SCHEDULE 14(A)

(Rule 14a-101)

Information Required in Proxy Statement

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.     )

Filed by the Registrant ☑

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

 

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

 

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Forrester Research, Inc.

60 Acorn Park Drive

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140

 

 

George F. Colony

Chairman of the Board

and Chief Executive Officer

March 30, 2021

To Our Stockholders:

You are cordially invited to attend the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Forrester Research, Inc., which will be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Annual Meeting will be a virtual stockholder meeting, conducted via live audio webcast, through which you can submit questions and vote online. You may attend the meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FORR2021 and entering your 16-digit control number included with these proxy materials.

On the following pages, you will find the formal notice of the Annual Meeting and our proxy statement. At the Annual Meeting you are being asked to elect eight Directors, to ratify the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, and to approve by non-binding vote our executive compensation.

We hope that many of you will be able to attend. Thank you for your continued support and investment in Forrester.

Sincerely yours,

George F. Colony

Chairman of the Board

and Chief Executive Officer

 

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Forrester Research, Inc.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

May 11, 2021

Notice is hereby given that the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Forrester Research, Inc. will be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.  The annual meeting will be a virtual stockholder meeting, conducted via live audio webcast, through which you can submit questions and vote online. You may attend the meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FORR2021 and entering your 16-digit control number included with these proxy materials.  The purpose of the annual meeting will be the following:

The foregoing items of business are more fully described in the proxy statement accompanying this notice.

Stockholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2021 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting will be open to examination by any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during normal business hours for a period of ten days before the meeting at our corporate offices at 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140, and online during the meeting accessible at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FORR2021.

If you are unable to participate in the annual meeting online, please vote your shares as provided in this proxy statement.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Ryan D. Darrah

Secretary

Cambridge, Massachusetts

March 30, 2021

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR SHARES BE REPRESENTED AT THE MEETING. PLEASE

VOTE YOUR SHARES OVER THE INTERNET OR BY TELEPHONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH

THE INSTRUCTIONS SET FORTH ON THE PROXY CARD, OR COMPLETE, SIGN AND RETURN

THE ENCLOSED PROXY CARD AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE WHETHER OR

NOT YOU PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING ONLINE.

 

 

 

 

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FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.

Annual Meeting of Stockholders

May 11, 2021

PROXY STATEMENT

The Board of Directors of Forrester Research, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is soliciting proxies from our stockholders. The proxy will be used at our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and at any adjournments thereof. You are invited to attend the meeting to be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The annual meeting will be held virtually, conducted via live audio webcast, through which you can submit questions and vote online. You may attend the meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FORR2021. Be sure to have your 16-digit control number included with these proxy materials in order to access the annual meeting. This proxy statement was first made available to stockholders on or about March 30, 2021.

This proxy statement contains important information regarding our annual meeting. Specifically, it identifies the proposals upon which you are being asked to vote, provides information that you may find useful in determining how to vote and describes voting procedures.

We use several abbreviations in this proxy statement. We call our Board of Directors the “Board”, refer to our fiscal year which began on January 1, 2020 and ended on December 31, 2020 as “fiscal 2020,” and refer to our fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 as “fiscal 2021”. We also refer to ourselves as “Forrester” or the “Company.”

Who May Attend and Vote?

Stockholders who owned our common stock at the close of business on March 15, 2021 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting. We refer to this date in this proxy statement as the “record date.” As of the record date, we had 19,124,341 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote on each matter to come before the meeting.

How Do I Vote?

If you are a stockholder of record of our common stock:

By voting over the internet or by telephone, or by signing and returning the proxy card according to the enclosed instructions, you are enabling the individuals named on the proxy card (known as “proxies”) to vote your shares at the meeting in the manner you indicate. We encourage you to vote in advance even if you plan to attend the meeting. In this way, your shares will be voted even if you are unable to attend the meeting. Your shares will be voted in accordance with your instructions. If a proxy card is signed and received by our Secretary, but no instructions are indicated, then the proxy will be voted “FOR” the election of the nominees for directors, “FOR” ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2021, and “FOR” approval of the non-binding vote on our executive compensation.

How Do I Vote if My Shares are Held in Street Name?

If you hold shares in “street name” (that is, through a bank, broker, or other nominee), the bank, broker, or other nominee, as the record holder of your shares, is required to vote your shares according to your instructions. In order to vote your shares, you will need to follow the directions your brokerage firm provides you. Many brokers also offer the option of voting over the internet or by telephone, instructions for which would be provided by your brokerage firm on your voting instruction form. Please follow the instructions on that form to make sure your shares are properly voted. If you hold shares in “street name” and would like to attend the annual meeting and vote online, you must contact the person in whose name your shares are registered and follow directions provided to obtain a proxy card from that person and have it available for the annual meeting.

What Does the Board of Directors Recommend?

The Board recommends that you vote FOR the election of nominees for directors identified in Proposal One, FOR ratifying the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm as described in Proposal Two, and FOR approval by non-binding vote of our executive compensation as provided in Proposal Three.

 

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If you are a record holder and submit the proxy card but do not indicate your voting instructions, the persons named as proxies on your proxy card will vote in accordance with the recommendations of the Board of Directors. If you hold your shares in “street name”, and you do not indicate how you wish to have your shares voted, your nominee has discretion to instruct the proxies to vote on Proposal Two but does not have the authority, without your specific instructions, to vote on the election of directors or on Proposal Three, and those votes will be counted as “broker non-votes”.

What Vote is Required for Each Proposal?

A majority of the shares entitled to vote on a particular matter, present in person or represented by proxy, constitutes a quorum as to any proposal. The nominees for election of the directors at the meeting (Proposal One) who receive the greatest number of votes properly cast for the election of directors will be elected. As a result, shares that withhold authority as to the nominees recommended by the Board will have no effect on the outcome. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy and voting is required to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal Two) and to approve the non-binding vote on our executive compensation (Proposal Three).  

Shares represented by proxies that indicate an abstention or a “broker non-vote” (that is, shares represented at the annual meeting held by brokers or nominees as to which (i) instructions have not been received from the beneficial owners or persons entitled to vote and (ii) the broker or nominee does not have discretionary voting power on a particular matter) will be counted as shares that are present and entitled to vote on the matter for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum, but are not considered to have been voted, and have the practical effect of reducing the number of affirmative votes required to achieve a majority for those matters requiring the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present or represented by proxy and voting (Proposals Two and Three) by reducing the total number of shares from which the majority is calculated. However, because directors are elected by a plurality vote, abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome on Proposal One.

May I Change or Revoke My Vote After I Return My Proxy Card or After I Have Voted My Shares over the Internet or by Telephone?

Yes. If you are a stockholder of record, you may change or revoke a proxy any time before it is voted by:

If you hold shares in “street name”, you should follow the procedure in the instructions that your nominee has provided to you.

Who Will Bear the Cost of Proxy Solicitation?

We will bear the expense of soliciting proxies. Our officers and regular employees (who will receive no compensation in addition to their regular salaries) may solicit proxies. In addition to soliciting proxies through the mail, our officers and regular employees may solicit proxies personally, as well as by mail, telephone, and electronically from brokerage houses and other stockholders. We will reimburse brokers and other persons for reasonable charges and expenses incurred in forwarding soliciting materials to their clients.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting To Be Held on May 11, 2021

This proxy statement and our Annual Report to Stockholders are available on-line at www.proxyvote.com. These materials will be mailed to stockholders who request them.

How Can I Obtain an Annual Report on Form 10-K?

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 is available on our website at www.forrester.com/aboutus. If you would like a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, we will send you one without charge. Please contact Investor Relations, Forrester Research, Inc., 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140, Tel: (617) 613-6000.

