BRZE Braze Inc

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SCHEDULE 14A

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BRAZE, INC.

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Braze, Inc.

Dear Stockholders:

Our 2024 fiscal year marked another significant year for Braze. As the importance of both first-party relationships and first-party data continues to rise for brands across verticals, Braze further strengthened our leadership position in the emerging category of Customer Engagement. Modern Customer Engagement reflects the need to bring together increasingly diverse digital touchpoints to drive a consistent experience between a customer and brand, and unites interdisciplinary teams to deliver highly relevant and compelling end-to-end customer experiences. Braze has a role to play across these teams, including marketing, product and data science, even as we keep the marketer at the center, empowering them with a platform that is both comprehensive and powerful, while remaining easy to learn and intuitive to use.

For more than a decade, Braze has been active in advancing not just the category, but also the craft of Customer Engagement, which is a multi-faceted pursuit that accompanies and engages the customer across their entire journey with a brand's product, service, and promise. Customer Engagement is distinct from traditional outbound marketing, or the unsophisticated activity of merely sending batch messages to customers. It’s a necessary and urgent evolution given how customers are choosing to engage with companies today: they are interacting with more brands and in more ways than ever before, from web and digital messages, to in-product engagements and real life interactions, and even in emerging environments enabled by augmented reality. At each touchpoint they demand highly tailored, relevant and consistent experiences – and those brands that can’t deliver risk losing consumer attention, advocacy and dollars.

Brands that combine investment in advanced technology like Braze with the craft of Customer Engagement can generate immense value for their businesses, and better, more engaging outcomes for their customers. Our ability to drive both short- and long-term brand value is why we have seen success across a wide set of verticals, geographies, company sizes and use cases, and why we continue to find new growth opportunities in areas of the economy where the value of Customer Engagement is only beginning to be realized.

Regardless of region or industry, the craft of Customer Engagement starts with brands embracing their role as a steward of customer relationships. This responsibility requires both a deep understanding of the individual humans who make up their customer base, and the use of advanced technology that arms them with the ability to deliver engaging communication and product experiences at scale. AI applications like those powered by Sage AI by Braze™ have enormous potential to help teams move faster, generate compelling and highly relevant creative, and continually experiment and optimize experiences across touchpoints. Brands that do it best use first-party data to elucidate the moments that matter most for customers, and shape the customer's experience in a way that maximizes value and relevance. We believe that Braze is an integral part of this evolution for any brand, and we take pride in helping brands assess where they are today and confidently guiding them towards where they want to be.

While it has been an exciting and rewarding period since our initial public offering in November 2021, we are even more excited for the coming years. We believe the flexibility and versatility of our platform, including our investments in first party data activation, artificial intelligence and cross-channel actions that extend beyond traditional outbound marketing will support growing investment in Customer Engagement across industries, and drive enormous future value for our business. Virtually any organization that has ambition or sophistication around Customer Engagement can benefit from Braze, and we continue to invest to take advantage of this market opportunity.

On behalf of the Braze board of directors and our global team, I would like to thank all of you for investing in our shared future and continuing to recognize the differentiated value that Braze brings. As the Customer Engagement category matures, we remain committed to creating long-lasting value for businesses of all kinds. We are excited for the opportunities ahead and strive to deliver strong results for our communities, customers and you, our stockholders.

At this time, I am pleased to invite you to attend the Braze Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Our annual meeting will be a “virtual meeting” of stockholders, which will be conducted exclusively online via live webcast. By hosting our meeting virtually, we are able to expand access, improve communication and lower costs. This approach also enables participation from our global community and aligns with our broader sustainability goals.

Your vote is very important. Whether you plan to participate in our annual meeting or not, please be sure to vote. Voting instructions can be found on page 4 of the proxy statement.

On behalf of our board of directors and the management team, thank you for your ongoing support of and continued interest in Braze.

Cheers,

 

Bill

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

To Be Held on June 27, 2024

Dear Stockholder:

You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Braze, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). The Annual Meeting will be held virtually, via live webcast available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024, originating from New York, New York, on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time. We believe hosting a virtual meeting enables participation by more of our stockholders, while lowering the cost of conducting the Annual Meeting. Further, we believe the virtual meeting format also enables participation from our global community and aligns with our broader sustainability goals. Stockholders attending the virtual meeting will be afforded the same rights and opportunities to participate as they would at an in-person meeting. We encourage you to attend online and participate. In order to attend, you must log in prior to the start of the meeting using the control number included in your Notice of Internet Availability, voting instruction form or in the instructions that you received via email. We recommend that you log in approximately 15 minutes before 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 27, 2024, to ensure you are logged in when the Annual Meeting starts.

The Annual Meeting will be held for the following purposes:

These items of business are more fully described in the proxy statement accompanying this Notice of Internet Availability.

You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting, submit questions and vote during the live webcast by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024 and logging in prior to start of the meeting using the control number included in your Notice of Internet Availability, voting instruction form, or in the instructions that you received via email. Please refer to the additional logistical details and recommendations in the accompanying proxy statement.

The record date for the Annual Meeting is April 29, 2024. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on that date may vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting to be held on June 27, 2024. This Proxy Statement and the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2024 fiscal year are available at www.proxyvote.com.

As permitted by applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules, on or about May 14, 2024, we mailed an Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials containing instructions on how to access our Annual Meeting proxy statement and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2024 fiscal year online, as well as instructions on how to obtain printed copies of these materials by mail.

New York, New York

May 14, 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Braze, Inc.

PROXY STATEMENT

FOR THE 2024 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

To Be Held on June 27, 2024

Dear Stockholder:

Our board of directors is soliciting your proxy to vote at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Braze, Inc., a Delaware corporation, to be held virtually, via live webcast available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024, originating from New York, New York, on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and any adjournment or postponement thereof. We believe hosting a virtual meeting enables participation by more of our stockholders, while lowering the cost of conducting the Annual Meeting. Further, we believe the virtual meeting format also enables participation from our global community and aligns with our broader sustainability goals. Stockholders attending the virtual meeting will be afforded the same rights and opportunities to participate as they would at an in-person meeting.

For the Annual Meeting, we have elected to furnish our proxy materials, including this proxy statement and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024 (the “Annual Report”), to our stockholders primarily via the internet. On or about May 14, 2024, we expect to mail to our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) that contains notice of the Annual Meeting and instructions on how to access our proxy materials on the internet, how to vote at the Annual Meeting, and how to request printed copies of the proxy materials. Stockholders may request to receive all future materials in printed form by mail or by email by following the instructions contained in the Notice. A stockholder’s election to receive proxy materials by mail or email will remain in effect until revoked. We encourage stockholders to take advantage of the availability of the proxy materials on the internet to help reduce the environmental impact and cost of our Annual Meeting.

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 29, 2024 (the “Record Date”) will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. On the Record Date, there were 76,844,201 shares of our Class A common stock and 24,175,408 shares of our Class B common stock and entitled to vote (together, the “common stock”). Each holder of Class A common stock will have the right to one vote per share of Class A common stock and each holder of Class B common stock will have the right to ten votes per share of Class B common stock. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available for examination for ten days before the Annual Meeting by emailing us at ir@braze.com. For instructions on how to attend the Annual Meeting, please see the instructions at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024 and on page 2 of this proxy statement.

In this proxy statement, we refer to Braze, Inc. as “Braze,” “the company,” “we” or “us” and the board of directors of Braze as “our board of directors.” The Annual Report, which contains consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, accompanies this proxy statement. You also may obtain a copy of the Annual Report without charge by emailing ir@braze.com.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS AND VOTING

Why did I receive a notice regarding the availability of proxy materials on the internet?

Pursuant to rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we have elected to provide access to our proxy materials over the internet. Accordingly, we have sent you the Notice because our board of directors is soliciting your proxy to vote at the Annual Meeting, including at any adjournments or postponements thereof. All stockholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the website referred to in the Notice or to request a printed set of the proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the internet or to request a printed copy may be found in the Notice.

We intend to mail the Notice on or about May 14, 2024 to all stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

How do I attend, participate in, and ask questions during the Annual Meeting?

We will be hosting the Annual Meeting via live webcast only. Any stockholder can attend the Annual Meeting live online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024. The Annual Meeting will start at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Stockholders attending the Annual Meeting virtually will be afforded the same rights and opportunities to participate as they would at an in-person meeting.

In order to attend, you must log-in at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024 prior to the start of the Annual Meeting using your control number. Your control number is included in the Notice, and, if you are a stockholder of record, on your proxy card, or, if you hold your common shares in “street name,” in your voting instruction card and voting instructions received from your broker, bank or other agent. Instructions on how to attend and participate online are available at www.proxyvote.com. We recommend that you log in approximately 15 minutes before 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 27, 2024, to ensure you are logged in when the Annual Meeting starts. The virtual meeting room will open 15 minutes before the start of the Annual Meeting.

If you would like to submit a question during the Annual Meeting, you may log in at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024 using your control number, type your question into the “Ask a Question” field, and click “Submit.”

To help ensure that we have a productive and efficient meeting, and in fairness to all stockholders in attendance, you will also find posted our rules of conduct for the Annual Meeting when you log in prior to its start. These rules of conduct will include the following guidelines:

What if I have technical difficulties or trouble accessing the Annual Meeting?

We will have technicians ready to assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing the virtual Annual Meeting. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the virtual Annual Meeting during the check-in or meeting time, please call the technical support number that is available online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024.

Will a list of record stockholders as of the Record Date be available?

A list of our record stockholders as of the close of business on the Record Date will be made available to stockholders during the Annual Meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BRZE2024. In addition, for the ten days prior to the Annual Meeting, the list will be available for examination by any stockholder of record for a legally valid purpose by emailing us at ir@braze.com.

Who can vote at the Annual Meeting?

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. On the Record Date, there were 76,844,201 shares of Class A common stock outstanding and entitled to vote (representing an aggregate of 76,844,201 votes) and 24,175,408 shares of Class B common stock outstanding and entitled to vote (representing an aggregate of 241,754,080 votes).

How many votes do I have?

Each holder of shares of our Class A common stock will have one vote per share of Class A common stock held as of the Record Date, and each holder of shares of our Class B common stock will have ten votes per share of Class B common stock held as of the Record Date. The holders of the shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote as a single class on all matters described in this proxy statement for which your vote is being solicited.

What am I voting on?

There are three matters scheduled for a vote:

What if another matter is properly brought before the Annual Meeting?

Our board of directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the Annual Meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote on those matters in accordance with their best judgment.

How do I vote?

Can I vote my shares by filling out and returning the Notice?

No. The Notice identifies the items to be voted on at the Annual Meeting, but you cannot vote by marking the Notice and returning it. The Notice provides instructions on how to vote by proxy in advance of the Annual Meeting through the internet, by telephone, using a printed proxy card or online during the Annual Meeting.

What does it mean if I receive more than one Notice?

If you receive more than one Notice, your shares may be registered in more than one name or in different accounts. Please follow the voting instructions on the Notices to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

If I am a stockholder of record and I do not vote, or if I return a signed proxy card or otherwise vote without giving specific voting instructions, what happens?

If you are a stockholder of record and do not vote through the internet, by telephone, by completing the proxy card that may be delivered to you or online during the Annual Meeting, your shares will not be voted.

If you return a signed and dated proxy card or otherwise vote without marking voting selections, your shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our board of directors: “FOR” the election of each of the three nominees for director; “FOR” the advisory approval of the compensation of our named executive officers, and

“FOR” the ratification of the selection of Ernst and Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2025. If any other matter is properly presented at the Annual Meeting, your proxyholder (one of the individuals named on your proxy card) will vote your shares using his or her best judgment.

If I am a beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” and I do not provide my broker or bank with voting instructions, what happens?

If you are a beneficial owner and do not instruct your broker, bank or other agent how to vote your shares, the question of whether your broker or nominee will still be able to vote your shares depends on whether, pursuant to stock exchange rules, the particular proposal is deemed to be a “routine” matter. Brokers and nominees can use their discretion to vote “uninstructed” shares with respect to matters that are considered to be “routine,” but not with respect to “non-routine” matters. Under applicable rules and interpretations, “non-routine” matters are matters that may substantially affect the rights or privileges of stockholders, such as mergers, stockholder proposals, elections of directors (even if not contested), executive compensation, and certain corporate governance proposals, even if management-supported. Accordingly, your broker or nominee may vote your shares on Proposal 3. Your broker or nominee, however, may not vote your shares on Proposals 1 or 2 without your instructions. Such an event would result in a “broker non-vote” and these shares will not be counted as having been voted on the applicable proposal. Please instruct your bank, broker or other agent to ensure that your vote will be counted.

If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and you do not plan to attend the Annual Meeting, in order to ensure your shares are voted in the way you would prefer, you must provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other agent by the deadline provided in the materials you receive from your broker, bank or other agent.

What are “broker non-votes”?

As discussed above, when a beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” does not give instructions to the broker or nominee holding the shares as to how to vote on matters deemed to be “non-routine,” the broker or nominee cannot vote the shares. These unvoted shares are counted as “broker non-votes.”

Can I change or revoke my vote after submitting my proxy?

Your most current proxy card or telephone or internet proxy is the one that is counted.

How are votes counted?

Votes will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for the Annual Meeting. For Proposal 1, you may vote “FOR” all of the nominees or you may “WITHHOLD” your vote with respect to one or more of the nominees. For Proposal 2, you may vote “FOR,” “AGAINST” or you may abstain from voting. For Proposal 3, you may vote “FOR,” “AGAINST” or you may abstain from voting. Broker non-votes will have no effect and will not be counted towards the vote total for Proposals 1 or 2.

How many votes are needed to approve each proposal?

The following table summarizes the minimum vote needed to approve each proposal and the effect of abstentions and broker non-votes.

What is the quorum requirement?

A quorum of stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present if stockholders holding a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote are present at the Annual Meeting by virtual attendance or represented by proxy. On the Record Date, there were 76,844,201 shares of Class A common stock and 24,175,408 shares of Class B common stock outstanding and entitled to vote, representing, together, an aggregate of 318,598,281 votes.

Your shares will be counted towards the quorum only if you submit a valid proxy (or one is submitted on your behalf by your broker, bank or other nominee) or if you vote online during the Annual Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted towards the quorum requirement. If there is no quorum, the holders of a majority of the voting power of shares present at the Annual Meeting or represented by proxy and entitled to vote thereat may adjourn the Annual Meeting to another date.

How can I find out the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting?

Voting results will be published in a current report on Form 8-K that we expect to file within four business days after the Annual Meeting. If final voting results are not available to us in time to file a Form 8-K within four business days after the Annual Meeting, we intend to file a Form 8-K to publish preliminary results and, within four business days after the final results are known to us, file an amendment to such Form 8-K to publish the final results.

Who is paying for this proxy solicitation?

We will pay for the entire cost of soliciting proxies. In addition to these proxy materials, our directors and employees may also solicit proxies in person, by telephone, or by other means of communication. Directors and employees will not be paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.

When are stockholder proposals and director nominations due for next year’s annual meeting?

To be considered for inclusion in next year’s proxy materials, proposals submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), must be submitted in writing by January 14, 2025 to our Corporate Secretary at 63 Madison Building, 28 E. 28^th St. 12^th Floor, New York, New York 10016, Attention: Secretary.

Pursuant to our amended and restated bylaws, if you wish to submit a proposal (including a director nomination) at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders outside of Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, you must do so not later than the close of business on March 29, 2025, nor earlier than the close of business on February 27, 2025. However, if the date of our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is not held between May 28, 2025 and July 27, 2025, to be timely, notice by the stockholder must be received (A) not earlier than the close of business on the 120^th day prior to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and (B) not later than the close of business on the later of the 90^th day prior to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or the tenth day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is first made. You are also advised to review our amended and restated bylaws, which contain additional requirements about advance notice of stockholder proposals and director nominations. In addition to complying with the advance notice provisions of our bylaws, to nominate a director, stockholders must give timely notice that complies with the additional requirements of Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act, and which must be received no later than April 28, 2025.

PROPOSAL 1

 

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Our board of directors currently consists of seven members and is divided into three classes. Each class consists, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total number of directors, and each class has a three-year term. At each annual meeting of stockholders, the successors to directors whose terms then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election until the third annual meeting following the election.

Our directors are divided into the three classes as follows:

Any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the directors. Vacancies on the board of directors may be filled only by persons elected by a majority of the remaining directors. A director elected by the board of directors to fill a vacancy in a class, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, shall serve for the remainder of the full term of that class and until the director’s successor is duly elected and qualified. The division of our board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control of Braze.

Each of Ms. Levy and Messrs. Magnuson and Obstler is currently a member of our board of directors and has been nominated for reelection to serve as a Class III director. Each of these nominees has agreed to stand for reelection at the Annual Meeting. Our management has no reason to believe that any nominee will be unable to serve. If elected at the Annual Meeting, each of these nominees would serve until the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2027 and until his or her successor has been duly elected, or if sooner, until the director’s death, resignation or removal.

Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes of the holders of shares present by virtual attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Accordingly, the three nominees receiving the highest number of “FOR” votes will be elected. Shares represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the election of the three nominees named above. If any nominee becomes unavailable for election as a result of an unexpected occurrence, shares that would have been voted for that nominee will instead be voted for the election of a substitute nominee proposed by our board of directors or the board of directors may reduce its size.

Our nominating and corporate governance committee seeks to assemble a board that, as a whole, possesses the appropriate balance of professional and industry knowledge, financial expertise, diversity and high-level management experience necessary to oversee and direct our business. To that end, the committee has identified and evaluated nominees in the broader context of the board’s overall composition, with the goal of recruiting members who possess relevant expertise and experience upon which to be able to offer advice and guidance to management, have sufficient time to devote to the affairs of Braze, demonstrate excellence in his or her field, have the ability to exercise sound business judgment, have experience as a board member or executive officer of another publicly held company, and have the commitment to rigorously represent the long-term interests of our stockholders. To provide a mix of experience and perspective on the board, the committee also takes into account diversity (including diversity of gender, ethnic background and country of origin), skills and such other factors that it deems appropriate to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and capability on the board. The biographies below under “Information Regarding Director Nominees and Current Directors” include information, as of the date of this proxy statement, regarding the specific and particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each director or director nominee that led the committee to believe that that nominee should continue to serve on the board. However, each of the members of the committee may have a variety of reasons why a particular person would be an appropriate nominee for the board, and these views may differ from the views of other members.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR

EACH CLASS III DIRECTOR NOMINEE NAMED ABOVE

INFORMATION REGARDING DIRECTOR NOMINEES AND CURRENT DIRECTORS

Our board of directors currently consists of seven members and is divided into three classes. Each class consists, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total number of directors, and each class has a three-year term. At each annual meeting of stockholders, the successors to directors whose terms then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election until the third annual meeting following the election.

The following table sets forth, for the Class III nominees and our other directors who will continue in office after the Annual Meeting, their ages and positions or office held with us as of April 29, 2024:

Set forth below is biographical information for the director nominees and each person whose term of office as a director will continue after the Annual Meeting. This includes information regarding each director’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led our board of directors to recommend them for board service.

Nominees for Election at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

William Magnuson has served as our Chief Executive Officer since January 2017 and as a member of our board of directors since August 2014. He previously served as our Chief Technology Officer from July 2011 to December 2016. Mr. Magnuson received his Masters of Engineering (MEng) and B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We believe that Mr. Magnuson is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors based on his experience building and leading our business and his insight into corporate matters as our Chief Executive Officer.

Tara Walpert Levy has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2020. Ms. Levy is the Vice President, Americas for YouTube, an entertainment technology company, a position she has held since November 2021. Prior to joining YouTube, Ms. Levy served as the Vice President of Agency and Brand Solutions for Google, Inc., a commercial and consumer technologies company, a position she held from April 2017 to November 2021. Ms. Levy also served as Vice President of Agency Solutions for Google from October 2014 to March 2017. Ms. Levy has served as a director of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. since July 2013. She was previously the Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Advertising Federation and a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Ad Council. Ms. Levy received her M.B.A. and B.A. from Harvard University. We believe that Ms. Levy is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of her extensive experience in the technology industry and her experience as a public company director.

