The board of Heartland Financial USA Inc. is recommending shareholders approve a proposal that would increase the size of the board to 11 members from nine members and increase the maximum age at which a director may be elected to 72 years from 70 years.
The company is also nominating Martin Schmitz to be elected as a director. Schmitz, who is a former chairman of Heartland Financial unit Citywide Banks, is being nominated to replace John Cox Jr., who has retired.
Meanwhile, the Dubuque, Iowa-based company also disclosed that CEO Lynn Fuller received approximately $1.3 million in total compensation for 2017, compared to the median employee salary of $47,005. Based on the figures, the company's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio is 27.51-to-1.
