restaurants.
13

The proponent of this proposal is correct that equity-based compensation is an important componentSee page 11 of our executive compensation programs. The proponent also correctly notes that we have adopted guidelines that require our executive officers to maintain significant equity ownership in our company. However, the proponent suggests that the interestsCode of our officers are not sufficiently aligned with shareholder interests, and appears to ignore our strong performance over the years, both in terms of the growth and profitability of our business and our creation of shareholder value. We believe these results have been attributable,Ethics, posted at least in part, to our officers having the opportunity to realize significant rewards when our performance is strong. We further believe that this proposal, which would put restrictions on our officers’ ability to realize such rewards, would undermine, rather than improve, the alignment of officer interests with those of our shareholders.

Taking these considerations into account, our Board does not believe that the policy being advanced in this proposal is appropriate, or is worth the risk of significant unintended consequences that would accompany such a policy. Accordingly, the Board recommends that you vote AGAINST the proposal. A more detailed explanation of the Board’s reasoning follows.

Chipotle’s officers have an incredibly strong interest in Chipotle’s long-term performance. Reflected below are the stock ownership guidelines applicable to each of our officers, as well as the actual share ownership of each officer, as of March 14, 2016 in both number of shares and in dollar value. These numbers exclude the value of shares underlying vested and unvested equity compensation awards held by the officers, which further increase each officer’s financial interest in Chipotle’s success.

https://ir.chipotle.com/corporate-governance.

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Officer Name  Ownership
Guideline
   Shares Owned     Dollar Value of
Shares Owned(1)
 
Steve Ells   31,000     196,802    $tbd  
Monty Moran   31,000     154,755    $tbd  
Jack Hartung   7,000     30,392    $tbd  
Mark Crumpacker   3,000     3,000    $tbd  

(1) As

We have created a culture of March 14, 2016.

Notably, the vesting and payout of the equity compensation awards made to the executive officers in 2015 and 2016 (which, again, are not reflected above) have been based on a three-year performance period. Our Compensation Committee believes this three-year performance period results in strong alignment of the officers’ interests with those of shareholders as a whole, as well as significant retention value from the awards. Moreover, to further align the interests of our officers with those of our shareholders, we prohibit both hedging and pledging of shares of our stock by our officers and the members of our Board of Directors. This approach to executive share ownership is consistent with a vast majority of publicly-traded companies in the U.S.

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The supporting statement for this shareholder proposal suggests that the interests of our officers need to be better aligned with those of shareholders. In our opinion, the significant ownership interests and other policies described above reveal that suggestion to be, at best, ill-informed.

At the same time, if we were to adopt a policy that required our officers to retain 50% of the net after-tax shares associated with all equity compensation awards received by the officers, our officers’ ability to realize the value created when they drive increases in shareholder value, and to diversify their personal financial portfolios, may be adversely impacted. We don’t believe such a policy would strike an appropriate balance between protecting shareholder interests and allowing our officers to attend to their personal financial situations.

The policy being advocated in this shareholder proposal could have significant unintended consequences that would not be in the best interest of Chipotle or our shareholders. One potential impact of a policy restricting our officers’ ability to realize value from their equity compensation awards is the creation of an incentive for our officers to terminate their employment relationship with us. Given the tremendous success we have achieved under this officer team, our Board believes that creation of such an incentive would be wildly imprudent. Additionally, such a restriction could lead to an overwhelming concentration of one or more officer’s wealth in Chipotle stock, which could affect the officer’s risk tolerance and profile in unpredictable ways that may be inconsistent with the long-term interests of Chipotle and our shareholders. Furthermore, the proposed limitations on officers’ ability to realize value from their equity compensation awards may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain additional officers in the future.

For these reasons, the Board and the Compensation Committee believe that the policy proposed by this resolution would not be in the best interests of shareholders.

open communication, which places no restrictions on our employees’ ability to freely discuss their wages and conditions of employment, and we maintain multiple avenues for employees to report concerns.

To ensure compliance with our employment policies, we provide multiple avenues for employees to raise concerns, including our Respectful Workplace Hotline, where employees can report complaints (anonymously if they wish) about inappropriate workplace behavior, including complaints of any restrictions on freedom of association and retaliation. We take every Hotline complaint seriously and regularly report to the Audit & Risk Committee of our Board of Directors about Hotline complaints and how they are resolved. In addition, we train or retrain employee populations as appropriate based on Hotline complaints and monitor changes in complaints in response to those initiatives. We also encourage our employees to bring their concerns to any trusted manager, a member of the human resources team, or a member of our Ethics & Compliance team. We strongly believe that fostering open dialogue between our employees and their managers and support teams provides employees with the most direct and efficient means of resolving any concerns they may have.
We value our employees and we take steps to ensure that we maintain high employee satisfaction. In 2023, we received external recognition for creating cultural equity for employees from the American Opportunity Index, Bloomberg (Gender Equality Index), Forbes (Best Brands for Social Impact), Fortune (500, America’s Most Innovative Companies, and World’s Most Admired Companies), Human Rights Campaign (Corporate Equality Index), Investor’s Business Daily (100 Best ESG Companies), JUST Capital (America’s Most Just Companies), Latino Leaders (Best Places to Work for Latinos), Newsweek (Excellence 1000 Index) and TIME (100 Most Influential Companies).We offer career advancement opportunities, competitive wages and industry-leading benefits, such as crew bonuses, free meals, educational assistance and debt free degrees, and formally engage with our employee base on a regular basis. In 2023, we promoted over 24,000 employees, and 90% of all restaurant management roles were internal promotions, including 87% of Field Leader positions.
We are proud of our employees and the culture we have created together – by providing equity and inclusivity, development opportunities, strong support and monetary rewards, we believe we have created an environment where people can thrive and pursue their passion. The Board of Directors recommends a vote AGAINST the shareholder proposal.

Proposal 8

AN ADVISORY VOTE ON A SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE SHAREHOLDERS

Special Shareholder Meetings

Resolved:

The shareholders of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) (‘Company’) hereby request that the Board of Directors take the steps necessary to amend our bylaws and each appropriate governing document to give holders in the aggregate of 10% of our outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareowner meeting. This proposal does not impact our board’s current power to call a special meeting.

Supporting Statement:

Delaware law allows 10% of company shares to call a special meeting. A shareholder right to call a special meeting is a way to bring an important matter to the attention of both management and shareholders outside the annual meeting cycle. This is important because there could be 15-months between annual meetings.

Currently, more than 60% of the companies in the S&P 500 have adopted company bylaws, articles of incorporation, or charter provisions to allow shareholders to call a special meeting.

This proposal topic won more than 70% support at Edwards Lifesciences and SunEdison in 2013. It may be possible to adopt“AGAINST” this proposal by simply incorporating this text intobecause we do not believe it would enhance our governing documents:

“Special meetings of the stockholders,existing employee engagement or commitment to protecting employee rights, and it would not create additional benefits to our employees or value for any purpose or purposes, unless otherwise prescribed by statue, may be called by the Chairman of the Board or the President, and shall be called by the Chairman of the Board or President or

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Secretary upon the order in writing of a majority of or by resolution of the Board of Directors, or at the request in writing of stockholders owning 10% of the entire capital stock of the Corporation issued and outstanding and entitled to vote.”

We urge the Board to join the mainstream of major U.S. companies and establish a right for shareholders to call a special meeting.

Please vote for: Special Shareowner Meetings – Proposal 8

Statement in Opposition

This advisory proposal conflicts with the company’s Proposal 4, a binding proposal calling for shareholders to approve amendments to our certificate of incorporation, as amended, to remove restrictions on the right to call special meetings of shareholders. In the event Proposal 4 is approved, bylaw provisions previously adopted by our Board, contingent upon shareholder approval of the amendment called for in Proposal 4, will become effective. Those bylaw provisions give shareholders the right to call special meetings, with different parameters than those called for in this shareholder proposal and subject to additional terms and conditions, as further described in Proposal 4. The Board recommends that you vote AGAINST this proposal and FOR Proposal 4.

Approval of Proposal 4 would entitle shareholders with a significant economic interest in our common stock to request that the company call a special meeting, while limiting the ability of a small minority of shareholders to utilize the mechanism of special meetings to advance their own interest, which may not be shared more broadly by Chipotle’s shareholders.

Theour shareholders.

Our Board of Directors recommends a vote AGAINST Proposal 7.

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Proposal 8 – Proposal requesting a Report on adoption of automation
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund has advised us that they intend to submit the following proposal for consideration at the annual meeting. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content of the proposal, which is presented as received from the proponent in accordance with SEC rules. As explained below, our Board recommends that you vote “AGAINST” this shareholder proposal.

Proposal 9

AN ADVISORY VOTE ON A SHAREHOLDER

PROPOSAL REQUESTING CHIPOTLE TO ISSUE AN ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT MEETING SPECIFIED CRITERIA

Whereas:

Managing and reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) business practices helps companies compete in

Shareholders request the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.’s (“Chipotle” or the “Company”) Board of Directors prepare a business environment characterizedreport on the principles by finite natural resources, changing legislation, and heightened public expectations. Transparent, substantive reporting allows companies to gain strategic value from existing sustainability efforts and identify emerging risks and opportunities. ESG issues can pose significant risks to business. Without proper disclosure, investors and other stakeholders cannot adequately ascertain howwhich the company is managing these risksseeks to address and opportunities.

Proponents believe thatmeasure the recent E.coli outbreaks traced to several Chipotle restaurants warrant greater transparency about our company’s supply chain management systems. Despite Chipotle’s high profile and laudable commitments to “serving Food with Integrity” and environmental sustainability, it discloses very limited informationsocial implications on its policies and progress toward achieving these objectives.

The link between strong sustainability management and value creation is increasingly evident. A 2012 Deutsche Bank review of 100 academic studies, 56 research papers, two literature reviews, and four meta-studies on sustainable investing found 89%workforce of the studies demonstrated that companies with high ESG ratings showed market-based outperformance.

According to KPMG, “Corporate responsibility reporting is now undeniably a mainstream business practice worldwide, undertaken by almost three quarters (71 percent)growing adoption of the 4,100 companies surveyed in 2013.” The Governanceadvanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and Accountability Institute reports that 75% of the S&P 500 published a corporate sustainability report in 2014.

McDonalds, Darden Restaurants, Dunkin Brands and Starbucks all publish sustainability reports.

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Resolved:

Shareholders request Chipotle issue an annual sustainability report describing the company’s short- and long-term responses to ESG-related issues.automation. The report should include objective quantitative indicators and goals relating to each issue where feasible, be prepared at a reasonable cost, omit proprietary information, and be made available to shareholdersinvestors.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
We live in a time of major change. The climate crisis has prompted significant changes in many aspects of human behavior, along with a recognition corporations should consider the social costs of this change. For example, the International Labor Organization (ILO) emphasizes the need to commit to “decent work” as society addresses the climate challenge. The four pillars are “social dialogue, social protection, rights at work and employment.” (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/ groups/public/@ed_emp/@emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_432859.pdf)
The looming changes from artificial intelligence and automation – which risk significant changes in the economy and everyday life – present similar concerns about how to protect decent work, especially if the social costs of these changes are ignored.
A recent report by October 2016.

Supporting Statement:

the McKinsey Global Institute finds “Generative AI is both accelerating automation and extending it to an entirely new set of occupations,” warning that “almost 12 million occupational changes will need to take place …[before] 2030. Over 80% of those jobs fall into four occupations, including food service. McKinsey notes “[m]ost of these workers are lower paid, and disproportionately composed of less educated workers, women, and Black and Latino Americans.” (https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/generative-ai-and-the-future-of-work-in-america) Goldman Sachs estimated roughly two-thirds of current jobs in the US and Europe are exposed to “some degree of AI automation.” (https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.html)

The report should address relevant policies, practices, metricsILO warns “those who lose their jobs … may be the least equipped to seize the new job opportunities,” and goalscalls for “harnessing and managing technology for decent work.” (https://www.studocu.com/row/document/arab-academy-for-science-technology-maritime- transport/human-resource-management/ilo-2019-international-labor-organization-with-highlighted-important-topics/47547465) McKinsey emphasizes advances in technology must be “well managed,” by employers and policy makers, with “clear guidelines and guardrails” so workers “see these tools not as job destroyers but as work enhancers.”
The risk is particularly great in the restaurant sector. The investment bank TD Cowen says automation and AI are “nearing a tipping point” in the industry with “increased momentum” catalyzed by a “tight labor market…emerging risks from unionization,” and the “longer-term potential to reduce labor costs.” (https://www.cowen.com/insights/revolution-in-restaurant-automation/) One consulting firm estimates “[u]p to 82% of restaurant positions could, to some extent, be replaced with robots.” (https://aaronallen.com/blog/restaurant-robotics) The Washington Post notes, “th[is] shift comes as concern is rising over the effect of automation on topicsjob security, and as fast-food workers nationally demand higher wages and better working conditions.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/03/chipotle-robots-bowls-salads/)
Chipotle touts new technologies as central to its future, but apart from generalities – such as: greenhouse gas emissions, pesticide use management, food safety waste minimization, energy efficiency, labor standardsas claiming new technologies will “unlock the human potential” of employees – Chipotle fails to disclose the principles that will guide Chipotle’s efforts to ensure these transformations to the workplace are just and practices,equitable.
Board of Directors’ Statement in Opposition
Our Board recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal for the following reasons:
Chipotle has been working with several product development companies, but we have not yet implemented any advanced technologies in our restaurants.
The automation we are developing is intended to improve operations and other relevant impacts.enhance employees’ and guests’ experience, rather than facilitate staffing reductions.

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We recommend

Chipotle consider usinghas been working with several product development companies, but we have not yet implemented any advanced technologies in our restaurants.
In 2022, Chipotle launched Cultivate Next, a venture fund formed to make early-stage investments into strategically aligned companies that further the GRI Sustainability Reporting GuidelinesCompany’s mission to prepare the report. The GRI is an international organization developed with representatives from the corporate, investor, environmental, human rightsCultivate a Better World and labor communities. The Guidelines cover environmental impacts, labor practices, human rights, product responsibility,help accelerate our aggressive growth plans. To date, Chipotle has invested in a wide range of companies innovating in areas such as farming, supply chain, advanced robotics, and community impacts. The Guidelines provide a flexible reporting system allowing Chipotle to report on those areas mostplant-based foods, and only two of our investments have applications that are relevant to its operations. Seventy eight percentthis proposal.
One relevant investment is in Hyphen, which is developing a foodservice platform that can be developed into an automated digital makeline that builds bowls and salads underneath, while Chipotle employees use the top makeline to craft burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. The other is our investment in Vebu, which is developing “Autocado,” a robot that can cut, core, and peel avocados. Both Hyphen and Autocado are progressing through Chipotle’s stage-gate process and will undergo an operational test in one restaurant in spring 2024. No decisions have been made on whether to scale either of reporting companies worldwide referthese platforms or how and when they would potentially be rolled out, so our Board believes that this proposal is premature.
The automation we are developing is intended to the GRI reporting guidelinesimprove operations and enhance employees’ and guests’ experience, rather than facilitate staffing reductions.
The innovations Chipotle is exploring, such as Hyphen and Autocado, are intended to remove less favorable tasks for restaurant crew members so they can focus on our guests, as well as support order accuracy and improved throughput. Hyphen is a ‘cobot’ (a collaborative robot) that is designed to work in their corporate responsibility reports (KPMG.)

We also recommendtandem with Chipotle evaluate the Equitable Food Initiative, a collaborative effort of retailers, workerscrew members and growers focused on reducing risks in food supply chains, including food safety risks. Its standard was adaptedis expected to augment labor, not replace it, while Autocado is being developed to reduce duplicationone of other industry-leading certificationsour more tedious food preparation tasks – cutting and includes Costcocoring avocados to make our hand mashed guacamole. Although in some industry sectors advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and Bon Appetit as project partners.

Statement in Opposition

Through our constant efforts to expand our Food With Integrity mission, we believe Chipotle is driving more positive change in the nation’s food supply than any other restaurant company. Today, we serve more meat that has been raised responsibly (by which we mean from animals raised in a humane way, and without the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics or added hormones) than any other restaurant company. We are the only national restaurant company with a significant stated commitment to serving local and organically grown produce. We believe we were the first national restaurant company to serve dairy products (cheese and sour cream) made only with milk from cows that are not treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH. Much of the cheese and sour cream we serve is made with milk from pasture-raised dairy cattle. And in 2015 we became the first national restaurant company to use only non-GMO ingredients in our food.

While numerous companies have published reports of the type being advocated in this shareholder proposal, Chipotle has made a deliberate decision not to report in this fashion, preferring to devote our resources instead to taking actions, adopting practices, and communicating these efforts in areas that have a positive impact on the sustainability of our business. In this way, our commitment to Food With Integrity directly impacts many of the issues associated with sustainable agriculture – from the humane treatment of farm animals, to overuse of antibiotics on animals, pesticide use, and the welfare of workers, environmental degradation and beyond.

As just a few examples of our accomplishments that we believe have positively impacted the environmental footprint and overall sustainability of our business:

•      Over 95% of our meat purchased in 2015 adhered to the standards we require for our Responsibly Raised® brand (coming from animals that are raised in a humane way, without the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics or added hormones).

•      In 2015 we exceeded our goal of purchasing 24 million pounds of local produce (by which we mean produce grown or raised within 350 miles of the restaurant at which it was served). This was an increase of 20% from our 2014 goal of serving 20 million pounds of local produce.

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•      We purchased over 4 million pounds of organic black beans and over 2.2 million pounds of organic pinto beans in 2015, and we also supported the growth of organic farms by purchasing approximately 3.2 million pounds of transitional-acreage beans from growers undergoing conversion to organic certified land. We also purchased over 4.2 million pounds of Food Alliance-certified black beans and over 2.2 million pounds of Food Alliance-certified pinto beans in 2015.

•      We purchased over 520,000 pounds of organic white rice and over 485,000 pounds of organic brown rice in 2015. We also supported the expansion of farm land cultivated organically by purchasing over 53,000 pounds of transitional-acreage rice from growers undergoing conversion to organic certified land.

•      We also purchased over 5 million pounds of organically grown produce in 2015, including about 72% of our cilantro and about 88% of our oregano.

•      Since late 2012, we have been a party to the Fair Food Premium Program of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, or CIW.

And our commitment to sustainability is broader than simply focusing on food issues. We have a team dedicated to assessing and improving the environmental impact of our restaurant operations through key initiatives and projects in waste, energy and water. Here are a few examples of our accomplishments in those areas in 2015:

•      We published multiple pieces on our website about our sustainability efforts, including pieces on our equipment donation program, our waste diversion program, and our efforts to reduce food waste in our restaurants. In 2016, we plan to publish additional content on our website, including disclosures about paper and packaging, energy usage, philanthropy, water usage, sustainable design, and composting.

•      In 2015 we transformed over 1,000,000 pounds of waste into recycled material. Through strategic initiatives related to recycling and composting, we were able to increase diversion by 10%. This means that an additional 10% of our waste that previously was going to the landfill is now being recycled.

•      We announced a goal of diverting 50% of all of our waste from landfill by 2020 comprised of 20% diversion via compost and 30% diversion via recycling.

•      Currently 138 of our restaurants are recycling food via commercial compost. We are working to ensure that by 2020, over 500 of our restaurants will be recycling food via commercial compost. These programs are in addition to our existing food donation programs.

•      automation, are being developed specifically to reduce headcount, the technology we are developing is intended to improve operations rather than facilitate staffing reductions. One hallmark of our “guest obsessed” culture is to free up our restaurant crew to enable them to focus on connecting with and serving our guests. Our makeline format provides opportunities for crew members to engage with guests throughout the order process, and we believe using automation to eliminate some of our kitchen tasks will enhance that engagement.

Our business requires a significant number of restaurant employees and our recruiting team is constantly working to fill new and open positions. In January 2024, we announced that we are looking to hire 19,000 additional employees for our busiest time of year running from March to May, and we introduced new benefits to our already best-in-class employee benefits to attract new employees. Although well intentioned, this proposal is not needed to preserve jobs at Chipotle. For these reasons, the Board of Directors recommends a vote “AGAINST” this proposal.
Our paper and packaging purchasers work closely with our sustainability group in an effort to continually improve the environmental impact of our packaging. This equates to multiple changes in our packaging lineup each year, including (but not limited to) increased recycled content (both post and pre consumer), increased recyclability, and increased compostability.

•      Since piloting an energy management program in 2012, we have been able to target certain equipment and behavior, and ultimately reduce our energy usage by 13% at restaurants participating in the program. In 2015, we expanded the pilot to roughly 100 additional restaurants throughout the country, and have reduced our energy usage by an average of 3,154 kWh per site per month. This program also allows us to gather meaningful data that we have used to create best practices at all of our restaurants, thus expanding the impact of the pilot.

•      In 2015 we continued to refine the restaurant water usage baseline developed in 2014, through improved data analytics and indoor water sub-metering at a select group of restaurants. We used this additional data and insight to create a Water Best Practices guide for our restaurants, and to identify equipment-based opportunities for water savings. In 2016, we will continue to work with our landlords, vendors, and food safety partners to find new ways to reduce our water impact at the restaurant level without compromising our high food safety standards.

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Our commitment to sustainability also extends beyond our restaurant business to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, a non-profit organization we formed in 2011 to expand Chipotle’s philanthropic influence. The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation is dedicated to grantmaking to provide resources and promote good stewardship for farmers, promote better livestock husbandry, encourage regenerative agricultural practices, and foster better food literacy, cooking education and nutritious eating.

Notwithstanding our demonstrated commitment to sustainability, including through our Food With Integrity mission and the direct benefits it confers, we do not believe that a separate effort to generate, distribute, and update comprehensive reporting on our sustainability achievements represents an efficient or prudent use of our resources. We do report a number of key measures related to our Food With Integrity mission in press releases, SEC filings and our web site, and have expanded this type of disclosure in recent years. But we believe that preparing a sustainability report of the type proposed would involve significant additional expense and distraction, diverting time and resources from activities that can have direct benefits on the profitability and sustainability of our business, such as opening new restaurants, continuing to build and improve our supply chain, and making improvements in our restaurant design and operations. Moreover, we believe we would gain little from such a diversion of resources, as we believe our management teams already collect and rely on the information that is most appropriate for the management of our business, and that our existing disclosures provide information that is most useful to our shareholders. We think our shareholders generally agree, with holders of over two-thirds of the shares voting at the 2014 and 2015 annual meetings having voted AGAINST this same proposal.

Although we continue to believe the reporting being suggested in this proposal would not provide sufficient benefits to Chipotle or its shareholders to justify the costs, that should not be misunderstood as an indication that our Board or our company are not focused on environmental, social and governance issues. In resisting the proposal, we are merely resisting the requirement to comprehensively gather data and publish a report that we do not believe offers meaningful benefits. Instead, we believe our resources will be better devoted to continuing our commitment to changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food, and to continuing to build shareholder value.

The Board of Directors recommends a vote AGAINST Proposal 8.


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Proposal 9 – REQUESTING A Report on harassment and discrimination statistics
The New York State Common Retirement Fund has advised us that they intend to submit the following proposal for consideration at the annual meeting. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content of the proposal, which is presented as received from the proponent in accordance with SEC rules. As explained below, our Board recommends that you vote “AGAINST” this shareholder proposal.

Proposal 10

AN ADVISORY VOTE ON A SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL REQUESTING THAT EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION BE LINKED TO SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE

Resolved:

Shareholders request the Board Compensation Committee prepareof Directors oversee the preparation of an annual public report describing and quantifying the effectiveness and outcomes of efforts by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., (Chipotle) to prevent harassment and discrimination against its protected classes of employees. In its discretion, the Board may wish to consider including disclosures such as:

the total number and aggregate dollar amount of disputes settled by the company related to abuse, harassment or discrimination in the previous three years;
the total number of pending harassment or discrimination complaints the company is seeking to resolve through internal processes, arbitration, or litigation;
the retention rates of employees who raise harassment or discrimination concerns, relative to total workforce retention;
the aggregate dollar amount associated with the enforcement of arbitration clauses;
the number of enforceable contracts for current or past employees which include concealment clauses, such as non-disclosure agreements or arbitration requirements, that restrict discussions of harassment or discrimination; and
the aggregate dollar amount associated with agreements containing concealment clauses.
This report should not include the names of accusers or details of their settlements without their consent and should be prepared at a reasonable cost and omit any information that is proprietary, privileged, or violative of contractual obligations.
Supporting Statement
Chipotle states in its Code of Ethics, “We will not tolerate any form of harassment. Harassment includes but is not limited to any unwanted conduct based on a person’s protected characteristics that creates an intimidating, degrading, offensive or hostile work environment that interferes with an employee’s ability to do their work or adversely affects their employment opportunities.”
Yet, there have recently been allegations of sexual harassment and religious discrimination at Chipotle, including:
In September 2023 Chipotle settled a suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The settlement requires Chipotle to pay $400,000 to three former employees and appoint an internal consent decree coordinator to review, revise and implement anti-discriminatory policies and procedures that prohibit sexual harassment and retaliation.
Also in 2023, the EEOC sued Chipotle, charging it violated federal law when a manager harassed a teen worker for wearing a hijab and when the company retaliated against her after she complained. The EEOC further alleged the teen was forced to resign because of the discriminatory treatment.
There have been several high-profile derivative suits settled including at Twentieth Century Fox, Wynn Resorts, and Alphabet, alleging boards breached their duties by failing to protect employees from discrimination and harassment, injuring the companies and their shareholders.
Civil rights violations within the workplace can result in substantial costs to companies, including fines and penalties, legal costs, costs related to absenteeism, reduced productivity, challenges recruiting, and distraction of leadership. A company’s failure to properly manage its workforce can have significant ramifications, jeopardizing relationships with customers and other partners.
A public report such as the one requested would assist shareholders in assessing whether the feasibilityCompany is improving its workforce management.

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Board of integrating sustainability metrics intoDirectors’ Statement in Opposition
At Chipotle, our vision is to cultivate an environment where our employees can thrive, pursue their passion and become lifelong leaders. We are committed to investing and supporting our employees because they are our most important asset and give us a competitive advantage in our business – without an engaged and committed workforce, we will not be able to meet our strategic and growth goals. Although we appreciate the performance measuresspirit in which this proposal was submitted, after careful consideration our Board recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal for the following reasons:
We believe Chipotle’s existing policies and programs are effective in preventing harassment and discrimination and we have established processes for reporting and investigating concerns regarding discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
Since 2020, we do not require employees to sign arbitration agreements relating to employment-related disputes, including complaints of senior executives underharassment or discrimination, and we do not include the Company’s compensation incentive plans. Sustainability is definedtypes of “concealment clauses” referred to in the proposal in the agreements Chipotle employees sign when hired.
We do not believe that the proposed report would provide shareholders with meaningful information, and the report would require disclosures that are not customary among our restaurant peers, which could cause us competitive harm, and would divert resources better used in training and investigating.
We believe Chipotle’s existing policies and programs are effective in preventing harassment and discrimination and we have established processes for reporting and investigating concerns regarding discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
In our employee handbooks, Code of Ethics and communications with our employees, we are very clear that we will not tolerate any form of harassment, including any unwanted conduct based on a person’s protected characteristics that creates an intimidating, degrading, offensive or hostile work environment that interferes with an employee’s ability to do their work or adversely affects their employment opportunities. We define “protected characteristics” broadly to include race (including traits historically associated with race, such as how environmentalhair texture and social considerations,hairstyles protected by applicable law, including braids, locks, and twists), ethnicity, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, caste, sex (including childbirth, breast feeding, sex-based stereotypes, and related financial impacts,medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, uniform service member and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, age (40 and over), protected medical condition and other protected classes. We do not tolerate retaliation of any kind against any employee who, in good faith, reports suspected inappropriate behavior or unethical conduct. We are integrated into corporate strategy overalso proactive in training on these policies and we retain an independent third-party consulting firm to conduct an annual gender and racial pay equity analysis of our U.S. and Canadian workforce, the long term.

Whereas:

A largeresults of which are reported on page 0 of this proxy statement.

To ensure compliance with our policies, we provide multiple avenues for employees to raise concerns, including our Respectful Workplace Hotline, where employees can report complaints (anonymously if they wish) about inappropriate workplace behavior, including alleged harassment and diverse group of companies has integrated sustainability metrics into executive pay incentive plans, among them Unilever, Pepsi, Walmart, Group Danonediscrimination. We investigate every Hotline complaint involving harassment or discrimination, and Mead Johnson.

Numerous studies suggest companies that integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their business strategy reduce reputational, legal and regulatory risks and improve long-term performance.

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Accordingregularly report to the largest studyAudit & Risk Committee of CEOsour Board of Directors about Hotline complaints and resolutions of those complaints. In addition, we train or retrain employee populations as appropriate based on sustainabilityHotline complaints and monitor changes in complaints in response to date (CEO Study on Sustainability 2013, UN Global Compactthose initiatives.