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table and notes provide information about the beneficial ownership of our outstanding common stock as of March 15, 2021 (except as otherwise noted) by:

Except as otherwise indicated, each of the stockholders named in the table below has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares of our common stock beneficially owned. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and includes voting or investment power with respect to the shares. Shares subject to exercisable options and vesting restricted stock units include options that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 15, 2021 and shares underlying restricted stock units scheduled to vest within 60 days of March 15, 2021.

 

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PROPOSAL ONE:

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Our directors are elected annually by the stockholders. The Board has nominated Jean Birch, David Boyce, Neil Bradford, George Colony, Anthony Friscia, Robert Galford, Gretchen Teichgraeber and Yvonne Wassenaar to serve one-year terms that will expire at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. These individuals all currently serve on our Board and were all elected at last year’s Annual Meeting.

The proxies intend to vote each share for which a proper proxy card has been returned or voting instructions received and not revoked in favor of the nominees named above. If you wish to withhold the authority to vote for the election of any of the nominees, your voting instructions must so indicate or your returned proxy card must be marked to that effect.

It is expected that each of the nominees will be able to serve, but if any of them is unable to serve, the proxies reserve discretion to vote, or refrain from voting, for a substitute nominee or nominees.

The following section provides information about each nominee, including information provided by each nominee about his or her principal occupation and business experience for the past five years and the names of other publicly-traded companies, if any, for which he or she currently serves as a director or has served as a director during the past five years. In addition to the information presented with respect to each nominee’s experience, qualifications and skills that led our Board to conclude that he or she should serve as a director, we also believe that each of the nominees has demonstrated business acumen and a significant commitment to our company, and has a reputation for integrity and adherence to high ethical standards.

NOMINEES FOR ELECTION

Jean M. Birch, age 61, became a director of Forrester in February 2018. Ms. Birch currently serves as an independent director of Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc., a position she has held since July of 2020. At Charlotte’s Web, Ms. Birch acts as chair of the compensation committee and sits on the audit committee. Ms. Birch also serves as an independent director of CorePoint Lodging, Inc., a position she has held since September 2018. At CorePoint, Ms. Birch sits on the audit and nominating and governance committees. Previously, Ms. Birch served on the board of Jack in the Box Inc. from May of 2019 to February of 2021, and was the Chair of the Board of Papa Murphy’s Holdings, Inc., a position she held from September of 2016 to May of 2019. She joined the PMI board in April of 2015 and, from January through July of 2017, Ms. Birch served as interim President and CEO. Ms. Birch is the President and CEO of Birch Company, LLC., a small consulting practice, a position she has held since the company’s formation in 2007. Ms. Birch has previously served on the board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. from 2014-2016.  Additionally, she served on the board of Cosi, Inc. from 2013-2016. Prior to that, from 2009 through 2012, Ms. Birch served as President of IHOP Restaurants, Inc., a division of DineEquity, Inc. We believe Ms. Birch’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include her more than two decades of operating experience leading large consumer businesses and her experience as a public company board member.  

David Boyce, age 53, became a director of Forrester in June 2017. Mr. Boyce is the Chief Strategy Officer of XANT, Inc. (formerly known as InsideSales.com, Inc.), a software company offering a leading sales acceleration platform.  Prior to joining

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XANT, Mr. Boyce was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Fundly, Inc., a crowdfunding site for online fundraising from 2010 to 2013.  Previously, Mr. Boyce was global VP of Strategy at Oracle from 2005 to 2010.  We believe Mr. Boyce’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive experience as an operating executive at several software companies and his expertise in product, strategy and marketing.

Neil Bradford, age 48, became a director of Forrester in February 2018. Mr. Bradford is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of General Index Limited, a start-up provider of energy and commodity pricing data. From 2017 to March 2019, Mr. Bradford served as the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Express, Ltd., an investment ratings and fund research agency based in the United Kingdom. Prior to joining FE, Mr. Bradford was the Chief Executive Officer of Argus Media, a provider of price assessments, business intelligence and market data for the global energy and commodities markets from 2015 to 2017, where he also served as Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to 2015. In 1997, Mr. Bradford co-founded Fletcher Research Limited, a UK-based technology research firm that was acquired by Forrester in 1999.  Mr. Bradford served in executive roles with Forrester until 2006. We believe Mr. Bradford’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his years of experience in the research and advisory business, having both founded and led companies in the industry, his prior experience as an executive officer of Forrester, and his perspective on European business as a UK citizen having worked for firms headquartered in London.

George F. Colony, age 67, is the founder of Forrester and since 1983, he has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He also has served as Forrester’s President since September 2001, and he previously was Forrester’s President from 1983 to 2000. We believe Mr. Colony’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors and as its Chairman include his extensive experience in the research industry, including more than 30 years as our chief executive officer, and his significant ownership stake in the Company.

Anthony Friscia, age 65, became a director of Forrester in June 2017. Mr. Friscia is currently an independent business consultant. From 2014 to 2016, Mr. Friscia was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Eduventures, Inc., a research and advisory firm that provides proprietary research and strategic advice to higher education leaders. Previously, from 2011 to 2014, Mr. Friscia served as a consultant and special advisor to the President of the New School, a private university in New York City.  In 1986, Mr. Friscia founded AMR Research, a provider of research and advice on global supply chain and enterprise technology to operations and IT executives, and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer until 2009.  We believe Mr. Friscia’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive experience in business leadership and providing strategic advice to senior leaders.

Robert M. Galford, age 68, became a director of Forrester in November 1996. Since November 2007, Mr. Galford has been the managing partner of the Center for Leading Organizations, an organizational development firm he founded in Concord, Massachusetts. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Galford was a managing partner of the Center for Executive Development, an executive education provider in Boston, Massachusetts. We believe Mr. Galford’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his many years of organizational development and executive education experience, along with his more recent corporate governance experience as an instructor for the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Gretchen G. Teichgraeber, age 67, became a director of Forrester in December 2005. Ms. Teichgraeber is the chair of the board of Leadership Connect, a premier information services company that publishes biographical and contact data on leaders in the private and public sectors. Previously, Ms. Teichgraeber was an independent consultant to digital media companies and various non-profit organizations from 2007 to 2009. From 2000 to 2007, Ms. Teichgraeber was the chief executive officer of Scientific American, Inc., publisher of the science and technology magazine, Scientific American. Prior to joining Scientific American, Ms. Teichgraeber served as general manager, publishing, and vice president, marketing and information services at CMP Media, Inc., a leading provider of technology news and information. We believe Ms. Teichgraeber’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include her significant general management and marketing experience in the publishing and information services business, including on-line and print media.

Yvonne Wassenaar, age 52, became a director of Forrester in June 2017. Ms. Wassenaar is the Chief Executive Officer of Puppet, Inc., an information technology automation software company.  From 2017 to 2018, Ms. Wassenaar was the Chief Executive Officer of Airware, an enterprise drone solutions company. From 2014 to 2017, Ms. Wassenaar was with New Relic, Inc., a cloud-based SaaS company, most recently as Chief Information Officer.  Prior to joining New Relic, Ms. Wassenaar held senior positions at VMware, Inc. from 2010 to 2014. We believe Ms. Wassenaar’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include her thought leadership in the areas of cloud computing, big data analytics and business digitization and her extensive experience in senior leadership positions at technology companies.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES NAMED ABOVE.

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Corporate Governance

We believe that good corporate governance is important to ensure that Forrester is managed for the long-term benefit of its stockholders. Based on our continuing review of the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the listing standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market, our Board of Directors has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines, an amended and restated charter for the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, and a charter for the Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines include stock retention guidelines applicable to executive officers and directors. The guidelines, which are described in more detail below in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section, require all directors and executive officers to hold a targeted value of our common stock within specified timeframes, and include restrictions on sales of our common stock by such directors and executive officers until the guidelines have been met. These guidelines may be waived, at the discretion of the Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors, if compliance with the guidelines would create severe hardship or prevent an executive officer or director from complying with a court order. We currently do not have a policy regarding hedging.

