UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 1, 2014
Western Digital Corporation
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
| Delaware | 001-08703 | 33-0956711 | ||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||
| 3355 Michelson Drive, Suite 100 Irvine, California |
92612 | |||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | |||
(949) 672-7000
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Not applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 240.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Appointment of Director
The Board of Directors of Western Digital Corporation (the “Company”) on December 1, 2014 unanimously appointed Martin I. Cole to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company until the Company’s next annual meeting of stockholders and until his successor is duly elected and qualified. Concurrent with his appointment as a director, Mr. Cole was appointed to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Cole and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Cole was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors. Mr. Cole has no direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Mr. Cole will receive compensation for his services as a director in accordance with the Company’s standard compensation program for non-employee directors, which is summarized (i) in Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended June 27, 2014, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 15, 2014, and (ii) under “Fiscal 2014 Director Compensation Program for Non-Hitachi Designated Directors” in the Company’s Proxy Statement, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 23, 2014.
In accordance with the Company’s customary practice, the Company is entering into its standard form of indemnity agreement with Mr. Cole, which requires the Company to indemnify him against certain liabilities that may arise as a result of his status or service as a director. The indemnification protection commences on the date of the agreement and continues through the later of ten years after the director’s termination of service or one year after the final termination of any Proceeding (as defined in the agreement) then pending in which the director is granted rights of indemnification or advancement of expenses or any Proceeding commenced by the director seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses. The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the form of Indemnity Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for its quarter ended September 27, 2002, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2002.
| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
Director Appointment
The Company issued a press release on December 1, 2014, announcing the appointment of Mr. Cole to the Board of Directors. The press release making this announcement is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, the information in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| (d) | Exhibits |
| 99.1 | Press Release issued by Western Digital Corporation on December 1, 2014 announcing appointment of Martin I. Cole to the Board of Directors. |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Western Digital Corporation (Registrant) | ||||||
| By: | /s/ Michael C. Ray | |||||
| Date: December 1, 2014 |
Michael C. Ray | |||||
| Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | ||||||
-2-
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |||
| 99.1 | Press Release issued by Western Digital Corporation on December 1, 2014 announcing appointment of Martin I. Cole to the Board of Directors. | |||
-3-
Exhibit 99.1
Company contacts:
Bob Blair
Western Digital Investor Relations
949.672.7834
robert.blair@wdc.com
Steve Shattuck
Western Digital Public Relations
949.672.7817
steve.shattuck@wdc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WESTERN DIGITAL ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF
MARTIN COLE TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
IRVINE, Calif. — Dec 1, 2014 — Western Digital® Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) announced today the appointment of Martin Cole to its board of directors. Mr. Cole was also appointed to serve as a member of the board’s audit committee. Before retiring earlier this year, Mr. Cole, 58, served in several senior executive leadership positions during a 34-year career at Accenture. Mr. Cole will be subject to re-appointment at the next Western Digital annual meeting of shareholders. His appointment to the board brings WDC’s board membership to nine, eight of whom are independent.
“I am very pleased to welcome Marty to the Western Digital board of directors,” said Tom Pardun, chairman of the board. “His broad-based general management experience in leading several of Accenture’s business units will be invaluable to our board as Western Digital and the storage ecosystem continue to evolve. His knowledge of application software and cloud-based platforms and systems will be especially pertinent as our company continues to grow its capabilities in cloud-based storage solutions.”
Most recently, Mr. Cole served as chief executive officer of Accenture’s Technology Group, with responsibility for the full range of the firm’s technology consulting and outsourcing solutions and delivery capabilities, including its Global Delivery Network. He led technology innovation, including the Accenture Technology Labs, the Accenture software business, and development of emerging technology solutions, including Cloud solutions.
Mr. Cole joined Accenture in 1980 and also served as chief executive of the Communications, Media & Technology operating group, chief executive of the Public Service operating group and as global managing director of the Outsourcing & Infrastructure Delivery group. Prior to this, he held numerous leadership positions in Accenture’s Public Service operating group.
Mr. Cole serves as a director for Cloudera and the Avon Old Farms School in Avon, CT.
Western Digital Announces Appointment of Martin Cole to Its Board of Directors
Page 2 of 2
About Western Digital
Founded in 1970, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC), Irvine, Calif., is an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage solutions that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. Its HGST and WD® subsidiaries are long-time innovators in the storage industry. Western Digital Corporation is responding to changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage products with effective technology deployment, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Our products are marketed under the HGST, WD and G-Technology™ brands to OEMs, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers. Financial and investor information is available on the company’s Investor Relations website at investor.wdc.com.
###
Western Digital, WD and the WD logo are registered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries. HGST trademarks are intended and authorized for use only in countries and jurisdictions in which HGST has obtained the rights to use, market and advertise the brand. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies.