Darling Ingredients (DAR) DEF 14ADefinitive proxy

In accordance with the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Amended and Restated Bylaws, our business, property and affairs are managed under the direction of the Board.

Independent Directors

Under the corporate governance listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and our company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board must consist of a majority of independent directors. In making independence determinations, the Board observes NYSE and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) criteria and considers all relevant facts and circumstances. The Board, in coordination with its nominating and corporate governance committee, annually reviews all relevant business relationships any director nominee may have with our company. As a result of its annual review, the Board has determined that, with the exception of Dirk Kloosterboer, each of its othernon-employee directors who served during the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019, Charles Adair, D. Eugene Ewing, Linda Goodspeed, Mary R. Korby, Cynthia Pharr Lee, Charles Macaluso, Gary W. Mize, Michael E. Rescoe and Nicole M. Ringenberg, as well as our new director nominee, Beth Albright, meet the independence requirements of the NYSE and the SEC. Mr. Kloosterboer served as our Chief Operating Officer until his retirement effective October 1, 2017. As a result, he will not be eligible to meet the independence requirements of the NYSE until at least October 1, 2020. Even though Mr. Kloosterboer is not currently determined to be independent, he contributes greatly to the Board and our company through his wealth of experience, expertise and judgment, particularly with respect to our international operations.

Meetings of the Board

During the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019, the Board held six regular meetings and two special meetings. Each of the then-serving directors attended at least 75% of all meetings held by the Board and all meetings of each committee of the Board on which the applicable director served during the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019.

Communications with the Board

Stockholders and other interested parties who wish to communicate with the Board as a whole, or with individual directors, may direct any correspondence to the following address: c/o Secretary, Darling Ingredients Inc., P.O. Box 141481, Irving, Texas 75014-1481. The Corporate Secretary will promptly relay all communications to the appropriate directors, other than communications that are unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the Board or its committees. Those unrelated matters include, without limitation, business solicitations, advertisements and surveys; requests for donations and sponsorships; job referral materials such as resumes; product-related communications; unsolicited ideas and business proposals; and material that is determined to be illegal or otherwise inappropriate.

It is a policy of the Board to encourage directors to attend each annual meeting of stockholders. The Board’s attendance allows for direct interaction between stockholders and members of the Board. All of our then-serving directors attended our 2019 annual meeting of stockholders.

Board Evaluation Process

The Board recognizes that a thorough and constructive evaluation process is an essential part of good corporate governance and board effectiveness. Each year, the members of the Board and each committee conduct a self-assessment and each of our directors completes a comprehensive questionnaire developed by our nominating and corporate governance committee. This annual evaluation process is designed to assess Board and committee effectiveness, and covers a thorough list of topics to be considered by the directors, including Board and committee structure, oversight, information, culture and mix of director skills, qualifications and experiences. The results of the evaluations are part of the nominating and corporate governance committee’s consideration in connection with their review of director nominees to ensure the Board continues to operate effectively.

Board Leadership Structure

Under our Board’s current leadership structure, we have a combined Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, an independent Lead Director, Board committees comprised entirely of independent directors and active engagement by all directors. Randall C. Stuewe, our Chief Executive Officer, serves as our Chairman of the Board pursuant to his employment agreement and subject to his continued election to the Board by stockholders. Because the Chairman of the Board is also the Chief Executive Officer, the Board has designated an independent director with robust, well-defined duties to serve as Lead Director to enhance the Board’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities independently. We believe that the combined role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, together with an empowered independent Lead Director, is at the current time the optimal Board structure to provide independent oversight and hold management accountable while ensuring that our company’s strategic plans are pursued to optimize long-term stockholder value.

Duties and Responsibilities of Lead Director

Our company has an empowered independent Lead Director who is elected annually by our Board. The Board has most recently appointed Mr. Macaluso as Lead Director. Our Corporate Gover-

nance Guidelines establish well-defined duties for the Lead Director. The Lead Director’s role includes:

This list of duties of the Lead Director does not fully capture Mr. Macaluso’s active role in serving as our Board’s Lead Director. Among other things, Mr. Macaluso encourages and facilitates active participation of all directors, regularly speaks with our Chief Executive Officer regarding the business and affairs of our company, generally attends meetings of all Board committees and meets with other members of management from time to time.

Leadership Structure – Details and Rationale

Our Board is committed to objective, independent leadership for our Board and each of its committees. Our Board views the objective, independent oversight of management as central to effective Board governance, to serving the best interests of our company and our stockholders, and to executing our strategic objectives and creating long-term value. This commitment is reflected in our company’s governing documents, our Amended and Restated Bylaws, our Corporate Governance Guidelines, and the governing documents of each of the Board’s committees.

Our Board believes that its optimal leadership structure may change over time to reflect our company’s evolving needs, strategy, and operating environment; changes in our Board’s composition and leadership needs; and other factors, including the perspectives of stockholders and other stakeholders. Accordingly, each year the Board reviews and discusses the appropriate Board leadership structure, including the considerations described above. Based on that assessment and stockholder feedback, our

Board believes that the existing structure, with Mr. Stuewe as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and Mr. Macaluso as Lead Director, is the optimal leadership framework at this time. As a highly regulated global ingredients company for food, feed and fuel, we and our stockholders benefit from an executive Chairman with deep experience in and knowledge of the ingredients industry, our company, and its businesses, and a strong Lead Director with robust, well-defined duties. Our Chairman, as Chief Executive Officer, serves as the primary voice to articulate our strategy of long-term responsible growth, while our Lead Director, together with the other experienced, independent directors, instills objective independent Board leadership, and effectively engages and oversees management, including by helping to establish our long-term strategy and regularly assessing its effectiveness.

The Board’s Role in Oversight of Strategy and Risk

One of the Board’s key responsibilities is overseeing our company’s corporate strategy and strategic planning. The Board believes that overseeing and monitoring strategy is a continuous process and takes a multilayered approach in exercising its duties as outlined below.

The company’s senior executives are responsible forday-to-day management of strategic, operational and compliance risks, including the creation of appropriate risk management policies. The Board is responsible for overseeing management’s execution of its risk management responsibilities and for assessing the company’s approach to risk management. The Board’s oversight of risk occurs as an integral and continuous part of the Board’s oversight of our business and seeks to ensure that management has processes in place to appropriately manage risk. The Board actively engages with senior management to understand and oversee the company’s various risks, and members of senior management regularly attend Board meetings to provide periodic briefings on risk related matters, including with respect to litigation, reputational, cybersecurity and environmental, health and

safety matters. In addition, the company’s independent directors discuss the risks facing the company and its businesses at executive sessions held without management present. While the Board has the ultimate oversight responsibility for the risk management process, it has delegated certain risk management oversight responsibilities to the Board committees, as set forth in their respective charters and as further described below, which com-

mittees report to the full Board regularly on such matters. In addition, our company employs a chief compliance officer who provides regular updates to the audit committee on compliance related matters, as well as a chief risk officer who reports directly to our CEO with respect to risk management and provides regular updates and reports to our CEO and Board regarding all of our company’s commodity risk positions.

Management Succession Planning

The Board believes that one of its primary responsibilities is to oversee the development and retention of senior talent and to ensure that an appropriate succession plan is in place for our CEO and other members of senior management. Accordingly, our Board regularly reviews short- and long-term succession plans for our CEO and other senior management positions. This process is designed to address both expected successions, such as those arising from anticipated retirements, as well as unexpected transitions, such as those occurring when executives leave our company for other positions, or due to death, disability or other unforeseen events. The Board discusses succession planning on an ongoing basis and reviews succession plans on an annual basis with the CEO. To improve the Board’s understanding of our company’s culture and talent pipeline, the Board schedules site visits at the company’s locations and meets regularly with high-potential executives in formal and informal settings.

The Board has determined that all members of the audit committee are financially literate and has designated each of Messrs. Ewing and Rescoe and Ms. Ringenberg as an “audit committee financial expert” in accordance with the requirements of the NYSE and the SEC.

Please see page 59 of this Proxy Statement for the “Report of the Audit Committee.”

Please see page 41 of this Proxy Statement for the “Compensation Committee Report.”

Code of Business Conduct

The Board has adopted a Code of Conduct to which all officers, directors and employees, who for purposes of the Code of Conduct are collectively referred to as employees, are required to adhere in addressing the legal and ethical issues encountered in conducting their work. The Code of Conduct requires that all employees avoid conflicts of interest, comply with all laws, rules and regulations, conduct business in an honest and fair manner, and otherwise act with integrity. Employees are required to report any violations of the Code of Conduct and may do so anonymously through our global Internet and telephone information and reporting service. The Code of Conduct includes specific provisions applicable to Darling’s principal executive officer and senior financial officers.

The Code of Conduct also addresses our company’s procedures with respect to the review and approval of “related party transactions” that are required to be disclosed pursuant to SEC regulations. The Code of Conduct provides that any transaction or activity, in which Darling is involved, with a “related party” (which is defined as an employee’s child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, spouse, sibling,mother-in-law,father-in-law,son-in-law,daughter-in-law,brother-in-law, orsister-in-law, or any person (other than a tenant or employee) sharing the household of an employee of ours, or any entity that is either wholly or substantially owned or controlled by an employee of ours or any of the foregoing persons and any trust of which an employee of ours is a trustee or beneficiary) shall be subject to review by our general counsel so that appropriate measures can be put into place to avoid either an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. Any waivers of this conflict of interest policy must be in writing and bepre-approved by our general counsel.