We also have a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our officers, directors and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, and persons performing similar functions. You can access our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines and our current committee charters on our website, at www.forrester.com/aboutus.

Information With Respect to Board of Directors

Board Meetings and Committees

Our Board of Directors has determined that each of the current directors, with the exception of Mr. Colony, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is independent under applicable NASDAQ standards as currently in effect.

Our Board of Directors held five meetings during fiscal 2020. Each director attended at least 75 percent of the aggregate of the meetings of the Board of Directors and of each committee of which he or she is a member. Forrester does not require directors to attend the annual meeting of stockholders. Mr. Colony, who presided at the meeting, attended the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders, as did Mr. Galford. Historically, very few stockholders have attended our annual meeting and we have not found it to be a particularly useful forum for communicating with our stockholders. The Board of Directors currently has two standing committees, the Audit Committee and the Compensation and Nominating Committee, whose members consist solely of independent directors.

Our Audit Committee consists of four members: Jean M. Birch, Chair, Neil Bradford, Tony Friscia, and Yvonne Wassenaar, each of whom, in addition to satisfying the NASDAQ independence standards, also satisfies the Sarbanes-Oxley independence requirements for audit committee membership. In addition, the Board has determined that Ms. Birch is an “audit committee financial expert” under applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and all of the members of the Audit Committee satisfy the financial literacy standards of NASDAQ. The Audit Committee held five meetings during fiscal 2020. The responsibilities of our Audit Committee and its activities during fiscal 2020 are described in the committee’s amended and restated charter, which is available on our website at www.forrester.com/aboutus. The charter will also be made available without charge to any stockholder who requests it by writing to Forrester Research, Inc., Attn: Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140.

Our Compensation and Nominating Committee consists of three members: Robert M. Galford, Chair, David Boyce, and Gretchen G. Teichgraeber. The Compensation and Nominating Committee held five meetings during fiscal 2020. The Compensation and Nominating Committee has authority, as specified in the committee’s charter, to, among other things, evaluate and approve the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, review and approve the compensation of our other executive officers, administer our stock plans, and oversee the development of executive succession plans for the CEO and other executive officers. The committee also has the authority to identify and recommend to the Board qualified candidates for director. The Compensation and Nominating Committee charter is available on our website at www.forrester.com/aboutus. The charter will also be made available without charge to any stockholder who requests it by writing to Forrester Research, Inc., Attn: Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No person who served during the past fiscal year as a member of our Compensation and Nominating Committee is or was an officer or employee of Forrester, or had any relationship with Forrester requiring disclosure in this proxy statement. During the past fiscal year, none of our executive officers served as a member of the board of directors of another entity, any of whose executive officers served as one of our directors.

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Board Leadership Structure

At the present time, Mr. Colony serves as both Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Colony is a significant stakeholder in Forrester, beneficially owning approximately 41% of our outstanding common stock. As such, we believe it is appropriate that he set the agenda for the Board of Directors in addition to serving as the Chief Executive Officer. We also do not believe that the size of the Company warrants the division of these responsibilities.

In 2017, the Board of Directors selected Robert Galford to act as lead independent director.  In this role, Mr. Galford presides at executive sessions of the independent directors and will bear such further responsibilities as the Board as a whole may designate from time to time.

The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight; Risk Considerations in our Compensation Programs

The Board’s role in the Company’s risk oversight process includes receiving regular reports from members of management on areas of material risk to the Company, including financial, strategic, operational, cybersecurity, legal and regulatory risks. The full Board (or the appropriate Committee in the case of risks that are under the purview of a particular Committee) receives these reports from the appropriate manager within the Company. When a committee receives such a report, the Chair of the relevant Committee reports on the discussion to the full Board during the Committee reports portion of the next Board meeting, enabling the full Board to coordinate the risk oversight role, particularly with respect to risk interrelationships.

Our Compensation and Nominating Committee does not believe that our compensation programs encourage excessive or inappropriate risk taking. We structure our pay programs to consist of both fixed and variable compensation, with the fixed base salary portion providing steady income regardless of our stock price performance. The variable components, consisting of cash bonus and stock-based awards, and for our chief sales officer, sales commissions, are designed to reward both short and long-term performance. Targets under our bonus plans are a function of bookings and profit (described in greater detail in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis below), important financial metrics for our business. For long-term performance, we generally award restricted stock units vesting over four years. We believe that the variable elements of compensation are a sufficient percentage of overall compensation to motivate executives to produce excellent short and long-term results for the Company, while fixed base salary is also sufficiently high such that the executives are not encouraged to take unnecessary or excessive risks. In addition, our bonus plan funding metrics apply company-wide, regardless of function or client group, which we believe encourages relatively consistent behavior across the organization. While sales commissions are not capped, we cap our bonus at 1.95 times target company performance. Therefore, even if Company performance dramatically exceeds target performance, bonus payouts are limited. Conversely, we have a minimum threshold on Company performance under our executive bonus plan approved by the Compensation and Nominating Committee so that the bonus plan is not funded at performance below a certain level. We also believe that our Executive Severance Plan described in detail below, which provides severance compensation in the event of involuntary termination of employment without cause and in connection with a change in control, promotes stability and continuity of operations.

Director Candidates

As noted above, the Compensation and Nominating Committee has responsibility for recommending nominees for election as directors of Forrester. Our stockholders may recommend individuals for this committee to consider as potential director candidates by submitting their names and background to the “Forrester Research Compensation and Nominating Committee”, c/o Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140. The Compensation and Nominating Committee will consider a recommended candidate for the next annual meeting of stockholders only if biographical information and background material are provided no later than the date specified below under “Stockholder Proposals” for receipt of director nominations.

The process that the Compensation and Nominating Committee will follow to identify and evaluate candidates includes requests to Board members and others for recommendations, meetings from time to time to evaluate biographical information and background material relating to potential candidates, and interviews of selected candidates by members of the Compensation and Nominating Committee. Assuming that biographical and background material is provided for candidates recommended by the stockholders, the Compensation and Nominating Committee will evaluate those candidates by following substantially the same process, and applying substantially the same criteria, as for candidates submitted by Board members.

In considering whether to recommend any candidate for inclusion in the Board’s slate of recommended director nominees, including candidates recommended by stockholders, the Compensation and Nominating Committee will apply the criteria set forth in the committee’s charter and in the Corporate Governance Guidelines. These criteria include, among others, the candidate’s integrity, age, experience, commitment, diligence, conflicts of interest and the ability to act in the interests of all stockholders. Although the Compensation and Nominating Committee considers as one of many factors in the director identification and nomination process diversity of race, gender and ethnicity, as well as geography and business experience, it has no specific diversity policy. The Compensation and Nominating Committee does not assign specific weights to particular criteria and no particular criterion is necessarily applicable to all prospective nominees. We believe that the backgrounds and qualifications of the directors, considered as a group, should provide a composite mix of experience, knowledge and abilities, including direct operating experience, that will allow the Board to fulfill its responsibilities.

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In addition, our by-laws permit stockholders to nominate directors for election at an annual meeting of stockholders, other than as part of the Board’s slate. To nominate a director, in addition to providing certain information about the nominee and the nominating stockholder, the stockholder must give timely notice to Forrester, which, in general, requires that the notice be received by us no less than 90 nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the preceding annual meeting of stockholders. In accordance with our by-laws, the 2022 Annual Meeting will be held on May 10, 2022.

Communications from Stockholders

The Board will give appropriate attention to communications on issues that are submitted by stockholders, and will respond if and as appropriate. Absent unusual circumstances or as contemplated by committee charters, the Compensation and Nominating Committee, with the assistance of the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, will be primarily responsible for monitoring communications from stockholders and will provide copies of summaries of such communications to the other directors as deemed appropriate.

