UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): December 3, 2020

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (508) 650-3000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the

              registrant under any of the following provisions \(see General Instruction A.2. below\):

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

On December 3, 2020, the Board of Directors of Cognex Corporation (the “Company”) authorized an increase to the number of directors on the board from eight to nine and appointed Sachin S. Lawande as a director of the Company, both actions effective January 1, 2021. Mr. Lawande was appointed to the class of directors whose term ends in 2021 to serve in accordance with the By-laws of the Company and until his successor is duly elected and qualified. Mr. Lawande is expected to serve on the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. A copy of the press release announcing Mr. Lawande’s appointment is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is hereby incorporated by reference.

Mr. Lawande, 53, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Visteon Corporation (VC), a leading global technology supplier of vehicle cockpit electronic products. Mr. Lawande has held this position since 2015. Previously, he was at then publicly held Harman International Industries, Inc. (HAR) for 10 years, where he held a range of leadership positions including president of the company’s largest division with nearly $3 billion in annual sales. Since 2015, Mr. Lawande has served as a director of Visteon Corporation (VC), a publicly held company listed on Nasdaq. He was also on the board of DXC Technology Company (DXC) from 2015 until August 2020. Mr. Lawande holds a B.S. from Bombay University, and a Master’s Degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Mr. Lawande’s qualifications for sitting on the Board of Directors include his executive leadership experience, including his service as chief executive officer of a large public company, perspective from his service on other public company boards, expertise in the automotive, technology and software industries, and international experience, including experience with manufacturing and engineering operations in India.

In connection with his appointment, Mr. Lawande will receive an initial stock option grant under the Company’s 2007 Stock Option and Incentive Plan that will vest in five annual installments. For his service on the Board and any committees of the Board, Mr. Lawande will receive the same compensation payable by the Company to its other non-employee directors for their service on the Board and committees as described under the heading “Director Compensation” in the Company’s definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 13, 2020. Mr. Lawande will also enter into the Company’s standard indemnification agreement, which has been previously entered into with each of the Company’s directors and the form of which has been filed by the Company with the SEC.

There is no arrangement or understanding between Mr. Lawande and any other person pursuant to which he was selected as a director, nor is the Company aware, after inquiry of Mr. Lawande, of any related-person transaction or series of transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

(d)              Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Cognex Appoints New Board Member

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 7, 2020--Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) today announced the appointment of Sachin S. Lawande, President and Chief Executive Officer of Visteon Corporation, to Cognex’s board of directors effective January 1, 2021. He is expected to serve on the Audit Committee.

“We are very excited about Sachin joining our board,” said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Founder, Chairman and Chief Culture Officer of Cognex. “His current leadership of a large international corporation that serves the automotive industry, one of Cognex’s key markets, his deep knowledge of technology, his prior responsibilities for managing the design and manufacture of complex electronic products containing both hardware and software, and his experience on public boards are all valuable assets which will help Cognex going forward.”

Lawande has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Visteon Corporation (NASDAQ: VC), a leading global technology supplier of vehicle cockpit electronic products, since 2015. He currently serves on the board of directors of Visteon and previously served on the board of DXC Technology Company (NYSE: DXC). Prior to joining Visteon, Mr. Lawande was at then publicly held Harman International Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HAR) for 10 years, where he held a range of leadership positions including president of the company’s largest division with nearly $3 billion in annual sales.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of image-based products, all of which use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques that give them the human-like ability to make decisions on what they see. Cognex products include machine vision systems, machine vision sensors, and barcode readers that are used in factories and distribution centers around the world where they eliminate production and shipping errors.

Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 2.3 million image-based products, representing over $7 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has offices and distributors located throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For details, visit Cognex online at www.cognex.com.

Certain statements made in this news release, which do not relate solely to historical matters, are forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by use of the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “may,” “shall,” “could,” “should,” and similar words and other statements of a similar sense. These forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding business and market trends, future financial performance, the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Cognex’s assets, business and results of operations, customer order rates and timing of related revenue, future product mix, restructuring and other cost savings initiatives, research and development activities, stock repurchases, investments, liquidity, strategic plans, and estimated tax benefits and expenses and other tax matters, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties include (1) the impact, duration, and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) current and future conditions in the global economy, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of tariffs or export controls; (3) the loss of, or curtailment of purchases by, a large customer; (4) the reliance on revenue from the consumer electronics or automotive industries; (5) the inability to penetrate the logistics industry and other new markets; (6) the inability to achieve significant international revenue; (7) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and the use of derivative instruments; (8) information security breaches or business system disruptions; (9) the inability to attract and retain skilled employees; (10) the failure to effectively manage our growth; (11) the reliance upon key suppliers to manufacture and deliver critical components for our products; (12) the failure to effectively manage product transitions or accurately forecast customer demand; (13) the inability to design and manufacture high-quality products; (14) the technological obsolescence of current products and the inability to develop new products; (15) the failure to properly manage the distribution of products and services; (16) the inability to protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property; (17) our involvement in time-consuming and costly litigation; (18) the impact of competitive pressures; (19) the challenges in integrating and achieving expected results from acquired businesses, including the acquisition of Sualab; (20) potential impairment charges with respect to our investments or for acquired intangible assets or goodwill; (21) exposure to additional tax liabilities; and (22) potential disruptions to our business due to restructuring activities and the failure of such activities to generate the anticipated cost savings; and the other risks detailed in Cognex reports filed with the SEC, including its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 27, 2020. You should not place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Cognex disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements after the date of such statements.

Contacts

Susan Conway

      Investor Relations 

      +1 508-650-3353 

      susan.conway@cognex.com