SUPPORTING STATEMENT
As long-term shareholders of Marvell, we support transparency and accountability in corporate electoral spending. A company’s reputation, value, and bottom line can be adversely impacted by election spending conducted through third-parties.
The Conference Board’s 2021 “Under a Microscope” report warns “a new era of stakeholder scrutiny, social media, and political polarization has propelled corporate political activity—and the risks that come with it—into the spotlight. Political activity can pose increasingly significant risks for companies, including the perception that political contributions—and other forms of activity—are at odds with core company values.”
Marvell disclosed in its 2023 Proxy Statement a statement regarding political contributions but this is deficient because the statement does not clearly address all direct and indirect corporate-funded election-related spending, including payments to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, payments to 527 groups, payments to trade associations, independent expenditures, and payments to influence the outcome of ballot measures.
Information on indirect electoral spending through 501(c)(4) groups and trade associations cannot be obtained by shareholders unless the Company discloses it. This proposal asks Marvell to disclose all of its electoral spending, direct and indirect, or clearly state that all such spending is prohibited. This would bring our company in line with a growing number of leading companies, including Western Digital Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., and Qualcomm Inc., which present this information on their websites.
Without knowing the recipients of our company’s political dollars investors cannot sufficiently assess whether our company’s election-related spending aligns or conflicts with company policies, goals and values, or other areas of concern. We urge your support for this critical governance reform.