David Obstler has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2021. Mr. Obstler is the Chief Financial Officer of Datadog, Inc., a position he has held since November 2018. Prior to that, Mr. Obstler held Chief Financial Officer positions at a number of other companies, including TravelClick, Inc., a hospitality technology company, where he served from September 2014 to October 2018; OpenLink Financial LLC, a financial services software provider, where he served from November 2012 to July 2014; MSCI Inc., a financial index and investment management software company, where he served from June 2010 to September 2012; and Risk Metrics Group, Inc., a risk management and corporate governance service provider, where he served from January 2005 to June 2010. Earlier in his career, Mr. Obstler held various investment banking positions at J.P. Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Obstler received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.A. from Yale University. We believe that Mr. Obstler is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his financial expertise, management experience and extensive experience in the technology industry.

Directors Continuing in Office Until the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Phillip Fernandez has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2019. In 2016, he retired from Marketo, Inc., a marketing software company, where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, since co-founding the company in 2006. Prior to founding Marketo, Mr. Fernandez was President and Chief Operating Officer of Epiphany, Inc., a marketing software company, and before that, was Chief Operating Officer of Red Brick Systems Inc., a relational database software company. Mr. Fernandez received his B.A. in History from Stanford University. We believe Mr. Fernandez is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his more than 40 years of experience in the technology field and his prior service as a public company director and executive.

Fernando Machado has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2023. Mr. Machado was the Chief Marketing Officer of The NotCompany, Inc., a food-tech company, from April 2023 to November 2023 and now serves as an advisor to their board. Prior to that, Mr. Machado held Chief Marketing Officer positions at a number of other companies, including Activision Blizzard, Inc., a video game company, where he served from April 2021 to April 2023, Restaurant Brands International Inc., a fast food company, where he served from January 2020 to April 2021, and Burger King Corp., a fast food company, where he served as Global Chief Marketing Officer from October 2017 to January 2020 and Head of Brand Marketing from March 2014 to October 2017. Mr. Machado is currently a senior advisor at Garnett Station Partner, LLC, an investment firm, where he has served since October 2023. Earlier in his career, Mr. Machado held various marketing positions at Unilever plc. Mr. Machado holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD (France) and a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering from UNICAMP (Brazil). We believe that Mr. Machado is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his marketing expertise, management experience and extensive experience in the marketing industry.

Directors Continuing in Office Until the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Neeraj Agrawal has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2016. He is a General Partner of Battery Ventures, a venture capital firm, where he has worked since August 2000. Mr. Agrawal has served as a director of Sprinklr, Inc. since August 2011, and he was previously a member of the boards of directors of Amplitude, Inc., Bazaarvoice, Inc., Coupa Software Incorporated, Marketo, Inc., and Wayfair, Inc. Mr. Agrawal received his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and his B.S. in Computer Science from Cornell University. We believe Mr. Agrawal is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors based on his extensive business experience in the software and web services industries, his experience in venture capital and his service as a director of various public and private companies.

Doug Pepper has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2014. He is a General Partner at ICONIQ Capital, an investment and venture capital firm, where he has worked since August 2019. Before that, Mr. Pepper served as Managing Director at Shasta Ventures from February 2016 to August 2019. He serves as a director of a number of private technology companies. Mr. Pepper received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his M.B.A. from Stanford University. We believe that Mr. Pepper is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the venture capital and technology industries.

Board Diversity

Our board of directors believes that a diverse board is better able to effectively oversee our management and strategy, and position Braze to deliver long-term value for our stockholders. Our board of directors considers diversity (including diversity of gender, ethnic background and country of origin) an important factor to add to the overall mix of perspectives of our board as a whole and necessary to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience, and capability on our board of directors. With the assistance of the nominating and corporate governance committee, our board of directors regularly reviews trends in board composition, including on director diversity.

The table below provides additional diversity information regarding our board of directors as of April 29, 2024. To see our Board Diversity Matrix as of April 30, 2023, please see the proxy statement filed with the SEC on May 17, 2023. Each of the categories listed in the below table has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(f).

INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Independence of Our Board of Directors

Our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”). Under the Nasdaq listing standards, a majority of the members of our board of directors must qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively determined by our board of directors. Our board of directors consults with our counsel to ensure that its determinations are consistent with relevant securities and other laws and regulations regarding the definition of “independent,” including those set forth in pertinent listing standards of Nasdaq, as in effect from time to time.

Consistent with these considerations, after review of the information provided by each director concerning his or her background, employment and other affiliations, relevant identified transactions and relationships between such director, and any of his or her family members, and Braze, our senior management and our independent auditors, if any, our board of directors has affirmatively determined that the following six directors are independent directors within the meaning of the applicable Nasdaq listing standards: Ms. Levy and Messrs. Agrawal, Fernandez, Machado, Obstler and Pepper. In making those independence determinations, our board of directors took into account certain relationships and transactions that occurred in the ordinary course of business between Braze and entities with which some of our directors are or have been affiliated. Mr. Magnuson is not independent due to his position as our Chief Executive Officer.

Accordingly, a majority of our directors are independent, as required under applicable Nasdaq rules. In making this determination, our board of directors considered the applicable Nasdaq rules and the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our board of directors deemed relevant in determining their independence, including their beneficial ownership of our capital stock.

Board Leadership Structure

Our board of directors is currently chaired by our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Magnuson. Our board of directors has also appointed Mr. Fernandez as Lead Independent Director.

Our corporate governance guidelines specify that our board of directors will select our Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of our board of directors in the manner that it determines to be in the best interests of our stockholders and in accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws, as each may be amended and restated from time to time, and any stockholder agreements, if any are then in effect. We do not believe there should be a fixed rule regarding the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson being held by different individuals, or whether the Chairperson should be an employee of the company or should be elected from among our non-employee directors. Our needs and the individuals available to assume these roles may require different outcomes at different times, and our board of directors believes that retaining flexibility in these decisions is in the best interests of our company. Our nominating and corporate governance committee periodically reviews this matter and has recommended, and our board of directors has determined, that the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of our board of directors should be vested in the same person and that a Lead Independent Director shall be separately designated at this time.

We believe that our current practice of combining the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson helps to ensure that the board and management act with a common purpose. In our view, separating the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson at this time has the potential to give rise to divided leadership, which could interfere with good decision-making or weaken our ability to develop and implement strategy. Instead, we believe that combining the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson provides a single, clear chain of command to execute our strategic initiatives and business plans. In addition, we believe that a combined Chief Executive Officer/Chairperson is better positioned to act as a bridge between management and the board, facilitating the regular flow of information. We also believe that it is advantageous to have a Chairperson with an extensive history with and knowledge of our company (as is the case with our Chief Executive Officer) as compared to a relatively less informed independent Chairperson.

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that one of our independent directors may serve as the Lead Independent Director at any time that we do not have an independent chair of the board of directors. The Lead Independent Director’s duties include: (i) presiding at all meetings of our board of directors at which the Chairperson is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors; (ii) acting as liaison between the independent directors and our Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson; (iii) presiding over meetings of the

independent directors; (iv) consulting with the Chairperson in planning and setting schedules and agendas for our board of director meetings; and (v) performing such other functions as our board of directors may delegate.

Role of the Board of Directors in Risk Oversight

One of the key functions of our board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. In particular, our board of directors is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure, including a determination of the nature and level of risk appropriate for our company. Our board of directors does not have a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through our board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of the board of directors that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. Our board of directors and its committees consider specific risk topics, including risks associated with our strategic plan, business operations, capital structure, information technology, data privacy and cyber security. It is the responsibility of each committee chair to report findings regarding material risk exposures to our board of directors as quickly as possible.

Our audit committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss with management and the auditors, as appropriate, our guidelines and policies with respect to financial risk management and financial risk assessment, including our major financial risk exposures and the steps taken by management to monitor and control these exposures. Areas of focus for the audit committee include our policies and other matters relating to our investments, cash management and foreign exchange management, major financial risk exposures, the adequacy and effectiveness of our privacy and information security policies and practices and the internal controls regarding privacy and information security, and the steps taken by management to monitor and mitigate or otherwise control these exposures and to identify future risks. Our management also regularly reports to our audit committee on management’s assessment, mitigation efforts and processes related to our key business risks, including but not limited to finance, privacy, product and technology, information security (including cyber security and back-up of information systems), competition and legal compliance. Our compensation committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on us, including risks related to executive compensation and overall compensation and benefit strategies, plans, arrangements, practices, and policies. Our nominating and corporate governance committee monitors the adequacy of our environmental and social practices, corporate governance and reporting. Each committee then reports to our board of directors on these matters as it deems appropriate.

In connection with its reviews of the operations and corporate functions of our company, our board of directors addresses the primary risks associated with those operations and corporate functions. In addition, our board of directors reviews the risks associated with our company’s business strategies periodically throughout the year as part of its consideration of undertaking any such business strategies. While our board of directors and its committees oversee risk management strategy, management is responsible for implementing and supervising day-to-day risk management processes and reporting to our board of directors and its committees on such matters.

Meetings of the Board of Directors and its Committees

Our board of directors is responsible for the oversight of management and the strategy of our company and for establishing corporate policies. Our board of directors meets periodically during the year to review significant developments affecting us and to act on matters requiring the approval of our board of directors. Our board of directors met four times during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024. With respect to the committees of our board of directors, the audit committee met four times during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, the compensation committee met four times during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, and the nominating and corporate governance committee met three times during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024. During the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, each director attended 75% or more of the aggregate meetings of our board of directors and of the committees on which he or she served. We encourage our directors and nominees for director to attend our Annual Meeting.

Information Regarding Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has established a standing audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Our board of directors may establish other committees to facilitate the management of our business. Our board of directors has adopted a written charter for each of our committees, which are available to stockholders on our investor relations website at investors.braze.com.

