Notice of 2015 Annual Meeting

of Stockholders

and Proxy Statement

Friday, October 2, 2015
at 9:00 a.m., local time
994 Innovators Way
Simi Valley, CA 93065

* = Independent Director

L = Lead Independent Director

A = Audit Committee

C = Compensation Committee

E = Executive Committee

NCG = Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

1.

If re-elected, Mr. Fishman will serve on the Compensation Committee and the Executive Committee.

2.

Ms. Merigold was appointed as a director of the company on July 31, 2015 upon the retirement of Joseph Alibrandi.

1.

Ms. Covington served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer from February 5, 2015 to July 6, 2015, after which she was appointed Vice President, Finance. Prior to being appointed as our Interim Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Covington had served as our Vice President and Director of Finance, Energy Efficient Systems since May 2011.

2.

Mr. Kim resigned his employment with the company effective February 5, 2015. In connection with his resignation, Mr. Kim entered into a one-year consulting agreement with the company (the "Consulting Agreement"). Amounts paid to Mr. Kim pursuant to the Consulting Agreement are reflected in the "All Other Compensation" column.

3.

Mr. Minson ceased serving as our Senior Vice President and General Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems in April 2015 and assumed a new role of strategy for the emerging commercial unmanned aircraft system ("UAS") market.

Our board of directors consists of seven members and is divided into three classes of directors serving staggered three-year terms. Directors for each class are elected at the annual meeting of stockholders held in the year in which the term for their class expires and hold office until their resignation or removal or their successors are duly elected and qualified. In accordance with our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, our board of directors may fill existing vacancies on the board of directors by appointment.

The term of office of the Class III directors will expire at the annual meeting. At the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, our board of directors proposes the election of Timothy E. Conver and Arnold L. Fishman. Both nominees currently serve as Class III directors. Each of Mr. Conver and Mr. Fishman was elected by stockholders at the 2012 annual meeting of stockholders.

Timothy E. Conver

Arnold L. Fishman

Each of Mr. Conver and Mr. Fishman has indicated his willingness to serve if elected. If Mr. Conver or Mr. Fishman becomes unable to serve or for good cause will not serve, the individuals named as proxies on the enclosed proxy card will vote the shares that they represent for the election of such other persons as the board may recommend, unless the board reduces

the number of directors. There are currently three Class I directors, whose terms expire at the annual meeting of stockholders in 2016, and two Class II directors, whose terms expire at the annual meeting of stockholders in 2017.

Unless otherwise instructed, the proxy holders will vote the proxies received by them for the nominees named above. If voting instructions are received, the proxy holders will vote the proxy cards received by them in accordance with the instructions received. In no event may the proxy holders vote for the election of more than two nominees. We have no reason to believe that the nominees will be unable or unwilling to serve if elected as directors.

The principal occupation and certain other information about the nominees, our other directors and our executive officers are set forth on the following pages.

Withholdings will be counted as present for the purposes of this vote but are not counted as votes cast. Broker non-votes will not be counted as present and are not entitled to vote on the proposal.

There are no limits on the number of terms a director may serve. We believe term limits may cause the loss of experience and expertise important to the optimal operation of our board of directors. However, to ensure that the board remains composed of high-functioning members able to keep their commitments to board service, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee evaluates the qualifications and considers the performance of each incumbent director before recommending the nomination of that director for an

additional term. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that, in an election of directors where the number of nominees does not exceed the number of directors to be elected, each director must receive more "for" votes than "withhold" votes with respect to that director. If a director is elected but receives more "withhold" votes than "for" votes, he or she has agreed to submit a letter of resignation to the board of directors. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will make a recommendation to the board

on whether to accept or reject the resignation, or whether other action should be taken. The board will act on the resignation taking into account the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and publicly disclose its decision and rationale within 100 days of the certification of the election results. The director who tenders the resignation will not participate in the decisions of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee or the board that concern the resignation.

In addition, pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, a director whose job responsibilities materially change since his or her last election as a director may be asked to submit a letter of resignation to the board. The board may request such a resignation letter if continuing service on the board by the individual is not consistent with the criteria deemed necessary for continuing service on the board.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for identifying and evaluating nominees for director and for recommending to the board a slate of nominees for the class of directors to be elected at each annual meeting of stockholders. Nominees may be suggested by directors, members of management or stockholders.

Stockholders who would like to have their recommendations for nominees for directors be considered by the Nominating and Corporate

Governance Committee should submit their recommendations in writing by mail to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in care of the Office of the Corporate Secretary, AeroVironment, Inc., 900 Innovators Way, Simi Valley, California 93065 or by email to corporatesecretary@avinc.com. Recommendations by stockholders that are made in accordance with these procedures will receive the same consideration as other nominees.

Directors are responsible for overseeing the company's business consistent with their fiduciary duty to stockholders. This significant responsibility requires highly skilled individuals with various qualities, attributes and professional experience. The board believes that there are general requirements that are applicable to all directors and others skills and experience that only need to be represented on the

board as a whole, but not necessarily possessed by each director. The board and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consider the qualifications of directors and director candidates individually and in the broader context of the board's overall composition and the company's current and future needs.

In its assessment of each potential director nominee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers the nominee's judgment, integrity, experience, independence, understanding of the company's business or related industries and such other factors as the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines are pertinent in light of the current needs of the board. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also takes into account the ability of a potential nominee to devote the time and effort necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of a director to the company. The board and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee require that each director be a recognized person of high integrity, ethics and values, have a proven record of success and demonstrate respect for corporate governance requirements and practices. Each director must also possess practical and mature business judgment, as well as demonstrate innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit, qualities the board believes are essential to its ability to maintain the company's culture of innovation. In addition, the board conducts interviews of potential director candidates to assess intangible qualities, including the individual's ability to ask difficult questions while maintaining collegiality.

Specific Qualifications, Attributes, Skills and Experience to be Represented on the Board

The board has identified the qualifications, attributes, skills and experience listed in the bullets below as important to being represented on the board as a

whole, in light of the company's current needs and the business priorities.

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experience as chief executive officer, president or executive management of a public or large private company;

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extensive knowledge of the company's business;

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aerospace and defense industry expertise;

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alternative energy, automotive or other relevant industry expertise;

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global and international business experience;

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strategic development experience, including mergers, acquisitions, venture capital and other strategic transactions;

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diversity of expertise and experience, including substantive matters pertaining to our business, relative to other directors;

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experience in marketing, engineering, technology and innovation, operations, supply chain, manufacturing and legal;

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high level of financial literacy and experience;

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experience as a board member of another publicly-held company;

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data analytics experience;

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commercial business experience; and

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experience in scaling or growing a startup or small business into a significant business.

Under the listing standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, and the company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, the board must consist of a majority of independent directors. In making independence determinations, the board observes Nasdaq and SEC criteria and considers all relevant facts and circumstances. To be considered independent under Nasdaq listing standards, a director must pass certain objective tests, such as not being an executive officer or employee of the company or having certain business dealing with us. Additionally, Nasdaq independence standards include a subjective test that requires our board to make a subjective determination that an individual have no relationships which, in the opinion of the company's board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director.

In evaluating director independence, the board took into consideration the consulting agreement currently in place between the company and one of our

directors, General (Retired) Charles R. Holland. Pursuant to this agreement, as amended as of January 1, 2013, Mr. Holland performs consulting services for us on a general basis and with respect to particular individual projects assigned by us. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2015, we paid to Mr. Holland approximately $96,000 in consulting fees pursuant to the terms of this agreement. After reviewing payments made to General Holland by the company pursuant to the consulting agreement, the board concluded that General Holland is not independent under Nasdaq's objective independence tests.

The board's independence determination for Mr. Muller included a review of sales made to one of our customers, NRG Energy, Inc., of which Mr. Muller is a director. The board considered the amount of sales made to NRG, which amounted to less than 1% of our total revenues, in determining that Mr. Muller is independent.

The board and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believe that the combination of the various qualifications, skills and experience of the director nominees would contribute to an effective and well-functioning board. They also believe that the combination of the various qualifications, skills and experiences of the director nominees individually, and when combined with the other directors, will create a board possessing the necessary qualifications to

provide effective oversight of the strategic advice and counsel to the company's management.

Included in the biographies of the director nominees and the other directors below is an assessment of the specific qualifications, attributes, skills and experiences that such director nominees and the other members of the board provide to the board of directors and the company.

The following information and graphics summarizes the qualifications of the nominees for Class III director and the other members of the board. Based on a careful assessment, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the board concluded that each nominee is qualified to serve as a director and that the collective board, including the nominees for election, possess the necessary qualifications, attributes, skills and experience to provide effective oversight of the business and provide strategic advice and counsel to the company's management.

All nominees and other directors exhibit:

Our director nominees and other directors bring a balance of important skills to our boardroom

The fact that an item is not highlighted for a director does not mean that the director does not possess that qualification, attribute, skill or experience.

Board of Directors and Committees

The company's governance framework provides the board with flexibility to select the appropriate leadership structure for the company. In making leadership structure determinations, the board considers many factors, including the specific needs of the business and what is in the best interests of the company's stockholders. The current leadership structure is comprised of a combined Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, an independent director serving as Lead Independent Director and strong, active independent directors. The board believes this structure provides an effective balance between strong company leadership and appropriate safeguards and oversight by independent directors.

Board Leadership Structure:

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Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer: Timothy E. Conver
    

•

Lead Independent Director: Charles Thomas Burbage

•

Committees led by independent directors

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Active engagement by all directors

The board believes this is the optimal structure to guide the company and maintain the focus required to achieve the company's business goals. The Chairman of the Board presides over meetings of the board and stockholders, consults and advises the board and its committees on the business and affairs of the company, and performs such other duties as may be assigned by the board. The Chief Executive Officer is in general charge of the affairs of the company, subject to the powers reserved to the board.

The Lead Independent Director has the following role and responsibilities:

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presides at all meetings of the board or stockholders at which the Chairman of the Board is not present;

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serves as a liaison on board-related issues between the Chairman of the Board and the independent directors;

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reviews and provides input to the Chairman of the Board regarding the nature, scope and timeliness of information that management provides to the board;

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reviews and provides input to the Chairman of the Board regarding the agendas for board meetings and the annual schedule of board meetings;

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presides at meetings of the independent directors and apprises the Chairman of the Board of the issues discussed, as appropriate; and

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performs such other duties as the board may from time to time delegate.

Each year, the board designates an independent director to serve as the Lead Independent Director on the board. The designation of a Lead Independent Director is for a one-year term and a Lead Independent Director may be eligible for re-election at the end of that term. Designation as such does not impose on the Lead Independent Director any obligation or standard greater than or different from those of the company's other directors.

Importantly, all directors play an active role in overseeing the company's business both at the board and committee levels. The 2015 director nominees consist of two Class III director nominees, one of whom is an independent director and each of whom have significant executive leadership experience and extensive knowledge of the company's business.

As set forth in the company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, regularly scheduled executive sessions are held at least twice per year and at least one executive session of independent directors is held per year. These meetings allow non-employee directors to discuss issues of importance to the company, including the business and affairs of the company, as well as matters concerning management, without any member of management present. In addition, the independent directors meet in executive session several times a year at regularly scheduled board meetings. Independent directors chair all of the board committees, which are described below.

