Corporate Governance Report

We recognize the importance of clear and straightforward rules on corporate governance and, where appropriate, have adapted our internal organization and processes to these rules. This section provides an overview of QIAGEN’s corporate governance structure and includes details of the information required under the Dutch Corporate Governance Code (the Dutch Code). The Dutch Code is applicable to QIAGEN N.V. (in the following also referred to as the “Company”), as it is a publicly listed company incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands with a registered seat in Venlo, The Netherlands. The Dutch Code contains the principles and concrete provisions which the persons involved in a listed company (including Managing Board members and Supervisory Board members) and stakeholders should observe in relation to one another.

Our corporate governance practices generally derive from the provisions of the Dutch Civil Code and the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. Further, due to our listing on the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S., the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board of QIAGEN N.V. declared their intention to disclose in QIAGEN’s Annual Reports the Company’s compliance with the corporate governance practices followed by U.S. companies under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards or state the deviations recorded in the period.

A brief summary of the principal differences follows.

Corporate Structure

QIAGEN is a ‘Naamloze Vennootschap,’ or N.V., a Dutch public limited liability company similar to a corporation in the United States. QIAGEN has a two-tier board structure. QIAGEN is managed by a Managing Board consisting of executive management acting under the supervision of a Supervisory Board (non-executives), similar to a Board of Directors in a U.S. corporation. It is in the interest of QIAGEN and all its stakeholders that each Board performs its functions appropriately and that there is a clear division of responsibilities between the Managing Board, the Supervisory Board, the general meeting of shareholders (General Meeting) and the external auditor in a well-functioning system of checks and balances.

Managing Board

General

The Managing Board manages QIAGEN and is responsible for defining and achieving QIAGEN’s aims, strategy, policies and results and is expected to act in a sustainable manner by focusing on long-term value creation in the performance of their work. The Managing Board is also responsible for complying with all relevant legislation and regulations as well as for managing the risks associated with the business activities and the financing of QIAGEN. It reports related developments to and discusses the internal risk management and control systems with the Supervisory Board and the Audit Committee. Under Dutch Law, QIAGEN's Managing Board, which has two members, has chosen to work with an Executive Committee and is accountable for the actions and decisions of the Executive Committee, which is comprised of the CEO, the CFO and certain experienced leaders who have responsibilities for the operational management of the Company and the achievement of its objectives and results. The Managing Board has ultimate responsibility for the Company’s external reporting and is answerable to shareholders of the Company at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Pursuant to the two-tier corporate structure, the Managing Board is required to render account for the performance of its duties to the Supervisory Board and the General Meeting of Shareholders (General Meeting). The Managing Board provides the Supervisory Board with timely information necessary for the exercise of the duties of the Supervisory Board. In discharging its duties, the Managing Board takes into account the interests of QIAGEN, its enterprises and all parties involved in QIAGEN, including shareholders and other stakeholders.

Composition and Appointment

The Managing Board consists of one or more members as determined by the Supervisory Board. The members of the Managing Board are appointed by the General Meeting upon the joint meeting of the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board (the Joint Meeting) having made a binding nomination for each vacancy. However, the General Meeting may at all times overrule the binding nature of such a nomination by a resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such majority represents more than half the issued share capital. Managing Directors are appointed annually for the period beginning on the date following the Annual General Meeting up to and including the date of the Annual General Meeting held in the following year.

Members of the Managing Board may be suspended and dismissed by the General Meeting by a resolution adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such majority represents more than half of the issued share capital, unless the proposal was made by the Joint Meeting, in which case a simple majority of votes cast is sufficient. Furthermore, the Supervisory Board may at any time suspend (but not dismiss) a member of the Managing Board.

Our Managing Directors and interim CEO for the year ended December 31, 2019 and their ages as of January 31, 2020, are as follows:

Managing Directors and Interim Chief Executive Officer:

The following is a brief summary of the background of each of the Managing Directors. References to “QIAGEN” and the “Company” in relation to periods prior to April 29, 1996 mean QIAGEN GmbH and its consolidated subsidiaries:

Thierry Bernard, 55, joined QIAGEN in February 2015 to lead QIAGEN’s growing presence in Molecular Diagnostics, the application of Sample to Insight solutions for molecular testing in human healthcare. In October 2019, Mr. Bernard was named Interim Chief Executive Officer in addition to his prior role as Senior Vice President, Head of Molecular Diagnostics Business Area. In March 2020, Mr. Bernard was named Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Bernard previously worked at bioMérieux, where he served in roles of increasing responsibility for 15 years, most recently as Corporate Vice President, Global Commercial Operations, Investor Relations and the Greater China Region. Prior to joining bioMérieux, he served in management roles in multiple international environments. Mr. Bernard is a member of the boards of directors of three privately held U.S. companies, First Light Biosciences, HepatoChem and more recently, Daktari Diagnostics, where he also served as CEO. He has earned degrees from Sciences Po (Paris), Harvard Business School, London School of Economics and the College of Europe and is a member of French Foreign Trade Advisors.

Roland Sackers, 51, joined QIAGEN in 1999 as Vice President Finance and has been Chief Financial Officer since 2004. In 2006, Mr. Sackers became a member of the Managing Board. Between 1995 and 1999, he served as an auditor with Arthur Andersen Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft. Mr. Sackers earned his Diplom-Kaufmann from University of Münster, Germany. In 2019, he joined the supervisory board of Evotec SE and is chairman of the audit committee. He is a former member of the supervisory board and audit committee of IBS AG and a former member of the board of directors of Operon Biotechnologies, Inc. Mr. Sackers is a board member of the industry association BIO Deutschland. He was previously a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee from 2011 to 2018 of Immunodiagnostic Systems Holding PLC (IDS), a leading producer of immunological tests for research and diagnostic applications publicly listed in the United Kingdom.

