UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

(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:
	Preliminary Proxy Statement
	Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
	Definitive Proxy Statement
	Definitive Additional Materials
	Soliciting Material Pursuant to § 240.14a-12

DANAHER CORPORATION

(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):
	No fee required
	Fee paid previously with preliminary materials
	Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11

MAY 9, 2023

3:00 p.m. Eastern Time

 

Location

The Westin Georgetown
2350 M Street NW
Washington, D.C.

 

 

REVIEW YOUR PROXY STATEMENT AND VOTE IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

 

	VIA THE INTERNET Visit the website listed on your Notice of Internet Availability, proxy card or voting instruction form
	BY TELEPHONE Call the telephone number on your proxy card or voting instruction form
	BY MAIL Sign, date and return your proxy card or voting instruction form in the enclosed envelope

 

Please refer to the enclosed proxy materials or the information forwarded by your bank, broker, trustee or other intermediary to see which voting methods are available to you.

 

ATTENDING THE MEETING

 

Shareholders who wish to attend the meeting in person should review the instructions set forth in the attached Proxy Statement under “General Information About the Annual Meeting – Attending the Meeting.”

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY

To assist you in reviewing the proposals to be acted upon at our 2023 Annual Meeting, below is summary information regarding the meeting, each proposal to be voted upon at the meeting and Danaher Corporation’s business performance, corporate governance, sustainability program and executive compensation. The following description is only a summary and does not contain all of the information you should consider before voting. For more information about these topics, please review Danaher’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the complete Proxy Statement. In this Proxy Statement, the terms “Danaher” or the “Company” refer to Danaher Corporation, Danaher Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries or the consolidated subsidiaries of Danaher Corporation, as the context requires. All financial data in this Proxy Statement refers to continuing operations unless otherwise indicated.

2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

TIME AND DATE	LOCATION	RECORD DATE
3:00 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday, May 9, 2023	The Westin Georgetown 2350 M Street NW Washington, D.C.	March 10, 2023

Voting Matters

Please see the sections titled “General Information About the Meeting” and “Other Information” beginning on page 86 for important information about the proxy materials, voting, the Annual Meeting, Company documents, communications and the deadlines to submit shareholder proposals and director nominations for next year’s annual meeting of shareholders.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

05

Business Highlights

2022 Performance

In 2022, as the world faced the evolution of COVID-19 from pandemic toward endemic status, widespread inflation and supply chain disruptions and economic slowdowns across many major geographies, Danaher remained focused on growing its business in the near-term while continuing to invest in long-term growth. Specifically, in 2022 Danaher:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

06

Long-Term Performance

We believe a long-term performance period most accurately compares relative performance within our peer group. Over shorter periods, performance comparisons may be skewed by the easier performance baselines of peer companies that have experienced periods of underperformance.

Danaher has not experienced a sustained period of underperformance over the last twenty-five years (i.e., 1998 - 2022). We believe the consistency of our performance over that period is unmatched within our peer group. Danaher is the only company in its peer group whose total shareholder return (“TSR”) outperformed the S&P 500 Index:

Danaher’s compounded average annual shareholder return has outperformed the S&P 500 Index over each of the last two, three, five-, ten-, fifteen-, twenty- and twenty-five year periods:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

07

Corporate Governance Highlights

Our Board of Directors recognizes that Danaher’s success over the long-term requires a robust framework of corporate governance that serves the best interests of all our shareholders and promotes robust risk oversight. Below are highlights of our corporate governance framework.

	Board refreshment remains a key area of focus for us. We have added five new directors over the past four years, reducing Danaher’s average director tenure by more than 16% over that period.
	Our Bylaws provide for proxy access by shareholders.
	Our Chairman and CEO positions are separate.
	Our Board has established a Lead Independent Director position.
	All of our directors are elected annually.
	In uncontested elections, our directors must be elected by a majority of the votes cast, and we have a director resignation policy that applies to any incumbent director who fails to receive such a majority.
	Our shareholders have the right to act by written consent.
	Shareholders owning 25% or more of our outstanding shares may call a special meeting of shareholders.
	We have never had a shareholder rights plan.
	We have no supermajority voting requirements in our Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws.
	All members of our Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees are independent as defined by the New York Stock Exchange listing standards and applicable SEC rules.
	Danaher (including its subsidiaries during the period we have owned them) has made no political contributions in the last decade, has no intention of contributing any Danaher funds for political purposes, and discloses its political expenditures policy on its public website. The 2022 CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability ranked Danaher as a First Tier company.

Shareholder Engagement Program

We actively seek and highly value feedback from our shareholders. During 2022, in addition to our traditional Investor Relations outreach efforts, we engaged with shareholders representing approximately 25% of our outstanding shares on topics including our business strategy and financial performance, governance and executive compensation programs and sustainability initiatives. Attendees included members of our senior management and, in some cases, members of our Board of Directors. We shared feedback received during these meetings with our Nominating and Governance Committee and Compensation Committee, informing their decision-making.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

08

Board of Directors

Below is an overview of each of the director nominees you are being asked to elect at the 2023 Annual Meeting.

				Committee Memberships
Name and Principal Occupation	Independent	Age	Director Since	A	C	N	S	E	F
Rainer M. Blair President and Chief Executive Officer Danaher Corporation		58	2020
Feroz Dewan Chief Executive Officer Arena Holdings Management LLC		46	2022
Linda Filler Former President of Retail Products, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Merchandising Officer Walgreen Co.		63	2005
Teri List Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gap Inc.		60	2011
Walter G. Lohr, Jr. Retired partner Hogan Lovells		79	1983
Jessica L. Mega, MD, MPH Former Chief Medical and Scientific Officer Verily Life Sciences LLC		48	2019
Mitchell P. Rales Chairman of the Executive Committee Danaher Corporation		66	1983
Steven M. Rales Chairman of the Board Danaher Corporation		71	1983
Pardis C. Sabeti, MD, D.Phil Investigator Howard Hughes Medical Institute		47	2019
A. Shane Sanders Former Senior Vice President of Business Transformation Verizon Communications Inc.		60	2021
John T. Schwieters Principal Perseus TDC		83	2003
Alan G. Spoon Former Managing General Partner Polaris Partners		71	1999
Raymond C. Stevens, PhD Chief Executive Officer Structure Therapeutics		59	2017
Elias A. Zerhouni, MD President and Vice Chairman OPKO Health, Inc.		71	2009

Chair Member

A = Audit Committee C = Compensation Committee E = Executive Committee F = Finance Committee N = Nominating & Governance Committee S = Science & Technology Committee

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

09

Director Diversity

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

10

Sustainability at Danaher

		Innovating products that improve lives and our planet   •  At Danaher, innovation doesn’t happen by accident. It is the product of the DBS Innovation Engine, a rigorous, holistic management program encompassing tools that facilitate innovation, process, strategy, organization, talent and culture •  In 2022 we continued hiring Chief Science Officers and Chief Technology Officers, adding R&D associates and investing in R&D across our businesses to further build out our science and technology ecosystem
		Building the best team   •  We are committed to attracting, developing, engaging and retaining the best people from around the world to sustain and grow our science and technology leadership •  “Consistently attracting and retaining exceptional talent” is one of our three strategic priorities and “The Best Team Wins” is one of our five Core Values •  In 2022, we continued to enhance the transparency of our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts by publishing additional DE&I metrics in our annual sustainability report, including employee demographic data by age category and new hire data by gender and race
		Protecting our environment   •  In 2022, we announced a new target to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50.4% in 2032 vs. 2021 •  We’re building a suite of DBS tools to support our environmental sustainability aspirations, including: •  DBS Energy Management Toolkit •  DBS Waste Minimization Toolkit •  DBS Water Stewardship Toolkit (in pilot) •  In 2022, we also piloted a climate risk and opportunity assessment program based on elements of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

11

Executive Compensation Highlights

Overview of Executive Compensation Program

As discussed in detail under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” with the goal of building long-term value for our shareholders, we have developed an executive compensation program designed to:

To achieve these objectives our compensation program combines annual and long-term components, cash and equity, and fixed and variable elements, with a bias toward long-term, performance-based equity awards tied closely to shareholder returns and subject to significant vesting and/or holding periods. Our executive compensation program rewards our executive officers when they help increase long-term shareholder value, achieve annual business goals and build long-term careers with Danaher.

Compensation Governance

Our Compensation Committee also recognizes that the success of our executive compensation program over the long-term requires a robust framework of compensation governance. As a result, the Committee regularly reviews external executive compensation practices and trends and incorporated best practices into our 2022 executive compensation program:

WHAT WE DO			WHAT WE DON’T DO
	Four-year vesting requirement for stock options; three-year performance period plus further two-year holding period for PSUs			No tax gross-up provisions (except as applicable to management employees generally such as relocation policy)
	Incentive compensation programs feature multiple, different performance measures aligned with the Company’s strategic performance metrics			No dividend/dividend equivalents paid on unvested equity awards
	Short-term and long-term performance metrics that balance our absolute performance and our relative performance versus peer companies			No “single trigger” change of control benefits
	Rigorous, no-fault clawback policy that is triggered even in the absence of wrongdoing			No active defined benefit pension program since 2003
	Minimum one-year vesting requirement for 95% of shares granted under the Company’s stock plan			No hedging of Danaher securities permitted
	Stock ownership requirements for all executive officers			No long-term incentive compensation is denominated or paid in cash (other than PSU dividend accruals)
	Limited perquisites and a cap on CEO/CFO personal aircraft usage			No above-market returns on deferred compensation plans
	Independent compensation consultant that performs no other services for the Company			No overlapping performance metrics between short-term and long-term incentive compensation programs

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

12

Named Executive Officers’ 2022 Compensation

The following table sets forth the 2022 compensation of our named executive officers. Please see pages 55-56 for information regarding 2021 and 2020 compensation, as well as footnotes.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

13

PROPOSAL 1

Election of Directors

We are seeking your support for the election of the fourteen candidates whom the Board has nominated to serve on the Board of Directors (each of whom currently serves as a director of the Company), to serve until the 2024 Annual Meeting of shareholders and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified.

We believe the nominees set forth below have qualifications consistent with our position as a large, global and diversified science and technology company. We also believe these nominees have the experience and perspective to guide Danaher as we seek to expand our business in high-growth geographies and high-growth market segments, identify, consummate and integrate appropriate acquisitions, develop innovative and differentiated new products and services, adjust to rapidly changing technologies, business cycles and competition and address the demands of an increasingly regulated environment. Set forth below is biographical information regarding each candidate as of March 10, 2023.

Proxies cannot be voted for a greater number of persons than the fourteen nominees named in this Proxy Statement. In the event a nominee declines or is unable to serve, the proxies may be voted in the discretion of the proxy holders for a substitute nominee designated by the Board, or the Board may reduce the number of directors to be elected. We know of no reason why this will occur.

Director Nominees

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

14

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

15

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

16

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

17

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR EACH OF THE FOREGOING NOMINEES.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

18

Board Selection and Refreshment

Director Selection

The Board and its Nominating and Governance Committee believe that it is important that our directors demonstrate:

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for recommending to the Board a slate of nominees for election at each annual meeting of shareholders. Nominees may be suggested by directors, members of management, shareholders or by a third-party search firm engaged by the Committee. The Committee considers a wide range of factors when assessing potential director nominees. This includes consideration of the current composition of the Board, any perceived need for one or more particular areas of expertise, the balance of management and independent directors, the need for committee-specific expertise, evaluations of other prospective nominees and the qualifications of each potential nominee relative to the attributes, skills and experience described above.

When Danaher recruits a director candidate, either a search firm engaged by the Committee or a member of the Board contacts the prospect to assess interest and availability. The candidate will then meet with members of the Board and at the same time, the Committee with the support of the search firm will conduct such further inquiries as the Committee deems appropriate. A background check is completed before a final recommendation is made to appoint a candidate to the Board.

A shareholder who wishes to recommend a prospective nominee for the Board should notify the Nominating and Governance Committee in writing using the procedures described below under “Other Information – Communications with the Board of Directors” with whatever supporting material the shareholder considers appropriate. If a prospective nominee has been identified other than in connection with a director search process initiated by the Committee, an initial determination is made as to whether to conduct a full evaluation of the candidate based primarily on whether a new or additional Board member is necessary or appropriate at such time, the likelihood that the prospective nominee can satisfy the evaluation factors described above, any additional inquiries the Committee may, in its discretion, conduct and any other factors the Committee may deem appropriate.

Director Skills, Expertise, and Diversity

Diversity is an important consideration in the Board’s decision-making with respect to Board composition. The Board does not have a formal or informal policy with respect to diversity but believes that the Board, taken as a whole, should embody a diverse set of skills, knowledge, experiences and backgrounds appropriate in light of the Company’s needs, and in this regard also subjectively takes into consideration the diversity (including with respect to age, race, gender, national origin and U.S. military veteran status) of the Board when considering director nominees. As of the date of this Proxy Statement, half of the Company’s Board members are diverse from a gender and/or race/ethnicity perspective, one Board member is a U.S. military veteran and our Board includes a broad range of ages and national origins. Recognizing how this diversity has contributed to our Board and consistent with the DBS principle of continuous improvement, our Board is committed to increasing to at or above 30% the percentage of gender-diverse directors by the time of the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

19

The chart that follows illustrates the diverse set of skills, expertise and backgrounds represented on our Board.

SKILLS AND EXPERTISE

Blair

Dewan

Filler

List

Lohr

Mega

M. Rales

S. Rales

Sabeti

Sanders

Schwieters

Spoon

Stevens

Zerhouni

Global/international

Life sciences

Diagnostics

Health care management

Product innovation

Digital technology

M&A

Public company CEO and/or President

Accounting

Finance

Branding/marketing

Government, legal or regulatory

Age

58

46

63

60

79

48

66

71

47

60

83

71

59

71

Gender

M

M

F

F

M

F

M

M

F

M

M

M

M

M

Race/Ethnicity*

C

A

C

C

C

C

C

C

M

B

C

C

C

N

Born outside U.S.

U.S. Military Veteran

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

20

Board Orientation

Our new director orientation program includes extensive meetings with Danaher management and familiarizes new directors with Danaher’s businesses, strategies, policies and the Danaher Business System; assists them in developing company and industry knowledge to optimize their Board service; and educates them with respect to their fiduciary duties and legal responsibilities and Danaher’s sustainability framework.

Board Refreshment and Succession Planning

Our Board actively considers Board refreshment. Using our Board skills matrix as a guide as well as the results of our annual Board and committee self-assessment process (discussed below), the Nominating and Governance Committee evaluates Board composition at least annually and identifies for Board consideration areas of expertise that would complement and enhance our current Board. Given the critical role of acquisitions in our overall strategy as well as the diversity of our portfolio, it is essential that our Board include members with the experience of having led the Company through a range of M&A and economic cycles. However, the Board also seeks to thoughtfully balance the knowledge and experience that comes from longer-term Board service with the fresh perspectives and new domain expertise that can come from adding new directors. We have added five new directors over the past four years, reducing Danaher’s average director tenure by more than 16% over that period.

The Board addresses succession planning for key Board leadership roles (such as Chairman of the Board, Lead Independent Director and Committee chairs) by seeking to ensure the depth of expertise on the Board is sufficient to provide appropriate successors in the event of a succession event.

Proxy Access

Our Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”) permit a shareholder, or a group of up to twenty shareholders, owning three percent or more of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock continuously for at least three years to nominate and include in the Company’s annual meeting proxy materials a number of director nominees up to the greater of (x) two, or (y) twenty percent of the Board (or, if such amount is not a whole number, the closest whole number below twenty percent), provided that the shareholder(s) and nominee(s) satisfy the requirements specified in the Bylaws.

Majority Voting Standard

General

Our Bylaws provide for majority voting in uncontested director elections, and our Board has adopted a director resignation policy. Under the policy, our Board will not appoint or nominate for election to the Board any person who has not tendered in advance an irrevocable resignation effective in such circumstances where the individual does not receive a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election and such resignation is accepted by the Board. If an incumbent director is not elected by a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election, our Nominating and Governance Committee will submit for prompt consideration by the Board a recommendation whether to accept or reject the director’s resignation. The Board expects the director whose resignation is under consideration to abstain from participating in any decision regarding that resignation.

Contested Elections

At any meeting of shareholders for which the Secretary of the Company receives a notice that a shareholder has nominated a person for election to the Board of Directors in compliance with the Company’s Bylaws and such nomination has not been withdrawn on or before the tenth day before the Company first mails its notice of meeting to the Company’s shareholders, the directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast. This means that the nominees who receive the most affirmative votes would be elected to serve as directors.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

21

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Corporate Governance Overview

Board Leadership Structure, Oversight and CEO Succession Planning

Board Leadership Structure

The Board has separated the positions of Chairman and CEO because it believes that, at this time, this structure best enables the Board to ensure that Danaher’s business and affairs are managed effectively and in the best interests of shareholders. This is particularly the case in light of the fact that the Company’s Chairman is Steven Rales, a co-founder of the Company who owns approximately six percent of the Company’s outstanding shares, served as CEO of the company from 1984 to 1990 and continues to serve as an executive officer of the company. As a result of his substantial ownership stake in the Company, the Board believes that Mr. Rales is uniquely able to understand, articulate and advocate for the rights and interests of the Company’s shareholders. Moreover, Mr. Rales uses his management experience with the Company and Board tenure to help ensure that the non-management directors have a keen understanding of the Company’s business as well as the strategic and other risks and opportunities that the Company faces. This enables the Board to more effectively provide insight and direction to, and exercise oversight of, the Company’s President and CEO and the rest of the management team responsible for the Company’s day-to-day business (including with respect to risk management).

Because Mr. Rales is not independent within the meaning of the NYSE listing standards, our Corporate Governance Guidelines require the appointment of a “Lead Independent Director” and our independent directors have appointed Ms. Filler as Lead Independent Director. As Lead Independent Director, Ms. Filler:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

22

Board Oversight

Strategy

One of the Board’s primary responsibilities is overseeing management’s development and execution of the Company’s strategy.

At least quarterly, the CEO, our executive leadership team and other business leaders provide detailed business and strategy updates to the Board. The Board annually conducts an even more in-depth review of the Company’s overall strategy. At these reviews, the Board engages with our executive leadership team and other business leaders regarding business objectives and the application of DBS, the competitive landscape, economic trends and other developments. On an annual basis the Board also reviews the Company’s human capital, risk assessment/risk management, compliance and sustainability programs as well as the Company’s operating budget, and at meetings occurring throughout the year the Board reviews acquisitions, strategic investments and other capital allocation topics as well as the Company’s operating and financial performance, among other matters. The Board also looks to the expertise of its committees to inform strategic oversight in their areas of focus.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

23

Risk

The Board’s role in risk oversight at the Company is consistent with our leadership structure, with management having day-to-day responsibility for assessing and managing our risk exposure and the Board and its committees overseeing those efforts, with particular emphasis on the most significant risks facing the Company. The Board administers its risk oversight responsibilities both through active review and discussion of key risks facing the Company and by delegating certain risk oversight responsibilities to the Board committees. Generally, the Board delegates risk oversight responsibility to its committees where it believes the committee’s focused domain expertise will support efficient and effective oversight, and each committee typically has responsibility with respect to risks that are associated with the purpose of, and responsibilities delegated to, that committee. Each of the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance, and Science and Technology Committees reports to the full Board on a regular basis, including as appropriate with respect to the committee’s risk oversight activities. The timeframe over which the Board and its committees evaluate risk typically varies depending on the nature of the risk. From time to time, the Board and/or its committees may consider inputs from outside advisors with respect to certain risks and risk trends. With respect to the manner in which the Board’s risk oversight function impacts the Board’s leadership structure, as described above, our Board believes that Mr. Steven Rales’ management experience and tenure help the Board to more effectively exercise its risk oversight function.

The graphic below summarizes the primary areas of risk overseen by the Board and by each of its committees.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

24

Danaher’s disclosure controls and procedures documentation specifically references our annual enterprise risk assessment process as an element of our disclosure controls and procedures, and requires membership overlap between Danaher’s Disclosure Committee and Danaher’s Risk Committee.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

25

Board of Directors and Committees of the Board

General

The Board met six times in 2022. All directors attended at least 90% (and twelve of the directors attended 100%) of the total number of meetings of the Board and of the committees of the Board on which they served held during the period they served. Danaher typically schedules a Board meeting in conjunction with each annual meeting of shareholders and as a general matter expects that the members of the Board will attend the annual meeting. Thirteen of our directors (which constituted the entire Board as of such time) attended the Company’s annual meeting in May 2022.

The membership of each of the Board’s committees as of March 10, 2023 is set forth below. While each of the committees is authorized to delegate its powers to sub-committees, none of the committees did so during 2022. The Audit, Compensation, Nominating & Governance and Science & Technology Committees report to the Board on their actions and recommendations at each regularly scheduled Board meeting. Each such committee typically meets in executive session, without the presence of management, at its regularly scheduled meetings.

Name of Director

Audit

Compensation

Nominating & Governance

Science & Technology

Executive

Finance

Rainer M. Blair

Feroz Dewan

Linda Filler

Teri List

Walter G. Lohr, Jr.

Jessica L. Mega, MD, MPH

Mitchell P. Rales

Steven M. Rales

Pardis C. Sabeti, MD, D.Phil.

A. Shane Sanders

John T. Schwieters

Alan G. Spoon

Raymond C. Stevens, Ph.D.

Elias A. Zerhouni, MD

# OF MEETINGS HELD IN 2022

7

6

6

5

0

3

Chair

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

26

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

27

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee exercises between meetings of the Board such powers and authority as are specifically delegated to it by the Board from time to time, typically related to business acquisition or capital raising transactions.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee approves business acquisitions, investments and divestitures up to the levels of authority delegated to it by the Board.

Board, Committee and Individual Director Evaluations

Our Board recognizes that a rigorous and constructive evaluation process is an essential component of good corporate governance and Board effectiveness. Under the leadership of our Lead Independent Director, the Nominating & Governance Committee oversees the annual evaluation process and periodically reviews the format of the process to help ensure it is eliciting actionable feedback with respect to the effectiveness of the Board, Board committees and individual directors.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

28

The annual Board, committee and individual director evaluation process consists of the following components:

Shareholder Engagement and Alignment

Shareholder Engagement Program

We actively seek and highly value feedback from our shareholders. During 2022, in addition to our traditional Investor Relations outreach efforts, we engaged with shareholders representing approximately 25% of our outstanding shares on topics including our business strategy and financial performance, governance and executive compensation programs and sustainability initiatives. Attendees included members of our senior management and, in some cases, members of our Board of Directors. We shared feedback received during these meetings with our Nominating and Governance Committee and Compensation Committee, informing their decision-making.

Key Policies Aligning Company and Shareholder Interests

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

29

Notwithstanding that these shares are exempted from Danaher’s policy, as part of its risk oversight function the Audit Committee of Danaher’s Board reviews these share pledges on a quarterly basis to assess whether such pledging poses an undue risk to the Company. The Committee has concluded that such pledge arrangements do not pose an undue risk to the Company, based in particular on its consideration of the following factors:

Sustainability

For an overview of Danaher’s sustainability program, please see “Proxy Statement Summary – Sustainability.”

Corporate Governance Guidelines, Committee Charters and Code of Conduct

As part of its ongoing commitment to good corporate governance, our Board of Directors has codified its corporate governance practices into a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines and has also adopted written charters for each of the committees of the Board. Danaher has also adopted a code of business conduct and ethics for directors, officers (including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer) and employees, known as the Code of Conduct. The Corporate Governance Guidelines, charters of each of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees and Code of Conduct are available in the “Investors – Corporate Governance” section of our website at http://www.danaher.com.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

30

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Non-Management Director Compensation Program

Non-Management Director Compensation Philosophy

We use a combination of cash and equity-based compensation to attract and retain qualified candidates to serve on the Board. In setting director compensation, the Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee are guided by the following principles:

Process for Setting Non-Management Director Compensation

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations to the Board regarding non-management director compensation (although the Board makes the final determination regarding the amounts and type of non-management director compensation). The Committee engages FW Cook, the Board’s independent compensation consultant, to prepare regular reports on market non-management director compensation practices and evaluate our program in light of the results of such reports. The Committee typically reviews, and seeks advice from FW Cook regarding, the Company’s non-management director compensation on an annual basis.

Danaher’s 2007 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan” or the “Omnibus Plan”) limits the amount of cash and equity compensation that we may pay to a non-management director each year. Under the plan terms, an annual limit of $800,000 per calendar year applies to the sum of all cash and equity-based awards (calculated based on the grant date fair value of such awards for financial reporting purposes) granted to each non-management director for services as a member of the Board (plus an additional limit of $500,000 per calendar year with respect to any non-executive Board chair or vice chair).

2023 Non-Management Director Compensation Structure

Director cash retainers are paid quarterly in arrears. Director annual equity awards are divided equally (based on target award value) between options and RSUs. The options are fully vested as of the grant date. The RSUs vest upon the earlier of (1) the first anniversary of the grant date, or (2) the date of, and immediately prior to, the next annual meeting of Danaher’s shareholders following the grant date, but the underlying shares are not issued until the earlier of the director’s death or the first day of the seventh month following the director’s retirement from the Board. Danaher also reimburses directors for Danaher-related out-of-pocket expenses, including travel expenses.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

31

Non-Management Directors’ Deferred Compensation Plan

Each non-management director can elect to defer all or part of the cash director fees that the director earns with respect to a particular year under the Non-Employee Directors’ Deferred Compensation Plan, which is a sub-plan under the Omnibus Plan. Amounts deferred under the plan are converted into a particular number of phantom shares of Danaher Common Stock, calculated based on the closing price of Danaher’s Common Stock on the date that such quarterly fees would otherwise have been paid, and are maintained in bookkeeping accounts. Dividends accrued on phantom shares are also deemed invested in phantom shares of Danaher Common Stock. A director may elect to have their plan balance distributed upon cessation of Board service, or one, two, three, four or five years after cessation of Board service. All distributions from the plan are in the form of shares of Danaher Common Stock.

Director Summary Compensation Table

The table below summarizes the compensation paid by Danaher to the non-management directors for the year ended December 31, 2022. Each of Steven Rales, Mitchell Rales and Rainer M. Blair serves as a director and executive officer of Danaher but they have not received and do not receive any additional compensation for services provided as a director. Neither Steven Rales nor Mitchell Rales is a named executive officer. Details regarding the 2022 executive compensation provided to each of Steven Rales and Mitchell Rales is set forth under “Director Independence and Related Person Transactions.”

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

32

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

33

DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE AND RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS

Director Independence

At least a majority of the Board must qualify as independent within the meaning of the listing standards of the NYSE. The Board has affirmatively determined that Mss. Filler and List, Messrs. Dewan, Lohr, Sanders, Schwieters and Spoon, Professor Stevens and Drs. Mega and Zerhouni are independent within the meaning of the listing standards of the NYSE. The Board concluded that none of these directors possesses any of the bright-line relationships set forth in the listing standards of the NYSE that prevent independence, or except as discussed below, any other relationship with Danaher other than Board membership.

In making its determination with respect to the independence of the directors identified above as independent, the Board considered that in 2022, certain of the Company’s subsidiaries sold products and/or services to and purchased products and/ or services from organizations with whom certain of the independent directors are or were employed. In each such case, the amount of sales and the amount of purchases were less than 1.0% of the annual revenues of such other organization and of Danaher’s 2022 revenues. The Board also considered that all of the transactions referenced in the prior sentence were conducted in the ordinary course of business and on an arms’-length basis.

Danaher’s non-management directors meet in executive session following the Board’s regularly-scheduled meetings. The sessions are chaired by the Lead Independent Director. In addition, at least once each year Danaher’s independent directors meet in executive session following a regularly-scheduled Board meeting, and the Lead Independent Director chairs such sessions as well.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

Policy

Under Danaher’s written Related Person Transactions Policy, the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board is required to review and if appropriate approve all related person transactions prior to consummation. The Committee is required to review and consider all relevant information available to it about each related person transaction, and a transaction is considered approved under the policy if the Committee authorizes it according to the terms of the policy after full disclosure of the related person’s interests in the transaction. Related person transactions of an ongoing nature are reviewed annually by the Committee. The definition of “related person transactions” for purposes of the policy covers the transactions that are required to be disclosed under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act.

Relationships and Transactions

For their service as executive officers, in 2022 each of Steven Rales and Mitchell Rales received a salary of $419,000 and was entitled to participate in all of the benefits made generally available to salaried employees as well as all perquisites made generally available to Danaher’s executive officers. Steven Rales also received a 401(k) plan contribution of $21,244 and Mitchell Rales received a 401(k) plan contribution of $3,771 and a non-elective contribution of $19,406 into his ECP account. The Rales’ do not receive cash incentive compensation or equity awards. In 2022, Danaher provided to the Rales’ tax and accounting services at a cost to Danaher of approximately $330,319 in the form of one full-time employee (plus health and welfare benefits for such employee), allowed the Rales’ to make personal use of designated Danaher office space at a cost to Danaher of approximately $301,105 and provided Mr. Steven Rales with a personal car and parking at a cost to Danaher of approximately $3,865. The incremental cost to the Company of the perquisites set forth above is based on the Company’s out-of-pocket costs. Danaher also provided a full-time executive assistant to each of the Rales’ to support them in their roles as Danaher executive officers. In each case, their use of a minority of their assistant’s time for non-Danaher matters resulted in no incremental cost to Danaher. Separately, in 2022, Steven Rales and Mitchell Rales paid Danaher approximately $145,000 for providing benefits for, and as reimbursement for paying a portion of the salaries of, persons who provide services to the Rales’.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

34

FJ900, Inc. (“FJ900”), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Danaher, is party to an airplane management agreement with Joust Capital II, LLC (“Joust II”) and a substantially identical agreement with Joust Capital III, LLC (“Joust III” and together with Joust II, the “Joust entities”). Joust II is controlled by Mitchell Rales and Joust III is controlled by Steven Rales. Under the management agreements, FJ900 performs management services for the respective aircraft owned by each of the Joust entities in like manner to the management services provided by FJ900 for Danaher’s aircraft. The management services provided by FJ900 include the provision of aircraft management, pilot services, maintenance, record-keeping, aircraft procurement and disposition and other aviation services. FJ900 receives no compensation for its services under the agreements. Having FJ900 perform management services for all of these aircraft enables Danaher and the Joust entities to share certain fixed expenses relating to the use, maintenance, storage, operation and supervision of their respective aircraft and utilize joint purchasing or joint bargaining arrangements where applicable and appropriate, allowing each party to benefit from efficiencies of scale and cost savings. We believe that this cost-sharing arrangement results in lower costs to Danaher than if we incurred these fixed costs on a stand-alone basis. Under the agreement, FJ900 prorates all shared expenses annually among the Joust entities and Danaher based primarily on each party’s flight hours logged for the year. The Joust entities pre-pay FJ900 on a quarterly basis for their estimated, prorated portion of such shared expenses, and the amounts are trued up at the end of the year. With respect to the year ended December 31, 2022, the Joust entities together paid FJ900 approximately $3.6 million for the Joust entities’ share of the fixed airplane management expenses shared with Danaher. Each Joust entity pays directly all expenses attributable to its aircraft that are not shared. Under the management agreements, each party is also required to maintain a prescribed amount of comprehensive aviation liability insurance and name the other party and its affiliates as additional named insureds, while the Joust entities must also maintain all-risk hull insurance for their aircraft. If either party suffers any losses in connection with the arrangements set forth in the management agreement, and such losses are due to the fault, negligence, breach or strict liability of the other party, the sole recourse of the party incurring the loss against the other party is to the available insurance proceeds. Each management agreement may be terminated by any party upon 30 days’ notice.

In addition, Danaher is party to substantially identical airplane interchange agreements with each of the Joust entities with respect to each respective aircraft owned by Danaher and by each of the Joust entities. Under each interchange agreement, the Joust entity has agreed to lease its aircraft to Danaher and Danaher has agreed to lease the respective Danaher aircraft to the Joust entity, in each case on a non-exclusive basis. Neither party is charged for its use of the other party’s aircraft, the intent being that over the life of the contract each party’s usage of the other party’s aircraft will be generally equal. With respect to the year ended December 31, 2022, the incremental value of the use of the Joust aircraft by Danaher, net of the incremental value of the use of the Danaher aircraft by the Joust entities, was approximately $45,000. The owner of each aircraft, as operator of the aircraft, is responsible for providing a flight crew for all flights operated under the interchange agreement. Each owner/operator is required to maintain standard insurance, including all-risk hull insurance and a prescribed amount of comprehensive aviation liability insurance, and to name the other party and its affiliates as additional named insureds. With respect to any losses suffered by the party using the owner/operator’s plane, the using party’s recourse against the owner/ operator is limited to the amount of available insurance proceeds. To the extent the using party and/or any third party suffers losses in connection with the using party’s use of the owner/operator’s aircraft, and recovers from the owner/operator an amount in excess of the available insurance proceeds, the using party will indemnify the owner/operator for all such excess amounts. The interchange agreements may be terminated by either party upon 10 days’ notice.

Following market close on July 22, 2022, Walter G. Lohr, Jr., a member of the Board, exercised a stock option to purchase 3,906 shares of Danaher common stock and sold the resulting shares (net of 642 shares Danaher withheld to account for the exercise price) to Danaher at a per-share sale price equal to the closing price of Danaher’s common stock on such date, for an aggregate sale price of $1,069,689. Structuring the option exercise in this way obviated any filing requirement by Mr. Lohr under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, resulting in significant cost savings to Danaher.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

35

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF DANAHER COMMON STOCK BY DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

The following table sets forth as of March 1, 2023 (unless otherwise indicated) the number of shares and percentage of Danaher Common Stock beneficially owned by (1) each person who owns of record or is known to Danaher to beneficially own more than five percent of Danaher’s Common Stock, (2) each of Danaher’s directors and named executive officers, and (3) all executive officers and directors of Danaher as a group.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

36

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

37

PROPOSAL 2

Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Audit Committee on behalf of Danaher has selected Ernst & Young LLP, an international accounting firm of independent certified public accountants, to act as the independent registered public accounting firm for Danaher and its consolidated subsidiaries for the year ending December 31, 2023. Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting, will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and will be available to respond to appropriate questions. Although shareholder approval of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP is not required by law, Danaher’s Board believes that it is advisable to give shareholders an opportunity to ratify this selection. If this proposal is not approved by Danaher’s shareholders at the 2023 Annual Meeting, the Audit Committee will reconsider its selection of Ernst & Young LLP. Even if the selection of Ernst & Young LLP is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may select a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the best interests of Danaher and its shareholders.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE FOR RATIFICATION OF THE SELECTION OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP TO SERVE AS THE INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR DANAHER FOR 2023.

Audit Fees and All Other Fees

The following table sets forth the fees for audit, audit-related, tax and other services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP to Danaher for 2022 and 2021.

The Audit Committee has considered whether the services rendered by the independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the fees described above are compatible with maintaining such firm’s independence and has concluded that such services do not impair such firm’s independence.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

38

Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Auditors

Under its charter, the Audit Committee must pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for Danaher by the independent registered public accounting firm. Each year, the Committee approves the independent registered public accounting firm’s retention to audit Danaher’s financial statements and internal control over financial reporting before the filing of the preceding year’s annual report on Form 10-K. The Committee also establishes detailed pre-approved categories of non-audit services that may be performed by the independent auditor during the year, subject to certain monetary limits. With respect to additional non-audit services by the independent auditors that either are not covered by the pre-approved categories, or exceed the pre-approved monetary limits, the Committee approves or rejects each engagement. In each case, the Committee takes into account whether the services are permissible under applicable law and the possible impact of each non-audit service on the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence from management. The Committee may delegate to a subcommittee of one or more members the authority to grant preapprovals of audit and permitted non-audit services, and the decisions of such subcommittee to grant preapprovals must be presented to the full Committee at its next scheduled meeting. The Committee has not made any such delegation as of the date of this Proxy Statement.

Audit Committee Report

This report is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to the SEC’s proxy rules or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act of 1934, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any prior or subsequent filing by Danaher under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent Danaher specifically incorporates this report by reference therein.

The Audit Committee assists the Board in overseeing the quality and integrity of Danaher’s financial statements, the effectiveness of Danaher’s internal control over financial reporting, the qualifications, independence and performance of Danaher’s independent registered public accounting firm, the performance of Danaher’s internal audit function, Danaher’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, Danaher’s major financial risk exposures, significant legal, compliance, reputational, cybersecurity and privacy risks and overall risk assessment and risk management policies, and Danaher’s swaps and derivatives transactions and related policies and procedures.

The Audit Committee is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the independent registered public accounting firm retained to audit Danaher’s financial statements and has appointed Ernst & Young LLP as Danaher’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2023. The Audit Committee evaluates Ernst & Young’s performance at least annually. In evaluating Ernst & Young and determining whether to reappoint the firm as Danaher’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee took into consideration a number of factors, including the firm’s tenure, independence, global capability and expertise and performance. Ernst & Young has been retained as Danaher’s independent registered public accounting firm continuously since 2002. The Audit Committee periodically considers the advisability and impact of rotating our independent registered public accountants. In conjunction with the mandated rotation of Ernst & Young’s lead engagement partner every five years, the Audit Committee (including its chair) are directly involved in the selection of Ernst & Young’s new lead engagement partner. The Audit Committee is also responsible for the audit fee negotiations associated with Danaher’s retention of Ernst & Young. Danaher’s Board of Directors and Audit Committee believe they have undertaken appropriate steps with respect to oversight of Ernst & Young’s independence and that the continued retention of Ernst & Young to serve as Danaher’s independent registered public accounting firm is in the best interests of Danaher and its shareholders.

In fulfilling its responsibilities, the Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed with Danaher’s management and Ernst & Young Danaher’s audited consolidated financial statements and internal control over financial reporting.

The Audit Committee has discussed with Ernst & Young those matters required to be discussed under the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) and the SEC. In addition, the Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young required by the PCAOB regarding the independent registered public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with Ernst & Young its independence. The Audit Committee has concluded that Ernst & Young’s provision of non-audit services as described in the table above is compatible with Ernst & Young’s independence.

Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the audited consolidated financial statements for Danaher for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 be included in Danaher’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 for filing with the SEC.

Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

John T. Schwieters (Chair)
Teri List
Walter G. Lohr, Jr.
A. Shane Sanders

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

39

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

THE FOLLOWING SECTION DISCUSSES AND ANALYZES THE COMPENSATION PROVIDED TO EACH OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICERS SET FORTH IN THE SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE BELOW, ALSO REFERRED TO AS THE NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, OR NEOS. THE CONTENT OF THIS COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS IS ORGANIZED INTO SIX SECTIONS:

Executive Summary

Overview

In 2022, as the world faced the evolution of COVID-19 from pandemic toward endemic status, widespread inflation and supply chain disruptions and economic slowdowns across many major geographies, Danaher remained focused on growing its business in the near-term while continuing to invest in long-term growth. Specifically, in 2022 Danaher:

For a further discussion of Danaher’s business performance in 2022 and over the long term, please see “Proxy Statement Summary – Business Highlights.”

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

40

Executive Compensation Program Objectives

With the goal of building long-term value for our shareholders, we maintain an executive compensation program designed to:

To achieve these objectives our compensation program combines annual and long-term components, cash and equity, and fixed and variable elements, with a bias toward long-term equity awards tied closely to shareholder returns and subject to significant vesting and/or holding periods. Our executive compensation program rewards our executive officers when they help increase long-term shareholder value, achieve annual business goals and build long-term careers with Danaher.

The science and technology markets in which we operate are competitive, with demand sometimes exceeding the supply of talent, resulting in significant increases in compensation paid by the companies with whom we compete for this talent. The same conditions exist in the market for executive-level talent that can provide innovative leadership while managing at a global scale across multiple complex businesses. These trends require us to regularly and proactively assess our executive compensation program to ensure it remains competitive in light of market conditions.

Key Recent Changes to Executive Compensation Program

Danaher’s Compensation Committee regularly reviews our executive compensation program with a view toward continuous improvement and consideration of investor feedback. As a result of this review, effective in 2022 the Committee shortened the vesting period for the stock options granted to executive officers to four years. The Committee concluded that a four-year vesting period for stock options most effectively balances (1) retention considerations in an increasingly competitive market for executive talent, and (2) the traditional, long-term focus of our executive compensation program.

In recent years, the Committee has made other enhancements to the program to reinforce the already-strong linkages (1) between pay and performance, (2) between the interests of our shareholders and the interests of our executive officers, and (3) between the Company’s strategic plan and executive compensation program. These improvements have included the introduction of a core revenue growth performance metric in our executive short-term incentive compensation program; and an executive long-term incentive compensation program that is entirely performance-based.

The Committee has enhanced our executive compensation program over the last several years to reinforce our performance-oriented culture and expects to continue to improve the program as appropriate, but also believes that consistent use of best-practice designs is important in effectively communicating key messages to our executives. As a result, the Committee does not revise the program to align with emerging trends unless it sees a clear business rationale for Danaher.

2022 Say-On-Pay Vote

We provide our shareholders the opportunity to cast an annual advisory vote with respect to our NEO compensation as disclosed in our annual proxy statement (the “say on pay proposal”). At our annual meeting of shareholders in May 2022, 94% of the votes cast on the say on pay proposal were voted in favor of the proposal. The Committee believes this result affirms shareholders’ support of the Company’s NEO compensation and did not make changes to the Company’s executive compensation program as a result of such vote.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

41

2022 Executive Compensation

The chart below summarizes key information with respect to each pay element represented in Danaher’s 2022 executive compensation program:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

42

2022 Executive Compensation (cont.)

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

43

Compensation Governance

The Committee recognizes that the success of our executive compensation program over the long-term requires a robust framework of compensation governance. As a result, the Committee regularly reviews external executive compensation practices and trends and incorporates best practices into our executive compensation program. Below are highlights of our 2022 executive compensation program:

WHAT WE DO			WHAT WE DON’T DO
	Four-year vesting requirement for stock options; three-year performance period plus further two-year holding period for PSUs			No tax gross-up provisions (except as applicable to management employees generally such as relocation policy)
	Incentive compensation programs feature multiple, different performance measures aligned with the Company’s strategic performance metrics			No dividend/dividend equivalents paid on unvested equity awards
	Short-term and long-term performance metrics that balance our absolute performance and our relative performance versus peer companies			No “single trigger” change of control benefits
	Rigorous, no-fault clawback policy that is triggered even in the absence of wrongdoing			No active defined benefit pension program since 2003
	Minimum one-year vesting requirement for 95% of shares granted under the Company’s stock plan			No hedging of Danaher securities permitted
	Stock ownership requirements for all executive officers			No long-term incentive compensation is denominated or paid in cash (other than PSU dividend accruals)
	Limited perquisites and a cap on CEO/CFO personal aircraft usage			No above-market returns on deferred compensation plans
	Independent compensation consultant that performs no other services for the Company			No overlapping performance metrics between short-term and long-term incentive compensation programs

Risk Considerations

Risk-taking is a necessary part of growing a business, and prudent risk management is necessary to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value. The Committee believes that the Company’s executive compensation program supports the objectives described above without encouraging inappropriate or excessive risk-taking. In reaching this conclusion, the Committee considered in particular the following risk-mitigation attributes of our 2022 executive compensation program.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

44

Analysis of 2022 Named Executive Officer Compensation

Overview

In determining the appropriate mix and amount of compensation elements for each NEO for 2022, the Committee considered the factors referred to under “– Named Executive Officer Compensation Framework” (without assigning any particular weight to any factor), exercised its judgment and adopted the compensation elements described above under “Executive Summary –2022 Executive Compensation.” The graphics below illustrate, for Mr. Blair and separately for the other NEOs in aggregate, the percentage of 2022 compensation that each element of compensation accounted for (based on the amounts reported in the 2022 Summary Compensation Table):

Amounts may not total 100% due to rounding

Long-Term Incentive Awards

Target Award Values

In February 2022, the Committee subjectively determined the target dollar value of annual equity compensation to be delivered to each NEO in 2022, taking into account the following factors (none of which was assigned a particular weight by the Committee):

In determining Mr. Blair’s annual equity compensation in February 2022, the Committee considered in particular Mr. Blair’s effective leadership during the pandemic; the Company’s strong financial and operational performance during his tenure; and his progress in further refining and improving the Company’s strategy planning and development processes.

Equity Award Mix

With respect to each of the NEO 2022 annual equity awards, one-half of the target award value was delivered as stock options and one-half as PSUs (please see “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” table for the grant date fair value of the awards granted to each NEO). The Committee believes that the combination of stock options and PSUs effectively balances the goals of incentivizing and rewarding shareholder value creation while supporting our talent retention objectives:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

45

PSU Performance Criteria

The executive officer PSUs granted in 2022 are subject to two performance criteria:

RELATIVE TSR

The number of shares of Common Stock that vest pursuant to the PSU award is based primarily on the Company’s total shareholder return (TSR) ranking relative to the S&P 500 Index over an approximately three-year performance period. The Committee established threshold, target and maximum relative TSR performance levels and established a payout percentage curve that relates each level of performance to a payout expressed as a percentage of the target PSUs, as illustrated in the table below:

The payout percentages for performance between the performance levels indicated above are determined by linear interpolation. The Committee selected the S&P 500 Index as the relative TSR comparator group because the index consists of a broad and stable group of companies that represents investors’ alternative capital investment opportunities, reinforcing the linkage between our executive compensation program and the long-term interests of our shareholders.

ROIC

The Company’s three-year average ROIC performance beginning with the year of grant, compared to the Company’s ROIC for the year immediately preceding the year of grant (the “baseline year”), can increase or decrease the number of shares that would otherwise vest by 10% (but cannot cause the payout percentage to exceed 200%), as illustrated in the table below:

Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s absolute TSR performance for the period is negative no more than 100% of the target PSUs will vest (regardless of how strong the Company’s performance is on a relative basis), and if the Company’s absolute TSR performance for the period is positive, a minimum of 25% of the target PSUs will vest.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

46

VESTING AND HOLDING PERIOD

With respect to the PSUs granted in 2022, any PSUs that vest following the three-year performance period are subject to an additional two-year holding period and are paid out in shares of Company Common Stock following the fifth anniversary of the commencement of the performance period. Any dividends paid on the Company’s Common Stock during the performance period are credited to PSU accounts, but are only paid out (in cash) to the extent the underlying PSUs vest based on performance and are not paid until the shares underlying the vested PSUs are issued.

PSUs Earned for 2020-2022 Performance Period

PSUs for the 2020-2022 performance period, which ended December 31, 2022, were earned and certified in February 2023 based on an earned payout percentage of 200%, resulting from the Company’s three-year absolute TSR of 64.58% ranking in the 84^th percentile relative to the TSRs of the companies in the S&P 500 Index as of the beginning of the performance period (February 24, 2020). The Company’s Three-Year Average ROIC Change with respect to these PSUs was +469 basis points, but because the ROIC Modifier Factor cannot increase the earned payout percentage above 200%, it had no impact on the earned payout percentage. These PSUs remain subject to a further mandatory holding period that runs through 2024.

Annual Incentive Awards

Overview

The diagram below illustrates the 2022 annual incentive award opportunities the Committee determined for the Company’s NEOs in May 2022 under the Omnibus Plan, each element of which is further described below.

Target Bonus Percentage and Personal Payout Percentage

In May 2022, the Committee established NEO target bonus percentages (as a multiple of base salary) and the personal performance objectives described below, including quantitative and qualitative objectives as well as objectives based on financial and non-financial measures. The Committee did not assign a particular weighting to any of the objectives. The Committee set the quantitative objectives at levels that, while achievable, would in its opinion require personal performance appreciably above the executive’s prior year performance level.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

47

DETERMINING TARGET BONUS PERCENTAGE

In determining the target bonus percentage for each NEO, the Committee considered the relative complexity and importance of the executive’s position and the amount of annual cash incentive compensation that peer companies typically pay to executives serving in comparable roles. With respect to Mr. Blair in particular, although the Committee did not target the performance-based portion of the CEO’s annual cash compensation at any particular percentage of total annual cash compensation, the Committee strategically set the base salary at a level lower, and target annual bonus opportunity at a level higher, than typical among the Company’s peer companies to help ensure that the CEO’s annual cash compensation is highly performance-based.

DETERMINING PERSONAL PAYOUT PERCENTAGE

Following the end of 2022, the Committee used its judgment and determined for each NEO a Personal Payout Percentage between 0% and 200%. The Committee believes that its ability to exercise discretion in connection with the annual executive cash incentive compensation awards is an important element in reaching balanced compensation decisions that are consistent with our strategy, reward both current year performance and sustained long-term value creation, and reward achievements that advance our sustainability strategy. The Committee’s ability to exercise discretion:

Without assigning any particular weight to any individual factor, the Committee took into account the executive’s execution against their personal performance objectives for the year, the executive’s performance with respect to each of the Company’s five “Core Behaviors” (which are a set of standards and behaviors that Danaher associates are expected to aspire to and are assessed against), the executive’s overall performance for the year, the size of the Company Payout Percentage for the year,

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

48

and the amount of annual cash incentive compensation that peer companies typically pay to executives serving in comparable roles. Without limiting the foregoing, with respect to the executive officer team’s 2022 performance as a whole the Committee considered in particular the Company’s 2022 financial performance; the Company’s progress toward separating its EAS business to create a separate, publicly-traded company; and the Company’s proactiveness during the year in identifying and executing upon opportunities to invest in the Company’s future financial and competitive positioning. The average Personal Payout Percentage of the NEOs (other than Mr. Blair) was 154%.

The Company awarded Mr. Blair a Personal Payout Percentage of 160% for 2022, based primarily on the Company’s financial and operational performance; progress toward its DE+I representation objectives; progress toward separating its EAS business to create a separate, publicly-traded company; and progress in further enhancing the Company’s innovation and strategy development processes, strategic direction and science and technology organization and capabilities.

Company Payout Percentage

The Company Payout Percentage is formulaic, based on the Company’s 2022 performance against the Adjusted EPS, Free Cash Flow Ratio and Core Revenue Growth metrics described above and below and in Appendix A (the “Metrics”). The Committee weights Adjusted EPS most heavily in the formula because it believes Adjusted EPS correlates strongly with shareholder returns, particularly since Adjusted EPS is calculated in a manner that focuses on gains and charges the Committee believes are most directly related to Company operating performance during the period. The Committee also uses the Free Cash Flow Ratio to help validate the quality of the Company’s earnings, and Core Revenue Growth to incentivize an appropriate balance between profitability and growth.

For each of the Metrics, the Committee established threshold, target and maximum levels of Company performance, as well as a payout percentage curve that related each level of performance to a payout expressed as a percentage of target bonus. The payout percentage was 0% for below-threshold performance, 50% for threshold performance, 100% for target performance and 200% for performance that equaled or exceeded the maximum. The payout percentages for performance between threshold and target, or between target and maximum, respectively, were determined by linear interpolation.

In determining the target performance level and payout percentage curve for the Metrics, the Committee considered historical performance data for the Company and its peer group, analyst estimates for the Company’s peer group, the Company’s annual budget and macroeconomic/end-market trends. For each Metric, the Committee set the performance target at a level it believed would represent attractive financial performance within our industry and would require a high (but achievable) level of Company performance, while requiring what it believed would be outstanding performance to achieve the maximum payout level.

Following the end of 2022, the Company Payout Percentage was calculated as follows:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

49

In evaluating the 2022 Company Payout Percentage, the Committee noted that the number of COVID-19 test cartridges actually sold by the Company in 2022 exceeded the level the Committee assumed when it set the Adjusted EPS and Core Revenue Growth target levels in May 2022. Taking this into consideration, the Committee exercised its negative discretion to reduce the 2022 Company Payout Percentage from 1.78 to 1.64 (which is the Company Payout Percentage the Committee determined would have resulted if actual 2022 results had matched the assumed levels of cartridge sales).

Composite Payout Percentage

The Company Payout Percentage and Personal Payout Percentage were calculated for each NEO, weighted accordingly and added to yield the officer’s Composite Payout Percentage. The Composite Payout Percentage was multiplied by the NEO’s target bonus amount to yield the executive’s award amount for the year. The 2022 annual cash incentive compensation awards for each of the NEOs are set forth in the Summary Compensation Table.

Base Salaries

The Committee typically reviews base salaries for executive officers in February of each year and in connection with promotions and new hires. In February 2022, the Committee subjectively determined 2022 base salaries for the NEOs. In each case the Committee used the officer’s prior base salary as the initial basis of consideration and then considered the individual factors described under “– Named Executive Officer Compensation Framework,” focusing on the relative complexity and importance of the executive’s role within Danaher, the market value of the executive’s role and the executive’s performance in the prior year (without giving specific weight to any particular factor). Given that base salary is one of the elements in the formula for determining annual cash incentive compensation, the Committee also considered how changes in base salary would impact annual cash incentive compensation.

Other Compensation

Severance Benefits

We have entered into Proprietary Interest Agreements with each of our NEOs that include post-employment restrictive covenant obligations. Danaher’s Senior Leader Severance Pay Plan, which each of the NEOs participates in, provides for severance payments under certain circumstances. Mr. Blair’s Proprietary Interest Agreement entitles him to certain additional cash payments if the Company terminates his employment without cause. We believe the post-employment restrictive covenant obligations included in these agreements are critical in protecting our proprietary assets, and that the severance payments payable upon a termination without cause are generally commensurate with the severance rights our peers offer executives in comparable roles. There is no change-in-control provision in the Senior Leader Severance Pay Plan or in any NEO employment agreement.

EDIP, ECP and DCP

As discussed in more detail under “Summary of Employment Agreements and Plans – Supplemental Retirement Program,” each NEO (1) participates in either the Amended and Restated Executive Deferred Incentive Program (“EDIP”), or the Excess Contribution Program (“ECP”), and (2) is eligible to participate in the voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan (“DCP”):

Other Benefits and Perquisites

All of our executives are eligible to participate in our U.S. employee benefit plans, including our group medical, dental, vision, disability, accidental death and dismemberment, life insurance, flexible spending and 401(k) plans. These plans are generally available to all U.S. salaried employees and do not discriminate in favor of executive officers. In addition, the Committee makes certain perquisites available to the NEOs; please see the footnotes to the Summary Compensation Table for additional details. The Committee has also adopted a policy prohibiting any tax reimbursement or gross-up provisions in our executive compensation program (except under a policy applicable to management employees generally such as a relocation policy).

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

50

Peer Group Compensation Analysis

The Committee does not target a specific competitive position versus the market or peer companies in determining the compensation of our executives because in light of the Company’s diverse mix of businesses, strict targeting of a specified compensation posture would not appropriately reflect the unique nature of our business portfolio or the degree of difficulty in leading the Company and key businesses and functions. However, the Committee believes it is important to clearly understand the relevant market for executive talent to inform its decision-making and ensure that our executive compensation program supports our recruitment and retention needs and is fair and efficient. As a result, the Committee has worked with FW Cook to develop a peer group for purposes of assessing competitive compensation practices, and periodically reviews compensation data for the peer group derived from publicly filed proxy statements. The Committee periodically reviews the companies included in the peer group to ensure that the peer group remains appropriate.

Executive Compensation Peer Group Prior to September 2022

Prior to September 2022, the Company’s peer group (for purposes of all 2022 executive compensation decisions) consisted of the companies set forth below:

The Committee selected companies for inclusion in this peer group based on (1) the extent to which they compete with us in one or more lines of business, for executive talent and for investors, and (2) comparability of revenues, market capitalization, net income, total assets and number of employees. As of September 2021 and based on Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ database, Danaher’s ranking within this peer group was 59^th percentile for revenue, 93^rd percentile for market capitalization, 68^th percentile for net income (from continuing operations excluding extraordinary items), 88^th percentile for total assets and 56^th percentile for employees.

Executive Compensation Peer Group as of September 2022

The Committee periodically reviews the companies included in the peer group to ensure that the peer group remains appropriate. In September 2022, the Committee evaluated the existing peer group with the assistance of FW Cook (using the same selection criteria described above) and replaced Biogen Inc., Illinois Tool Works Inc., and Roper Corporation with AbbVie Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Eli Lilly and Company, and IQVIA Holdings Inc. The Committee made these updates to the peer group to better reflect the Company’s current size and portfolio of businesses. Set forth below is the Company’s peer group as of September 2022:

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

51

The table below sets forth for this updated peer group and Danaher information regarding revenue, net income and total assets (based on the most recently reported four quarters for each company as of September 15, 2022), market capitalization (as of September 15, 2022) and employee headcount (based on each company’s most recent fiscal year end as of September 15, 2022), in each case derived from the Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ database.

The peer group compensation data that the Committee reviewed in 2022 in connection with its named executive officer compensation decisions estimated the 25^th, median and 75^th percentile positions among our peers with respect to base salary, annual cash incentive compensation (target and actual), total annual cash compensation (target and actual), long-term incentive compensation, total direct compensation (target and actual), all other compensation, annual change in pension value and above-market interest on non-qualified deferred compensation, and actual total compensation, in each case with respect to each respective NEO position.

Named Executive Officer Compensation Framework

Danaher’s compensation program is grounded on the principle that each executive must consistently demonstrate exceptional personal performance in order to remain a Danaher executive. Within the framework of this principle and the other objectives discussed above, the Committee exercises its judgment in making executive compensation decisions. The factors that generally shape particular executive compensation decisions (none of which are assigned any particular weight by the Committee) are the following:

The philosophy and goals of our compensation program have remained consistent over time, although the Committee considers the factors above within the context of the then-prevailing economic environment and may adjust the terms and/or amounts of compensation accordingly so that they continue to support our objectives.

For a description of the role of the Company’s executives and the Committee’s independent compensation consultant in the executive compensation process, please see “Corporate Governance – Board of Directors and Committees of the Board – Compensation Committee.”

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

52

Other Compensation Policies and Information

Long-Term Incentive Compensation Grant Practices

Equity awards are granted under Danaher’s Omnibus Plan, which is described in “Summary of Employment Agreements and Plans – 2007 Omnibus Incentive Plan.” Executive equity awards are typically granted as of one of the Company’s four, standardized grant dates during the year, and may also be granted at the time of an executive hire or promotion or upon identification of a specific retention concern. The grant date is either the date of grant approval or a specified date subsequent to the approval date. The timing of equity awards has not been coordinated with the release of material non-public information. The Committee’s general practice is to approve annual equity awards to executive officers at the Committee’s regularly scheduled meeting in February, when the Committee reviews the performance of the executive officers and typically determines most or all of the other components of executive compensation.

The target dollar value attributable to PSUs and RSUs, as applicable, has been translated into a target number of PSUs or RSUs, as applicable, based on fair market value. Prior to 2021, the target dollar value attributable to stock options was translated into a number of stock options based on a modified Black Scholes calculation that utilized a multi-day average closing price and an assumed ten-year term. Beginning with the equity awards granted in February 2021, the modified Black Scholes value was replaced with the actual Black Scholes value used in the Company’s financial statements with respect to the particular grant. The exercise price for stock option awards granted under the Omnibus Plan equals the closing price of Danaher’s Common Stock on the date of grant (or on the immediately preceding trading day if the date of grant is not a trading day). Since the valuation methodologies used in 2020 are not the same as the FASB ASC Topic 718 grant date fair value used for accounting purposes, in that year the equity award target dollar values are not identical to the equity award grant date fair values reflected in the Summary Compensation Table and other compensation tables.

Stock Ownership-Related Policies

Stock Ownership Requirements

To further align management and shareholder interests and discourage inappropriate or excessive risk-taking, our stock ownership policy requires each executive officer to obtain a substantial equity stake in Danaher within five years of their appointment to an executive position, as follows:

Once an executive officer has acquired a number of Company shares that satisfies the applicable ownership multiple, such number of shares then becomes the officer’s minimum ownership requirement (even if the officer’s salary increases or the fair market value of such shares subsequently changes) until the officer is promoted to a higher level. Each NEO was in compliance with the stock ownership requirements as of December 31, 2022.

Pledging Policy

Danaher’s Board has adopted a policy that prohibits any director or executive officer from pledging as security under any obligation any shares of Danaher Common Stock that the director or officer directly or indirectly owns and controls (other than shares pledged as of the date the policy was adopted), and provides that pledged shares of Danaher Common Stock do not count toward Danaher’s stock ownership requirements. No NEO has pledged any shares of Danaher Common Stock.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

53

Hedging Policy

Under our insider trading policy, Danaher directors and employees (including executive officers) are prohibited from engaging in short sales of Danaher Common Stock, transactions in any derivative of a Danaher security (including, but not limited to, buying or selling puts, calls or other options (except for instruments granted under a Danaher equity compensation plan)) or any other forms of hedging transactions with respect to Danaher securities.

Recoupment Policy

To further discourage inappropriate or excessive risk-taking, the Committee has adopted a rigorous, “no-fault” recoupment (or clawback) policy applicable to Danaher’s executive officers, other individuals who serve on the Danaher Leadership Team and certain other employees (the “covered persons”). Under the policy, in the event of a material restatement of Danaher’s consolidated financial statements (other than any restatement required pursuant to a change in applicable accounting rules), Danaher’s Board may, to the extent permitted by law and to the extent it determines that it is in Danaher’s best interests to do so, in addition to all other remedies available to Danaher require reimbursement or payment to Danaher of:

In addition, the stock plans in which Danaher’s executive officers participate contain provisions for recovering awards upon certain circumstances. Under the terms of the Company’s Omnibus Plan, if an employee is terminated for gross misconduct, the administrator may terminate up to all of the participant’s unexercised or unvested equity awards. In addition, under the terms of each of the EDIP and the ECP, if the administrator determines that the circumstances of a participant’s termination constitute gross misconduct, the administrator may determine that the participant’s vesting percentage is as low as zero with respect to all balances that were contributed by Danaher.

Regulatory Considerations.

Section 162(m) generally disallows a tax deduction to public corporations for compensation in excess of $1 million paid for any fiscal year to certain executive officers. We review the tax impact of our executive compensation on the Company as well as on the executive officers. In addition, we review the impact of our compensation programs against other considerations, such as accounting impact, shareholder alignment, market competitiveness, effectiveness and perceived value to employees. Because many different factors influence a well-rounded, comprehensive and effective executive compensation program, some of the compensation we provide to our executive officers is not deductible under Section 162(m).

Compensation Committee Report

This report is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to the SEC’s proxy rules or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act of 1934, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any prior or subsequent filing by Danaher under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent Danaher specifically incorporates this report by reference therein.

The Compensation Committee of Danaher Corporation’s Board of Directors has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis set forth above and, based on such review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors

Alan G. Spoon (Chair)

Teri List

Walter G. Lohr, Jr.

2023 PROXY STATEMENT

54

COMPENSATION TABLES AND INFORMATION

2022 Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth the 2022 compensation of (i) our President and Chief Executive Officer, (ii) our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and (iii) our three other most highly compensated executive officers who were serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2022, known as our “named executive officers.”