Stock Ownership Guidelines; Prohibition on Short-Term and Speculative Trading and Pledging

The Board has adopted stock ownership guidelines to further align the interests of ournon-employee directors and officers with those of our stockholders, by requiring the following minimum investment in Darling common stock:

Each person to whom the stock ownership guidelines apply must hold at least 75% of shares received by such person through incentive awards (after sales for the payment of taxes and shares withheld to cover the exercise price of stock options) until such person is in compliance with the stock ownership guidelines referred to above. In determining whether the required investment levels have been met, shares will be valued using the closing price of Darling common stock on the date(s) acquired; however, shares held on March 23, 2011 (the date that the stock ownership guidelines were adopted) will be valued at the closing price of Darling common stock on such date. In addition, under the Company’s policy on securities transactions, each person subject to the stock ownership guidelines is prohibited from engaging in (i) short-term trading (generally defined as selling Company securities within six months following the purchase), (ii) short sales, (iii) transactions involving derivatives or (iv) hedging transactions. Furthermore, our Chief Executive Officer, ournon-employee directors and each other officer who is subject to the requirements of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is prohibited from holding Company securities in a margin account or pledging Company securities as collateral for a loan.

Governance Documents

Copies of the Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board committee charters and the Code of Conduct are available on our website at http://ir.darlingii.com/corporate-governance-documents. Stockholders may request copies of these documents free of charge by writing to Darling Ingredients Inc., 5601 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, Texas 75038, Attn: Investor Relations.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019, Messrs. Adair and Mize and Mses. Korby, Goodspeed and Pharr Lee served on the compensation committee. No compensation committee member (i) was an officer or employee of Darling, (ii) was formerly an officer of Darling or (iii) had any relationship requiring disclosure under the SEC’s rules governing disclosure of related person transactions. During the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019, we had no “interlocking” relationships in which (i) an executive officer of Darling served as a member of the compensation committee of another entity, one of whose executive officers served on the compensation committee of Darling, (ii) an executive officer of Darling served as a director of another entity, one of whose executive officers served on the compensation committee of Darling, or (iii) an executive officer of Darling served as a member of the compensation committee of another entity, one of whose executive officers served as a director of Darling.

		Randall C. Stuewe   Director since 2003   Age: 57

Mr. Stuewe has served as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since February 2003. From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Stuewe worked for ConAgra Foods, Inc. (ConAgra) as executive vice president and then as president of Gilroy Foods. Prior to serving at ConAgra, he spent twelve years in management, sales and trading positions at Cargill, Incorporated. Mr. Stuewe currently serves as a director of Teays River Investments, LLC, a privately held agribusiness holding company. He also serves on the board of Diamond Green Diesel.

Skills and Qualifications

Mr. Stuewe brings a seasoned set of management and operating skills to Darling’s Board. The Company believes Mr. Stuewe’s 35 plus years of experience at various agriculture processing businesses qualifies him to be both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

		Charles Adair   Director since 2017   Age: 68   Compensation Committee

Mr. Adair retired as Vice Chairman at BMO Capital Markets, a financial services provider. While at BMO Capital Markets, Mr. Adair was responsible for initiating and negotiating investment banking transactions in the Food & Agribusiness sectors. Before joining BMO Capital Markets, he was Senior Vice President and manager of the Harris Capital Markets Group, also a financial services provider, which became the nucleus of the BMO Capital Markets Chicago office. Prior to BMO, Mr. Adair was Director of North American Mergers and Acquisitions for the Australian based agribusiness firm Elders Grain, Inc. where he initiated and executed acquisitions. Early in his career, Mr. Adair held senior positions in domestic and export cash grain trading, futures trading, and transportation logistics with Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. Mr. Adair has also served as an independent director of Aryzta AG, a public global bakery business based in Zurich, Switzerland, where he served as chairman of the remuneration committee. Mr. Adair is currently a director of a private packaged proteinco-manufacturer and a private research commercialization company focused on animal agriculture.

Skills and Qualifications

With over 37 years of experience in the global Food & Agribusiness marketplace, advising and consolidating poultry, pork, beef andby-product recycling companies, in addition to other related sectors, Mr. Adair brings specific industry expertise and financial markets knowledge relevant to Darling’s global business.

		Beth Albright   Director Nominee   Age: 53

Ms. Albright is a retired Chief Human Resources Officer from Chemours, a global chemistry company and a publicspin-off from DuPont, which she joined in October 2014. Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice-President Human Resources for Day & Zimmermann, a global manufacturing company, from May 2011 to October 2014, and as the Global Vice President Human Resources for Tekni-Plex, also a global manufacturing company, from July 2009 to April 2011. From 2000 to 2009 she worked for Rohm and Haas in various Human Resources leadership roles supporting global businesses, technology, manufacturing and staff functions. Earlier in her career, she also worked for FMC and Fluor Daniel Construction. She is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and currently serves on the Board of Penn State’s School of Labor & Employment Relations. Previously she was a director and compensation committee member for Crozer Keystone Health System.

Skills and Qualifications

Ms. Albright brings to our Board substantial experience in global transformations with expertise in organizational/culture change, executive compensation, executive development, talent management, strategy and other relevant Board matters.

