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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.    )

Filed by the Registrant ý

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant o

Check the appropriate box:

o

 

Preliminary Proxy Statement

o

 

Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

ý

 

Definitive Proxy Statement

o

 

Definitive Additional Materials

o

 

Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12

 

MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

ý

 

No fee required.

o

 

Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
    (1)   Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
        
 
    (2)   Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:
        
 
    (3)   Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
        
 
    (4)   Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
        
 
    (5)   Total fee paid:
        
 

o

 

Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

o

 

Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

 

 

(1)

 

Amount Previously Paid:
        
 
    (2)   Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
        
 
    (3)   Filing Party:
        
 
    (4)   Date Filed:
        
 

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LOGO



NOTICE OF
2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 16, 2011



To our Shareholders:

        You are cordially invited to attend our 2011 annual general meeting of shareholders, which will be held at the offices of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., located at Binyan Hermon, Industrial Area, Yokneam, Israel 20692, on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. local Israeli time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Shareholders may also participate in the meeting via a live webcast on the investor relations section of the Mellanox website at www.mellanox.com. Please access the website 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting to download and install any necessary audio software. You may also participate in the meeting via teleconference by dialing the toll-free U.S. telephone number (877) 831-3840, the international telephone number (973) 409-9610 or the toll-free Israeli telephone number 1 809 245 917 at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting and referencing the conference ID number 52964591.

        We are holding the annual general meeting for the following purposes:


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        These items of business to be transacted at the meeting are more fully described in the proxy statement, which is part of this notice.

        The meeting will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. local Israeli time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) and check-in will begin at 4:00 p.m. local Israeli time. Only holders of record of ordinary shares at the close of business on April 8, 2011, the record date, are entitled to notice of, to attend and to vote at the meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the meeting.

        All shareholders are cordially invited to attend the meeting in person. Even if you plan to attend the meeting, please complete, sign and date the enclosed proxy card and return it promptly in the postage-paid return envelope in order to ensure that your vote will be counted if you later decide not to, or are unable to, attend the meeting. Even if you have given your proxy, you may still attend and vote in person at the meeting after revoking your proxy prior to the meeting.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE 2011 ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 16, 2011

The proxy statement, proxy card and annual report to shareholders are available at https://proxydocs.com/mlnx.

    By order of the board of directors,

 

 

GRAPHIC
    Alan C. Mendelson
Secretary

Menlo Park, California
April 11, 2011


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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS REGARDING THIS SOLICITATION AND VOTING AT THE MEETING

    1  

PROPOSAL ONE—ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

   
15
 

PROPOSAL TWO—APPROVAL OF SALARY INCREASE, CONTRIBUTIONS TO SEVERANCE, PENSION AND EDUCATION FUNDS AND CASH BONUS PREVIOUSLY PAID TO EYAL WALDMAN

   
19
 

PROPOSAL THREE—APPROVAL OF THE GRANT OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS TO EYAL WALDMAN

   
20
 

PROPOSAL FOUR—ADVISORY VOTE ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

   
21
 

PROPOSAL FIVE—ADVISORY VOTE ON THE FREQUENCY OF AN ADVISORY VOTE ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

   
23
 

PROPOSAL SIX—APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY'S ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO APPOINT DIRECTORS UP TO THE MAXIMUM AUTHORIZED NUMBER

   
24
 

PROPOSAL SEVEN—APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY'S ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION TO REPLACE PROVISIONS RELATED TO DIRECTOR AND OFFICER INDEMNIFICATION

   
25
 

PROPOSAL EIGHT—APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO INDEMNIFICATION UNDERTAKING

   
30
 

PROPOSAL NINE—RATIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR THE DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES

   
31
 

PROPOSAL TEN—APPROVAL OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM AND AUTHORIZATION OF AUDIT COMMITTEE DETERMINATION OF REMUNERATION

   
32
 

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE

   
34
 

REPORT OF THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

   
36
 

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

   
37
 

SECURITY OWNERSHIP

   
51
 

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

   
53
 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS MATTERS

   
55
 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

   
63
 

OTHER MATTERS

   
63
 

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LOGO



PROXY STATEMENT FOR
2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 16, 2011



        This proxy statement is furnished to our shareholders as of the close of business on April 8, 2011, the record date, in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our board of directors for use at our annual general meeting of shareholders, to be held at the offices of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., located at Binyan Hermon, Industrial Area, Yokneam, Israel, on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. local Israeli time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) and at any adjournments or postponements of the meeting. We are mailing this proxy statement and the proxy card, together with a copy of our annual report to shareholders, to our shareholders on or about April 13, 2011.


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS REGARDING THIS SOLICITATION AND VOTING
AT THE MEETING

Why am I receiving this proxy statement?

  You are receiving this proxy statement from us because you were a shareholder of record at the close of business on the record date of April 8, 2011. As a shareholder of record, you are invited to attend our annual general meeting of shareholders and are entitled to vote on the items of business described in this proxy statement. This proxy statement contains important information about the meeting and the items of business to be transacted at the meeting. You are strongly encouraged to read this proxy statement, which includes information that you may find useful in determining how to vote.

 

As of April 8, 2011, there were 34,747,531 ordinary shares outstanding. Our ordinary shares are our only class of voting stock.

Who is entitled to attend and vote at the meeting?

 

Only holders of record of shares of our ordinary shares at the close of business on April 8, 2011 are entitled to notice of, to attend and to vote at the meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the meeting.

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How can I listen to the annual general meeting if I do not attend in person?

 

You are invited to listen to the annual general meeting live via webcast on May 16, 2011, at the investor relations section of the Mellanox website at www.mellanox.com, beginning at 5:00 p.m. local Israeli time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). It is recommended that shareholders access the website at least 15 minutes prior to the designated starting time in order to download and install any necessary audio software.

 

The annual general meeting will also be available via telephone conference call. In order to access the telephone conference call, dial the toll-free U.S. telephone number (877) 831-3840, the international telephone number (973) 409-9610 or the toll-free Israeli telephone number 1 809 245 917 at least 15 minutes prior to the designated starting time and mention the conference ID number 52964591. Neither the webcast nor the teleconference will enable you to vote your shares.

How many shares must be present or represented to conduct business at the meeting (that is, what constitutes a quorum) ?

 

The presence at the meeting, in person or represented by proxy, of at least two shareholders holding at least 33 1/3% of our ordinary shares issued and outstanding on the record date and entitled to vote at the meeting will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

What happens if a quorum is not present?

 

If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall stand adjourned for one week, to May 23, 2011 at the same hour and place, without any notification to shareholders. If a quorum is not present at the adjourned date of the meeting on May 23, 2011 within half an hour of the time fixed for the commencement thereof, subject to the terms of applicable law, the persons present at the meeting on the adjourned date of May 23, 2011 shall constitute a quorum.