Stockholders who wish to send communications on any topic to the Board should address such communications to the Forrester Research Compensation and Nominating Committee, c/o Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Forrester Research, Inc., 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140.

 

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Forrester recognizes the importance of being accountable not only to our stockholders, but also to a broader range of stakeholders, including our customers, employees and the public in general.  

Customer obsession is at the heart of Forrester’s research, strategy, and culture. Our culture emphasizes certain key values — including client, courage, collaboration, integrity, and quality — that we believe are critical to deliver Forrester’s unique value proposition of helping business and technology leaders use customer obsession to drive growth.  

Attracting, retaining, and developing the best and brightest talent around the globe is critical to the ongoing success of our company. To this end, we focus on attracting, hiring, and the inclusion of all backgrounds and perspectives, with the goals of improving employee retention and engagement, strengthening the quality of our research, and improving client retention and customer experience. We field regular surveys to all of our employees to measure our progress against our goals. In addition, we have established a Diversity and Inclusion (“D&I”) Council and regional D&I Networks to help guide us in these efforts.

We celebrate and enrich the Forrester culture through training and frequent recognition of achievements. New employees participate in a three-day training process that focuses on our customer-obsessed strategy, our products and services, corporate culture, values, and goals. In addition, throughout the year we offer our employees a variety of training courses including our Leadership Development Program and topics focused on culture, resilience, and change. We also support our employees’ efforts to serve in their local communities by offering each employee a paid volunteer day each calendar year.

Forrester also recognizes a shared responsibility to respect and protect the environment. Although our facilities and operations have a small ecological footprint, we reduce the environmental impact of our business through various waste reduction practices, including LEED certified/eco-friendly buildings, recycling, and battery disposal. In addition, we have invested in multiple technologies to facilitate remote work that can in many cases reduce the need for travel and the related environmental impacts, and we have implemented a Flex Work policy that should significantly reduce the time spent commuting to most of our major offices.

Our clients trust us with some of their most sensitive confidential information, and we take our obligation to secure it seriously. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk of disclosure of this information, and we attempt to minimize the amount of personally identifiable information regarding third parties in our possession. When the processing of personally identifiable information is unavoidable, we strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act. We have also implemented a Privacy Impact Assessment process to be used before we contract with new vendors of products or services that may have access to confidential and/or personal information.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Executive Summary

We have implemented an executive compensation program that rewards performance. Our executive compensation program is designed to attract, retain and motivate the key individuals who are most capable of contributing to the success of our Company and building long-term value for our stockholders. The elements of our executives’ total compensation are base salary, cash incentive awards, equity incentive awards and other employee benefits. We have designed a compensation program that makes a substantial portion of executive pay variable, subject to increase when performance targets are exceeded, and subject to reduction when performance targets are not achieved.

2020 Business Results

In 2020, due primarily to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we fell short of the financial goals we had set at the beginning of the year, with revenues decreasing by 2.8% to $449 million. Despite this, the Company experienced an increase in contract bookings in the fourth quarter of 2020 and it exceeded or met its adjusted revenue, operating margin and earnings per share guidance for the year.

Compensation for Performance

A substantial amount of the total compensation of our executive officers is linked to our performance, both through short-term cash incentive compensation and long-term equity incentive compensation. We believe this aligns our executives’ incentives with our objective of enhancing stockholder value over the longer term.

Cash Compensation.    A significant portion of the current cash compensation opportunity for our executive officers is achieved through our Amended and Restated Executive Cash Incentive Plan (the “Executive Cash Incentive Plan”). As described in more detail below, payments under the plan are based on company financial performance metrics (for 2020, booked sales accounts or “bookings” and modified operating profit). By design, our plan pays more when we perform well and less, or nothing, when we do not.

Equity Awards.    Another key component of compensation for our executive officers consists of long-term equity incentives, principally in the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). In 2020, all RSUs granted to executive officers vest over time, with 25% to vest annually over four years. We believe these awards have retention value and reflect a balance between short-term financial performance and long-term shareholder return, supporting our performance-based compensation. Consistent with past years, we did not grant equity awards in 2020 to George Colony, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who is the beneficial owner of approximately 41% of our common stock.

Compensation Program Changes in 2020

Base Salary and Short-Term Cash Incentive Compensation.    Based on a review of market data, and taking into account the contributions of the named executive officers and our financial performance in 2019, during its annual executive compensation review our Compensation and Nominating Committee (the “Committee”) increased the base salaries of the named executive officers by an average of approximately 0.9% over 2019, while increasing the target cash incentive bonus amount of the named executive officers by an average of 5.4% over 2019, as discussed further below.  

Executive Cash Incentive Plan.   As was the case in the three previous years, while the Committee approved the same performance matrix for purposes of both the Executive Cash Incentive Plan and the Forrester Employee Bonus Plan, the Committee decided to place a stronger emphasis on exceeding, rather than just meeting, the target metrics for the executive team. Accordingly, the Committee approved different percentage payouts at various performance levels for the Executive Cash Incentive Plan than the Forrester Employee Bonus Plan, with executive officers achieving less compensation if 2020 performance were to meet or fall short of the targeted levels, and additional compensation for performance above the targeted levels.

Client Retention and Acquired Company Bookings Bonuses.   In 2020, in addition to target cash incentive bonuses under the Executive Cash Incentive Plan, the Committee approved additional potential bonuses totaling $150,000 for Mr. Colony and $50,000 for the other named executive officers upon achievement by the Company of a certain percentage of improvement in client retention and attainment of specified levels of contract bookings for recently acquired business lines, as discussed in more detail below.

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Say on Pay Stockholder Vote.    As we have done each year since 2011, in 2020 we submitted our executive compensation program to an advisory vote of our stockholders and, consistent with the results of our previous say on pay votes, it received the support of 99% of the total votes cast at our annual meeting. We pay careful attention to any feedback we receive from our stockholders about our executive compensation program, including the say on pay vote. The Committee considered this feedback when setting our executive cash compensation program and granting equity awards to executives in 2020 and will continue to consider stockholder feedback in its subsequent executive compensation decision making.

Compensation Objectives and Strategy

The primary purpose of our executive compensation program is to attract, retain and motivate the key individuals who are most capable of contributing to the success of our Company and building long-term value for our stockholders. Our principal objectives and strategy concerning our executive compensation program are as follows:

These objectives and strategy are reviewed each year by the Committee, which oversees our executive compensation program. In furtherance of these objectives, the Committee takes the following actions each year:

Mr. Colony also plays a substantial role in the compensation process for the other executive officers, primarily by recommending annual goals for the executives reporting directly to him, evaluating their performance against those goals, and providing recommendations on their compensation to the Committee.

The Committee did not engage an independent compensation consultant in 2020 for its general executive compensation analysis because the members were comfortable relying on their independent review of the market data, surveys and other supporting information provided by management, taking into account that the Company does not offer special perquisites, deferred compensation plans, or other special executive compensation arrangements.  The Committee believes it is adequately experienced to address relevant issues and discharge its responsibilities consistent with the Company’s compensation objectives and philosophy.

The Committee has not historically used formal benchmarking data to establish compensation levels but has relied instead on relevant market data and surveys to design compensation packages that it believes are competitive with other similarly situated companies or those with whom we compete for talent. While compensation surveys provide useful data for comparative purposes, the Committee believes that successful compensation programs also require the application of sound judgment and subjective determinations of individual and Company performance.