Peer M. Schatz, 54, joined QIAGEN in 1993 and served as Chief Executive Officer from January 1, 2004 until September 30, 2019. He was Chief Financial Officer between 1993 and 2003 and became a member of the Managing Board in 1998. Mr. Schatz’s contract as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer concluded effective September 30, 2019 and he continues as a Senior Advisor until June 30, 2021.

Conflicts of Interest, Loans or Similar Benefits

Resolutions to enter into transactions under which members of the Managing Board could have a conflict of interest with QIAGEN, and which are of material significance to QIAGEN and/or the relevant member of the Managing Board, require the approval of the Supervisory Board. QIAGEN has not entered into any such transactions in 2019. No credit, loans or similar benefits were granted to members of the Managing Board. Additionally, the Managing Board Members did not receive any benefits from third parties that were either promised or granted in view of their position as members of the Managing Board.

Supervisory Board

General

The Supervisory Board supervises the policies of the Managing Board, the general course of QIAGEN’s affairs and the manner in which the Managing Board implements the long-term value creation strategy and the business enterprises which we operate. The Supervisory Board assists the Managing Board by providing advice relating to the business activities of QIAGEN. In December 31, 2019, the Supervisory Board had five regular meetings that were held with the attendance of the Managing Board, while certain agenda items were discussed exclusively between the Supervisory Board members. In discharging its duties, the Supervisory Board takes into account the interests of QIAGEN, its enterprise and all parties involved in QIAGEN, including shareholders and other stakeholders. The Supervisory Board is responsible for the quality of its own performance. In this respect, the Supervisory Board conducts a self-evaluation on an annual basis. Our Supervisory Board has specified matters requiring its approval, including decisions and actions which would fundamentally change the company’s assets, financial position or results of operations. The Supervisory Board has appointed an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Selection and Appointment (Nomination) Committee and a Science and Technology Committee from among its members and can appoint other committees as deemed beneficial. The Supervisory Board has approved charters pursuant to which each of the committees operates.

Composition and Appointment

The Supervisory Board consists of at least three members, or a larger number as determined by the Joint Meeting. Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed by the General Meeting upon the Joint Meeting having made a binding nomination for each vacancy. However, the General Meeting may at all times overrule the binding nature of such a nomination by a resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such majority represents more than half the issued share capital.

The Supervisory Board shall be composed in a way that enables it to carry out its duties properly and enables its members to act critically and independently of one another and of the Managing Board and any particular interests. To that effect, the Supervisory Board has adopted a profile of its size and composition that takes into account the nature of our business, our activities and the desired diversity, expertise and background of the members of the Supervisory Board. The current profile of the Supervisory Board can be found on our website. The Supervisory Board has appointed a chairman from its members who has the duties assigned to him by the Articles of Association and the Dutch Code.

Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed annually for the period beginning on the date following the General Meeting up to and including the date of the General Meeting held in the following year. Members of the Supervisory Board may be suspended and dismissed by the General Meeting by a resolution adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such majority represents more than half of the issued share capital, unless the proposal was made by the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board in which case a simple majority of votes cast is sufficient.

Our Supervisory Directors for the year ended December 31, 2019 and their ages as of January 31, 2020, are as follows:

Supervisory Directors

The following is a brief summary of the background of each of the Supervisory Directors. References to “QIAGEN” and the “Company” in relation to periods prior to April 29, 1996 mean QIAGEN GmbH and its consolidated subsidiaries:

Stéphane Bancel, 47, joined the Supervisory Board as well as the Compensation Committee in 2013 and joined the Audit Committee and Science and Technology Committee in 2014. He is Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is advancing 24 drug development programs involving messenger RNA therapeutics. Before joining Moderna, Mr. Bancel served for five years as Chief Executive Officer of the French diagnostics company bioMérieux SA. Prior to bioMérieux, he was Managing Director of Eli Lilly in Belgium and Executive Director of Global Manufacturing Strategy and Supply Chain at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, after having started at Lilly in Great Britain. Before joining Eli Lilly, Mr. Bancel served as Asia-Pacific Sales and Marketing Director for bioMérieux while based in Tokyo, Japan. He holds a Master of Engineering degree from École Centrale Paris (ECP), a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Dr. Håkan Björklund, 63, was appointed as a Supervisory Board Member in March 2017 and as Chair of the Supervisory Board in June 2018. He is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Selection and Appointment Committee. Dr. Björklund brings an extensive international background in the life science industry to QIAGEN, in particular through his current role as Operating Executive at Avista Capital Partners, as well as through previous roles as CEO of the global pharmaceutical company Nycomed, Regional Director at Astra (now AstraZeneca), President of Astra Draco and Operating Executive at Avista Capital Partners. Under Dr. Björklund’s leadership, Nycomed grew from a predominantly Scandinavian business into a global pharmaceutical company. In addition to QIAGEN, he currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of OneMed Top Holding AB and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) and as a Member of the Board of Directors of BONESUPPORT AB and Tellacq AB. Dr. Björklund earlier served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Acino International AG and Lundbeck A/S, and was also a Member of the Board of Directors of several international life science companies, including Alere, Atos, Coloplast and Danisco. Dr. Björklund has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Dr. Metin Colpan, 65, is a co-founder of QIAGEN and was the Chief Executive Officer and a Managing Director from 1985 through 2003. Dr. Colpan has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2004 and has served as Chair of the Science and Technology Committee since 2014. He has been a member of the Selection and Appointment Committee since 2015. Dr. Colpan obtained his Ph.D. and M.S. in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the Darmstadt Institute of Technology in 1983. Prior to founding QIAGEN, Dr. Colpan was an Assistant Investigator at the Institute for Biophysics at the University of Düsseldorf. Dr. Colpan has had wide experience in separation techniques and in the separation and purification of nucleic acids in particular, and has filed many patents in the field. Dr. Colpan also serves as a Supervisory Board member of CGR GmbH in Mettmann, Germany and Heilpflanzenwohl AG in Baar, Germany. Dr. Colpan previously served as a Supervisory Board member of Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, GenPat77 Pharmacogenetics AG, GPC Biotech AG and Morphosys AG, each in Munich, Germany and Qalovis Farmer Automatic Energy GmbH, in Laer, Germany.