		Linda Goodspeed   Director since 2017   Age: 58   Compensation Committee

Ms. Goodspeed is the retired Chief Operating Officer and a Managing Partner at WealthStrategies Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, positions she held from 2007 until her retirement in 2017, and currently serves as a member of the board of directors of each of the following companies: American Electric Power Company, Inc., where she serves on the nuclear oversight, audit and policy committees; and AutoZone, Inc., where she serves on the audit and compensation committees. She had served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of The ServiceMaster Company, a provider of home services, from 2011 to 2014. From 2008 to September 2011, Ms. Goodspeed served as Vice President, Information Systems and Chief Information Officer for Nissan North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Nissan Motor Company, a global manufacturer of vehicles. From 2001 to 2008, Ms. Goodspeed served as Executive Vice President at Lennox International Inc., a global manufacturer of air conditioning, heating and commercial refrigeration equipment. During the past five years, Ms. Goodspeed also served as a director of the Columbus McKinnon Corp. and Williams Industrial Services Group Inc. (f/k/a Global Power Equipment Group Inc.).

Skills and Qualifications

Ms. Goodspeed’s extensive experience in management roles and as a member of the board of directors of public companies makes her well qualified to serve as a director on our Board. She has held multiple key strategic and operational roles with several large global companies and in information technology and currently serves on two other boards of public companies. Ms. Goodspeed is also a registered investment advisor.

		Dirk Kloosterboer   Director since 2014   Age: 65

Mr. Kloosterboer served as our Chief Operating Officer from January 2014 until his retirement in October 2017. He served as chief operations officer and a director and vice chairman of the board of VION N.V. from 2008 until we acquired VION Ingredients in January 2014, which is now known as Darling Ingredients International. From September 2012 to April 2013, Mr. Kloosterboer served as chief executive officer of VION N.V. Mr. Kloosterboer currently serves as a member of the Supervisory Boards of Bolsius International B.V. and Avebe.

Skills and Qualifications

Under Mr. Kloosterboer’s leadership, VION Ingredients made more than ten acquisitions, expanding into the gelatin and casings businesses and extending VION Ingredients’ geographic presence to China, Brazil, the United States, Japan and Australia. Mr. Kloosterboer is a highly seasoned international business executive and, through his long tenure at VION Ingredients, Mr. Kloosterboer brings extensive experience in the international animalby-products industry to our Board.

		Mary R. Korby   Director since 2014   Age: 75   Compensation Committee - Chairman   Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Ms. Korby retired as a partner of the law firm of K&L Gates LLP, after having practiced law for more than 19 years as a partner at the law firms of K&L Gates LLP and previously, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP. During her legal practice, Ms. Korby advised boards of directors and companies regarding securities law compliance, stock exchange listings, disclosure issues and corporate governance, as well as tender offers, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, including complex cross-border public and private transactions in diverse industries such as chemicals, defense, recycling, green energy, aviation, and manufacturing.

Skills and Qualifications

As a former partner at two major, global law firms, Ms. Korby brings to our Board a substantial level of experience with an understanding of complex merger and acquisition transactions, securities law compliance, governance and other Board-related matters. Ms. Korby also serves as Chairman of our compensation committee, where she utilizes her extensive experience in counseling companies on governance and other corporate matters, including executive compensation issues.

		Charles Macaluso   Director since 2002   Age: 76   Lead Director   Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee - Chairman

Since 1998, Mr. Macaluso has been a principal of Dorchester Capital, LLC, a management consulting and corporate advisory service firm focusing on operational assessment, strategic planning and workouts. From 1996 to 1998, he was a partner at Miller Associates, Inc., a workout, turnaround partnership focusing on operational assessment, strategic planning and crisis management. Mr. Macaluso currently serves as a director of the following companies: Landec Corporation, where he serves on the audit committee; Williams Industrial Service Group Inc. (f/k/a Global Power Equipment Group Inc.), where he serves as chairman of the board; and Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, where he serves on the audit committee. Mr. Macaluso has also served in the past as a director of the Elder Beerman Stores Corp., Global Crossing Limited, Woodbine Acquisition Corporation and GEO Specialty Chemicals.

Skills and Qualifications

Mr. Macaluso brings substantial experience from both private equity and public company exposure. His extensive experience serving on the boards of directors of numerous public companies brings to our Board valuable experience in dealing with the complex issues facing boards of directors today and makes him duly qualified to serve as our Lead Director.

		Gary W. Mize   Director since 2016   Age: 69   Audit Committee   Compensation Committee

Since October 2009, Mr. Mize has held the position of partner and owner at MR & Associates, a provider of consulting and advisory services to agricultural based businesses. Mr. Mize served as President of Rawhide Energy LLC, an ethanol company, from April 2007 to April 2009. He also served asnon-executive Chairman at Ceres Global AG, a Canadian public company that serves as a vehicle for agribusiness investments, from December 2007 to April 2010, and has served as an independent director of Ceres Global AG since October 2013, where he currently serves as the chairman of the audit committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee. Mr. Mize has also served as a director of Gevo, Inc. since 2011, where he currently serves as the audit committee chairman and as a member of the compensation committee. In addition, Mr. Mize served Noble Group, Hong Kong, as Global Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director from July 2003 to December 2005 andNon-Executive Director from December 2005 to December 2006. Previously, he was President of the Grain Processing Group at ConAgra Foods, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer of ConAgra Malt and held various positions at Cargill, Incorporated.

Skills and Qualifications

Mr. Mize brings international business experience to the Board having previously held expatriate positions in Switzerland, Brazil and Hong Kong. His international experience, coupled with more than 35 years of experience in agribusiness make him a valuable addition to our Board.