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The Committee believes it is helpful to utilize data compiled from a wide array of companies and believes it important to consider comparative data from companies of comparable size and revenue, operating within a comparable industry, and located or operating within our principal geographic markets. In setting executive compensation for 2020, the Committee primarily considered data from the Radford Global Technology Survey and the Radford Global Sales Survey, which included companies with annual revenues from $200 million to $1 billion, as well as comparable companies in the industries and geographies applicable to our executives. For each of the Company’s executive officers, the data the Committee reviewed included comparative market percentiles for base salary and total annual cash compensation opportunity (or “on-target earnings”). The Committee determined that the base salaries and on-target earnings of the named executive officers, other than Mr. Colony, were aligned with the comparative market data considering experience, role criticality, and performance and, accordingly, made its decisions regarding 2020 executive compensation with the goal of maintaining that status.  

Since Mr. Colony owns such a substantial percentage of our common stock, the Committee generally does not deem the available market data on chief executive officer compensation as comparable and does not place substantial weight on that data when setting his executive compensation.

Elements of Compensation

Compensation for our named executive officers consists of the following principal components:

We do not have an express policy for weighting different elements of compensation or for allocating between long-term and short-term compensation, but we do attempt to maintain compensation packages that will advance our overall compensation objectives.  In reviewing and setting the compensation of each executive officer, we consider the individual’s position with the Company and his or her ability to contribute to achievement of strategic and financial objectives.

In 2020, as illustrated below, base salaries for our named executive officers other than Mr. Colony represented an average of approximately 39.6% of total target compensation for these individuals, while the base salary for Mr. Colony represented 41.0% of his total target compensation. Because of Mr. Colony’s significant ownership of our common stock, the Committee generally does not grant equity-based awards to him, resulting in a higher ratio of base salary to total target compensation than that of the other named executive officers.

 

 

Base Salary.    The Committee approves the base salaries of our named executive officers annually by evaluating the responsibilities of their position, the experience and performance of the individual, and as necessary or appropriate, survey and market data. The base salary of a named executive officer is also considered together with the other components of his or her compensation to ensure that both the executive’s total cash compensation opportunity (or “on-target earnings”) and the allocation between base salary and variable compensation for the executive are in line with our overall compensation philosophy and business strategy. Additionally, the Committee may adjust base salary more frequently than annually to address retention issues or to reflect promotions or other changes in the scope or breadth of an executive’s role or responsibilities.

Our goal is to pay base salaries to our named executive officers that are competitive with the base salaries of companies that are similarly situated or with which we compete to attract and retain executives, while taking into account total on-target earnings, and

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remaining consistent with our overall compensation objectives with respect to variable compensation. In March 2020, taking into account the market data discussed above, the respective tenures, experience and performance of the named executive officers and our financial performance in 2019, the Committee decided to increase the base salaries of the named executive officers other than Mr. Colony by an average of 1.1%, with such changes effective as of April 1, 2020, while leaving Mr. Colony’s base salary unchanged from 2019.

Short-Term Cash Incentive Compensation.    A significant portion of each of our named executive officers’ total annual cash compensation is dependent on our achievement of annual financial objectives set forth under our Executive Cash Incentive Plan. Payouts under the plan are made annually in arrears.

An individual named executive officer’s annual bonus payout under the Executive Cash Incentive Plan is based on the following factors, which are discussed in more detail below:

Effective April 1, 2020, as part of its executive compensation reviews, the Committee increased the target cash incentive bonus amounts for each of the named executive officers by an average of approximately 5.4%, taking into account the Company’s financial performance in 2019, the market data discussed above, and the respective tenures, experience and performance of our named executive officers. After giving effect to these increases, the average annual target cash incentive bonus amount for our named executive officers, other than Ms. Hippler, was approximately 88.2% of that person’s base salary. As of April 1, 2020, Ms. Hippler’s target cash incentive bonus amount under our Executive Cash Incentive Plan was $112,000, or 32.6% of her base salary, because as Chief Sales Officer, a significant portion of her target cash incentive amount was tied to sales commissions. Ms. Hippler’s 2020 commission-based target cash incentive amount was set at $229,400, or 67.0% of her base salary.

For purposes of the Executive Cash Incentive Plan, the financial performance of our Company for 2020 was measured based on booked sales accounts (referred to as “bookings”) and modified operating profit (formerly described as “adjusted operating profit”), the same measures used by the Committee in connection with the Executive Cash Incentive Plan in 2019. The Committee selected bookings as one of the metrics because we believe that bookings provide an important measure of our current business activity and estimated future revenues. The Committee selected modified operating profit (“operating profit”), meaning the Company’s adjusted operating profit (formerly described as “pro forma operating profit”) assuming cash incentive compensation payouts under the Executive Cash Incentive Plan and the Forrester Employee Bonus Plan at target levels, as the other key metric because we believe operating profit provides a comprehensive measure of our financial performance that takes into account the importance of both revenue growth and expense management. In addition, by linking payouts under the plan to the Company’s profitability, we provide our employees with the opportunity to share in our profits while assuring that payouts are only made if we achieve a satisfactory, pre-approved level of profitability, taking into account the nature of our business, planned investments to support growth of the business, and the economic environment. Our adjusted operating profit excludes amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, reorganization costs, costs associated with acquisition activities, stock-based compensation and net gains or losses from investments. The Committee may also adjust the bookings and operating profit metrics, as it deems appropriate, to include or exclude particular non-recurring items to avoid unanticipated results and to promote, and provide appropriate incentives for, actions and decisions that are in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.

The Executive Cash Incentive Plan was structured as follows in 2020, similar in structure to that in 2019:

 

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The Company’s actual bookings and operating profit for 2020 were $455.0 million and $37.8 million, respectively, resulting in 0% of each named executive officer’s target award being payable. This illustrates the pay for performance structure of the compensation awarded to our named executive officers, as our 2020 bookings and operating profit were both substantially below our target levels. Following its determination that no bonuses could be paid to the named executive officers under the Executive Cash Incentive Plan based on our failure to achieve the minimum bookings and operating profit levels, the Committee evaluated the Company’s performance during the year in light of the unprecedented circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and determined to award each of the named executive officers a discretionary cash bonus equal to 50% of such officer’s target award under the Executive Cash Incentive Plan as of December 31, 2020, as is set forth in the Summary Compensation Table under the heading “Bonus.” The Committee chose to make these awards to the named executive officers to recognize their exceptional contributions to the Company in 2020 that resulted in financial results better than estimated at the outbreak of the pandemic, including an increase in contract bookings in the fourth quarter. The total cash incentive plan compensation paid to Ms. Hippler for 2020 also included commissions of $179,935, or 78.4% of her targeted commissions for 2020, as set forth in the Summary Compensation Table under the heading “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation”.

In 2020, the Committee determined to offer the named executive officers two additional potential bonuses. The first bonus would be payable if the Company were to achieve a client retention rate of 73.9% or higher in 2020, and the second bonus would be payable if the Company were to achieve both $10 million in bookings for its FeedbackNow business and $102.4 million in bookings for its SiriusDecisions product line in 2020. The amount of each potential bonus was $75,000 for Mr. Colony and $25,000 for each of the other named executive officers. The Company’s actual client retention rate in 2020 was 65%, and the FeedbackNow and SiriusDecisions actual bookings totals for 2020 were $2.9 million and $52.8 million, respectively, resulting in none of the named executive officers receiving these additional bonuses.

Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation.    Our equity awards to executive officers historically have consisted of stock options and RSUs granted under our equity incentive plan. Beginning in 2016, the Committee revised the Company’s stock-based compensation program for executive officers to consist solely of RSUs, with the number of RSUs awarded to be calculated with reference to a specific compensation value divided by the share price of our common stock on the award date.  

All stock-based compensation awards granted to our executive officers are granted by the Committee. We believe that stock-based awards help to motivate and retain executives and also align management’s incentives with long-term stock price appreciation. In general, we believe that time-based equity-based awards serve to encourage retention while further aligning the interests of executives and stockholders, as the awards have value only if the recipient continues to provide service to the Company through the vesting date, and, while the RSUs have immediate compensatory value to recipient upon vesting, increases in our share price provide significant additional compensatory value to the recipient, and decreases in the share price reduce the original compensation value of the award. Neither the Company nor our board of directors, including the Committee, has any plan, program or practice of timing equity incentive awards in coordination with the release or withholding of material non-public information.

In determining the size and nature of stock-based awards for 2020, the Committee considered the aggregate number of stock-based awards outstanding relative to the Company’s total shares outstanding, the average aggregate size of stock-based awards made to executive officers of companies that are similarly situated or with which we compete to attract and retain executives, and the individuals that they believed were most likely to contribute to or influence a return to the Company’s historical growth levels and improvement in the Company’s operating margin. On July 28, 2020, the Committee reviewed and approved the grant of time-based RSUs to each of Michael Doyle, our Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Hippler, our Chief Sales Officer, Carrie Johnson, our Chief Research Officer, and Steven Peltzman, our Chief Business Technology Officer, effective August 1, 2020, as part of a grant of equity-based compensation to key employees across the Company. Mr. Doyle was granted 9,030 RSUs, Ms. Hippler was granted 11,114 RSUs, Ms. Johnson was granted 9,724 RSUs, and Mr. Peltzman was granted 7,641 RSUs. The Committee determined that the RSUs would vest 25% annually over four years.

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Given Mr. Colony’s significant ownership of our common stock, the Committee did not grant stock options or RSUs to Mr. Colony in 2020.

Severance and Change in Control Agreements.    Effective May 15, 2014, we adopted the Forrester Research, Inc. Executive Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”), applicable to all of our executive officers, including the named executive officers. Similar to plans maintained by many other companies, our Severance Plan provides for payments and benefits to our executive officers upon a qualifying termination of employment, including in connection with a change in control. Further detail on the Severance Plan is contained below under the heading “Severance and Change-of-Control Benefits.” We believe that the Severance Plan functions as a retention tool for our executive officers to remain with the Company and enable the executive officers to focus on the continuing business operations and, as applicable, the success of a potential business combination that the Board of Directors has determined to be in the best interests of the shareholders. We believe this results in stability and continuity of operations.

As previously described in our Current Report on Form 8-K filed December 9, 2020, we have entered into a letter agreement dated December 9, 2020 with Mr. Doyle regarding his resignation as Chief Financial Officer as of April 1, 2021 and his provision of transition services to the Company through no later than December 31, 2021. In consideration for this arrangement, the letter provides for the following benefits to be paid or made available to Mr. Doyle in lieu of any amounts under the Severance Plan or otherwise:

These benefits are conditioned on a customary release of claims and compliance by Mr. Doyle with his obligations to the Company, including pursuant to his Forrester Employee Confidentiality, Proprietary Rights and Noncompetition Agreement that provides for a one-year post-employment nonsolicitation and noncompetition period, which will commence on April 1, 2021.

Other Benefits

As employees of our Company, our executive officers are eligible to participate in all Company-sponsored benefit programs on the same basis as other full-time employees, including health and dental insurance and life and disability insurance. In addition, our executive officers are eligible to receive the same employer match under our 401(k) plan as is applicable for all participating employees and to participate in our employee stock purchase plan, pursuant to which participants may elect to purchase shares of our stock on a semi-annual basis at a 15% discount based on the lower of the price of our stock at the beginning and end of each period. We do not offer any supplemental executive health and welfare or retirement programs, or provide any other supplemental benefits or perquisites, to our executives.

Stock Retention Guidelines

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines include stock retention guidelines to further align the interests of our directors and executive officers with those of our stockholders. Members of our executive team and Board of Directors are subject to these stock retention guidelines for so long as they remain an executive officer, or serve as a director, of the Company.

The guidelines require directors of the Company to acquire and hold during their service as a Forrester Board member shares of Forrester’s common stock (“Common Stock”) equal in value to at least two times their total annual compensation from Forrester (including cash retainer and grant date value of equity grants) as in effect on April 23, 2019 (or, if later, the date of commencement of Board service).  Directors have five years from April 23, 2019 (or, if later, the date of commencement of Board service) to meet the target stock ownership guideline.

Executive officers of the Company are required to acquire and hold during their service as a Forrester executive team member shares of Common Stock equal in value to at least one times their total annual on-target earnings (defined as base salary plus total annual cash compensation opportunity) as in effect on April 23, 2019 (or, if later, the date of commencement of executive team service).  Executive officers with fewer than two years tenure on the executive team as of April 23, 2019 or that become executive officers thereafter have five years from April 23, 2019 (or, if later, the date of commencement of executive team service) to meet the target stock ownership guideline, and officers with two or more years tenure on the executive team as of April 23, 2019 have three years from such date to meet the target stock ownership guideline.

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Until such time as a director or officer reaches his or her share ownership guideline, the director or officer may sell shares of Common Stock only to the extent that, subsequent to such sale, such director or officer continues to hold more shares than he or she held as of December 31 of the preceding year. In addition, if a director or officer has not reached his or her share ownership guideline within the required accumulation period, he or she will be required to retain 100% of the net shares of Forrester common stock delivered to him or her upon the exercise or vesting of stock awards held by him or her until such guideline is reached.  Net shares are the number of shares remaining after shares are sold or netted to pay the exercise price of stock options and withholding taxes.  For directors, the applicable withholding taxes will be presumed to be the minimum withholding tax applicable to an employee. All directors and executive officers are expected to continuously own sufficient shares to meet the guideline once it has been reached. Unexercised stock options and unvested restricted stock units will not count toward meeting the stock ownership guidelines.  

These guidelines may be waived, at the discretion of the Committee, if compliance with the guidelines would create severe hardship or prevent an executive officer or director from complying with a court order. The Committee will reassess these guidelines on an annual basis, taking into account factors such as compensation and stock price changes. Our directors and executive officers have complied in full with these guidelines since their initial adoption.

Impact of Tax and Accounting on Compensation Decisions

As a result of federal tax legislation enacted in December 2017, compensation paid to certain of our executive officers in excess of $1 million per person per year will not be deductible unless it qualifies for transition relief applicable to certain compensation arrangements in place as of November 2, 2017 and not later materially modified.

The Committee believes that the interests of our stockholders are best served if the Committee continues to retain flexibility and discretion to approve and amend compensation plans, agreements and arrangements to support our corporate objectives, even if a plan, agreement or arrangement does not qualify for full or partial tax deductibility and even if an amendment results in a loss or limitation of tax deductibility. Despite the changes as a result of the 2017 tax legislation, the Committee currently expects (consistent with its executive compensation philosophy) to structure executive compensation programs such that a significant portion of executive compensation is linked to our performance.

The Committee also takes into consideration the accounting treatment of the different forms of awards it may grant to executive officers.

Compensation Committee Report

The Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis included in this proxy statement with management and, based on this review and discussion, recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.

Compensation and Nominating Committee

Robert M. Galford, Chair

David Boyce

Gretchen G. Teichgraeber

The information contained in the report above shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference in any such filing.

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SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

The following table shows the compensation earned by our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer and each of our three other most highly compensated executive officers as of December 31, 2020. We refer to these officers as the “named executive officers.”

 

 

 

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GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS FOR 2020

The following table sets forth information with respect to plan-based awards granted to named executive officers in 2020.

 

 

 

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OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT 2020 FISCAL YEAR-END

The following table sets forth information for the named executive officers regarding outstanding option awards and stock awards held as of December 31, 2020.

 

 

 

 

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OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED TABLE FOR 2020

The following table sets forth information for the named executive officers regarding the value realized during 2020 by the executives pursuant to option exercises and the vesting of RSUs.

 

 

Pension Benefits

We have no defined benefit pension plans or long-term incentive plans applicable to the named executive officers.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

We have no nonqualified defined contribution or deferred compensation plans.

