We believe that our management team has taken great strides to transform our business over the past year, aggressively transforming the Company by optimizing our portfolio and reducing our cost structure to position the Company to respond to current and expected industry conditions.

We believe the Company achieved several significant accomplishments in 2015 due to the leadership of our Board of Directors (the “Board”) and executive officers, and the dedication and hard work of our employees. Those accomplishments included the following:

Reflecting the difficult economic conditions in our industry during the last year, our net sales totaled $3.36 billion, a decrease of 12 percent compared to $3.81 billion for the year ended December 31, 2014, and an 11 percent decrease compared to 2013 net sales of $3.77 billion. Our Reported Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ was $330.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2015, a decrease of 27 percent compared to Reported Adjusted EBITDA of $454.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, and a 49 percent decrease compared to 2013 Reported Adjusted EBITDA of $641.7 million.

The decreases in net sales and Reported Adjusted EBITDA for 2015, as compared to 2014, were primarily attributable to:

These unfavorable factors were partially offset by higher operating rates and related sales volumes for PVC during the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to the year ended December 31, 2014.

NET SALES⁽²⁾

REPORTED ADJUSTED EBITDA⁽²⁾

Consistent with our compensation philosophy and objectives, our Leadership Development and Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) took the following compensation-related actions during 2015:

On January 29, 2016, Westlake proposed to acquire the Company for $20 per share, in the form of $11 per share in cash and 0.1967 shares of Westlake stock, which it increased on March 29, 2016 to $23.12 based on the closing price of Westlake common stock on March 29, 2016, in the form of $14 per share in cash and 0.1967 shares of Westlake’s common stock. As of the date of this proxy statement, our Board has rejected Westlake’s acquisition proposal and determined that the proposal does not fairly reflect the high quality of the Company’s assets, the significant growth potential of the Company’s business and the powerful synergies that the Company believes would be available in a combination of the Company and Westlake. Under the standstill provisions of a confidentiality agreement between Westlake and the Company, Westlake may make additional acquisition proposals and solicit proxies to vote for the election of nominees to the Board, but may not make a tender or exchange offer for or acquire additional Company shares before September 15, 2016 (or earlier in certain events). On April 3, 2016, Westlake notified the Company that it has terminated discussions concerning a possible transaction.

Our Board has not at this time determined to pursue any strategic alternative other than the previously announced process to sell our Building Products business. However, our Board authorized management, with the assistance of the Company’s independent financial and legal advisors, to conduct discussions regarding potential strategic transactions with third parties, including Westlake, that we believe may be interested in considering a potential strategic

investment in or other transaction involving the Company. In this regard, the Company has furnished substantial information to, and held discussions with, Westlake and other parties regarding our business and prospects, as well as synergies that could be available in a combination involving the Company. There can be no assurance that any transaction will result from any of these discussions. In addition, we cannot predict the effect on these discussions of the election of any of Westlake’s nominees except that our Board, whether or not reconstituted as a result of Westlake’s proxy contest, would continue to owe fiduciary duties to the Company’s stockholders in evaluating any strategic alternative and these duties could be enforced by all stockholders.

Westlake notified the Company that it intends to nominate a full slate for election as directors at the annual meeting in opposition to our Board’s recommended nominees. The Board unanimously recommends that you vote “for” the election of each of the director nominees recommended by the Board by using the enclosed WHITE proxy card accompanying these proxy materials.

The Board strongly urges you not to sign or return any gold proxy card sent to you by or on behalf of Westlake. Westlake’s nominees have not been endorsed by the Board. The Company is not responsible for the accuracy of any information provided by or relating to Westlake or any affiliate contained in any proxy solicitation materials filed or disseminated by, or on behalf of, Westlake, or any other statements that Westlake may otherwise make.

We believe that our Board has a demonstrated track record of implementing governance structures and practices that we believe are favorable toward, and promote accountability to, the Company’s stockholders. In recent years, those steps have included:

You will find important information about the experience and qualifications of each of the director nominees that you are being asked to elect on pages 14 through 29 of this proxy statement. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance committee and the other members of our Board believe each of these nominees

possesses the experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills, as well as a commitment to the success of our Company, to qualify the nominee to serve as a director of the Company.

The Board recommends a vote “for” each of the nominees for election.

The Board of Directors urges you NOT to sign or return any gold proxy card sent to you by or on behalf of Westlake.

Voting against Westlake’s nominees on its proxy card is not the same as voting for the Board’s nominees, because a vote against Westlake’s nominees on their proxy card will revoke any previous proxy card submitted by you. If you have previously voted using the

gold proxy card sent to you by or on behalf of Westlake, you can change your vote by executing the WHITE proxy card or by voting

by telephone or through the Internet or by mail by following the instructions shown on the WHITE proxy card. Only the latest dated proxy you submit will be counted.

If you have questions about how to vote your shares or need additional assistance, please contact our proxy solicitor, Innisfree. Stockholders may call: (877) 456-3427 (toll-free from the U.S. and Canada) or (412) 232-3651 (from other locations). Banks and Brokers may call collect: (212) 750-5833.

Our stockholders have the opportunity to cast a non-binding, advisory vote on the compensation program for our named executive officers. We were pleased that last year more than 93 percent of the votes cast by stockholders supported our executive compensation program by voting “for” the proposal to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers. In evaluating the

“say-on-pay” proposal this year, we recommend that you review the entire Compensation Discussion and Analysis in this proxy statement, which explains how and why the Committee and our Board arrived at their executive compensation actions, decisions and design for 2015.

The Board recommends that you vote “for” this proposal.

We are asking our stockholders to approve the material terms for “qualified performance-based compensation” under the 2011 Plan for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). The Company is not seeking to increase the amount of shares available for issuance or to adjust any of the individual award limits contained in the 2011 Plan. However, we are seeking stockholder approval of this proposal in order to

enable us potentially to design certain types of awards under the 2011 Plan that may satisfy the requirements for “qualified performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, and thus may permit us potentially to benefit from certain tax deductions under Section 162(m) of the Code.

The Board recommends that you vote “for” this proposal.

We are asking our stockholders to approve the material terms for “qualified performance-based compensation” under the Incentive Plan for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code. This proposal is intended to provide us with the ability potentially to offer short-term, cash-based incentive awards under the Incentive Plan that

may be able to satisfy the requirements for “qualified performance-based compensation” and may permit us to benefit from certain tax deductions under Section 162(m) of the Code.

The Board recommends that you vote “for” this proposal.

Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) has served as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm since March 15, 2011. The Audit Committee of the Board has appointed EY as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016.

The Board recommends that this appointment be ratified. If the stockholders fail to ratify this appointment, the Audit Committee may, but is

not required to, reconsider whether to retain EY. Even if the appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may direct the appointment of a different accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the best interest of the Company.

The Board recommends that you vote “for” this proposal.

This proxy statement and the accompanying form of proxy are being furnished to the stockholders of the Company on or about [●], 2016 in connection with the solicitation of

proxies by our Board for use at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held on [●], 2016 at [●] local time at [●] and any adjournment or postponement of the annual meeting.

The enclosed proxy card provides voting instructions for eligible stockholders. Stockholders not wishing to vote by telephone or via the Internet or whose proxy card does not mention information about telephone or Internet voting should complete the enclosed WHITE proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided. Signing and returning the WHITE proxy card via mail or submitting the proxy by telephone or via the Internet does not

affect your right to revoke your proxy or to vote in person at the annual meeting.

If your shares are held in “street name” by a bank, broker or other nominee, you should check the voting form used by that firm to determine whether you may provide voting instructions to the bank, broker or other nominee by telephone or the Internet.

Our Board does not know of any other business to be brought before the annual meeting, but if any other business is properly brought before the annual meeting, proxies will be voted upon those matters in accordance with the judgment of the person or persons acting under the proxies.

We will pay the cost of soliciting proxies. In addition to use of the mail, proxies may be solicited in person or by telephone or facsimile by our directors and officers, who will not receive additional compensation for these services. We have retained Innisfree to assist in the solicitation of proxies for a fee of $[●]. We expect that Innisfree will engage approximately [●] employees to assist us in connection with soliciting proxies. As a result of the proxy contest conducted by Westlake, the Company’s aggregate expenses related to the solicitation of stockholders (including expenses relating to the

retention of Innisfree, but excluding the amount normally expended for a solicitation for an election of directors in the absence of a contest and salaries and wages of regular employees and officers) are expected to be approximately $[●], of which approximately $[●] has been incurred to date. Brokerage houses, nominees, custodians and fiduciaries will be requested to forward soliciting material to beneficial owners of stock held of record by them, and we will reimburse those persons for their reasonable expenses in doing so.

Only holders of record of outstanding shares of common stock of the Company at the close of business on [●], 2016 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the annual meeting. Each

stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on the record date. There were [●] shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote as of the record date.

The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the annual meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum to conduct business. Except as described below, abstentions and “broker non-votes” will be counted as present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining a quorum.

Brokers have the discretion to vote shares held in “street name”—a term that refers to shares held in the name of a broker on behalf of its customer, the beneficial owner—on matters considered “routine” under New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) listing rules, such as the ratification of the appointment of independent auditors, but not on other, “non-routine” matters, such as the election of directors or an advisory vote on executive compensation. Broker non-votes generally occur when shares held in street

name by a broker for a beneficial owner are not voted with respect to a non-routine matter because the broker has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner and the broker lacks discretionary authority to vote the shares.

Given the contested nature of the election, under the NYSE listing rules, if you receive proxy materials from Westlake, brokers will only be able to vote your shares with respect to any proposals at the annual meeting if you have instructed them how to vote. If you do not submit any voting instructions to your broker, bank or other nominee, your shares will not be counted in determining the outcome of any of the proposals at the annual meeting, nor will your shares be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum exists.

Assuming that Westlake proposes some or all of its nominees for election at the annual meeting, the nine director nominees who receive the greatest number of votes cast “for” will each be elected as a director. As a result of Westlake’s intention to nominate alternative director nominees, assuming such nominees are in fact proposed for election at the annual meeting, the number of director nominees will exceed the number of directors to be elected, and, consequently, the Company’s normal majority-voting requirement for the election of directors would not apply to this election.