The following table provides membership information for each of the standing committees of our board of directors from February 1, 2023 through April 3, 2024:

On April 4, 2023, Mr. Jacobson resigned from our board of directors, and Mr. Machado was appointed by our board of directors to fill the vacancy created by such resignation. The following table provides membership information for each of the standing committees of our board of directors from April 4, 2023 through the date of this proxy statement:

Our board of directors has determined that each member of each standing committee meets the applicable Nasdaq rules and regulations regarding “independence” and each member is free of any relationship that would impair his or her individual exercise of independent judgment with regard to us.

Below is a description of each standing committee of our board of directors:

Audit Committee

From February 1, 2023 until April 4, 2023, our audit committee consisted of Mr. Obstler, Mr. Agrawal and Mr. Jacobson. For the remainder of our fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, our audit committee consisted of Mr. Obstler, Mr. Fernandez and Mr. Pepper. Our board of directors has determined that each member of our audit committee satisfies the independence requirements under the listing standards of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act. The chair of our audit committee is Mr. Obstler, who our board of directors has determined is an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations. Each member of our audit committee can read and understand fundamental financial statements in accordance with applicable requirements. In arriving at these determinations, our board of directors has examined each audit committee member’s scope of experience and the nature of their employment in the corporate finance sector.

The principal duties and responsibilities of our audit committee include, among other things:

We believe that the composition and functioning of our audit committee complies with all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and all applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules and regulations.

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

The audit committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024 with management of the company. The audit committee has also reviewed and discussed with Ernst & Young LLP, the company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the matters required to be discussed by Auditing Standard No. 1301, Communications with Audit Committees, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) and the SEC. The audit committee has also received the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young LLP required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent accountants’ communications with the audit committee concerning independence and has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP the accounting firm’s independence. Based on the foregoing, the audit committee has recommended to our board of directors that the audited financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, and be filed with the SEC.

David Obstler, Chair

Phillip Fernandez (Audit Committee Member)

Doug Pepper (Audit Committee Member)

The material in this report is not “soliciting material,” is not deemed “filed” with the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference in any filing of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any such filing.

Compensation and Leadership Development Committee

From February 1, 2023 until April 4, 2023, our compensation and leadership development committee (the “compensation committee”) consisted of Messrs. Fernandez and Pepper and Ms. Levy. For the remainder of our fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, our compensation committee consisted of Messrs. Fernandez and Machado and Ms. Levy. The chair of our compensation committee is Mr. Fernandez. Our board of directors has determined that each member of our compensation committee is independent under the listing standards of the Nasdaq and is a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

The principal duties and responsibilities of our compensation committee include, among other things:

We believe that the composition and functioning of our compensation committee complies with all applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules and regulations.

Compensation Committee Processes and Procedures

The compensation committee generally meets quarterly and with greater frequency if necessary. The compensation committee also acts periodically by unanimous written consent in lieu of a formal meeting. The agenda for each meeting is usually developed by the Chairperson of the compensation committee, in consultation with management. The compensation committee meets regularly in executive session. However, from time to time, various members of management and other employees, as well as outside advisors or consultants, may be invited by the compensation committee to make presentations, to provide financial or other background information or advice, or to otherwise participate in compensation committee meetings. Our Chief Executive Officer may not participate in, or be present during, any deliberations or determinations of the compensation committee regarding his compensation.

The charter of the compensation committee grants the compensation committee full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of Braze. In addition, under the charter, the compensation committee has the authority to obtain, at our expense, advice and assistance from compensation consultants and internal and external legal, accounting or other advisors and other external resources that the compensation committee considers necessary or appropriate in the performance of its duties. The compensation committee has direct responsibility for the oversight of the work of any consultants or advisers engaged for the purpose of advising the compensation committee. In particular, the compensation committee has the authority to retain compensation consultants to assist in its evaluation of executive and director compensation, including the authority to approve the consultant’s reasonable fees and other retention terms. The compensation committee is also responsible for assessing the independence of any consultant in accordance with the requirements of Nasdaq.

During the past fiscal year, after taking into consideration the six factors prescribed by the SEC and Nasdaq that bear upon the adviser’s independence, the compensation committee engaged Compensia, Inc. (“Compensia”) as compensation consultants. The compensation committee has analyzed whether the work of Compensia as our compensation consultant raises any conflict of interest, taking into account relevant factors in accordance with SEC guidelines. Compensia did not perform any work for us in our 2024 fiscal year, other than in respect of executive officer, senior leadership and director compensation. Based on its analysis, the compensation committee has determined that the work of Compensia, and the individual compensation advisors employed by Compensia do not create any conflict of interest pursuant to the SEC rules and the listing standard of Nasdaq. The compensation committee requested that Compensia:

As part of its engagement, Compensia was requested by the compensation committee to develop a comparative group of companies and to perform analyses of competitive performance and compensation levels for that group. Compensia ultimately developed recommendations that were presented to the compensation committee for its consideration.

Generally, the compensation committee’s process for determining executive compensation comprises two related elements: the determination of compensation levels and the establishment of performance objectives for the current year. For executives other than our Chief Executive Officer, the compensation committee solicits and considers evaluations and recommendations submitted to the committee by our Chief Executive Officer. The evaluation of our Chief Executive Officer’s performance is conducted by the compensation committee, which determines any adjustments to his compensation as well as awards to be granted. For all executives and directors, as part of its deliberations, the compensation committee may review and consider, as appropriate, materials such as financial results and projections, reported achievement of company targets and goals, operational data, executive and director stock ownership information, company stock performance data, analyses of historical and current executive compensation levels, reports of industry compensation trends, current company-wide compensation levels and recommendations of the compensation committee’s compensation consultant, including analyses of executive and director compensation paid at other companies identified by the consultant.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No member of our compensation committee is currently one of our officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serves, or has served during the last year, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our board of directors or compensation committee.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

From February 1, 2023 until April 4, 2023, our nominating and corporate governance committee consisted of Ms. Levy and Mr. Pepper. For the remainder of our fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, our nominating and corporate governance committee consisted of Ms. Levy and Mr. Agrawal. The chair of our nominating and corporate governance committee is Ms. Levy. Our board of directors has determined that each member of our nominating and corporate governance committee is independent under the listing standards of the Nasdaq.

Specific responsibilities of our nominating and corporate governance committee include:

We believe that the functioning of our nominating and corporate governance committee complies with all applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules and regulations.

In recommending candidates to the board of directors, the nominating and corporate governance committee considers such factors as: (i) possessing relevant expertise and experience upon which to be able to offer advice and guidance to management; (ii) having sufficient time to devote to the affairs of the company; (iii) demonstrating excellence in his or her field; (iv) having the ability to exercise sound business judgment; (v) experience as a board member or executive officer of another publicly held company; (vi) within our board of directors as a whole, whether there is a diversity of personal backgrounds, perspectives and experiences; and (vii) having the commitment to rigorously represent the long-term interests of our stockholders. These qualifications may be modified from time to time. Candidates for director nominees are reviewed in the context of the current composition of the board of directors, the operating requirements of Braze and the long-term interests of our stockholders. In conducting this assessment, the nominating and corporate governance committee typically considers diversity (including gender, ethnic background and country of origin), age, skills and such other factors as it deems appropriate, given the needs of the board of directors and our business, to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and capability on the board.

In the case of an incumbent director whose term of office is set to expire, the nominating and corporate governance committee reviews such director’s overall service to Braze during his or her term, including the number of meetings

attended, level of participation, quality of performance and any other relationships and transactions that might impair such director’s independence. In the case of new director candidates, our nominating and corporate governance committee also evaluates whether the nominee is independent for Nasdaq purposes, based upon applicable Nasdaq listing standards, applicable SEC rules and regulations and the advice of counsel, if necessary. Our nominating and corporate governance committee conducts any appropriate and necessary inquiries into the backgrounds and qualifications of possible candidates after considering the function and needs of our board of directors. Our nominating and corporate governance committee meets to discuss and consider the candidates’ qualifications and then selects a nominee(s) for recommendation to our board of directors.

From time to time, the nominating and corporate governance committee, in its discretion, may recommend to our board of directors changes to the criteria for membership on our board. If such changes are adopted by our board of directors, the nominating and corporate governance committee will evaluate, and make recommendations to the board of directors regarding, existing members according to the new criteria. Based on these recommendations, the board of directors may ask a director who no longer meets the complete criteria for board membership to adjust his or her committee assignments, not stand for re-election at Braze’s annual meeting of stockholders or resign from our board of directors.

Our nominating and corporate governance committee will consider stockholder recommendations of director candidates, so long as they comply with applicable law and our amended and restated bylaws, which procedures are summarized below, and will review the qualifications of any such candidate in accordance with the criteria described in the two preceding paragraphs. Stockholders who wish to recommend individuals for consideration by our nominating and corporate governance committee to become nominees for election to our board of directors should do so by delivering a written recommendation to our nominating and corporate governance committee at 63 Madison Building, 28 E. 28^th St., 12^th Floor, New York, New York 10016, Attention: Secretary, at least 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the mailing of our proxy statement for the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders.

Each submission must include, among other things, the name, age, business address and residence address of the proposed candidate, the principal occupation or employment of the proposed candidate, details of the proposed candidate’s ownership of our capital stock and related investment intent for such capital stock, a description of the proposed candidate’s business experience for at least the last five years, a description of the proposed candidate’s qualifications as a director and all other information concerning such proposed candidate as would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement soliciting proxies for the election of such proposed candidate as a director. Any such submission must be accompanied by the written consent of the proposed candidate to be named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected, and we may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as is reasonably required to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as an independent director under applicable Nasdaq requirements or applicable law. Additionally, each potential candidate must provide a list of references and agree (i) to be interviewed by members of our nominating and corporate governance committee or other directors in the discretion of the nominating and corporate governance committee, and (ii) to a background check or other review of the qualifications of such proposed candidate by Braze. Prior to nomination of any potential candidate by our board of directors, each member of the board will have an opportunity to meet with the proposed candidate. Upon request, any candidate nominated will agree in writing to comply with our corporate governance guidelines, our code of business conduct and ethics and all other policies and procedures of Braze applicable to our board of directors.

If, rather than submitting a candidate to the nominating and corporate governance committee for consideration, you wish to formally nominate a director pursuant to proxy materials that you will prepare and file with the SEC, please see the deadline described in “When are stockholder proposals and director nominations due for next year’s annual meeting?” above and refer to our amended and restated bylaws for a complete description of the required procedures for nominating a candidate to our board of directors.

Communications with Our Board of Directors

Our relationship with our stockholders is an important part of our corporate governance program. Engaging with stockholders helps us to understand how they view us, to set goals and expectations for our performance, and to identify emerging issues that may affect our strategies, corporate governance, compensation practices or other aspects of our operations. Our stockholder and investor outreach includes investor road shows, analyst meetings, and investor

conferences and meetings. We also communicate with stockholders and other stakeholders through various media, including our annual report and SEC filings, proxy statement, news releases and our website. Our webcasts for quarterly earnings releases are open to all. These webcasts are available in real time and are archived on our website for a period of time.

Stockholders of Braze wishing to communicate with our board of directors or an individual director may do so by sending a written communication to the board of directors or such director c/o 63 Madison Building, 28 E. 28^th St., 12^th Floor, New York, New York 10016, Attn: Secretary. The Secretary will review each communication and will forward such communication to the board of directors or to any individual director to whom the communication is addressed unless the communication contains advertisements or solicitations or is unduly hostile, threatening or similarly inappropriate, in which case the Secretary shall discard the communication or inform the proper authorities, as may be appropriate.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics (the “Code of Conduct”) that applies to all our employees, officers and directors. This includes our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. The full text of our Code of Conduct is posted on our website at www.braze.com. We intend to disclose on our website any future amendments of our Code of Conduct or waivers that exempt any principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, persons performing similar functions or our directors from provisions in the Code of Conduct. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Notice and related proxy materials, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this Notice and related proxy materials.

Hedging Policy

Our board of directors has adopted an insider trading policy, which prohibits hedging or monetization transactions with respect to our common stock by our employees, directors and their affiliates, including through the use of financial instruments such as prepaid variable forwards, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds. In addition, our insider trading policy generally prohibits trading in derivative securities related to our common stock, which include publicly traded call and put options and engaging in short selling of our common stock. Furthermore, our insider trading policy prohibits purchasing our common stock on margin or holding it in a margin account and pledging our shares as collateral for a loan, except in limited circumstances pre-approved by our board of directors or our nominating and corporate governance committee.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth, for our executive officers, their ages and positions held with us as of April 29, 2024:

Biographical information for William Magnuson is included above with the director biographies under the caption “Information Regarding Director Nominees and Current Directors.”

Isabelle Winkles has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2020. Prior to joining us, Ms. Winkles served in various roles, including Vice President, Finance of Cognizant Technologies Solutions Corp., a professional services company, from April 2018 to January 2020 and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley & Co., an investment bank, from January 2016 to April 2018. Ms. Winkles received her M.B.A. from Harvard University and her B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jonathan Hyman has served as our Chief Technology Officer since December 2016. He previously served as our Chief Information Officer from July 2011 to December 2016. Mr. Hyman received his A.B. in computer science from Harvard College.

Myles Kleeger has served as our President since December 2016 and our Chief Commercial Officer since January 2023. He previously served as our Chief Customer Officer from January 2018 until January 2023 and our Chief Revenue Officer from December 2014 to January 2018. Mr. Kleeger received his M.B.A. from New York University and his B.A. from Duke University.

Susan Wiseman has served as our General Counsel and Secretary since January 2016. She previously served as Managing Counsel, Commercial at Salesforce.com, Inc., a customer relationship management technology company, from August 2012 to December 2015. Ms. Wiseman received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.S. from Northwestern University.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Overview

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis section discusses our executive compensation policies and how and why our compensation committee arrived at specific compensation decisions for our 2024 fiscal year for the individuals who served as our principal executive officer, our principal financial officer and our three other most highly compensated executive officers as of January 31, 2024, collectively referred to as our “named executive officers”:

Business Highlights

Our Business

Braze is a leading comprehensive Customer Engagement platform that powers customer-centric interactions between consumers and brands. Customer Engagement is an emerging category of business activity and software which we define as the full set of activities that companies use to build and maintain direct, meaningful relationships with their customers. Our platform empowers brands to listen to their customers better, understand them more deeply, and act on that understanding in a way that is human and personal. As of January 2024, 2,044 customers around the world trusted Braze to power their cross-channel Customer Engagement strategies, and our platform enabled interactions with 6.2 billion monthly active users via our customers’ apps, websites, and other digital interfaces.

Business Highlights for Our 2024 Fiscal Year

Compensation Highlights

Our compensation program for our named executive officers reflects our overarching philosophy of pay-for-performance. Highlights of our 2024 executive compensation program include:

predetermined metrics that quantify the success of our business imperatives. In the 2024 fiscal year, our named executive officers were eligible to earn annual performance-based cash compensation based on our achievement of challenging annual corporate financial goals approved by our compensation committee. Based on final achievement of such goals, each of our named executive officers earned annual performance-based cash compensation equal to 98% of their annual target amounts.

Executive Summary

The important features of our executive compensation program include the following:

Objectives, Philosophy and Elements of Executive Compensation

Our compensation program aims to achieve the following main objectives:

Our executive compensation program generally consists of the following three principal components: base salary, performance-based cash bonus and long-term equity incentive compensation. We also provide our named executive officers with benefits available to all our employees, including retirement benefits under our 401(k) plan and participation in employee benefit plans. The below chart summarizes the three main elements of our executive compensation, their purpose and key features.

Our executive compensation philosophy is to provide a market-competitive compensation package to our named executive officers that includes significant short- and long-term incentives designed to achieve measurable corporate objectives. We believe that this approach provides an appropriate blend of short-term and long-term incentives to maximize stockholder value.

In fiscal year 2024, the long-term incentives for our named executive officers were awarded in the form of RSUs. We believe that RSUs align the interests of employees with stockholders and provide a long-term focus through a multi-year vesting schedule, while managing dilution to existing investors.

To maintain a competitive compensation program, we also offer cash compensation in the form of base salaries and short-term incentives in the form of annual performance-based cash bonus payments, resulting in total cash compensation for our named executive officers that is aligned with market practices in our competitive markets.

We do not have any formal policies for allocating compensation among salary, short-term cash incentives, equity grants or other forms of short-term or long-term incentive compensation. Instead, our compensation committee uses its judgment, with appropriate support from management and the compensation committee’s independent compensation consultant, Compensia, to establish a total compensation mix for our named executive officers that is designed to achieve the goals of our executive compensation philosophy and to incentivize achievement of our corporate goals and objectives. Accordingly, we have historically structured our named executive officers’ total compensation towards annual performance-based cash bonus payments and long-term equity awards in order to align our management’s incentives with the interests of our stockholders and towards achievement of corporate goals and objectives.

During our 2024 fiscal year, the compensation committee, with the assistance of Compensia, reviewed our executive compensation, including base salaries, performance-based cash bonuses and outstanding equity awards, to confirm the continued alignment of our compensation program with stockholder interests and to appropriately reward, retain and incentivize our named executive officers.

How We Determine Executive Compensation

Role of our Compensation Committee

The compensation committee is appointed by our board of directors and oversees our compensation policies, plans and programs with the goal of attracting, incentivizing, retaining and rewarding top-quality executive management and employees. The compensation committee is responsible for reviewing and determining all compensation paid to our named executive officers and also reviewing our compensation practices and policies as they relate to risk management and risk-taking incentives. Our compensation committee consists solely of independent members of the board.

The compensation committee meets at least quarterly and with greater frequency if necessary throughout the year to manage and evaluate our executive compensation program, and generally determines the principal components of compensation (base salary, performance-based cash bonus and equity awards) for our named executive officers on an annual basis; however, decisions may occur at other times for new hires, promotions or other special circumstances as our compensation committee determines appropriate.

Role of Management

In fulfilling its responsibilities, the compensation committee considers input, as appropriate, from management. The Chief Executive Officer evaluates and provides to the compensation committee performance assessments and compensation recommendations with respect to each of our named executive officers, other than himself. In developing his recommendations, the Chief Executive Officer takes into account market data provided by Compensia. While the Chief Executive Officer discusses his recommendations with the compensation committee, he is not present during and does not participate in the deliberations concerning, or the determination of, his own performance and compensation. From time to time, various other members of management and other employees, as well as outside advisors or consultants, may be invited by the compensation committee to make presentations, provide financial or other background information or advice or otherwise participate in the compensation committee meetings.

Role of Compensation Consultant

The compensation committee has the sole authority to retain compensation consultants to assist in its evaluation of executive compensation, including the authority to approve the consultant’s reasonable fees and other retention terms. The compensation committee directly engaged Compensia as its independent compensation consultant for our 2024 fiscal year. Compensia’s engagement included:

The compensation committee has analyzed whether the work of Compensia as our compensation consultant raises any conflict of interest, taking into account relevant factors in accordance with SEC guidelines. Based on its analysis, the compensation committee has determined that the work of Compensia, and the individual compensation advisors employed by Compensia do not create any conflict of interest pursuant to the SEC rules and the listing standards of Nasdaq.

Use of Competitive Market Compensation Data

The compensation committee believes that it is important when making its compensation decisions to be informed as to the current practices of comparable public companies with which we compete for top talent. To this end, the compensation committee approved a proposed peer group list of publicly traded companies, which was developed by Compensia to be used in connection with assessing our compensation practices.

This peer group represents a group of public companies that are reasonably comparable to Braze in terms of maturity, industry, market capitalization and financial characteristics to provide the compensation committee and management with relevant compensation information to support compensation decision-making. The executive compensation peer group was intended to reflect companies with executive positions of similar scope and complexity to Braze. In determining the peer group, Compensia considered whether a company was (i) U.S.-headquartered; (ii) a data-focused software company, with a preference for customer-brand engagement/analytics platforms; (iii) a company with annual revenue within a range of $130 million to $500 million; and (iv) a company with a market capitalization within a range of $1.25 billion to $11 billion. Additionally, Compensia considered whether the company had high revenue growth rates and reviewed initial public offering dates to avoid a concentration of newly public companies with limited disclosure of public company compensation practices.