We believe our existing procedures are effective in both preventing and Accenture):

in promptly remediating incidents of discrimination and harassment in our workforce.

76 percentThe proponent references two incidents in which Chipotle employees made allegations of sexual harassment and religious discrimination. We believe embedding sustainabilityeven one allegation is too many; however, we also recognize that with over 237,000 employees working for us for some period during the year (including turnover), no policies or programs will prevent all incidents of inappropriate behavior. We believe our proactive initiatives and our swift response to complaints evidence our commitment to providing a safe workplace where all employees can thrive and pursue their passions.

Since 2020, we do not require employees to sign arbitration agreements relating to employment-related disputes, including complaints of harassment or discrimination, and we do not include the types of “concealment clauses” referred to in the proposal in the agreements Chipotle employees sign when hired.
Similar to many other large employers, we previously required all new hires to sign an arbitration agreement covering the resolution of all employment-related disputes. Starting in September 2020, we incorporated an opt out provision into core business will drive revenue growth andour arbitration agreements, allowing all new opportunities.

93 percent regard sustainability as keyemployees to success.

86 percentopt out of the arbitration agreement. Although we still believe sustainability should be integrated into compensation discussions, and 67 percent report they already do.

A 2012 Harvard Business School study concluded that firms that adopted social and environmental policies significantly outperformed counterparts over the long-term, in terms of stock market and accounting performance.

In 2013, the Carbon Disclosure Project and Sustainable Insight Capital Management found companies with industry leading climate change positions exhibited better performance than peers, measured by return on equity, cash flow stability and dividend growth.

The Glass Lewis reportGreening the Green 2014: Linking Executive Pay to Sustainability, finds a “mounting body of research showing that firms that operate in a more responsible manner may perform better financially…Moreover, these companies were also more likely to tie top executives incentives to sustainability metrics.”

A 2012 report by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investmentboth employees and the UN Global Compact found “the inclusionCompany benefit from arbitrating employment-related complaints, we give employees the choice.


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We do not believe that the proposed report would provide shareholders with meaningful information, and the report would require disclosures that are not customary among our restaurant peers, which could cause us competitive harm, and would divert resources better used in training and investigating.
The proposed report would require us to disclose a wide range of detailed statistics that would require significant resources to systematically track and that we do not believe would provide meaningful information to enable our shareholders to assess the effectiveness of our practices. The turnover rate for retail and restaurant employees is over 100% industry-wide, and it would be difficult to accurately determine the specific turnover rate for employees who raise harassment or discrimination concerns, relative to total turnover, because over 40% of Hotline complaints are reported anonymously. We investigate all complaints of discrimination or harassment, and in 2023 the vast majority of complaints were determined to be unsubstantiated. Therefore reporting the number of complaints without more details could be misleading. In addition, the report would require Chipotle to provide detailed disclosures that are not customary among our restaurant industry peers and therefore would be viewed without the appropriate Environmental, Socialcontext or basis for comparison. Without such comparable metrics from our peers, the Company could be subject to increased litigation and Governance (ESG) issues within executivereputational risk and could be put at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting and retaining qualified employees. Also, the resources required to compile the requested report would divert management goalsattention and incentive schemes canresources away from investing in initiatives, such as training and investigating complaints, that would further prevent inappropriate behavior. For these reasons, we do not believe that producing the proposed report would be an important factora good use of Company resources or in the creation and protectionbest interest of long-term shareholder value.”

A 2011 study of 490 global companies found that including sustainability targets in remuneration packages was sufficient to encourage sustainable development.

In 2013, CH2MHill found that firms that set tangible sustainability goals are more likely to tie executive compensation of the achievement of sustainability goals.

Supporting Statement:

Effectively managing for sustainability offers positive opportunities for companies, and we believe should be a key area in which executives should be evaluated.

Linking sustainability metrics to executive compensation could reduce risks related to sustainability underperformance, incent employees to meet sustainability goals and achieve resultant benefits, and increase accountability. Examples of such metrics might include: greenhouse gas emissions measurements, energy and water consumption per unit of product output (or dollar of revenue), renewable energy consumption, volume of recycling, packaging used, and food and worker safety incidents.

Statement in Opposition

As explained elsewhere in this proxy statement, including in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section beginning on page 39, the Compensation Committee of our Board has carefully crafted an executive compensation program structured around performance measures that the committee believes are most important in driving the responsible, long-term growth of our business. The committee believes that this program strongly reinforces our pay-for-performance objectives, and therefore our Board does not believe that the report being sought in this shareholder proposal is necessary or warranted.

That is not to say that our Board does not believe sustainability is important. On the contrary, our entire Food With Integrity mission is closely aligned with the advancement of numerous sustainability-related concerns. Many of those

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Shareholder Proposals

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concerns — such as issues associated with the overuse of antibiotics, environmental issues created by certain animal confinement operations, excessive use of pesticides in agriculture, and more — have been key considerations in shaping our vision and strategy for Chipotle. But our ultimate goals are to grow our business responsibly and thereby create long-term shareholder value, and the Compensation Committee, its advisors and our Board are confident that our existing incentive compensation programs create strong incentives for our executive officers to accomplish those goals.

For these reasons, the Board believes that this proposal is not in the best interests of Chipotle or its shareholders.

Theour shareholders.

Our Board of Directors recommends a vote AGAINST the shareholder proposal.

Proposal 9.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS


In addition to Steve Ells,Brian Niccol, our Chairman of the Board and Co-ChiefChief Executive Officer, and Monty Moran, our Co-Chief Executive Officer, each of whose biographies arebiography is included in Proposal 1 under the heading “Information Regarding the Board of Directors,” our executive officers as of March 14, 2016,April 1, 2024, are as follows:

John R. (Jack) Hartung, 58, is



Scott Boatwright, 51, serves as Chief Operating Officer and has direct accountability for all restaurant operations. Prior to joining Chipotle in May 2017 as Chief Restaurant Officer, Mr. Boatwright spent 18 years with Arby’s Restaurant Group, a quick serve restaurant company, in various leadership positions, including for the last six years as the Senior Vice President of Operations, where he was responsible for the performance of over 1,700 Arby’s restaurants in numerous states. Mr. Boatwright holds a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and an MBA from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.


Chris Brandt, 55, serves as Chief Brand Officer and also oversees real estate and development. Prior to joining Chipotle in April 2018, Mr. Brandt was Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., a casual dining company, from May 2016 to December 2017; Chief Brand Officer/Chief Marketing Officer for Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., a global restaurant company, from May 2013 to May 2016; and Senior Director and Vice President of Marketing for Taco Bell from November 2010 to May 2013. Mr. Brandt holds an MBA from the Anderson School at University of California, Los Angeles and a BA in Economics from University of California San Diego.


Curt Garner, 54, serves as Chief Customer and Technology Officer. Mr. Garner joined Chipotle in November 2015 as Chief Information Officer and has been instrumental in developing Chipotle’s digital platform and the integration of technology across the organization as well as ensuring data security. Prior to joining Chipotle, Mr. Garner worked for Starbucks Corporation, a global coffee roaster and retailer, for 17 years, most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Mr. Garner has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The Ohio State University.


John R. (Jack) Hartung, 66, serves as our Chief Financial and Administrative Officer and has served as our Chief Financial Officer and has served in this role since 2002. In addition to having responsibility for all of our financial, reporting, tax and investor relations functions, Mr. Hartung also oversees strategy, supply chain and safety & asset protection. He joined Chipotle after spending 18 years at McDonald’s Corp., a quick serve restaurant company, where he held a variety of management positions, most recently as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of its Partner Brands Group. Mr. Hartung serves on the Board of Directors of The Honest Company, a consumer products company, and ZocDoc, Inc., a private company that runs an online medical and dental referral and appointment service, and also serves on the Audit Committee of both companies. Mr. Hartung has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and economics as well as an MBA from Illinois State University.

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Ilene Eskenazi, 52, serves as Chief Human Resources Officer. Prior to joining Chipotle in November 2023, Ms. Eskenazi served as the Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer at Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc., a pet care company, from January 2022 to November 2023, and previously served as their Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary from September 2020 to January 2022. Prior to that, she served as Chief Human Resources Officer and Global General Counsel of Boardriders, Inc. (formerly Quiksilver, Inc.), an action sports and lifestyle company, from 2016 to 2020; Chief Legal Officer and Senior Vice President of Talent Operations and Performance of True Religion Apparel, Inc., a global retail and apparel company, from 2013 to 2016; General Counsel and VP, Human Resources of Red Bull North America, Inc., a beverage company, from 2008 to 2013; and Deputy General Counsel at The Wonderful Company LLC, a food and beverage company, from 2002 to 2008. She started her career at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. In July 2017, True Religion Apparel, Inc. filed a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Ms. Eskenazi also serves on the Board of Directors of a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

Laurie Schalow, 56, serves as our Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer. Prior to joining Chipotle in August 2017, Ms. Schalow served as Vice President of Public Affairs for Yum! Brands, a global restaurant company, overseeing Global Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Relations, Crisis Management, Social Listening and Community Diversity programs for the 44,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in 140 countries. Ms. Schalow holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Miami University and an MBA from Wayne State University.


Roger Theodoredis, 65, has served as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel since October 2018. Prior to joining Chipotle, Mr. Theodoredis was General Secretary of Danone North America, with responsibility for legal, public affairs, communications, scientific affairs and corporate security. He previously served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of The WhiteWave Foods Company, a food and beverage company, until its acquisition by Danone, S.A. in April 2017, having been appointed as General Counsel of WhiteWave Foods in 2005. Prior to joining WhiteWave Foods, Mr. Theodoredis served as Division General Counsel for Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, and in a number of legal roles for Chiquita Brands International. He holds B.A. from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

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LETTER FROM THE COMPENSATION, PEOPLE AND CULTURE COMMITTEE OF OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
We had an exceptionally strong year in 2023, driven by our focus on exceptional people, exceptional food and exceptional throughput. We believe our focus on recruiting and retaining great employees, consistently serving delicious, fresh food, and setting high operational standards positioned Chipotle for success last year and into the future. Our team posted outstanding results in 2023:
Total revenue increased 14.3% to $9.9 billion
Comparable restaurant sales increased 7.9%
Digital sales represented 36.1% of food and beverage revenue
Operating margin was 15.8%, an increase from 13.4% in 2022
Restaurant level operating margin* was 26.2%, an increase of 230 basis points
Diluted earnings per share was $44.34, a 38.4% increase from $32.04 in 2022
We opened 271 new restaurants, of which 238 included a “Chipotlane,” our digital order drive thru pickup lane
We remain focused on cultivating an environment where our employees can thrive and deliver great culinary and strong in-restaurant execution. We also made strategic investments in our long-term future by forming our first international partnership, leveraging and amplifying our use of technology, and investing in companies that are innovating and disrupting the agriculture and restaurant markets.
We are proud of our financial performance in 2023 and reporting functions, Mr. Hartung also oversees IT; safety, securitythe momentum we are building for our future strategic growth, while at the same time maintaining cultural relevance among our employees and risk;guests. We are a performance-driven company, and our 2023 financial results drove the payouts under Chipotle’s 2023 annual incentive plan (“AIP”) and 2021 performance share unit (“PSU”) awards described on the following pages. We believe there is a strong connection between our financial results and shareholder returns. The corresponding robust goals that we set under our incentive plans help to ensure high performance for one drives high performance for all.
In the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section that follows, we provide further details about Chipotle’s compensation philosophy and benefits. Mr. Hartung joined Chipotle after spending 18 years at McDonald’s where he held a varietydecisions that this Committee believes clearly link executive pay delivery to company and individual performance, support continued growth and align the interests of management positions, most recently as Vice Presidentour leaders with our employees, guests and Chief Financial Officer of its Partner Brands Group. Mr. Hartung has a Bachelor of Science degree in accountingshareholders.
Compensation, People and economics as well as an MBA from Illinois State University.

Mark Crumpacker, 53, was appointed Chief Marketing Officer in January 2009 and as Chief Development Officer in October 2013, and on March 12, 2015, his title was changed to Chief Creative and Development Officer. From December 2002 until December 2008 Mr. Crumpacker was Creative Director for Sequence, LLC, a strategic design and marketing consulting firm he co-founded in 2002, and prior to that served as creative director and in other leadership roles for a variety of design and media companies. Mr. Crumpacker attended the University of Colorado and received his B.F.A. from the Art College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Culture Committee:
Patricia Fili-Krushel, Chair
Gregg Engles
Laura Fuentes
*
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Appendix A includes a reconciliation of restaurant level operating margin to the most directly comparable measure reported under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.


Executive Officers and Compensation

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COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS


This Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”) describes the objectives and principles underlying our executive compensation programs,program, outlines the material elements of the compensation of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Chief Financial and Administrative Officer (“CFAO”), and our three next most highly compensated executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2023 (collectively, “NEOs”), and explains the Compensation, People and Culture Committee’s determinations as todecisions regarding the actual2023 compensation of our executive officers for 2015.NEOs. In addition, this Compensation Discussion and AnalysisCD&A is intended to put into perspective the tables and related narratives which follow it regarding the compensation of our executive officers.

NEOs that appear after the CD&A.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Our 2023 NEOs and their titles are:
Brian Niccol, Chairman and CEO
Jack Hartung, CFAO
Curt Garner, Chief Customer and Technology Officer
Chris Brandt, Chief Brand Officer
Scott Boatwright, Chief Operating Officer
2023 Performance Overview
We delivered outstanding performance in 2023 as we surpassed $3 million in average unit volumes (AUVs) driven by strong transaction growth fueled by our focus on throughput and successful menu innovation. We also opened a record number of new restaurants, including our 800th Chipotlane, and formed our first international partnership. Looking forward, we believe we are well positioned to pursue our long-term growth opportunities. As a performance-driven company, our outstanding 2023 financial results resulted in over 200% payouts under Chipotle’s 2023 annual incentive plan (“AIP”) and a 278% payout under the 2021 performance share unit (“PSU”) awards, which are described in this section.
Financial Achievements and Shareholder Value Creation
+$23.9 billion
3-year market cap growth
18%
3-year total annualized
shareholder return
$3.0 million
AUVs at year end

Letter

$9.9 billion
Total revenue, a 14.3% growth year-over-year
7.9%
Comparable restaurant
sales growth
$44.34
Adjusted diluted earnings per share, a 38.4% increase from 2022

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We believe there is a strong connection between our financial results and shareholder returns.





Strategic
Operational
Brand Purpose
 We have made early-stage investments in seven strategically aligned companies in the agriculture and restaurant spaces that further our
mission to Cultivate a Better World.
 We delivered 40 strategic priority technology programs, including re-platforming our rewards program, real time comparable data and dashboards, supply chain Distribution Center visibility, Crew Support Portal and refunds reduction functionality, and over 400 digital features and
enhancements.
 Improved our restaurant service throughput, and increased digital order accuracy and timeliness.
 We continue to develop and test automation to enhance employee and guest experiences, such as Hyphen, our automated digital make line, and Autocado, which cuts, cores and scoops avocados.
 We opened a record 271 new restaurants, of which 238 included a “Chipotlane,” our digital order pick-up
lane.
 In 2023, we had more than 24,000 internal promotions, including 100% of U.S. based Regional Vice Presidents, 87% of Team Directors,
and 87% of Field Leaders.
 In 2023, Fortune ranked Chipotle second in the food service industry on its list of World’s Most Admired companies. We also received external recognition for creating cultural equity for employees from the Compensation CommitteeAmerican Opportunity Index, Bloomberg (Gender Equality Index), Forbes (Best Brands for Social Impact), Fortune (500, America’s Most Innovative Companies), Human Rights Campaign (Corporate Equality Index), Investor’s Business Daily (100 Best ESG Companies), JUST Capital (America’s Most Just Companies), Latino Leaders (Best Places to Work for Latinos), Newsweek (Excellence 1000 Index) and TIME (100 Most
Influential Companies).
 We successfully drove sales with several limited time menu items - returning fan favorite Carne Asada, new Chicken Al Pastor and customer inspired Fajita Quesadilla.
 We generated over $15.6 million in Round Up for Real Change donations for a variety of non-profits, including Kids in Need, Folds of Honor, The Trevor Project, Asian American & Pacific Islander Engagement Fund, American Red Cross, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, and Project 10X: LISC’s
Initiative for Racial Equity.
 We achieved greater energy efficiency with purposeful design solutions in our Board restaurants that should result in over $1 million dollars
of Directors

cost savings.

 We donated $99.5 million in support of 362,660 local community
fundraisers from 2006-2023.
 We donated over 327,000 pounds of food to local organizations in 2023.

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2023 Advisory “Say on Pay” Vote on Executive Compensation and Shareholder Outreach
64% shares
32% shares

Dear Fellow Shareholder,

2015 was a year marked by both highs and lows. On August 5th,

Shareholders Contacted before the price of our common stock reached an all-time high of $758.61 per share. However, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, a number of food-borne illness incidents associated2024 Annual
Meeting
Shareholders that Engaged with Chipotle restaurants, and related negative publicity, had a severe adverse impact on our sales and profitability. As a result of these business challenges, our stock price declined significantly.

Notwithstanding these challenges, Chipotle has been one of the great successes in the restaurant industry. The Compensation Committee and our Board of Directors continue to believe that our innovative company is led by talented entrepreneurs and visionaries. We have the utmost confidence in the abilities of this team to rebuild the shareholder value that was lost in late 2015 and early 2016, and to continue to grow the value of Chipotle.

As we wrote last year, the Compensation Committee believes the best way to drive outstanding shareholder value creation at Chipotle is to design compensation programs that motivate the unique entrepreneurial and innovative drive of our management team. These programs should reward success when the management team’s efforts build shareholder value, and limit compensation when shareholder value declines and/or goals are not achieved. We have a history of demonstrating aligned pay for performance. Consistent with that history, due to the challenges and performance for 2015, our executive officers were not paid any cash bonuses for the year.

To respond to our 2014 say-on-pay vote, in early 2015 we engaged in significant outreach with shareholders representing about one-half of our outstanding stock. As a result, we made changes to our executive compensation structure including a new equity program. Specifically, we introduced and awarded performance shares with challenging relative metrics, including shareholder return, in lieu of the SOSARs we had previously used. Based on the shareholder outreach and these changes, our 2015 say-on-pay proposal was overwhelming approved by shareholders with over 95% support.

In light of the challenges faced by our company beginning in late 2015, the Compensation Committee reviewed the measures used in our new equity program to ensure that they continued to be appropriate. We had concerns that using 2015 year-end financials or stock price at the beginning of 2016 as the basis for relative performance evaluation for a 2016 performance share program could create a misalignment of shareholder returns and executive officer compensation. More specifically, we recognized that performance against the 2015 metrics might not translate into restoring lost shareholder value. In early 2016, we discussed some of these issues and potential equity program changes with our largest shareholders.

Following those discussions and additional analysis, for 2016, the performance shares will be solely tied to highly challenging absolute stock price performance goals over a three-year performance period that we believe aligns executive officer compensation with restoring shareholder value, and motivates the management team to further enhance value to our owners. The committee considered alternative performance metrics to be used for the 2016 performance shares, but ultimately concluded that restoring lost shareholder value was paramount. The 2016 performance share grant is discussed in greater detail below.

The members of the Compensation Committee would like to thank the shareholders with whom we spoke for their insights and candor. We value the support and input of our shareholders, and we look forward to continuing to have an open dialogue.

Neil Flanzraich, Lead Director and Chair of the Compensation Committee

Darlene Friedman

Pat Flynn

Us

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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Objectives

Each year we carefully consider both the level of voting support from our shareholders on our say on pay advisory vote proposal, as well as feedback from our engagement with shareholders, when evaluating our executive compensation program. As in prior years, in late 2023 and early 2024 we proactively reached out to our largest shareholders to engage on a variety of topics including executive compensation, talent management, environmental and sustainability matters and corporate governance matters. This year, shareholders representing over 30% of our outstanding shares accepted our invitation to engage. Executive officers and other senior members of our People Experience/Human Resources, Legal, Corporate Secretary, Sustainability and Investor Relations teams participated in these meetings, and our Lead Independent Director and the Chair of our Compensation, Program

The overarching objective ofPeople and Culture Committee participated in meetings as requested. Shareholders generally expressed support for our executive compensation program isand the recent addition of Laura Fuentes to motivate our entrepreneurial and innovative management team to create long-term shareholder value. Our success is driven by our people and their commitment to our brand. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for designing and administering pay structures to achieve this objective. The committee considers multiple factors to ensurethe Compensation, People and Culture Committee, and our discussion largely focused on sustainability and human capital management matters.

At the 2023 Annual Meeting, over 96% of the votes cast supported our “say on pay” advisory vote proposal, which we believe demonstrates that ourshareholders strongly support Chipotle’s executive compensation programs are highly motivating, shareholder-aligned, and competitive with peer companies.

Executive Compensation Program Components and Structures

Ourprogram. In evaluating our executive compensation program is comprisedfor 2024, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee and the full Board considered the 2023 say on pay results as well as common themes that emerged from our shareholder engagement meetings and determined that no significant refinements were needed to the executive compensation program. The Compensation, People and Culture Committee has taken all feedback from shareholders under advisement and will continue to solicit shareholder feedback, consider input from our independent compensation consultant and consider the outcomes of three primary components:

future “say on pay” advisory vote proposals when assessing our executive compensation program and policies and making compensation decisions regarding our executive officers.
Alignment of Executive Compensation with Shareholder Interests
What We Do
What We Don’t Do
BASE SALARYANNUAL CASH BONUSEQUITY COMPENSATION
Determined subjectively each year based on each executive’s contributions, individual performance, and level of experience.Determined under our company-wide Annual Incentive Plan, or AIP, which provides for variable payouts based on achievement against operating and financial performance goals approved by the committee at the beginning of each year, as well as subjective evaluations of individual performance.

Aligns the incentives

Maintain a performance-driven compensation philosophy where a significant portion of our executive officerscompensation is variable, at-risk pay.
Employ an annual long-term incentive (LTI) plan based predominantly on performance-based equity awards that fully vest over a minimum of 36 months.
Align our executive compensation with achieving meaningful financial, operational and individual goals that drive shareholder value.
Design our executive compensation program to align with shareholder interests, and rewards the creation of shareholder value.

•   For 2015, following the say-on-pay vote registered at our 2014 annual meeting of shareholders and extensive dialogue with investors, we introduced a new equity program for our executive officers consisting solely of performance share awards with vesting based on relative achievement of three differentby using multiple incentive plan performance measures, versus our restaurant industry peer group.

•   For 2016, following significantrobust executive stock price declines in late 2015 and early 2016, and after significant additional dialogue with investors, we introduced a different structure for the performance share awards than we used in 2015, with vesting of the 2016 awards to be based on restoration of shareholder value to approximate levels achieved prior to the food-borne illness issues that impacted us in the latter half of 2015.

Base salary decisions for 2015 we discussed beginning on page 47As discussed further on page 49, no payouts were made to the executive officers under the AIP for 2015Further details regarding 2015 and 2016 equity compensation awards can be found beginning on page 50.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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The Compensation Committee implements these components in a manner designed to place performance at the forefront of our overall executive compensation program. This is illustrated in the following graphics, which reflect the heavy emphasis placed on at-risk, performance-based pay elements (based on 2015 compensation, including annual base salary rate, target AIP bonus and grant date value of equity compensation awards):

LOGOLOGO
LOGOLOGO

Financial Highlights for 2015

Although we continued to grow our business in 2015, the challenges we faced in the second half of the year adversely impacted our sales and income growth as compared to past years.

   ANNUAL COMPANY PERFORMANCE 
   TOTAL
RESTAURANTS
   INCREASE FROM
PRIOR YEAR
   SALES
(000’s)
   INCREASE FROM
PRIOR YEAR
   NET
INCOME
(000’s)
   INCREASE FROM
PRIOR YEAR
 

2015

   2,010     13  $4,501,223     10  $475,602     7

2014

   1,783     12  $4,108,269     28  $445,374     36

2013

   1,595     13  $3,214,591     18  $327,438     18

2012

   1,410     15  $2,731,224     20  $278,000     29

2011

   1,230     13  $2,269,548     24  $214,945     20

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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Notwithstanding our disappointing 2015, ourownership guidelines, long-term performance relative to our restaurant industry peer group (the composition of which is further described below under “Overview of Executive Compensation Decisions - Market Data”) has been consistently strong. Our sales and net income growth have been in the top quartile of the peer group for each of the three, five and seven year periods ended December 31, 2015. Our total shareholder return over most of those periods was also strong, but was significantly impacted in 2015 by the decline in our stock price following the food-borne illness incidents. The following chart shows our relative performance in each of these areas as a percentile of the peer group, computed based on the compound annual growth rate of each measure (for the periods greater than one year).

Performance Versus Peer Group - One, Three, Five and Seven Year Periods Ended December 31, 2015

LOGO

Key Outcomes and Changes Related to Executive Officer Compensation for 2015 and 2016

To respond to our 2014 say-on-pay vote, in early 2015 we engaged in significant dialogue with shareholders representing about one-half of our outstanding stock. As a result, we made changes to our executive compensation structure including a new equity program, as follows:

2015 equity compensation awards were denominated in performance shares (previously SOSARs were the primary equity compensation vehicle), with performance criteria comprised of three metrics based on relative performance versus our restaurant-industry peers.

2015 equity grant values decreased by 49.2% for our Co-CEOs and 24.5% (on average) for our other executive officers versus 2014 equity grant values.

Although we continued to grow our business in 2015, the challenges we faced in the second half of the year resulted in the following:

No annual incentive bonuses were paid for 2015 performance.

2016 performance share awards are tied solely to highly challenging absolute stock price performance goals over a three-year performance period, which we believe aligns executive officer compensation with the restoration of shareholder value and motivates the management team to further enhance value to our owners.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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Co-CEO Pay for 2014 and 2015

The chart below compares the total direct compensation of our Co-CEOs for 2014 and 2015. Total direct compensation consists of base salary plus actual AIP payout plus grant date fair value of equity compensation awards. As shown in the chart, total direct compensation of the Co-CEOs dropped significantly year-over-year as a result of the lower value of the 2015 equity compensation awards and no AIP bonuses being paid for 2015.

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SIGNIFICANT COMPENSATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES
We pay for performance; the vast majority of total compensation is tied to performance measures or stock price performance.
We use multiple performance metrics, multi-year vesting schedules, and/or performance goals requiring sustained stock price performance, thus limiting unnecessary or excessive risk-taking.
We do not have “single trigger” provisionsand minimum three-year periods for full vesting on annual LTI awards.
Conduct extensive shareholder engagement on executive compensation, corporate governance and sustainability related matters. Carefully consider the acceleration of vesting of outstanding equity awards following a change in control.
We do not have employment agreements with our officers, so have no “golden parachute” obligationsannual “say on pay” vote result and solicit and respond to make cash change-in-control or severance payments, or to provide tax gross-ups on any such payments.

Equity awards provide forshareholder feedback.

Maintain a clawback policy that once regulatory requirements are finalized, will allow forenables the recovery of previously paid equityBoard to recoup incentive compensation paid or awarded to an executive officer if it was based on financial results that subsequently were restated, and also to cause forfeiture of an executive officer’s compensation if they engaged in egregious conduct that is substantially detrimental to the event of a financial restatement.

company.
We have robust stock ownership guidelines for our officers and directors.
We do not allow
No hedging, pledging or pledging of sharesshort sales of Chipotle common stock.
We do not repricestock and no holding Chipotle common stock in margin accounts by executive officer or directors.
No stock option or stock appreciation right repricing, reloads or exchanges and no stock options or stock appreciation rights.
We engage anrights granted below market value without shareholder approval.
No single trigger acceleration of equity awards in connection with a change in control.
No excessive executive perquisites or benefits.
No additional work for or on behalf of management is allowed for the independent compensation consultant to advise the Compensation, Committee, which is comprised solely of independent directors.People and Culture Committee.
No fixed term or evergreen employment agreements with executives.

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Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

Our philosophy with regard to the compensation of our employees, including our executive officers, is to reinforce the importance of performance and accountability at the corporate, regional and individual levels.

We strive to provide our employeesexecutive officers with meaningful rewards while maintaining alignment with shareholder interests, corporate values, and important management initiatives. In setting and overseeing the compensation of our executive

officers, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee believes our compensation philosophy to be best effectuated by designing compensation programs and policies toshould achieve the following specific objectives:

Attracting, motivating,Position our target total direct compensation (base salary, target annual incentive bonus opportunity and retaining highly capabletarget LTI opportunity) at a level where we can successfully recruit and retain industry leading talent critical to shaping and executing our business strategy and creating long-term value for our shareholders.

Align relative realized pay with relative performance versus peers by emphasizing long-term equity over short-term cash and performance-based compensation over time-vested compensation.
Differentiate compensation among executives who are vital to our short- and long-term success, profitability, and growth;

based on actual performance.

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AligningAlign the interests of our executives and shareholders by rewarding executives for the achievement of strategicfinancial, operational, and otherstrategic goals that we believe will enhance long-term shareholder value;value.