With respect to the election of directors, stockholders may complete their proxy card so as to (1) vote “for” all of the nominees listed on that proxy card, (2) vote “withhold” for all of the nominees listed on that proxy card, or (3) vote “withhold” for certain of the nominees but vote “for” the other nominees listed on that proxy card. There is no cumulative voting in the election of the Company’s directors. Shares not present, in person or by proxy, at the annual meeting and abstentions will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors. Similarly, any broker non-votes will not be considered to be votes cast on the election of directors and therefore will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast is required for each of the approval of the advisory vote on executive compensation,

approval of the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the 2011 Plan, approval of the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the Incentive Plan and ratification of the appointment of independent auditors. With respect to each of these items, stockholders may (1) vote “for,” (2) vote “against,” or (3) “abstain” from voting. Abstentions are not considered to be votes cast and therefore will have no effect on the outcome of the vote on these matters. In addition, with respect to the election of directors, the advisory vote on executive compensation and the votes on the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the 2011 Plan and the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the Incentive Plan, broker non-votes are not considered to be votes cast and therefore will have no effect on the outcome of the vote on these matters. As the ratification of the appointment of independent auditors is a routine matter under NYSE listing rules, unless you receive proxy materials from Westlake, there will be no broker non-votes with respect to this matter.

To attend the annual meeting, you will need to be a stockholder and present valid picture identification. If you hold shares through an account with a bank or broker, you will need to provide proof of ownership, such as a legal proxy, voting instruction form or a statement from your broker.

All of our directors are subject to annual election by our stockholders. Any vacancies that occur on our Board, or any newly elected directorships, may be filled by the Board, and any such newly appointed director will serve for the remainder of the unexpired portion of the term of the director who departed, if any, or otherwise until the next succeeding annual meeting of stockholders.

In evaluating director candidates and considering incumbent directors for re-nomination to the Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may consider a variety of factors, including each nominee’s character, independence, judgment, financial literacy, educational experience, professional experience and personal and professional accomplishments, in light of the needs of the Company. For incumbent directors, factors considered by the committee also include the nominee’s past performance on the Board and contributions to any Board committees on which the nominee has served.

As a result of all of the foregoing, the following director nominees are proposed for election to the Board, to serve until the Company’s next annual meeting of stockholders, and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified:

Robert Ripp informed the Company on April 3, 2016 that he will not be standing for re-election at the annual meeting. Mr. Ripp informed the Company that his decision reflects his desire to reduce his board commitments and affirmed that the decision is not a result of a disagreement with the Board or its management. As a result, our Board has taken action to decrease the size of the Board from ten to nine, effective upon the expiration of Mr. Ripp’s term as a director.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and the other members of the Board, believe this slate of director nominees has the appropriate mix of educational and professional experiences, specific areas of expertise, skills and qualifications that are appropriate to enable the Board to successfully address the needs and challenges of the Company and its various business segments. In addition, each of these director nominees has proven his or her leadership, integrity and sound judgment during the time that he or she has served on the Board.

Unless instructed otherwise, properly executed proxies will be voted for the election of all nine of the nominees named above. If any such nominee is unwilling or unable to serve (an eventuality of which we are not currently aware), proxies may be voted for a substitute nominee selected by the Board, or the Board may determine to reduce the number of nominees.

Timothy Mann, Jr.

Timothy Mann, Jr., age 50, has been a director and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and President since November 2015. Prior thereto he served as interim President and Chief Executive Officer from July 2015 to November 2015 and as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from July 2012 to July 2015. Before then, he was a partner at the global law firm Jones Day, where his practice focused primarily on public and private merger and acquisition activities and corporate governance, including executive compensation and general corporate counseling.

Mr. Mann has served in various senior executive management positions with the Company during a time when the Company has addressed transformational strategic issues and transactions, culminating with his recent appointment as Chief Executive Officer in November 2015. The Company believes this gives him unique knowledge of the Company’s history and the opportunities and challenges associated with the Company’s businesses and operations, as well as the ability to serve as an effective liaison between the Company’s management team and the Board.

T. Kevin DeNicola

T. Kevin DeNicola, age 61, has served as a director since September 2009. Mr. DeNicola served as Chief Financial Officer of Kior, Inc., a biofuels business, from November 2009 until January 2011. Prior to that role, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at KBR, Inc., a leading global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services and civil infrastructure sectors from June 2008 through September 2009. Prior to this role, he

served in various positions, including Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Lyondell Chemical Company (“Lyondell”) from May 2002 to December 2007. Subsequent to Mr. DeNicola’s departure from Lyondell after its acquisition by Basell AF S.C.A., but within the two-year period thereafter, Lyondell Basell filed a petition for reorganization under the Federal bankruptcy laws. Mr. DeNicola earned a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Business Administration from Rice University. Mr. DeNicola is a director of Comerica, Incorporated.

Mr. DeNicola has served as Chief Financial Officer of three diverse, complex businesses: (1) a biofuels business; (2) a global engineering and construction firm; and (3) a large chemicals company. Mr. DeNicola was employed by that chemicals company for nearly 17 years, where, in addition to serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, he served, at various times, as Director of Investor Relations, Vice President of Corporate Development and as Assistant Treasurer. The Company believes that Mr. DeNicola’s significant experience as the Chief Financial Officer of various companies provides him with a solid platform from which he, as Chairman of the Audit Committee, can advise and consult with the Board and Company management on financial, accounting and audit-related matters, as well as matters related to effective internal controls. In addition, the Company believes his substantial experience in various management positions with a chemicals company provides Mr. DeNicola with expertise within one of the primary industries in which the Company operates.

Patrick J. Fleming

Patrick J. Fleming, age 72, has served as a director since February 2000 and served as non-

executive Chairman of the Board from February 2008 until January 2010. In addition, Mr. Fleming served as chairman of the compensation committee from May 2004 until February 2008. Mr. Fleming has been a self-employed energy consultant since retiring from Texaco Inc. in January 2000. In 1998 and 1999, he served as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Calortex Inc., a joint venture between Texaco, Calor Gas and Nuon International, and resided in the United Kingdom. From 1994 to December 1997, Mr. Fleming was President of Texaco Natural Gas, Inc. Mr. Fleming earned a Masters of Business Administration from Xavier University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Muskingum College.

Mr. Fleming has served as a director of the Company for more than sixteen years, during which he served as the non-executive Chairman of the Board for twenty-three months. The Company believes that this experience gives him unique knowledge of the Company’s history and the opportunities and challenges associated with the Company’s businesses and operations. Mr. Fleming also served as the chairman of the Board’s compensation committee from May 2004 until February 2008, an experience that the Company believes gives him valuable insight into the executive compensation issues the Board must address on a regular basis. In addition, the Company believes Mr. Fleming’s experience as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of a complex, international joint venture in the gas industry, as well as his experience in various senior management positions in the natural gas industry before that, give him a unique and important understanding of, and insight into, an industry that supplies the Company with one of its most critical energy requirements, including an understanding of the factors impacting the pricing, availability, distribution and logistics related to natural gas.

Robert M. Gervis

Robert M. Gervis, age 55, has served as a director since September 2009. Mr. Gervis has been a self-employed advisor and investor since

April 2009, as well as a member of various public and private company boards of directors. Prior to April 2009, he served in various senior executive positions at Fidelity Investments from 1994 to March 2009; and before Fidelity, Mr. Gervis was a partner in the international law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Mr. Gervis earned a Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University. Mr. Gervis is also a CFA charterholder. Mr. Gervis is a director of Aspen Aerogels, Inc., a publicly traded manufacturer of aerogel insulation products sold to the oil and gas, cryogenic transportation, building and construction, military and aerospace industries.

During his tenure with Fidelity Investments, Mr. Gervis spent twelve years managing businesses and senior executives, including investment professionals charged with evaluating a wide range of investment opportunities, and operating and managing those investments once they were acquired or made. The Company believes that Mr. Gervis’ management experience at Fidelity Investments included serving as (1) Chief Executive Officer of an oil and natural gas exploration and production company; (2) Chief Operating Officer of a full-service real estate development and investment company that specialized in the acquisition, design, development and management of high-profile projects in both the United States and foreign markets; and (3) Managing Director of a private equity division that invested in a broad range of industries, including technology, biotechnology, real estate, oil and gas exploration and production and telecommunications. The Company believes that these positions, combined with the sophisticated transactional work Mr. Gervis managed while he was a partner at the international law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, gives Mr. Gervis significant insight into, and understanding of, the methods and processes used to assess and evaluate potential investment opportunities and other complex transactions that may be presented to the Company. In addition, because Mr. Gervis has served on many boards and investment committees and currently serves on two for-profit

boards of directors, the Company believes he has substantial experience regarding how boards can and should effectively oversee and manage companies, and a significant understanding of governance issues.

Victoria F. Haynes

Victoria F. Haynes, age 68, has served as a director since January 2013. Dr. Haynes served as president and chief executive officer of RTI International, which performs scientific research and development in advanced technologies, public policy, environmental protection, and health and medicine, from 1999 until retiring in 2012. Prior to joining RTI, Dr. Haynes was Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group and Chief Technical Officer of BF Goodrich Corporation, a specialty chemicals and aerospace company, from 1992 to 1999. She also is a director of PPG and Nucor Corporation, and is a member of the Supervisory Board of Royal DSM, a global life sciences and material sciences company. Dr. Haynes also served as a director of Archer Daniels Midland Company from 2007 until 2011. She holds a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry from Boston University.

The Company believes that Dr. Haynes is a proven leader in matters related to advanced technology, research and development, and environmental protection, an area of great importance to the Company. The Company also believes that her service as President and Chief Executive Officer of RTI International and as Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group and Chief Technical Officer of BF Goodrich Corporation provides her with decades of valuable experience and insight into research and development and technological issues faced by large, complex, global companies, such as the Company, including the development and assessment of strategies related to such matters. In addition, the Company believes that Dr. Haynes has significant experience serving as a director of publicly traded companies, and thus, has substantial insight regarding public company oversight, and a significant understanding of the corporate governance issues related thereto.

William L. Mansfield

William L. Mansfield, age 68, has served as a director since September 2012 and as the non-executive Chairman of the Board since March 2016. Mr. Mansfield served as the Chairman of Valspar Corporation, a leading manufacturer of paint and coatings, from August 2007 until June 2012. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Valspar from February 2005 until June 2011, and as President of Valspar from February 2005 to February 2008. Mr. Mansfield earned a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce and engineering from Drexel University in 1971 and a Master’s in Business Administration from Lehigh University. Mr. Mansfield also serves as a director of Bemis Company, Inc., a leading flexible packaging company, and as a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Triumph Group, Inc., a company engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, repair, overhaul, and distribution of aerostructures, aircraft components, accessories, subassemblies, and systems.

The Company believes that Mr. Mansfield’s role as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of a large, international paint and coatings company for many years, and the senior management positions he held before that, provide him with a broad range of valuable experience in strategic planning, operations, sales, logistics, financial management and investor relations, making him an asset to the Company’s Board. In addition, the Company believes that Mr. Mansfield has valuable experience serving as a director of large, publicly traded companies, including having served as the chairman of such a company, and thus, has a significant understanding of the accounting, audit, finance and corporate governance issues and trends that impact public companies, such as the Company.

Michael H. McGarry

Michael H. McGarry, age 58, has served as a director since January 2013. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of PPG since September 1, 2015, its President since March 1, 2015 and has served on its Board since July 16, 2015. He previously served as Chief Operating

Officer of PPG from August 1, 2014 to September 1, 2015. Mr. McGarry led PPG’s chlor-alkali and derivatives business from July 2008 until the Company merged with that business in January 2013. In August 2014, when Mr. McGarry was appointed as PPG’s Chief Operating Officer (and continuing after March 1, 2015, when he was appointed President of PPG), Mr. McGarry had leadership responsibility for all business units and operating regions of PPG, including its Performance Coatings, Industrial Coatings, and Glass operating segments, as well as corporate oversight of PPG’s purchasing, information technology, environmental, health and safety, corporate quality and supply chain functions. Prior to that, Mr. McGarry served as an Executive Vice President of PPG since September 2012. Beginning in February 2013, Mr. McGarry had responsibility for the management of PPG’s architectural coatings – Americas and Asia Pacific, architectural coatings – Europe, Middle East and Africa and flat glass businesses. In addition, he had leadership responsibility for PPG’s global information technology, environment, health and safety, and corporate quality functions. Beginning in April 1, 2014 to September 1, 2015, Mr. McGarry had management responsibility for PPG’s Protective and Marine Coatings business unit. From September 2012 until February 2013, Mr. McGarry was responsible for the global aerospace and automotive refinish businesses. He held the position of Senior Vice President, Commodity Chemicals, of PPG from 2008 until August 2012, and of Vice President, Coatings, Europe and Managing Director, PPG Europe from July 2006 until June 2008. Before serving in those roles, Mr. McGarry served as Vice President, Chlor-Alkali and Derivatives of PPG from March 2004 through June 2006. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Mr. McGarry has many years of experience leading and managing the chlor-alkali and derivatives business of PPG with which the Company merged in January 2013. The

Company believes that his in-depth knowledge of all aspects of that business is a valuable asset to the Board and to Company management. In addition, with more than twelve years of experience serving in senior management roles for PPG, a large, international, publicly traded company, the Company believes that Mr. McGarry has a significant understanding of complex manufacturing, distribution, logistics, sales, marketing, information technology and environmental and product stewardship issues that are especially relevant to the Company.

Mark L. Noetzel

Mark L. Noetzel, age 58, has served as a director since September 2009. Mr. Noetzel previously served as the non-executive Chairman of the Board from January 2010 to March 2016. He was President and CEO of Cilion, Inc., a venture capital backed renewable fuel company, from August 2007 to May 2009. Prior to this role, he had served in several senior positions at BP plc, including Group Vice President, Global Retail, from 2003 until 2007, Group Vice President, B2B Fuels and New Markets, during 2001 and 2002 and Group Vice President, Chemicals, from 1998 until 2001. Prior to those senior management roles with BP plc, Mr. Noetzel served in other management and non-management roles with Amoco from 1981 until BP plc acquired Amoco in 1998. Mr. Noetzel earned a Bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Noetzel is chairman of the board of directors of Aspen Aerogels, Inc., a publicly traded manufacturer of aerogel insulation products sold to the oil and gas, cryogenic transportation, building and construction, military and aerospace industries. In addition, he serves on the board of Siluria Technologies, Inc., which has developed a proprietary process technology which directly converts natural gas to ethylene.

Mr. Noetzel has nearly two decades of experience serving in senior executive management roles with large, international

businesses within the energy and fuel industries, including managing distribution, logistics, operations and retailing functions covering twenty different countries for a business with $65 billion of annual sales. Mr. Noetzel also has served as a senior manager with a large international chemical company.

David N. Weinstein

David N. Weinstein, age 56, has served as a director since September 2009. He has been a business consultant specializing in reorganization activities since September 2008. Before that, Mr. Weinstein served as Managing Director and Group Head, Debt Capital Markets-High Yield and Leverage Finance at Calyon Securities, a global provider of commercial and investment banking products and services for corporations and institutional clients, from March 2007 to August 2008. Before assuming that role, Mr. Weinstein was a consultant specializing in business reorganization and capital markets activities from September 2004 to February 2007. Prior to that, Mr. Weinstein was a Managing Director and Head of High Yield Capital Markets at BNP Paribas, BankBoston Securities and Chase Securities, Inc., and head of the capital markets group in the High Yield Department at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Weinstein earned a Bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctorate from Columbia University School of Law. Mr. Weinstein served as the Chairman of the board of directors of Pioneer Companies, Inc. from January 2002 to

December 2005, the Chairman of the board of directors of York Research Corp. from November 2002 to June 2004, the Chairman of the board of directors of Horizon Lines, Inc. from November 2011 to May 2015 and as a director of Interstate Bakeries Corporation from August 2006 to January 2007. Mr. Weinstein is currently a director of DeepOcean Group Holding AS, Everywhere Global, Inc. and TORM AS.

Mr. Weinstein has nearly two decades of experience in the area of capital markets and other finance-related fields, where he has served, among others, in the positions of managing director and head of high yield capital markets for several large, global investment banking firms. The Company believes that Mr. Weinstein’s background providing long-term financial solutions to the issues faced by non-investment grade or highly leveraged issuers offers an understanding of capital-related matters and financial acumen that are important attributes to the Company’s success, and to Mr. Weinstein’s leadership of the Finance Committee. Additionally, having served on many boards of directors, the Company believes that Mr. Weinstein also brings substantial experience addressing public-company board issues. Mr. Weinstein has experience and insight into chemical industry operations, management, and capital structure having served as chairman of a publicly-traded chemical company that was one of the largest chlor-alkali producers in the United States.

The Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines require that a majority of our directors meet the independence standards of the NYSE listing rules and applicable SEC rules. In addition, in determining director independence, the Board considered any pre-existing relationships between each director and PPG. Under these criteria, the Board has determined that all of the Company’s directors are independent, except for Mr. Mann.

The Company acquired the Merged Business from PPG in January 2013. Mr. McGarry, an incumbent member of the Board, currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of PPG and has served as an officer of PPG since well before the Merger. The Board has determined that Mr. McGarry is, and if re-elected at the 2016 Meeting would be, an independent director under the relevant federal

and Delaware legal standards and the NYSE listing rules. The Board anticipates that some proxy-advisory services may not regard Mr. McGarry as independent because of his employment history with PPG and the services he provided to the Chlor-Alkali Business as a PPG executive before the Merger, which occurred more than three but less than five years ago.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, as well as our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, are publicly available on our website at www.axiall.com under “Investors-Governance” or available in print to any stockholder by contacting our Corporate Secretary, Axiall Corporation by mail at 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328 or by phone at (770) 395-4500.

We believe that our Board has a demonstrated track record of implementing governance structures and practices that we believe are favorable toward, and promote accountability to, the Company’s stockholders. In recent years, those steps have included:

The Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines require that non-employee directors meet at regularly scheduled executive sessions without management. The non-executive

Chairman of the Board presides at those sessions. Stockholders may communicate with these directors in the manner described under “Communications with Directors” below.

The compensation of directors is determined by the Board following a recommendation by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which reviews such compensation on a periodic basis. In May 2013, that committee recommended, and the Board approved, adjustments to the amount and nature of director compensation in order to reflect the larger size of the Company and the increased complexity of the Board’s duties following the Company’s merger with the Merged Business, and to more closely align director compensation with its peer companies following the Merger. Effective May 19, 2015, the annual equity grant to directors was increased from approximately $100,000 to $110,000. There have been no other changes to director compensation since May 2013. Effective as of May 19, 2015, our non-employee directors are entitled to the following:

In May 2015, each non-employee director received a grant of 2,896 time-based RSUs under the 2011 Plan. These time-based RSU awards vest on the earlier of the first anniversary of the date of grant or the day immediately preceding the next annual meeting of stockholders. Directors are also eligible to defer compensation into the Company’s Deferred Compensation Plan described under the caption “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program—Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan.”

The following table details compensation earned by each non-employee director who served as a member of our Board in 2015. For information

on the compensation paid to Messrs. Mann and Carrico, see the Summary Compensation Table on page 59 of this proxy statement.

The Audit Committee of the Board consists of T. Kevin DeNicola (Chairman), Patrick J. Fleming, William L. Mansfield and Mark L. Noetzel. Each member of the Audit Committee has the ability to read and understand financial statements, and the Board has determined that each member of the Audit Committee is “independent” as defined by NYSE listing rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. The Board has also determined that T. Kevin DeNicola is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined by SEC rules. In making such determination, the Board took into consideration, among other things, the express provision in Item 407(d) of SEC Regulation S-K that the determination that a person has the attributes of an audit committee financial expert shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on

that person than the responsibility and liability imposed on such person as a member of the Audit Committee and the Board, nor shall it affect the duties and obligations of other Audit Committee members or the Board. The primary functions of the Audit Committee are to review the adequacy of the system of internal controls and management information systems, to review the results of our independent registered public accounting firm’s quarterly reviews of our interim financial statements, and to review the planning and results of the annual audit with our independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also has responsibilities related to the oversight of the Company’s overall risk management process. This committee held eight meetings in 2015.

The Finance Committee of the Board consists of David N. Weinstein (Chairman), Robert M. Gervis, Victoria F. Haynes and Michael H. McGarry. This committee’s primary functions include overseeing the financial plan, policies and practices of the Company. More specifically, the duties of the committee include: (1) evaluating and monitoring the Company’s capital structure and any proposed adjustments to that structure, including working capital and cash-flow management and short-term investment policies; (2) reviewing any proposed

capital or debt issuances or repurchases; (3) reviewing commercial and investment banking relationships and activities; (4) reviewing potential acquisitions, divestitures or investments in new businesses or joint ventures; (5) reviewing the funding for, and reports regarding the asset investment strategy of, the Company’s employee benefit plans; and (6) reviewing the Company’s investor profiles and related investor relations programs. This committee held eight meetings in 2015.

The Leadership Development and Compensation Committee of the Board consists of William L. Mansfield (Chairman), T. Kevin DeNicola and David N. Weinstein. The primary

functions of this committee include overseeing our executive compensation and equity and performance incentive compensation plans and policies. This committee has the authority to

retain, compensate and oversee compensation consultants. For additional information regarding the processes and procedures for consideration and determination of executive compensation,

see the Compensation Discussion and Analysis starting on page 33 of this proxy statement. This committee held seven meetings in 2015.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee currently consists of Robert M. Gervis (Chairman), Patrick J. Fleming, Victoria F. Haynes and Robert Ripp (who is not standing for re-election). This committee’s primary functions are: (1) identifying individuals qualified to become members of the Board, (2) recommending director nominees for each annual meeting of stockholders, and nominees to fill any Board vacancies, (3) evaluating and making recommendations to the Board regarding director compensation and continuing education, (4) monitoring and evaluating legal and regulatory trends and other developments relating to corporate governance matters, including trends in stockholder activities, and (5) making recommendations to the Board regarding corporate governance policies and practices. This committee held five meetings in 2015.

This committee may select candidates based on their character, judgment, business experience and specific areas of expertise, among other then-relevant considerations, such as the requirements of applicable law and listing standards. Given the evolving needs and challenges of the Company’s business, the selection process at any time may emphasize different qualities based on, among other things, the Board’s diversity and composition at the relevant time, giving due consideration to a number of factors which may include differences with respect to personal, professional or educational experience, the nature and geographic scope of business experience and its relevance to the Company’s strategy, and the ability to commit the time required to understand the Company’s business. The committee recommends new Board members in consultation with the other non-management Board members, executive management and

external consultants. This committee has the authority to retain, and from time to time in the past has retained, an executive search firm to assist in the identification of potential director candidates.

Stockholders may recommend candidates at any time. This committee will consider candidates recommended by stockholders on the same terms as those recommended by any search firm or selected by the committee. Any recommendation should be addressed in writing to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o the Corporate Secretary, Axiall Corporation, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328.

Eligible stockholders may also nominate candidates for election at an annual meeting of stockholders. With respect to the annual meeting at which the stockholder seeks to make a nomination, such stockholder must submit written notice at least 60 days but no more than 90 days in advance of the first anniversary of the date on which the Company first mailed its proxy materials for the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders. To be eligible, such stockholder must be a stockholder of record at the time of (1) the giving of the notice for the annual meeting at which the stockholder seeks to make a nomination, (2) the giving of the notice of nomination, and (3) the annual meeting. A stockholder’s notice must contain the following:

Each of the foregoing committees has a written charter, which is publicly available on our website at www.axiall.com under “Investors-Governance” and available in print to any

stockholder by contacting our Corporate Secretary, Axiall Corporation by mail at 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328 or by phone at (770) 395-4500.

The Board believes that its leadership structure, including any potential combination or separation of the CEO and Chairman roles, should be determined based upon the specific needs of the Company, and what is determined to be in the best interests of the Company’s stockholders from time to time. As a result, no written policy exists requiring either the combination or separation of the Chairman and CEO leadership roles, and the Company’s governing documents do not mandate a particular structure. This provides the Board with the flexibility to establish what it believes, in the exercise of its judgment, is the most appropriate leadership structure for the Company at any given time.

The Chairman of the Board provides leadership to the Board and works with the Board to provide guidance with respect to how the Board defines its structure and prioritizes and carries out its duties and responsibilities. In addition to presiding at Board meetings and executive sessions of the Board, the Chairman’s duties include working with management and the chairmen of the Board’s various committees to: (1) schedule and call Board meetings, (2) establish the agenda for each Board

meeting, (3) review and determine the appropriate materials to be provided to directors, (4) monitor and address recent developments in corporate governance and the Company’s assessment of, and responses to, corporate governance issues, (5) encourage and facilitate active and constructive participation from all directors, and (6) facilitate communications between the Board and management. In addition, the Chairman serves as a conduit for communications from the Board to the Company’s management team, and plays a significant role in overseeing the effectiveness of the Company’s approach to risk management. Mr. Mansfield has served as the Chairman since March 2016.

The Board believes a leadership structure that separates the CEO and Chairman positions continues to be appropriate for the Company at this time for a variety of reasons. The Board will continue to evaluate this arrangement in the future, as part of its regular reviews of corporate governance matters. In the event the Board decides to consolidate the CEO and Chairman positions, thereby making the CEO the Chairman, the Board anticipates it would also appoint a lead director.

All of the Company’s directors play an active role in overseeing the Company, both at the Board and Board-committee levels. As set out in the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, our directors’ core responsibility is to exercise their business judgment to act in what they reasonably believe to be the best interests of the Company and its stockholders. Our Board includes only one director who serves as a member of the Company’s executive management team (Mr. Mann, our CEO) and otherwise consists of non-employee directors. Our non-employee directors are skilled and experienced leaders in business, each

bringing decades of valuable experience to the Board in subject areas that include accounting and finance, legal, capital markets, manufacturing, operations and logistics, and sales and marketing. In these roles, our directors have been called upon to review, evaluate and solve a wide range of complex issues, and to develop and implement many challenging and important business initiatives, plans, policies and strategies, which makes them well-qualified to oversee our Company, and to provide advice and counsel to our CEO and other senior officers of the Company.

The Board’s responsibilities include overseeing the management of the Company’s risks and approach to risk management. The Board evaluates and considers risks within the context of the business and other operational decisions that the Board and management team face, and as part of the Company’s business plans and strategies. The Board understands that it is neither realistic nor prudent to eliminate all risk. In fact, the Board believes purposeful and appropriate risk-taking is necessary for the Company to be competitive and to achieve its business objectives. As such, part of the Board’s risk-related duties include considering, understanding and overseeing what level of risk is appropriate for the Company, given the nature of the particular risk being considered.

While the Board maintains ultimate responsibility for oversight of the Company’s risk management, the Board implements its risk oversight function both as a whole and through its various committees, which meet regularly with, and report to, the full Board. The Audit Committee has been assigned responsibility for oversight of the overall risk management process. In addition, each of the Board’s committees has been assigned responsibility for risk management oversight of specific areas. More specifically:

As a part of the risk oversight process, each committee meets privately in separate sessions with appropriate members of management, and its advisors, as it deems appropriate.

As part of its risk management process, the Company maintains a toll-free hotline that employees and other stakeholders may use to anonymously report alleged violations of the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, health and safety-related policies and rules, employment laws and regulations, and any alleged violations of other laws, regulations, rules or policies. In addition, employees may use the toll-free hotline to anonymously report allegations of questionable activities relating to accounting, internal controls or audit matters. The third-party service provider that maintains the hotline notifies the Company of any calls received. All such calls are addressed promptly by the Company’s Ethics and Compliance Committee.

If any calls to the hotline allege questionable activities or violations that are not related to accounting, internal control or audit matters, the Company’s Ethics and Compliance Committee will respond to the allegations in an appropriate manner. If any call to the hotline alleges

questionable activities related to accounting, internal control or an audit matter, the Vice President, Internal Audit; Chief Financial Officer; and Vice President and General Counsel will be notified and, depending on the nature and seriousness of each such allegation or complaint, those officers may also notify the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of the Audit Committee. Thereafter, the matter may be brought to the attention of the other members of the Audit Committee and, depending on the nature of the allegations, to the Chairman of the Board. The Audit Committee has the power to authorize internal and external investigations of such allegations, and to ensure that appropriate resources are provided for conducting any such investigation. The Company believes its toll-free hotline, and the processes activated by calls to the hotline, are important in helping the Company mitigate its exposure to harmful risks.

Because overseeing risk is an ongoing process and inherent in the Board’s and Company management’s decision-making processes, the Board discusses the Company’s various risks throughout the year at its regularly scheduled meetings, or, if deemed appropriate, special meetings, in relation to specific proposed actions and/or newly obtained information about previously discussed risks. Additionally, at one or more meetings of the full Board each year, the Board devotes a portion of its meeting time to evaluating and discussing risks, the steps Company management is taking to mitigate such risks, and other potential risk mitigation strategies or programs that may be considered appropriate or desirable. At any such meetings, or at other times as determined appropriate, the Board has access to management personnel with knowledge and insight into specific issues for consideration.

Any stockholder or interested party is welcome to communicate with the Chairman of the Board, any other director, the non-employee directors as a group or the Board by writing to the directors or the Board, c/o the Corporate Secretary, Axiall Corporation, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328. The Corporate Secretary will review the communications and will, within a reasonable period of time after

receiving the communications, forward all communications to the appropriate director or directors, other than those communications that are merely solicitations for products or services or relate to matters that are of a type that are clearly improper or irrelevant to the functioning of the Board or the business and affairs of the Company.

The Board held eleven meetings in 2015. All incumbent directors attended no fewer than 75 percent of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board and the committees on which they served during 2015. The Company encourages

its directors to attend its annual stockholders’ meeting. In 2015, all of our directors attended the annual meeting. None of our directors or executive officers is related to any of our other directors or executive officers.

While we did not have any related-party transactions with our executive officers, directors, 5 percent or greater stockholders or their immediate family members in 2015, and we

do not have a written policy regarding such matters, in the event such a transaction is proposed in the future, we would refer the matter to our Audit Committee for approval or disapproval.