Our peer group with respect to our 2024 fiscal year was as follows:

The compensation committee reviews our peer group with input from Compensia at least annually and adjusts its composition, if warranted, taking into account changes in both our business and the businesses of the companies in the peer group.

Using data compiled from the peer companies, Compensia completed an assessment of our executive compensation to inform the compensation committee’s determinations regarding executive compensation for our 2024 fiscal year.

Compensia prepared, and the compensation committee reviewed, a range of market data reference points (generally at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of the market data) with respect to base salary, performance bonuses, vested and unvested equity compensation (valued based both on an approximation of grant date fair value as well as ownership percentage and for potential retentive value over time), total target cash compensation (base salary and the annual target performance cash bonus) and total direct compensation (total target cash compensation and equity compensation) with respect to each of the named executive officers. While the compensation committee does not have a formal policy for target pay to fall at any particular percentile of the market data, it reviewed market data comparisons as helpful reference points in making compensation decisions. As part of the review, the compensation committee determined that it was appropriate to use the 50^th percentile of peer market data as the relevant benchmark for executive officer compensation in our 2024 fiscal year. Market data is only one of the factors that the compensation committee considers in making compensation decisions. The compensation committee also considers other factors as described below under “Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation.”

Say-on-Pay Results

For the first time at our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, we conducted a non-binding stockholder advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers (commonly known as a “say-on-pay” vote). Our stockholders approved the say-on-pay proposal with over 99% of the votes cast in favor of the proposal. The compensation committee considered the result and believes that it demonstrates that our stockholders are highly supportive of our executive compensation program. As a result, the compensation committee did not make changes to our compensation program for fiscal year 2025 based on our say-on-pay vote.

Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation

The compensation committee sets the compensation of our named executive officers at levels determined to be competitive and appropriate for each named executive officer, using their professional experience and judgment. Pay decisions are not made by use of a formulaic approach. The compensation committee believes that executive pay decisions require consideration of a multitude of relevant factors which may vary from year to year. In making executive compensation decisions, the compensation committee generally takes into consideration the factors listed below:

2024 Fiscal Year Executive Compensation Program

Base Salary

Base salary represents the fixed portion of the compensation of our named executive officers and is an important element of compensation intended to attract and retain highly talented individuals. In February 2023, the compensation committee reviewed the base salaries of certain of our named executive officers, taking into consideration the competitive market analysis prepared by its compensation consultant and the recommendations of our Chief Executive Officer, as well as the other factors described in the section above. Following this review, the compensation committee determined to increase the base salaries for certain of our named executive officers for our 2024 fiscal year to the amounts set forth under the column below entitled “FY 2024 Base Salary”:

Annual Performance-Based Cash Bonus Program

Our annual performance-based cash bonus program for named executive officers provides incentive compensation that is specifically designed to motivate our named executive officers to achieve pre-established company-wide financial objectives set by the compensation committee and to reward them for results and achievements in a given fiscal year. The annual target bonus opportunities for our named executive officers are determined by the compensation committee in the first quarter of each fiscal year and are expressed as a percentage of their annual base salaries, with the potential bonus opportunity generally commensurate with each executive’s role and responsibilities and competitive pay practices among our peer group for similar executive roles. Earned bonus amounts, if any, are paid out in cash.

The compensation committee established the amount of the named executive officers’ target bonus opportunities following a review of the factors described above under the heading “Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation.” In February 2023, the compensation committee reviewed the performance-based cash bonus opportunities of our named executive officers, taking into consideration the competitive market analysis prepared by its compensation consultant and the recommendations of our Chief Executive Officer, as well as the other factors described under the heading “Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation.” The target bonus opportunities approved for, and amounts earned by, each of our named executive officers for our 2024 fiscal year were as follows:

Bonus opportunities under our annual performance-based cash bonus program for named executive officers may pay out at a level ranging from zero to 200% of the target level, with performance at the target level resulting in a payout of 100% of the target level. For our 2024 fiscal year, performance-based cash bonus payments were made once to our named executive officers, with the total amount of each named executive officer’s bonus determined and paid following the end of our fiscal year (as set forth in “2024 Fiscal Year Bonus Payouts” below).

Executive Bonus Goal Setting

The compensation committee approved the performance metrics and their relative weighting for the performance-based cash bonus awards for our 2024 fiscal year in the first quarter of that fiscal year. The targets against which performance is measured are generated through our annual budget and strategic planning process, which was reviewed with our board of directors and finalized in the first quarter. For our 2024 fiscal year, the compensation committee determined that the performance goals for our named executive officers would be comprised of three equally weighted corporate performance goals consisting of annual contract value, measured in U.S. dollars (“ACV”), renewal rate percentage (“RR”), and non-GAAP operating income (loss), with (a) bonus payout eligibility increasing if the ACV and RR performance goals were achieved above target or decreasing if such performance goals were achieved below target, as applicable, and (b) bonus payout eligibility for non-GAAP operating income (loss) representing 100% if the applicable performance goal was achieved, and representing 0% if such performance goal was not achieved. For purposes of the performance metrics, (i) ACV was equal to the annual recurring revenue value of new commercial activity from both existing customers and new customers sold by Braze during the fiscal year, (ii) RR was equal to the dollar value of recurring revenue that was renewed with Braze during the fiscal year divided by the total dollars available for renewal during that same period, and (iii) non-GAAP operating income (loss) was GAAP operating income (loss) adjusted for stock-based compensation expense, employer taxes related to stock-based compensation, charitable contribution expense, acquisition related expense, amortization of intangible assets and restructuring expense. ACV and RR exclude the impact of any one-time implementation and onboarding fees, and the impact of any overage fees or passthrough revenue. The targets for ACV, RR, and non-GAAP operating income were set to incentivize the achievement of our 2024 fiscal year operating plan, as established in the beginning of our 2024 fiscal year. The compensation committee believes that these goals represent rigorous objectives for our named executive officers and align with stockholder interests. The compensation committee has the authority to exercise discretion to award bonus awards absent attainment of the relevant performance goals or to reduce or increase the size of any bonus amount, but the compensation committee did not exercise such discretion for our 2024 fiscal year. The named executive officers’ performance-based cash bonus awards for our 2024 fiscal year were calculated based on the achievement of these goals.

2024 Fiscal Year Bonus Payouts

For our named executive officers in our 2024 fiscal year, the compensation committee approved actual performance-based cash bonus award payments in March 2024.

In March 2024, achievement of the corporate performance goals for our full 2024 fiscal year was determined to be 98%. Accordingly, the compensation committee determined that the aggregate performance-based cash compensation for our named executive officers for our 2024 fiscal year would be 98% of each’s 2024 fiscal year target amount. The amount of the aggregate bonus was determined in accordance with the terms of the performance-based cash bonus program previously approved by the compensation committee, with no discretionary supplemental bonus paid to any named executive officer.

Equity Awards

We view long-term incentive compensation in the form of equity awards as a critical element of our executive compensation program. The realized value of these equity awards bears a direct relationship to our stock price, and, therefore, these awards are an incentive for our executive officers to create value for our stockholders. Equity awards also help us retain qualified executive officers in an increasingly competitive market.

Long-term incentive compensation opportunities in the form of equity awards are granted to our Chief Executive Officer and our other named executive officers by the compensation committee. As with other elements of compensation, the compensation committee determines the amount of long-term incentive compensation for our named executive officers as part of its annual compensation review and after taking into consideration the individual officer’s responsibilities and performance and existing equity retention profiles, our total annual projected equity

budget and the other factors described in “Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation” above. For awards to named executive officers other than the Chief Executive Officer, the compensation committee also takes into account the recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer with respect to appropriate grants and any particular individual circumstances. The amounts of the equity awards are intended to provide competitively-sized awards and the resulting target total direct compensation opportunities that the compensation committee believes are reasonable and appropriate taking into consideration the factors described herein.

For our 2024 fiscal year, the compensation committee determined to grant our named executive officers long-term incentive compensation solely in the form of RSUs which may vest and be settled for shares of our Class A common stock. The shares underlying the RSUs vest in 16 equal quarterly installments beginning on May 15, 2023, subject to the named executive officer remaining in continuous service with us through each such vesting date. Since the value of RSUs increases with any increase in the value of the underlying shares, they serve as an incentive that aligns the interests of our named executive officers with the long-term interests of our stockholders. In addition, because they are subject to a multi-year vesting requirement, RSUs serve our retention objectives since our named executive officers generally must remain continuously employed by us through the applicable vesting dates to fully earn these awards. Additionally, because of their “full value” nature, RSUs deliver the desired grant date fair value using a lesser number of shares than an equivalent stock option, thereby enabling us to reduce the dilutive impact of our long-term incentive award mix and to use our equity compensation resources more efficiently.

Prior to our initial public offering in November 2021, all of the equity incentive awards we granted were made pursuant to our Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2011 Plan”). Following the closing of our initial public offering, we have granted any equity incentive awards under the terms of our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”). Generally, our compensation committee grants awards to our named executive officers and employees in the first quarter of each year. The compensation committee may also use its discretion to grant awards to our named executive officers and other employees outside of the first quarter in connection with new hires, in-year promotions or as performance awards deemed appropriate by our board of directors or the compensation committee.

2024 Fiscal Year Equity Awards

In March 2023, our named executive officers received RSU allocations based on our compensation committee’s review of the competitive market data for their respective positions, the size and vesting schedule of the equity awards previously granted to them, each executive’s overall responsibility for our performance and success as well as the factors described in “Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation” above.

The following table sets forth the equity awards granted to our named executive officers on March 3, 2023 pursuant to the annual compensation review described above:

Other Features of Our Executive Compensation Program

Agreements with Our Named Executive Officers

In connection with our initial public offering in November 2021, we entered into confirmatory offer letters with Messrs. Magnuson, Hyman and Kleeger governing their positions as our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer and President and Chief Customer Officer (Mr. Kleeger later had his title changed to President and Chief

Commercial Officer), respectively, and Mses. Winkles and Wiseman governing their positions as our Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel and Secretary, respectively. Each letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. Pursuant to these confirmatory offer letters, each of Messrs. Magnuson, Hyman and Kleeger and Mses. Winkles and Wiseman are eligible for discretionary performance-based compensation to be paid in conformity with our bonus practices in place from time to time and reviewed annually by our compensation committee, subject to corporate performance goals and any other performance metrics or factors otherwise determined to be appropriate by our board of directors or the compensation committee.

