2018 Guide to Effective Proxies

6 TH EDITION | GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE PROXIES 150 MICROSOFT CORPORATION MONSANTO COMPANY NASDAQ, INC. NIELSEN HOLDINGS PLC 3 NAMED RECIFFO EVITUCEXE COMPENSATION 4 AUDIT COMMITTEE MATTERS 5 OTHER MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS 6 INFORMATION ABOUTTHE MEETING 1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ATMICROSOFT 2 BOARDOF DIRECTORS Nominees Tenure 3-10yrs. 0-2yrs. more than 10yrs. 3 5 6 Average tenure 6.3 9 1 4 Age distribution 50s 70s 60s Average age 59 Diversity 50% are female, nationally,or ethnically diverse Diverse Other Shareholderrecommendationsandnominationsofdirectorcandidates Recommendations TheGovernanceandNominatingCommitteeconsidersshareholderrecommendationsforcandidatesfortheBoardofDirectors usingthesamecriteriadescribedabove.Thenameofanyrecommendedcandidatefordirector,togetherwithabrief biographicalsketch,adocumentindicatingthecandidate’swillingnesstoserveifelected,andevidenceofthenominating shareholder’sownershipofCompanystockmustbesenttotheattentionofMSC123/9999,OfficeoftheCorporateSecretary, MicrosoftCorporation,OneMicrosoftWay,Redmond,WA98052-6399. Nominations AsdescribedinPart1–“CorporategovernanceatMicrosoft–Shareholderrights,”ourBylawsprovideforproxyaccess shareholdernominationsofdirectorcandidatesbyeligibleshareholders.Ashareholderwhowishestoformallynominatea candidatemustfollowtheproceduresdescribedinArticle1ofourBylaws. 16 ProxyItemNo.1:ElectionofDirectors DirectorNominees Summary of Director Core Competencies Thefollowingchartsummarizesthecompetenciescurrentlyrepresentedonourboard;thedetailsofeachdirector’scompetenciesare includedineachdirector’sprofile. Competency/Attribute Operating Financial International Agricultureor Food Industry Scientific/Technology/Information Technology Risk/CrisisManagement Marketing Government/Regulatory 54 1 Chemical/Commodity Industry Governance/BusinessConduct/Legal Additional Information Age Tenure OtherPublicCompanyBoards Barns Boyce Chicoine Grant Ipsen Lutz Fields McMillan Moeller Poste Stevens Verduin • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1 63 2 4 70 8 1 62 9 59 2 14 1 53 7 0 47 3 1 71 17 0 53 6 0 73 14 1 66 15 1 58 2 0 Age Tenure OtherPublicCompanyBoards 47 73 NumberofDirectors AgeofDirectors median:60.5 4directors 0-4years 4directors 10+years 4directors 5-9years NumberofDirectors NumberofOtherPublicCompanyBoards 0 1 2 AverageAge=61years AverageTenure=8.3years Average= < 1OtherBoard Competency/AttributeBarnsBoyceChicoineFieldsGrantIpsenLutzMcMillanMoellerPosteStevensVerduinOperatingFinancialInternationalAgricultureorFoodIndustryScientific/Technology/InformationTechnologyRisk/CrisisManagementMarketingGovernment/RegulatoryChemical/CommodityIndustryGovernance/BusinessConduct/LegalAdditionalInformationAge546370625953477153736658Tenure1489147317614152OtherPublicCompanyBoards12121010011046median:6072NumberofdirectorsAgeofdirectors4directors0-4years5directors10+years4directors5-9years MONSANTOCOMPANY2017PROXYSTATEMENT 17 SUMMARYOFPROXYSTATEMENTINFORMATION • Lookingto2018,weareincreasingtheproportionoflong-termincentivesthataresubjecttoquantitative performancefrom50%to60%and,tobringaddedemphasisongrowth,weareaddingrevenuemetricstoour annualincentiveplanandlong-termperformanceplan. Furtherinformationaboutourcompensationcanbefoundonpages31-70. BOARD HIGHLIGHTS Followingtheelectionandre-electionoftheBoardnomineesatourAnnualMeeting,theBoardwillhavethe followingcharacteristics: Director Independence 8of 9director nominees are independent Diversity Director Age Director Tenure 2 of 9 female 3 of 9ethnicallydiverse 2 of 9 resident outside theU.S. 42 years 71 67 6465 59 55 54 3 0-2 years 2 3-5 years 3 6-10 years 1 12 years mean: 5.1 median: 61 61 BOARD EXPERTISE AND SKILLS OurdirectorsarekeenlyfocusedonbuildingaboardthatsupportsNielsen’sstrategicgoalsandevolvingbusiness priorities.Inthatregard,inadditiontotheareasofexperiencesetforthbelow,thequalitiesthatareofparamount importanceforourdirectornomineesinclude:aprovenrecordofsuccessandbusinessjudgment,innovativeand strategicthinking,acommitmenttocorporateresponsibility,appreciationofmultipleculturesandperspectives,and adequatetimetodevotetotheirresponsibilities. CEO/Executive Experience Businessand OperatingExperience Consumer Goods Experience Innovation, Technologyand DigitalExperience GlobalandEmerging MarketsExperience MediaExperience Auditand RiskOversight Experienceand FinancialLiteracy Research, Analyticsand DataScience Experience FinancialandM&A Experience PublicCompanyBoard andGovernance Experience 2018PROXYSTATEMENT SUMM2 Notice of 2018 AnnualMeeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement 18 0-2 years 3-5 years 6-10 years Director Age Director Qualifications Director Tenure Diversity of Background 45 56.2 67 AverageAge 8 Current& Former CEOs or Chairmen 3 Current& Former ExchangeOperators 3 Women 3 BornOutside theU.S. 4 WorkOutside theU.S. 30% 30% 40% 30% 80% 8 Mergers& Acquisitions 8 Public Company Board& Corporate Governance 10 Risk Management 8 CapitalMarkets 3 Cybersecurity 8 FinTech 10 StrategicAcumen & Leadership 30% 80% 80% 80% 100% 100% 80% 1 Statistics in this chart are calculatedwith respect to the tenBoardnominees listedon thepriorpage. Our Board 1 with2 years or less Average - 4.7years 40% with5 years or less 60% with10 years or less 100% 2 4 4 Total of 03 pages in section