The following table lists information as of [●], 2016 about the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by each incumbent director, each NEO listed on the Summary Compensation Table included in this proxy

statement, all of our directors and current executive officers as a group, and each person or group known by us to own more than 5 percent of our common stock.

This Executive Compensation section of this proxy statement contains the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, as well as various compensation tables, including the Summary Compensation Table, and tables reflecting plan-based awards granted in 2015, setting forth the holdings of stock options and other stock-based

awards by the NEOs at December 31, 2015, the number of shares acquired by the NEOs upon the vesting of stock awards in 2015 and the related values realized, and summarizing the compensation and benefits payable to NEOs under various employment termination scenarios.

In this section of the proxy statement, we will describe the important components of our executive compensation program for our NEOs, whose compensation is set forth in the Summary Compensation Table on page 59 of this proxy statement and in other compensation tables described elsewhere in this proxy statement. For 2015, our NEOs were:

This section of the proxy statement also provides an overview of our compensation philosophy and program, and explains how and why the Committee determined the specific compensation policies and decisions involving the NEOs.

Our 2015 fiscal year was a year of management transition. Following Mr. Carrico’s retirement in July, our Board appointed Mr. Mann as Interim Chief Executive Officer and commenced a search to identify a new chief executive officer. After considering a number of qualified candidates, the Board’s search culminated in the appointment of Mr. Mann as President and Chief Executive Officer. The Board believes that Mr. Mann has the requisite experience and capabilities to lead the Company as we aggressively seek to transform the Company and drive stockholder value. Mr. Mann is joined by the new leaders of our Chemicals and Building Products businesses, Mr. Doherty and Mr. Bates, both of whom were promoted from within the Company.

In connection with his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mann’s base salary was increased to $750,000 per annum and his

annual incentive bonus target for 2015 was increased to 110 percent of his new base salary, receipt of which was dependent on the Company’s attainment of certain financial, strategic and operational goals, which were not satisfied as described elsewhere in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis. In addition, Mr. Mann was given a midyear 2015 cash incentive award opportunity, which was paid out in the amount of $1,000,000 in January 2016, based on the Committee’s assessment of his performance with respect to the Company’s strategic objectives described elsewhere in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis. In connection with his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer on November 17, 2015, his base salary was increased to $885,000 and his annual target short-term incentive bonus award was established at 125 percent of his base salary for the 2016 performance year.

We are a leading North American manufacturer and international marketer of chemicals and building products, with net sales of $3.36 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015, and operations in Canada, Taiwan and the United States. We manufacture and sell a wide array of chemicals products, including: chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, chlorinated solvents, calcium hypochlorite, ethylene dichloride, muriatic acid, polyvinyl chloride and vinyl compounds. We also manufacture and sell vinyl-based building and home improvement products.

We believe that our management team has taken great strides to transform our business over the past year, aggressively transforming the Company by optimizing our portfolio and reducing our cost structure to position the

Company to respond to current and expected industry conditions. As a part of our strategic plan, we sold our Aromatics business in September 2015, renegotiated the terms of, and made a final investment decision with respect to, our arrangement with Lotte to construct and operate a new state-of-the-art 1.0 million metric ton per annum ethane cracker (ethylene manufacturing plant) and, just recently in 2016, sold two non-core Building Products businesses, our Solucor compound additives business and our window and door profiles business. We have also begun the process to actively market the remainder of our Building Products business. In addition to these strategic moves, we sold our La Porte, Texas chemical manufacturing facility in April 2015 and initiated a plan to improve our productivity and reduce costs by approximately $100 million by the end of 2016 and, by

February 2016, we had taken actions expected to achieve 80 percent of this objective, which included, among other things, headcount reductions, overhead and shared services consolidations and other reductions in spending related to third party contractors and procurement.

For more information about our business and recent developments, please see “Summary Information – Significant Accomplishments for 2015” and “Item 1, Business” and “Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our 10-K Filing.

2015 Compensation Program

Consistent with our compensation philosophy and objectives, the Committee took the following compensation-related actions during 2015:

We strive to maintain effective governance standards, including with respect to the oversight of our executive compensation policies and practices. To that end, in 2015:

In addition, our compensation philosophy and objectives contain several specific elements that are designed to align our executive

compensation with the long-term interests of our stockholders, including:

Our executive compensation philosophy, which was established by the Committee and approved by the Board, is to: (1) reward favorable Company and business unit financial, operational and strategic performance, as well as stock price performance; and (2) deliver total compensation and benefits at target performance levels approximating the median compensation and benefits paid by similar companies in the chemicals and building products sectors, with the ability to pay above or below that median as the Company’s and/or individual executive officer’s performance varies, and also taking into account factors such as an officer’s role and responsibilities, experience and tenure, prior performance, actual and expected contributions, and internal pay equity considerations.

The Committee designed the executive compensation programs in place during 2015 to be consistent with this compensation philosophy. Specifically, the Committee observed the following guiding principles that emerge from our compensation philosophy:

While a significant portion of potential annual compensation is risk-based, we have also instituted policies and programs designed to

discourage unnecessary risk-taking which is not in the Company’s long-term interests.

We maintain stock ownership guidelines to emphasize the importance of substantive, long-term share ownership by executive officers intended to align their financial interests with those of stockholders. We also have share ownership guidelines in place for our directors. The guidelines are denominated as a multiple of base salary for the executive officers, and a multiple of the annual retainer for directors.

Each executive officer and non-employee director has five years as an officer or director, respectively, to attain stock ownership and compliance with the stock ownership requirements annually. All of the individuals named in the Summary Compensation Table below that remain executive officers of the Company as of the date of this proxy statement are in compliance with these stock ownership requirements after taking into consideration the five-year grace period to achieve the minimum ownership thresholds.

Our Board has also adopted a policy that provides, to the extent permitted by law, that if the Board, or any committee, determines that any bonus, incentive payment, equity award or other compensation has been awarded to or received by an executive officer and such compensation was based on any financial results or operating metrics that were subsequently the subject of a material

restatement as a result of such officer’s knowing or intentional fraudulent or illegal conduct and a lower payment would have been made to the officer based on the restated results, then the Board has the right to recover (“clawback”) from the officer such compensation (in whole or in part) as it deems appropriate under the circumstances.

In March 2015, the Committee established that performance metrics for one-half of the RSUs granted to the executive officers in 2015 will be based on a relative total shareholder return (“TSR”), defined as share price appreciation and dividends paid, assuming those dividends are reinvested as paid, and these performance-based RSUs will cliff vest on the third anniversary of the grant date if the performance metrics are achieved. The comparator group for these awards consists of chemical companies

from the S&P 1500. The Committee believes that the use of TSR as the relevant performance metric discourages unnecessary risk-taking by: (1) aligning our NEOs’ long-term compensation with the long-term performance of the Company, and accordingly, with the long-term interests of the Company’s stockholders; (2) removing any subjectivity in measuring performance; and (3) using publicly available, and thus, transparent, performance metrics.

We provide our stockholders with the opportunity to vote annually on a say-on-pay proposal. At our 2015 annual meeting of stockholders held on May 19, 2015, more than 93 percent of the votes cast by stockholders on the advisory vote on executive compensation (the “say-on-pay proposal”) were in favor of the

compensation of our NEOs. The Committee believes this favorable vote affirms our stockholders’ support of its approach to executive compensation and, as a result, the Committee did not make material changes to the implementation of our executive compensation philosophy in 2015.

The Committee continually reviews the design and administration of our executive compensation policies and programs to ensure they appropriately reflect our compensation philosophy. Any program changes that are made are driven by the Committee’s desire to maintain alignment with stockholder interests and to be consistent with the guiding philosophy and objectives referenced above.

The Committee considers the tax and accounting implications of compensation, but those are not the only factors considered, as the Committee also considers all of the other factors discussed in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis when making compensation decisions. The Committee recognizes that one or more of these other factors may outweigh tax or accounting considerations.

Section 162(m) of the Code limits deductibility of certain compensation for our CEO and the three other executive officers (other than the Chief Financial Officer) who are highest-paid and employed at year-end to $1 million. If certain conditions are met, performance-based compensation may be excluded from this limitation.

While we believe it is in our Company’s and our stockholders’ best interests to have the ability to

grant qualified performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code, we may decide to grant compensation that will not qualify as qualified performance-based compensation for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code. Moreover, even if we intend to grant compensation that qualifies as qualified performance-based compensation for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code, we cannot guarantee that such compensation ultimately will be deductible by us.

The Committee evaluates and administers the compensation of our executive officers in a holistic manner, makes compensation decisions around program design, and adjusts pay in light of our compensation philosophy, market practices and total compensation objectives. The Committee ordinarily positions the various compensation elements at levels it believes are targeted to be at or near the median of compensation paid by the market references, but that positioning for any executive officer is also dependent upon an officer’s role and responsibilities, experience and tenure, prior performance, actual and expected contributions and internal pay equity considerations.

Market positioning of the individual elements of compensation and benefits, as well as the

relationships among these elements, are described in the sections that follow.

With respect to the proposed compensation for the CEO, the Committee determines, approves and recommends to the non-management members of the Board for ratification all compensation, equity and benefits to be paid to the CEO based on an evaluation of the CEO’s performance in light of corporate goals and objectives that were previously approved by the Committee and ratified by the non-management members of the Board.

For the other executive officers, and within the constructs of any applicable employment agreement that may have been negotiated and entered into by the Company, the Committee considers all appropriate factors, including the recommendations of the CEO, in reaching its

decisions. The CEO’s recommendations are considered for approval by the Committee, and in some cases are modified by the Committee during the course of its deliberations.

In setting and evaluating annual compensation of the Company’s executive officers, the Committee reviews and considers, among other factors, the pay mix, which is the percentage of total compensation represented by each element of compensation, of each of the Company’s executive officers, as compared to the Company’s “market references” described below. The target 2015 pay mix for each of the Company’s NEOs that remained with the Company as of the end of 2015, which differs from the actual awards described under “Compensation Tables — Summary Compensation Table”, was as follows:

Within the parameters of the compensation philosophy and objectives established by the Committee and/or Board, each year our CEO recommends to the Committee the level of base salary, the target annual cash incentive award and the target long-term equity incentive award for each of the other executive officers. The recommendations of our CEO are based on his evaluation of each executive officer’s performance, the performance of the individual

business units or functions for which that executive officer is responsible and management retention considerations. The Committee considers the CEO’s recommendations, along with all other appropriate factors, in reaching its decisions regarding the compensation of each executive officer. In some cases, the CEO’s recommendations are modified by the Committee during the course of its deliberations.

The non-management members of our Board review and ratify the recommendations of the Committee with respect to: (1) the design of incentive compensation plans for the Company’s executive officers; (2) any significant changes to compensation guidelines and benefit plans for the Company’s executive officers; and (3) significant changes to benefit programs for

the Company’s executive officers. In addition, the Committee determines, and then recommends to the non-management members of the Board for their ratification, all compensation, equity and benefits to be paid to the CEO (with the CEO not participating in those deliberations).

As a part of its responsibilities, the Committee has the authority to appoint, compensate and oversee the Company’s outside compensation consultant. In 2015, the Committee retained Semler Brossy as its consultant to assist the Committee with its responsibilities related to the Company’s compensation policies and programs for its executive officers. In addition, in 2015, the Board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee retained Semler Brossy as its consultant to assist that committee with its responsibilities related to the Company’s compensation policies and programs for its directors. Semler Brossy did not provide any services unrelated to executive officer and director compensation consulting to any Board committee or to the Company during 2015. The Committee has taken into account the six-factor test adopted by the SEC and the NYSE to analyze the independence of Semler Brossy and determined that Semler Brossy is independent and that its work does not raise any conflicts of interest.

The compensation consultant reports directly to the Committee. One or more representatives of the compensation consultant participates in the meetings of the Committee, as requested by the Committee chairman, and communicates with the Committee chairman between meetings, as needed. The compensation consultant does not

make decisions regarding the compensation of our executive officers. Rather, the compensation consultant provides advice, guidance and information that the Committee and, with respect to certain decisions, our Board, may consider when making executive compensation decisions.

The Committee’s compensation consultant supports the Committee by conducting an independent and comprehensive review of our executive compensation programs, including providing periodic reports showing total remuneration for each executive officer, and an evaluation of total compensation and individual pay elements based upon our market references. In November 2014, the compensation consultant conducted such a review and analysis and discussed it with the Committee in connection with the Committee’s determination of executive officer compensation for 2015. That review took into account the size and complexity of the Company and its operations, and included evaluations of the elements of direct compensation, including: base salary, annual non-equity incentive awards and long-term equity-based incentive awards against our peer group and survey data. In addition, the compensation consultant’s review also considered executive compensation trends and the incentive design for executive officers of the Company.

In addition, to assess compensation levels, the compensation consultant recommended to the Committee, and the Committee utilized data from, the Willis Towers Watson U.S. CDB Executive Compensation Survey. The

compensation consultant adjusted this survey data to include samples from general industry companies as well as companies in the chemical or building products industries, adjusted based upon the size of the Company’s annual revenue.

For 2015, the Committee took into account a number of factors in determining the compensation of the executive officers. These factors included, among other things: (1) our compensation philosophy and objectives; (2) actual Company performance in 2015; and (3) actual individual executive officer performance in 2015.

The following sections describe the various elements of our executive compensation program, including the objectives, market positioning, structure and operation, and other information specific to 2015 payments, awards, and pay actions in more detail.

Each NEO is paid a base salary, which is reviewed annually by the Committee. Salaries for NEOs are generally targeted to be at or near the median of salaries paid by the market references, but are also dependent upon the officer’s role and responsibilities, experience and tenure, prior performance, actual and expected contributions, and internal pay equity considerations.

Base salaries for NEOs, including for our former CEO, were reviewed by the Committee in March 2015 within the context of an overall compensation market reference analysis performed by its compensation consultant. The analysis conducted by the compensation consultant was discussed with the Committee in December 2014 and March 2015. Adjustments to the NEOs’ salaries were approved by the

Committee in March 2015, with our former CEO’s adjustment being ratified by the non-management members of the Board at that time, and those adjustments became effective in April 2015. Base salaries for the NEOs (excluding increases in connection with promotions during the year), other than the CEO, were increased in March 2015 by approximately 3.7 percent as compared to 2014 salaries. Our former CEO’s

base salary was increased by approximately 3.2 percent as compared to his 2014 salary. After giving effect to the base salary increases, 2015 base salaries for the NEOs (including increases made in connection with promotions during the year), 2014 base salaries and the year over year percentage increase of the NEO salaries were as follows:

The Committee and Board believe these base salary increases were appropriate because: (1) generally, the increases kept our NEOs’ base salaries at or close to the median of base salaries for similarly situated NEOs at our market reference peer group of companies; (2) the Committee believed the Company had continued to make significant progress in improving the Company’s financial performance and in meeting the operational and strategic goals set out for the Company; and (3) the Company planned salary and promotional increases for its other management and professional employees.

In particular, due to recent changes in our executive team, including the retirement of our former CEO, as well as the resignations of Mr. Breunig, our former Executive Vice

President, Chemicals, and Mr. Orcutt, our former Executive Vice President, Building Products, the Company promoted Mr. Mann to President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Doherty to Senior Vice President, Chemicals and Mr. Bates to Senior Vice President, Building Products. Base salaries were increased for these individuals at the time of promotion to reflect new positions and increased responsibilities. These new salaries were set at levels below the median base salaries for similarly situated NEOs at our market reference of peer group companies. Base salaries for the NEOs receiving promotions in 2015, the respective 2014 base salaries for those NEOs and the year over year percentage increase are reflected in the table above.

The Company’s annual cash incentive opportunity program for 2015 was designed so that a portion of the overall annual cash compensation of NEOs was linked to annual corporate financial performance and, with respect to the head of each business division, the financial performance of the division that each of them manages, as well as the attainment of certain operational goals, which also were division-specific for the head of each business division. This program and the metrics established under it are intended to incentivize

superior business and individual performance, and tie the interests of management to Company performance, and accordingly, to the interests of our stockholders. For 2015, each NEO had a target annual cash incentive award opportunity expressed as a percentage of base salary. Individuals with greater overall responsibility for corporate performance typically have larger incentive opportunities when compared to base salaries in order to weight their overall pay mix more heavily toward performance-based compensation.

The Committee administers the Company’s annual cash incentive opportunity program for the CEO and other NEOs and, as part of that function, determined that the opportunity for 2015 cash incentive compensation payouts for Messrs. Mann, Thompson, Bates and Carrico and Ms. Piciacchio would be based on the following performance metrics and goals, weighted as follows:

In addition, the Committee determined that, with respect to the evaluation of Mr. Carrico’s cash incentive compensation, it would also consider Mr. Carrico’s level of achievement of goals related to improvements in safety and the achievement of cost synergies.

The Committee further determined that the opportunity for 2015 cash incentive payouts for Messrs. Doherty, Breunig and Orcutt would be based upon the following performance metrics and goals, weighted as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA is used as the primary measure of performance within each of the Company’s business units, and both the Committee and management believe industry participants commonly use it as a main component of valuation analysis of companies whose businesses may be cyclical, like the Company. The Adjusted EBITDA measure was also selected as a Company performance goal to encourage executive officers to focus on improving corporate performance by controlling corporate expenses, and improving the quality and volume of earnings, which aligned with the Company’s overall business objectives for 2015.

In determining various levels of Adjusted EBITDA at which payouts may be made, the annual cash incentive program provided for adjustments to EBITDA for certain cost, charge and income items, substantially similar (other than lease financing obligations) to those excluded from adjusted EBITDA in the Company’s public sales and earnings disclosures. The Committee has the discretion to define Adjusted EBITDA with respect to its use as a performance metric in the Company’s annual cash incentive program. The Committee established the Adjusted EBITDA targets at levels designed to incentivize superior performance by our NEOs.

The threshold, target and maximum levels of corporate and divisional Adjusted EBITDA used for annual cash incentive program payout purposes were determined by the Committee after review and consideration of the Company’s internally-developed, detailed budgets and forecasts.

The Company’s actual Adjusted EBITDA and the actual Adjusted EBITDA for our Chemicals and Building Products businesses in 2015 were below the threshold levels for the portion of the annual cash incentive program tied to Adjusted EBITDA. No payouts to NEOs were made with respect to the Adjusted EBITDA annual cash incentive program.

In connection with the management transitions beginning in July 2015, the Committee determined that it was appropriate to grant a midyear 2015 cash incentive award opportunity based upon the achievement of positive EBITDA and the extent of achievement of the following strategic and operational goals:

This program and the metrics established under it are intended to incentivize superior key business and individual performance, to encourage retention of key employees of the Company in light of the recent management transitions and tie the interests of management to Company performance, and accordingly, to the interests of the Company’s stockholders.

In January 2016, the Committee evaluated management’s performance against these performance measures as a whole, but did not assign specific weight or percentages to any specific measure standing alone. Based on the Company’s positive EBITDA in 2015 and the achievement or partial achievement of these operational and strategic goals and objectives, including in particular the development of a cost reduction plan, reaching a final investment decision with respect to the arrangement with Lotte Chemical Corporation to build an ethane cracker and the completion of the management transition and succession plan, the Committee, acting upon a recommendation from the Company’s CEO (other than with respect to his own award), elected to exercise its discretion and made the following incentive payments under the program to the NEOs remaining with the Company after the 2015 management transition:

In connection with his promotion to Senior Vice President, Building Products, Mr. Bates will be eligible to receive a $600,000 bonus that is scheduled to be paid on the earlier of December 31, 2017 or the date on which the Company consummates any sale of its Building Products business, if applicable, following the

completion of its ongoing sale process for that division. In March 2016, the Committee awarded Mr. Bates an additional discretionary cash bonus in the amount of $250,000 for his 2015 performance since his promotion in respect of financial and cost reduction objectives for our Building Products business.

The objective of providing long-term incentive compensation is to focus executives on increasing shareholder value over a longer period of time. It rewards achievement of the specific metrics described below. We choose to pay long-term incentive compensation because it aligns NEOs’ longer-term interests with those of other stockholders and encourages them to have an ownership mentality. We generally make long-term incentive compensation grants in May of each fiscal year. Historically these grants do not fully vest in less than three years and one-half of the total grant would not vest until two years or more after the grant date.

The 2011 Plan, which was approved by our stockholders, is our long-term incentive plan. The 2011 Plan provides the Committee with an opportunity to make a variety of stock-based awards, while selecting the form that is most appropriate for the Company and the executive group. We have historically made the following types of long-term equity awards under the 2011 Plan:

In 2015, our NEOs, except for our former CEO, Mr. Carrico and former Executive Vice President, Chemicals, Mr. Breunig, received 50 percent of their long-term incentive compensation in the form of time-based RSUs and 50 percent in the form of performance-

based RSUs with performance criteria based on the TSR of the Company’s common stock. In lieu of time-based RSUs, Mr. Carrico and Mr. Breunig received approximately one-half of his long-term equity incentive compensation grants in the form of performance-based RSUs for which the performance criteria was the Company achieving a positive Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2015. In this regard, the Committee concluded that all of the RSUs granted to those two NEOs should be performance-based, but one-half of those RSUs should be designed primarily to provide an incentive for the NEOs to remain with the Company. Executives who were not NEOs at the time of the long term incentive grant in May 2015 received only time-based RSUs at that time.

In 2016, following an annual review our NEOs’ compensation, the Committee awarded to each of Messrs. Mann, Thompson and Doherty performance-based RSUs and time-based RSUs in respect of 2016 and in lieu of 2017 awards. The Committee believes that combining the 2016 and 2017 awards better aligns executive compensation and long-term shareholder value creation, provides a strong incentive for successful execution of the Company’s strategies and helps ensure the retention of senior management during this important period for the Company. As a result of the determinations with respect to these awards, the Committee anticipates making no further grants of such equity awards in 2017 to Messrs. Mann, Thompson and Doherty.

In considering the number of time-based RSUs to grant to each of these NEOs, the Committee considered a number of factors, including:

Recent Management Promotions

In connection with his promotion to Senior Vice President, Chemicals, the Committee made a one-time grant to Mr. Doherty of 6,582 time-based RSUs on July 23, 2015, which will vest over a period of three years, with one-third vesting on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of May 19, 2015.

The NEOs have no rights of ownership in the shares of our common stock underlying the time-based RSUs and have no right to vote such shares until the applicable vesting date. Dividend equivalents are paid in cash on the shares of our common stock underlying the time-based RSUs and are deferred (with no earnings accruing) until the vesting date.

In May 2015, in lieu of time-based RSUs, the Committee granted to Mr. Carrico, our former CEO, and Mr. Breunig, our former Executive Vice President, Chemicals, 48,709 and 13,322 performance-based RSUs, respectively, that will not vest in accordance with the terms of each executive’s separation. The performance criteria

for these performance-based RSUs was the Company achieving a positive Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2015 and vesting was scheduled to occur in equal installments on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date. The Committee determined that the granting of these

performance-based RSUs was appropriate because all of the RSUs granted to these two NEOs would be performance-based, but also because approximately one-half of these NEOs’ performance-based RSUs (i.e., the performance-based RSUs set forth on the table below) would serve primarily as an incentive for

each of them to remain employed with the Company during that staggered vesting period. Although the Company satisfied these NEOs’ Adjusted EBITDA performance targets under these performance-based RSUs by achieving positive Adjusted EBITDA for 2015, these performance-based RSUs will not vest.

With respect to the performance-based RSUs granted to the NEOs in May 2015, other than the Adjusted EBITDA performance-based RSUs granted to Messrs. Carrico and Breunig, the number of shares of our common stock that may be issued to the NEOs upon the vesting of the performance-based RSUs ranges from a minimum of zero to a maximum of 200 percent of the number of “target” shares awarded, with

the actual payout dependent upon the percentage point difference between the Company’s TSR (defined as share price appreciation and dividends paid, assuming those dividends are reinvested as paid) and the TSR of the company in a peer group that achieves the median TSR performance for the peer group as shown on the table set forth below.

These performance-based RSUs will vest on the third anniversary of the grant date if the performance metrics are achieved. The comparator group in May 2015 consisted of 47 chemical companies in the S&P 1500, with four of such companies being subsequently removed due to their acquisition by another party or no longer public and two additional chemical companies added to the group. The Committee believes that the use of TSR as the relevant performance metric aligns our NEOs’ long-term compensation with the long-term performance of the Company, and accordingly with the long-term interests of the Company’s stockholders, and also provides a completely objective and fully transparent performance metric.

The Committee believes that the performance targets for all of the 2015 performance-based RSUs (other than the performance-based RSUs conditioned upon positive Adjusted EBITDA) have been established at a level that requires superior performance from each of its NEOs.

The Committee determined it was appropriate to grant performance-based RSUs to the NEOs which vest as described above, because the Committee believed:

In considering the number of performance-based RSUs to grant to each of the NEOs, and in the case of the CEO, to recommend to the non-management members of the Board for their ratification following the Committee’s approval, the Committee considered a number of factors, including:

Recent Management Promotions

In connection with his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer on November 17, 2015, the Committee approved a target long-term incentive equity award of $3.8 million for Mr. Mann, which was granted in March 2016. In addition, in connection with his promotion to Senior Vice President, Chemicals, the Committee made a one-time grant to Mr. Doherty of 6,471 TSR performance-based RSUs on July 23, 2015. These TSR performance-based RSUs will vest on the third anniversary of May 19, 2015 on the same terms and conditions discussed above with respect to the TSR performance-based RSUs made to the Company’s other NEOs.

With respect to the performance-based RSUs granted to the NEOs in May 2013, other than certain performance-based RSUs granted to Mr. Carrico and Mr. Orcutt as described in the footnotes to the table above, the number of shares of our common stock that may be issued to the NEOs upon the vesting of the performance-based RSUs ranged from a minimum of zero to a maximum of 200 percent of the number of “target” shares awarded, with the actual payout dependent upon the dollar amount of annualized synergies achieved in connection with the integration of the Merged Business, measured as of January 28, 2015, the second anniversary of the closing of the Merger. None of those performance-based RSUs would vest unless the Company achieved a threshold aggregate Adjusted EBITDA requirement for the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, which was achieved.

In March 2015, the Committee determined that the Company had satisfied all of the performance conditions required in order for the maximum number of shares, which is 200 percent of the target number of shares, to be issued in connection with these synergies performance-based RSUs. Under the terms of the grants, one-half of the shares were delivered in May 2015 and one-half are to be delivered in May 2016, if the NEO remains employed by the Company on the delivery date. Accordingly, in May 2015 the Company issued to each of

Messrs. Mann, Carrico, Thompson and Breunig 8,689, 46,524, 12,452, and 13,848 shares of Company common stock, respectively. In May 2016, the Company will issue 8,689 and 12,452 shares of Company common stock to Messrs. Mann and Thompson, respectively, if the NEO is employed on that date. In connection with the departures of Messrs. Carrico, Breunig and Orcutt, shares scheduled to be issued in May 2016 under each of their performance-based RSU awards were forfeited.

In considering the number of performance-based RSUs to grant to each of the NEOs, and in the case of the CEO, to recommend to the non-management members of the Board for their ratification following the Committee’s approval, the Committee considered a number of factors, including:

In May 2012, the Committee granted performance-based RSUs, all of which were expected to vest on the third anniversary of the applicable grant date, for which the number of shares issuable on the vesting date, if any, increases and decreases proportionally based solely on the performance of the Company’s stock price, thereby aligning the interests of our NEOs with that of our stockholders. Such RSUs are commonly referred to as “Price Leveraged Units” or “PLUs,” and also may be referred to as “Market Stock Units” or “MSUs,” and are referred to in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis as “PLUs.”

With respect to the PLUs granted to the NEOs in May 2012, the number of shares of Company common stock that may be issued to the NEOs upon the vesting of the PLUs ranges from a minimum of zero to a maximum of 150 percent of the number of “target” shares awarded, with

the actual payout dependent solely on the price

performance of the Company’s common stock, as measured by the weighted average trading price of the common stock during the 45 consecutive trading days after the date that the Company issues its earnings press release announcing its financial results for its 2014 fiscal year.

With respect to the PLUs granted to the NEOs in May 2012, the Committee determined in May 2015 that the weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock during the 45 consecutive trading days after the issuance of the Company’s 2014 earnings release required the Committee to issue to the NEO’s shares of Company common stock at 139.6 percent of the target level established under such May 2012 PLU grant.

We did not grant PLUs to any of our NEOs in 2013, 2014 or 2015.

Paul D. Carrico retired from his position as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and resigned from his position as a member of the Board on July 5, 2015.

Mr. Carrico’s departure from the Company constituted a retirement for purposes of the Company’s compensation arrangements and benefit plans, resulting in the vesting of certain outstanding equity awards, except that it was treated as a qualifying termination entitling him to severance under the Company’s executive officer and key employee severance plan (the “Severance Plan”), certain other benefits under the Company’s retirement and benefit plans. In connection with his departure, the Company entered into a separation and release agreement with Mr. Carrico confirming these arrangements and providing, among other things, vesting of certain performance-based RSUs granted to him in May of 2014 and 2015 and that he will be entitled to receive a special

bonus of $500,000 in recognition of his efforts in support of the Company’s transformation plan, including the recently announced arrangements with Lotte Chemical USA Corporation to build an ethane cracker. The separation and release agreement contains customary releases in connection with his retirement.

Joseph C. Breunig resigned from his position as the Company’s Executive Vice President, Chemicals on September 1, 2015. Mr. Breunig’s departure from the Company was treated as a qualifying termination entitling him to severance under the Severance Plan, pro-rata vesting of certain outstanding equity awards in accordance with the terms of the Company’s existing equity incentive plans and certain other benefits under the Company’s retirement and benefit plans. In connection with his departure, Mr. Breunig and the Company entered into a separation and release agreement, which contained customary releases.

Mark J. Orcutt resigned from his position as the Company’s Executive Vice President, Building Products, on September 25, 2015. Mr. Orcutt’s departure from the Company was treated as a qualifying termination entitling him to severance under the Company’s Severance Plan, pro-rata vesting of certain outstanding equity awards in accordance with the terms of the Company’s existing equity incentive plans and certain other benefits under the Company’s retirement and benefit plans. In connection with his departure, Mr. Orcutt and the Company entered into a separation and release agreement, which contained customary releases.

Sharon G. Piciacchio retired from her position as the Company’s Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, effective at the end of 2015. In

connection with her retirement, Ms. Piciacchio is entitled to receive (1) a payment equal to the sum of (a) one times her 2015 base salary, (b) one times her target payment under the 2015 annual cash incentive plan and (c) her 2015 midyear cash incentive award as discussed elsewhere in this Compensation Discussion and Analysis, (2) pro-rata vesting of certain outstanding equity awards in accordance with the terms of the Company’s existing equity incentive plans and (3) certain other benefits under the Company’s retirement and benefit plans. In connection with her departure, Ms. Piciacchio and the Company entered into a separation and release agreement, which contained customary releases.

The Company does not pay premiums on insurance policies or other products as a supplement to retirement benefits. Rather, the Company has established a Deferred Compensation Plan (the “DCP”) that allows eligible employees, including the NEOs, to elect to defer a portion of their otherwise taxable salary and/or bonus. Under the DCP, the Company also can make two types of credits to such employees’ non-qualified deferred compensation accounts (which are notional accounts). The first type of credit is a matching restoration credit that works in tandem with an eligible employee’s participation in the Company’s 401(k) plan. If an eligible employee elects to contribute to both the 401(k) and the DCP, the Company will restore (or credit) certain employer matching contributions that cannot be made to the 401(k) plan due to the statutory limit on recognized compensation under the terms of the 401(k) plan. The second type of credit is a discretionary Company credit (also referred to as a “Company Benefit”). Amounts deferred by a NEO, and amounts credited by the Company, are shown in the Summary Compensation Table in the year earned or credited, as applicable.

Under the DCP, participants can elect a date for the payout of amounts that they have voluntarily

deferred and the “restoration” benefit, which can be during employment or after a separation from service in the form of a lump sum payment or installments with a duration between two and fifteen years. The Company Benefit is generally paid in a lump sum or in three annual installments commencing upon the later of (i) the first day of the year following the eligible employee’s attainment of age 65; or (ii) the first day of the seventh month following the eligible employee’s separation from service. In addition, the DCP will pay out the balance of a NEO’s account in a lump sum on the thirtieth day after a change of control.

Under the DCP, participants earn a deferred return based (in the case of amounts that they have voluntarily deferred and 401(k) restoration benefits) on deemed investments in mutual funds selected by the participant from a list provided by the Company. In 2015, returns on those deemed investments ranged from about negative 5.47 percent to positive 10.99 percent. The investment list is similar to the investments available through the Company’s 401(k) Plan. All investment risk is borne by the participant. Gains and losses are credited based on actual market returns earned by the deemed

investment and the value of a participant’s account will increase or decrease accordingly.

Company Benefit accounts are credited with a fixed rate of interest equal to the interest crediting factor under the “cash balance” feature of the Company’s qualified retirement plan.

The DCP is intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Accordingly, deferrals, company contributions

and distributions to eligible employees will occur and will be subject to these requirements.

Amounts voluntarily deferred by each of the NEOs in 2015, restoration contributions in 2015, Company Benefit contributions in 2015, earnings on each and year-end account balances for the NEOs are reported under the heading “Executive Compensation — Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation” beginning on page 67.

Our executive officers are eligible to participate in the various benefit plans available to our employees, including those that provide life, health and disability insurance, and access to, and in some instances, Company contributions

into, retirement plans. In addition, in connection with our philosophy to provide only limited perquisites, in 2015, we provided to our executive officers only a Company car or allowance.

The NEOs (other than Mr. Bates) are covered by the Company’s Change of Control Plan, the terms of which are further described under “Executive Compensation — Payments on Termination or Change of Control — Change of Control Plan.” In addition to supporting key employee retention, the change of control benefits are intended to ensure that executives are able, as a practical matter, to evaluate any potential change of control transaction objectively and to encourage executives to remain employed by the Company in the event a change of control becomes a real possibility. The Change of Control Plan’s benefits were based on typical market practices at what were believed to be no more than median compensation levels when compared to our

market references. All of the NEOs (other than Mr. Bates) participate in the Change of Control Plan.

The Change of Control Plan was amended in May 2011 to eliminate the excise tax gross-up benefit that had been provided under the Change of Control Plan with respect to any person who becomes an executive officer on or after May 16, 2011 (including any person newly hired by the Company and any person promoted from within the Company from a non-executive officer position to an executive officer position on or after that date). Mr. Thompson is the only NEO that was an executive officer prior to 2011 and, accordingly, he is the only current NEO entitled to a tax gross-up under the Change of Control Plan.

The Change of Control Plan was amended in March 2016 to adopt the following modifications and amendments:

For additional information on the Change of Control Plan, see “Executive Compensation — Payments on Termination or Change of Control — Change of Control Plan.”

On December 9, 2013, the Committee approved and adopted the Severance Plan for certain executive officers and other key employees of the Company, including each of the NEOs (other than Mr. Bates). The Severance Plan became effective on January 1, 2014. In addition to attracting and retaining executives and key employees, the Severance Plan benefits are intended to ensure that the Company’s severance-related benefits for executives and key employees are competitive with severance-related benefits offered by other companies

with whom the Company may compete for executive-level talent.

The Severance Plan provides for the payment of severance to the NEO if his employment with the Company is terminated without Cause or for Good Reason, each as defined under “Payments on Termination or Change of Control

— Severance Plan.” In the event of such a qualifying termination and subject to the applicable NEO’s execution of a general release of liability against the Company within 45 days after the qualifying termination, the Severance Plan provides that any such NEO is entitled to a severance payment equal to one year’s base salary and target bonus amount, and certain temporary benefits. The Severance Plan does not provide for an excise tax gross-up benefit to any NEOs or other participants to offset any

excise taxes that may be imposed on excess parachute payments under Section 4999 of the Code.

For the terms and additional information regarding the Severance Plan, see “Payments on Termination or Change of Control — Severance Plan.”

Certain of the Company’s equity award agreements also provide that unvested equity awards will immediately vest upon a change of control without regard to termination of employment. However, for all equity awards granted to NEOs after May 2011, unvested equity awards will have accelerated vesting upon a change of control only if either: (1) the NEO’s employment is terminated without cause, or the executive officer terminates his employment for good reason, in connection with

that change of control; or (2) the equity award is not assumed or a substitute equity award with equivalent rights is not provided. In other words, for equity awards granted after May 2011, there is a “double-trigger” requirement for accelerated vesting. For additional information on potential payments and vesting of equity awards upon termination or a change of control, see “Payments on Termination or Change of Control — Equity Awards” beginning on page 70.

Our NEOs hired prior to January 1, 2009 at Georgia Gulf and January 1, 2006 at PPG are eligible to participate in the Axiall Corporation Retirement Plan (the “Retirement Plan”). Messrs. Carrico, Thompson and Orcutt, and Ms. Piciacchio were hired prior to those dates, and thus, participate in the Retirement Plan based on their respective employment start dates. Additionally, Ms. Piciacchio participates in the Eagle US 2 LLC Nonqualified Retirement Plan (the “Nonqualified Retirement Plan”).

The Retirement Plan is a broadly based, qualified defined benefit pension plan, which provides a benefit upon retirement to eligible Company employees in the United States.

In general, all former Georgia Gulf employees in the United States who were hired prior to January 1, 2009 are eligible to participate in the Retirement Plan, although benefits may differ for employees depending on whether the employee works in our Chemicals or Building Products business, and depending further on whether the employee is covered by collectively bargained agreements.

The pension benefit for former Georgia Gulf participating NEOs is the sum of:

In general, all former non-union PPG employees in the United States who were hired prior to January 1, 2006 were eligible to participate in the Eagle US 2 LLC Retirement Income Plan, which merged into the Retirement Plan on December 31, 2013. The benefits were then frozen effective January 31, 2014 so that no further pay or service was recognized after that date.

The pension benefit for the former PPG participating NEO is the greater of:

Average earnings and service are only recognized through January 31, 2014, with service limited to 35 years.

Additionally, certain former non-union PPG employees participate in the Nonqualified Retirement Plan to provide a supplemental benefit based on bonus awards and restore benefits otherwise limited by statutory benefit and pay limits under the Retirement Plan. The pension benefit for the former PPG participating NEO mirrors her benefit in the Retirement Plan, but reflecting pay that was not included in the Retirement Plan.

As noted above, for former Georgia Gulf employees the Retirement Plan was amended to provide for the cessation (or “freezing”) of the accrual of additional benefits, effective as of March 31, 2009. As further amended in 2013, effective December 31, 2013, the Eagle US 2 LLC Retirement Income Plan was merged into the Retirement Plan and all benefits under the plan were frozen effective as of January 31, 2014.

Normal retirement benefits are available to former Georgia Gulf employees with at least three years of service at age 62 and a reduced pension (by 6 percent per year prior to age 62)

is available as early as age 55. Normal retirement benefits are available to former PPG employees with at least five years of service at their Social Security Normal Retirement Age (SSNRA) with reduced benefits as early as ten years prior to SSNRA. All of the NEOs who participate in the Retirement Plan and Nonqualified Retirement Plan are fully vested in their benefits.

For additional information about the Retirement Plan, including the present value of benefits accrued by each of the NEOs, see “Executive Compensation — Pension Benefits.”

The Company conducted a review of compensation-related risks arising from the compensation policies and practices for all employees, and based on that review, the Company determined that the Company’s compensation and benefit policies and practices are not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company and that the plans currently in

place or contemplated are appropriately balanced between retention and incentive to enable the Company to retain its management team while providing an incentive for the CEO and other executive officers to be focused on meeting the objectives developed by management and the Board that are designed to create long-term stockholder value.

The Committee has reviewed and discussed the preceding Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management. Based on that review and discussions, the Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and the Company’s proxy statement for

the annual meeting of stockholders to be held on [●], 2016.

William L. Mansfield, Chairman

T. Kevin DeNicola

David N. Weinstein