Severance and Change-of-Control Benefits

Effective May 15, 2014, our Board of Directors adopted and approved the Forrester Research, Inc. Executive Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”), which is applicable to all of the Company’s executive officers, including the named executive officers. The Severance Plan provides for the payment of severance and other benefits to each executive officer in the event of a termination of employment with the Company without cause and also, in the case of a change in control, by an executive officer for good reason, each as defined in the Severance Plan (each, a “Qualifying Termination”). In the event of a Qualifying Termination and subject to the executive’s execution of a general release of claims against the Company, in addition to any accrued obligations such as unpaid base salary, vacation and earned bonuses, the Severance Plan provides for the following severance payments and benefits:

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The Severance Plan shall also reimburse each executive officer whose termination of employment results from a change of control all reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred to obtain or enforce rights or benefits under the Severance Plan if the executive officer prevails in substantial part on the material issues of the proceeding.

The Severance Plan does not provide for a gross-up payment to any of the executive officers to offset any excise taxes that may be imposed on excess parachute payments under Section 4999 (“Excise Tax”) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Instead, the Severance Plan provides that in the event that the severance payments and benefits described above, and any other parachute payments, would, if paid, be subject to the Excise Tax, then the severance payments and benefits under the Severance Plan will be reduced to the extent necessary so that no portion of the payments or benefits under the Severance Plan are subject to the Excise Tax, provided that there shall be no such reduction if the net amount of the payments received by the executive officer after giving effect to all applicable taxes is greater than the net amount of the payments received by the executive officer after giving effect to the reduction.

As described above, on December 9, 2020, we entered into a letter agreement with Mr. Doyle regarding his resignation as Chief Financial Officer as of April 1, 2021 and his provision of transition services to the Company through no later than December 31, 2021. In consideration for this arrangement, the letter provides for the following benefits to be paid or made available to Mr. Doyle in lieu of any amounts under the Severance Plan or otherwise:

These benefits are conditioned on a customary release of claims and compliance by Mr. Doyle with his obligations to the Company, including pursuant to his Forrester Employee Confidentiality, Proprietary Rights and Noncompetition Agreement that provides for a one-year post-employment nonsolicitation and noncompetition period, which will commence on April 1, 2021. The letter agreement also provides that the benefits will be paid or made available to Mr. Doyle’s heirs, estate or personal representatives in the event of his death prior all such benefits being paid or made available to him.

We are also party to an employment offer letter, dated September 6, 2011, with Mr. Peltzman that provides for severance benefits following a termination of his employment by the Company without Cause (as defined in the offer letter). In the event of such a termination, we must continue to pay Mr. Peltzman his base salary for the 3 months following his termination, subject to his signing a separation agreement in a form acceptable to us that includes a general release of all claims. The Severance Plan provides that there

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will be no duplication of benefits between the Severance Plan and Mr. Peltzman’s employment offer letter, and the Severance Plan, described above, provides for a greater amount payable upon termination without Cause.

We have not entered into agreements providing for severance benefits with any of the other named executive officers.  Each of our named executive officers other than Mr. Colony has entered into stock option and restricted stock unit grant agreements that provide for full acceleration of vesting upon a change of control of the Company, unless there is an assumption, substitution or cash-out of the options or restricted stock units in connection with the change of control.

The following table provides the details of payments that would have been paid to, or value that would have been received by, the named executive officers in connection with either a change of control, a termination of employment without cause or for good reason in connection with a change of control, or a termination of employment without cause in the absence of a change of control, in each case effective as of December 31, 2020.

 

 

 

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Director Compensation

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION TABLE FOR 2020

The following table shows the compensation that we paid during the year ended December 31, 2020 to each of our directors, other than Mr. Colony, who was not paid additional compensation for his service as a director and whose compensation is reflected in “Executive Compensation” above. 

 

 

 

 

 

Our non-employee directors receive an annual retainer of $30,000 and members of each Board committee receive an additional annual retainer of $5,000 for each committee on which they serve, with the Chairman of the Audit Committee receiving an additional $8,000 per year and the Chairman of the Compensation and Nominating Committee receiving an additional $5,000 per year. Our lead independent director receives an additional $10,000 annual retainer.  Each of these annual fees is payable quarterly in arrears. Members of our Board of Directors are reimbursed for their expenses incurred in connection with attending any meeting.

The Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors has the authority under the Forrester Research, Inc. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan (“Equity Incentive Plan”) to grant stock options and RSUs to non-employee directors in such amounts and on such terms as it shall determine at the time of grant. On June 1, 2020, our seven non-employee directors at that time each received 3,343 restricted stock units, which equals the number of whole shares calculated by dividing $100,000 by $29.91, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of award. These RSUs vest in four equal quarterly installments over a one-year period. RSUs granted under the Equity Incentive Plan become vested in full upon a change of control of the Company, unless there is an assumption, substitution or cash-out of such RSUs in connection with the change of control.

Options granted to our non-employee directors prior to our 2012 annual meeting and currently outstanding were made pursuant to our 2006 Stock Option Plan for Directors, as amended.

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CEO PAY RATIO

Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 requires most companies with publicly traded stock in the United States to identify the median annual total compensation of their worldwide employee population (other than the chief executive officer) and to compare that amount with the annual total compensation of their chief executive officer. The pay ratio information included below is a reasonable estimate calculated in a manner consistent with Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K.

We identified our median employee using our total employee population as of October 1, 2020 by applying a consistently applied compensation measure across our global employee population. For our consistently applied compensation measure, we used cash compensation (base salary plus bonuses and commissions) paid in the nine months ending September 30, 2020. We used cash compensation as our consistently applied compensation measure as we believe that this measure provides a reasonably accurate depiction of total earnings for the purpose of identifying our median employee. We then calculated the median employee’s total annual compensation in accordance with the requirements of the Summary Compensation Table.  Earnings of our employees outside the U.S. were converted to U.S. dollars using the currency exchange rates used for organizational planning purposes, which consider historical and forecasted rates as well as other factors.  We did not use any other material estimates, assumptions, adjustments or statistical sampling to determine the worldwide median employee.

Our median employee’s total 2020 compensation (other than the CEO) was $112,281. Our Chief Executive Officer’s total 2020 compensation was $681,843, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table. Accordingly, our 2020 CEO to Median Employee Pay Ratio was 6.1 to 1.  

Please keep in mind that under the SEC’s rules and guidance, there are numerous ways to determine the compensation of a company’s median employee, including the employee population sampled, the elements of pay and benefits used, any assumptions made and the use of statistical sampling. In addition, no two companies have identical employee populations or compensation programs, and pay, benefits and retirement plans differ by country even within the same company. As such, our pay ratio may not be comparable to the pay ratio reported by other companies.

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REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors has appointed an Audit Committee composed of four non-employee directors: Ms. Birch (Chair), Mr. Bradford, Mr. Friscia and Ms. Wassenaar. Each of the members of the Audit Committee is “independent” as defined under the NASDAQ Stock Market listing standards. The Board has determined that Ms. Birch is an “audit committee financial expert” under applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and the members of the Audit Committee satisfy the NASDAQ financial literacy standards.

The Audit Committee is responsible for providing independent oversight of Forrester’s accounting functions and internal controls. The Audit Committee oversees Forrester’s financial reporting process on behalf of the Board of Directors, reviews financial disclosures, and meets privately, outside of the presence of management, with Forrester’s internal auditor and with representatives of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also selects and appoints the independent registered public accounting firm, reviews the performance of the independent registered public accounting firm, and reviews the independent registered public accounting firm’s fees. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors.

In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed Forrester’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 with Forrester’s management and with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PricewaterhouseCoopers”), Forrester’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also reviewed the report of management contained in Forrester’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC, as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report included in Forrester’s Annual Report on Form 10-K related to its audit of (i) the consolidated financial statements and (ii) the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting.

The Audit Committee has discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers the matters required to be discussed under the rules adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”).  The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from PricewaterhouseCoopers required by the PCAOB regarding PricewaterhouseCoopers’ communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence and has discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers their independence.

Based on the Audit Committee’s review and discussions noted above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors approved, the inclusion of the audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 for filing with the SEC.

AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

 

Jean M. Birch, Chair

Neil Bradford

Tony Friscia

Yvonne Wassenaar

The information contained in the report above shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference in any such filing.

 

 

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OTHER INFORMATION

Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of our common stock to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership on Forms 3, 4 and 5 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial stockholders are required by SEC regulation to furnish to us copies of all Forms 3, 4 and 5 they file. Based solely on our review of copies of such forms which we received, we believe that all of our officers, directors, and greater than 10% beneficial owners complied on a timely basis with all filing requirements with respect to transactions during 2020, except for one report filed for Scott Chouinard, our Chief Accounting Officer, with respect to the grant of restricted stock units in 2019, and one report filed for Sherri Kottmann, our Chief People Officer, with respect to the vesting of restricted stock units in 2019.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

Registration Rights and Non-Competition Agreement.    At the time of our initial public offering, we entered into a registration rights and non-competition agreement with Mr. Colony which provides that if Mr. Colony’s employment with us is terminated he will not compete with us for the one year period after the date of such termination. The agreement also provides that in the event we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to an offering by us for our own account or the account of another person, or both, Mr. Colony shall be entitled to include shares held by him in such a registration, subject to the right of the managing underwriter of any such offering to exclude some or all of such shares from such registration if and to the extent the inclusion of the shares would adversely affect the marketing of the shares to be sold by us. The agreement also provides that Mr. Colony may require us to register shares under the Securities Act with a fair market value of at least $5 million, except that we are not required to effect such registration more than twice or at certain times described in the agreement. The agreement also provides that we will pay all expenses incurred in connection with such registration.

Related Person Transactions

Pursuant to its amended and restated charter, our Audit Committee has responsibility for the review and approval of all transactions between the Company and any related parties or affiliates of the Company, its officers, and directors.

Related persons can include any of our directors or executive officers, certain of our stockholders, and any of their immediate family members. In evaluating related person transactions, the committee members apply the same standards they apply to their general responsibilities as members of a committee of the board of directors and as individual directors. The committee will approve a related person transaction when, in its good faith judgment, the transaction is in the best interest of the Company. To identify related person transactions, each year we require our directors and officers to complete a questionnaire identifying any transactions with the Company in which the officer or director or their family members have an interest. In addition, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics includes our expectation that all directors, officers and employees who may have a potential or apparent conflict of interest will notify our legal department.

The daughter of one of our executive officers is a non-officer employee of the Company within our sales organization.  The Company reviewed this arrangement with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, noting that the compensation of the employee is within comparable market ranges for similar positions, and the Audit Committee approved this relationship.

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PROPOSAL TWO:

RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP

AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2021

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP audited our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. Our Audit Committee has selected PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Although stockholder approval of the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is not required by law, our Board of Directors believes that it is advisable to give stockholders an opportunity to ratify this selection.

If stockholders do not approve this proposal at the 2021 annual meeting, our Audit Committee will reconsider its selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. If stockholders do ratify this appointment, the Audit Committee, which has direct authority to engage our independent registered public accounting firm, may appoint a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that the change would be in the best interests of Forrester and our stockholders.

The Audit Committee has approved all services provided to Forrester by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP during 2020. Representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are expected to be present at the 2021 annual meeting. They will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and will also be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

Independent Auditors’ Fees and Other Matters

The following table presents the aggregate fees billed or expected to be billed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) and its affiliates for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019.

 

 

 

Audit Committee’s Pre-Approval Policy and Procedures

The Audit Committee approves the engagement of our independent registered public accounting firm to render any audit or non-audit services. At a regularly scheduled Audit Committee meeting, management or a representative of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm summarizes the services to be provided by the firm and the fees that will be charged for the services. Thereafter, if new services or dollar amounts in excess of those pre-approved at the meeting are proposed, they are either presented for pre-approval at the next meeting of the Audit Committee or approved by the Chair of the Audit Committee pursuant to delegated authority. At subsequent meetings, the Audit Committee is provided a listing of any newly pre-approved services since the last meeting, and an updated projection for the current year of the estimated annual fees to be paid to the firm for all pre-approved audit and permissible non-audit services.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT

THE STOCKHOLDERS VOTE FOR RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC

ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2021.

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PROPOSAL THREE:

NON-BINDING VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

We have implemented an executive compensation program that rewards performance. Our executive compensation program is designed to attract, retain and motivate the key individuals who are most capable of contributing to the success of our Company and building long-term value for our stockholders. The elements of our executives’ total compensation are base salary, cash incentive awards, equity incentive awards, severance and change of control benefits, and other employee benefits. We have designed a compensation program that makes a substantial portion of executive pay variable, subject to increase when performance targets are exceeded, and subject to reduction when performance targets are not achieved.

We believe our executive compensation program strikes the appropriate balance between utilizing responsible, measured pay practices and providing incentives to our executives to create value for our stockholders. We believe this is evidenced by the following:

The Board endorses the Company’s executive compensation program and recommends that stockholders vote in favor of the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the stockholders approve the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers as described in this proxy statement under “Executive Compensation”, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis and the tabular and narrative disclosure contained in this proxy statement.

Because the vote is non-binding, neither the Board of Directors nor the Compensation and Nominating Committee of the Board will be required to take any action as a result of the outcome of the vote on this proposal. The Compensation and Nominating Committee will carefully consider the outcome of the vote when evaluating future executive compensation arrangements.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE COMPANY’S EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.

 

 

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STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS

Stockholder proposals to be considered at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2022 must be received by November 30, 2021 to be considered for inclusion in our proxy materials for that meeting.

Stockholders who wish to make a proposal at the 2022 annual meeting, other than proposals included in our proxy materials, or who wish to nominate individuals for election as directors, must notify us between January 11, 2022 and February 10, 2022. If the stockholder does not notify us by February 10, 2022, the proxies will have discretionary authority to vote on a stockholder’s proposal brought before the meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS

The Board of Directors has no knowledge of any other matter that may come before the annual meeting and does not, itself, currently intend to present any other such matter.

FORM 10-K

A copy of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission will be sent to stockholders without charge by writing to Forrester Research, Inc., Investor Relations, 60 Acorn Park Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140.

 

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FORRESTER^® FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC. ATTN: RYAN D. DARRAH 60 ACOR PARK DRIVE CAMBRIDGE, MA 02140 VOTE BY INTERNET Before The Meeting - Go to www.proxyvote.com Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information. Vote by 11:59 P.M. ET on May 10, 2021. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form. During The Meeting - Go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FORR2021 You may attend the meeting via the Internet and vote during the meeting. Have the information that is printed in the box marked by the arrow available and follow the instructions. VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903 Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions. Vote by 11:59 P.M. ET on May 10, 2021. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions. VOTE BY MAIL Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717. TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS: D40793-P49749 KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR

 

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Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting: The Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available at www.proxyvote.com. D40794-P49749 FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC. Annual Meeting of Stockholders May 11, 2021 10:00 AM This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors The stockholder(s) hereby appoint(s) George F. Colony and Ryan D. Darrah, or either of them, as proxies, each with the power to appoint their substitute, and hereby authorize(s) them to represent and to vote, as designated on the reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of common stock of FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC. that the stockholder(s) is/are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time on May 11, 2021, online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FORR2021, and any adjournment or postponement thereof. This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein. If no such direction is made, this proxy will be voted in accordance with the Board of Directors' recommendations. Continued and to be signed on reverse side