Executive Compensation Program Components and

Structures
Our ongoing annual executive compensation program is comprised of three primary components:
Base Salary
Annual Incentive Plan
Equity Compensation
Purpose: Attract and retain executives and provide a competitive fixed, compensation element.
Key features: Determined based on the position’s importance within Chipotle and impact on the business, the executive’s experience, and external market data.
Purpose: Incentivize achievement of annual financial, operating, brand purpose and individual goals.
Key features: Our 2023 AIP provides for variable cash payouts based on achievement against quantitative operating, financial performance and brand purpose goals approved by the Committee at the beginning of each year, as well as evaluations of performance against individual goals and objectives. Payouts may be reduced based on food safety performance.
Purpose: Align the incentives of our executive officers with shareholder interests and reward the creation of shareholder value.
Key features: Our LTI mix for 2023 was 60% PSUs with a three-year performance period, 20% seven-year term stock only stock appreciation rights (“SOSARs”) that vest in two equal installments on the 2nd and 3rd anniversaries of the grant date, and 20% in either SOSARs or restricted stock units (“RSUs”), at the executive’s election, that vest in two equal installments on the 2nd and 3rd anniversaries of the grant date. For 2023, most executives elected to receive SOSARs, resulting in LTI value being granted 60% in PSUs and 40% in SOSARs.

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Differentiating executive rewards based on actual performance.

Most OF OUR Executive Compensation is Variable, At-Risk Pay

The committee believes that these objectives are most effectively advanced when

Consistent with our performance-driven compensation philosophy, the Committee allocates a significant portion of our executive officers’ total compensation to variable, at-risk pay elements (performance-based AIP and LTI awards), as illustrated below. As an employee’s responsibilities and ability to affect our financial results increases, base salary becomes a smaller component of his or her total compensation. In 2023, our target variable, at-risk pay comprised 93% of our CEO’s compensation and 88% of our other NEO’s compensation.

(1)
Pie charts show 2023 target total direct compensation, which consists of base salary, target bonus payout, and LTI granted during fiscal 2023. Consistent with disclosure in the 2023 Summary Compensation Table, LTI awards are reported at grant date fair value (which, for PSUs, is based on the target number of shares subject to the award).
Factors in Setting Executive Officer Pay
The Compensation, People and Culture Committee sets compensation for the executive officers annually after considering the following factors:
Chipotle’s performance relative to goals approved by the Committee and strategic objectives set by the Board
Each executive officer’s experience, knowledge, skills and personal contributions
Levels of compensation for similar jobs at market reference points
The business climate in the restaurant industry, general economic conditions and other market factors
Compensation levels of Chipotle’s non-officer employees
With respect to the CEO, at the beginning of each year, the Committee reviews and approves the overall corporate objectives that apply to the AIP and LTI, and reviews and approves the CEO’s individual performance goals. After the end of the year, the Committee evaluates the CEO’s performance against those goals and determines the CEO’s compensation based on its evaluation. The Committee also certifies the company’s achievement against the overall corporate objectives established for the year.
For other executive officers, the CEO makes recommendations to the Committee about their compensation after reviewing Chipotle’s overall performance, achievement by each executive officer’s overallofficer of his or her individual performance goals and personal contributions to the company’s success. The Committee is responsible for reviewing the CEO’s recommendations and setting and approving compensation is in the formfor all executive officers.
As part of at-risk elements such as incentive bonuses and long-term incentive-based compensation, which should be structured to closely align compensation with actual performance and shareholder interests.

The committee’s philosophy in structuringits review of executive compensation, rewards is that performance should take into consideration our company performance in comparison to market-wide performance in our industry,the CEO and the Compensation, People and Culture Committee review historical pay for each executive officer (including the CEO), as well as a subjective evaluation oftheir accumulated equity, which are used as reference points to assist the Committee in understanding the overall compensation opportunity and realized pay provided to each executive officer’s performance. See “– Overviewofficer.

At the same time that the Committee is considering executive officer compensation, it also reviews and approves key elements of Executive Compensation Determinations – Market Data” below.

In structuringthe compensation plan for non-executive officers, including (i) the plan design for the AIP for all eligible employees, (ii) the LTI grant guidelines by employee level, which contains details on grant ranges, LTI vehicle mix and approving our executiveemployee participation rates, and (iii) the total value of the share pools for the annual LTI grants to non-executive officer employees. The Committee also reviews, but does not approve, a summary of pay grades, salary ranges and target annual and equity incentive values for all non-executive officer employees.

The typical process is for the Committee to be presented with and to review the above information during one Committee meeting, and then formally approve compensation programs, as well as policiesactions at the subsequent Committee meeting, which gives the Committee the opportunity to consider the totality of the Company’s compensation practices, request additional information or seek clarifications, and procedures relating todiscuss the proposed compensation throughout our company, the committee also considers risks that may be inherent in such programs, policies and procedures. The committee has determined that it is not reasonably likely that our compensation programs, policies and procedures will have a material adverse effect on our company.

Overview of Executive Compensation Determinations

In setting compensation for our executive officers, the committee assesses numerous factors, including the following primary considerations:

company performance, focusing in particular on our sales growth, net income growth and total shareholder return in relation to other companies in our industry over the prior one, three and five years;

plan before final approval.

individual officer performance, including discussions with our Co-Chief Executive Officers regarding the


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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMITTEE, COMPENSATION CONSULTANT AND THE CEO IN SETTING EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION
Responsible Party
Role and Responsibilities
Compensation, People and
Culture Committee
The Committee is currently comprised of three independent directors and reports to the Board.
 Retains an independent consultant to assist it in evaluating compensation and fulfilling its obligations as set forth in its charter.
 Works with the CEO to set performance goals at the beginning of each year targeted at positively incentivizing long-term shareholder value creation.
 Evaluates CEO performance in relation to those goals and Chipotle’s overall performance and sets the compensation for our CEO.
 Determines and approves compensation for our other executive officers.
 Reviews and approves overall compensation philosophy and strategy, as well as all compensation and benefits programs in which our executive officers participate, including the AIP and LTI plan designs and awards.
 Approves applicable peer group and broader market data as reference points to help inform determination on NEO pay levels and program design.
 Conducts an annual assessment of potential compensation-related risks to Chipotle and oversees policies and practices to mitigate such risk, including performance-based incentive arrangements below the executive level.
 Engages with shareholders and other stakeholders as requested to receive input on executive compensation matters.
Independent Consultant to the
Compensation, People and Culture
Committee
The Committee retains an independent compensation consultant to provide advice on matters of governance and executive compensation.
 Provides advice and opinion on the appropriateness and competitiveness of our compensation program relative to market practice, our strategy and internal processes, and compensation-related risk mitigation.
 Provides advice regarding compensation decision-making governance.
 Provides market data, as requested.
 Performs additional functions at the direction of the Committee.
 Attends Committee meetings and consults on various compensation matters, as reflected in the Committee’s charter.
 Confers with the Committee at and between meetings and in executive session, and, at the direction of the Committee, select members of the company’s management team on defined compensation-related matters.
CEO
Makes recommendations for compensation of other executive officers and, private meetings inwith the support of other members of the management team, including the internal compensation and benefits team, all employees generally.
 Works with the other executive sessionofficers to discussrecommend performance goals at the beginning of each year that are targeted at positively incentivizing shareholder value creation, with enterprise level performance goals reviewed and approved by the Compensation, People and Culture Committee.
 Reviews performance of the Co-Chief Executive Officers;

other executive officers and makes recommendations to the Committee with respect to their compensation.

 Confers with the Committee concerning design and development of compensation and benefit plans for Chipotle executive officers and employees.

each executive officer’s individual circumstances, including tally sheet information reflecting the cashRole of Market Data and equity-based compensation paid to each executive officer in each year since the officer started work with us (or since 1998 in the case of Mr. Ells, our ChairmanOur Peer Group

Market Data and Co-Chief Executive Officer), as well as the accumulated value of all cashImpact on 2023 Pay Levels
The Compensation, People and equity-based compensation awarded to each executive officer; and

competitive market pay practices.

The committee does not “benchmark” the compensation of our executive officers in the traditional sense. Rather, the committee refers to market data on executive compensation, and approves individual compensation levels by reference to its assessment of market compensation, together with historical compensation levels, subjective assessments of individual performance and other subjective factors. This is described further under “– Market Data” below.

The committee’s outside compensation consultant also provides input on compensation decisions, including providing comparisons to market levels of compensation

Market Data

The committeeCulture Committee believes the investment community generally assesses our company performance by reference to a peer group composed primarily of other companies in the restaurant industry and other high-growth hospitality and digitally enabled, customer-oriented companies. The Committee and management recognize that the talent pool for executives is broader than the restaurant industry and, for that reason, chose to include other non-restaurant consumer focused companies in our management team and Board also reference suchcompensation peer company performance in analyzing and evaluatinggroup, although most of our business. Accordingly, evaluating compensation by reference to our relative performance against, and levels of executive compensation at, companiespeers are in the restaurant industry allowsand hospitality industries.

Each year, the Committee’s independent compensation consultant provides the Committee with pay data for executive officer roles and the most meaningful comparisonsincentive plan structures of the companies in our actual performance againstpeer group, which the Committee considers in setting pay levels and determining pay design for executive officers. This peer group data is only one factor considered by the Committee in setting executive compensation each year.
In setting 2023 pay levels, in addition to peer group data, the Committee also considered our peersprogress on achieving our strategic objectives, current target compensation opportunities, internal equity, the value of outstanding equity awards and the overall design of our executive compensation programs and practices against competitive market practice. The committee further believes that this ensures that compensation packages forprogram. We believe our executive officers are structured in a manner rewarding superior operatingcompensation program has consistently demonstrated strong alignment with financial performance and the creation of shareholder value.

value creation.

44  

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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LOGO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The restaurant peer group used

2023 Peer Group
In identifying companies for these purposes has generally been comprised of all publicly-traded companies in the Global Industry Classification Standard, or GICS, restaurant industry with annual revenues greater than $500 million, excluding companies serving a substantially different market or client base than we do. At the time the committee made its initial executive compensation decisions for 2015, the companies includedpotential inclusion in the peer group, werethe Compensation, People and Culture Committee used the following criteria:
Category
Criteria
General
���
 Publicly traded (not a subsidiary)
 U.S. based (not a foreign issuer)
Industry / Business Focus
 Restaurants
 Other Consumer Discretionary: Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods, Hotel, Resorts & Cruise Line, Internet & Direct Marketing Retail, and Specialty Stores industries
Size
 Restaurants: 0.25x to 4.0x Chipotle revenue and 12-month average market cap
 Other Consumer Discretionary: 0.3 – 3.33x Chipotle revenue and 12-month average market cap
Other
 For Other Consumer Discretionary companies, a focus on technology-enabled consumer businesses and high growth companies
We include in our peer group both direct restaurant peers as follows:

COMPANY  2015 ANNUAL REVENUES(1)(2)   MARKET CAPITALIZATION(1)(3) 
Biglari Holdings, Inc.  $861    $673  
BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.  $920    $1,096  
Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.  $4,378    $2,024  
Bob Evans Farms, Inc.  $1,336    $811  
Brinker International, Inc.  $3,100    $2,856  
Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc.  $1,813    $3,040  
Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc.  $823    $411  
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated  $2,101    $2,181  
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.  $2,861    $3,036  
Darden Restaurants, Inc.  $6,905    $8,155  
DineEquity Inc.  $681    $1,578  
Domino’s Pizza Inc.  $811    $3,945  
Dunkin Brands Group, Inc.  $2,118    $6,079  
Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc.  $664    $893  
Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc.  $830    $110  
Jack In The Box Inc.  $1,540    $2,746  
McDonald’s Corp.  $25,413    $108,480  
Panera Bread Company  $2,682    $5,206  
Papa John’s International Inc.  $1,637    $2,180 ��
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.  $1,258    $860  
Ruby Tuesday, Inc.  $1,123    $341  
Sonic Corp.  $612    $1,594  
Starbucks Corporation  $19,733    $89,132  
Texas Roadhouse Inc.  $1,807    $2,509  
The Wendy’s Company  $1,956    $2,945  
Yum! Brands, Inc.  $13,105    $31,502  
Median  $1,722    $2,345  
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.  $4,501    $14,676  

well as non-restaurant companies that have some combination of high brand recognition, attractive growth opportunities, strong customer service and technology-enabled operations, which align with Chipotle’s continued focus on customer service and operational excellence. For 2023, the Committee determined to remove Wayfair Inc. due to lack of alignment on the size criteria, and add Airbnb, Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc. as high-growth technology-enabled consumer services companies.
Chipotle’s revenues rank at the 35th percentile of this peer group, and our market capitalization ranks at the 64th percentile of this peer group (as of December 31, 2023), which confirmed for the Committee that this peer group is appropriate in generally reflecting comparable organizational size and related complexity.
Data provided by S&P Capital IQ; $ in millions
Company Name
Revenues(1)
Market Cap(2)
Airbnb, Inc.
$9,917
$87,256
Booking Holdings Inc.
$21,365
$123,762
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
$11,013
$19,768
Domino’s Pizza, Inc.
$4,479
$14,379
DoorDash, Inc.
$8,635
$39,379
eBay Inc.
$10,112
$22,639
Expedia Group, Inc.
$12,839
$21,076
Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.
$10,235
$46,695
Lululemon Athletica Inc.
$9,186
$64,520
McDonald’s Corporation
$25,494
$215,071
Restaurant Brands International Inc.
$7,022
$24,379
Starbucks Corporation
$36,687
$109,135
Uber Technologies, Inc.
$37,281
$126,702
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
$10,880
$23,795
YUM! Brands, Inc.
$7,076
$36,625
Peer Group Median
$10,235
$39,379
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
$9,872
$62,765
Percent Rank
35%
64%
(1)
In millions.Reflects revenue for each peer company’s most recent fiscal year end as of March 5, 2024, the date of this analysis. For Darden Restaurants, Lululemon, Starbucks, and Ulta Beauty, reflects trailing twelve months as reported by Standard & Poor’s on March 5, 2024, because these companies do not operate on a calendar fiscal year.

(2)
Based on reported trailing 12-month revenue asAs of December 31, 2015.2023.

(3)Based on closing stock price as of December 31, 2015 and number of shares known to be outstanding as of that date.

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The committeeCommittee reviews the composition of the restaurant industry peer group periodically and will makemakes adjustments to the peer group in response to changes in the size, or business operations and/or strategic focus, mergers and acquisitions, and companies becoming public. In September 2023, the Committee decided for purposes of Chipotle and of companies in2024 compensation to expand the peer group companies in the peer group being acquired or taken private,to 16 and other companies in the GICS restaurant industry becoming public.

added Marriott International, Inc. without removing any companies.

Data drawn from the restaurant peer group is adjusted by using regression analysis to eliminate variations in compensation levels attributable to differences in size of the component companies, based on revenues and on market capitalization. Compensation Strategies, the committee’s independent executive compensation consultant prior to September 2015, performed this analysis at the time of compensation decisions made for 2015.

2023 EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PROGRAM

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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LOGO

Components of Compensation

Base Salaries

We pay a base salary to compensate our executive officers to compensate them for services rendered during the year and also to provide them with income regardlessa fixed level of our stock price performance, which helps avoid incentivesincome. The Committee reviews the executive officers’ base salaries at least annually and makes adjustments as it deems appropriate.
Our CEO makes recommendations to create short-term stock price fluctuations and mitigates the impact of forces beyond our control such as general economic and stock market conditions. We do not have written employment agreements with anyCommittee for base salaries of our executive officers (other than for himself). The Committee reviews and therefore do not have contractual commitments to pay any particular level of base salary. Rather,approves the committee reviews theCEO’s base salary ofand any changes each executive officer at least annually and adjusts salary levels as the committee deems necessary or appropriate, based on the recommendations of our Co-Chief Executive Officers for each of the other officers. Baseyear. Adjustments to base salaries, areif any, typically adjustedoccur during the first quarter of each year. For 2023, after an extensive review of market data, the Committee approved salary increases for the NEOs to better align with competitive market levels and our desired compensation philosophy. The committee’s philosophy is to administer2023 base salaries in a range around the 50th percentile of the market, while also taking into account an individual’s performance, experience, development and potential, and internal equity issues. for our NEOs were as follows:
Base Salaries(1)
Executive Officer
2023
2022
% Change
Brian Niccol
$1,300,000
$1,250,000
4%
Jack Hartung
$865,000
$865,000
0%
Curt Garner
$780,000
$750,000
4%
Chris Brandt
$725,000
$695,000
4%
Scott Boatwright
$605,000(2)
$565,000
7%
(1)
2023 salaries were effective February 13, 2023 and therefore may not match the salary numbers in the 2023 Summary Compensation Table.
(2)
Mr. Boatwright’s base salary was increased to $650,000, effective October 2023, to reflect his expanded responsibilities and as an internal equity adjustment to better align his compensation with the other NEOs and newly hired executives.
Annual Incentive Plan (AIP)
The committee anticipates that this range could extend from the 25th percentile and below for executive officers newer to their role, in a developmental period, or not meeting expectations, to the 90th percentile or higher for truly exceptional performers in critical roles who consistently exceed expectations. The current base salaries ofAIP is our officers are at the high end of this range, due to their proven ability to drive consistently strong business performance.

The base salaries set for the executive officers for 2015 are discussed below under “– Discussion of Executive Officer Compensation Decisions – Base Salaries.”

Annual Incentives

We have designed, and the Compensation Committee oversees, an annual performance-based cash bonusincentive program for all of our full-time regional and corporatecertain bonus eligible employees, including our executive officers. We call this programofficers, and payout is based on the extent of our “Annual Incentive Plan,”achievement against predetermined performance factors. The 2023 AIP had two performance factors: a company performance factor (“CPF”) weighted 75%, and an individual performance factor (“IPF”) weighted 25% and is subject to a quantitative Brand Purpose modifier that can increase or “AIP.” Bonusesdecrease the overall AIP payout by 15%. The Brand Purpose modifier has three pillars – food & animals, people and environment – and a 5% weight is assigned to each pillar. There is also a cap on the maximum earnout for the IPF based on the level of CPF achievement to help ensure that individual achievement under the IPF is aligned with business and operating performance.

The total AIP payout remains subject to a food safety modifier that can reduce (but not increase) the bonus by as much as -20%. Chipotle is committed to food safety and strong food safety performance is an expectation, therefore our executive officers cannot earn a higher bonus for strong food safety performance.

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The graphic below illustrates the AIP calculation, including the weighting of the CPF and IPF and the Brand Purpose modifier, with a potential reduction under the food safety modifier:

Performance Metrics
Company Performance Factor (CPF)
Brand Purpose Modifier

40%
Comparable
Restaurant
Sales

40%
Restaurant
Cash Flow
Margin

20% Site
Assessment
Requests

Pillar 1:
Food &
Animals (5%)

Pillar 2:
People (5%)

Pillar 3:
Environment
(5%)
Payout for the CPF and IPF and for total AIP can range from 0% up to a maximum of 275% of the target level. For the 2023 AIP, any payout above 200% of the target level was paid in the form of RSUs that vest in two equal installments on the 2nd and 3rd anniversaries of the grant date, subject to the executive officer’s continued service through the applicable vesting date.
Target Bonus Opportunities
Each executive officer’s target opportunity under the AIP is expressed as a percentage of base salary. For 2023, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee approved an increase in the target opportunity for our CEO (who did not receive an increase in 2022, unlike other NEOs) to better align with competitive market levels and maintain our desired pay for performance compensation philosophy. All other NEO target bonus opportunities remain unchanged from 2022.
AIP Targets (% of Base Salary)
NEO
2023
2022
% Change
Brian Niccol
200%
180%
20%
Jack Hartung
110%
110%
0%
Curt Garner
100%
100%
0%
Chris Brandt
90%
90%
0%
Scott Boatwright
90%
90%
0%
Company Performance Factor (CPF)
For 2023, the Committee utilized the same CPF metrics and weightings as in 2022, which they believe are the critical financial and operational objectives that will drive Chipotle’s continued growth and profitability: 40% comparable restaurant sales (“CRS”) growth, which is the change in sales year-over-year for restaurants open for at least 13 full calendar months at the end of 2023; 40% restaurant cash flow (“RCF”) margin %, which is cash flow generated at the restaurant level resulting from restaurant sales minus all costs incurred to run the restaurant divided by total restaurant sales; and 20% site assessment requests (“SARs”), which is a measure of our inventory for new restaurants over the next 18 – 24 months.

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2023 target goals for the three financial objectives that comprise the CPF were approved by the Compensation, People and Culture Committee at the beginning of 2023. The Committee established a target performance range for the CRS and RCF metrics. Achievement within the target range for CRS or RCF or at the target level for SARs would yield a CPF of 100%, equating to payout at the target level. For achievement of the CPF above or below the target level, the payout is adjusted based on actual performance up to a maximum of 275% or down to 0%.
As shown in the chart below, in 2023 Chipotle’s performance was above target on all three metrics, which resulted in a CPF of 215%.
CPF Performance Goals
Metric
Weighting
Threshold
Performance
Target
Performance
Maximum
Performance
2023
Actual
Results
CRS
40%
0.90%
4.9-5.9%
9.9%
7.9%
RCF Margin %
40%
24%
25.0 – 25.5%
26.5%
26.2%
SARs
20%
380
410
440
443
Total CPF
215%
Individual Performance Factor (IPF)
An executive’s AIP payout also depends on his or her achievement of individual performance goals. The Compensation, People and Culture Committee believes that our executives’ individual performance goals should support achievement of the company’s strategic objectives and be tied to their areas of responsibility. This allows AIP awards to be appropriately differentiated on the basis of individual performance and also aligns compensation with the achievement of pre-establishednon-financial, strategic and operational objectives.
The individual performance measures thatgoals for the committee determines to be importantCEO are approved by the Committee, and the goals for other executive officers are approved by the Committee based on recommendations of the CEO. After the end of the year, the Committee evaluates the performance of the CEO against his goals and approves an IPF within the range of 0-275% based on its evaluation. The CEO evaluates the performance of each of the other executive officers against their goals and provides an IPF recommendation for each executive officer to the successCommittee, which then approves an IPF of our operations and financial performance, and therefore to the creation of shareholder value.

Early in each year, we set a target AIP bonus for each eligible employee, including approval by the committee of the target bonus0-275% for each executive officer. ConsistentIn the case of both the CEO and other executive officers, there is a cap on the maximum earnout for the IPF based on the level of CPF achievement.

In determining the 2023 IPF for the CEO and executive officers, the Committee considered the CEO’s individual accomplishments and the CEO considered each executive’s individual accomplishments that helped the company achieve significant progress on its long-term growth strategy, including: sustaining world class people leadership by developing and retaining diverse talent at every level; running successful restaurants with a people accountable culture that provides great food with integrity while delivering exceptional in-restaurant and digital experiences; making the Chipotle brand visible, relevant, and loved to improve overall guest engagement; amplifying technology and innovation to drive growth and productivity at our overall compensation policiesrestaurants, support centers and philosophy,in our supply chain; and expanding access and convenience by accelerating new restaurant openings in North America and Internationally.
As a result of this review and the exceptional performance in 2023, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee approved IPFs ranging from 200% – 225% of target

for each NEO. Some of the key accomplishments of our NEOs during 2023 that the Committee considered when determining the 2023 IPF are summarized below, including the IPF for each NEO.

AIP bonuses asBrian Niccol (IPF: 225%)

Achieved total revenue of $9.9 billion, a percent14.3% increase from 2022, and achieved CRS of each executive officer’s base salary are set7.9%, and RCF margin of 26.2% (which is a 230 bp increase over 2022), coming off a period of high inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Increased shareholder value by 62%, adding over $24 billion to our market capitalization.
Performed a critical review of all support departments to ensure clear alignment to company strategic initiatives, consolidating related and dependent functions under a single leader to reduce redundancies and increase insights and increasing investment in emerging compliance areas.
Signed Chipotle’s first-ever development agreement to open restaurants in the Middle East, beginning in Dubai and Kuwait, and accelerate our international expansion efforts in partnership with leading international franchise retail operator Alshaya Group.
Received external recognition for excellence in business execution and for creating cultural equity for employees from the American Opportunity Index, Bloomberg (Gender Equality Index), Forbes (Best Brands for Social Impact), Fortune (500, America’s Most Innovative Companies, and World’s Most Admired Companies), Human Rights Campaign (Corporate Equality Index), Investor’s Business Daily (100 Best ESG Companies), JUST Capital (America’s Most Just Companies), Latino Leaders (Best Places to Work for Latinos), Newsweek (Excellence 1000 Index) and TIME (100 Most Influential Companies).

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Jack Hartung (IPF: 210%)
Supported Chipotle’s achievement of outstanding financial results, including increasing operating margin to 15.8% from 13.4% in 2022, and increasing EPS by 38.4% to $44.34.
Created vulnerability/impact matrix to increase capacity of critical ingredients and diversify suppliers and geographies of key ingredients; increased chicken capacity for the next 3 years.
Exceeded our food cost margin goals by 40 to 50 bps.
Refreshed strategic 10-year model to identify near term investments and additional growth levers in the future, to create sustained compelling shareholder value.
Curt Garner (IPF: 200%)
Delivered 40 Strategic Priority technology programs including re-platforming rewards, real-time comparable data and dashboards, supply chain Distribution Center visibility, Crew Support Portal and refunds reduction functionality, and over 400 digital features and enhancements.
Delivered 11% digital growth by launching “new personalization at scale” capabilities and utilizing insights to develop more meaningful CRM journeys that increase frequency, reduce defection and improve recovery.
Set new records for systems stability and uptime by developing robotic process automations that can detect when a rangerestaurant system becomes unhealthy, diagnose the issue and apply a remedy without human intervention.
Developed working prototypes for several potential restaurant automation projects and led the Cultivate Next Fund through early-stage investments and collaborations with several new startup companies.
Chris Brandt (IPF: 200%)
Chipotle's marketing in 2023 featured breakthrough creative, top performing innovation, high ROAS media, attention grabbing social, and successful sponsorships that generated over 35 billion PR impressions and 13.9 billion media impressions, helping drive sales through both higher transactions and increased check amounts.
Opened 271 new restaurants, of which 88% included a Chipotlane, which is an increase of 35 new restaurants compared to last year, and completed 443 site assessment requests.
Leveraged measurement tools and proprietary modeling for media campaign optimizations that delivered a return on ad spend of 6.5x, an increase from 5.5x in 2022, including double digit returns for digital, social and audio channels.
Scott Boatwright (IPF: 215%)
Built a strong field leadership pipeline with over 260 promotions to Certified Training Manager, of which more than 80 were later promoted to Field Leader.
Improved annualized turnover for salaried managers by more than 20% and reduced hourly turnover by 21% from the prior year.
Launched Project Square One, highlighting the three key components of delivering exceptional throughput: Scheduling, Food Prep and Core 4 Deployment; Implemented Field Leader throughput audits.
Improved the percentage of days at model and improved the percentage of days fully staffed across all markets.
Brand Purpose Modifier
The Brand Purpose modifier is aligned around the 50th percentilethree pillars of our sustainability strategy and reporting – food & animals, people and environment. Each pillar has one metric with a quantitative target such that achievement against that target can result in an increase or decrease to overall AIP payout of 5%, for a total of 15% across the three pillars. For each metric, performance is evaluated on a quantitative basis as follows:
Achievement above the target range: +5% modifier
Achievement within the target range: 0% modifier
Achievement below the target range: -5% modifier

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The table below illustrates each of the market. Individual targeted amounts can also be increased or decreased basedmetrics, target ranges, and results for 2023. Based on subjective individual considerations such asthe level of responsibility, experienceachievement against these quantitative targets, the Brand Purpose modifier increased the 2023 AIP payout by +5%.
Pillar
Metric
Target (0% modifier)
Achievement
Modifier
Food & Animals
Increase pounds of local produce purchased
37.5 – 38.5 million pounds
>40 million pounds
+5%
People
Decrease relative turnover of diverse versus non-diverse U.S. based employees in Restaurant Support Center and Field Operations positions
Turnover of diverse employees within +/-4% of non-diverse employees
Diverse turnover 1.36% less than non-diverse turnover
+0%
Environment
Increase the number of restaurants that compost waste
1,235 – 1,265 restaurants composting by the end of 2023
1,247 restaurants composting
+0%
Total Modifier:
+5%
Food Safety Modifier
In determining whether to apply a negative food safety modifier for the CEO and internal equity issues.

Following completion of our year-end financial statementsexecutive officers, the Committee considered the company’s strong performance on its 2023 food safety key performance indicators and each executive officer’s annual performance evaluation, actual bonuses are determined by applyingenhanced food safety and quality assurance practices that were implemented during the year and decided to each executive officer’s target bonus a formula that increases or decreasesnot apply the payout amount based on performance againstfood safety modifier to decrease the AIP measures approvedpayout for any executive officer.