		Michael E. Rescoe   Director since 2017   Age: 67   Audit Committee

Mr. Rescoe served as executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Travelport Ltd. (travel services), a privately-held company controlled by The Blackstone Group (BX), from November 2006 until October 2009. He served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal corporation that is the nation’s largest public power provider, from July 2003 until November 2006. Mr. Rescoe was a senior officer and the chief financial officer of 3Com Corporation, a global technology manufacturing company specializing in Internet connection technology for both voice and data applications, from April 2000 until November 2002. During 1999 and 2000, Mr. Rescoe was associated with Forstman Little & Company, a leveraged buyout firm. Prior thereto, Mr. Rescoe was chief financial officer of PG&E Corporation, a power and natural gas energy holding company, from 1997. For over a dozen years prior to that, Mr. Rescoe was a senior investment banker with Kidder, Peabody & Co. and a senior managing director of Bear Stearns specializing in strategy and structured financing. From May 2011 until February 2014, Mr. Rescoe served on our Board, where he served as a member of the audit and compensation committees, and from December 2003 until October 2011, Mr. Rescoe served as a director of Global Crossing Ltd., where he served as chairman of the audit committee. From July 2014 until April 2018, Mr. Rescoe also served as a director of Williams Industrial Ser- vices Group Inc. (f/k/a Global Power Equipment Group Inc.).

Skills and Qualifications

Mr. Rescoe’s strong financial background provides financial expertise to the Board, including a deep understanding of financial statements, corporate finance, accounting and capital markets and qualifies him to serve as one of the financial experts of the audit committee. His prior service on our Board gives him a thorough understanding of our feed ingredients business.

		Nicole M. Ringenberg   Director since 2018   Age: 58   Audit Committee

Ms. Ringenberg worked for Monsanto Company, a global leader in sustainable agriculture solutions, for over 32 years through June 2018, during which she served in numerous management roles, including Vice President and Controller from 2009 to June 2018, Vice President, Global Commercial Operations and Finance from 2007 to 2009, and CEO, Asia Pacific Region from 2004 to 2007.

Skills and Qualifications

Ms. Ringenberg’s experience as an executive across multiple disciplines at a leading, global agribusiness company makes here a valuable addition to our Board. Her experience in the areas of corporate strategy, P&L responsibility and global finance provide a deeply informed global perspective and qualifies her to serve as one of the financial experts of the audit committee.

Director Nomination Process

The Board is responsible for approving nominees for election as directors. To assist in this task, the nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending nominees to the Board. This committee is comprised solely of independent directors as defined by the rules of the NYSE and the SEC.

The Board has a policy of considering director nominees recommended by our stockholders. A stockholder who wishes to recommend a prospective Board nominee for the nominating and corporate governance committee’s consideration can write to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o Secretary, Darling Ingredients Inc., P.O. Box 141481, Irving, Texas 75014-1481. In addition to considering nominees recommended by stockholders, our nominating and corporate governance committee also considers prospective Board nominees recommended by current directors, management and other sources. Our nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates all prospective Board nominees in the same manner regardless of the source of the recommendation.

As part of the nomination process, our nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for reviewing with the Board periodically the appropriate skills and characteristics required of directors in the context of the currentmake-up of the Board. This assessment includes issues of judgment, diversity, experience and skills. In evaluating prospective nominees, including nominees recommended by stockholders, our nominating and corporate governance committee looks for the following minimum qualifications, qualities and skills:

As set forth above, our nominating and corporate governance committee considers diversity as one of a number of factors in identifying nominees for director. It does not, however, have a formal policy in this regard. The committee views diversity

broadly to include diversity of experience, skills and viewpoint as well as traditional diversity concepts such as race, national origin and gender. The committee considers its current practice to be effective in identifying nominees for director who are able to contribute to the Board from diverse points of view.

Stockholders who wish to submit a proposal for inclusion of a nominee for director in our proxy materials must also comply with the deadlines and requirements of our Amended and Restated Bylaws and of Rule14a-8 of the Exchange Act promulgated by the SEC. Please see “Additional Information” in this Proxy Statement for more information regarding the procedures for submission by a stockholder of a director nominee or other proposals.

Required Vote

To be elected, each nominee for director must receive a majority of all votes cast (assuming a quorum is present) with respect to that nominee’s election. Abstentions and broker“non-votes” will not be counted as a vote cast with respect to a nominee.

Recommendation of the Board

		The Board recommends that stockholders vote “FOR” each of the nominees set forth in Proposal 1.

Brad Phillips has served as our Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer since January 2018. He has served in a number of different capacities for the Company since 1988. Most recently he served as our Vice President – Treasurer since May 2014. Previously, he held the positions of Treasurer from January 1993 to May 2014, Assistant Treasurer from January 1991 to January 1993, and Assistant Controller from October 1988 to January 1991. Prior to that, he was the Corporate Accounting Manager at Republic Health Corporation from 1984 to 1988, and from 1982 to 1984 he served in the audit group at Arthur Andersen.

John O. Muse has served as Executive Vice President – Chief Administrative Officer since January 2018. Prior to that, he served as our Chief Financial Officer from December 2014 to March 2017, our Chief Synergy Officer from January 2014 to December 2014, our Executive Vice President – Chief Administrative Officer from September 2012 to December 2013, our Executive Vice President – Finance and Administration from February 2000 to September 2012 and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from October 1997 to February 2000. Prior to that, he was Vice President and General Manager at Consolidated Nutrition, L.C. from 1994 to 1997. He also held the position of Vice President of Premiere Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Archer-Daniels Midland Company from 1992 to 1994. From 1971 to 1992, Mr. Muse was Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary at Central Soya Company, Inc.

John Bullock has served as our Executive Vice President – Chief Strategy Officer since January 2014 and has been in charge of our U.S. Specialty Ingredients businesses since 2015. Prior to that, he served as our Senior Vice President – Business Development from May 2012 to December 2013. He also serves on the board of Diamond Green Diesel. Mr. Bullock began his career at General Mills, Inc. in 1978 in ingredient purchasing and risk management. From 1991 to 2004, Mr. Bullock worked for ConAgra Foods Inc., where he led the mergers and acquisitions group of the ConAgra Trading and Processing Companies, with responsibility for leading the company’s growth initiatives and acquiring numerous businesses throughout the world. From 2004 to May 2012, Mr. Bullock operated JBULL INC., a boutique consulting firm he formed specializing in enhancing margin opportunities for agricultural business expansions and developing renewable fuels, during which time he consulted on numerous projects for our company, including its effort in the development and construction of the Diamond Green Diesel facility.

Rick A. Elrod has served as our Executive Vice President – Darling U.S. Rendering Operations since April 2015. He has extensive experience in raw material procurement and plant operations, having served the Company in various managerial capacities since joining our subsidiary, Griffin Industries, in 1984. Most recently, he served as the Company’s Senior Vice President – Eastern Region from January 2011 to April 2015. Mr. Elrod is involved in several state associations within the industry as well as the National Chicken Council, the U.S. Poultry Protein Council and the National Renderers Association.

Jan van der Velden has served as our Executive Vice President – International Rendering and Specialties since October 2017. He has served in a number of different capacities for Darling Ingredients International (formerly known as VION Ingredients) since June 1989. Most recently, he has served as the Executive Vice President – ERS from January 2014 to October 2017, Managing Director of ERS for VION Ingredients from March 2012 to January 2014, and the Vice President Raw Materials & Logistics for VION Ingredients from January 2001 to March 2012. From May 2005 to March 2012, he also served as the managing director of VION Ingredients Germany. He also served as a member of the board of VION Ingredients.

Jos Vervoort has served as our Executive Vice President – Rousselot since May 2017. He has served in a number of different capacities for Darling Ingredients International (formerly known as VION Ingredients) since March 2006. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Rousselot from November 2015 to May 2017. From January 2008 to November 2015, he served as Managing Director of Rousselot EMEA. He also served as a member of the board of VION Ingredients.

John F. Sterling has served as our Executive Vice President – General Counsel and Secretary since August 2007. From 1997 to July 2007, Mr. Sterling worked for Pillowtex Corporation, where he served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since 1999. Mr. Sterling began his career with the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP, where he was a member of the firm’s corporate and securities practice area.

2019 Business Highlights

Fiscal 2019 presented a challenging operating environment, as our business continued to experience the impacts of a continued multi-year deflationary cycle within the agriculture and energy sectors and continued pricing pressure from increased global supplies of grains, proteins and oilseeds. Despite these challenging operating conditions, we continued to successfully execute on our strategy to grow responsibly and to achieve operational and financial improvements intended to stabilize and grow profitability in businesses and geographic areas where sustainable and predictable margins can be achieved, as exemplified by the following:

2019 COMPANY PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Key Operating Accomplishments

Growth Achievements

Realigned Capital Structure for Operating Conditions and Future Growth

Compensation Committee

The committee has primary responsibility for overseeing our executive compensation program. The Board appoints the members of the committee. Each member of the committee is an “outside director” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, the Board has determined that each member of the committee meets the applicable requirements for independence established by applicable SEC rules and the listing standards of the NYSE. The committee:

The committee meets on a regular basis and generally without members of management present. The committee’s duties and responsibilities are described in its charter, which can be found on our website at http://ir.darlingii.com/corporate-governance-documents. The committee and the Board periodically review and, as appropriate, revise the charter.

As provided by its charter and discussed in greater detail below, the committee engages an independent compensation consultant to advise it on the design of our executive compensation program. As in the prior year, the committee engaged Pearl Meyer to advise it in connection with the 2019 executive compensation program. To determine the appropriate compensation levels, the committee

considers, in conjunction with information on market pay levels, practices and trends from its independent compensation consultant:

The committee periodically reviews our executive compensation program to ensure that it remains competitive and provides the proper balance between cash and equity, and between short-term and long-term incentive compensation. The committee’s regular analysis and refinement of the compensation program ensures continuing alignment of the elements of the compensation program with our company’s business strategy and stockholder interests. During this process, the committee:

In addition to its responsibilities for executive compensation plans and programs, the committee also reviews and evaluates from time to time ournon-employee director compensation plans, policies and programs and reports its findings to the nominating and corporate governance committee.

Role of Chief Executive Officer

The committee annually evaluates the performance of the Chief Executive Officer who, in turn, on an annual basis, reviews the performance of his direct reports, which include each of the NEOs other than himself. The Chief Executive Officer presents his conclusions and recommendations with respect to performance and pay, including recommendations with respect to base salary adjustments and level of achievement of incentive goals, to the committee. The committee considers this information and then exercises its judgment in adopting or modifying any recommended adjustments or awards to be made to the NEOs.

Purpose

The committee uses peer groups for the following purposes:

For purposes of making decisions with respect to the 2019 executive compensation program, we used two different peer groups to evaluate the competitiveness of pay levels and to establish performance standards. The committee believes that it is appropriate to

use companies that are generally similar in size to our company for pay comparisons (the “Pay Levels Peer Group”). For performance comparisons, however, the committee believes it is appropriate to use a broader peer group that is not limited by size or location to set the standards for long-term incentive plan performance, as company size and location do not materially influence performance comparisons (the “Performance Peer Group”). Although the committee is referencing two different peer groups, there is substantial overlap between the peer groups due to 13 companies being present in both peer groups, as shown in the table that follows.

The committee uses competitive pay information derived from the Pay Levels Peer Group to generally inform its compensation decisions, but does not formulaically benchmark based on this data. The committee generally sets target levels of annual total direct compensation for the NEOs at or near the 50th percentile of target total compensation levels offered to similarly-situated executives at the peer companies. Variations from the 50th percentile level may occur due to the experience level of the individual and market factors, as well as performance that is significantly above or below goals.

Our company has a unique variety of product offerings and derives income from disparate industries. Therefore, it is difficult to establish a group of peer companies for measuring the competitiveness of our compensation opportunities and for measuring our relative business performance. In particular, it is challenging to identify appropriate peers for our business performance among companies in our S&P8-digit and6-digit Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) codes, as many of the companies in those GICS codes that are of roughly similar size manufacture, market, and distribute food for human consumption. These companies typically use agricultural commodities as ingredients in their products, and as a result these companies would typically experience reduced performance when these commodity prices rise. In contrast, our products are ingredients that our customers use in their products, and are not generally for human consumption. Our product prices generally track the performance of an identified group of agricultural commodities. As those agricultural commodities prices rise, our financial performance will generally improve, and conversely, as those commodities prices fall, our financial performance will generally be negatively impacted. As a result, our company tends to operate in opposite economic cycles from many of the other food or agricultural-related companies in our general GICS codes.

Performance Peer Group

To better reflect the company’s operating segments of Feed, Food, and Fuel and whom we compete with for employee talent and capital, the Performance Peer Group was originally established for purposes of evaluating our performance under the company’s incentive programs. In selecting the Performance Peer Group constituents, the committee considered the following criteria: (i) industry, (ii) business operations similar to those of the company, focused on Feed, Food, and/or Fuel, (iii) the extent to which operations were global, (iv) company size, as measured by revenues and market capitalization, and (v) availability of publicly-disclosed financial information. The committee took these same factors into account in its review of and changes to the Performance Peer Group for fiscal 2019.

Pay Levels Peer Group

In establishing the original Pay Levels Peer Group and in order to create as much overlap with the Performance Peer Group as possible, the committee first identified those companies within the Performance Peer Group that (i) were U.S.-based companies and (ii) were similar in size to us, as measured by revenues using the parameters of betweenone-third and three times our estimated revenues. The committee then worked with its independent compensation consultant at the time to identify additional companies to round out the group that were U.S.-based, similar in size and industry, and subject to similar cyclicality and volatility as the company. The committee took this same approach in its review of and changes to the Pay Level Peer Group for fiscal 2019. The committee believes that this peer group is a reasonable peer group that is comprised ofsimilarly-sized companies with operations similar to those of our company and/or influenced by similar cyclicality and volatility.

Fiscal 2019 Compensation Components—Details

BASE SALARY

Our company provides NEOs with a base salary to compensate them for services rendered during each fiscal year. Base salary ranges for NEOs are determined for each executive based on his position and responsibility by using market data supplied by the committee’s independent compensation consultant. Base salary is designed to be competitive when compared with the Pay Levels Peer Group. The committee periodically reviews base salaries of senior executives, including the NEOs, to determine if adjustment is necessary based on competitive practices and economic conditions. Base salary for senior executives will also be reviewed and adjustment may be made based on individual performance and the individual’s skills, experience and background, or in connection with a promotion or other change in responsibilities. For 2019, the committee conducted a review of the base salaries of each of the NEOs, taking into account market data supplied by Pearl Meyer, the committee’s independent compensation consultant. Based on this review, each of the NEOs received an increase in base salary for 2019, except for Mr. Stuewe, whose target LTI value was increased from 300% to 325% of his annual base salary, thereby increasing the“at-risk” portion of his total direct compensation. In the case of Mr. Phillips, his increase in base salary reflects the continued adjustment to his base salary to align it with market rates following his promotion to the position of Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer in January 2018. For Mr. Bullock, his increase in base salary was viewed as an impor-

tant retention tool and took into account his significant responsibilities relating to DGD and his expertise in renewable fuels and thelow-carbon fuel standard markets that it serves, which is a significant part of our future growth strategy.    

The chart below summarizes how fiscal 2019 base salaries compare to fiscal 2018 base salaries for each of our NEOs.

Annual Incentive Award Opportunities

The chart below summarizes the target annual incentive award opportunities for the NEOs for fiscal 2019:

Fiscal 2019 Target Bonus Opportunities

In determining the percentage of base salary used to determine Mr. Muse’s target annual incentive award opportunity, the committee took into account the fact that he does not participate in our long-term incentive program. Given the fact that he is close to retirement and the use of three-year forward-looking performance periods in our long-term incentive program, the committee determined that it was more appropriate for Mr. Muse that the entire performance-based component of his target annual compensation be in the form of an annual incentive award opportunity.

Annual Incentive Plan Performance Metrics and Range of Performance

For fiscal 2019 (as in fiscal 2018), the committee continued to measure financial performance based on a targeted level of EBITDA compared to the Performance Peer Group. The committee continued to balance the financial objectives of the organization with strategic, operational and personal objectives. These objectives are closely tied to the company’s performance in other key areas of the business that drive stockholder value creation and focus executives on areas over which they have the most direct impact. Additional detail with respect to the performance metrics and range of performance is provided below.

EBITDA(65% weighting): 65% of each NEO’s payout was tied to a targeted level of EBITDA performance for fiscal 2019. Depending on the NEO’s responsibilities, EBITDA was measured at the global level and/or in a mix of global and/or regional/business line results.

The committee selected global and/or regional/business line EBITDA as the sole annual financial performance metric because (i) EBITDA is one element of ROCE, which is a performance metric that is well understood internally, (ii) incenting the achievement of a targeted level of EBITDA is closely aligned with continued stockholder value creation, and (iii) EBITDA provides a separate metric from that used in our long-term incentive plan, while con-

tinuing to motivate performance that is tied to stockholder value creation. Based on those factors, the committee concluded that a targeted level of EBITDA was the most appropriate annual financial performance metric.

To focus executives on areas over which they have the most direct impact and motivate controllable performance, EBITDA was measured as follows:

Thepre-defined calculation of EBITDA is subject to adjustment by the committee for certainone-time, unusual or extraordinary items in order to more fairly assess our company’s performance for executive compensation purposes. These adjustments for compensation purposes may differ from the adjustments included in the company’s reported adjusted EBITDA. For fiscal 2019, these committee adjustments consisted of approximately $13.2 million of income relating to a gain on the sale of real property in China, $8.4 million in expense related to the supplemental bonus payments made in December 2019 but relating to 2018 performance and $1.38 million in restructuring charges related to our German operations. In addition, adjusted EBITDA includes our company’s portion of the EBITDA from our DGD joint venture, which is treated as an unconsolidated subsidiary in our financial statements but is a high performing asset that is integral to how we operate our business. DGD is considered an important part of our strategy because it is not only contributing significantly to our EBITDA, which is expected to continue as demand for sustainable fuels continues to grow, but it also provides a significant market and enhanced margins for our fats and oils and thereby a hedge to offset commodity exposure in our Feed Ingredients segment. Financial performance measures are adjusted to reflect budgeted levels of currency exchange in order to properly measure job performance, as our company is an operating company and not in the business of trading currencies.

In developing the 2019 annual EBITDA goals, target level performance was set by determining the EBITDA that would be achieved assuming ROCE performance for the prior fiscal year at the 50^th percentile relative to our Performance Peer Group. These goals generally require a high level of performance to be achieved over theone-year period. Threshold and maximum levels are set as a percentage of target and are designed to provide a smaller award for lower levels of acceptable performance (threshold) as well as to reward exceptional levels of performance (maximum).

Fiscal 2019 Global EBITDA Performance Goals (In Millions)

Strategic, Operational and Personal Goals(35% weighting): Each of our NEOs also had SOP goals for fiscal 2019 that were tied to short- and long-term strategic objectives within the company. The SOPs were a blend of quantitative and qualitative goals for each NEO set at the beginning of the performance period, with a varying number of goals and weighting of those goals for each executive. The SOPs for our CEO and each of the other NEOs are reviewed and approved by the committee. The CEO makes recommendations to the committee on the SOPs for NEOs other than

himself. The SOPs with respect to fiscal 2019 addressed items such as:

At the end of the fiscal year, the CEO submits to the committee a performance self-assessment and conducts a final review with each of the other NEOs and rates their performance. The CEO then submits to the committee a performance assessment for each of the other NEOs. These assessments consider completion of objectives and the quality of work performed, and incorporate an element of judgment in assigning individual levels of achievement. A maximum payout of 200% of the target for the SOP component is possible for exceptional performance.