The board believes that this leadership structure – a combined Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, a Lead Independent Director, active and strong non-employee directors and committees led by independent directors – is effective and currently serves the business and our stockholders well. It provides a single leader who is understood by our employees, customers, business partners and stockholders as providing strong leadership for the

company. It enhances our ability and agility to manage resources and provides the focus required to implement our complex business strategy in fast-moving and emerging markets. In addition, the board believes that Mr. Conver's interest as a significant stockholder is strongly aligned with his fiduciary duty as a director and Chairman of the Board.

Role in Risk Oversight

Our board of directors is responsible for overseeing our risk management. The board delegates many of these functions to the Audit Committee. Under its charter, the Audit Committee is responsible for discussing with management the company's policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The committee is chartered to discuss with management our significant risk exposures and the actions management has taken to limit, monitor or control such exposures. In addition to the Audit Committee's work in overseeing risk management, our full board engages in discussions of the most significant risks that we face and how these risks are being managed.

Board Meetings

Under the company's bylaws, regular meetings of the board are held at such times as the board may determine. Special meetings of the board may be called by the Chairman of the Board or the President on 48 hours' notice to each director or by the President or the Corporate Secretary after receiving a written request of two directors on 48 hours' notice. The board held 10 meetings in fiscal year 2015. Each director attended at least 75% of all meetings of the board of directors and each committee on which he sat during fiscal year 2015.

Annual Meeting Attendance

The company does not have a formal policy regarding directors' attendance at annual meetings of stockholders, but encourages all directors to attend such meetings. Six members of our board, who were serving as directors at the time, attended the 2014 annual meeting of stockholders.

Board Committees

The board has an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and an Executive Committee. The board has adopted a written charter for each of these

committees which is available on the company's website www.avinc.com by clicking on "Investors" and then "Corporate Governance." All of the members of each of these standing committees other than the Executive Committee meet the criteria for independence prescribed by the SEC and Nasdaq. The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into, and does not form a part of, this proxy statement. Our board of directors may establish other committees to facilitate the management of our business. Additional information about the committees is provided below.

Audit Committee

The board has determined that Mr. Muller and Mr. Page qualify as audit committee financial experts as defined by the rules of the SEC. All committee members are able to read and understand fundamental financial statements in accordance with Nasdaq requirements. Our Audit Committee's main function is to oversee our accounting and financial reporting processes, internal systems of control, independent registered public accounting firm relationships and the audits of our financial statements. This committee's responsibilities include:

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selecting and hiring our independent registered public accounting firm;

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evaluating the qualifications, independence and performance of our independent registered public accounting firm;

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reviewing and approving the audit and non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm;

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reviewing the design, adequacy, implementation and effectiveness of our internal controls established for finance, accounting, legal compliance and ethics;

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reviewing the design, adequacy, implementation and effectiveness of our critical accounting and financial policies;

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overseeing and monitoring the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements as they relate to financial statements or accounting matters;

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reviewing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements;

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reviewing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm any earnings announcements or other public announcements concerning our operating results;

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establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints (including procedures for receiving and handling complaints on a confidential and anonymous basis) regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, including employee concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters;

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preparing the audit committee report that the SEC requires in our annual proxy statements; and

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reviewing and approving any related party transactions.

The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, or code of conduct, is our code of ethics for directors, executive officers and employees. Any amendment to the code of conduct that applies to our directors or executive officers may be made only by the board or a board committee and will be disclosed on our website. The code of conduct is available at http://investor.avinc.com. The Audit Committee charter and the code of conduct are also available in print to any stockholder who requests them.

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee's purpose is to assist our board of directors in determining the development plans and compensation for our senior management and the compensation to be paid to directors for board and committee service. The Compensation Committee of our board is comprised of three independent directors. The Compensation Committee's responsibilities with respect to executive compensation are:

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to review our compensation philosophy;

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to review and recommend to the board corporate goals and objectives relating to the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, evaluate the performance of our Chief Executive Officer in light of those goals

and objectives and review and recommend to the board the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer (unless such decisions require approval by our Compensation Committee to the extent such compensation is intended to be qualified performance-based compensation for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code);

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to review and approve all compensation of our executive officers and all other officers subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act;

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to review all employment agreements and severance arrangements of executive officers;

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to review all annual bonus, long-term incentive compensation, stock option, employee pension and welfare benefit plans;

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to review and approve the Compensation Discussion and Analysis contained in this proxy statement; and

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to review and approve executive officer indemnification and insurance matters.

In addition, the Compensation Committee is responsible for the general administration of all executive compensation plans, including:

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setting performance goals for our executive officers and reviewing their performance against these goals;

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approving all amendments to, and terminations of, all compensation plans and any awards under such plans;

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granting awards under any performance-based annual bonus, long-term incentive compensation and equity compensation plans to executive officers; and

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making recommendations to the board with respect to awards for directors under our equity incentive plans.

In addition, the Compensation Committee has the sole authority, in accordance with applicable securities laws, rules and regulations and Nasdaq listing standards, to retain and/or replace, as needed, any independent counsel, compensation and benefits consultants and other outside experts or advisors as the Compensation Committee believes to be necessary or appropriate. The Compensation Committee is responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any compensation advisors retained by the Compensation

Committee. Subject to any exceptions under the Nasdaq listing standards, prior to selection and engagement of any compensation advisor, the Compensation Committee will undertake an analysis of the independence of each such compensation advisor under the independence factors specified in the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the Nasdaq listing standards. The company will provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion, for payment of compensation to any compensation advisors retained by the Compensation Committee.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

The current members of our Compensation Committee are Arnold L. Fishman, Charles Thomas Burbage, and Edward R. Muller. None of the current or proposed members of our Compensation Committee at any time has been one of our executive officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or Compensation Committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors or Compensation Committee.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee's purpose is to assist our board by identifying individuals qualified to become members of our board of directors, consistent with criteria set by our board, and to develop our corporate governance principles. This committee's responsibilities include:

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evaluating the composition, size and governance of our board of directors and its committees and making recommendations regarding future planning and the appointment of directors to our committees;

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administering a policy for considering stockholder nominees for election to our board of directors;

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evaluating and recommending candidates for election to our board of directors;

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overseeing our board of directors' performance and self-evaluation process; and

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reviewing our corporate governance principles and providing recommendations to the board regarding possible changes.

Our board of directors believes that it should be composed of directors with varied, complementary backgrounds and that directors should, at a minimum, have expertise that may be useful to the company. Directors should also possess the highest personal and professional ethics and should be willing and able to devote the required amount of time to our business.

When evaluating director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee takes into account the degree to which a candidate fulfills the criteria contained in the Corporate Governance Guidelines and other factors consistent with those guidelines, including the following:

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independence from management;

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personal and professional integrity, ethics and values;

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practical and mature business judgment;

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experience as a Chief Executive Officer, President or other executive officer of a public or large private;

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extensive knowledge of the company's business or experience in one or more industries in which we compete, including aerospace and defense, alternative energy, automotive or industrials;

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global and international business experience;

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strategic development activities, including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and venture capital transactions;

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experience in marketing, engineering, technology and innovation, operations, supply chain and manufacturing, and legal;

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a high degree of financial literacy and experience;

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experience as a board member of another publicly-held company;

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diversity of expertise and experience in substantive matters pertaining to our business relative to other board members;

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data analytics experience;

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commercial business experience; and

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experience in scaling or growing a startup or small business into a significant business.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider candidates for director suggested by stockholders applying the criteria for

candidates described above and considering the additional information referred to below. Stockholders wishing to suggest a candidate for director should write to the Corporate Secretary and include:

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a statement that the writer is a stockholder and is proposing a candidate for consideration by the committee;

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the name of and contact information for the candidate;

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a statement detailing any relationship between the candidate and any of our customers, suppliers or competitors;

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with respect to each of the proposing stockholder and the candidate, the class and number of shares of our capital stock which are, directly or indirectly, owned beneficially or of record;

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with respect to each of the proposing stockholder and the candidate, any derivative, swap or other transaction, or series of transactions, the purpose or effect of which is to give such party economic risk similar to ownership of shares of our capital stock;

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with respect to each of the proposing stockholder and the candidate, any proxy, agreement, arrangement, understanding or relationship that confers a right to vote any of our shares of capital stock;

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with respect to each of the proposing stockholder and the candidate, any agreement, arrangement, understanding or relationship engaged in, directly or indirectly, to reduce the level of risk of loss to, or increase or decrease the voting power of, such party with respect to our shares of capital stock, or which provides, directly or indirectly, the opportunity to profit from any decrease in the price or value of our shares of capital stock;

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with respect to each of the proposing stockholder and the candidate, any right to dividends on any of our shares of capital stock owned beneficially by such party that are separated from our underlying shares of capital stock;

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with respect to each of the proposing stockholder and the candidate, opportunity to profit from, or any performance-related fees such party is entitled to, based on the increase or decrease in the value of any of our shares of capital stock;

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all information relating to the proposing stockholder and the candidate that is required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies or consents

for election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act (including such candidate's written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected);

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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 the proposing stockholder, on the one hand, and the candidate, his or her respective affiliates and associates, on the other hand, including, without limitation, all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 under Regulation S-K promulgated under the Exchange Act if such proposing stockholder were the "registrant" for purposes of such rule and the candidate were a director or executive officer of such registrant; and

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a completed and signed questionnaire, representation and agreement with respect to the candidate's background, any voting commitments or compensation arrangements and the candidate's commitment to abide by our corporate governance guidelines.

In addition, we may require any candidate to furnish such other information as may reasonably be required by us to determine the eligibility of such candidate to serve as an independent director in accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines or that could be material to a reasonable stockholder's understanding of the independence or lack of independence of such candidate.

Before nominating a sitting director for re-election at an annual meeting, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider:

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the director's performance on the board of directors; and

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whether the director's re-election would be consistent with our governance guidelines.

Executive Committee

Our Executive Committee's purpose is to exercise the powers of the board of directors when the board is not in session, subject to specific restrictions as to powers

retained by the full board of directors or delegated to other committees of the board of directors. Powers retained by the full board of directors include those relating to amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, mergers, consolidations and sales or exchanges involving substantially all of our assets.

Board Self-Evaluations

The board of directors conducts annual self-evaluations to assess the qualifications, attributes, skills and experience represented on the board and to determine whether the board and its committees are functioning effectively. During the year, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee receives input on the board and committee performance from directors and discusses the input with the full board. The self-assessment focuses on the board's contribution to the company and on areas in which the board believes that the board or any of its committees could improve.

Communication with the Board

The board has established a process to facilitate communication with stockholders and other interested parties. Communications can be addressed to the directors in care of the Corporate Secretary, 900 Innovators Way, Simi Valley, California 93065 or by email to corporatesecretary@avinc.com. At the direction of the board, all mail received may be opened and screened for security purposes. The board of directors has requested that certain items that are unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the board of directors should be excluded, including the following: junk mail and mass mailings; product complaints; product inquiries; new product suggestions; resumes and other forms of job inquiries; surveys; and business solicitations or advertisements. In addition, material that is unduly hostile, threatening, illegal or similarly unsuitable will not be distributed, with the provision that any communication that is not

distributed will be made available to any independent director upon request. Mail addressed to a particular director will be forwarded or delivered to that director. Mail addressed to "outside directors" or "non-employee directors" will be forwarded or delivered to the Lead Independent Director. Mail addressed to the "board of directors" will be forwarded or delivered to the Chairman of the Board.