2023 Bonus Payouts
The 2023 AIP payout for each NEO is set forth below.
Target 2023 AIP Payout
Actual 2023 AIP Payout(1)
Name
% of Base
Salary
Dollar
Value
CPF
IPF
Brand
Purpose
Modifier
Dollar
Value
% of
Target
Brian Niccol
200%
$2,600,000
215.0%
225.0%
5.0%
$5,785,000
223%
Jack Hartung
110%
$951,500
215.0%
210.0%
5.0%
$2,081,406
219%
Curt Garner
100%
$780,000
215.0%
200.0%
5.0%
$1,686,750
216%
Chris Brandt
90%
$652,500
215.0%
200.0%
5.0%
$1,411,031
216%
Scott Boatwright
90%
$585,000
215.0%
215.0%
5.0%
$1,287,000
220%
(1)
The food safety metric is only a negative modifier and can decrease payouts by as much as -20%. Based on our strong food safety performance in 2023, the Committee did not apply the negative modifier to reduce any payouts.
Under the committee.

The committee may in some years also approve discretionary bonuses to reward particularly strong individual achievement or overall performance. In some years this is accomplished via a discretionary adjustment to the2023 AIP, terms at the time finalall payouts are determined, and in some years discretionary bonuses are determined outside the parameters of the AIP. No discretionary bonuses were paid for 2015.

See “– Discussion of Executive Officer Compensation Decisions – Annual Incentives – 2015 AIP Payouts” below for a discussion of AIP bonuses for 2015.

Equity Compensation Awards

We use equity compensation awards as determined by the committee to motivate and reward our executive officers for superior levels of performance, to align the interests of the executive officers with those of the shareholders, and to add a retention element to the executive officers’ compensation through the use of multi-year performance and/or vesting periods. Eligibility for equity compensation awards is generally limited to our top performing employees who we believe have a substantial impact on our success, as well as high potential individuals who may be moving into roles that may have a substantial impact in the future.

Equity awards are made under our Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, under which we are authorized to issue stock options, restricted stock or other equity-based awards denominated in shares of our common stock. The plan is administered by the Compensation Committee, and the committee makes grants directly to our executive officers that exceed 200% of target are paid in the form of RSUs that vest in two equal installments on the second and is authorizedthird anniversaries of the grant date, subject to delegate the authority to make awards to employees other than the executive officers.officer’s continued service through the applicable vesting date. As a result, the 2023 AIP was paid as follows:

2023 AIP Payout
Executive Officer
Total Payout
Paid in Cash
Paid in RSUs(1)
Brian Niccol
$5,785,000
$5,200,000
$585,000
Jack Hartung
$2,081,406
$1,903,000
$178,406
Curt Garner
$1,686,750
$1,560,000
$126,750
Christopher Brandt
$1,411,031
$1,305,000
$106,031
Scott Boatwright
$1,287,000
$1,170,000
$117,000
(1)
RSUs were granted on February 9, 2024 and vest in two equal installments on the second and third anniversaries of the grant date, subject to continued employment through the applicable vesting date.

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Fiscal 2023 Annual LTI Awards
Each year, the Committee reviews the LTI awards granted to our NEOs to evaluate whether they are properly aligned with the long-term growth of the company and shareholder interests. For 2023, the Committee maintained the same target LTI mix as the prior year of 60% PSUs, 20% SOSARs, and 20% individual choice between RSUs or SOSARs with an equivalent grant value. Most of the mix consists of PSUs and SOSARs because the Committee believes these vehicles are performance-based and reward management for delivering on key long-term financial performance goals and enhancing long-term shareholder value. Offering RSUs gives executive officers an opportunity to balance their overall LTI award with full value equity.
In February 2023, the Committee decided to provide a majority of the increase in target compensation for NEOs in the form of the annual LTI grant, in order to align with shareholder interests, enhance retention and long-term focus, and continue to drive industry leading performance. For 2023, the Committee increased the target grant value for each NEO to be competitive with current market levels, which market levels increased significantly from 2022. The committee also setstable below reflects the standard terms2023 target grant value for each NEO, split 60% in PSUs and 40% in SOSARs for Messrs. Niccol, Hartung and Garner, and split 60% PSUs, 20% SOSARs and 20% RSUs for Messrs. Brandt and Boatwright. Further details of these annual grants are provided below and are disclosed in the “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2023” table.
Annual LTI Grant - Total Grant Value
NEO
2023
2022
% Change
Brian Niccol
$15,500,000
$13,500,000
14.8%
Jack Hartung
$5,500,000
$4,000,000
37.5%
Curt Garner
$5,000,000
$4,000,000
25.0%
Chris Brandt
$4,500,000
$3,700,000
21.6%
Scott Boatwright
$4,500,000
$3,700,000
21.6%
2023 PSU Awards
For the 2023 PSU awards, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee made one refinement from the 2022 PSU awards. The 2022 PSU awards had one performance metric consisting of 3-Year cumulative RCF dollars. For the 2023 PSU awards, the Committee approved two metrics: (i) 3-Year cumulative RCF dollars, weighted 90%, and (ii) total number of new restaurant openings (“NROs”), weighted 10%, both measured over the 3-year performance period of January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2025. The Committee determined that RCF Dollars continues to be the best measure for the 2023 PSU awards because it incentivizes the most important drivers of our business: top line growth at our existing restaurant base, restaurant level profitability and growing our restaurant base; however, the Committee decided to adjust the calculation of RCF dollars for 2023 to exclude cash flow dollars from restaurants open after January 1, 2023 to address the unpredictable timelines for NROs, because restaurant openings can be delayed (sometimes for months) due to forces outside our reasonable control (e.g., equipment unavailability, delays in municipal inspections and permits), which can result in swings in annual cash flow dollars generated by new restaurants. To ensure continued focus on long-term growth of our restaurant base, the Committee added the new second metric based on the number of total NROs during the three-year performance period.
The number of shares that can be earned under the plans each year.

PSU awards based on the two metrics is determined by multiplying the target number of shares subject to the award by the payout percentage and the weightings, as set forth in the table below:

3-Yr Cumulative RCF Dollars Metric
(weight: 90%)
Total NROs Metric (weight: 10%)
Total Potential Payout
3-Yr Cumulative
RCF Dollars(1)
Shares Earned as
% of Target PSUs
Total NROs
Shares Earned as
% of Target PSUs
Shares Earned as
% of Target PSUs
$7,100
0%
730
0%
0%
$7,250
45%
765
5%
50%
$7,400 - $7,500
90% (Target)
800-830
10% (Target)
100%
$7,600
135%
855
15%
150%
$7,700
180%
880
20%
200%
$7,800
225%
905
25%
250%
$7,900
270%
930
30%
300%
(1)
46    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENTRCF Dollars for the 2023 PSU award is measured as the company’s total revenue less restaurant operating costs (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) for all restaurants open as of January 1, 2023.


Executive Officers and Compensation

(continued)

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The payout range for the PSUs is 0% to 300%, and PSUs will only be earned if the 3-year cumulative RCF Dollars are greater than $7.1 billion (90% weight), which if achieved, would represent a significant expansion of restaurant level profitability from 2022
Our Compensation Committee completely redesigned
our officer equity award structure for 2015, and made
significant changes again for 2016 in light of challenges
to our business late in 2015. See below under “Long-
Term Incentives – Performance Share Awards– 2015
Performance Share Awards” and “– 2016 Performance
Share Awards” for more information regarding our
officer equity awards for 2015 and 2016.

2024 Proxy Statement 66

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levels, and/or if more than 730 total NROs occur over the performance period (10% weight). The committee’s policy has generally beenmaximum payout under RCF Dollars metric is 270% and the maximum payout under total NROs metric is 30%. If the level of performance falls between the levels in the table, the payout percentage will be determined using linear interpolation. To help ensure that performance goals drive acceptable returns to make equity compensation awards to officers only onshareholders, the 2023 PSUs contain a provision capping the payout at 100% of target if the company’s 3-year relative TSR is below the 25th percentile of the S&P 500 constituent companies.
2023 SOSARs
The NEOs received an annual basis, within five business days followinggrant of SOSARs on February 9, 2023. These SOSARs have an exercise price equal to the closing price on the grant date, vest in two equal installments on the 2nd and 3rd anniversaries of the grant date, subject to continued employment through the applicable vesting date, and have a 7-year term.
2023 RSUs
Messrs. Brandt and Boatwright received an annual grant of RSUs on February 9, 2023. These RSUs vest in two equal installments on the 2nd and 3rd anniversaries of the grant date, subject to continued employment through the applicable vesting date.
EARNOUT OF 2021-23 PSU Awards
In 2021, we granted PSUs to our public releaseexecutive officers that vested based on the company’s three-year CRS growth, measured from January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2023 and two-year average RCF margin, measured from January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2023. The number of financial resultsshares that could be earned under the award was determined by multiplying the target number of shares subject to the award by the payout percentage, as set forth in the table below:
2 Year Average
RCF Margin
3 Year CRS Growth
7.0%
7.5%
8.0%
8.5%
9.0%
9.5%
10.0%
10.5%
23.0%
  0%
 25%
 25%
 50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
24.0%
 25%
 50%
 75%
 75%
100%
150%
175%
200%
25.0%
 50%
 75%
100%
100%
125%
175%
225%
275%
26.0%
 75%
100%
125%
125%
175%
225%
275%
300%
27.0%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
250%
300%
300%
In February 2024, the Committee evaluated the Company’s RCF and CRS performance against the goals for the previous year. Equity awards are granted to officers outsidetwo performance metrics and certified payout for the 2021-2023 PSUs at 278% of this annual award cycle only in exceptional circumstances, such as intarget based on 11.6% three-year CRS growth and 25.1% two-year average RCF margin for the case of key hires or promotions.

The committee may make additional long-term incentive awards, including equity awards, or delegate to one or more officers the authority to make such awards, to non-officer employees at any time throughout the year within the terms allowed in the Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan.

performance period.

Benefits and Perquisites

We

In addition to the principal compensation elements described above, we provide our executive officers with access to the same benefits we provide all of our full-time employees. We also provide our officers withemployees as well as limited perquisites and other personal benefits that we believe are reasonable and consistent with our compensation objectives,supported by market practice, personal safety and with additional benefit programsconvenience that are not available to all employees throughout our company.

Perquisites are generally provided to help us attract and retain top performing employees for key positions, and in some cases perquisites are designed to facilitate our executive officers bringing maximum focus to what we believe to be demanding job duties. In addition to the perquisites identified in notes to the Summary Compensation Table below, we have occasionally allowed executive officers to be accompanied by a guest when traveling for business on an airplane owned or chartered by us. enhances productivity.

Executive officers on occasion have also used company-owned or chartered airplanes for personal trips; in those casestrips. We generally require the executive officer to fully reimbursesreimburse us for the incremental cost of personal use of the airplane,trips, except where prohibited by applicable regulations. Our executive officers are also provided with personal administrative and other services by company employees from time to time, including scheduling of personal appointments, performing personal errands, andregulations; however, the Board has preapproved Mr. Niccol’s limited use of company-provided drivers.the company-owned airplanes for personal trips. The Lead Independent Director reviews Mr. Niccol’s personal use of the company-owned aircraft each quarter to assess whether it is consistent with the Board’s approval. Other NEOs also may use the company-owned aircraft for personal travel on occasion and with prior approval of our CEO. We believe

that the perquisites we provide our executive officers are consistent with market practices and are reasonable and consistent with our compensation objectives.

We also administer a non-qualified deferred compensation plan for our seniorthat permits eligible management employees, including our executive officers.officers, who earn compensation greater than the maximum compensation that can be considered with respect to the 401(k) Plan, as set by the Internal Revenue Code. The plan allows participants to defer the obligation to pay taxes on certain elements of their compensation while also potentially receiving earnings on deferred amounts. We offer an employer match on a portion of the contributions made by the employees. We believe this plan is an important retention and recruitment tool because it helps facilitate retirement savings and financial flexibility for our key employees, and because many of the companies with which we compete for executive talent provide a similar plan to their key employees.

Discussion of 2015 Executive Officer Compensation Decisions

Assessment of Company Performance

The committee sets the base salaries of, determines annual incentive award opportunities for, and makes long-term incentive awards to the executive officers during the first quarter of each year, generally in February. In making these decisions, the committee references our company performance over the short and long term, both in relative terms versus our restaurant industry peer group, and versus internal goals and expectations.

This assessment of company performance is only one factor used by the committee in making compensation decisions, as described in more detail below, but does play a significant role in the committee’s decision-making, consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy. Because of our strong performance in 2014 and prior years relative to market-wide performance in our industry, the committee generally set compensation levels for our executive officers for 2015 at the upper end of the ranges that the committee believed to be appropriate for each executive officer.

Base Salaries

To set base salary levels for 2015 for our executive officers, the committee considered the existing base salary of each officer, as well as each officer’s contribution level and effectiveness in his role, and the range of base salaries at our peer companies. In light of the strong performance of our company through the end of 2014 and based on the committee’s subjective determinations as to each officer’s individual performance and contribution to our significant growth, and also in light of the Co-CEO’s base salaries not increasing since 2012, each executive officer’s salary was increased for 2015. Base salaries for 2015 were increased to $1,540,000 for Mr. Ells and $1,320,000 for Mr. Moran, and

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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LOGO

were increased to $750,000, for Mr. Hartung and $535,000 for Mr. Crumpacker. The difference in the base salaries of Mr. Moran and Mr. Ells is attributable to Mr. Moran serving in the office of Co-Chief Executive Officer only since the beginning of 2009, whereas Mr. Ells is our founder and Chairman of the Board, and has served as Chief Executive Officer since our inception. The differences in salary between the Co-Chief Executive Officers and the other executive officers are attributable to the committee’s belief in the tremendous importance of strong leadership at the chief executive officer level as well as to the level of impact of the contributions made by the Co-Chief Executive Officers to our success.

Annual Incentives—AIP Structure

The formula to determine payouts under the AIP consists of a company performance factor, a team performance factor, and an individual performance factor, each stated as a percentage by which an executive officer’s target payout amount will be adjusted to determine actual cash bonuses. The payout formula is as follows:

LOGO

In most years, each of the company, team and individual performance factors could be adjusted downward to zero based on company, team or individual performance, which could result in no AIP bonuses being paid or an individual’s AIP bonus being significantly reduced. While adjustments downward have generally been much less significant, the potential for one or more factors to be significantly reduced ensures that AIP bonuses will be significantly reduced or not paid at all if our performance falls far short of our expectations, and enables us to avoid unduly rewarding employees not contributing to our success.

We include the company performance factor in the calculation to reward participating employees when our company performs well, which we believe focuses employees on improving corporate performance and aligns the interests of our employees with those of our shareholders. We include the team performance factor to promote teamwork and to provide rewards based on the areas of the company in which a participant can make the most impact. We include the individual performance factor to incentivize individual performance and to ensure individual accountability. Each of these components can reduce award levels when we, one of our “team” units, or an employee participating in the AIP don’t perform well, which further promotes accountability. We believe that as a whole, this structure results in the AIP rewarding our top performers, consistent with our goal of building shareholder value.

To determine the company and team performance factors for each year, during the first quarter of the year the committee approves targeted performance levels for a number of financial or operating measures (on a company-wide basis for the company performance factor and for each of our operating regions for the team performance factor), and key initiatives for improving our company during the year. The AIP formulas are structured so that achievement at the targeted level of each financial and operating measure and achievement (as determined subjectively by the committee) of the key initiatives would result in company and team performance factors that would result in payout at 100 percent—in other words, at target. Achievement above or below the targeted financial and operating measures, and over- or under-achievement of the key initiatives, results in adjustments upward or downward to the company and team performance factors, on a scale for each measure approved by the committee at the beginning of the year. The company and team performance factors to determine payouts are calculated after the conclusion of the year by referencing actual company and regional performance on each of the relevant financial and operating measures, and on the key initiatives, to the scales approved by the committee, and in unusual circumstances, following additional adjustments that the committee deems to be appropriate to account for unforeseen factors during the year. The company performance factor and the team performance factor for most corporate-level employees, including each of the executive officers, are capped at 150 percent. The team performance factor for most corporate-level employees, including each officer, is the average of the regional team performance factors, subject to adjustment based on other variables considered by the committee relating to our corporate employees.

48    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Executive Officers and Compensation

(continued)

LOGO

The individual performance factor is a function of the individual employee’s performance rating for the year. The precise individual performance factor is set from zero to 130 percent following completion of the employee’s performance review, within a range of percentages associated with the employee’s performance rating. The committee evaluates the performance of the Co-Chief Executive Officers to determine each of their individual performance factors, and approves individual performance factors for each other executive officer after considering recommendations from the Co-Chief Executive Officers, in each case based on a subjective review of each officer’s performance for the year.

The committee also sets maximums each year for the company, team and individual performance factors. The committee may, in its discretion, authorize a deviation from the parameters set for any particular performance factor in order to account for exceptional circumstances and ensure that AIP bonuses further the objectives of our compensation programs.

Annual Incentives – 2015 AIP Payouts

For 2015, as a result of the food-borne illness incidents that negatively impacted our results beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, our results fell significantly short of our performance targets, resulting in no bonuses being paid to the executive officers under the AIP.

The committee set the target annual AIP payouts for each executive officer during the first quarter of 2015, based in part by reference to the historical compensation of each officer, each officer’s performance during the year, and median target bonuses for comparable positions within the restaurant industry peer group. The AIP parameters allow for maximum payouts equal to 204 percent of the target award, which the committee believes is adequate to reward achievement of outstanding results and motivate our employees to drive superior performance.

For 2015, as with past years, the four measures the committee selected to be used in determining the company and team performance factors were income from operations (prior to accrual for AIP payouts and stock compensation expense), new restaurant average daily sales, comparable restaurant sales increases, and new restaurant weeks of operation. Targeted performance for each measure was set as follows:


2024 Proxy Statement 67
Performance Measure
Target

Operating Income (before AIP and stock compensation expense)

$ 1,067.9 million

New Rest. Avg. Daily Sales

$5,278

Comparable Rest. Sales Increase

7.0

New Weeks of Operations

5,188

Consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy these targets represented stretch goals, the achievement of which would have generally resulted in our financial results exceeding the base-level forecast results in our 2015 operating plan and equaling or exceeding the full-year 2015 guidance we publicly issued to investors. Performance on operating income, as adjusted, was weighted most heavily in the computation of the company performance factor, because we believe profitability is the most important measure of our financial success and driver of shareholder value.

In order to provide a strong incentive towards superior performance, the adjustment scales for the company performance factor were set such that overachievement against each goal would have resulted in upward adjustments at a higher rate than the rate at which equivalent levels of underachievement would have resulted in downward adjustments.

The targeted performance and adjustments for each of these measures on a regional level, other than new restaurant weeks of operation, were used to calculate the team performance factor for corporate-level employees as well. The regional performance targets and variance adjustments were set at the regional level consistent with the scales described above for the company performance factor.

The key initiatives targeted for 2015 were building Restaurateur cultures, setting salaried managers up for success, developing outstanding crew members, extraordinary customer service and throughput, and focusing on the fundamentals of our business. The committee’s subjective determination of our level of achievement against these initiatives results in a specified adjustment to the company performance factor, though the adjustment attributable to the key initiatives is set at a maximum of five percent in either direction, considerably less than most other metrics impacting the company performance factor.

Due to the food-borne illness incidents that negatively impacted our results in 2015, our company performance factor was 0 percent, resulting in no AIP payouts to the executive officers.


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Executive Officers and Compensation

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LOGO

Long-Term Incentives – Performance Share Awards

2015 Performance Share Awards

In February 2015, in response to the say-on-pay vote at our 2014 annual meeting of shareholders and following extensive engagement with shareholders representing more than one-half of our shares outstanding, the committee made long-term incentive awards to each executive officer in the form of new performance share awards, in lieu of SOSARs. The performance share awards incorporate a three-year performance-contingent vesting period based on Chipotle’s relative performance return versus a restaurant industry peer group in three equally-weighted measures:

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average revenue growth,

OTHER COMPENSATION-RELATED POLICIES

net income growth, and

total shareholder return.

The awards will pay out at the target number of shares set forth below if our relative achievement versus the peer group, averaged across the three performance measures, is at the 65th percentile; will pay out at two times the target number of shares set forth below if our averaged relative percentile achievement versus the peer group is at or above the 90th percentile; and will pay out at one-half the target number of shares set forth below if our averaged relative percentile achievement versus the peer group is at the 35th percentile. Payout for achievement in between the 35th and 65th, and between the 65th and 90th, percentiles will be interpolated linearly between the threshold and target payout levels or target and maximum payout levels, as applicable. Averaged relative achievement versus the peer group below the 35th percentile will result in expiration of the awards with no payout. The shares issuable at the threshold, target and maximum performance levels, and the reduction in grant date value of the awards versus total officer equity awards in 2014, are set forth below.

OFFICER NAME  SHARES
EARNED FOR
PERFORMANCE
BELOW
THRESHOLD
   THRESHOLD:
SHARES
EARNED AT
35TH
PERCENTILE
   TARGET:
SHARES
EARNED AT
65TH
PERCENTILE
   MAXIMUM:
SHARES
EARNED AT
90TH
PERCENTILE
   % REDUCTION
FROM 2014
LTI
VALUE
 

Steve Ells

   0     7,444     14,887     29,774     49.2

Monty Moran

   0     7,444     14,887     29,774     49.2

Jack Hartung

   0     3,126     6,252     12,504     37.8

Mark Crumpacker

   0     2,233     4,466     8,932     11.2

Performance will be calculated over the three year period beginning January 1, 2015 and ending December 31, 2017. The peer group used to measure relative performance under these awards is the same peer group disclosed on page 45. Vesting and payout of each award is subject to the recipient’s continued employment through the vesting date, subject to the potential pro-rata payout to the recipient or his estate in the event of termination due to death, disability or retirement, and to potential accelerated vesting in the event of certain terminations within two years of certain change in control transactions.

The committee believes that this departure from prior equity compensation award practices for the executive officers effectively continued our performance-based compensation programs and encouraged our officers to continue to drive the creation of shareholder value, while addressing the principal points of concern raised by shareholders with our past compensation practices.

2016 Performance Share Awards

In late 2015, the committee evaluated how to approach executive officer equity compensation following the business challenges we faced during the second half of the year. After significant analysis and input from Pay Governance, the committee concluded that using operating or relative performance metrics for the 2016 equity awards would not be optimal. The committee had concerns that using 2015 year-end financials or stock price at the beginning of 2016 as the basis for performance evaluation could create a misalignment of shareholder returns and executive officer compensation. More specifically, the committee recognized that performance against the measures incorporated into the 2015 performance share awards may not translate into rebuilding lost shareholder value.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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In early 2016, we discussed some of these issues and potential equity program changes with a number of our largest shareholders. Following those discussions and after further review and analysis, for 2016, the Compensation Committee decided to continue using performance shares for the executive officer equity compensation program. However, the 2016 performance shares will be tied solely to highly-challenging absolute stock price performance goals over a three-year performance period beginning February 3, 2016. The committee considered alternative performance metrics to be used for the 2016 performance shares, but ultimately concluded that restoring lost shareholder value was paramount. Further, the committee also concluded that granting SOSARs or other option-like awards would not be appropriate given the low strike price that would be associated with this type of grant.

Chipotle has undertaken a broad array of initiatives to address the issues that led to the stock price decline in 2015. The committee concluded that the 2016 performance share awards will continue to motivate our executive officers to ensure the successful implementation of these initiatives, thereby rebuilding customer confidence in the Chipotle brand. If that happens, we believe improved business results and stock price performance will follow.

Vesting of the awards will be based on Chipotle’s stock price performance over the performance period.The awards will pay out only if the average closing price of Chipotle’s common stock for any period of 30 consecutive trading days during the performance term is at least $700, which is approximately 52% higher than the closing price of Chipotle’s common stock on the grant date. The number of shares issuable at the end of the performance term will be determined based on the highest average closing stock price achieved for any period of 30 consecutive trading days during the performance term. The number of shares to be issuable to each executive officer at assumed levels of performance are set forth below.

  Number of Shares Issued at Assumed 30-Day Average Stock
Price Achievement During Performance Term
 
  Officer Name 

Below

$700

  $700
(Threshold)
  $800
(Target)
  $900  $1,000  $1,200
(Maximum)
 

Steve Ells

  0    13,500    27,000    54,000    81,000    108,000  

Monty Moran

  0    13,500    27,000    54,000    81,000    108,000  

Jack Hartung

  0    5,675    11,350    22,700    34,050    45,400  

Mark Crumpacker

  0    4,050    8,100    16,200    24,300    32,400  

Illustrative Market Capitalization(1) (was $13.8 billion at grant date)

  $
 
21.1
billion 
  
  
 $
 
24.1
billion  
  
  
 $
 
27.2
billion  
  
  
 $
 
30.3
billion  
  
  
 $
 
36.4
billion  
  
  
(1)Illustrative market capitalization is based on shares outstanding as of the grant date, plus shares issuable at each stock price performance hurdle.

The number of shares to be issuable between the various performance levels depicted above will be determined by linear interpolation between the next highest and lowest of the depicted performance levels. If the closing price of Chipotle common stock does not average at least $700 for any period of 30 consecutive trading days during the performance term, the awards will expire with no payout. The vesting and payout of the awards will be subject to the recipient’s continued employment through the end of the performance term, subject to the potential pro-rata payout, based on actual stock price performance, to the recipient or his estate in the event of termination due to death, disability or retirement, and to potential accelerated vesting in the event of certain terminations within two years of certain change in control transactions.

The awards described above are intended to be the only equity incentive awards made to Chipotle’s executive officers during 2016, and are in lieu of all other performance share, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights, option or other equity awards that otherwise could be made to the executive officers during 2016 under the Amended and Restated Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. 2011 Stock Incentive Plan.

Vesting of Previously-Granted Performance SOSARs

As of December 31, 2014, the performance criteria on the second tranche of Performance SOSARs granted in 2012, and on the first tranche of Performance SOSARs granted in 2013, were satisfied. Accordingly in February 2015 the awards became vested and exercisable. The performance criteria on these awards was the achievement of cumulative adjusted cash flow from operations as follows:

AWARDPERFORMANCE PERIODCUM. ADJ. CASH FLOW FROM OPS

2012 Performance SOSARs

1/1/2012 to 12/31/2014$ 1.472 billion

2013 Performance SOSARs

1/1/2013 to 12/31/2014$1.158 billion

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Executive Officers and Compensation

(continued)

LOGO

As of December 31, 2015, the performance criteria on the second tranche of Performance SOSARs granted in 2013, and on the first tranche of Performance SOSARs granted in 2014, were satisfied. Accordingly, following certification of the achievement of the performance criteria on these awards, the second tranche of the 2013 Performance SOSAR awards and the first tranche of the 2014 Performance SOSAR awards will vest and become exercisable. The performance criteria on these awards was the achievement of cumulative adjusted cash flow from operations as follows:

AWARDPERFORMANCE PERIODCUM. ADJ. CASH FLOW FROM OPS

2013 Performance SOSARs

1/1/2013 to 12/31/2015$ 1.761 billion

2014 Performance SOSARs

1/1/2014 to 12/31/2015$ 1.729 billion

2013 Performance Share Awards

The end of the third quarter of 2014 represented conclusion of the second year of the three-year performance period for performance shares awarded in December of 2013. These performance share awards consist of a right to receive a pre-determined number of shares of our common stock based on our achievement of cumulative adjusted cash flow from operations over the performance period at a threshold, target or maximum level. These awards are reflected below in the Outstanding Equity Awards at December 31, 2015 table below.

Executive Stock Ownership Guidelines

Our Board of Directors has adopted stock

Stock ownership guidelines for our executive officers. These guidelines are intended to ensure that our executive officers retain ownership of a sufficient amount of Chipotle stock to align their interests in a meaningful way with thosethe interests of our long-term shareholders. Alignment of our employees’ interests with those of our shareholders is a principal purpose of the equity component of our compensation program.

The Committee believes that the stock ownership guidelines reflectedfor our NEOs are robust and in the case of the CEO and CFAO, the requirements are among the highest in our compensation peer group. The table below reflects our guidelines and compliance by our NEOs with the guidelines as of December 31, 2023.

Name
Ownership
Requirement
(multiple of base
salary)
In
Compliance
Brian Niccol
7 times
Jack Hartung
4 times
Curt Garner
3 times
Chris Brandt
3 times
Scott Boatwright
3 times
Compliance with the stock ownership requirements is evaluated each year on the last trading day of the calendar year using the average closing price of Chipotle’s common stock over the 30 trading days ending on and including the last trading day of the calendar year. Executive officers have five years to achieve the requisite ownership; however, if an executive officer is not on track to meet the applicable ownership requirement by the end of the third year, he or she (i) cannot sell shares of common stock owned outright, if any, and (ii) must retain at least 50% of the shares received upon the vesting of a targeted numberRSU, PSU or other full-value equity award, and/or the exercise of an option or SOSAR, measured after withholding of shares to be owned, are presented below.by the company for the exercise price. The guidelines are reviewed for possible adjustment each yearannually and may be adjusted by the committeeCommittee at any time.

OFFICER # OF
SHARES
  ACTUAL
OWNERSHIP
 

Steve Ells

  31,000    196,802  

Monty Moran

  31,000    154,755  

Jack Hartung

  7,000    30,464  

Mark Crumpacker

  3,000    3,000  

Shares underlying unvested restricted stock or restricted stock unitsRSUs count towards satisfaction of the guidelines, while shares underlying stock options and SOSARs (whether vested or unvested) and unearned performance shares and PSUs do not count. Executive officers who do notAs of December 31, 2023, all of our NEOs satisfied, exceeded or were on track to meet the guidelines are allowed five years to acquirethese requirements within the requisite numbertime period.

Stock ownership guidelines applicable to non-employee members of sharesour Board are described on page 22.
Executive Compensation Recovery Policy
Chipotle’s Executive Compensation Recovery Policy requires the Board to comply. Allpursue reimbursement of incentive-based compensation paid or awarded to an executive officer if the payment or award was predicated upon the achievement of certain financial results that subsequently were the subject of a restatement, and a lower payment or award would have been made to the executive officer based upon the restated financial results. The clawback covers incentive-based compensation paid or awarded on or after October 2, 2023 and during the three fiscal years prior to the restatement. In addition, the Board may require forfeiture of an executive officer’s compensation, both cash and equity, if the executive officer engaged in egregious conduct substantially detrimental to the company. Our policy complies with and exceeds the New York Stock Exchange listing standards that became effective in 2023.
Prohibition on Hedging and Pledging
To further align the interests of our executive officers meetwith the stock ownership guidelines. We also have adopted a policy prohibitinginterests of our shareholders, we prohibit our directors, executive officers and certain employees including all of the executive officers,who have access to material, nonpublic information, from hedging their Chipotle

stock ownership or pledging theirany shares of Chipotle common stock, holding shares of Chipotle common stock in a margin account or otherwise pledging shares of Chipotle common stock as collateral for loans.

Tax And Other Regulatory Considerations

Code Section 162(m)

Section 162(m)loans, and engaging in put options, call options, covered call options or other derivative securities in Chipotle common stock on an exchange or in any other organized market.

Equity Grant Practices
Our current and historical practice is to grant LTI awards to senior management during periods when our trading window for insiders is open. Our annual grant date, which generally includes the annual grant of the Internal Revenue Code provides that compensation of more than $1,000,000 paidLTI awards to the chief executive officer or to certainNEOs and other executive officers, usually occurs within one week after we publicly announce our financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year. The Compensation, People and Culture Committee approves all LTI awards to executive officers and has delegated authority to our CEO, Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel to make grants of a public company will not be deductible for federal income tax purposes unless amounts above $1,000,000 qualify for one of several exceptions. The committee’s primary objective in designing executive compensation programs isLTI awards, within specified parameters, to support and encourage the achievement of our company’s strategic goalsnon-executive officer employees and to enhance long-term shareholder value. For thesenewly hired or newly promoted employees below the executive officer level, which also generally occur only during periods when our trading window for insiders is open.

2024 Proxy Statement 68

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Severance Arrangements
In February 2024, the Compensation, People and other reasons,Culture Committee approved the committee has determined that it will not necessarily seekChipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Executive Officer Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”). The Severance Plan provides severance benefits to limitour executive compensationofficers, including the NEOs, if their employment is terminated either by us without “cause” (excluding termination due to death or disability) or due to their resignation for “good reason” (each as defined in the Severance Plan) (a “Qualifying Termination”).
An executive officer who experiences a Qualifying Termination would be eligible to receive (i) cash severance equal to the amount that will be fully deductible under Section 162(m).

We have implemented the 2014 Cash Incentive Plan as an umbrella plan under which AIP bonuses are paid in order to meet requirements to deduct the amountsum of the payouts from our reported income under Section 162(m). Under the 2014 plan, the committee sets maximum bonuses for each executive officer and other key employees. If thetheir base salary plus target cash bonus amount determined under the AIP for participantsthe year in which the Qualifying Termination occurs multiplied by two, in the 2014 plan is lower thancase of the maximumCEO, or one and one-half, in the case of other executive officers, paid in equal installments over 24 months, for the CEO, and 18 months for other executive officers, plus (ii) a pro-rated portion of their annual bonus set under the 2014 plan, the committee has historically exercised discretion to pay the lower AIP bonus rather than the maximum bonus payable under the 2014 plan. In instances where the committee has determined to pay bonuses in excess of those determined under the AIP such additional

for the year in which the Qualifying Termination occurs, based on the Company’s actual performance, plus (iii) the cash equivalent of the employer portion of the cost of the Company group health plans in which the executive officer was participating immediately prior to the Qualifying Termination for 24 months, with respect to the CEO, or for 18 months, with respect to other executive officers. In addition, each executive officer would vest in a pro-rata portion of their unvested equity awards, with the performance-based equity awards vesting based on the Company’s actual performance. Any SOSARs held by the executive officer would be exercisable for 12 months after the Qualifying Termination or if earlier, until the expiration date.

52    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Executive Officers and Compensation

(continued)

LOGO

bonuses were paidTo be eligible for benefits under the predecessor toSeverance Plan, the 2014 planexecutive officer must timely execute and not revoke a separation and general release agreement, in combination with AIP bonuses, were less than the maximum bonuses fixedform provided by the Company, which contains customary confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-disparagement restrictions.

An executive officer cannot receive benefits under the plan.

Accounting Rules

Various rulesSeverance Plan if they become eligible to receive benefits under generally accepted accounting principles determine the mannerChipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Change in Control Severance Plan.

In February 2024 the Compensation, People and Culture Committee also approved a letter agreement with Brian Niccol providing that, if he is subject to a Qualifying Termination under the Severance Plan, he would receive an additional 12 months of pro-rated vesting credit for any equity awards held by him on the Qualifying Termination Date. See “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-In-Control – Severance Arrangements” for more details.
Change in Control Severance Plan
We have a Change in Control Severance Plan (“CIC Plan”) to encourage retention of key management employees in the event of a change in control, which we accountis designed to help incent key executives to remain with the company during the pendency of any planned or unexpected change in control of the company. Severance benefits are only payable in the event a change in control of the company occurs and an executive officer’s employment is terminated without cause or by him or her for equity-basedgood reason (each as defined in the plan). See “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-In-Control – Change in Control Severance Plan” for more details.
Compensation Program Risk Assessment
F.W. Cook, an independent executive compensation consulting firm retained by the Compensation, People and Culture Committee, conducted a risk assessment of our compensation programs in March 2024 and concluded that our financial statements. compensation policies, practices and programs do not create risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on Chipotle. F.W. Cook’s assessment included a review of our pay and incentive plan structures, pay practices and policies and governance processes, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee’s oversight of such programs and available recoupment policies in place to help mitigate risk.
The committee may considerrisk assessment considered the accounting treatment under

following factors:

Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (FASB Topic 718)Our executive compensation program is designed to encourage behaviors aligned with the long-term interests of alternative grant proposals when determiningshareholders, with a significant portion of executive compensation awarded in the form of long-term equity incentives.

There is appropriate balance in the executive compensation program structure to mitigate compensation-related risk with fixed and timing of equityvariable pay; cash and equity; corporate and individual goals; formulas and discretion; and short-term and long-term measurement periods.
We have policies to mitigate compensation grantsrisk including stock ownership guidelines, insider trading prohibitions, discretion to reduce payments, forfeiture provisions, independent Compensation, People and Culture Committee oversight, and a compensation recovery and clawback policy.
Compensation, People and Culture Committee oversight extends to incentive plans below the executive officer level, where no potential material compensation-related risk was identified.
In structuring and approving our executive officers.compensation programs, as well as policies and procedures relating to compensation throughout our company, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee also considers risks that may be inherent in such programs, policies and procedures. The accounting treatment of such grants, however, is not generally determinativeCommittee reviewed the assessment of the type, timing, or amount ofcompany’s 2023 compensation program and discussed the report with management and, based on its review, determined that any particular grant of equity-basedrisks arising from the company’s compensation policies and practices for our employees are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the committee determines to make.

company.

2024 Proxy Statement 69


COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Compensation, People and Culture Committee Report
The Compensation, People and Culture Committee reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis included in this Proxy Statementproxy statement with management. Based on such review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statementproxy statement and Chipotle’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for filing with the SEC.

The

Compensation, People and Culture Committee.

Neil W. Flanzraich,

Patricia Fili-Krushel, Chairperson

Patrick J. Flynn

Darlene J. Friedman


Gregg Engles
Laura Fuentes

2024 Proxy Statement 70
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT
  53


Executive Officers and Compensation

(continued)

LOGO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2015

2023 COMPENSATION TABLES

In reviewing the compensation information included below, it is important to bear in mind that consistent with past practice, compensation decisions for 2015 were made early in the year. Consequently, the amounts and awards reflected in the compensation tables below primarily reflect decisions made well before the fourth quarter of 2015 and the difficulties we experienced in our business during that time.


2023 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

NAME AND

PRINCIPAL POSITION

 YEAR SALARY  STOCK
AWARDS(1)
  OPTION
AWARDS(2)
  NON-EQUITY
INCENTIVE PLAN
COMPENSATION(3)
  ALL OTHER
COMPENSATION(4)
  TOTAL 

STEVE ELLS

 2015 $1,526,000   $12,030,036           $281,858   $13,837,894  
Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer 2014 $1,400,000       $23,698,500   $3,570,000   $255,770   $28,924,270  
 2013 $1,400,000   $7,961,250   $12,304,500   $3,196,816   $254,305   $25,116,871  

MONTY MORAN

 2015 $1,308,000   $12,030,036           $223,041   $13,561,077  
Co-Chief Executive Officer 2014 $1,200,000       $23,698,500   $3,060,000   $194,702   $28,153,203  
 2013 $1,200,000   $7,961,250   $12,304,500   $2,740,128   $191,176   $24,397,054  

JACK HARTUNG

 2015 $745,769   $5,052,179           $235,361   $6,033,309  
Chief Financial Officer 2014 $700,000       $8,125,200   $1,213,800   $206,842   $10,245,842  
 2013 $645,719   $3,980,625   $4,101,500   $975,501   $179,004   $9,882,349  

MARK CRUMPACKER

 2015 $532,077   $3,608,930           $141,581   $4,282,588  
Chief Creative and Development Officer 2014 $500,000       $4,062,600   $663,000   $109,591   $5,335,191  
 2013 $402,580   $3,184,500   $1,692,400   $506,328   $107,054   $5,892,862  

Name and
Principal Position
Year
Salary
($)
Stock
Awards
($)(1)
Option
Awards
($)(2)
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(3)
All Other
Compensation
($)(4)
Total
($)
Brian Niccol
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
2023
$ 1,292,308
$ 9,300,795
$6,200,364
$5,200,000
$ 479,961
$22,473,427
2022
$1,250,000
$8,101,452
$5,400,343
$2,115,000
$319,359
$17,186,154
2021
$1,250,000
$7,200,970
$4,800,102
$4,342,500
$287,008
$17,880,580
Jack Hartung
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
2023
$865,000
$ 3,300,593
$2,200,112
$1,903,000
$114,577
$8,383,282
2022
$862,692
$2,400,138
$1,600,202
$894,410
$81,451
$5,838,893
2021
$844,615
$2,100,961
$1,400,358
$1,598,000
$224,740
$6,168,673
Curt Garner
Chief Customer and Technology Officer
2023
$775,385
$3,000,101
$2,000,384
$1,560,000
$90,644
$7,426,514
2022
$746,154
$2,400,138
$1,600,202
$695,625
$78,086
$5,520,205
2021
$717,308
$2,100,961
$1,400,358
$1,329,288
$156,797
$5,704,712
Chris Brandt
Chief Brand Officer
2023
$720,384
$3,602,692
$900,328
$1,305,000
$96,374
$6,624,779
2022
$691,923
$2,220,246
$1,480,345
$572,333
$78,055
$5,042,902
2021
$671,154
$1,800,612
$1,200,025
$1,107,338
$120,131
$4,899,260
Scott Boatwright
Chief Operating Officer
2023
$607,500
$3,602,692
$900,328
$1,170,000
$66,252
$6,346,772
2022
$562,692
$2,220,246
$1,480,345
$465,278
$52,515
$4,781,076
2021
$546,154
$1,950,047
$1,300,388
$902,275
$140,151
$4,839,015
(1)
Amounts under “Stock Awards” represent the grant date fair value under FASB Topic 718 of the 2023 annual grant of (i) performance shares awarded in 2013 and 2015 and for which vesting was consideredshare units (PSUs), based on the probable achievement as of the date of grant, date.and (ii) restricted stock units (RSU). See Note 68 to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015,2023, which are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 5, 2016,8, 2024 for descriptions of the methodologies and assumptions we use to value stock awards and the manner in which we recognize the related expense pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 718. The 2023 annual PSU awards will only pay out to the extent the two performance metrics (three-year cumulative restaurant cash flow (RCF) dollars and total number of new restaurant openings (NROs)) equal or exceed the predetermined threshold performance levels over the 2023 through 2025 performance period. The PSU awards reflect an assumed target outcome of the performance conditions and do not reflect the value that ultimately may be realized by the executive officer. The aggregate grant date fair value of the 20152023 PSU awards, assuming the highest level ofmaximum performance, were achieved (which was determined not to be probable as of the grant date) would have been $17,399,032is $27.9 million for Mr. Ells and Mr. Moran; $7,306,962Niccol, $9.9 million for Mr. Hartung;Hartung, $9.0 million for Garner, and $5,219,593$8.1 million for Mr. Crumpacker.Messrs. Brandt and Boatwright. For further details, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – 2023 Compensation Program.” For 2023, the annual grant to executive officers was in the form of 60% PSUs, 20% stock-only stock appreciation rights (SOSARs), and 20% individual choice between RSUs or SOSARs with an equivalent grant value. Messrs. Brandt and Boatwright elected to receive 20% of their 2023 grant in the form of RSUs; the other NEOs elected to receive 40% of their 2023 grant in the form of SOSARs rather than receive RSUs.

(2)
Amounts under “Option Awards” represent the grant date fair value under FASB Topic 718 of SOSARs awarded in the relevant year.2023. See Note 68 to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015,2023, as referenced in footnote 1,(1), for descriptions of the methodologies and assumptions we use to value SOSAR awards and the manner in which we recognize the related expense pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 718.

(3)
Amounts under “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” represent the amountscash payouts earned under the AIPannual incentive plan (AIP) for the relevant year,year. Under the 2023 AIP, payouts to our executive officers that exceed 200% of target are paid in the form of RSUs that vest in two equal installments on the second and third anniversaries of the grant date, subject to continued employment through the applicable vesting date. For 2023, AIP payouts exceeded 200% and, as described undera result, each of the NEOs was granted RSUs with the following grant values in lieu of cash on the same date as the 2024 annual LTI grant: Mr. Niccol ($585,000), Mr. Hartung ($178,406), Mr. Garner ($126,750), Mr. Brandt ($106,031) and Mr. Boatwright ($117,000). Only the cash portion of the 2023 AIP payouts is included in the table above. For further discussion, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Discussion of Executive Officer Compensation Decisions – Annual Incentives – AIP Structure” and “– 2015 AIP Payouts.Incentive Plan (AIP).

(4)
Amounts undershown in the “All Other Compensation” column for 2015 include2023 consist of the following:

Matching contributions we made on the executive officers’ behalf to the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. 401(K) plan as well as the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan, in the aggregate amounts of $205,692 for Mr. Ells, $176,308 for Mr. Moran, $80,398 for Mr. Hartung, and $48,474 for Mr. Crumpacker. See “Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation for 2015” below for a description of the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan.

Company car costs, which include the depreciation expense recognized on company-owned cars or lease payments on leased cars (in either case less employee payroll deductions), insurance premiums, and maintenance and fuel costs. Company car costs for Mr. Ells were $60,496, for Mr. Moran were $37,074, for Mr. Hartung were less than $25,000, and for Mr. Crumpacker were $32,028.

Housing costs, including monthly rent and utilities payments, of $35,392 for Mr. Hartung and $45,274 for Mr. Crumpacker.

$14,918 for Mr. Ells, $8,906 for Mr. Moran, $63,294 for Mr. Hartung, and $15,071 for Mr. Crumpacker for reimbursement of taxes payable in connection with taxable perquisites under rules of the Internal Revenue Service.

Commuting expenses, which include air fare, airport parking and ground transportation relating to travel between home and our company headquarters, for Mr. Hartung totaling $38,604.

Name
Company
Contributions
to Retirement
Plans(a)
Personal
Aircraft
Use(b)
Tax
Payments(c)
Other(e)
Total
Brian Niccol
$231,000
$200,000
$763
$48,197
$479,961
Jack Hartung
$107,712
$0
$918
$5,947
$114,577
Curt Garner
$84,017
$0
$680
$5,947
$90,644
Chris Brandt
$82,151
$0
$759
$13,464
$96,374
Scott Boatwright
$59,598
$0
$698
$5,956
$66,252
(a)
54    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENTConsists of matching contributions made by the company to Chipotle’s 401(k) Plan and the Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan for the benefit of the executive. The Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan is a nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement for employees who earn compensation greater than the maximum compensation that can be considered with respect to the 401(k) Plan, as set by the Internal Revenue Code. See “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation for 2023” for more details on this plan.


Executive Officers and Compensation

(continued)


2024 Proxy Statement 71

LOGO


TABLE OF CONTENTS

(b)
Consists of the aggregate incremental costs of personal use by Mr. Niccol of company-owned aircraft, which use was approved by our Board. The aggregate incremental costs include costs billed by the applicable third-party or, for company-owned aircraft, the hourly operating cost of the aircraft, consisting of fuel costs, and other operating costs such as crew expenses, catering and landing fees.
(c)
Consists of the company’s reimbursement of taxes payable by the executive in connection with use of a meal card to receive a set amount of free Chipotle meals each month, which meal card is provided broadly to all the company’s corporate and field management employees. The meal card perquisite is not required to be included in the table above since it is available to a broad base of company employees, but the perquisite is taxable to all employees under Internal Revenue Service rules.
(e)
Includes costs of life insurance premiums and a gym allowance for all officers; financial and tax counseling services for Mr. Brandt; and home security costs for Mr. Niccol.
GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN 2015

       

 

ESTIMATED POSSIBLE PAYOUTS
UNDER NON-EQUITY INCENTIVE
PLAN AWARDS(1)

 

  

 

ESTIMATED POSSIBLE PAYOUTS
UNDER EQUITY INCENTIVE
PLAN AWARDS(2)

 

  

GRANT DATE
FAIR VALUE
OF STOCK
AWARDS(3)

 

 
NAME

 

 

GRANT
DATE

 

 

AWARD

DESCRIPTION

 

 

THRESHOLD
($)

 

  

TARGET

($)

 

  

MAXIMUM

($)

 

  

THRESHOLD
(# shares)

 

  

TARGET

(# shares)

 

  

MAXIMUM

(# shares)

 

  
STEVE ELLS         
 n/a AIP $0   $1,925,000   $3,927,000      
 2/20/15 Performance Shares     7,444    14,887    29,774   $12,030,036  
MONTY MORAN         
 n/a AIP $0   $1,650,000   $3,366,000      
 2/20/15 Performance Shares     7,444    14,887    29,774   $12,030,036  
JACK HARTUNG         
 n/a AIP $0   $637,500   $1,300,500      
 2/20/15 Performance Shares     3,126    6,252    12,504   $5,052,179  
MARK CRUMPACKER         
 n/a AIP $0   $347,750   $709,410      
 2/20/15 Performance Shares     2,233    4,466    8,932   $3,608,930  

2023
Potential Future Payouts
Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan
Awards(2)
Potential Future Payouts
Under Equity Incentive Plan
Awards(3)
All Other
Stock
Awards:
Number of
Shares of
Stock
or Units
(#)(3)
All Other
Option
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Options
(#)(3)
Exercise
or Base
Price of
Option
Awards
($/Sh)
Grant
Date Fair
Value
of Stock
and
Option
Awards
($)(4)
Name
Award
Type
Grant
Date(1)
Threshold
($)
Target
($)
Maximum
($)
Threshold
(#)
Target
(#)
Maximum
(#)
Brian Niccol
AIP
$0
$2,600,000
$7,150,000
PSUs(5)
2/9/23
0
5,788
17,364
$9,300,795
SOSARs(6)
2/9/23
11,983
$1,606.91
$6,200,364
Jack Hartung
AIP
$0
$951,500
$2,616,625
PSUs(5)
2/9/23
0
2,054
6,162
$3,300,593
SOSARs(6)
2/9/23
4,252
$1,606.91
$2,200,112
Curt Garner
AIP
$0
$780,000
$2,145,000
PSUs(5)
2/9/23
0
1,867
5,601
$3,000,101
SOSARs(6)
2/9/23
3,866
$1,606.91
$2,000,384
Chris Brandt
AIP
$0
$652,500
$1,794,375
PSUs(5)
2/9/23
0
1,681
5,043
$2,701,216
SOSARs(6)
2/9/23
1,740
$1,606.91
$900,328
RSUs(6)
2/9/23
561
$901,477
Scott Boatwright
AIP
$0
$585,000
$1,608,750
PSUs(5)
2/9/23
0
1,681
5,043
$2,701,216
SOSARs(6)
2/9/23
1,740
$1,606.91
$900,328
RSUs(6)
2/9/23
561
$901,477
(1)
Each executive officer was entitled toThe Compensation, People and Culture Committee approved the 2023 annual grants on February 7, 2023, with a cash award to be paid under our 2014 Cash Incentive Plan, although as a mattergrant date of practice the Compensation Committee exercises discretion to pay each executive officer a lesser amount determined under the AIP as described under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – Components of Compensation – Annual Incentives.” Amounts under Threshold reflectFebruary 9, 2023.
(2)
The “Threshold” column reflects amounts that no payouts would be paid under the AIP if achievement against company targetseach executive officer achieved the plan goals at the minimum level required to receive any payout. The “Target” column reflects amounts that would be paid under the AIP if the performance goals under the AIP were sufficiently below target. Amounts under Target reflect the target AIP bonus, whicheach achieved at 100%. The “Maximum” column reflects amounts that would have beenbe paid to the executive officer if each of the company performance factor, team performance factor and individual performance factor under the AIP had been set at 100 percent. Amountsif the performance goals under Maximum reflect the AIP bonus which would have been payable had each of the company performance factor, team performance factor and individual performance factor beenwere achieved at the maximum level. Amounts in each column assume that the Compensation, People and Culture Committee does not utilize the food safety modifier to decrease the payout to any NEO by up to -20%. Actual AIP bonuses paid are reflected in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the table labeled2023 Summary Compensation Table above. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – 2023 Compensation Program – Annual Incentive Plan” for further information regarding the AIP.

(2)(3)
The Performance ShareAll equity awards are denominatedshown in shares of common stock and were granted under the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. 20112022 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and restated.Plan. See “Terms of 2015 Equity-Based2023 Annual PSU Awards,” “Terms of 2023 Annual SOSAR Awards” and “Terms of 2023 Annual RSU Awards” below for a description of the vesting terms for the Performance SharesPSUs, SOSARs and RSUs granted during 2015. 2023.
(4)
See Note 68 to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015,2023, which are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 5, 2016,8, 2024, for descriptions of the methodologies and assumptions we used to value Performance Shareequity awards pursuant to FASB Topic 718. The grant date fair value of Performance Share awards is included in the “Stock Awards” column of the Summary Compensation Table above for each executive officer for 2015.
(3)(5)
See footnote (1)PSUs will vest to the Summary Compensation Table above.extent that the company’s three-year cumulative RCF dollars and total number of new restaurant openings over the 2023 through 2025 performance period equal or exceed the predetermined threshold performance level.

(6)
SOSAR and RSU awards vest 50% on the second anniversary and 50% on the third anniversary of the date of grant, subject to continued employment through the applicable vesting date.


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Terms

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TERMS OF 2023 ANNUAL PSU AWARDS
Annual PSUs granted to the executive officers in 2023 will vest only if and to the extent that the company’s three-year cumulative restaurant cash flow (RCF) dollars and total number of 2015 Performance Share Awards

Vestingnew restaurant openings (NROs) over the 2023 through 2025 performance period equal or exceed the predetermined threshold performance level. The payout range for the PSUs is 0% to 300%, and PSUs will only be earned if the 3-year cumulative RCF Dollars are greater than $7.1 billion (90% weight) and/or if more than 730 total NROs occur over the performance period (10% weight). If the cumulative RCF dollars and/or the total NROs fall between two stated performance levels in the performance goal table, the payout of the Performance Share awards made in 2015percentage will be based on Chipotle’s relative performance versus our restaurant industry peer group in revenue growth, net income growth, and total shareholder return, with each performance measure to be weighted equally. The awards will pay out at the target number of shares set forth in the Grants of Plan-Based Awards for 2015 table, above, if our relative achievement versus the peer group, averaged across the three performance measures, is at the 65th percentile; will pay out at two times the target number of shares set forth in the table if our averaged relative percentile achievement versus the peer group is at or above the 90th percentile; and will pay out at one-half the target number of shares set forth below if our averaged relative percentile achievement versus the peer group is at the 35th percentile. Payout for achievement in between the 35th and 65th, and between the 65th and 90th, percentiles will be interpolated linearly between the threshold and target payout levels or target and maximum payout levels, as applicable. Averaged relative achievement versus the peer group below the 35th percentile will result in expiration of the awards with no payout. Performance will be calculated over the three year period beginning January 1, 2015 and ending December 31, 2017.determined using linear interpolation. Vesting and payout of each awardPSU is subject to the recipient’sexecutive officer’s continued employment through the vesting date subject to the potential pro-rata payout to the recipient or his estate(except in the event of termination of employment due to death disability or retirement,disability), and to potentialeach PSU may be paid out on an accelerated vestingbasis in the event of certain terminations within two yearsa change in control transaction and continued vesting (possibly on a pro-rata basis) upon retirement of the holder.

TERMS OF 2023 ANNUAL SOSAR AWARDS
A SOSAR represents the right to acquire a specific number of shares of common stock at a pre-set price, which has value when the market price of the common stock at the time of exercise exceeds the exercise price. The exercise price of the SOSARs is equal to the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. SOSARs vest 50% on the second anniversary and 50% on the third anniversary of the date of grant, subject to the executive’s continued employment, and have a seven-year term. SOSARs may continue to vest upon the holder’s retirement and may vest on an accelerated basis in the event of termination of employment due to death or disability, a qualifying termination of employment following a change in control, and upon completion of certain change in control transactions as describedin which the SOSARs are not replaced.
TERMS OF 2023 ANNUAL RSU AWARDS
RSUs vest 50% on the second anniversary and 50% on the third anniversary of the date of grant, subject to the executive’s continued employment, and will settle in shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis. The RSUs may continue to vest upon the holder’s retirement and may vest on an accelerated basis in the footnotesevent of termination of employment due to death or disability, a qualifying termination of employment following a change in control, and upon completion of certain change in control transactions in which the Equity Award Vesting table appearing below

RSUs are not replaced.

2024 Proxy Statement 73
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT
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Executive Officers and Compensation

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under “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control.” We filed the form of Performance Share Agreements for these grants as an exhibit to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on April 22, 2015.

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT DECEMBER 31, 2015

  

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

 

  

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

 

 
STEVE ELLS      
      37,500(1)  $318.45    2/7/2020    5,000(6)  $2,399,250(7) 
      37,500(2)  $318.45    2/7/2020    7,444(8)  $3,572,003(7) 
      87,500(3)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
      87,500(4)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
MONTY MORAN      
  40,000       $371.63    2/6/2019    5,000(6)  $2,399,250(7) 
  60,000       $371.63    2/6/2019    7,444(8)  $3,572,003(7) 
  37,500    37,500(1)  $318.45    2/7/2020    
  37,500    37,500(2)  $318.45    2/7/2020    
      87,500(3)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
      87,500(4)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
JACK HARTUNG      
  12,500    12,500(1)  $318.45    2/7/2020    2,500(6)  $1,199,625(7) 
  12,500    12,500(2)  $318.45    2/7/2020    3,126(8)  $1,500,011(7) 
      30,000(3)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
      30,000(4)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
MARK CRUMPACKER      
      4,000(1)  $318.45    2/7/2020    2,000(6)  $959,700(7) 
      4,000(2)  $318.45    2/7/2020    2,233(8)  $1,071,505(7) 
      2,000(5)  $365.80    6/8/2020    
      15,000(3)  $543.20    2/3/2021    
      15,000(4)  $543.20    2/3/2021    

FISCAL YEAR END 2023
Option Awards(1)
Stock Awards
Name
Grant Date
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Unexercisable
Option
Exercise
Price
($)
Option
Expiration
Date
Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock that
Have Not
Vested
(#)(1)
Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
($)(2)
Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other
Rights That
Have Not
Vested
(#)(3)
Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or
Payout Value
of Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other
Rights That
Have Not
Vested
($)(2)
Brian Niccol
3/5/2018
1,334
$400.20
3/5/2025
2/8/2019
5,275
$582.77
2/8/2026
2/6/2020
17,812
$857.00
2/6/2027
2/4/2021
6,098
6,098
$1,479.55
2/4/2028
13,531
$30,944,856
2/10/2022
11,940
$1,578.00
2/10/2029
5,134
$11,741,253
2/9/2023
11,983
$1,606.91
2/9/2030
17,364
$39,710,773
Jack Hartung
2/8/2019
6,782
$582.77
2/8/2026
2/6/2020
5,344
$857.00
2/6/2027
2/4/2021
1,779
1,779
$1,479.55
2/4/2028
3,948
$9,028,918
2/10/2022
3,538
$1,578.00
2/10/2029
1,521
$3,478,466
2/9/2023
4,252
$1,606.91
2/9/2030
6,162
$14,092,248
Curt Garner
3/29/2018
5,384
$355.42
3/29/2025
2/8/2019
6,782
$582.77
2/8/2026
2/6/2020
5,344
$857.00
2/6/2027
2/4/2021
1,779
1,779
$1,479.55
2/4/2028
3,948
$9,028,918
2/10/2022
3,538
$1,578.00
2/10/2029
1,521
$3,478,466
2/9/2023
3,866
$1,606.91
2/9/2030
5,601
$12,809,263
Chris Brandt
2/6/2020
4,453
$857.00
2/6/2027
2/4/2021
1,525
1,524
$1,479.55
2/4/2028
3,384
$7,739,073
2/10/2022
3,273
$1,578.00
2/10/2029
1,407
$3,217,753
2/9/2023
1,740
$1,606.91
2/9/2030
561
$1,282,985
5,043
$11,533,139
Scott Boatwright
2/4/2021
1,652
1,652
$1,479.55
2/4/2028
3,665
$8,381,708
2/10/2022
3,273
$1,578.00
2/10/2029
1,407
$3,217,753
2/9/2023
1,740
$1,606.91
2/9/2030
561
$1,282,985
5,043
$11,533,139
(1)
These SOSARs which wereand RSUs vest ratably on the second and third anniversary of the grant date, subject to time-basedcontinued employment through the applicable vesting only, vested in full on February 7, 2016.date.

(2)
Vesting of these Performance SOSARs, is contingent upon our achievement of stated levels of cumulative adjusted cash flow from operations prior to the fifth fiscal year-end following the award date, with vesting to occur upon certification of the satisfaction of the performance criteria by the Compensation Committee and no earlier than expiration of the time-based vesting requirement on February 7, 2016. The performance criteria for these awards were satisfied as of December 31, 2015, and accordingly, following February 7, 2016, vesting is subject only to certification by the Compensation Committee of achievement of the performance criteria. Vesting of these Performance SOSARs may accelerate as described in the footnotes to the table below under “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control.”

(3)These SOSARs are subject to time-based vesting; one-half of the awards vested on February 3, 2016.

(4)Vesting of these Performance SOSARs is contingent upon our achievement of stated levels of cumulative adjusted cash flow from operations prior to the fourth and fifth fiscal year-ends following the award date with vesting to occur no sooner than February 3, 2016 and 2017 (with half of each Performance SOSAR subject to each such time-based vesting date). The performance criteria for the first tranche of these awards were satisfied as of December 31, 2015, and accordingly, following February 3, 2016, vesting of one-half of the awards is subject only to certification by the Compensation Committee of achievement of the performance criteria. Vesting of these Performance SOSARs may accelerate as described in the footnotes to the table below under “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control.”

(5)These SOSARs will vest on June 8, 2016, subject to potential accelerated vesting as described in the footnotes to the table below under “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control.”

(6)Represents shares issuable under 2013 performance share awards, assuming achievement at the threshold level of cumulative adjusted cash flow from operations, subject to certain adjustments for stock-based compensation expense and for one-time or unusual items, through September 30, 2016.

(7)BasedCalculated based on the closing stock price of our common stock on December 31, 201529, 2023 of $479.85$2,286.96 per share.

(8)(3)
Represents shares issuable under 2015Unless otherwise indicated, PSUs vest if and to the extent that the performance share awards, assuming achievementtargets are met at the end of the three-year performance period, subject to continued employment. For the 2021 PSUs, which vested on February 15, 2024, the number of shares in the table reflect shares earned based on actual achievement of the performance objectives. For the 2022 PSUs, which are scheduled to vest on February 15, 2025, the number of shares in the table reflect payout at target achievement level since performance through the completed years of the performance period exceeded threshold level. Thelevels. For the 2023 PSUs, which are scheduled to vest on February 15, 2026, the number of shares in the table reflect payout at maximum achievement level since performance termsthrough the completed years of the performance period exceeded target levels. Actual achievement of the performance objectives for the 20152022 PSUs and 2023 PSUs may vary from the achievement reflected in the table based on company performance share awards are described above under “—Termsover the remainder of 2015 Performance Share Awards.”the performance period.

56  

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED IN 2015

The following table provides summary information about SOSARs exercised by our executive officers during 2015. No full-value shares of stock vested during 2015.

   OPTION AWARDS 
  NAME  

NUMBER OF

SHARES

ACQUIRED

ON

EXERCISE

   VALUE REALIZED
ON EXERCISE(1)
 

Steve Ells

   150,000    $46,594,735  

Monty Moran

   270,000    $107,808,576  

Jack Hartung

   75,000    $27,544,397  

Mark Crumpacker

   18,000    $5,330,771  

FISCAL 2023
Option Awards
Stock Awards
Name
Number of Shares
Acquired on
Exercise (#)(1)
Value Realized
on Exercise ($)(2)
Number of Shares
Acquired on
Vesting (#)(1)
Value Realized
on Vesting ($)(3)
Brian Niccol
23,908
$37,043,365
16,535
$27,555,009
Jack Hartung
6,661
$11,196,218
Curt Garner
1,250
$2,190,945
6,661
$11,196,218
Chris Brandt
5,304
$6,854,765
6,066
$10,217,729
Scott Boatwright
2,449
$2,906,197
6,364
$10,707,796
(1)
BasedReflects the number of shares of Chipotle common stock acquired on exercise of SOSARs or the vesting of RSUs and PSUs.
(2)
Equals the number of underlying shares exercised multiplied by the difference between the market value of common stock on the amount by whichdate of exercise and the price of our common stock used to compute the exercise proceeds exceeded the base price of the SOSARs.

(3)
Equals the closing price the Chipotle’s common stock on the vesting date multiplied by the number of shares vested.

NON-QUALIFIEDNONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION FOR 2015

2023

The Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan permits eligible management employees, who elect to participate in the plan, including our executive officers, to make contributions to deferral accounts once the participantemployee has maximized his or her contributions to our 401(k) plan. Contributions are made on the participant’s behalf through payroll deductions from 1 percent1% to 50 percent50% of the participant’s monthly base compensation, which are credited to the participant’s “Supplemental Account,” and from 1 percent1% to 100 percent100% of awardspayouts under the AIP, which are credited to the participant’s “Deferred Bonus Account.” We also match contributions at the rate of 100 percent100% on the first 3 percent3% of compensation contributed and 50 percent50% on the next 2 percent2% of compensation contributed. Amounts contributed to a participant’s deferral accounts are not subject to federal income tax at the time of contribution. Amounts credited to a participant’s deferral accountscontribution, fluctuate in value to track a variety of availablebased on the investment choices selected by the participant (which consist of a variety of mutual funds and may be changed by the participant at any time), and are fully vested at all times following contribution.

Participants may elect to receive distribution of amounts credited to either or both of the participant’s Supplemental Account or Deferred Bonus Account,their accounts in either (1)(i) a lump sum amount paid from two to six years following the end of the year in which the deferral is made, subject to a one-time opportunity to postpone such lump sum distribution, or (2)(ii) a lump sum or installment distribution following termination of the participant’s service with us,employment, with installment payments made in accordance with the participant’s election on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis over a period of up to 15 years following termination, subject to a one-time opportunity to change such distribution election within certain limitations. Distributions in respect of one or both of a participant’s deferral accountsaccount are subject to federal income tax as ordinary income in the year the distribution is made.

Amounts credited to participants’ deferral accounts are our unsecured general obligations of ours to pay the value of the accounts to the participants at times determined under the plan.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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The table below presents contributions by each executive officer and our matching contributions, to the Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan during 2015, as well as2023, our matching contributions, each executive officer’s earnings under and distributions from the planPlan and the ending balances in the planPlan on December 31, 2015.

  NAME  

EXECUTIVE
CONTRIBUTIONS

IN LAST FY(1)

   

REGISTRANT
CONTRIBUTIONS

IN LAST FY(2)

   

AGGREGATE

EARNINGS/
(LOSSES)

IN LAST FY(3)

   

AGGREGATE
WITHDRAWALS/

DISTRIBUTIONS

   

AGGREGATE
BALANCE

AT LAST

FYE(4)

 

Steve Ells

  $243,865    $195,092    ($13,574  $334,701    $1,476,761  

Monty Moran

  $497,835    $165,708    ($93,566       $3,319,889  

Jack Hartung

  $967,515    $78,244    ($11,486       $5,741,288  

Mark Crumpacker

  $78,835    $37,874    ($5,083  $73,856    $270,264  

2023.
Name
Executive
Contributions
In Last FY ($)(1)
Registrant
Contributions
In Last FY ($)(2)
Aggregate
Earnings
In Last FY ($)(3)
Aggregate
Withdrawals/
Distributions ($)
Aggregate
Balance at
Last FYE ($)(4)
Brian Niccol
$170,365
$217,800
$217,909
$0
$1,332,314
Jack Hartung
$438,381
$94,512
$539,319
$0
$10,665,166
Curt Garner
$441,302
$70,817
$386,262
$0
$2,810,150
Chris Brandt
$200,912
$68,951
$178,894
$0
$1,043,394
Scott Boatwright
$121,500
$46,398
$96,807
$0
$842,268
(1)
These amounts are reported in the 2023 Summary Compensation Table as part ofin each executive’s “Salary” and “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” for 2015.2023.

(2)
These amounts are reported in the 2023 Summary Compensation Table as part ofin each executive’s “All Other Compensation” for 2015.2023.

(3)
These amounts are not reported as compensation in the 2023 Summary Compensation Table because none of the earnings are “above market” as defined in SEC rules.

(4)
These amounts include amounts previously reported in the Summary Compensation Table for years prior to 2023 as “Salary,” “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” or “All Other Compensation” for years prior to 2015 (ignoring(excluding for purposes of this footnote any investment losses on balances in the plan and any withdrawals/distributions), in the following aggregate amounts: $1,899,712 for Mr. Ells, $2,471,015 for Mr. Moran, $4,183,180 forNiccol ($1,662,168); Mr. Hartung ($7,587,705); Mr. Garner ($1,320,250); Mr. Brandt ($730,036); and $201,903 for Mr. Crumpacker.Boatwright ($554,445).

McDonald’s Excess Non-Qualified Plan and Non-Qualified Supplemental Plan

Prior to our separation from McDonald’s in October 2006, our executive officers and other key employees were permitted to participate in non-qualified deferred compensation plans maintained by McDonald’s. These plans provided substantially similar benefits to participants as our Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan, except that the investment and distribution options in the McDonald’s

plans are different than those in our plan. Effective with our separation from McDonald’s, our employees’ service with McDonald’s was deemed to have terminated, and the balances in these plans were distributed in accordance with each participant’s distribution elections. Our employees are no longer permitted to contribute to these plans, but the balances remaining in the plans in respect of our executive officers are attributable in part to service as one of our employees.

The table below presents, for Mr. Hartung, our only executive officer with a balance remaining in any McDonald’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan, his aggregate earnings under and aggregate withdrawals from the McDonald’s plans during 2015, as well as his aggregate ending balance in the plans as of December 31, 2015.

  NAME  

EXECUTIVE
CONTRIBUTIONS

IN LAST FY

   

REGISTRANT
CONTRIBUTIONS

IN LAST FY

   

AGGREGATE

EARNINGS

IN LAST FY(1)

   AGGREGATE
WITHDRAWALS/
DISTRIBUTIONS
   

AGGREGATE
BALANCE

AT LAST

FYE(2)

 

Jack Hartung

            $11,848    $372,984    $378,628  

(1)This amount is not reported as compensation in the Summary Compensation Table because none of the earnings are “above market” as defined in SEC rules.

2024 Proxy Statement 75

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(2)This amount includes amounts previously reported in the Summary Compensation Table as “Salary” or “All Other Compensation” for 2006 (ignoring for purposes of this footnote any investment losses on balances in the plans), in the amounts of $140,647.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE-IN-CONTROL

We have not entered into written

Severance Arrangements
In February 2024, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee approved the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Executive Officer Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”), which was effective immediately. The Severance Plan provides for severance benefits to the “executive officers” of the company, as defined by Rule 3b-7 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, if the executive officer’s employment change-in-control, severance or similar agreements with any of our employees, including our executive officers. Accordingly, we do not have any written agreements requiring that we make post-employment severance paymentsis terminated either by the company without “cause” (excluding termination by the company due to the executive officersofficer’s death or disability) or due to a resignation by the executive officer for “good reason” (each as defined in the eventSeverance Plan) that in each case does not entitle the executive officer to benefits under Chipotle’s Change in Control Severance Plan (a “Qualifying Termination”).
An executive officer who experiences a Qualifying Termination would be eligible to receive (i) cash severance equal to the sum of their employment terminates. In addition, payoutsbase salary plus target cash bonus under the AIP are conditioned onfor the employee being employed asyear in which the Qualifying Termination occurs multiplied by two, in the case of the payout date. We haveChief Executive Officer, or one and one-half, in the past paid severance to executives orcase of other key employees who have left us, and we may negotiate individual severance arrangements with any executive officer whose employment with us terminates in the future, depending on the circumstances of the executive’s termination.

The terms of the equity-based awards made to our executive officers, do providepaid in equal installments over 24 months, for post-employment benefitsthe Chief Executive Officer, and 18 months for other executive officers, plus (ii) a pro-rated portion of their annual bonus under the AIP for the year in certain circumstances. The table below reflectswhich the dollar value,Qualifying Termination occurs, based on the closing price of our common stock on December 31, 2015,company’s actual performance, plus (iii) the cash equivalent of the valueemployer portion of the cost of the company group health plans in which the executive officer was participating immediately prior to the Qualifying Termination for 24 months, with respect to the Chief Executive Officer, or for 18 months, with respect to other executive officer. In addition, each listed typeexecutive officer would vest in a pro-rata portion of equity award that was not vested on December 31, 2015 and on which vesting would have been accelerated had the executive’s employment terminated, for the reasons identified in the table, as of December 31, 2015.

Potential Amounts Realizable Upon Termination Under Equity Awards

NAME

 

  

INVOLUNTARY
TERMINATION(1)

 

   

VOLUNTARY
RESIGNATION(1)

 

   

RETIREMENT(2)

 

   

QUALIFYING
TERMINATION
FOLLOWING CHANGE
IN CONTROL(3)

 

   

DEATH/
DISABILITY(4)

 

 

STEVE ELLS

  

SOSARs(5)

            $12,105,000    $12,105,000    $12,105,000  

Performance Shares

            $5,640,622    $11,942,027    $5,640,622  

Total

  $0    $0    $17,745,622    $24,047,027    $17,745,622  

MONTY MORAN

  

SOSARs(5)

             N/A    $12,105,000    $12,105,000  

Performance Shares

             N/A    $11,942,027    $5,640,622  

Total

  $0    $0     N/A    $24,047,027    $17,745,622  

JACK HARTUNG

  

SOSARs(5)

            $4,035,000    $4,035,000    $4,035,000  

Performance Shares

            $2,648,515    $5,399,272    $2,648,515  

Total

  $0    $0    $6,683,515    $9,434,272    $6,683,515  

MARK CRUMPACKER

  

SOSARs(5)

             N/A    $1,519,300    $1,519,300  

Performance Shares

             N/A    $4,062,410    $2,041,587  

Total

  $0    $0     N/A    $5,581,710    $3,560,887  

(1)Assumes the absence of a change in control as described in further detail in footnote 3 below.

(2)Certain outstanding equity awards provide that the holder is eligible for retirement when the employee reaches a combined age and years-of-service with us (and with McDonald’s Corporation unless there was a break in service prior to joining us from McDonald’s) of 70. Of the executive officers, Mr. Ells and Mr. Hartung were eligible for retirement as of December 31, 2015.

In the event the employment of a holder of SOSARs terminates as a result of the holder’s retirement, provided we receive six months’ prior written notice of the retirement and the holder executes an agreement not to engage in any competitive activity with us for a period of at least two years following retirement, service-based vesting conditions on the SOSARs are deemed satisfied immediately. In such event, SOSARs subject to performance conditions remain outstanding and subject to vesting based on achievement of the performance conditions, and SOSARs without performance conditions are immediately vested. All such SOSARs remain outstanding and exercisable (following vesting) for the original duration of the SOSAR. The amounts reflected in the table as realizable upon retirement in respect of SOSARs reflects amounts attributable to the portion of SOSARs granted in 2013 and 2014 subject to performance conditions for which the performance conditions were satisfied as of December 31, 2015, notwithstanding that the Compensation Committee had not yet certified the satisfaction of the performance conditions as of that date as is required for the awards to vest, but does not reflect any amounts in respect of performance SOSARs for which the performance conditions were not yet satisfied as of December 31, 2015, due to the ongoing vesting conditions that would be in effect at the time of the holder’s retirement.

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In the event the employment with us of a holder of performance shares terminates as a result of the holder’s retirement, the performance shares will be paid out on the payout date, with the number of shares issuable to be based on actual performance over the performance period and pro-rated in an amount equal to the period of the holder’s service with us following the grant of the award as a percentage of the time period from the grant of the award until the end of the performance period. The amounts reflected in the table as realizable in respect of the performance shares in connection with retirement assume that the performance shares actually paid out at target. These amounts would not be realizable until following completion of the applicable performance periods for each award.

(3)The award agreements for SOSARs provide that in the event of a change in control under our Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, unless the SOSARs are replaced with an award meeting the criteria described below under “–Equity Award Vesting Upon Change in Control,” the SOSARs immediately vest. One of the provisions required to be included in a replacement award in order to avoid vesting of the SOSARs immediately upon occurrence of a change in control is that the replacement award must provide that if the employment of the holder is terminated without cause or by the holder for good reason, in each case as defined in the plan, the award will vest.

A change in control would generally be deemed to occur under the plan in the event any person or group acquires shares of our common stock representing greater than 25 percent of the combined voting power of our outstanding common stock, or in the event our current directors, or persons we nominate to replace current directors, do not constitute at least a majority of our Board, or in the event of certain mergers, liquidations, or sales of substantially all of our assets by us.

The award agreement for our outstanding performance shares provides that in the event of a change in control under the plan that also constitutes a “change in the ownership or effective control of a corporation, or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of a corporation” under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations, the performance shares remain outstanding and vesting will accelerate (with payout at target level performance) in the event the employment of the holder is terminated without cause or by the holder for good reason within two years following the change in control. In the event of a change in control under the plan that also constitutes a “change in the ownership of a corporation” or a “change in the ownership of a substantial portion of a corporation’s assets” under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations, unless the performance shares are replaced with an award meeting the criteria described below under “– Equity Award Vesting Upon Change in Control,” the performance shares immediately vest at target level performance. One of the provisions required to be included in a replacement award in order to avoid vesting of the performance shares immediately upon occurrence of such a change in control is that the replacement award must provide that if the employment of the holder is terminated without cause or due to death or disability of the holder, or by the holder for good reason, in each case as defined in our Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, the award will vest.

(4)In the event the employment with us of a holder of SOSARs subject to performance conditions terminates as a result of the holder’s death or disability, service-based vesting conditions on such SOSARs are deemed satisfied immediately. In such event, the SOSARs remain outstanding and subject to vesting based on achievement of the performance conditions, with vesting to be prorated for the time period of the holder’s service prior to death and disability as a proportion of the period from the grant date to the satisfaction of the performance condition. The amounts reflected in the table as realizable upon death or disability in respect of SOSARs reflects amounts attributable to the portion of SOSARs granted in 2013 and 2014 subject to performance conditions for which the performance conditions were satisfied as of December 31, 2015, notwithstanding that the Compensation Committee had not yet certified the satisfaction of the performance conditions as of that date as is required for the awards to vest, but does not reflect any amounts in respect of performance SOSARs for which the performance conditions were not yet satisfied as of December 31, 2015, due to the ongoing vesting conditions that would be in effect at the time of the holder’s death or disability.

In the event the employment with us of a holder of performance shares terminates as a result of the holder’s death or disability, the performance shares will be paid out on the payout date, with the number of shares issuable to be based on actual performance over the performance period and pro-rated in an amount equal to the period of the holder’s service with us following the grant of the award as a percentage of the time period from the grant of the award until the end of the performance period. The amounts reflected in the table as realizable in respect of the performance shares as a result of the death or disability of each executive officer assumes that the performance shares actually paid out at target. These amounts would not be realizable until following completion of the performance period.

(5)The dollar values reflected in the table are based on the excess of the closing price of our common stock on December 31, 2015 over the exercise price of the applicable SOSARs.

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Executive Officers and Compensation

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Equity Award Vesting Upon Change in Control

Generally, our outstandingtheir unvested equity awards, dowith the performance-based equity awards vesting based on the extent of the company’s achievement of the applicable performance-based metrics. Any SOSARs held by the executive officer would be exercisable for 12 months after the Qualifying Termination or if earlier, until the expiration date. To be eligible for benefits under the Severance Plan, the executive officer must timely execute and not vest automaticallyrevoke a separation and general release agreement, in the form provided by the company, which contains customary confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-disparagement restrictions.

In February 2024, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee also approved a letter agreement with Brian Niccol, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, providing that if he is subject to a Qualifying Termination under the Severance Plan, he will receive an additional 12 months of pro-rated vesting credit for any equity awards held by him on the Qualifying Termination Date.
Change in Control Severance Plan
We maintain a Change in Control Severance Plan (“CIC Plan”) to encourage retention of key management employees in the event of a change in control. In additionThe Board believes that the CIC Plan would help incent key executives to remain with the provisions described above relating to equity-based awards for which vesting may accelerate in connection with a terminationcompany during the pendency of the holder’s employment following certain changesany planned or unexpected change in control of Chipotle, however, our outstanding SOSARs and performance shares have provisions providing for acceleration of vesting in connection with certain changes in control in some circumstances, as described in more detail below.

SOSARs

The award agreement for outstanding SOSARs provides that in the event ofcompany. Severance benefits are only payable if both a change in control under our Amendedof the company occurs and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, anyan executive officer’s employment is terminated without cause or by him or her for good reason (each as defined in the plan). Under the plan, each named executive officer would be eligible to receive a (i) lump sum cash payment equal to two times his annual base salary plus target bonus for the year in which the termination occurs, plus a prorated bonus for the portion of the year served prior to termination, and (ii) cash amount equal to the employer portion of the cost of medical insurance coverage for two years after termination. In addition, all unvested SOSARs will automaticallyLTI held by the named executive officer at the time of termination would vest in full, with PSUs vesting at the greater of (a) target or (b) actual performance, as ofdetermined based on the company’s performance through the date of the change in control. The plan does not provide for any tax gross ups and executives are entitled to the best after tax result of either having payments reduced so as not to trigger excise taxes or receiving full payments and paying excise taxes. As a condition to receipt of any benefits under the plan, the executive officer would be required to sign a release of claims against the company and be subject to customary restrictive covenants.

Equity Awards
The terms of some equity-based award agreements, including awards granted to our executive officers, provide for post-employment benefits in certain circumstances.
Performance Share Units. The award agreement for the annual PSU grant provides that if the holder’s employment terminates due to death or disability, the PSU will be settled, without proration, at the same time the PSUs are settled with respect to other PSU holders. If the holder’s employment terminates due to retirement (i) before the one-year anniversary of the grant date, the holder will vest in a pro rata portion of the PSU, or (ii) on or after the one-year anniversary of the grant date, the holder will vest in the PSU, without proration, in each case at the same time the PSUs are settled with respect to other PSU holders. Retirement is defined as the holder having a combined age and years of service with the company equal to at least 70. In the event a change in control unlessof the company occurs, the PSUs will immediately vest at the greater of target or actual performance through the date the change in control is completed; provided that, in lieu of immediate vesting, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee may approve the replacement of the company’s PSUs with a comparable performance share unit issued by the company’s successor and the awards will vest if there is a qualifying termination of employment by the company’s successor without cause or by the executive officer for good reason.
Stock Appreciation Rights. The award agreement for the annual SOSAR grant provides that if the holder’s employment terminates due to death or disability, any unvested SOSARs as of the termination date will immediately vest and will remain exercisable until the third anniversary of the termination date. If the holder’s employment terminates due to retirement (i) before the one-year anniversary

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of the grant date, the holder will vest in a pro rata portion of the SOSAR over the remainder of the vesting period, or (ii) on or after the one-year anniversary of the grant date, the holder will continue to vest in the SOSAR over the remainder of the vesting period without proration, and in each case the SOSARs are replacedwill be exercisable until the earlier of the third anniversary of the retirement date or the expiration date of the SOSAR. Retirement is defined as the holder having a combined age and years of service with an award meeting the following criteria:

company equal to at least 70. In the replacement award must be denominatedevent a change in securities listedcontrol of the company occurs that results in our common stock being removed from listing on a national securities exchange;

exchange, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee is required to arrange for the substitution for any unvested SOSARs with the grant of a replacement award must have athat provides the holder with substantially the same economic value equal toand benefits and that vest on the earlier of the date the SOSARs being replaced, including an aggregate exercise price equal towould otherwise have vested under the aggregate exercise priceterms of such SOSARs, an aggregate spread equal to the aggregate spreadoriginal SOSAR agreement and the third anniversary of such SOSARs as determined immediately prior to the relevantgrant date; provided that the SOSAR will vest if, during the two-year period following the change in control, andthe holder experiences a ratioqualifying termination of exercise price to the fair market value of the securities subject to such replacement award that is equal to the ratio of exercise price of such SOSARs to the price of our common stock at the time of the change in control;

the vesting date(s) of the replacement award must be the same as the vesting date(s) of the performance-contingent restricted stock, subject to full acceleration of vesting of the replacement award in the event that the holder’s employment is terminated by the surviving orcompany’s successor entity without cause or by the holder for good reason,reason.

Restricted Stock Units. The award agreement for the annual RSU grant provides that if the holder’s employment terminates due to death or disability, any unvested RSUs as of the termination date will immediately vest. If the holder’s employment terminates due to retirement (i) before the one-year anniversary of the grant date, the holder will vest in each case as defineda pro-rata portion of the RSU over the remainder of the vesting period, or (ii) on or after the one-year anniversary of the grant date, the holder will continue to vest in the plan;RSU over the remainder of the vesting period without proration. Retirement is defined as the holder having a combined age and

years of service with the replacement award must provide for immediate vesting upon any transaction with respectcompany equal to at least 70. In the surviving or successor entity (or parent or subsidiary company thereof) of substantially similar character toevent a change in control as definedof the company occurs that results in the plan, or upon the securities constituting such replacement award ceasing to be listedour common stock being removed from listing on a national securities exchange.

Inexchange, the eventCompensation, People and Culture Committee is required to arrange for the substitution for any unvested RSUs with the grant of a replacement award that provides the holder with substantially the same value and contains the same material terms and conditions of the original award agreement; provided that the RSU will vest if, during the two-year period following the change in control, under the plan as of December 31, 2015, if SOSARs outstanding on that date were not replaced with replacement awards meeting the criteria specified above, the executive officers as of that

date would have had vesting accelerated on awards with the following dollar values:

  EXECUTIVE OFFICER  VALUE OF VESTED AWARD 

Steve Ells

  $12,105,000  

Monty Moran

  $12,105,000  

Jack Hartung

  $4,035,000  

Mark Crumpacker

  $1,519,300  

Performance Shares

The award agreement for our outstanding performance share awards provides that in the event of a change in control under our Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Incentive Plan that also constitutes a “change in the ownership or effective control of a corporation, or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of a corporation” under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations, the performance share awards remain outstanding and vesting will only accelerate in the event the employment of the holder is terminatedexperiences a qualifying termination of employment by the company’s successor without cause or by the holder for good reason within two yearsreason.

The following table presents the changepotential estimated payments to each named executive officer if he were terminated due to the indicated triggering event as of December 29, 2023, the last business day of the fiscal year. The table does not include amounts that we would need to pay regardless of the occurrence of the indicated triggering event, such as accumulated balances in control.

retirement plans. In calculating the amounts reflected in the table, we assumed the following:

each triggering event occurred on December 29, 2023, the last trading day of fiscal 2023, and the price of our common stock was $2,286.96 per share, the closing price of Chipotle common stock on December 29, 2023;
the executive earned a payout under the 2023 AIP equal to the actual payout amount for 2023, since he was employed by the company through the end of the year; and
with respect to equity awards, “Annual Equity Grants” reflect actual projected performance for PSUs as of December 31, 2023, which equal (i) for the 2021 PSUs, payout at 278%, which was the actual payout rate for that award; (ii) for the 2022 PSUs, payout at target since this is higher than actual projected payout; and (iii) for the 2023 PSUs, payout at 300%. For further discussion, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – 2023 Compensation Program – 2023 PSU Awards.”
POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE-IN-CONTROL
Officer
Termination
Without
Cause or by
Executive
for Good
Reason(1)
Change
in Control
(Double
Trigger)(2)
Retirement(3)
Death or
Disability
Brian Niccol
Salary
$0
$2,600,000
$0
$0
Bonus
$0
$10,985,000
$0
$0
​Equity Grants
$0
$103,932,797
$0
$98,062,171
Benefits
$0
$23,710
$0
$0
Jack Hartung
Salary
$0
$1,730,000
$0
$0
Bonus
$0
$3,984,406
$0
$0
​Equity Grants
$0
$33,434,972
$29,834,499
$31,695,739
Benefits
$0
$15,738
$0
$0
Curt Garner
     
Salary
$0
$1,560,000
$0
$0
Bonus
$0
$3,246,750
$0
$0
​Equity Grants
$0
$31,889,489
$0
$30,150,256
Benefits
$0
$23,710
$0
$0

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Officer
Termination
Without
Cause or by
Executive
for Good
Reason(1)
Change
in Control
(Double
Trigger)(2)
Retirement(3)
Death or
Disability
Chris Brandt
Salary
$0
$1,450,000
$0
$0
Bonus
$0
$2,716,031
$0
$0
​Equity Grants
$0
$28,123,955
$0
$26,515,078
Benefits
$0
$23,316
$0
$0
Scott Boatwright
     
     
Salary
$0
$​1,300,000
$0
$0
Bonus
$0
$2,457,000
$0
$0
​Equity Grants
$0
$28,869,436
$0
$27,260,559
Benefits
$0
$23,132
$0
$0
(1)
Chipotle adopted an Executive Officer Severance Plan in February 2024. Because the Plan was not in effect on December 31, 2023, potential payouts under the plan are not reflected in the table above. See “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-In-Control – Severance Arrangements” for details on the Plan.
(2)
Reflects amounts the executive may receive if both a change in control of Chipotle occurs and the executive’s employment is terminated (other than for cause or by the executive for good reason). If a successor company does not grant the executive comparable equity awards in replacement of the outstanding Chipotle awards, the awards will vest upon a change in control.
(3)
Retirement is defined as the executive having achieved a combined age and years of service equal to at least 70. Mr. Hartung is the only NEO who is eligible for retirement treatment as of December 31, 2023.
CEO PAY RATIO
Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, U.S. publicly traded companies are required to disclose the ratio of their CEO’s annual total compensation to the median of the annual total compensation of all employees of the company other than the CEO. The rule requires that our median employee be selected from all employees, including full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary employees.
The SEC rules for identifying the median employee and calculating the pay ratio permit companies to use various methodologies and assumptions, apply certain exclusions and make reasonable estimates that reflect their employee populations and compensation practices. As a result, the pay ratio reported by other companies may not be comparable with the pay ratio that we have reported. For example, Chipotle employs approximately 115,000 people around the world, and approximately 110,000 are hourly restaurant crew employees working in our nearly 3,400 restaurants.
We calculated our CEO to median employee pay ratio in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act and Item 402(u) of the SEC’s Regulation S-K, to arrive at a reasonable estimate calculated in accordance with SEC regulations. We identified our median employee by using total 2023 compensation for all individuals, excluding our CEO, who were employed by us on December 31, 2023 and we annualized the compensation of all full- and part-time employees who joined Chipotle mid-year during 2023. The pay ratio disclosure rules permit companies to exclude non-U.S. employees from the median employee calculation if non-U.S. employees in a particular jurisdiction account for five percent (5%) or less of the company’s total number of employees. Applying this de minimis exemption, we excluded 1,419 employees in Canada, 402 employees in the United Kingdom,156 employees in France and 45 employees in Germany from the calculations of our median employee. To arrive at a consistently applied compensation measure, we excluded from total 2023 compensation certain unusual or non-recurring items not available to all employees generally. This resulted in identification of a changemedian employee with annual total compensation for 2023 of $16,595, which is the compensation for an hourly part-time employee who works roughly 24 hours per week at one of our restaurants in control underFlorida and is calculated in accordance with the plan that also constitutes a “changeSummary Compensation Table rules. The compensation of our median employee is not necessarily representative of the compensation of other restaurant employees or of our overall compensation practices.
Based on an annual total compensation of our median employee for 2023 of $16,595, and the annual total compensation of $22.47 million for Brian Niccol, our CEO, as reported in the ownership2023 Summary Compensation Table, the ratio of our CEO’s annual total compensation to our median employee’s annual total compensation is 1,354 to 1. One of the most significant factors that differentiates us from other restaurant companies is that we own all our restaurants (i.e., none of our restaurants are franchised), so all the over 110,000 persons working in our U.S.-based restaurants are employees included in our calculation. This impacts the comparability of our CEO pay ratio to the ratio of many other restaurant or retail companies that operate under a corporation”franchise model (and that do not employ all the hourly restaurant or a “changeretail crew employees).

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PAY VERSUS PERFORMANCE TABLE
As described in the ownership of“Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” our Compensation, People and Culture Committee has implemented an executive compensation program designed to link a substantial portion of a corporation’s assets” under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations, the performance share awards immediately vest at target unless they are replaced with an award meeting the following criteria:

the replacement award must consist of securities listed on a national securities exchange;

the replacement award must have a value equalour NEOs’ realized compensation to the valueachievement of financial, operational and strategic goals that we believe enhance long-term shareholder value. The table below sets forth additional compensation information for our NEOs, calculated in accordance with SEC regulations, for fiscal years 2020 through 2023:

Value of Initial Fixed $100
Investment Based On:
Year
Summary
Compensation
Table Total for
CEO
(a)
Compensation
Actually Paid
to CEO
(b)
Average
Summary
Compensation
Table total for
Non-CEO
NEOs
(c)
Average
Compensation
Actually Paid
to Non-CEO
NEOs
(d)
CMG Total
Shareholder
Return
(e)
Peer Group
Total
Shareholder
Return
(f)
Net
Income
($millions)
(g)
Company
Selected
Measure
(CSM) -
RCF
Dollars
($millions)
(h)
2023
$ 22,473,427
$ 95,261,876
$7,195,337
$ 28,967,744
$273
$ 141
$1,229
$2,586
2022
$17,186,153
($16,848,694)
$6,500,834
($6,223,351)
$166
$126
$899
$2,062
2021
$17,880,580
$66,215,877
$5,402,915
$22,935,919
$209
$139
$653
$1,707
2020
$38,035,868
$95,328,425
$14,751,175
$30,272,465
$166
$115
$356
$1,041
Column (a). Reflects compensation amounts reported in the Summary Compensation Table for our CEO, Brian Niccol, for the respective years shown.
Column (b). Reflects the respective amounts set forth in column (a) of the unvested performance share award assuming the target level of performance, calculatedtable above, adjusted as if each unvested share were exchanged for the consideration (including all stock, other securities or assets, including cash) payable for one share of common stockset forth in the changetable below, as determined in control transaction;

accordance with SEC rules and computed in accordance with the vesting datemethodology used for financial reporting purposes. The dollar amounts reflected in column (b) of the replacement award must be September 30, 2016 (fortable above do not reflect the performance shares granted in 2013)actual amount of compensation earned, realized, or December 31, 2016 (forreceived by the performance shares granted in 2015, unlessCEO during the dateapplicable year, and a significant portion of such change in controlthe value is after December 31, 2016, in which case the vesting of such replacement award must be December 31, 2017), subject to full acceleration offorfeiture if the underlying vesting of the replacement award in the event that the holder’s employment is terminated by the surviving or successor entity without cause or by the holder for good reason, in each case as defined in the plan, or the

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holder’s employment terminates due to the holder’s medically diagnosed permanent physical or mental inability to perform his or her job duties; and

the replacement award must provide for immediate vesting upon any transactionconditions with respect to the surviving or successor entity (or parent or subsidiary company thereof) of substantially similar character to a change in control as definedequity awards are not achieved. For information regarding the decisions made by our Compensation, People and Culture Committee regarding the CEO’s compensation for each fiscal year, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and the tables and narrative explanations reporting pay for the fiscal years covered in the plan,table above.

Year
Summary
Compensation
Table Total for
CEO
Less:
Summary
Compensation
Table Total
Equity (Stock
Awards +
Option
Awards)
Plus:
Fair Value
as of Fiscal
Year-End
of Stock and
Option Awards
Granted in
Covered Year
Plus:
Change in
Fair Value of
Outstanding
Unvested Stock
and Option
Awards From
Prior Years
Plus:
Change in
Fair Value of
Stock and
Option Awards
from Prior
Years that
Vested in the
Covered Year
($)
Less:
Fair Value
at Prior Fiscal
Year-End
of Stock and
Option Awards
Forfeited
during the
Covered Year
($)
Compensation
Actually Paid
to CEO
2023
$22,473,427
$15,501,159
$52,191,463
$ 28,407,137
$7,691,008
$0
$ 95,261,876
2022
$17,186,153
$13,501,795
$7,812,978
($17,794,792)
($10,551,238)
$0
($16,848,694)
2021
$17,880,580
$12,001,072
$29,796,775
$29,160,321
$1,379,272
$0
$66,215,877
2020
$38,035,868
$33,223,032
$45,251,258
$54,892,816
($9,628,485)
$0
$95,328,425
Column (c). The following non-CEO NEOs are included in the average amounts for each year shown:
2023: Jack Hartung, Curt Garner, Christopher Brandt and Scott Boatwright
2022: Jack Hartung, Curt Garner, Christopher Brandt, Scott Boatwright and Marissa Andrada
2021: Jack Hartung, Curt Garner, Christopher Brandt and Scott Boatwright
2020: Jack Hartung, Curt Garner, Christopher Brandt and Scott Boatwright

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Column (d). Reflects the respective amounts set forth in column (c) of the table above, adjusted as set forth in the table below, as determined in accordance with SEC rules and computed in accordance with the methodology used for financial reporting purposes. The dollar amounts reflected in column (d) of the table above do not reflect the actual amount of compensation earned, realized, or received by the securities constituting such replacement award ceasingnon-CEO NEOs during the applicable year, and a significant portion of the value is subject to be listed on a national securities exchange.

Inforfeiture if the eventunderlying vesting conditions with respect to the equity awards are not achieved. For information about the decisions made by our Compensation, People and Culture Committee regarding the non-CEO NEOs’ compensation for each fiscal year, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” and the related tables and narrative explanations reporting pay for the fiscal years covered in the table above.

Year
Average
Summary
Compensation
Table Total for
Non-CEO
NEOs
Less:
Average
Summary
Compensation
Table Total
Equity (Stock
Awards +
Option
Awards)
Plus:
Average
Fair Value
as of Fiscal
Year-End
of Stock and
Option Awards
Granted in
Covered Year
Plus:
Average
Change
in Fair Value of
Outstanding
Unvested
Stock and
Option From
Prior Years
Plus:
Average
Change in
Fair Value of
Stock and
Option Awards
from Prior
Years that
Vested in the
Covered Year
($)
Less:
Average
Fair Value
at Prior Fiscal
Year-End
of Stock and
Option Awards
Forfeited
during the
Covered Year
($)
Average
Compensation
Actually Paid
to Non-CEO
NEOs
2023
$7,195,337
$4,876,808
$16,111,788
$7,931,308
$2,606,119
$0
$ 28,967,744
2022
$6,500,834
$4,952,583
$2,987,539
($4,482,629)
($3,707,258)
$2,569,255
($6,223,351)
2021
$5,402,915
$3,313,428
$8,226,718
$10,490,185
$2,129,529
$0
$22,935,919
2020
$14,751,175
$13,147,324
$16,396,916
$13,279,493
($1,007,795)
$0
$30,272,465
Column (e). For the relevant fiscal year, represents the cumulative total shareholder return (“TSR”) of such a change in control under the plan as ofChipotle through December 31 2015, if the outstanding performance share awards were not replaced with a replacement award meeting the criteria specified above, the executive officers as of that date would have had vesting accelerated on awards with the following dollar values:

  EXECUTIVE OFFICER  VALUE OF VESTED AWARD 

Steve Ells

  $11,942,027  

Monty Moran

  $11,942,027  

Jack Hartung

  $5,399,272  

Mark Crumpacker

  $4,062,410  

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires our officers and directors and holders of greater than 10 percent of our outstanding common stock to file initial reports of their ownership of our equity securities and reports of changes in ownership withapplicable fiscal year, assuming $100 was invested on December 31, 2019.

Column (f). For the SEC. Based solely on a reviewrelevant fiscal year, represents the cumulative TSR of the copiesS&P 500 Restaurants Index (Peer Group TSR) through December 31 of such reports furnishedthe applicable fiscal year, assuming $100 was invested on December 31, 2019 and dividends were reinvested.
Column (g). Reflects net income in Chipotle’s Consolidated Income Statements included in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K for each of the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.
Column (h). Company Selected Measure (“CSM”) is Restaurant Cash Flow Dollars (“RCF Dollars”), which is calculated as the Company’s total revenue less restaurant operating costs (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) for the applicable Company fiscal year.
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE ALIGNMENT
The following table identifies the four most important performance measures used by our Compensation, People and Culture Committee to uslink the compensation actually paid (“CAP”) to our CEO and written representations fromother NEOs in 2023 to company performance. The role of each of these performance measures on our officersNEOs’ compensation is discussed in “Compensation Discussion and directors, we believe that all Section 16(a) filing requirements were complied withAnalysis” above.
Most Important Performance Measures
Restaurant Cash Flow (RCF) Dollars
Comparable Restaurant Sales (CRS) Growth
RCF Margin %
Site Assessment Requests (SARs)
The charts below reflect the relationship of CAP to our CEO and other NEOs in each of 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to (1) TSR of both Chipotle (“CMG”) and the S&P 500 Restaurants Index, (2) CMG net income and (3) CMG RCF Dollars.

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CAP, as required under SEC rules, reflects adjusted values to unvested and vested equity awards during the years shown in the table based on a timely basis in 2015, except that one Form 4 filed on behalf of Steve Ells to report a single sale transaction under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan was filed lateyear-end stock prices, various accounting valuation assumptions and projected performance modifiers, but does not reflect actual amounts paid out for those awards. CAP generally fluctuates due to stock price achievement and varying levels of projected and actual achievement of performance goals for outstanding PSU grants. For a brokerage firm’s errordiscussion of how our Compensation, People and Culture Committee assessed Chipotle’s performance and our NEOs pay each year, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” in transmitting confirmation of the transaction.

this proxy statement and in our proxy statements for 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

62  

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  NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


TABLE OF CONTENTSCertain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS
Registration Rights

Prior to our initial public offering in 2006, certain of our current shareholders, including Steve Ells, our Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Monty Moran, our Co-Chief Executive Officer andAlbert Baldocchi, a member of our Board of Directors, and Albert S. Baldocchi and Darlene J. Friedman, members of our Board, entered into a registration rights agreement with us relating to shares of common stock they held at the time the agreement was executed. Under the agreement, these directors areMr. Baldocchi is entitled to piggyback registration rights with respect to registration statements we file under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, subject to customary restrictions and pro rata reductions in the number of shares to be sold in an offering. We would be responsible for the expenses of any such registration.

Director and Officer Indemnification

We have entered into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers, in addition to the indemnification provided for in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws. These agreements, among other things, provide for indemnification of our directors and executive officers forand advancement of certain expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any such person in any action or proceeding, including any action by or in the right of our company, arising out of such person’s services as a director or executive officer of ours, any subsidiary of ours or any other company or enterprise to which the person provided services at our request. We believe that these provisions and agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and executive officers.

OTHER BUSINESS AT THE MEETING

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT  63


Other Business and Miscellaneous

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The Board and our management do not know of any other matters to be presented at the annual meeting. If other matters do properly come before the annual meeting, it is intended that the persons named indesignated on the accompanying form of proxy will vote the proxyon such matters in accordance with their best judgment on such matters.

judgment.

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS AND NOMINATIONS FOR 20172025 ANNUAL MEETING


Inclusion of Proposals in Our Proxy Statement and Proxy Card under the SEC’s Rules

Any proposal of a shareholder intended to be included in our proxy statement and form of proxy/voting instruction card for the 20172025 annual meeting of shareholders pursuant to SEC Rule 14a-8 must be received by us no later than NovemberDecember 24, 2016,2024, unless the date of our 20172025 annual meeting is more than 30 days before or after May 11, 2017,June 6, 2025, in which case the proposal must be received a reasonable time before we begin to print and send our proxy materials. All proposals must be addressed to Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 1401 Wynkoop Street,610 Newport Center Dr., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202,1100, Newport Beach, CA 92660, Attn: Corporate Secretary.
Inclusion of Director Nominations in Our Proxy Statement and Proxy Card under Our Proxy Access Bylaws
Our proxy access bylaws permit qualified shareholders or groups of shareholders to include nominations for election as a director in our proxy statement and form of proxy/voting instruction card, if the shareholder(s) comply with the proxy access provisions in our bylaws. For the 2025 annual meeting, notice of a proxy access nomination must be received at the address provided above no earlier than November 24, 2024, and no later than December 24, 2024.
Notice of Intent to Solicit Proxies
To comply with the SEC’s universal proxy rules, shareholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees, other than Chipotle’s nominees, for the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders must provide notice that sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act no later than 60 days before the anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting, which would be April 7, 2025. Notice must be submitted to the Company in accordance with the advance notice procedures and other requirements set forth in Article II of our bylaws.

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Bylaw Requirements for Shareholder Submission of Nominations and Proposals

A shareholder nomination of a person for election to our Board of Directors or a proposal for consideration at our 20172025 annual meeting (other than a proposal submitted pursuant to SEC Rule 14a-8) must be submitted in accordance with the advance notice procedures and other requirements set forth in Article II of our bylaws. These requirements are separate from, and in addition to, the requirements discussed above to have the shareholder nomination or other proposals included in our proxy statement and form of proxy/voting instruction card pursuant to the SEC’s rules. Our bylaws require that the proposal or nomination must be received by our corporateCorporate Secretary at the above address no earlier than the close of business on January 11, 2017,February 6, 2025, and no later than the close of business on February 10, 2017,March 8, 2025, unless the date of the 20172025 annual meeting is more than 30 days before or 60 days after May 11, 2017.June 6, 2025. If the date of the 20172025 annual meeting is more than 30 days before or 60 days after May 11, 2017,June 6, 2025 we must receive the proposal or nomination no earlier than the 120th120th day before the meeting date and no later than the 90th90th day

before the meeting date, or if the date of the meeting is announced less than 100 days prior to the meeting date, no later than the tenth day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of the 20172025 annual meeting is made.

AVAILABILITY OF SEC FILINGS, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE GUIDELINES, CODE OF CONDUCT, CODES OF ETHICS AND COMMITTEE CHARTERS


Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed with the SEC, our Code of Conduct, Codes of Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines, the charters of the Audit & Risk Committee, the Compensation, People and Culture Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and any reports of beneficial ownership of our common stock filed by executive officers, directors and beneficial owners of more than 10 percent of the outstanding shares of either class of our common stock are posted on and may be obtained on the Investors page of our website at www.chipotle.comchipotle.com without charge, or may be requested (exclusive of exhibits), at no cost by mail to Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 1401 Wynkoop Street,Newport Center Dr., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202,1100, Newport Beach, CA 92660, Attn: Corporate Secretary.

DELIVERY OF MATERIALS TO SHAREHOLDERS WITH SHARED ADDRESSES


Beneficial holders who own their shares through a broker, bank or other nominee and who share an address with another such beneficial owner are only being sent one Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or set of proxy materials, unless such holders have provided contrary instructions.requested to receive separate copies of these materials. If you wish to receive a separate copy of these materials or if you are receiving multiple copies and would like to receive a single copy, please contact Chipotle investor relations by phone at (303) 605-1042, by writing to Investor Relations, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 1401 Wynkoop Street,610 Newport Center Dr., Suite 500, Denver, Colorado,1100, Newport Beach, CA 92660, or by email to ir@chipotle.com.ir@chipotle.com. We will promptly deliver a separate copy of the proxy materialsto you upon written or oral request.

64    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Other Business and Miscellaneous

(continued)

LOGO

MISCELLANEOUS


If you request physical delivery of these proxy materials, we will mail along with the proxy materials our 2015 Annual Report, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 20152023 (and the financial statements included in that report) as filed with the SEC; however, it is not intended that the Annual Report on Form 10-K be a part of the proxy statement or a solicitation of proxies.

You are respectfully urged to enter your vote instruction via the Internet as explained on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that was mailed to you, or if you are a holder of record and have received a proxy card, via telephone as explained on the proxy card. We willwould appreciate your prompt response.

By order

Web links throughout this proxy statement are provided for convenience only, and the content on the referenced websites are not incorporated into and do not constitute a part of the Board of Directors

/s/ Monty Moran

Co-Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Director

March 24, 2016

this proxy statement.

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APPENDIX A — GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
Restaurant Level Operating Margin
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Year ended
December 31,
2023
Percent of total
revenue
Income from operations
$1,557,813
15.8%
Non-GAAP Adjustments:
General and administrative expenses
633,584
6.4
Depreciation and amortization
319,394
3.2
Pre-opening costs
36,931
0.4
Impairment, closure costs, and asset disposals
38,370
0.4
Total non-GAAP Adjustments
$1,028,279
10.4%
Restaurant level operating margin
$2,586,092
26.2%

Appendix A


2024 Proxy Statement A-1

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Appendix A-Proposed Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation

CERTIFICATETABLE OF AMENDMENTCONTENTS

OF

APPENDIX B — PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF


INCORPORATION OF CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC.

Pursuant to Section 242

of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (the “Corporation”), a corporation duly organized and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “Corporation”DGCL), does hereby further certify that:

1.as follows:

(1) The name of the Corporation is Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
(2) The name under which the Corporation was originally incorporated was Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., and the original certificate of incorporation of the Corporation was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on January 30, 1998.
(3) This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation only restates and integrates and does not further amend the provisions of the Corporation,Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation as theretofore amended or supplemented (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) and there is herebyno discrepancy between the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation as theretofore amended by deleting, in its entirety, Section XI thereof.

The foregoing amendmentand supplemented and the provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

(4) This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 242245 of the DGCL.
(5) The text of the Certificate of Incorporation hereby is integrated and restated to read in its entirety, as follows:
ARTICLE I — NAME
The name of the company is Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (the “Corporation”).
ARTICLE II — AGENT
The registered office of the Corporation is located at 2711 Centerville Road, Suite 400, in the City of Wilmington, in the County of New Castle, in the State of Delaware. The name of its registered agent at that address is Corporation Service Company.
ARTICLE III — PURPOSE
The purpose for which the Corporation is organized is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized and incorporated under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has caused this Certificate to be executed by its duly authorized officer on thisday of, 2016.

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC.
By:
Name:
Office:

APPENDIX A TO2016 PROXY STATEMENT  A-1


Appendix B

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Appendix B—Proposed Amendment to Bylaws

If Proposal 5 is approved by shareholders, Sections 9 through 12 of Article II ofDelaware or any applicable successor act thereto, as the Company’s Bylaws willsame may be amended from time to time (the “DGCL”).

ARTICLE IV — STOCK
Section 1. Authorized Stock. The Corporation shall have the authority to issue eight hundred thirty million (830,000,000)twelve billion one hundred million (12,100,000,000) shares of capital stock, consisting of two hundred thirty million (230,000,000)eleven billion five hundred million (11,500,000,000) shares of common stock with a par value of $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), and restated as set forth below. Proposed additions are indicated by double underline.

Section 9. Noticesix hundred million (600,000,000) shares of Shareholder Business and Nominations.

(a)Annual Meetingspreferred stock with a par value of Shareholders.

(i)Except as provided in Section 12$0.01 per share (the “Preferred Stock”). The number of this Bylaw,Nnominationsauthorized shares of persons for election to the Board of Directors and the proposal of other business to be considered by the shareholdersCommon Stock may be made at an annual meeting of shareholders (A) pursuant toincreased or decreased (but not below the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, (B) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, or (C) by any shareholder of the Corporation who: (1) was a shareholder of record at the time of giving of notice provided for in this Bylaw and at the time of the annual meeting, (2) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (3) complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Bylaw as to such business or nomination. Clause (C) or Section 12 of this Bylaw shall be the exclusive means for a shareholder to make nominations or submit other business (other than matters properly brought under Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and included in the Corporation’s notice of meeting) before an annual meeting of shareholders. Only persons who are nominated in accordance with Section 9(a) or Section12 of this Bylaw will be eligible for election at an annual meeting of shareholders as Directors of the Corporation.

(ii) Without qualification, for any nominations or any other business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a shareholder pursuant to Section 9-(a)(i)(C) or Section 12 of this Bylaw, the shareholder must have given timely notice thereof in writing to the Secretary and such other business must otherwise be a proper matter for shareholder action. To be timely, a shareholder’s notice shall be delivered to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day and not later than the close of business on the 90th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting;provided, however, that in the event that the date of the annual meeting is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after such anniversary date, notice by the shareholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the date of such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to the date of such annual meeting or, if the first public announcement of the date of such annual meeting is less than 100 days prior to the date of such annual meeting, the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by the Corporation. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a shareholder’s notice as described above. To be in proper form, a shareholder’s notice (whether given pursuant to this Section 9(a)(ii),or Section 9(b) or Section 12) to the Secretary must: (A) set forth, as to the shareholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination or proposal is made (1) the name and address of such shareholder, as they appear on the Corporation’s books, and of such beneficial owner, if any, (2) (x) the class or series and number of shares of the Corporation which are, directly or indirectly, owned beneficially and of recordCommon Stock then outstanding) by such shareholder and such beneficial owner, (y) any option, warrant, convertible security, stock appreciation right, or similar right with an exercise or conversion privilege or a settlement payment or mechanism at a price related to any class or series of shares of the Corporation or with a value derived in whole or in part from the value of any class or series of shares of the Corporation, whether or not such instrument or right shall be subject to settlement in the underlying class or series of capital stock of the Corporation or otherwise (a “Derivative Instrument”) directly or indirectly owned beneficially by such shareholder and any other direct or indirect opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from any increase or decrease in the value of shares of the Corporation, (z) any proxy, contract, arrangement, understanding, or relationship pursuant to which such shareholder has a right toaffirmative vote any shares of any security of the Corporation, (xx) any short interest in any security of the Corporation (for purposes of this Bylaw a person shall be deemed to have a short interest in a security if such person directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has the opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from any decrease in the value of the subject security), (yy) any rights to dividends on the shares of the Corporation owned beneficially by such shareholder that are separated or separable from the underlying shares of the Corporation, (zz) any

APPENDIX B TO2016 PROXY STATEMENT  B-1


Appendix B

(continued)

proportionate interest in shares of the Corporation or Derivative Instruments held, directly or indirectly, by a general or limited partnership in which such shareholder is a general partner or, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns an interest in a general partner and (xxx) any performance-related fees (other than an asset-based fee) that such shareholder is entitled to based on any increase or decrease in the value of shares of the Corporation or Derivative Instruments, if any, as of the date of such notice, including without limitation any such interests held by members of such shareholder’s immediate family sharing the same household (which information shall be supplemented by such shareholder and beneficial owner, if any, not later than 10 days after the record date for the meeting to disclose such ownership as of the record date), and (yyy) any other information relating to such shareholder and beneficial owner, if any, that wouldmay be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for, as applicable, the proposal and/or for the election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (B) if the notice relates to any business other than a nomination of a director or directorsat that the shareholder proposes to bring before the meeting, set forth (1) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting and any material interest of such shareholder and beneficial owner, if any, in such business and (2) a description of all agreements, arrangements and understandings between such shareholder and beneficial owner, if any, and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such shareholder; (C) set forth, as to each person, if any, whom the shareholder proposes to nominate for election or reelection to the Board of Directors (1) all information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (including such person’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected) and (2) a description of all direct and indirect compensation and other material monetary agreements, arrangements and understandings during the past three years, and any other material relationships, between or among such shareholder and beneficial owner, if any, and their respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert therewith, on the one hand, and each proposed nominee, and his or her respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert therewith, on the other hand, including, without limitation all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 404 promulgated under Regulation S-K if the shareholder making the nomination and any beneficial owner on whose behalf the nomination is made, if any, or any affiliate or associate thereof or person acting in concert therewith, were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and the nominee were a director or executive officer of such registrant; and (3) with respect to each nominee for election or reelection to the Board of Directors, include a completed and signed questionnaire, representation and agreement required by Section 10 of this Bylaw. The Corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as may reasonably be requiredtime by the Corporation to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as an independent director of the Corporation or that could be material to a reasonable shareholder’s understanding of the independence, or lack thereof, of such nominee.