Dr. Ross L. Levine, 48, joined the Supervisory Board and its Science and Technology Committee in 2016. He is a physician-scientist focused on researching and treating blood and bone marrow cancers as the Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research, the Chief of Molecular Cancer Medicine, and an Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as well as Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He leads a research lab investigating genetics and targeted therapies in myeloid malignancies and is interested in application of next-generation sequencing technology in the practice of medicine in hematologic cancers. He trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in hematology-oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, earning board certification in these specialties. He received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his A.B. degree from Harvard College.

Dr. Elaine Mardis, 57, joined the Supervisory Board and its Science and Technology Committee in 2014. Dr. Mardis is the Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH. She also is Professor of Pediatrics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Mardis has research interests in the application of genomic technologies to improve our understanding of human disease, and toward improving the precision of medical diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Dr. Mardis is the former Robert E. and Louise F. Dunn Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where she was on the faculty for 22 years. As Co-Director of the McDonnell Genome Institute, she devised methods and automation that contributed to the Human Genome Project and has since played key roles in the 1000 Genomes Project, The Cancer Genome Atlas, and the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project. Prior to joining the Washington University faculty, she was a senior research scientist at BioRad Laboratories in Hercules, CA. Dr. Mardis is a board member of the American Association for Cancer Research, and has scientific advisory roles at Kiadis Pharmaceuticals N.V., PACT Pharma LLC, and Interpreta LLC. Dr. Mardis received her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology in 1984 and her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1989, both from the University of Oklahoma.

Lawrence A. Rosen, 62, joined the Supervisory Board as well as the Audit Committee in 2013, and has served as the committee's Chair since 2014. Mr. Rosen was a member of the Board of Management and Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Post DHL until September 2016. Holding this position since 2009, Mr. Rosen was in charge of controlling, corporate accounting and reporting, investor relations, corporate finance, corporate internal audit and security, taxes, as well as the group’s global business services. Prior to joining Deutsche Post DHL, Mr. Rosen served as Chief Financial Officer of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in Germany from 2003 to 2009. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President and Treasurer for Aventis SA in Strasbourg, France. Between 1984 and 2000, Mr. Rosen held different positions at the Aventis predecessor companies Hoechst AG and American Hoechst/Hoechst Celanese Inc. Since 2015, Mr. Rosen has served as a member of the board of Lanxess AG and previously served on the board of Postbank AG from 2009 until 2015. Mr. Rosen, who is a U.S. citizen, holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the State University of New York and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Elizabeth E. Tallett, 70, joined the Supervisory Board, as well as the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee, in 2011. She has served since 2016 as Chair of the Compensation Committee. She is a member of the Selection and Appointment Committee. Ms. Tallett was a Principal of Hunter Partners, LLC, a management company for early to mid-stage pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, from 2002 until February 2015. Ms. Tallett continues to consult with early stage health care companies. Her senior management experience includes President and CEO of Transcell Technologies Inc., President of Centocor Pharmaceuticals, member of the Parke-Davis Executive Committee, and Director of Worldwide Strategic Planning for Warner-Lambert Company. Ms. Tallett graduated from Nottingham University, England with dual Bachelor's degrees with honors in mathematics and economics. She is a member of the board of directors of Anthem, Inc. (where she is currently Chair), Principal Financial Group, Inc., and Meredith Corp. She is a former director of Coventry Health Care, Inc. Ms. Tallett was a founding board member of the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey and is Chair of the Trustees of Solebury School in Pennsylvania.

Conflicts of Interest, Loans or Similar Benefits

Resolutions to enter into transactions under which members of the Supervisory Board could have a conflict of interest with QIAGEN, and which are of material significance to QIAGEN and/or the relevant member of the Supervisory Board, must be reported and require the approval of the Supervisory Board plenum. A Supervisory Director that has a personal conflict of interest will not participate in the decision making process regarding such item. In December 31, 2019 neither QIAGEN nor its Supervisory Board members have entered into any such transactions. No credit, loans or similar benefits were granted to members of the Supervisory Board. Additionally, the Supervisory Board Members did not receive any benefits from third parties that were either promised or granted in view of their position as members of the Supervisory Board.

Committees of the Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board has established an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Selection and Appointment Committee and a Science and Technology Committee from among its members and can establish other committees as deemed beneficial. The Supervisory Board has approved charters under which each of the committees operates. These charters are published on our website www.QIAGEN.com. The committees are comprised of the following members:

We believe that all of our Supervisory Directors meet the independence requirements set forth in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code (the Dutch Code). We further believe that all Supervisory Board Directors qualify as independent under the independence standards set forth in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Listed Company Manual. Pursuant to the NYSE rules, a majority of the Supervisory Directors must qualify as independent, as defined in the Rules.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee currently consists of three members, Mr. Rosen (Chair), Ms. Tallett and Mr. Bancel, and meets at least quarterly. The Audit Committee members are appointed by the Supervisory Board and serve for a term of one year. We believe that all members of our Audit Committee meet the independence requirements as set forth in Rule 10A-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual. The Board has designated Mr. Rosen as an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission rules adopted pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and as defined in provisions III.3.2 and III.5.7 of the Dutch Code. The Audit Committee performs a self-evaluation of its activities on an annual basis.

The Audit Committee's primary duties and responsibilities include, among other things, to serve as an independent and objective party to monitor QIAGEN's accounting and financial reporting process and internal risk management, control and compliance systems. The Audit Committee also is directly responsible for proposing the external auditor to the Supervisory Board, which then proposes the appointment of the external auditor to the General Meeting. Further, the Audit Committee is responsible for the compensation and oversight of QIAGEN’s external auditor and for providing an open avenue of communication among the external auditor as well as the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board. Our Internal Audit department operates under the direct responsibility of the Audit Committee. Further, the Audit Committee is responsible to establish procedures to allow for the confidential and or anonymous submission by employees of concerns. Additionally, this includes the receipt, retention and treatment of submissions received regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters. The Audit Committee discusses our financial accounting and reporting principles and policies and the adequacy of our internal accounting, financial and operating controls and procedures with the external auditor and management; considers and approves any recommendations regarding changes to our accounting policies and processes; reviews with management and the external auditor our quarterly earnings reports prior to their release to the press; and reviews the quarterly and annual reports (reported on Forms 6-K and 20-F) to be furnished to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Deutsche Boerse as well as the half-year and annual reports filed with The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. The Audit Committee met seven times in 2019 and met with the external auditor excluding members of the Managing Board in July and October 2019. The Audit Committee reviews major financial risk exposures, pre-approves related-party transactions between the Company and Supervisory Board or Managing Board, and reviews any legal matter including compliance topics that could have a significant impact on the financial statements.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee’s primary duties and responsibilities include, among other things, the preparation of a proposal for the Supervisory Board concerning the Remuneration Policy for the Managing Board to be adopted by the General Meeting, the preparation of a proposal concerning the individual compensation of Managing Board members to be adopted by the Supervisory Board and the preparation of the Remuneration Report on compensation policies for the Managing Board to be adopted by the Supervisory Board. The Compensation Committee reviews and approves all equity-based compensation, reviews and approves the annual salaries, bonuses and other benefits of executive officers, and reviews general policies relating to employee compensation and benefits. The Remuneration Report reviews the implementation of the Remuneration Policy in the most recent year and provides an outline of the Remuneration Policy for the future. The Compensation Committee engages external consultants to ensure that the overall remuneration levels are benchmarked regularly, against a selected group of companies and key markets in which QIAGEN operates. The Compensation Committee currently consists of three members, Ms. Tallett (Chair), Mr. Bancel and Dr. Björklund. Members are appointed by the Supervisory Board and serve for a term of one year. The Compensation Committee met five times in December 31, 2019.

Selection and Appointment Committee

The Selection and Appointment (Nomination) Committee is primarily responsible for the preparation of selection criteria and appointment procedures for members of the Supervisory Board and Managing Board as well as the periodic evaluation of the scope and composition of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board, including the profile of the Supervisory Board. Additionally, the Selection and Appointment Committee periodically evaluates the functioning of individual members of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board, reporting these results to our Supervisory Board. It also proposes the (re-)appointments of members of our Managing Board and Supervisory Board and supervises the policy of our Managing Board in relation to selection and appointment criteria for senior management. Current members of the Selection and Appointment Committee are Dr. Björklund (Chair), Dr. Colpan and Ms. Tallett. Members are appointed by the Supervisory Board and serve for a one-year term. In the context of the 2019 departure of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chair of the Supervisory Board invited all members of the Supervisory Board to participate in the resulting succession process. Consequently, these matters were discussed during Supervisory Board meetings and teleconferences and not in the forum of the Selection and Appointment committee, which did not formally meet in December 31, 2019.

Science and Technology Committee

The Science and Technology Committee is primarily responsible for reviewing and monitoring research and development projects, programs, budgets, infrastructure management and overseeing the management risks related to the Company's portfolio and information technology platforms. The Science and Technology Committee provides understanding, clarification and validation of the fundamental technical basis of the Company's businesses in order to enable the Supervisory Board to make informed, strategic business decisions and vote on related matters, and to guide the Managing Board to ensure that powerful, global, world-class science is developed, practiced and leveraged throughout the Company to create shareholder value. The current members of the Science and Technology Committee are Dr. Colpan (Chair), Dr. Levine, Mr. Bancel and Dr. Mardis. Members are appointed by the Supervisory Board and serve for a term of one year. The Science and Technology Committee met four times in December 31, 2019.

Diversity within the Management Board and Supervisory Board

The Dutch Civil Code provided for statutory provisions to ensure a balanced representation of men and women on the Managing Board and Supervisory Boards until January 1, 2016. These statutory rules have expired, but a new bill entered into force on April 13, 2017, extending the provision on gender balance to December 31, 2019. Balanced representation of men and women is deemed to exist if at least 30 percent of the seats were filled by men and at least 30 percent are filled by women. Within the meaning of the new legislation, our Managing Board and Supervisory Board currently do not qualify as balanced. QIAGEN recognizes the benefits of diversity, including gender balance. In nominating candidates for these boards, QIAGEN supports the trend toward higher participation of women. QIAGEN feels that gender is only one part of diversity and strives for a diverse composition in the Managing Board and Supervisory Board also in terms of other factors such as age, nationality, public reputation, industry or academic background. QIAGEN is committed to expanding diversity while pursuing individuals for these boards with a unique blend of scientific and commercial expertise and experience that will contribute to the future success of its business. Management development programs support the career advancement of leaders regardless of gender and other factors. As a result a number of women are in key leadership roles, particularly in leading commercial and operational positions around the world. In line with this commitment, QIAGEN's Selection and Appointment committee will continue selecting future members of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board with due observance of its aim to have a diverse leadership team on the basis of gender, but also on the basis of age, wide ranging experience, backgrounds, skills, knowledge and insight. This all without compromising QIAGEN's commitment to hiring the best individuals for those positions. More information about diversity within the Board other than gender, can be found in below under the section Dutch Corporate Governance Code - Comply or explain.