What items of business will be voted on at the meeting?

 

The items of business to be voted on at the meeting are as follows:

 

1.    To elect directors to hold office until our 2012 annual general meeting of shareholders, or until their respective successors have been elected and have qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal;

 

2.    To approve (i) an increase in the annual base salary of Eyal Waldman from $375,000 to $410,000 effective April 1, 2011, (ii) the contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time and (iii) the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman in the amount of $157,500 for services rendered for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010;

 

3.    To approve the grant of 50,000 restricted stock units to Mr. Waldman;

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4.    To conduct an advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers;

 

5.    To conduct an advisory vote on the frequency of an advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers;

 

6.    To approve an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to authorize the board of directors to appoint up to the maximum authorized number of directors;

 

7.    To approve an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to replace the provisions related to indemnification of our directors and officers in order to confirm such provisions to amendments to the Israeli Companies Law and the Israeli Securities Law;

 

8.    To approve an amendment to the indemnification undertaking between the company and each of our directors and officers;

 

9.    To ratify and approve the purchase of liability insurance for directors and officers of the company and its subsidiaries for the period commencing on February 7, 2011 and ending no later than the later of (i) the 2016 annual general meeting and (ii) June 1, 2016, whether as a renewal of the company's existing directors and officers liability insurance policy or policies or the purchase of directors and officers liability insurance from one or more different insurers, subject to the following terms: (a) annual coverage of no more than $75 million in the aggregate, (b) annual premiums of no more than $450,000 in the aggregate and (c) prior to purchasing liability insurance, our audit committee and board of directors will authorize the terms of the proposed policy or policies to comply with these terms; and

 

10.    To appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 and to authorize our audit committee to determine our accounting firm's remuneration in accordance with the volume and nature of their services.

What happens if additional matters are presented at the meeting?

 

The only items of business that our board of directors intends to present at the meeting are set forth in this proxy statement. As of the date of this proxy statement, no shareholder has advised us of the intent to present any other matter, and we are not aware of any other matters to be presented at the meeting. If any other matter or matters are properly brought before the meeting, the person(s) named as your proxyholder(s) will have the discretion to vote your shares on the matters in accordance with their best judgment and as they deem advisable.

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How does the board of directors recommend that I vote?

 

Our board of directors recommends that you vote your shares "FOR" the election of each of the director nominees, "FOR" the increase in the annual base salary of Mr. Waldman, the contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time, and the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman, "FOR" the approval of the grant of 50,000 restricted stock units to Mr. Waldman, "FOR" the approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers, for every "THREE YEARS," on an advisory basis, as the frequency for an advisory vote on named executive officer compensation, "FOR" the approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to authorize the board of directors to appoint up to the maximum authorized number of directors, "FOR" the approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to replace the provisions related to indemnification of our directors and officers, "FOR" the amendment to the indemnification undertaking, "FOR" the ratification and approval of liability insurance for the directors and officers of the company and its subsidiaries, and "FOR" the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the authorization of audit committee determination of their remuneration.

What shares can I vote at the meeting?

 

You may vote all of the shares you owned as of April 8, 2011, the record date, including shares held directly in your name as the shareholder of record and all shares held for you as the beneficial owner through a broker, trustee or other nominee such as a bank.

What is the difference between holding shares as a shareholder of record and as a beneficial owner?

 

Most of our shareholders hold their shares through a broker or other nominee rather than directly in their own name. As summarized below, there are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially.

 

Shareholders of Record.    If your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, you are considered, with respect to those shares, the shareholder of record, and these proxy materials are being sent directly to you by us. As the shareholder of record, you have the right to vote in person at the meeting or direct the proxyholder how to vote your shares on your behalf at the meeting by fully completing, signing and dating the enclosed proxy card and returning it to us in the enclosed postage-paid return envelope.

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Beneficial Owner.    If your shares are held in a brokerage account or by another nominee, you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you together with a voting instruction card. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, trustee or nominee to vote your shares as you instruct in the voting instruction card. The broker, trustee or other nominee may either vote in person at the meeting or grant a proxy and direct the proxyholder to vote your shares at the meeting as you instruct in the voting instruction card. If you hold shares through a broker, trustee or nominee, other than for shares that are traded through the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange, or TASE, you may also vote in person at the meeting, but only after you obtain a "legal proxy" from the broker, trustee or nominee that holds your shares, giving you the right to vote your shares at the meeting. Your broker, trustee or nominee has enclosed or provided a voting instruction card for you to use in directing the broker, trustee or nominee how to vote your shares.

 

If you hold shares that are traded through TASE, the TASE Clearing House Member through which the shares are held will send you by electronic mail, free of charge, no later than five days following the record date, a link to a voting instruction card in the form filed by us on the distribution site of the Israeli Securities Authority, MAGNA, at www.magna.isa.gov.il, on April 3, 2011, unless you inform the TASE Clearing House Member through which the shares are held that you do not wish to receive said link, or if you inform it that you wish to receive a voting instruction card by mail, against the payment of mailing costs only. If you hold shares that are traded through TASE, you may also vote in person at the meeting, but only after providing a proof of ownership certificate from the TASE Clearing House member through which the shares are held indicating that you were the beneficial owner of the shares on the record date.

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How can I vote my shares without attending the meeting?

 

Whether you hold shares directly as the shareholder of record or as a beneficial owner, you may direct how your shares are voted without attending the meeting by completing and returning the enclosed proxy card or voting instruction card (as described below). If you provide specific instructions with regard to items of business to be voted on at the meeting, your shares will be voted as you instruct on those items. Proxies properly signed, dated and submitted to us that do not contain voting instructions and are not revoked prior to the meeting will be voted "FOR" the election of each of the director nominees who are not outside directors identified in this proxy statement, "FOR" the increase in the annual base salary of Mr. Waldman, the contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time, and the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman, "FOR" the approval of the grant of 50,000 restricted stock units to Mr. Waldman, "FOR" the approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers, for every "THREE YEARS, " on an advisory basis, as the frequency for an advisory vote on named executive officer compensation, "FOR" the approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to authorize the board of directors to appoint up to the maximum authorized number of directors, "FOR" the approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to replace the provisions related to indemnification of our directors and officers, "FOR" the amendment to the indemnification undertaking, "FOR" the ratification and approval of liability insurance for the directors and officers of the company and its subsidiaries, and "FOR" the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the authorization of audit committee determination of their remuneration.

 

Voting by Telephone or over the Internet.    You may also vote by telephone or over the Internet by following the instructions included on the enclosed proxy card or voting instruction card. You may vote by telephone or over the Internet until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time the day before the meeting.

 

If you own shares that are traded through TASE, you may vote your shares by mail as follows: sign and date a voting instruction card in the form filed by us on the distribution site of the Israeli Securities Authority, MAGNA, at www.magna.isa.gov.il, on April 3, 2011 and attach to it a proof of ownership certificate from the TASE Clearing House member through which the shares are held indicating that you were the beneficial owner of the shares on the record date, and return the voting instruction card, along with the proof of ownership certificate, to us, as described in the instructions available on MAGNA, no later than 72 hours prior to the meeting.

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How can I vote my shares in person at the meeting?

 

Shares held in your name as the shareholder of record may be voted in person at the meeting. Shares held beneficially in street name, other than for shares that are traded through TASE, may be voted in person only if you obtain a legal proxy from the broker, trustee or nominee that holds your shares giving you the right to vote the shares at the meeting. You should be prepared to present photo identification for admittance. Please also note that if you are not a shareholder of record but hold shares through a broker, trustee or nominee, other than for shares that are traded through TASE, you will need to provide proof of beneficial ownership as of the record date, such as your most recent brokerage account statement, a copy of the voting instruction card provided by your broker, trustee or nominee or other similar evidence of ownership. If your shares are traded through TASE, you will need to provide a proof of ownership certificate from the TASE Clearing House member through which the shares are held indicating that you were the beneficial owner of the shares on the record date. The meeting will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. local Israeli time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Check-in will begin at 4:00 p.m. local Israeli time. Even if you plan to attend the meeting, we recommend that you also complete, sign and date the enclosed proxy card or voting instruction card and return it promptly in the accompanying postage-paid return envelope in order to ensure that your vote will be counted if you later decide not to, or are unable to, attend the meeting.

Can I change my vote or revoke my proxy?

 

You may change your vote or revoke your proxy at any time prior to the vote at the meeting. If you are the shareholder of record, you may change your vote by granting a new proxy bearing a later date, which automatically revokes the earlier proxy, by providing a written notice of revocation to our corporate secretary prior to your shares being voted, or by attending the meeting and voting in person. Attendance at the meeting will not cause your previously granted proxy to be revoked unless you specifically so request. If you are a beneficial owner, you may change your vote by submitting a new voting instruction card to your broker, trustee or nominee, or, if you have obtained a legal proxy from your broker, trustee or nominee giving you the right to vote your shares, by attending the meeting and voting in person.

 

If you voted your shares by submitting a voting instruction card in the form filed on MAGNA (whether you hold shares directly as the shareholder of record or as a beneficial owner), you may apply to the company's address at Binyan Hermon, Industrial Area, Yokneam, Israel 20692, no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting, and after providing a proof of identification to the satisfaction of the company's secretary, withdraw your voting instruction card. If you do so, you will be entitled to vote only in person at the meeting.

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Is my vote confidential?

 

Proxy cards, voting instructions, ballots and voting tabulations that identify individual shareholders are not secret; however, all such materials will be handled in a manner intended to reasonably protect your voting privacy. Your vote will not be disclosed, except as required by law and except as required to American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, our transfer agent, to allow for the tabulation of votes and certification of the vote and to facilitate a successful proxy solicitation.

How are votes counted and what vote is required to approve each item?

 

Each outstanding ordinary share entitles the holder thereof to one vote on each matter considered at the meeting. Shareholders are not entitled to cumulate their votes in the election of directors or with respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of the shareholders pursuant to this proxy statement.

 

The election of each of Eyal Waldman, Dov Baharav, Glenda Dorchak, Irwin Federman and Thomas Weatherford as directors requires the vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the annual general meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" the election of each nominee, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to the election of any nominee will not be voted, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

 

The approval of (i) an increase in the annual base salary of Eyal Waldman from $375,000 to $410,000 effective April 1, 2011, (ii) the contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time and (iii) the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman in the amount of $157,500 for services rendered for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

 

The approval of the grant of 50,000 restricted stock units to Mr. Waldman requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

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The approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

 

The approval, on an advisory basis, of the frequency of the advisory vote on named executive officer compensation requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote for "ONE YEAR," "TWO YEARS" or "THREE YEARS" on this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present. With respect to this item, if none of the frequency alternatives (one year, two years or three years) receive a majority vote, we will consider the frequency that receives the highest number of votes by shareholders to be the frequency that has been selected by shareholders. However, because this vote is advisory and not binding on us or our board of directors in any way, our board may decide that it is in our and our shareholders' best interests to hold an advisory vote on named executive officer compensation more or less frequently than the alternative approved by our shareholders.

 

The approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to authorize the board of directors to appoint up to the maximum number of directors requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

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The approval of an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to replace the provisions related to indemnification of our directors and officers requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

 

The approval of the amendment to the indemnification undertaking between the company and each of our directors and officers requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

 

The ratification and approval of the purchase of liability insurance for directors and officers of the company and its subsidiaries for the period commencing on February 7, 2011 and ending no later than the later of (i) the 2016 annual general meeting and (ii) June 1, 2016, whether as a renewal of the company's existing directors and officers liability insurance policy or policies or the purchase of directors and officers liability insurance from one or more different insurers, subject to the following terms: (a) annual coverage of no more than $75 million in the aggregate, (b) annual premiums of no more than $450,000 in the aggregate and (c) prior to purchasing liability insurance, our audit committee and board of directors will authorize the terms of the proposed policy or policies to comply with these terms, requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

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The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and authorization of audit committee determination of their remuneration requires the approval of the holders of a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy or by written ballot and voting thereon. You may vote either "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal, or you may abstain. A properly executed proxy marked "ABSTAIN" with respect to this proposal will not be voted with respect to such proposal, although it will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum present.

What is a "broker non-vote"?

 

Under the rules that govern brokers and banks that have record ownership of our ordinary shares that are held in street name for their clients such as you, who are the beneficial owners of the shares, brokers and banks have the discretion to vote such shares on routine matters. With the exception of (i) the election of directors, (ii) the approval of an increase in the annual base salary of Eyal Waldman, contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time, and the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman, (iii) the grant of restricted stock units to Mr. Waldman, (iv) the advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers and (v) the advisory vote on the frequency of the advisory vote on named executive officer compensation, all items of business proposed to be considered at the annual general meeting are considered routine matters. If you do not otherwise instruct your broker or bank, the broker or bank may vote your shares on routine matters. A "broker non-vote" occurs when a broker or bank expressly instructs on a proxy card that it is not voting on a matter, whether routine or non-routine.

 

Further, this means that brokers may ONLY vote your shares on (i) the approval of the amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to authorize the board to appoint up to the maximum authorized number of directors, (ii) the approval of the amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association to replace the provisions related to indemnification of our directors and officers, (iii) the approval of the amendment to the indemnification undertaking between the company and each of our directors and officers, (iv) the ratification and approval of the purchase of liability insurance for directors and officers and (v) the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. We encourage you to provide instructions to your broker regarding the voting of your shares; otherwise, if you do not provide instructions to your broker or bank regarding how to vote your shares on the non-routine proposals set forth in this proxy, then your shares will NOT be voted on these important shareholder proposals.

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How are "broker non-votes" counted?

 

Broker non-votes will be counted as present for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a quorum for the transaction of business, but they will NOT be counted in tabulating the voting result for any particular proposal.

How are abstentions counted?

 

If you return a proxy card that indicates an abstention from voting on all matters, the shares represented by your proxy will be counted as present for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a quorum for the transaction of business, but they will NOT be counted in tabulating the voting result for any particular proposal.

What happens if the meeting is adjourned?

 

Assuming the presence of a quorum, if our annual general meeting is adjourned to another time and place, no additional notice will be given of the adjourned meeting if the time and place of the adjourned meeting is announced at the annual general meeting, unless the adjournment is for more than 21 days, in which case a notice of the adjourned meeting will be given to each shareholder of record as of April 8, 2011 entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting. At the adjourned meeting, we may transact any items of business that might have been transacted at the annual general meeting.

Who will serve as inspector of elections?

 

A representative of American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, our transfer agent, will tabulate the votes and act as inspector of elections at the meeting.

What should I do in the event that I receive more than one set of proxy materials?

 

You may receive more than one set of these proxy solicitation materials, including multiple copies of this proxy statement and multiple proxy cards or voting instruction cards. For example, if you hold your shares in more than one brokerage account, you may receive a separate voting instruction card for each brokerage account in which you hold shares. In addition, if you are a shareholder of record and your shares are registered in more than one name, you may receive more than one proxy card. Please complete, sign, date and return each proxy card and voting instruction card that you receive to ensure that all your shares are voted.

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Who is soliciting my vote and who will bear the costs of this solicitation?

 

The enclosed proxy is being solicited on behalf of our board of directors. We will bear the entire cost of solicitation of proxies, including preparation, assembly, printing and mailing of this proxy statement. In addition to solicitation by mail, our directors, officers, employees and agents may also solicit proxies in person, by telephone, by electronic mail or by other means of communication. We will not pay any additional compensation to our directors, officers or other employees for soliciting proxies. We may pay compensation to a proxy soliciting agent, if we retain one. Copies of the proxy materials will be furnished to brokerage firms, banks, trustees, custodians and other nominees holding beneficially owned shares of our ordinary shares, who will forward the proxy materials to the beneficial owners. We may reimburse brokerage firms, banks, trustees, custodians and other agents for the costs of forwarding the proxy materials. Our costs for forwarding proxy materials are not expected to be significant.

Where can I find the voting results of the meeting?

 

We intend to announce preliminary voting results at the meeting and publish the final voting results in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed within four business days after the meeting.

What is the deadline for submitting proposals for consideration at next year's annual general meeting of shareholders or to nominate individuals to serve as directors?

 

As a shareholder, you may be entitled to present proposals for action at a future meeting of shareholders, including director nominations.

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Shareholder Proposals:    For a shareholder proposal to be considered for inclusion in our proxy statement for the annual general meeting to be held in 2012, the proposal must be in writing and received by the secretary of the company at the offices of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., c/o Mellanox Technologies, Inc., 350 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, California 94085, Attention: Corporate Secretary, no later than December 15, 2011, or such proposal will be considered untimely under Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. If the date of our 2012 annual general meeting is more than 30 days before or 30 days after the anniversary date of our 2011 annual general meeting, the deadline for inclusion of proposals in our proxy statement will instead be a reasonable time before we begin to print and mail our proxy materials. Shareholder proposals must comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act and any other applicable rules established by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Proposals of shareholders intended to be presented at the annual general meeting to be held in 2012 without inclusion of such proposals in our proxy statement relating to such annual general meeting must be received not later than 60 days and not more than 120 days before such annual general meeting. Shareholders are also advised to review our amended and restated articles of association, which contain additional requirements with respect to advance notice of shareholder proposals.

 

Nomination of Director Candidates:    Any proposals for director candidates must be in writing, include the name and address of the shareholder who is making the nomination and of the nominee and should be directed to the secretary of the company at the offices of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd, c/o Mellanox Technologies,  Inc., 350 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, California 94085, Attention: Corporate Secretary, or such proposal may not be acknowledged by the company. Our amended and restated articles of association also require that any proposal for nomination of directors include the consent of each nominee to serve as a member of our board of directors, if so elected. Shareholders are also advised to review our amended and restated articles of association, which contain additional requirements with respect to shareholder nominees for our board of directors. In addition, the shareholder must give timely notice to the secretary of the company in accordance with the provisions of our amended and restated articles of association, which require that the notice be received by the secretary of the company no later than February 16, 2012.

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PROPOSAL ONE—ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Members of the Board of Directors

        Five directors (who are not outside directors in accordance with the Israeli Companies Law, 1999, or the Companies Law) are to be elected at the meeting to serve until the next annual general meeting of shareholders, or until their respective successors have been elected and have qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. In accordance with the Companies Law, outside directors are elected for three-year terms. Our outside directors, Amal M. Johnson and Thomas J. Riordan, were each reelected to a three-year term at our 2010 annual general meeting of shareholders, and will continue to serve until our 2013 annual general meeting of shareholders, or until their respective successors have been elected and have qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal.

        The names of each member of our board of directors, including each nominee for director, their ages as of April 1, 2011 and principal occupations are as follows:

Name
  Current Term Expires   Age   Principal Occupation

Eyal Waldman

    2011     50   Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mellanox Technologies, Ltd.

Dov Baharav

    2011     60   Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Amdocs Management Limited

Glenda Dorchak

    2011     56   Former Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, VirtualLogix, Inc.

Irwin Federman

    2011     75   General Partner, U.S. Venture Partners

Thomas Weatherford

    2011     64   Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Business Objects SA

OUTSIDE DIRECTORS

               

Amal M. Johnson

    2013     58   Chairman, MarketTools, Inc.

Thomas J. Riordan

    2013     54   President and Chief Executive Officer, Exclara, Inc.

Director Nominees

        Our board of directors has nominated Eyal Waldman, Dov Baharav, Glenda Dorchak, Irwin Federman and Thomas Weatherford for reelection to our board of directors. Certain information regarding their individual experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that led our board of directors to conclude that they should serve on the board is described below. Each nominee for director has consented to being named in this proxy statement and has indicated a willingness to serve if elected. Although we do not anticipate that any nominee will be unavailable for election, if a nominee is unavailable for election, the persons named as proxyholders will use their discretion to vote for any substitute nominee in accordance with their best judgment as they deem advisable. If elected, Mr. Waldman, Mr. Baharav, Ms. Dorchak, Mr. Federman and Mr. Weatherford will hold office until our annual general meeting of shareholders to be held in 2012, or until their respective successors have been elected and have qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. Please refer to the description of the compensation of our directors under the heading "Director Compensation" in this proxy statement.

        Eyal Waldman is a co-founder of Mellanox, and has served as our chief executive officer, president and chairman of our board of directors since March 1999. From March 1993 to February 1999, Mr. Waldman served as vice president of engineering and was a co-founder of Galileo Technology, Ltd., or Galileo, a semiconductor company, which was acquired by Marvell Technology Group, Ltd. in January 2001. From August 1989 to March 1993, Mr. Waldman held a number of design and architecture related positions at Intel Corporation, a semiconductor chip maker. Mr. Waldman serves on the board of directors of a number of private companies. Mr. Waldman holds a Bachelor of Science

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in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Waldman is located in Israel. Mr. Waldman's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his role as a co-founder of Mellanox, more than a decade of service as our chief executive officer, president and chairman of our board of directors, and his design, engineering and architecture expertise.

        Dov Baharav has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2010. From July 2002 until November 2010, Mr. Baharav served as president and chief executive officer of Amdocs Management Limited, or Amdocs, a communications services company. Prior to that, since joining Amdocs in 1991, Mr. Baharav served as vice president and then president of Amdocs' principal U.S. subsidiary, Amdocs, Inc., and chief financial officer of Amdocs Management Limited. Prior to 1991, Mr. Baharav served as chief operating officer of Oprotech Ltd., an electro-optical device company. Mr. Baharav is involved with the College of Management Academic Studies in Rishon Lezion, Israel. He is also a member of the board of directors of SeamBI, a private advertising technology company. Mr. Baharav received a B.S. in physics and accounting, as well as an MBA, from the University of Tel Aviv. Mr. Baharav is located in Israel. Mr. Baharav's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his executive experience and his accounting and finance expertise and his experience in the technology industry.

        Glenda Dorchak has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2009. Until September 2010, when it was acquired by Red Bend Software, Ms. Dorchak was the chief executive officer and vice chairman of VirtualLogix, Inc., a Sunnyvale, California based provider of virtualization software for wireless and embedded devices. Prior to VirtualLogix, Inc., Ms. Dorchak served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Intrinsyc Software International, Inc., or Intrinsyc, from August 2006 to November 2008 and served on the board of directors of Intrinsyc from September 2003 to December 2004 and again from July 2006 to November 2009. Prior to Intrinsyc, Ms. Dorchak was an executive with Intel Corporation from 2001 to 2006, including serving as vice president and chief operating officer of Intel Corporation's Communications Group; vice president and general manager of Intel's Consumer Electronics Group; and vice president and general manager of the Broadband Products Group. Prior to her tenure at Intel Corporation, she served as chairman and chief executive officer of Value America, Inc., an online retailer. From 1976 to 1998, Ms. Dorchak's career was spent with IBM, both at IBM Canada and later with IBM Corporation based in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she held executive positions with the IBM's Personal Systems Group, including directorships with the Ambra Systems Group and IBM PC North America. Ms. Dorchak is located in the United States. Ms. Dorchak's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include her executive and board member experience in the software and technology industries.

        Irwin Federman has served as a member of our board of directors since June 1999 and has served as our lead independent director since March 2010. Mr. Federman has been a general partner of U.S. Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, since April 1990. From 1988 to 1990, he was a managing director of Dillon Read & Co., an investment banking firm, and a general partner in its venture capital affiliate, Concord Partners. From 1978 to 1987, Mr. Federman was president and chief executive officer of Monolithic Memories, Inc., a semiconductor company which was acquired in 1987 by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., an integrated circuit manufacturer. Mr. Federman serves on the boards of directors of SanDisk Corporation, a data storage company, Check Point Software Technologies, Ltd., an Internet security software company, and a number of private companies. Mr. Federman was two-term chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association, has served on the board of directors of the National Venture Capital Association and served two terms on the Dean's Advisory Board of Santa Clara University. Mr. Federman holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Brooklyn College. Mr. Federman is located in the United States. Mr. Federman's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive experience as an executive, investor and board member of various companies in the semiconductor industry, and over a decade of service on our board of directors.

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        Thomas Weatherford has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2005. From August 1997 until his retirement in December 2002, Mr. Weatherford served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Business Objects SA, a provider of business intelligence software. Mr. Weatherford also serves on the boards of directors of SMART Modular Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer of memory products, Tesco Corporation, a global provider of technology-based solutions to the upstream energy industry, Spansion Inc., a provider of flash memory products, and several privately held companies. Mr. Weatherford also previously served on the board of directors of InfoUSA, Inc. from December 2007 until its acquisition by CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC in July 2010, Synplicity, Inc. from May 2003 until its acquisition by Synopsys, Inc. in May 2008, Saba Software, Inc. from March 2003 to January 2008, ILOG S.A. from December 2002 until April 2006, and Aspect Communications from January 2004 until its merger with Concerto Software in September 2005. Mr. Weatherford holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston. Mr. Weatherford is located in the United States. Mr. Weatherford's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his accounting and finance expertise, experience in the semiconductor and technology industries, and service on the boards of directors of several companies.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR EACH OF THE FIVE NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR LISTED ABOVE.

Outside Directors Continuing to Serve Until 2013 Annual General Meeting

        Amal M. Johnson has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2006. Ms. Johnson is currently the Chairman of MarketTools, Inc., a software and services company, which she joined in March 2005 as CEO. Prior to joining MarketTools, Inc., Ms. Johnson was a general partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, focusing on enterprise software and infrastructure, from March 1999 to March 2004. Previously, Ms. Johnson was president of Baan Supply Chain Solutions, an enterprise resource planning software company, from January 1998 to December 1998, president of Baan Affiliates from January 1997 to December 1997, and president of Baan Americas from October 1994 to December 1996. Prior to that, Ms. Johnson served as president of ASK Manufacturing Systems, a material requirements planning software company, from August 1993 to July 1994 and held executive positions at IBM from 1977 to June 1993. Ms. Johnson also serves on the board of directors of Intuitive Surgical, a medical device company, and MarketTools, Inc., a private company. Ms. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Montclair State University and did her graduate work in Computer Science at Stevens Institute of Technology. Ms. Johnson is located in the United States. Ms. Johnson's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include her executive and board member experience in the software and technology industries.

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        Thomas Riordan has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2005. Mr. Riordan previously served as a member of our board of directors from February 2003 to February 2005. Mr. Riordan is currently the chief executive officer emeritus of Exclara, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, which he joined in August 2006. Most recently, Mr. Riordan was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Bessemer Venture Partners. Prior to Bessemer Venture Partners, from August 2000 to December 2004, Mr. Riordan was vice president of the microprocessor division of PMC-Sierra, Inc., a semiconductor company. From August 1991 to August 2000, Mr. Riordan was chief executive officer, president and a member of the board of directors of Quantum Effect Devices, Inc., a semiconductor design company that Mr. Riordan co-founded. From February 1985 to June 1991, Mr. Riordan served in various design and managerial roles, most recently as director of research and development at MIPS Computer Systems, Inc., a semiconductor design company. From March 1983 to January 1985, Mr. Riordan served as a design engineer at Weitek Corporation, a semiconductor company. From October 1979 to February 1983, Mr. Riordan was a design engineer at Intel Corporation. Mr. Riordan holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from the University of Central Florida and has done post-graduate work in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Mr. Riordan also serves on the boards of directors of PLX Technology, Inc., a semiconductor company, and several private companies. Mr. Riordan is located in the United States. Mr. Riordan's qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive executive, management and board member experience in the semiconductor and technology industries.

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PROPOSAL TWO—APPROVAL OF SALARY INCREASE, CONTRIBUTIONS
TO SEVERANCE, PENSION AND EDUCATION FUNDS AND CASH
BONUS PREVIOUSLY PAID TO EYAL WALDMAN

        Under Israeli law, the terms of service of the members of the board of directors of a public company require the approval of the shareholders following the approval of the audit committee and the board of directors. In recognition of Mr. Waldman's significant contribution to the company as its chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of directors, each of our audit committee and our board of directors, upon the recommendation of our compensation committee, has approved (i) an increase in the annual base salary of Mr. Waldman from $375,000 to $410,000 effective April 1, 2011, (ii) contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time and (iii) the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman in the amount of $157,500 for services rendered for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, pursuant to the company's annual discretionary cash bonus compensation program. The contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds described under clause (ii) above are generally made for all Israeli employees, as described in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section below.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, FOLLOWING THE APPROVAL OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE INCREASE IN EYAL WALDMAN'S ANNUAL BASE SALARY, CONTRIBUTIONS TO SEVERANCE, PENSION AND EDUCATION FUNDS AND THE BONUS PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2010 AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL TWO.

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PROPOSAL THREE—APPROVAL OF THE GRANT OF RESTRICTED
STOCK UNITS TO EYAL WALDMAN

        Under Israeli law, the terms of service of the board of directors of a public company require shareholder approval following the approval of the audit committee and the board of directors. Following the approval of our audit committee, our board of directors has approved the grant of 50,000 restricted stock units to Eyal Waldman under the terms described below in recognition of his significant contribution to the company as its chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of directors. We are now seeking shareholder approval of the grant of these restricted stock units, as required pursuant to Israeli law.

        The restricted stock units shall vest at the rate of 12/48th of the original number of ordinary shares on May 1, 2012, and thereafter at the rate of 3/48th of the original number of shares on the first day of each quarterly period of August, November, February and May commencing August 1, 2012, with the last 3/48th of the original number of shares vesting on May 1, 2015, so long as Mr. Waldman continues to provide services to the company.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, FOLLOWING THE APPROVAL OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE GRANT OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS TO EYAL WALDMAN, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL THREE.

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PROPOSAL FOUR—ADVISORY VOTE ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR
NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ("SAY-ON-PAY VOTE")

Background

        The recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or Dodd-Frank Act, enables our shareholders to vote to approve, on an advisory, non-binding basis, the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement in accordance with the SEC's rules.

Summary

        We are asking our shareholders to provide advisory approval of the compensation of our named executive officers, as defined in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section below, as such compensation is described in such section, the tabular disclosure regarding such compensation and the accompanying narrative disclosure set forth in this proxy statement. Our compensation program for our named executive officers is designed to reward high performance and innovation, to promote accountability and to ensure that executive interests are aligned with the interests of our shareholders. The following is a summary of the primary components of our named executive officer compensation. We urge our shareholders to review the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of this proxy statement and executive-related compensation tables for more information.

        One component of our compensation program is base compensation or salary. We design base salaries to fall within a competitive range of the companies against which we compete for executive talent. In 2010, the base salaries of our named executive officers fell near the 50th percentile, in the case of named executive officers in the United States, and between the 50th and 75th percentile, in the case of named executive officers in Israel, of the companies that participated in salary surveys using our Peer Group Companies, as defined in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section below. Generally, the base salary established for an individual named executive officer reflects many inputs, including our CEO's assessment of the named executive officer's performance, the level of responsibility of the named executive officer, and competitive pay levels based on salaries paid to employees with similar roles and responsibilities at our Peer Group Companies.

        Another component of our compensation program is annual cash bonuses. We structure our annual discretionary cash bonus award program to reward named executive officers for our company's successful performance, measured on the basis of our operating income (determined on a GAAP basis), and for each individual's contribution to that performance. Consistent with our approach of placing a greater emphasis on equity compensation, our compensation committee awarded bonuses under the company's annual discretionary cash bonus compensation program in February 2011 for services performed in the year ended December 31, 2010 that ranged from 20% to 22% of each named executive officer's, other than our chief executive officer's, base salary paid during 2010.

        The third component of our compensation program is equity awards. We grant stock options and restricted stock units to our named executive officers in order to align their interests with the interests of our shareholders by tying the value delivered to our named executive officers to the value of our ordinary shares. We also believe that stock option and restricted stock unit grants to our named executive officers provide them with long-term incentives that will aid in retaining executive talent by providing opportunities to be compensated through the company's performance and rewarding executives for creating shareholder value over the long-term.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        The say-on-pay vote is advisory, and therefore not binding on the company, the compensation committee or our board of directors. Our board of directors believes that the information provided

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above and within the Compensation Discussion and Analysis and compensation tables included in this proxy statement demonstrates that our named executive officer compensation is designed to provide incentives and rewards for both our short-term and long-term performance, and is structured to motivate the company's named executive officers to meet our strategic objectives, thereby maximizing total return to shareholders.

        The following resolution will be submitted for a shareholder vote at the annual general meeting:

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR APPROVAL OF THE COMPENSATION OF THE COMPANY'S NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AS DESCRIBED IN THE COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS, COMPENSATION TABLES AND NARRATIVE DISCUSSION SET FORTH IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL FOUR.

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PROPOSAL FIVE—ADVISORY VOTE ON THE FREQUENCY OF AN ADVISORY VOTE ON
THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ("FREQUENCY VOTE")

Background

        The Dodd-Frank Act also enables our shareholders to indicate how frequently they believe we should seek an advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers. We are seeking an advisory, non-binding determination from our shareholders as to the frequency with which shareholders would have an opportunity to provide an advisory approval of our named executive officers' compensation. We are providing shareholders the option of selecting a frequency of one, two or three years, or abstaining. For the reasons described below, we recommend that our shareholders select a frequency of three years.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        The frequency vote is advisory, and therefore not binding on the company, the compensation committee or our board of directors. Shareholders are not being asked to approve or disapprove of the board of directors' recommendation, but rather to indicate their own choice as among the frequency options.