In addition, each of our named executive officers will be entitled to benefits in accordance with our executive severance plan described below and has executed our standard employee covenants agreement governing the protection of confidential information, intellectual property and inventions.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

We offer all eligible employees, including eligible named executive officers, the opportunity to purchase shares of our Class A common stock at a discount under our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), which is intended to qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423 of Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Pursuant to the ESPP, all eligible employees, including our named executive officers who satisfy such eligibility criteria, may allocate up to 15% of their gross earnings (as described in ESPP) for the relevant purchase period to purchase our stock at a 15% discount of the lesser of (i) the fair market value of our Class A common stock at the beginning of each offering period and (ii) the fair market value of our Class A common stock on the applicable purchase date, subject to specified limits.

Executive Severance Plan

Our board of directors has adopted an executive severance plan in which our named executive officers and certain other members of management and key employees participate. The severance plan was approved by our compensation committee after considering competitive market data. Our compensation committee determined that these benefits were both competitively reasonable and necessary to recruit and retain executives and other key employees. Enhanced severance benefits are provided for a qualifying termination that occurs in connection with a change in control in order to support ongoing retention and alignment of the interests of our executives and those of our stockholders in the event of a potential change in control transaction.

The executive severance plan provides that upon (i) a termination of an eligible participant’s employment by us without “cause”, as defined in the executive severance plan or (ii) a resignation by an eligible participant for “good reason”, as defined in the executive severance plan, in each case outside of the period commencing three months prior to and ending twelve months following a change in control of Braze (which we refer to as the change in control determination period), the named executive officer will be entitled to receive, subject to, among other things, the execution, delivery and effectiveness of a customary release of claims in our favor, (a) a lump sum cash payment equal to one-half times (0.5x) such named executive officer’s annual base salary then in effect (or one times (1.0x) his annual base salary then in effect for Mr. Magnuson); (b) an additional lump sum cash payment equal to any earned but unpaid annual bonus for any performance years completed as of the date of termination; and (c) continued payment of premiums for the named executive officer’s continued coverage under our health insurance plans for a six (6)-month period (or for a twelve (12)-month period for Mr. Magnuson).

The executive severance plan also provides that upon (i) a termination of an eligible participant’s employment with us that is effected by us without “cause” or (ii) a resignation by an eligible participant for “good reason,” in each case within the change in control determination period (which is the period beginning three months prior to and ending twelve months following a change in control), the named executive officers will be entitled to receive, subject to, among other things, the execution, delivery and effectiveness of a customary release of claims in our favor, (a) a lump sum cash payment equal to one times (1.0x) such named executive officer’s annual base salary then in effect; (b) an additional lump sum cash payment equal to the sum of (1) any earned but unpaid annual bonus for any performance years completed as of the date of termination; and (2) a prorated target annual bonus for the performance year of termination; (c) continued payment of premiums for the eligible participant’s continued coverage under our health insurance plans for a twelve (12)-month period; and (d) accelerated vesting of outstanding and unvested equity awards held by such participant. In addition, solely in the case of Mr. Magnuson, he will also be entitled to receive an additional lump sum cash payment equal to his target annual bonus for the performance year of termination.

The payments and benefits provided under the executive severance plan in connection with a change in control may not be eligible for a federal income tax deduction by us pursuant to Section 280G of the Code. These payments and benefits may also subject an eligible participant, including the named executive officers, to an excise tax under Section 4999 of the Code. If the payments or benefits payable in connection with a change in control would be subject to the excise tax imposed under Section 4999 of the Code, then those payments or benefits will be reduced if such reduction would result in a higher net after-tax benefit to the recipient.

Employee Benefit Plans and Perquisites

We do not provide any significant perquisites or personal benefits to our named executive officers. Our named executive officers are eligible to participate in our employee benefit plans, including our medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans, in each case on the same basis as all of our other employees.

We maintain a defined contribution retirement plan that provides eligible employees, including each of our named executive officers, with an opportunity to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis. Eligible employees may defer eligible compensation on a pre-tax basis, up to the statutorily prescribed annual limits on contributions under the Code. We have the ability to make discretionary contributions to the 401(k) plan, and annually match eligible employee contributions up to the lesser of (i) $5,000, or (ii) 6% of the employee’s eligible compensation. Employee contributions are allocated to each participant’s individual account and are then invested in selected investment alternatives according to the participant’s directions. Employees are immediately and fully vested in their contributions. The 401(k) plan is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code with the 401(k) plan’s related trust intended to be tax exempt under Section 501(a) of the Code. As a tax-qualified retirement plan, contributions to the 401(k) plan and earnings on those contributions are not taxable to the employees until distributed from the 401(k) plan.

Recoupment Policy

In September 2023, our board of directors adopted our compensation recoupment policy (the “Recoupment Policy”). The Recoupment Policy applies to any incentive-based compensation (any compensation granted, earned, or vested based in whole or part on our attainment of a financial reporting measure) received during the relevant recoupment period by our named executive officers, or any other covered executive. The Recoupment Policy is in accordance with the listing standards adopted by Nasdaq that implemented the SEC’s finalized Exchange Act Rule 10D-1.

The Recoupment Policy requires that, in the event of a financial restatement due to material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement under the federal securities laws, we will recover from each covered executive (specified as any executive officer of the Company as defined under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5608(d)) on a reasonably prompt basis the amount of any excess incentive-based compensation received by such covered executive during the recoupment period (as defined in the Recoupment Policy). Recovery under the Recoupment Policy is mandatory and does not require employee misconduct.

A copy of our Recoupment Policy has been filed with the SEC as Exhibit 97 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our 2024 fiscal year.

Policy Prohibiting Hedging and Pledging

Our board of directors has adopted an insider trading policy, which prohibits hedging or monetization transactions with respect to our Class A and Class B common stock for our employees, our directors and their affiliates, including through the use of financial instruments such as prepaid variable forwards, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds. In addition, our insider trading policy generally prohibits trading in derivative securities related to our Class A and Class B common stock, which include publicly traded call and put options and engaging in short selling of our common stock. Furthermore, our insider trading policy prohibits purchasing our common stock on margin or holding it in a margin account and pledging our shares as collateral for a loan, except in limited circumstances pre-approved by our board of directors or our nominating and corporate governance committee.

Compensation and Risk Management

Our compensation committee, Compensia, and our management team each play a role in evaluating and mitigating potential risks associated with our compensation plans, policies and practices. Our compensation committee, with input and support from Compensia and management, has considered our compensation plans, policies and practices to determine (i) if such plans, policies and practices are appropriately tailored to mitigate risk-taking initiatives, and (ii) if they are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on Braze. In particular, this review considered compensation program attributes that help to mitigate risk, including:

Based on this assessment, our compensation committee concluded that our compensation plans, policies and practices, taken as a whole, are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on Braze.

Tax and Accounting Considerations

Deductibility of Executive Compensation

Under Section 162(m) of the Code (“Section 162(m)”), compensation paid to each of our “covered employees” that exceeds $1 million per tax year is generally non-deductible.

Although our compensation committee considers tax implications as one factor in determining executive compensation, our compensation committee also looks at other factors in making its decisions and retains the flexibility to provide compensation for our named executive officers in a manner consistent with the goals of our executive compensation program and the best interests of Braze and our stockholders, which may include providing for compensation that is not deductible by Braze due to the deduction limit under Section 162(m).

Accounting Considerations

Our compensation committee considers the accounting treatment of the various elements of our executive compensation program. For example, we record our executive officers’ base salaries, equity awards, and our cash incentive compensation in our consolidated financial statements.

We follow the FASB ASC Topic 718 (“ASC Topic 718”) for our stock-based compensation awards. ASC Topic 718 requires us to measure the compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards made to our employees, including our named executive officers and non-employee directors, including stock options and other stock awards, based on the grant date “fair value” of these awards. This calculation is performed for accounting purposes and reported in the executive compensation tables in this proxy statement, even though the recipient of the awards may never realize any value from their awards.

Compensation Committee Report

Our compensation committee has reviewed and discussed with management the foregoing Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of Braze’s 2024 Proxy Statement. Based on this review and discussion, our compensation committee has recommended to our board of directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in Braze’s 2024 Proxy Statement and incorporated into Braze’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for our 2024 fiscal year.

Respectfully submitted by:

Phillip M. Fernandez (Chair)

Tara Walpert Levy (Compensation Committee member)

Fernando Machado (Compensation Committee Member)

Executive Compensation Tables

Summary Compensation Table

The following table shows for our 2024, 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, as applicable, compensation awarded to or paid to, or earned by, our named executive officers.

Narrative to the Summary Compensation Table

Annual Base Salary

Our named executive officers receive a base salary to compensate them for services rendered to us. The base salary payable to each named executive officer is intended to provide a fixed component of compensation reflecting the executive’s skill set, experience, role and responsibilities. The 2024 fiscal year annual base salaries for Mr. Magnuson, Ms. Winkles, Mr. Hyman, Mr. Kleeger and Ms. Wiseman were $490,000, $425,000, $385,000, $410,000 and $365,000, respectively. In establishing salary levels, we consider each named executive officer’s individual experience, responsibilities and performance and the pay levels of similarly situated executives at comparable companies. None of our named executive officers is currently party to an employment agreement or other agreement or arrangement that provides for automatic or scheduled increases in base salary. See “—Other Features of Our Executive Compensation Program—Agreements with Our Named Executive Officers” for additional information.

