Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome to the 2020 Annual Meeting for Jones Lang LaSalle, Incorporated. Our host for today's call is Sheila Penrose, Chairman. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Ms. Penrose, you may begin.

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Jones Lang LaSalle, Incorporated, which I will now call to order. I'm Sheila Penrose, Chairman of the Board of Directors and will be officiating this morning's meeting. Thank you for joining us. We're pleased to be hosting our first virtual meeting, which allows us to be more inclusive and reach a greater number of our shareholders. The decision to change to a virtual meeting was based on our consideration of the continuing health impact of COVID-19, related governmental orders and guidance and the well-being of shareholders, directors and employees. A proxy supplement announcing this virtual meeting was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 4, 2020. I'd like to welcome all shareholders attending via the web portal. As is our custom, we will conduct the business portion of our meeting first and answer questions, if any, at the end of the meeting. Though we may not be able to answer every question, we will do our best to provide a response to as many as possible, and we'll address any unanswered questions through our Investor Relations department after the meeting. Before moving to the business of the meeting, I would like to introduce the other members of the Board of Directors; Hugo Bagué; Matthew Carter; Sam Di Piazza; Ming Lu; Bridget Macaskill; Bobby Mehta; Deborah McAneny; Martin Nesbitt; Jeetu Patel; Ann Marie Petach; and JLL's Global CEO, Christian Ulbrich. The firm has been fortunate to have the dedication of a distinguished group of directors, and I want to thank them for their service on behalf of our shareholders. Biographical information on the directors who've been nominated for election today may be found in the proxy materials that we furnished to our shareholders for the meeting and that we maintain on the company's website. Also present with us today are representatives from KPMG LLP. We will be voting on the ratification of the Board's selection of KPMG as the firm's independent registered public accounting firm for 2020. They will be available during the question-and-answer session to respond to appropriate questions. An agenda and the rules of conduct for the annual meeting are available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/jll2020. To conduct an orderly meeting, we ask the participants abide by these rules. Thank you for your cooperation. This meeting is held pursuant to written notice mailed by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. on April 17, 2020, to each shareholder of record on April 3, 2020. All documents concerning the call and notice of meeting will be filed with the minutes of the meeting. After the formal meeting has been adjourned, we will provide time for general questions. Only validated shareholders may ask questions using the designated field on the web portal. Out of consideration for others, please limit yourself to 1 question. Please note that this meeting is being recorded. However, no one attending via the webcast is permitted to use any audio recording device. I have been advised that a quorum is present so we will proceed with the formal business of the meeting. I will now ask that Alan Tse, our Corporate Secretary and Inspector of Elections, review the items of business that will be voted on at the meeting. Alan?

Thank you, Sheila. Please note that we will give shareholders an opportunity to comment on the proposals themselves after all proposals have been presented. The first item of business is the election of the 12 directors as nominees for 1-year terms expiring at the 2021 annual meeting. The Director nominees are: Hugo Bagué; Matthew Carter Jr.; Samuel Di Piazza; Ming Lu; Bridget Macaskill; Bobby Mehta; Deborah McAneny; Martin Nesbitt; Jeetu Patel; Sheila Penrose; Ann Marie Petach; and Christian Ulbrich. The second item of business is the approval of nonbinding vote of our executive compensation. And the third and final item of business is the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2020.

Thank you, Alan. It is now 9:05 a.m. Central time, and the polls are now open. Each shareholder is entitled to 1 vote for each share of common stock registered in the shareholder's name on the record date of April 3, 2020, for each director nominee and for each of the other matters presented. Any shareholder who hasn't yet voted or wishes to change their vote, may do so by clicking on the voting button on the web portal and following the instructions there. Shareholders who have sent in proxies or voted via telephone or Internet and do not want to change their vote, do not need to take any further action. We'll take a short pause to allow for any voting to take place. [Voting]

Now that everyone has had the opportunity to vote. I declare the polls for the 2020 Annual Shareholder Meeting closed. We have completed the formal business portion of our meeting, and Mr. Tse will now report the results of the voting. Alan?

According to our stock registrar, Computershare, 51,627,852 shares of the company's common stock were outstanding as of April 3, 2020, and are entitled to vote at this meeting. The voting results have been provided to us by Broadridge Investor Communications, which has received and tabulated the votes. First, with respect to the election of 12 directors, each of the 12 nominees received a majority of the votes cast for such nominee. Second, the proposal to approve by nonbinding vote executive compensation received a majority of the votes cast. Third, the proposal for the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP received a majority of votes cast.

Thank you. Based upon Mr. Tse's report, I declare that all 12 nominees have been elected directors of this company for 1-year terms expiring at the 2021 annual meeting. The nonbinding proposal regarding executive compensation has been approved, and the appointment of KPMG LLP has been ratified. Mr. Tse will prepare a written report of the final vote count with respect to the matters voted on today, and the report will be included in the minutes of this meeting. We will report the final results of the matters voted on in a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission promptly after this meeting. In the absence of any other business, the business portion of our meeting is concluded. And I'll now pause for any questions from shareholders. I'm informed that there are no domain questions. So I would like to thank you for attending today's meeting. We appreciate your continued interest in our firm, and this meeting is adjourned.

This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.