Beatriz Perez

About Beatriz R. Perez

Beatriz R. Perez is an independent director of W.W. Grainger, Inc. and Executive Vice President and Global Chief Communications, Sustainability & Strategic Partnerships Officer at The Coca-Cola Company. She is 55, has served on Grainger’s board since 2017 (8 years as of the 2025 proxy), and sits on the Board Affairs & Nominating Committee (BANC) and the Compensation Committee of the Board (CCOB); effective May 2, 2025, she became Chair of the Compensation Committee. Her core credentials span corporate communications, sustainability, governance, and strategic partnerships from more than two decades at Coca-Cola .

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
The Coca-Cola Company	EVP & Global Chief Communications, Sustainability & Strategic Partnerships Officer	March 2017–present	Leads integrated public affairs, communications, sustainability, partnerships aligned to growth and strategic initiatives
The Coca-Cola Company	Chief Sustainability Officer	2011–2017	First CSO; led sustainability programs and strategy
The Coca-Cola Company	Chief Marketing Officer; SVP, Integrated Marketing; various field operating roles	Pre-2011 (dates not specified)	Built brand, marketing, and operating experience in North America division
HSBC North America Holdings, Inc.	Director	2007–2014	Governance oversight (subsidiary board)
HSBC Finance Corporation	Director	2008–2014	Governance oversight (subsidiary board)
HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A.	Director	2011–2013	Governance oversight (subsidiary board)

External Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees
Primerica, Inc.	Director	Current	Corporate Governance Committee
The Coca-Cola Foundation (and other non-profits)	Board roles	Not disclosed	Community service leadership

Board Governance

Committees: BANC member and CCOB member; on May 2, 2025, appointed Chair of the Compensation Committee (after the 2025 annual meeting) .
Independence: Board determined all members of BANC (including Perez) and all members of the Compensation Committee are independent under NYSE standards and SEC compensation committee rules .
Meetings and executive sessions (2024): Board met 5 times; committees met 16 times; 15 committee meetings included executive sessions without management. Each Board meeting included at least one executive session of independent directors .
Attendance: All directors attended the 2024 annual meeting; during 2024, no director attended fewer than 75% of total Board and committee meetings on which they served .
Committee activity: BANC met 5 times and oversees governance, independence, related-person transactions, ESG reporting, board composition/renewal, and succession planning; CCOB met 5 times and oversees compensation philosophy, human capital, plan design (including clawbacks), performance measures, and retains an independent compensation consultant .

Fixed Compensation

Year	Component	Amount	Details
2024	Annual cash retainer	$115,000	Non-employee director base retainer
2024	Additional retainers (Lead Director/Chair)	$0	Perez was not Lead Director or a committee chair in 2024; chair retainers: LD $37,500; Audit Chair $30,000; Compensation Chair $25,000; BANC Chair $20,000
2024	All other compensation	$7,500	Company matching gifts program payments to charities (no personal benefit)
2024	Total	$290,719	Sum of cash, stock award fair value, and matching gifts

Director compensation program (last adjusted April 2024): annual cash retainer $115,000 and annual DSU grant $175,000; total base compensation $290,000. Uses the same comparator group as executives and an independent compensation consultant advises on director pay .

Performance Compensation

Year	Instrument	Grant Date	Quantity / Valuation	Vesting / Settlement	Performance Metrics
2024	Deferred Stock Units (DSUs)	April 24, 2024	176 DSUs; grant-date value $168,219 (closing price $955.79 on 4/23/24)	DSUs immediately vest; settle in GWW shares 1:1 upon departure from the Board	None disclosed for director equity; DSUs are time-based

Directors may defer cash retainers and chair retainers into DSU accounts; hedging/pledging of company shares is prohibited; all directors are in compliance with ownership guidelines .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Company	Relationship to GWW	Potential Interlock/Exposure	Notes
Primerica, Inc.	No disclosed transactional relationship	Governance information interlock (corporate governance committee)	Public company board; committee assignment
The Coca-Cola Company	Perez is EVP	Ordinary-course transactions noted with companies where certain directors are associated; conducted at arm’s-length; no related person transactions approved in 2024	BANC reviews related-person transactions; none engaged during the period; donations to charities where directors serve did not exceed $53,205 to any org

Expertise & Qualifications

Corporate communications and public affairs leadership; sustainability strategy and reporting; strategic partnerships across brands, communities, and partners globally .
Corporate governance experience, including service on another public company board and governance committee responsibilities .
Marketing and operating experience from North America division roles (CMO, SVP Integrated Marketing, field operations) .

Equity Ownership

Holder	Shares Owned	Options Exercisable (≤60 days)	Stock Units	Percent of Class
Beatriz R. Perez	0	0	4,798	* (less than 1%)

Director stock ownership guidelines: within five years of election, hold at least 5x the annual cash retainer in GWW common stock and equivalents; all directors are currently in compliance. Hedging and pledging of company stock by directors is prohibited; none have hedged or pledged shares .
DSU program: DSUs are settled 1:1 in GWW common shares upon termination of service; immediately vest on grant .

Governance Assessment

Committee leadership signal: Appointment as Chair of the Compensation Committee effective May 2, 2025 elevates Perez’s influence over executive pay architecture, performance metrics, clawback design, and human capital oversight, which are central to investor alignment. All committee members are independent, and the committee uses an independent consultant, supporting governance quality .
Attendance and engagement: Strong Board/committee meeting cadence (5 Board; 16 committee meetings in 2024) with regular executive sessions and no director below 75% attendance; Perez attended the annual meeting, signaling engagement .
Pay-for-performance context: Say-on-Pay received substantial shareholder support (38,660,828 for; 1,786,810 against; 86,485 abstentions; 4,023,651 broker non-votes), indicating investor confidence in compensation oversight, now chaired by Perez .
Conflicts and related-party oversight: BANC reports no related-person transactions from Jan 1, 2024 to the proxy date; ordinary-course transactions with organizations associated with certain directors (including Perez) are conducted at arm’s-length and reviewed; charitable contributions to director-affiliated organizations capped at $53,205 to any single org and director matching gifts administered without director benefit. This mitigates conflict risk .
Ownership alignment: Perez holds 4,798 stock units and participates in a DSU program with settlement upon board departure; directors must meet 5x cash retainer ownership and are in compliance; hedging/pledging banned—reducing misalignment risk .

Red Flags: None disclosed specific to Perez. Ordinary-course transactions with director-associated companies are monitored via BANC policy; no related-person transactions occurred during the period; no hedging/pledging; director compensation structure is standard (cash + DSUs) with no options or special perquisites beyond charitable matching .