Annual Performance-Based Cash Bonus Opportunity

The annual performance-based cash bonus program for our named executive officers is designed to provide incentives to our named executive officers to make important contributions to our success and to reward them for their performance. The annual performance-based cash bonus program for bonus payments to each named executive officer is conditioned upon the achievement of certain performance goals established by the compensation committee. For our 2024 fiscal year, the compensation committee determined that the performance goals for our named executive officers would be comprised of three equally weighted corporate performance goals consisting of ACV, measured in U.S. dollars, RR and non-GAAP operating income (loss). For additional information on the performance bonus plan metrics in our 2024 fiscal year, see “—Executive Bonus Goal Setting”. The compensation committee established the amount of the named executive officers’ target bonus opportunities following a review of multitude of relevant factors, which may vary from year to year. For additional information on the factors considered by the compensation committee, see “—Factors Used in Determining Executive Compensation”.

Equity-Based Incentive Awards

Prior to our initial public offering in November 2021, we granted our named executive officers long-term incentive compensation in the form of stock options to purchase shares of our Class B common stock. As part of a multi-year approach to long-term incentives established in 2021 prior to our initial public offering, our named executive officers received stock option awards designed to provide equity incentives through our initial public offering and for our first year as a public company. In light of the stock option grants made to our named executive officers in April 2021 in contemplation of our initial public offering and the anticipated long-term value that such stock options then represented, we did not grant any long-term equity incentive awards in our 2023 fiscal year. In our 2024 fiscal year, we granted equity to our named executive officers in the form of RSUs with four-year vesting periods. We use long-term incentives in the form of RSUs to align the interest of our executives with those of our stockholders, and discourage risk-taking to achieve short-term gains at the expense of long-term stockholder value creation. For additional information, see “—2024 Fiscal Year Executive Compensation Program—Equity Awards” above.

Employment Arrangements

Each of our named executive officers has entered into a confirmatory offer letter and is eligible for participation in both our Executive Severance Plan (as defined above) and our annual performance-based cash bonus program. For additional information, see “—Other Features of Our Executive Compensation Program—Agreements with Our Named Executive Officers” above.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table sets forth information regarding each plan-based award granted to our named executive officers during the 2024 fiscal year.

Outstanding Equity Awards as of January 31, 2024

The following table sets forth certain information regarding outstanding equity awards granted to our named executive officers that remain outstanding as of January 31, 2024.

Stock option exercises and stock vested

The following table sets forth certain information regarding any stock option exercises and stock vested during our 2024 fiscal year with respect to our named executive officers.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

Each of our named executive officers is eligible to receive payments and benefits under the terms of our Executive Severance Plan, adopted by our board of directors in November 2021. Our Executive Severance Plan provides for severance and/or change in control payments and benefits to our named executive officers upon (i) a termination without “cause” or resignation for “good reason” (as such terms are defined in our Executive Severance Plan) outside the period commencing three months prior to and ending twelve months following a change in control of Braze (which we refer to as the change in control determination period) or (ii) a termination without “cause” or resignation for “good reason” within the change in control determination period. No amounts are payable under our Executive Severance Plan or in respect of outstanding equity-based awards in the event of a named executive officer’s termination for cause, voluntary resignation without good reason or termination due to death or disability.

The table below provides information with respect to potential payments and benefits to which our named executive officers would be entitled under our Executive Severance Plan, as described above under the section titled, “Executive Severance Plan,” assuming their employment was terminated as of January 31, 2024, including in connection with a change in control as of January 31, 2024. Our named executive officers are not entitled to any cash payments or the acceleration of the vesting of any outstanding equity awards solely in connection with a change in control.

Termination Without “Cause” or Resignation for “Good Reason” Outside of the Period Commencing Three Months Prior to and Ending Twelve Months Following a Change in Control

Upon a termination without “cause” or resignation for “good reason” outside the change in control determination period, each of our named executive officers is entitled to a lump sum payment equal to, and subject to, among other things, the execution, delivery and effectiveness of a customary release of claims in our favor, (a) a lump sum cash payment equal to one-half times (0.5x) such named executive officer’s annual base salary then in effect (or one times

(1.0x) his annual base salary then in effect for Mr. Magnuson); (b) an additional lump sum cash payment equal to any earned but unpaid annual bonus for any performance years completed as of the date of termination; and (c) continued payment of premiums for the named executive officer’s continued coverage under our health insurance plans for a six (6)-month period (or for a twelve (12)-month period for Mr. Magnuson). The unvested equity awards will be forfeited upon a termination without “cause” or resignation for “good reason” outside the change in control determination period.

Termination Without “Cause” or Resignation for “Good Reason” Within the Period Commencing Three Months Prior to and Ending Twelve Months Following a Change in Control

Upon a termination without “cause” or resignation for “good reason” within the change in control determination period, each of our named executive officers is entitled to, and subject to, among other things, the execution, delivery and effectiveness of a customary release of claims in our favor, (a) a lump sum cash payment equal to one times (1.0x) such named executive officer’s annual base salary then in effect; (b) an additional lump sum cash payment equal to the sum of (1) any earned but unpaid annual bonus for any performance years completed as of the date of termination; and (2) a prorated target annual bonus for the performance year of termination; (c) continued payment of premiums for the eligible participant’s continued coverage under our health insurance plans for a twelve (12)-month period; and (d) accelerated vesting of outstanding and unvested equity awards held by such participant. In addition, solely in the case of Mr. Magnuson, he will also be entitled to receive an additional lump such cash payment equal to his target annual bonus for the performance year of termination.

No amounts are payable under our Executive Severance Plan or in respect of outstanding equity-based awards in the event of a named executive officer’s termination for “cause”, voluntary resignation without “good reason” or termination due to death or disability.

Change in Control without Termination of Employment

Our equity incentive plans and award agreements generally do not provide for “single-trigger” vesting of equity awards upon a change in control. In the event of a change in control, unless otherwise determined by our board of directors, outstanding awards may be assumed, continued or substituted for by the acquiring entity and, if so assumed, will remain subject to the same vesting and forfeiture restrictions that were applicable to the award prior to the change in control. Pursuant to our 2021 Plan, if the acquiring entity does not assume, continue or substitute for such awards, then with respect to any awards that are held by participants whose continuous service has not terminated prior to the effective time of the change in control, the vesting (and exercisability, if applicable) of such awards will be accelerated in full to a date prior to the effective time of the change in control.

Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the liability of our current and former directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for: (1) any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders; (2) any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; (3) unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions; or (4) any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Such limitation of liability does not apply to liabilities arising under federal securities laws and does not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to indemnify our directors, officers, employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law and may indemnify our other employees and agents. Our amended and restated bylaws also provide that, on satisfaction of certain conditions, we will advance expenses incurred by a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by our board of directors. With certain exceptions, these agreements provide for indemnification for related expenses including

attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding. We believe these provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and these indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers. We also maintain customary directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers as required by these indemnification provisions.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted for directors, executive officers or persons controlling us, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table summarizes our equity compensation plan information as of January 31, 2024. Information is included for equity compensation plans approved by our stockholders. We do not have any equity compensation plans not approved by our stockholders:

The 2021 Plan provides that the total number of shares of our Class A common stock reserved for issuance thereunder will automatically increase on February 1^st of each year for a period of ten years commencing on February 1, 2022 and ending on (and including) February 1, 2031, in an amount equal to 5.0% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding on January 31^st before the date of the automatic increase; or such lesser number of shares of Class A common stock as determined by our board of directors prior to February 1^st of a given year. In addition, the ESPP provides that the total number of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance thereunder will automatically increase on February 1^st of each year for a period of up to ten years commencing on February 1, 2022 and ending on (and including) February 1, 2031, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) 1.0% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on January 31^st before the date of the automatic increase, and (ii) 2,737,000 shares; or such lesser number of shares of common stock as determined by our board of directors prior to February 1^st of a given year.

Accordingly, on February 1, 2024, the number of shares of Class A common stock available for issuance under the 2021 Plan and the ESPP increased by 5,010,520 shares and 1,002,104 shares, respectively, pursuant to these provisions. These increases are not reflected in the table above.

 

 

 

CEO PAY RATIO

Pursuant to Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K presented below is the ratio of annual total compensation of our Chief Executive Officer to the annual total compensation of our median employee (except our Chief Executive Officer).

We believe that the ratio presented below represents a reasonable estimate calculated in a manner consistent with Item 402(u). The SEC’s rules for identifying the median compensated employee and calculating the pay ratio based on that employee’s annual total compensation allow companies to adopt a variety of methodologies, to apply certain exclusions, and to make reasonable estimates and assumptions that reflect their employee populations and compensation practices. As a result, the pay ratio reported by other companies may not be comparable to the pay ratio reported below, as other companies have different employee populations and compensation practices and may utilize different methodologies, exclusions, estimates and assumptions in calculating their own pay ratios.

For our 2024 fiscal year, we identified our median compensated employee from all of our full-time and part-time employees as of a determination date of January 31, 2024 (other than our Chief Executive Officer) (the “Determination Date”). We did not include any independent contractors in our employee population. We used a consistently applied compensation measure consisting of annual base salary, annual bonus or commission targets, and the target equity award value during fiscal year 2024 for each employee. We annualized base salary, target annual bonus and commission for any full-time and part-time employees who commenced work during our 2024 fiscal year to reflect a full year, and non-United States employees’ pay was converted to U.S. dollar equivalents using applicable budgeted currency exchange rates for our 2024 fiscal year. Due to the fact that we had an even number of eligible employees as of the Determination Date, we identified two employees who could qualify as our median compensated employee. Of these two employees, we identified our median compensated employee as the employee who received a salary, annual bonus or commission compensation and an equity award during fiscal year 2024, because we believe this most closely resembles the blend of compensation for our employee population on an annual basis. We did not make any cost-of-living adjustments for employees outside of the United States. We believe our methodology represents a consistently applied compensation measure for our worldwide workforce that captures a full year of the primary compensation components for our workforce.

The 2024 fiscal year annual total compensation as determined under Item 402 of Regulation S-K for our Chief Executive Officer was $11,960,363, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table. The annual total compensation as determined under Item 402 of Regulation S-K of our median employee for our 2024 fiscal year was $194,247. The ratio of our Chief Executive Officer’s annual total compensation to the median of the annual total compensation of all our employees for our 2024 fiscal year is 62 to 1.

This information is being provided for compliance purposes. Neither the compensation committee nor management of the company used the foregoing pay ratio measure in making compensation decisions.

NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned by or paid to our non-employee directors for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024: