AGM Information • Feb 28, 2020
AGM Information
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ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, FEBRUARY 28, 2020
ABB today published the invitation to its Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be held on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The invitation can be found on ABB's investor relations website at www.abb.com/agm.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a technology leader that is driving the digital transformation of industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB has four, customerfocused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by the ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB's Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 144,000 employees. www.abb.com
For more information please contact:
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Media Relations Phone: +41 43 317 71 11 Email: [email protected] Investor Relations Phone: +41 43 317 71 11 Email: [email protected] ABB Ltd Affolternstrasse 44 8050 Zurich Switzerland
—THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020, AT 10:00 A.M.
Invitation to the Annual General Meeting of ABB Ltd, Zurich
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to invite you to the Annual General Meeting of ABB Ltd, which will be held at the Samsung Hall, Hoffnigstrasse 1, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland, on Thursday, March 26, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.
The year 2019 was a challenging one for the world economy and for ABB. Geopolitical uncertainty weighed on some of our key markets, especially for robotics and discrete automation solutions, while the impending sale of Power Grids, announced in December 2018, required us to devote significant attention and resources to the carve-out of that business.
Despite the difficult market environment and our internal transformation, we delivered a good performance in 2019. Our people rose to the challenge and successfully executed our organizational transformation on schedule, while improving our business performance.
As ABB's CEO since April 17, 2019, I am delighted to hand over the helm to our new CEO, Björn Rosengren, on March 1, 2020. The Board of Directors and I are confident that, under Björn's leadership, ABB will continue to go from strength to strength in the months and years ahead.
We look forward to seeing you in Dübendorf on March 26, 2020. Breakfast will be offered before the meeting, starting at 08:30 a.m.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Voser Chairman of the Board of Directors
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The Board of Directors proposes that the management report, the consolidated financial statements and the annual financial statements for 2019 be approved.
The management report, the consolidated financial statements and the annual financial statements for 2019 are available for inspection by the shareholders at the seat of the Company. They are also available electronically under www.abb.com/agm.
The Board of Directors proposes that the 2019 Compensation Report, which can be found in the Annual Report, be accepted (non-binding consultative vote).
The Compensation Report contains the principles governing the compensation paid to the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee and reports on the amounts paid to the members of both bodies for 2019. The 2019 Compensation Report is available for inspection by the shareholders at the seat of the Company. It is also available electronically under www.abb.com/agm.
The Board of Directors proposes that the members of the Board of Directors and the persons entrusted with management be granted discharge for financial year 2019.
| Annual General Meeting | CHF | 7,889,218,725 |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings available to the | ||
| from previous year | CHF | 6,690,847,128 |
| Carried forward | ||
| Net income for 2019 | CHF | 1,198,371,597 |
The Board of Directors proposes that out of the earnings available to the Annual General Meeting, a dividend of CHF 0.80 gross per registered share be distributed.
Calculated on the total number of issued shares of 2,168,148,264 , this corresponds to a maximum total amount of CHF 1,734,518,611.20.
The first trading day ex-dividend is expected to be March 30, 2020. The payout date in Switzerland is expected to be April 1, 2020. The Swiss withholding tax of 35% will be deducted from the gross dividend amount.
The remaining amount of the available earnings is to be carried forward to the new account.
In deciding on the appropriation of dividends, the Annual General Meeting shall take into account that ABB Ltd will not pay dividends on shares that participate in the dividend access facility as per article 8 of the Articles of Incorporation and on own shares held by the Company and its subsidiaries.
Shareholders who are resident in Sweden and participate in the established dividend access facility will receive an amount in Swedish Kronor from ABB Norden Holding AB that corresponds to the dividend resolved on a registered share of ABB Ltd without deduction of the Swiss withholding tax. This amount, however, is subject to taxation according to Swedish law.
The Board of Directors proposes to amend article 39 para. 2 of the Articles of Incorporation as follows (amendments underlined):
[Article 39 para. 1 remains unchanged.]
Each fiscal year, ABB is required to prepare a business report, which consists of a management report as well as annual statutory financial statements of ABB Ltd (the Swiss holding company) and consolidated financial statements for the entire ABB Group, in accordance with the Swiss Code of Obligations and established accounting principles.
The Articles of Incorporation exceed those requirements and oblige ABB to prepare a cash flow statement as part of the annual statutory financial statements of ABB Ltd, in addition to preparing one as part of its annual consolidated financial statements for the entire ABB Group. As a matter of simplification, it is proposed to eliminate this additional requirement and unnecessary cost to the shareholders. The rationale behind this proposal is that ABB will continue to provide the shareholders with a cash flow statement as part of its annual consolidated financial statements for the entire
ABB Group. The proposed amendment will accommodate future changes in the Swiss Code of Obligations or established accounting principles without the need for further amendment to the Articles of Incorporation.
6.1. Binding vote on the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Board of Directors for the next term of office, i.e. from the 2020 Annual General Meeting to the 2021 Annual General Meeting
The Board of Directors proposes that shareholders approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Board of Directors covering the period from the 2020 Annual General Meeting to the 2021 Annual General Meeting in the amount of CHF 4,700,000.
Pursuant to article 34 of the Articles of Incorporation, the General Meeting of Shareholders shall approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Board of Directors for the next term of office. Further information on the proposed compensation is provided in the annex to this invitation.
6.2. Binding vote on the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Executive Committee for the following financial year, i.e. 2021
The Board of Directors proposes that shareholders approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Executive Committee for the financial year 2021 in the amount of CHF 39,500,000.
Pursuant to article 34 of the Articles of Incorporation, the General Meeting of Shareholders shall approve the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Executive Committee for the following financial year. Further information on the proposed compensation is provided in the annex to this invitation.
The term of office for all members of the Board of Directors expires at the completion of the Annual General Meeting on March 26, 2020.
The Board of Directors proposes that the persons presented below be elected to the Board of Directors for a term of office extending until completion of the Annual General Meeting 2021.

Matti Alahuhta has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2014. He is the chairman of the boards of Outotec Corporation and of DevCo Partners Oy (both Finland). He is also a member of the boards of directors of KONE Corporation (Finland) and AB Volvo (Sweden). He was previously the president and chief executive officer of KONE Corporation and he served in several executive positions at Nokia Corporation (Finland). Mr. Alahuhta was born in 1952 and is a Finnish citizen.

Gunnar Brock has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since March 2018. He is currently chairman of the boards of Slättö Invest AB, Mölnlycke Health Care AB and Stena AB (all Sweden). He is a member of the boards of directors of Investor AB and Patricia Industries (both Sweden). He was formerly president and chief executive officer of Atlas Copco AB (Sweden). Mr. Brock was born in 1950 and is a Swedish citizen.

David Constable has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2015. He is a member of the boards of directors of Rio Tinto plc (U.K.), Rio Tinto Limited (Australia) and Fluor Corporation (U.S.). He was formerly the chief executive officer and president as well as a member of the board of directors of Sasol Limited (South Africa). He joined Sasol after more than 29 years with Fluor Corporation (U.S.). Mr. Constable was born in 1961 and is a Canadian citizen.

Frederico Fleury Curado has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2016. He is the chief executive officer of Ultrapar Participações S.A. (Brazil) and a member of the board of directors of Transocean Ltd. (Switzerland). He was formerly the chief executive officer of Embraer S.A. (Brazil). Mr. Curado was born in 1961 and is a Brazilian citizen.

Lars Förberg has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2017. He is co-founder and managing partner of Cevian Capital. Mr. Förberg is the chairman of the Human Practice Foundation (Denmark). Mr. Förberg was born in 1965 and is a Swedish citizen.

Jennifer Xin-Zhe Li has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since March 2018. She is a member of the boards of directors of Philip Morris International Inc. (U.S.), HSBC Asia (Hong Kong) and Flex Ltd (Singapore/U.S.). Ms. Li is a founder and general partner of Changcheng Investment Partners (P.R.C.) and was previously the chief executive officer (general managing partner) of Baidu Capital (P.R.C.). She formerly served as chief financial officer of Baidu Inc. (P.R.C.). Ms. Li was born in 1967 and is a Canadian citizen.

Geraldine Matchett has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since March 2018. She is the co-chief executive officer (since February 2020), the chief financial officer and a member of the managing board of Royal DSM N.V. (The Netherlands). She was previously chief financial officer of SGS Ltd (Switzerland). Prior to joining SGS she worked as an auditor at Deloitte Ltd (Switzerland) and KPMG LLP (U.K.). Ms. Matchett was born in 1972 and is a Swiss, British and French citizen.

David Meline has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2016. From 2014 through 2019, he was the chief financial officer of Amgen Inc. (U.S.). Mr. Meline was formerly with the 3M Company (U.S.), where he served as chief financial officer. Prior to joining 3M, Mr. Meline worked for more than 20 years for General Motors Company (U.S.). Mr. Meline was born in 1957 and is a Swiss and U.S. citizen.

Satish Pai has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2016. He is the managing director and a member of the board of directors of Hindalco Industries Ltd. (India). He joined Hindalco in 2013 after 28 years with Schlumberger Limited (U.S.). Mr. Pai was born in 1961 and is an Indian citizen.

Jacob Wallenberg has been a member of ABB's Board of Directors since June 1999 and Vice-Chairman since April 2015. He is the chairman of the board of Investor AB (Sweden). He is vice-chairman of the boards of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, FAM AB and Patricia Industries (all Sweden). He is also a member of the boards of directors of Nasdaq, Inc. (U.S.) and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (Sweden) as well as a member of the nomination committee of SAS AB (Sweden). Mr. Wallenberg was born in 1956 and is a Swedish citizen.

Peter R. Voser has been a member and Chairman of ABB's Board of Directors since April 2015. He was ABB's Chief Executive Officer from April 2019 through February 2020. He is a member of the board of directors of IBM Corporation (U.S.). He is also a member of the board of directors of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (Singapore) as well as chairman of the board of PSA International Pte Ltd (Singapore), one of its subsidiaries. In addition, he is the chairman of the board of trustees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies. He was previously the chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell plc (The Netherlands). Mr. Voser was born in 1958 and is a Swiss citizen.
Pursuant to article 21 of the Articles of Incorporation, the General Meeting of Shareholders elects individually each member of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Following a detailed review process, the Board of Directors determined that it currently has the right mix of CEO, CFO, industry, technology and geographic/regional experience. Therefore, the Board of Directors is nominating all current members for re-election.
The Board of Directors proposes the election of:
to the Compensation Committee for a term of office extending until completion of the Annual General Meeting 2021.
Pursuant to article 29 of the Articles of Incorporation, the General Meeting of Shareholders elects individually each member of the Compensation Committee.
The Board of Directors proposes the election of
• Dr. Hans Zehnder, attorney-at-law and notary, Bahnhofplatz 1, 5400 Baden, Switzerland
as independent proxy for a term of office extending until completion of the Annual General Meeting 2021.
Pursuant to article 15 of the Articles of Incorporation, the General Meeting of Shareholders elects the independent proxy. The Board of Directors confirms that the proposed candidate is independent.
The Board of Directors proposes that KPMG AG, Zurich, be elected as auditors for the financial year 2020.
Zurich, February 28, 2020 ABB Ltd Board of Directors
As from March 6, 2020, the Annual Report will be available to the shareholders for inspection at the Company's head office at Affolternstrasse 44, Zurich Oerlikon, Switzerland, as well as in Sweden at ABB AB, Kopparbergsvägen 2, Västerås. The Annual Report will also be available electronically under www.abb.com/agm and will be mailed on request. The invitation including the agenda and the proposals of the Board of Directors will be mailed directly to shareholders who are registered in the Company's share register with the right to vote.
Shareholders entered in the share register with the right to vote on March 18, 2020, are entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting. These shareholders will receive their admission cards (by priority mail) on request, either using the reply form enclosed or electronically (e-voting). The reply form or a corresponding notification must reach the Company not later than March 20, 2020 (by mail or e-voting).
Reply forms or notifications arriving after that date will not be taken into consideration.
If you cannot attend our Annual General Meeting in person, you may:
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Shareholders may register by using the e-voting platform via www.abb.com/agm to either request an admission card, authorize another ABB shareholder with the right to vote, or issue voting instructions to the independent proxy.
The requisite login details are enclosed in the reply form. Shareholders may vote electronically, or change any instructions they may have communicated electronically, up to but no later than 11:59 p.m. (CET) on March 20, 2020.
For further information as well as instructions on how to register and vote electronically, please refer to www.abb.com/agm.
The entry of shareholders with the right to vote in ABB's share register does not affect the trading of shares held by such shareholders before, during or after the Annual General Meeting.
As of December 31, 2019, the total number of shares and votes in ABB Ltd was 2,168,148,264. As of the same date, the Company held 34,647,153 treasury shares, corresponding to 34,647,153 votes. The voting rights in treasury shares cannot be exercised at the Annual General Meeting.
The Annual General Meeting will be conducted primarily in German. Translation into English will be available.
The Annual General Meeting will be broadcast via www.abb.com/agm.
A record of the decisions taken by the Annual General Meeting will be available for inspection shortly after the Annual General Meeting at the Company's head office in Zurich Oerlikon, Switzerland, and will be published on www.abb.com/agm.
A1 Wallisellen Winterthur/St. Gallen Zurich
A1
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Getting there
By public transport
Per Auto
Adress: Samsung Hall Hoffnigstrasse 1 8600 Dübendorf
Samsung Hall Dübendorf
Due to limited parking space in the Samsung Hall, we recommend you make the journey by train, bus or tram.
· The Samsung Hall is a 2-minute walk from Stettbach station.
· Stettbach station can be reached by trains (S-Bahn) S3, S6, S8, S9, S12 and S19.
· The Samsung Hall is 500m ahead on your left.
· Take the exit "Dübendorf" on the A1. · Follow the Überlandstrasse in the direction of Uster/Dübendorf and turn right at the traffic lights onto the Ringstrasse, in the direction of
Fällanden, Zoo, Stadtmitte. · Turn right again at the next traffic light onto the Zürichstrasse in the direction of
Stettbach station.

Due to limited parking facilities at the meeting location, we recommend that you make your journey by public transport.
The Samsung Hall is a 2 minutes walk from Stettbach station.
Stettbach station can be reached by trains (S-Bahn) S3, S6, S8, S9, S12 and S19. It is covered by fare zones 110 and 121.
Samsung Hall Hoffnigstrasse 1 8600 Dübendorf
(Binding votes on the compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee)
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At the 2020 Annual General Meeting of ABB Ltd, there will be separate binding votes on the maximum aggregate compensation of the Board of Directors (Board) for its 2020–2021 term of office
and on the maximum aggregate compensation of the Executive Committee (EC) for 2021. There will also be a non-binding vote on the 2019 Compensation Report.

6.1. Binding vote on the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the Board of Directors for the next term of office, i.e. from the 2020 Annual General Meeting to the 2021 Annual General Meeting
The Board is proposing to maintain the same number of Board members for the 2020–2021 term of office as for the 2019–2020 term. Compensation for individual Board members is planned to remain at the same level as in the previous period.
The Board proposes that shareholders approve a maximum aggregate compensation of the Board of CHF 4,700,000.
The compensation of the members of the Board consists only of fixed compensation and the Board members are required to take at least half of their compensation in the form of ABB Ltd shares.
The compensation principles for the members of the Board are described in article 33 of the Articles of Incorporation. Based on the proposals of the Compensation Committee, the Board determines the compensation of its members taking into account each member's position and responsibilities.
Additional information regarding compensation of the Board is available in the 2019 Compensation Report, which can be found in the Annual Report.
ABB has progressively increased the performance orientation of its compensation system while better aligning it to the Company's strategy, taking into consideration inputs from shareholders and other stakeholders. Further information regarding Executive Committee compensation, including the proposed changes for 2020, is available in the 2019 Compensation Report, which can be found in the Annual Report.
The main factors impacting changes in aggregate compensation from year to year are the number of EC members, each member's target compensation, and Company and individual performance during the relevant performance cycles.
Target compensation would be reached if EC members meet the performance criteria for a 100 percent payout of the short-term incentive (STI) award and for the allocation of 100 percent of the reference grant size of the long-term incentive (LTI) plan.
The proposed maximum aggregate EC compensation for 2021 of CHF 39,500,000 would only be reached if EC members meet the performance criteria for a 150 percent award under the STI plan and a maximum allocation of 112.5 percent of the reference grant size under the
LTI plan. Over the last 3 years, this level of STI award and LTI allocation for all EC members, on an aggregate basis, has not occurred at ABB.
The proposed maximum aggregate EC compensation reflects the new organizational structure which, for 2020, has already led to a smaller Executive Committee. This reduction is reflected in the maximum aggregate compensation for 2021 requested for approval by shareholders.
The chart below shows the expected development of aggregate EC compensation from 2019 to 2021.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate EC compensation in CHF (millions) |
51.4 | 52.2 | 52 | 55.5 | 39.5 |
| Assumptions | Actual | Target | Maximum (approved at 2018 AGM) |
Maximum (approved at 2019 AGM) |
Maximum (proposed at 2020 AGM) |
| STI award percentage | 100% | 150% | 150% | 150% | |
| Adjustment of LTIP grant size | 0% | +12.5% | +12.5% | +12.5% | |
| Number of EC members | 11 | 11 | 12 | 9 |
1 For full description, see Compensation Report, which can be found in the Annual Report.
ABB Ltd Share Register P.O. Box 8050 Zurich Switzerland
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Phone: +41 43 317 57 00 Fax +41 43 317 39 39 [email protected]
www.abb.com
© Copyright 2020 ABB. All rights reserved.
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