(iii) Notwithstanding anything in the second sentence of DGCL.

Section 9(a)(ii) of this Bylaw to the contrary, in the event that the number of directors to be elected to the Board of Directors is increased and there is no public announcement by the Corporation naming all of the nominees for director or specifying the size of the increased Board of Directors at least 100 days prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting, a shareholder’s notice required by this Bylaw shall also be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for any new positions created by such increase, if it shall be delivered to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which such public announcement is first made by the Corporation.

(b)Special Meetings of Shareholders. Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of shareholders as shall have been brought before the meeting pursuant to (i) the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, or (ii) the instruction of the Board of Directors. Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors may be made at a special meeting of shareholders at which directors are to be elected pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting (A) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or (B) provided that the Board of Directors has determined that directors shall be elected at such meeting, by any shareholder of the Corporation who (1) is a shareholder of record at

B-2    APPENDIX B TO2016 PROXY STATEMENT


Appendix B

(continued)

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the time of giving of notice provided for in this Bylaw and at the time of the special meeting, (2) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (3) complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Bylaw as to such nomination. In the event the Corporation calls a special meeting of shareholders for the purpose of electing one or more directors to the Board of Directors, any such shareholder may nominate a person or persons (as the case may be) for election to such position(s) as specified in the Corporation’s notice of meeting, if the shareholder’s notice required by Section 9(a)(ii) of this Bylaw with respect to any nomination (including the completed and signed questionnaire, representation and agreement required by Section 10 of this Bylaw) shall be delivered to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the date of such special meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to the date of such special meeting or, if the first public announcement of the date of such special meeting is less than 100 days prior to the date of such special meeting, the 10th day following the day on which public announcement is first made of the date of the special meeting and of the nominees proposed by the Board of Directors to be elected at such meeting. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of a special meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a shareholder’s notice as described above.

(c)General.

(i) Only such persons who are nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Bylaw shall be eligible to serve as directors and only such business shall be conducted at a meeting of shareholders as shall have been brought before the meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Bylaw.2. Common Stock.

(a) Voting – General. Except as otherwise provided by law the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the Chairman of the meeting shall have the power and duty to determine whether a nomination or any business proposed to be brought before the meeting was made or proposed, as the case may be, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Bylaw and, if any proposed nomination or business is not in compliance with this Bylaw, to declare that such defective proposal or nomination shall be disregarded.

(ii) For purposes of this Bylaw, “public announcement” shall mean disclosure in a press release reported by a national news service or in a document publicly filed by the Corporation withresolution or resolutions providing for the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Bylaw, a shareholder shall also comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder with respect to the matters set forth in this Bylaw; provided, however, that any references in these Bylaws to the Exchange Act or the rules promulgated thereunder are not intended to and shall not limit the requirements applicable to nominations or proposals as to any other business to be considered pursuant to Section 9(a)(i)(C),or Section 9(b) or Section 12 of this Bylaw. Nothing in this Bylaw shall be deemed to affect any rights (A) of shareholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act or (B) of the holdersissue of any series of Preferred Stock, ifthe holders of outstanding shares of Common Stock shall have the exclusive right to vote for the election of directors and for all other purposes. Except as otherwise required by law or this Certificate of Incorporation:

(i) The holders of the Common Stock are entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held at all meetings of stockholders; and
(ii) holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to cast votes in person or by proxy in the manner and to the extent providedpermitted under the Bylaws of the Corporation (the “Bylaws”).
Section 3. Preferred Stock. The Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more classes or series. The Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”) is hereby authorized to provide for the issuance of shares of Preferred Stock in one or more classes or series and, by filing a certificate pursuant to the applicable law of the State of Delaware (hereinafter referred to as “Preferred Stock Designation”), to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such class or series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such class or series and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof prior to its issuance. Each such class or series of Preferred Stock shall have such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, as shall be authorized by the Board of Directors and stated in the applicable Preferred Stock Designation.

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The Common Stock shall be subject to the express terms of any series of Preferred Stock. Except as required by a Preferred Stock Designation or applicable law, holders of Preferred Stock shall not be entitled to vote at or receive notice of any meeting of shareholders.
ARTICLE V — BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. Number.The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under law, the direction of a Board of Directors consisting of not fewer than three nor more than 20 directors (exclusive of directors referred to in the last paragraph of this Section 1), the exact number of directors to be determined from time to time by resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the total number of directors then in office.
Each director shall hold office until the annual meeting for the year in which his or her term expires and until his or her successor shall be elected and shall qualify, subject, however, to prior death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal from office.
Elections of directors at an annual or special meeting of shareholders shall be by written ballot.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, whenever the holders of any one or more classes or series of Preferred Stock issued by the Corporation shall have the right, voting separately by class or series, to elect directors at an annual or special meeting of shareholders, the number of such directors and the election, term of office, filling of vacancies and other features of such directorships shall be governed by the provisions of Article V of this Certificate of Incorporation and any resolution or these Bylaws.

resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors pursuant thereto, and such directors shall not be divided into classes unless expressly so provided therein.

Section 2. Vacancies.Any vacancy in the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of directors, from the death, disability, resignation, disqualification, removal of any director or from any other cause shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the total number of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Any director elected to fill a vacancy not resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office for the remaining term of his or her predecessor.
Section 3. Removal.Any director or the entire Board may be removed from office at any time, with or without cause, but only by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than a majority of the voting power of the outstanding Common Stock.
Section 4. Committees. Pursuant to the Bylaws, the Board of Directors may establish one or more committees to which may be delegated any of or all of the powers and duties of the Board of Directors to the full extent permitted by laws.
ARTICLE VI — LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Section 1.  Elimination of Certain Liability of Directors.A director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its shareholders; (ii)for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; (iii) under Section 174 of the DGCL; or (iv) Notwithstandingfor any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the DGCL is hereafter amended to permit further elimination or limitation of the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as so amended.
Section 2. Indemnification and Insurance.
Right to Indemnification.Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person of whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee or agent, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, liens, amounts paid or to be paid in settlement and excise taxes or penalties arising under theEmployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith and such indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs, executors and administrators; provided, however, that, except as provided in paragraph (b) hereof, the Corporation shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnification in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors. The right to indemnification conferred in this Section shall be a contract right and shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses (including attorney’s fees) incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition provided, however, that, if the DGCL requires, the payment of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his or her capacity as such in advance of the final disposition of a proceeding shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal that such director or officer is not

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entitled to be indemnified under this Section or otherwise (an “undertaking”); and provided further that such advancement of expenses incurred by any person other than a director or officer shall be made only upon the delivery of an undertaking to the foregoing effect and may be subject to such other conditions as the Board may deem advisable.
Non-Exclusivity of Rights; Accrued Rights. The right to indemnification and the advancement of expenses conferred in this Section shall not be exclusive of any other right that any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of this Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaw, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. Such rights shall be contract rights, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of such person’s heirs, executors and administrators. Any repeal or modification of this Article VI shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation in respect of any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification.
Insurance. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any such expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
(d) Other Employees and Agents. The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, grant rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to any employee not within the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Bylaw, if the shareholder (or a qualified representativeSection or to any agent of the shareholder) doesCorporation, subject to such conditions as the Board of Directors may deem advisable.
(e) Savings Clause. If this Article VI or any portion hereof shall be invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the Corporation shall nevertheless indemnify each person entitled to indemnification hereunder as to all expense, liability, and loss (including attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes, penalties and amounts to be paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred or suffered by such person and for which indemnification is available to such person pursuant to this Article VI to the fullest extent permitted by any applicable portion of this Article VI that shall not appearhave been invalidated and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
ARTICLE VII — SECTION 203 OF THE DGCL
The Corporation expressly elects to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL.
ARTICLE VIII — RESERVED

ARTICLE IX — CONSIDERATION OF OTHER CONSTITUENCIES
In addition to any other considerations which they may lawfully take into account in determining whether to take or to refrain from taking action on any matter and in discharging their duties under applicable law and this Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors, its committees and each director may take into account the interests of customers, distributors, suppliers, creditors, current and retired employees and other constituencies of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and the effect upon the communities in which the Corporation and its subsidiaries do business; provided, however, that this Article shall be deemed solely to grant discretionary authority only and shall not be deemed to provide to any constituency a right to be considered.
ARTICLE X — SHAREHOLDER ACTION
Subject to the rights of the holders of Preferred Stock, any action required or permitted to be taken at theany annual or special meeting of shareholders of the Corporation to present a nominationmay be taken only upon the vote of the shareholders at an annual or item of business, such proposed business shallspecial meeting duly called and may not be transactedtaken by written consent of the shareholders.
The Bylaws may establish procedures regulating the submission by shareholders of nominations and such nominationproposals for consideration at meetings of shareholders of the Corporation.
ARTICLE XI — AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
The Corporation reserves the right to amend or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation in the manner prescribed by the DGCL and all rights conferred upon shareholders are granted subject to this reservation.Subject to any requirement of applicable law or any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation and to any voting rights granted to or held by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the Corporation reserves the right at any time from time to time to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation, and any other provisions authorized by the DGCL at the time in force may be added or inserted, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by law; and all rights, preferences and privileges of whatsoever nature conferred upon shareholders, directors or any other persons whomsoever by and pursuant to this Certificate of Incorporation in its present form or as hereafter amended are granted subject to the right reserved in this Article. In addition to any affirmative vote required by applicable law or any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation or specified in any agreement, and in addition to any voting rights granted to or held by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding Common Stock shall be disregarded, notwithstanding that proxies in respectrequired to amend, add, alter, change, repeal or adopt any provisions inconsistent with this Certificate of such vote may have been received by the Corporation.

Section 10. Submission of Questionnaire, Representation and Agreement.

To be eligible to be a nominee for election or reelection as a director of the Corporation, a person must deliver (in accordance with the time periods prescribed for delivery of notice under Section 9 of this Bylaw, or, in the case of aShareholder Nominee, the time periods prescribed for delivery of a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination Section 12 of this Bylaw) to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation a written questionnaire with respect to the background and qualification of such person and the background of any other person or entity on whose behalf the nomination is being made (which questionnaire shall be provided by the Secretary upon written request) and a written representation and agreement (in the form provided by the Secretary upon written request) that such person (a) is not and will not become a party to (i) any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, and has not given any commitment or

Incorporation.

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assurance to, any person or entity as to how such person, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question (a “Voting Commitment”) that has not been disclosed to the Corporation or (ii) any Voting Commitment that could limit or interfere with such person’s ability to comply, if elected as a director of the Corporation, with such person’s fiduciary duties under applicable law, (b) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation, reimbursement or indemnification in connection with service or action as a director that has not been disclosed therein, and (c) in such person’s individual capacity and on behalf of any person or entity on whose behalf the nomination is being made, would be in compliance, if elected as a director of the Corporation, and will comply with, all applicable publicly disclosed corporate governance, conflict of interest, confidentiality and stock ownership and trading policies and guidelines of the Corporation.

Section 11. Opening of Polls. The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the shareholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the person presiding over the meeting.

ARTICLE XII — AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS
The Board of Directors mayis expressly authorized and empowered to adopt, amend and repeal the Bylaws by resolution such rules and regulations for the conductaffirmative vote of a majority of the total number of directors present at a regular or special meeting of shareholders as it shall deem appropriate. Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board of Directors the person presiding over any meeting of shareholders shall have the right and authorityat which there is a quorum (as defined from time to convene and to adjourn the meeting, to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as,time in the judgmentCertificate of such presiding person, are appropriate for the proper conductIncorporation) or by written consent. The shareholders of the meeting.

Such rules, regulationsCorporation may not adopt, amend or procedures, whetherrepeal any Bylaw, and no provision inconsistent therewith shall be adopted by the Board of Directors or prescribedshareholders, unless such action is approved by the presiding personaffirmative vote of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (a) the establishmentholders of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (b) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (c) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to shareholders of recordnot less than a majority of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the presiding personvoting power of the meeting shall determine; (d) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (e) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants.

outstanding Common Stock.

The presiding person at any meeting of shareholders, in addition to making any other determinations that may be appropriate to the conduct of the meeting, shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a matter or business was not properly brought before the meeting and if such presiding person should so determine, such presiding person shall so declare to the meeting and any such matter or business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted or considered. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board of Directors or the person presiding over the meeting, meetings of shareholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure.

Section 12. Proxy Access for Director Nominations.

(a)Whenever the Board of Directors solicits proxies with respect to the election of directors at an annual meeting of the shareholders, subject to the provisions of Section 12 ofundersigned has executed this Bylaw, the Corporation shall include in its proxy statement for such annual meeting, in addition to any person nominated for election by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, the name, together with the Required Information, of any person or persons, as applicable, nominated for election (the “Shareholder Nominee(s)”) to the Board of Directors by a shareholder or group of no more than twenty (20) shareholders that satisfies the requirements of Section 12(d) (the “Eligible Shareholder”) of this Bylaw, and who expressly elects at the time of providing the notice required by Section 12 (the “Notice of Proxy Access Nomination”) of this Bylaw to have its nominee or nominees, as applicable, included in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw. For purposes of Section 12 of this Bylaw, the“Required Information” that the Corporation will include in its proxy statement is the information provided to the Secretary concerning the Shareholder Nominee(s) and the Eligible Shareholder that is required to be disclosed in the Corporation’s proxy statement by Section 14 of the Exchange Act, and rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and, if the Eligible Shareholder so elects, a written statement, not to exceed 500 words, in support of the Shareholder Nominee(s)’ candidacy (the “Statement”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 12 of this Bylaw, the Corporation may omit from its proxy materials any information or Statement (or portion thereof) that it, in good faith, believes would violate any applicable law or regulation.

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(b)To be timely for purposes of Section 12 of this Bylaw, the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must be addressed to the Secretary and delivered to or mailed to and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation no more than 150 calendar days and not less than 120 calendar days prior to the anniversary date of the date (as specified in the Corporation’s proxy materials for its immediately preceding annual meeting of shareholders) on which the Corporation first mailed its proxy materials for its immediately preceding annual meeting of shareholders. In no event will an adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting of shareholders or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination as provided above.

(c)The maximum number of Shareholder Nominees nominated by all Eligible Shareholders that will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to an annual meeting of shareholders shall not exceed the greater of (i) one director or (ii) 20% of the number of directors in office as of the last day on which a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination may be delivered pursuant to and in accordance with Section 12 of this Bylaw (the “Final Proxy Access Nomination Date”), or if such amount is not a whole number, the closest whole number below 20%. In the event that one or more vacancies for any reason occurs on the board after the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date but before the date of the annual meeting and the Board of Directors resolves to reduce the size of the Board in connection therewith, the maximum number of Shareholder Nominees included in the Corporation’s proxy materials shall be calculated based on the number of directors in office as so reduced. Any individual nominated by an Eligible Shareholder for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw whom the Board of Directors decides to nominate as a nominee for Director shall be counted as one of the Shareholder Nominees for purposes of determining when the maximum number of Shareholder Nominees provided for in Section 12 of this Bylaw has been reached. Any Eligible Shareholder submitting more than one Shareholder Nominee for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw shall rank such Shareholder Nominees based on the order that the Eligible Shareholder desires such Shareholder Nominees to be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy statement in the event that the total number of Shareholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Shareholders in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw exceeds the maximum number of nominees provided for in Section 12 of this Bylaw. In the event that the number of Shareholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Shareholders pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw exceeds the maximum number of nominees provided for in Section 12 of this Bylaw, the highest ranking Shareholder Nominee who meets the requirements of this Section 12 from each Eligible Shareholder will be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials until the maximum number is reached, going in order of the amount (largest to smallest) of shares of common stock of the Corporation each Eligible Shareholder disclosed as owned in its respective Notice of Proxy Access Nomination submitted to the Corporation. If the maximum number is not reached after the highest ranking Shareholder Nominee who meets the requirements of Section 12 of this Bylaw from each Eligible Shareholder has been selected, this process will continue as many times as necessary, following the same order each time, until the maximum number is reached. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 12 of this Bylaw, if the Corporation receives notice pursuant to Section 9(c) of this Bylaw that a shareholder intends to nominate for election at such meeting a number of nominees greater than or equal to a majority of the total number of directors to be elected at such meeting, no Shareholder Nominees will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to such meeting pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw.

(d)

For purposes of Section 12 of this Bylaw, an Eligible Shareholder shall be deemed to “own” only those outstanding shares of common stock of the Corporation as to which the shareholder possesses both (i) the full voting and investment rights pertaining to the shares and (ii) the full economic interest in (including the opportunity for profit from and risk of loss on) such shares; provided, that the number of shares calculated in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) shall not include any shares (x) sold by such shareholder or any of its affiliates in any transaction that has not been settled or closed, (y) borrowed by such shareholder or any of its affiliates for any purposes or purchased by such shareholder or any of its affiliates pursuant to an agreement to resell or (z) subject to any option, warrant, forward contract, swap, contract of sale, other derivative or similar agreement entered into by such shareholder or any of its affiliates, whether any such instrument or agreement is to be settled with shares or with cash based on the notional amount or value of shares of outstanding common stock of the Corporation, in any such case which instrument or agreement has, or its intended to have, the purpose or effect of (1) reducing in any manner, to any extent or at any time in the future, such shareholder’s or its affiliates’ full right to vote or direct the voting of any such shares, and/or (2) hedging, offsetting or altering to any degree any gain or loss realized or

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realizable from maintaining the full economic ownership of such shares by such shareholder or affiliate. For purposes of Section 12 of this Bylaw, a shareholder shall “own” shares held in the name of nominee or other intermediary so long as the shareholder retains the right to instruct how the shares are voted with respect to the election of directors and possesses the full economic interest in the shares. A shareholder’s ownership of shares shall be deemed to continue during any period in which the shareholder has delegated any voting power by means of a proxy, power of attorney or other instrument or arrangement which is revocable at any time by the shareholder. The terms “owned,” “owning” and other variations of the word “own” shall have correlative meanings. Whether outstanding shares of the common stock of the Corporation are “owned” for these purposes shall be determined by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. For purposes of Section 12 of this Bylaw, the term “affiliate” or “affiliates” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto under the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act.

(e)In order to make a nomination pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw, an Eligible Shareholder must have owned the Required Ownership Percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding common stock (the “Required Shares”) continuously for the Minimum Holding Period as of both the date of the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is delivered to or mailed to and received by the Secretary in accordance with Section 12 of this Bylaw and the record date for determining the shareholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting, and must continue to own the Required Shares through the meeting date. For purposes of Section 12 of this Bylaw, the “Required Ownership Percentage” is 5% or more, and the “Minimum Holding Period” is 3 years. Within the time period specified in Section 12 of this Bylaw for Delivering the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination, an Eligible Shareholder must provide the following information in writing to the Secretary: (i) one or more written statements from the record holder of the shares (and from each intermediary through which the shares are or have been held during the Minimum Holding Period) verifying that, as of a date within seven calendar days prior to the date of the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is delivered to or mailed to and received by the Secretary, the Eligible Shareholder owns, and has owned continuously for the Minimum Holding Period, the Required Shares, and the Eligible Shareholder’s agreement to provide, within five business days after the record date for the annual meeting, written statements from the record holder and intermediaries verifying the Eligible Shareholder’s continuous ownership of the Required Shares through the record date; (ii) a copy of the Schedule 14N that has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by Rule 14a-18 under the Exchange Act; (iii) the information, representations and agreements that are the same as those that would be required to be set forth in a shareholder’s notice of nomination pursuant to Section 9(a)(ii) of this Bylaw; (iv) the consent of each Shareholder Nominee to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a Director if elected; (v) a representation that the Eligible Shareholder (including each member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder hereunder) (A) acquired the Required Shares in the ordinary course of business and not with the intent to change or influence control at the Corporation, and does not presently have such intent, (B) presently intends to maintain qualifying ownership of the Required Shares through the date of the annual meeting, (C) has not engaged and will not engage in, and has not and will not be a “participant” in another person’s, “solicitation” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(1) under the Exchange Act in support of the election of any individual as a Director at the annual meeting other than its Shareholder Nominee(s) or a nominee of the Board of Directors, (D) agrees to comply with all applicable laws and regulations applicable to the use, if any, of soliciting material, and (E) will provide facts, statements and other information in all communications with the Corporation and its shareholders that are or will be true and correct in all material respects and do not and will not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; (vi) a representation as to the Eligible Shareholder’s (including each member of any group of shareholders that togetheris an Eligible Shareholder hereunder) intentions with respect to maintaining qualifying ownership of the Required Shares for at least one year following the annual meeting; (vii) an undertaking that the Eligible Shareholder agrees to (A) assume all liability stemming from any legal or regulatory violation arising out of the Eligible Shareholder’s communications with the shareholders of the Corporation or out of the information that the Eligible Shareholder provided to the Corporation and (B) indemnify and hold harmless the Corporation and each of its directors, officers and employees individually against any liability, loss or damages in connection with any threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding, whether legal, administrative or investigative, against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or employees arising out of any nomination submitted by the Eligible Shareholder pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw.

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(f)Within the time period specified in Section 12 of this Bylaw for delivering the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination, each Shareholder Nominee must deliver to the Secretary the representations, agreements and other information required by Section 10 of this Bylaw.

(g)In the event that any information or communications provided by the Eligible Shareholder or any Shareholder Nominees to the Corporation or its shareholders ceases to be true and correct in all material respects or omits a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, each Eligible Shareholder or Shareholder Nominee, as the case may be, shall promptly notify the Secretary of any defect in such previously provided information and of the information that is required to correct any such defect.

(h)The Corporation shall not be required to include, pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw, a Shareholder Nominee in its proxy materials for any meeting of shareholders (i) for which the Secretary receives a notice that a shareholder has nominated such Shareholder Nominee for election to the Board of Directors pursuant to the advance notice requirements for shareholder nominees for director set forth in Section 9(a) of this Bylaw, (ii) if the Eligible Shareholder (including each member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder hereunder) that has nominated such Shareholder Nominee has engaged in or is currently engaged in, or has been or is a “participant” in another person’s, “solicitation” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(1) under the Exchange Act in support of the election of any individual as a Director at the annual meeting other than its Shareholder Nominee(s) or a nominee of the Board of Directors, (iii) if the Shareholder Nominee is or becomes a party to any compensatory, payment or other financial agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation, or is receiving or will receive any such compensation or other payment from any person or entity other than the Corporation, in each case in connection with service as a Director of the Corporation, (iv) who is not independent under the listing standards of each principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any publicly disclosed standards used by the Board of Directors in determining and disclosing independence of the Corporation’s directors, in each case as determined by the Board of Directors, (v) whose election as a member of the Board of Directors would cause the Corporation to be in violation of these Bylaws, the Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, the rules and listing standards of the principal U.S. exchanges upon which the common stock of the Corporation is traded, or any applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation, (vi) who is or has been within the past three years, an officer or director of a competitor, as defined in Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, (vii) who is a named subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offense) or has been convicted in such a criminal proceeding within the past 10 years, (viii) who is subject to any order of the type specific in Rule 506(d) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (ix) if such Shareholder Nominee or the applicable Eligible Shareholder (including each member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder hereunder) shall have provided information to the Corporation in respect to such nomination that was untrue in any material respect or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statement made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, as determined by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, or (x) the Eligible Shareholder (including each member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder hereunder) or applicable Shareholder Nominee fails to comply with its obligations pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw.

(i)Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Board of Directors or the chairman of the annual meeting shall declare a nomination by an Eligible Shareholder to be invalid, and such nomination shall be disregarded notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation, if (i) the Shareholder Nominee(s) and/or the applicable Eligible Shareholder (or any member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder) shall have breached its or their obligations under Section 12 of this Bylaw as determined by the Board of Directors or the chairman of the annual meeting or (ii) the Eligible Shareholder (or a qualified representative thereof) does not appear at the annual meeting to present any nomination pursuant to Section 12 of this Bylaw. In the event of any such declaration by the Board of Directors or the chairman of the annual meeting, the Eligible Shareholder (and any member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder) whose nomination(s) was/were subject to such declaration will be ineligible to be an Eligible Shareholder (or a member of any group of shareholders that together is an Eligible Shareholder) pursuant to, Section 12 of this Bylaw for the next two annual meetings.

APPENDIX B TO2016 PROXY STATEMENT  B-7


Appendix B

(continued)

(j)Any Shareholder Nominee who is included in the Corporation’s proxy materials for a particular annual meeting of Shareholders but either (i) withdraws from or becomes ineligible or unavailable for election at the annual meeting, or (ii) does not receive at least 25% of the votes cast in favor of such Shareholder Nominee’s election, will be ineligible to be a Shareholder Nominee pursuant to this Article II, Section 12 for the next two annual meetings. For the avoidance of doubt, the immediately preceding sentence shall not prevent any shareholder from nominating any person to the Board of Directors pursuant to and in accordance with Section 9 of this Bylaw.

(k)This Section 12 of this Article shall be the exclusive method for shareholders to include nominees for Director in the Corporation’s proxy materials.

B-8    APPENDIX B TO2016 PROXY STATEMENT


LOGO

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC. 1401 WYNKOOP ST, STE 500 DENVER, CO 80202
VOTE BY INTERNET - www.proxyvote.com
Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time the day before the cut-off date or 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 cut-off date or 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 INK AS FOLLOWS:
E02526-P76707 KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS
THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED. DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC.
For All Against All For All Except
To vote “AGAINST” any individual nominee(s), mark “For All Except” and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below.
The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following:
1. Election of Nine Directors
Nominees:
01) Al Baldocchi 06) Neil Flanzraich
02) Darlene Friedman 07) Pat Flynn
03) John Charlesworth 08) Stephen Gillett
04) Kimbal Musk 09) Steve Ells
05) Monty Moran
The Board of Directors recommends you vote AGAINST the following proposals:
The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following proposals:
For Against Abstain
For Against Abstain
2. An advisory vote to approve the compensation of our executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement (“say-on-pay”).
3. Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016.
4. A proposal to approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., to remove a provision allowing only the Board of Directors or the Chairmaneffective as of the Boarddate of filing with the ability to call special meetingsSecretary of shareholders.
5. A proposal to approve amendments to the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Amended and Restated Bylaws to adopt a “proxy access” bylaw allowing a shareholder, or group of not more than 20 shareholders, owning an aggregate of not less than 5% of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years to submit a limited number of candidates for election to our Board and to require us to include such candidate(s), subject to satisfactionState of the requirementsState of our bylaws, in our proxy materials for the meeting at which such election will be held.
For address changes and/or comments, please check this box and write them on the back where indicated.
Please indicate if you plan to attend this meeting.
6. A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting that the Board of Directors adopt and present for shareholder approval a “proxy access” bylaw to allow a shareholder or group of shareholders owning an aggregate of 3% or more of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years to submit a limited number of candidates for election to our Board and to require us to include such candidate(s) in our proxy materials for the meeting at which such election will be held.
7. A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting adoption of a stock retention policy for senior executives.
8. A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting that the Board of Directors implement changes to Chipotle’s governing documents to allow shareholders owning an aggregate of 10% of our outstanding common stock to call special meetings of shareholders.
9. A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting Chipotle to issue an annual sustainability report meeting specified criteria.
10. A shareholder proposal, if properly presented at the meeting, requesting that our Compensation Committee prepare and disclose a report on the feasibility of incorporating sustainability measures into executive officer incentive compensation programs.
NOTE: Such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.
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

Delaware.
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC.
By:
/s/ Roger Theodoredis
Name: Roger Theodoredis
Title: General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer

2024 Proxy Statement B-4


LOGO

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:
The Combined Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available at www.proxyvote.com.
E02527-P76707
SOLICITED ON BEHALFTABLE OF THE BOARDCONTENTS



TABLE OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL MEETINGCONTENTS



TABLE OF SHAREHOLDERS
May 11, 2016
The shareholder(s), revoking all prior proxies, hereby appoint(s) Steve Ells, Monty Moran, and Jack Hartung, or any of them, as proxies, each with the power to appoint his substitute, and hereby authorizes them to represent and to vote, as designated on the reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of common stock of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. that the shareholder(s) is/are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held at 8:00 A.M., Mountain Time, on May 11, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado, and any adjournment or postponement thereof.
THIS PROXY, WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED BY THE SHAREHOLDER(S). IF NO SUCH DIRECTIONS ARE MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARDCONTENTS



TABLE OF DIRECTORS’ RECOMMENDATIONS.
PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE, AND RETURN THIS PROXY PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED REPLY ENVELOPE.
Address Changes/Comments:
(If you noted any Address Changes/Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.)
CONTINUED AND TO BE SIGNED ON REVERSE SIDECONTENTS


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