Compensation of Managing Board Members and Supervisory Directors

Remuneration policy

The objective of our remuneration policy is to attract and retain the talented, highly qualified international leaders and skilled individuals, who enable QIAGEN to achieve its short and long-term strategic initiatives and operational excellence. Our remuneration policy aligns remuneration with individual performance, corporate performance and fosters sustainable growth and long-term value creation in the context of QIAGEN’s social responsibility and stakeholders’ interest.

The remuneration policy and overall remuneration levels are regularly reviewed by an independent compensation consulting firm and benchmarked, against a selected group of companies and key markets in which QIAGEN operates, to ensure overall competitiveness. QIAGEN participates in various compensation benchmarking surveys that provide information on the level, as well as the structure, of compensation awarded by various companies and industries for a broad range of positions around the world. The companies in the peer group are selected on the basis of market capitalization, competitors for talent, similar complexity and international spread, operating in similar industries.

The performance of the Managing Board members is measured annually against a written set of goals. The remuneration of the Managing Board members is linked to the achievement of QIAGEN’s strategic and financial goals. To ensure that remuneration is linked to performance, a significant proportion of the remuneration package is variable and contingent on performance of the individual and the company. These goals are set at ambitious levels each year to motivate and drive performance, with a focus on achieving both long-term strategic initiatives and short-term objectives based on the annual operative planning. Performance metrics used for these goals include the achievement of financial and non-financial targets.

The remuneration package of the Managing Board members consists of a combination of base salary, short term variable cash award and several elements of long term incentives (together, ‘total direct compensation’). In addition, the members of the Managing Board receive a pension arrangement and other benefits that are standard in our industry, such as a company car.

The total target remuneration package of the Managing Board members is appropriately set against a variety of factors which includes external and internal equity, experience, complexity of the position, scope and responsibilities. We aim to provide the members of the Managing Board a total direct compensation at market median level.

The structure of the remuneration package for the Managing Board is designed to balance short-term operational excellence with long-term sustainable value creation while taking into account the interests of its stakeholders. As such a significant part of the total remuneration of the Managing Board members consist of variable remuneration which can differ substantially from year to year depending on our corporate results and individual performance and may include equity-based compensation which may be subject to vesting conditions over a period of up to 10 years.

The remuneration policies for the Managing Board and for other senior management members of QIAGEN are generally aligned and consistent.

Managing Board compensation

The compensation granted to the members of the Managing Board in December 31, 2019 consisted of a fixed salary and variable components, with the significant majority of compensation awarded in the form of QIAGEN stock units that are restricted for a long multi-year period to align management with the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders. Variable compensation included long-term equity incentives that were awarded based on individual performance as well as equity awards in lieu of the value of the annual cash bonus.

In 2014, the General Meeting of Shareholders approved a new remuneration policy for the Managing Board which provides that future annual regular equity-based compensation grants to members of the Managing Board will primarily consist of performance stock units. Grants of stock options and restricted stock units which are based on time vesting only shall no longer be granted on a regular basis and shall be reserved for use as special equity incentive rewards in certain situations.

Stock options, if granted, to the Managing Board members must have an exercise price that is higher than the market price at the time of grant. Restricted Stock Units granted to the Managing Board members, vest over a 10-year period. Performance Stock Units are subject to long-term vesting periods and contingent upon the achievement of several financial goals over a multi-year period.

In 2018, a grant of Performance Stock Units with mandatory minimum holding levels of QIAGEN shares was made under the Commitment Program linked to achievement of a three-year plan covering 2019 and 2021 including quantitative goals for net sales, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), QIAGEN Value Added (QVA), a steering metric that measures the ability of QIAGEN to generate returns and exceed its cost of capital and share price development as compared to peer companies. Under the Commitment Program, the financial targets for vesting are based on three-year goals as defined within QIAGEN’s five-year business plan covering the period from 2019 until the end of 2023. The targets for vesting were set and approved by the Supervisory Board.

The table below state the amounts earned on an accrual basis by our Managing Board members and interim CEO for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The total recognized compensation expense in accordance with IFRS 2 for share-based compensation in the year December 31, 2019 (2018) for long-term compensation of stock units amounted to $1.7 million for Mr. Bernard, $37.4 million ($12.3 million) for Mr. Schatz and $4.7 million ($3.6 million) for Mr. Sackers. Based on such valuations, the total compensation including share-based compensation expenses in the year 2019 (2018) for members of the Managing Board and interim CEO was $53.5 million ($18.0 million), and amounts to $2.9 million for Mr. Bernard, $44.9 million ($13.7 million) for Mr. Schatz and $5.6 million ($4.3 million) for Mr. Sackers.

Further details on the composition of remuneration for the Managing Board, and the implementation of the Remuneration Policy during December 31, 2019, are disclosed in the Remuneration Report of the Compensation Committee as published on our website at www.QIAGEN.com.

Supervisory Board compensation

The Supervisory Board remuneration is aligned to the applicable market standards, considering peer companies of similar size and complexity in similar industries, including biotechnology, life science supplies, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, to reflect our nexus to the European Markets as a Dutch company as well as our U.S. focus as a NYSE listed company subject to U.S. regulations and the fact that several of the Supervisory Board members are residing in the United States.

The Supervisory Board compensation for 2019 consists of fixed retainer compensation and additional retainer amounts for Chairman and Vice Chairman. Annual remuneration of the Supervisory Board members is as follows:

Further, the Supervisory Board members will be reimbursed for tax consulting costs incurred in connection with the preparation of their tax returns up to an amount of €5,000 per person per fiscal year.

Supervisory board members also receive a variable component, in the form of share-based compensation. We did not pay any agency or advisory service fees to members of the Supervisory Board.