Commitment to Good Corporate Governance

The board has adopted various policies and guidelines as part of the company's commitment to good corporate governance. Examples of such polices include:

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anti-hedging and anti-short sale polices for executives, directors and employees;

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share ownership guidelines and share retention policy for executives and directors; and

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a compensation recovery policy for executives.

As part of the company's commitment to good corporate governance, the company is committed to ensuring stockholders have an opportunity to vote on matters affecting the company in a manner they believe to be in the best interest of the company and their own best interests.

The board of directors asks each stockholder to carefully consider the merits of all proposals in this proxy statement and to vote on the proposals in the manner that each stockholder believes to be in the company's and its best interests. Members of the board of directors, the executive officers and many employees of the company are stockholders and like all other stockholders are expected to vote their shares according to their best judgment, which may not be in accordance with the board of director's voting recommendations.

The general policy of our board of directors is that compensation for non-employee directors should be a mix of cash and equity-based compensation. We do not pay management directors for board service in addition to their regular employee compensation. Our Compensation Committee, which consists solely of independent directors, has the primary responsibility for reviewing and considering any revisions to director compensation. The board of directors reviews the Compensation Committee's recommendations and determines the amount of director compensation.

The Compensation Committee's independent compensation consultant, Compensia, Inc., a national compensation consulting firm, assisted the board of directors in setting director compensation and revising

our director compensation programs. In June 2014, Compensia provided recommendations regarding our director compensation programs based on director compensation data compiled from the annual reports and proxy statements of companies generally considered comparable to us as determined by the Compensation Committee. The fiscal year 2015 peer group consisted of the companies listed below. The peer companies had a median twelve month trailing revenue of $475 million versus our trailing twelve month revenue of $232 million and a median market capitalization of $825 million versus our market capitalization of $935 million, calculated by Compensia in March 2014.

After reviewing the peer group compensation data, our board of directors established the various components of director compensation with the goal of ensuring that the program was generally competitive with peer practices. The process resulted in setting the value of the annual equity compensation provided to non-employee directors at $110,000, as further described below, commencing in fiscal year 2015. In addition, the board of directors determined to increase the annual retainer for the Audit Committee Chair from $15,000 to $16,000, increase the annual retainer for

the Compensation Committee Chair from $10,000 to $12,000, increase the compensation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair from $8,000 to $10,000 and increase the annual retainer for Audit Committee members from $5,000 to $6,000. The other cash retainers remain at the levels in effect for fiscal year 2014. The table below presents the annual cash retainer fees for our non-employee directors in effect in fiscal year 2015. Annual retainer fees for fiscal year 2016 will remain at the same levels in effect for fiscal year 2015.

Annual retainer amounts are paid in four equal annual installments at the beginning of each of our fiscal quarters if the individual is still serving as a director at such time.

We also reimburse non-employee directors for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with their service as a director, such as attending board or committee meetings.

Effective for fiscal year 2015, our board of directors adopted a policy whereby newly elected or appointed non-employee directors will be granted restricted stock awards with an aggregate value of $170,000 on the date of grant (measured by the fair market value per share of our common stock subject to the awards on the date of grant). In addition, in July 2014, the board of directors approved annual restricted stock awards of $110,000 to each non-employee director, which grants were made effective July 11, 2014 and

begin vesting one year from the date of grant. The $110,000 value was determined by the board of directors to be competitive with non-employee director annual equity awards at comparable companies based on Compensia benchmarking data presented to the board at the meeting and described above. At its June 2015 meeting, the board of directors approved annual restricted awards to non-employee directors of $110,000 to each non-employee director, which begin vesting on July 11, 2016. The board of directors determined that the $110,000 value, which was the same as granted in 2014, was competitive with non-employee director annual equity awards at comparable companies based on the Compensia benchmarking data described above. All of the equity awards granted to non-employee directors vest in five equal installments, beginning on the first vesting date, and vesting will accelerate upon the director's death or disability.