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR EVERY "THREE YEARS" AS THE FREQUENCY FOR AN ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL FIVE.

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PROPOSAL SIX—APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY'S ARTICLES OF
ASSOCIATION TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO APPOINT DIRECTORS UP TO
THE MAXIMUM AUTHORIZED NUMBER

        We propose that the shareholders approve an amendment to the company's amended and restated articles of association that would authorize our board of directors to appoint additional directors, up to the maximum number of directors permitted under the articles of association, to hold office until the next annual general meeting of shareholders following such appointment. Without this amendment, the board of directors may appoint directors to fill recently vacated seats, but may not appoint directors to previously unfilled seats.

        We propose that the following language be added as Article 41(b) of the articles of association to permit the board of directors to appoint additional directors up to the maximum authorized number:

        The full text of the proposed amended and restated articles of association of the company, as proposed to be amended by this Proposal Six and by Proposal Seven, is attached as Exhibit A to this proxy statement.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY'S ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO APPOINT DIRECTORS AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL SIX.

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PROPOSAL SEVEN—APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY'S ARTICLES OF
ASSOCIATION TO REPLACE PROVISIONS RELATED TO DIRECTOR AND
OFFICER INDEMNIFICATION

        Pursuant to the Companies Law and the Israeli Securities Law, as recently amended (such amendment shall be referred to as the "Administrative Enforcement Law"), we are allowed to insure our directors and officers, or office holders, against the following liabilities incurred for acts performed as an office holder:

We cannot, however, indemnify, exculpate or insure our office holders against any of the following:

In addition, we cannot indemnify or insure our office holders for a proceeding instituted against them pursuant to the provisions of Chapter H'3, H'4 and I'1 under the Israeli Securities Law.

        An Israeli company may not exculpate an office holder from liability for a breach of the duty of loyalty of the office holder. An Israeli company may exculpate an office holder in advance from liability to the company, in whole or in part, for a breach of duty of care, but only if a provision authorizing such exculpation is inserted in its articles of association. Our amended and restated articles of association include such a provision. An Israeli company may not exculpate a director for liability arising out of a prohibited dividend or distribution to shareholders.

        Pursuant to the Companies Law and the Israeli Securities Law, as amended by the Administrative Enforcement Law, we may indemnify an office holder in advance for financial obligations imposed on him or her in favor of another person by judgments, settlements or arbitrators' awards approved by a court that were rendered in connection with events that the board of directors deemed foreseeable based on the company's actual activities at the time of the approval by the board of the indemnification, provided that the indemnification is limited to an amount or criteria determined by the

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board of directors as reasonable under the circumstances and that the indemnification undertaking states the foreseeable activities and the amount or criteria. In addition, we may indemnify an office holder against the following liabilities incurred for acts performed as an office holder:

        The indemnity, insurance and exemption provisions in our amended and restated articles of association currently do not reflect the provisions of the Administrative Enforcement Law.

        We propose amending the company's articles of association to delete the current indemnity, insurance and exemption provisions of Article 68 and to replace Article 68 with the following:

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        If shareholders approve this proposal, the company's amended and restated articles of association will be amended to permit the company to also indemnify and insure our directors and officers for any expenses they incur as a result of certain proceedings instituted against them according to the provisions of the Administrative Enforcement Law, and for payments made to injured persons under specific circumstances, as described in the Administrative Enforcement Law. If shareholders do not approve this proposal, the company's amended and restated articles of association will not be amended as described in this proposal, and the company will not be permitted to indemnify its directors and officers for such expenses and payments. However, regardless of whether this proposal is approved, the company will continue to be permitted to indemnify its directors and officers pursuant to the indemnification undertakings that the company has entered into with them.

        The full text of the proposed amended and restated articles of association of the company, as proposed to be amended by this Proposal Seven and by Proposal Six, is attached as Exhibit A to this proxy statement.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY'S ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION TO REPLACE PROVISIONS RELATED TO DIRECTOR AND OFFICER INDEMNIFICATION AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL SEVEN.

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PROPOSAL EIGHT—APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO INDEMNIFICATION UNDERTAKING

        The Companies Law and our articles of association authorize us to indemnify, exempt and insure our directors and officers, subject to certain conditions and limitations. We believe that it is in the company's best interest to provide indemnification to our officers and directors to enable us to attract and retain highly qualified individuals.

        Under the Companies Law, exculpation, indemnification and insurance of office holders must be approved by our audit committee and our board of directors and, in respect of our directors, by our shareholders.

        Pursuant to the company's current amended indemnification undertaking agreement with each of our directors and officers, as previously approved by shareholders, the company is obligated to indemnify our directors and officers who are, or who may become, parties to such agreement to the fullest extent permitted by law and to indemnify venture capital funds that are or were affiliated with or represented by such office holders party to such agreements. This indemnification is limited to an amount or criteria determined by the board of directors as reasonable under the circumstances, and, with respect to financial obligations incurred by the office holder as a result of judgments, settlements or arbitrators' awards approved by a court, indemnification in advance is also limited to events determined as foreseeable by our board of directors based on the company's activities.

        Pursuant to the Administrative Enforcement Law, we are not allowed to indemnify or insure our office holders for certain proceedings and for certain financial sanctions resulting from such proceedings. However, the Administrative Enforcement Law allows us to indemnify and insure our office holders with respect to the expenses incurred by them as a result of such proceedings and with respect to certain payments made to the injured parties of such infringements as described in the Administrative Enforcement Law.

        Pursuant to the proposed amendments to the indemnification undertaking agreement, our indemnification obligations will cover our directors' or officers' services as directors or officers of our subsidiaries, reflect the new requirements under the Administrative Enforcement Law and reflect our obligations to maintain directors and officers liability insurance, or D&O insurance, coverage. The full text of the indemnification undertaking agreement, as proposed to be amended by this Proposal Eight, is attached as Exhibit B to this proxy statement.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, FOLLOWING THE APPROVAL OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE AMENDMENT TO THE CURRENT FORM OF INDEMNIFICATION UNDERTAKING AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL EIGHT.

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PROPOSAL NINE—RATIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR THE
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES

        Under Israeli law, the terms of service of the board of directors require shareholder approval following the approval of the audit committee and the board of directors. We have previously purchased directors and officers liability insurance, or D&O insurance, for the directors and officers of the company and its subsidiaries for the period commencing on February 7, 2011, and, with the approval of our audit committee and board of directors, we intend to renew this existing liability insurance or purchase other D&O insurance from one or more different insurers, subject to the terms set forth in this Proposal Nine, the term of which will end no later than the later of (i) the 2016 annual general meeting of shareholders and (ii) June 1, 2016. We are seeking the ratification and approval of our purchase of D&O insurance by our shareholders, as required pursuant to Israeli law.