The following table summarizes the total compensation paid to the members of the Supervisory Board in December 31, 2019:

The total recognized compensation expense in accordance with IFRS 2 for share-based compensation in the year 2019 (2018) for long-term compensation of restricted stock units amounted to $1.9 million ($1.5 million) and includes $321.3 thousand ($259.0 thousand) for Mr. Bancel, $150.8 thousand ($58.3 thousand) for Mr. Björklund, $327.6 thousand ($270.6 thousand) for Mr. Colpan, $235.8 thousand ($128.0 thousand) for Mr. Levine, $315.7 thousand ($227.6 thousand) for Ms. Mardis, $321.3 thousand ($259.0 thousand) for Mr. Rosen and $229.0 thousand ($201.4 thousand) for Ms. Tallett. $120.2 thousand in 2018 for Mr. Karobath, who did not stand for re-election at the Company’s Annual General Meeting in June 2018.

The total recognized compensation expense, including share-based compensation expenses, for members of the Supervisory Board in 2019 (2018) totaled $2.5 million ($2.2 million) and includes amounts of $410.8 thousand ($348.5 thousand) for Mr. Bancel, $323.8 thousand ($182.1 thousand) for Mr. Björklund, $403.1 thousand ($346.1 thousand) for Mr. Colpan, $299.3 thousand ($191.5 thousand) for Mr. Levine, $379.2 thousand ($291.1 thousand) for Ms. Mardis, $403.8 thousand ($341.5 thousand) for Mr. Rosen, $325.5 thousand ($297.9 thousand) for Ms. Tallett and $209.7 thousand in 2018 for Mr. Karobath.

Share Ownership

The following table sets forth certain information as of January 31, 2020 concerning the ownership of Common Shares by our directors and officers. In preparing the following table, we have relied on information furnished by such persons.

The following table sets forth the options of our officers and directors as of January 31, 2020:

Additional Information

Shareholders

Our shareholders exercise their voting rights through Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings. Resolutions of the General Meeting are adopted by an absolute majority of votes cast, unless a different majority of votes or quorum is required by Dutch law or the Articles of Association. Each common share confers the right to cast one vote.

Furthermore, the Managing Board, or where appropriate, the Supervisory Board, shall provide all shareholders and other parties in the financial markets with equal and simultaneous information about matters that may influence QIAGEN's share price.

QIAGEN is required to convene an Annual General Meeting in the Netherlands no later than six months following the end of each year. The agenda for the Annual General Meeting must contain certain matters as specified in QIAGEN's Articles of Association and under Dutch law, including, among other things, the adoption of QIAGEN's annual financial statements.

Additional Extraordinary General Meetings may be convened at any time by the Managing Board, the Supervisory Board or by one or more shareholders jointly representing at least 40% of QIAGEN's issued share capital. Furthermore, one or more shareholders, who jointly represent at least 10% of QIAGEN's issued share capital may, on their application, be authorized by the district court judge having applications for interim relief, to convene a General Meeting. Shareholders are entitled to propose items for the agenda of the General Meeting provided that they hold at least 3% of the issued share capital. Proposals for agenda items for the General Meeting must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the meeting date. The notice convening a General Meeting, accompanied by the agenda, shall be sent no later than 42 days prior to the meeting. QIAGEN informs the General Meeting by means of explanatory notes to the agenda, providing all facts and circumstances relevant to the proposed resolutions.

Pursuant to the Dutch Code, all transactions between the company and legal or natural persons who hold at least ten percent of the shares in the company shall be agreed on terms that are customary in the sector concerned. Decisions to enter into transactions in which there are conflicts of interest with such persons that are of material significance to the company and/or to such persons require the approval of the Supervisory Board. QIAGEN has not entered into any such transactions in 2019.

Stock Plans

We adopted the QIAGEN N.V. Amended and Restated 2005 Stock Plan (the 2005 Plan) which was approved by our shareholders on June 14, 2005. The 2005 Plan expired by its terms in April 2015 and no further awards will be granted under the 2005 Plan. On June 25, 2014, our shareholders approved the QIAGEN N.V. 2014 Stock Plan (the 2014 Plan), which replaced the 2005 Plan in April 2015. An aggregate of 16.7 million Common Shares were reserved for issuance pursuant to the 2014 Plan, subject to certain antidilution adjustments. We issue Treasury Shares to satisfy option exercises and award releases and had approximately 15.7 million Common Shares reserved and available for issuance under the 2005 and 2014 Plans at December 31, 2019.

Pursuant to the 2014 Plan, stock rights, which include options to purchase our Common Shares, stock grants and stock-based awards, may be granted to employees and consultants of QIAGEN and its subsidiaries and to Supervisory Directors. Options granted pursuant to the 2014 Plan may either be incentive stock options within the meaning of Section 422 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), or non-qualified stock options. Options granted to members of the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board must have an exercise price that is higher than the market price at the time of grant. Generally, the stock rights and incentive stock options, as well as non-qualified options, stock grants and stock-based awards have terms of up to five or ten years, subject to earlier termination in the event of death, disability or other termination of employment. The vesting and exercisability of certain stock rights will be accelerated in the event of a Change of Control, as defined in the agreements under the 2014 Plan.

The Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Supervisory Board, which selects participants from among eligible employees, consultants and directors and determines the number of shares subject to the stock-based award, the length of time the award will remain outstanding, the manner and time of the award's vesting, the price per share subject to the award and other terms and conditions of the award consistent with the Plan. The Compensation Committee's decisions are subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board.

The Compensation Committee has the power, subject to Supervisory Board approval, to interpret the plans and to adopt such rules and regulations (including the adoption of “sub plans” applicable to participants in specified jurisdictions) as it may deem necessary or appropriate. The Compensation Committee or the Supervisory Board may at any time amend the plans in any respect, subject to Supervisory Board approval, and except that (i) no amendment that would adversely affect the rights of any participant under any option previously granted may be made without such participant's consent and (ii) no amendment shall be effective prior to shareholder approval to the extent such approval is required to ensure favorable tax treatment for incentive stock options or to ensure compliance with Rule 16b-3 under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act) at such times as any participants are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

As of January 31, 2020, there were 0.7 million options outstanding with exercise prices ranging between $14.91 and $22.25 and expiring between May 31, 2020 and May 31, 2023. The exercise price of the options is the fair market value of the Common Shares as of the date of grant or a premium above fair market value. Additionally, there were 5.2 million stock unit awards outstanding as of January 31, 2020. These awards will be released between February 26, 2020 and May 31, 2028. As of January 31, 2020, options to purchase 0.1 million Common Shares and 1.0 million stock unit awards were held by the officers and directors of QIAGEN, as a group.

Further detailed information regarding stock options and awards granted under the plan can be found in Note 22 included in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Independence

Unlike the New York Stock Exchange listing standards which require a majority of the Supervisory Board members to be independent, the Dutch Corporate Governance Code distinguishes between certain independence criteria which may be fulfilled by not more than one Supervisory Board Members (as e.g. prior employment with the Company, receiving personal financial an important business relationship with the Company) and other criteria which may not be fulfilled by more than the majority of the Supervisory Board members. In some cases the Dutch independence requirement is more stringent, such as by requiring a longer “look back” period (five years) for former executive directors. In other cases, the New York Stock Exchange rules are more stringent, such as a broader definition of disqualifying affiliations. Currently, all members of our Supervisory Board are “independent” under both the New York Stock Exchange and Dutch definitions.

Risk Management

Reference is made to the discussion in the “Risk Management” and “Risks” section above.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our Managing Director, with the assistance of other members of management, performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, they concluded that as of December 31, 2019, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file is recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely manner and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Managing Directors, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well designed, such as the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective may not prevent or detect misstatements and can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. In addition, any determination of effectiveness of controls is not a projection of any effectiveness of those controls to future periods, as those controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Report of Management on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. The Company’s system of internal controls over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements and even when determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. In making this assessment, management used the updated criteria set forth in 2013 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework.

Based on our assessment under the COSO Internal Control-Integrated Framework, management believes that, as of December 31, 2019, our internal control over financial reporting is effective.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during 2019 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Independent Auditors

In accordance with the requirements of Dutch law, our independent registered public accounting firm for our statutory consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union and filed with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), is appointed, and may be removed by, the General Meeting. The Supervisory Board nominates a candidate for the appointment as external auditor, for which purpose both the Audit Committee and the Managing Board advise the Supervisory Board. At the Annual General Meeting in 2019, KPMG Accountants N.V. was appointed as external auditor for the Company for 2019 year. The external auditor is invited to attend the meeting of the Supervisory Board at which the statutory financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and filed with the AFM shall be approved and is furthermore invited to attend the General Meeting at which the statutory financial statements are adopted and may be questioned by the General Meeting on its statement on the fairness of our annual accounts prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Following the appointment of KPMG Accountants N.V. for the audit of our statutory consolidated financial statements, the external auditor for our consolidated financial statements prepared under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles is KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft who audited the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019 contained in this annual report.

The remuneration of the external auditor, and instructions to the external auditor to provide non-audit services, shall be approved by the Supervisory Board on the recommendation of the Audit Committee and after consultation with the Managing Board. At least once every four years, the Supervisory Board and the Audit Committee shall conduct a thorough assessment of the functioning of the external auditor. The main conclusions of this assessment shall be communicated to the General Meeting for the purposes of assessing the nomination for the appointment of the external auditor.

Whistleblower Policy and Code of Conduct

We have a formal Whistleblower Policy concerning the reporting of alleged irregularities within QIAGEN of a general, operational or financial nature. Furthermore, we have a published Code of Conduct that outlines business principles for our employees and rules of conduct. The Code of Conduct can be found on our website at www.QIAGEN.com.

Anti-Takeover Measures

In 2004, the Supervisory Board granted an option to the Dutch Foundation Stichting Preferente Aandelen QIAGEN that allows the Foundation to acquire preference shares from QIAGEN if (i) a person has (directly or indirectly) acquired or has expressed a desire to acquire more than 20% of our issued share capital, or (ii) a person holding at least a 10% interest in the share capital has been designated as a hostile person by our Supervisory Board. The option enables the Foundation to acquire preference shares equal to the number of our outstanding common shares at the time of the relevant exercise of the right, less one share. When exercising the option and exercising its voting rights on these shares, the Foundation must act in the interest of QIAGEN and the interests of our stakeholders. No preference shares are currently outstanding.

Dutch Corporate Governance Code — Comply or Explain

The corporate governance structure and compliance with the Dutch Code is the joint responsibility of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board. They are accountable for this responsibility to the General Meeting. We continue to seek ways to improve our corporate governance by measuring itself against international best practice. The Dutch Code was last amended on December 8, 2016, and can be found at www.commissiecorporategovernance.nl.

Non-application of a specific best practice provision is not in itself considered objectionable by the Dutch Code and may well be justified because of particular circumstances relevant to a company. In accordance with Dutch law, we disclose in our Annual Report the application of the Dutch Code's principles and best practice provisions.

To the extent that we do not apply certain principles and best practice provisions, or do not intend to apply these in the current or the subsequent year, we state the reasons.

We take a positive view of the Dutch Code and apply nearly all of the best practice provisions. However, we prefer not to apply some provisions due to the international character of our business as well as the fact - acknowledged by the Commission that drafted the Dutch Code - that existing contractual agreements between QIAGEN and individual members of the Managing Board cannot be set aside at will.

The following provides an overview of exceptions that we have identified:

1. Best practice provision 2.2.2 recommends that a supervisory board member is appointed for a period of four years. A member may be reappointed for a term of additional two years, which appointment may be extended by at most two years.

Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed annually for a one-year period beginning on the day following the General Meeting up to and including the day of the General Meeting held in the following year. Further, Dr. Metin Colpan has joined the Supervisory Board in 2004. We value the profound industry experience of Dr. Colpan and his in-depth knowledge of QIAGEN. QIAGEN therefore supports the reappointment of Dr. Colpan beyond the eight-year term as recommended by the Dutch Code.

2. Best practice provision 2.1.5 recommends that the Supervisory Board should draw up a diversity policy for the composition of the Management Board, the Supervisory Board and, if applicable, the Executive Committee. The policy should address concrete targets relating to diversity and the diversity aspects to the Company, such as nationality, age, gender and education and work background.

While QIAGEN strives for a diverse composition of the Supervisory Board, Managing Board, Executive Committee and in all other management levels of the Company, we do not consider the definition of concrete targets relating to diversity useful. We are committed to creating an environment where all individuals have the opportunity to grow and contribute to our progress, regardless of their age, educational background, gender, nationality, physical abilities, race and ethical background, religion, or sexual orientation. We consider it to be a key success factor on the path to achieving our mission and goals. Individuals and teams alike understand the diverse needs of our customers, identify and realize cross-functional opportunities for our business areas, and can quickly adapt to a fast changing environment. In 2019, our multicultural workforce was composed of at least 70 nationalities with an average age of 40.3. With 49% women, we are well balanced in terms of gender on an aggregate levelInformation on the composition of our Managing and Supervisory Boards can be found above and more information on gender diversity within the Managing and Supervisory Board can be found about under the section "Diversity within the Managing Board and Supervisory Board."

3. Best practice provision 3.1.2 vi. recommends that when formulating the remuneration policy, it should be considered that shares awarded to management board should be held for a period of at least five years

Pursuant to the Company’s Remuneration Policy, long-term equity-based grants to members of the Managing Board under the 2014 Plan primarily consist of an award of performance stock units, i.e. long-term incentive awards which are dependent upon the achievement of pre-defined performance goals. Grants of restricted stock units, which are based on time vesting only, are no longer to be granted on a regular basis and shall be reserved for use as special equity incentive rewards in certain situations. Performance stock units and restricted stock units granted until February 2018 are basically structured so that 40% of a grant vests after three years, 50% after five years and the remaining 10% after ten years. Grants of performance stock units and restricted stock units granted after February 2018 vest 40% after three years, 60% after five years. In 2019, the members of the Managing Board elected to receive in lieu of their 2018 cash bonus the value earned in the year in performance stock units which vest over five years from the grant date.

4. Best practice provision 3.2.3 recommends that the maximum remuneration in the event of dismissal of a management board member may not exceed one year's salary (the "fixed" remuneration component).

Our Managing Board members have entered into employment agreements with QIAGEN N.V. and some QIAGEN affiliates for which they hold managing positions. In case of termination of an agreement without serious cause as defined by the applicable law, the respective affiliate would remain obliged to compensate the Managing Board member for the remaining term of the employment agreement. QIAGEN believes that these contractual arrangements are well justified due to the long tenures of the Managing Board members.

5. Best practice provision 2.2.4 recommends that the supervisory board should draw up a retirement schedule in order to avoid, as far as possible, a situation in which many supervisory board members retire simultaneously. The retirement schedule should be made generally available and should be posted on the company’s website.

The Supervisory Board follows the practice to discuss retirement plans of individual members early to proactively manage continuity within the Supervisory Board. QIAGEN believes that this practice provides a more flexible and better succession planning than a fixed retirement schedule.

6. Best practice provision 3.3.2 recommends that a supervisory board member may not be granted any shares and/or rights to shares by way of remuneration.

QIAGEN has granted stock options to the members of the Supervisory Board as a remuneration component since its establishment until 2013 when we stopped granting stock options. Since 2007, Supervisory Board members have been granted restricted stock units. We believe that the reasonable level of equity-based compensation which we practice allows a positive alignment of shareholder interests with the other duties of the Supervisory Board and that this practice is necessary to attract and retain Supervisory Board members as the granting of share-based compensation to Supervisory Board members is a common practice in our industry.

NYSE Exemptions

Exemptions from the NYSE corporate governance standards are available to foreign private issuers, such as QIAGEN when those standards are contrary to a law, rule or regulation of any public authority exercising jurisdiction over such issuer or contrary to generally accepted business practices in the issuer’s country of domicile. In connection with QIAGEN’s listing on the NYSE, the NYSE accepted QIAGEN's exemptions from certain corporate governance standards that are contrary to the laws, rules, regulations or generally accepted business practices of The Netherlands. These exemptions and the practices followed by QIAGEN are described below:

• QIAGEN is exempt from NYSE’s quorum requirements applicable to meetings of ordinary shareholders. In keeping with the law of The Netherlands and generally accepted business practices in The Netherlands, QIAGEN’s Articles of Association provide that there are no quorum requirements generally applicable to meetings of the General Meeting.
• QIAGEN is exempt from NYSE’s requirements that shareholder approval be obtained prior to the establishment of, or material amendments to, stock option or purchase plans and other equity compensation arrangements pursuant to which options or stock may be acquired by directors, officers, employees or consultants. QIAGEN is also exempt from NYSE’s requirements that shareholder approval be obtained prior to certain issuances of stock resulting in a change of control, occurring in connection with acquisitions of stock or assets of another company or issued at a price less than the greater of book or market value other than in a public offering. QIAGEN’s Articles of Association do not require approval of the General Meeting prior to the establishment of a stock plan. The Articles of Association also permit the General Meeting to grant the Supervisory Board general authority to issue shares without further approval of the General Meeting. QIAGEN’s General Meeting has granted the Supervisory Board general authority to issue up to a maximum of our authorized capital without further approval of the General Meeting. QIAGEN plans to seek approval of the General Meetings for stock plans and stock issuances only where required under the law of The Netherlands or under QIAGEN’s Articles of Association.