        The ratification and approval of shareholders requested pursuant to this Proposal Nine is subject to the following terms: (a) the insurance policy or policies will provide for annual coverage of no more than $75 million in the aggregate, (b) the annual premiums for such policy or policies will not exceed $450,000 in the aggregate and (c) prior to purchasing liability insurance from one or more different insurers, our audit committee and board of directors will authorize the terms of the proposed policy or policies to comply with the terms provided in this Proposal Nine.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE RATIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR THE DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL NINE.

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PROPOSAL TEN—APPROVAL OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTING FIRM AND AUTHORIZATION OF AUDIT COMMITTEE DETERMINATION
OF REMUNERATION

        The audit committee of our board of directors has selected PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to perform the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011.

        Shareholder approval of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 is required under the Companies Law. The audit committee of our board of directors believes that such appointment is appropriate and in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. Subject to the approval of this proposal, the audit committee will fix the remuneration of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in accordance with the volume and nature of their services to the company.

        Representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are expected to be present at the annual general meeting of shareholders. They will have an opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and are expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions from our shareholders.

Board of Directors' Recommendation

        THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENT OF PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2011 AND THE AUTHORIZATION OF OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE TO DETERMINE THEIR REMUNERATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VOLUME AND NATURE OF THEIR SERVICES AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL TEN.

Audit and Non-Audit Services

        Subject to shareholder approval of the audit committee's authority to determine remuneration for their services, the audit committee is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of our independent auditors. In addition to retaining PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to audit our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending 2010, the audit committee retained PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to provide other non-audit and advisory services in 2010. The audit committee has reviewed all non-audit services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in 2010, and has concluded that the provision of such non-audit services was compatible with maintaining PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP's independence and that such independence has not been impaired.

        The aggregate fees billed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for audit and non-audit services in 2010 and 2009 were as follows:

 
  Fiscal Year Ended
December 31,
 
Service Category
  2010   2009  

Audit Fees

  $ 637,901   $ 708,000  

Audit-Related Fees

    115,000     168,414  

Tax Fees

    50,000     116,518  

All Other Fees

         
           

Total

  $ 802,901   $ 992,932  
           

        In the above table, in accordance with the SEC's definitions and rules, "audit fees" are fees for professional services for the audit and review of our annual consolidated financial statements, as well as fees for issuance of consents and for services that are normally provided by the accountant in

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connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements except those not required by statute or regulation; "audit-related fees" are fees for assurance and related services that were reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements, including attestation services that are not required by statute or regulation, due diligence and any services related to acquisitions; "tax fees" are fees for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning; and "all other fees" are fees for any services not included in the first three categories.

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REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE(1)


(1)
This section is not "soliciting material," is not deemed "filed" with the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference in any filing of the company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any such filing.

        The audit committee, which currently consists of Messrs. Federman, Riordan and Weatherford and Ms. Johnson, evaluates audit performance, manages relations with our independent registered public accounting firm and evaluates policies and procedures relating to internal accounting functions and controls. The board of directors adopted a written charter for the audit committee in December 2000 and most recently amended it in April 2008, which charter details the responsibilities of the audit committee. This report relates to the activities undertaken by the audit committee in fulfilling such responsibilities.

        The audit committee members are not professional accountants or auditors, and their functions are not intended to duplicate or to certify the activities of management and the independent registered public accounting firm. The audit committee oversees the company's financial reporting process on behalf of the board of directors. Management has the primary responsibility for the financial statements and reporting process, including the company's systems of internal controls over financial reporting. In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the audit committee reviewed and discussed with management the audited financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. This review included a discussion of the quality and the acceptability of the company's financial reporting and controls, including the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements.

        The audit committee also reviewed with the company's independent registered public accounting firm, who is responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of the company's audited financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles, its judgments as to the quality and the acceptability of the company's financial reporting and such other matters required to be discussed with the audit committee under generally accepted auditing standards in the United States including Statement on Auditing Standards No. 114.

        The audit committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from the company's independent registered public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent registered public accounting firm's communications with the audit committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm its independence.

        The audit committee further discussed with the company's independent registered public accounting firm the overall scope and plans for its audits. The audit committee meets periodically with the independent registered public accounting firm, with and without management present, to discuss the results of the independent registered public accounting firm's examinations and evaluations of the company's internal controls, and the overall quality of the company's financial reporting.

        The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the auditor independence rules of the SEC require all issuers to obtain pre-approval from their respective audit committees in order for their independent registered public accounting firms to provide professional services without impairing independence. As such, the audit committee has a policy and has established procedures by which it pre-approves all audit and other permitted professional services to be provided by the company's independent registered public accounting firm. From time to time, the company may desire additional permitted professional services for which specific pre-approval is obtained from the audit committee before provision of such services commences. The audit committee has considered and determined that the provision of the services

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other than audit services referenced above is compatible with maintenance of the auditors' independence.

        In reliance on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the audit committee recommended to the board of directors that the audited financial statements and disclosures under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" be included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, which was filed with the SEC on March 7, 2011.

        The foregoing report is provided by the undersigned members of the audit committee.

    Thomas Weatherford, Chairman
Irwin Federman
Amal M. Johnson
Thomas J. Riordan

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REPORT OF THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE(2)


(2)
This section is not "soliciting material," is not deemed "filed" with the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference in any filing of the company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any such filing.

        Our compensation committee reviews and recommends our programs, policies and practices relating to the compensation and benefits of our officers and employees. Our compensation committee, in consultation with our chief executive officer, or our CEO, and our board of directors and our audit committee with respect to our CEO's compensation, decides how much cash compensation should be part of each of our officer's total compensation by benchmarking to a peer group of companies, which we refer to as our Peer Group Companies, and considers the relative importance of short-term incentives. In addition, our compensation committee, in consultation with our CEO, makes recommendations to our board of directors regarding equity-based compensation to align the interests of our management with shareholders, considering each named executive officer's equity holdings. Our compensation committee also manages the granting of options to purchase our ordinary shares and other awards under our Global Share Incentive Plan (2006). Our compensation committee will review and evaluate, at least annually, our incentive compensation plans. All members of our compensation committee are independent under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, the NASDAQ Stock Market and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

        Our compensation committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, or CD&A, for the year ended December 31, 2010 with management. In reliance on the reviews and discussion referred to above, our compensation committee recommended to our board of directors, and our board of directors has approved, that the CD&A be included in the proxy statement for the year ended December 31, 2010 for filing with the SEC.

        The foregoing report is provided by the undersigned members of our compensation committee.

    Thomas J. Riordan, Chairman
Glenda Dorchak
Irwin Federman
Amal M. Johnson

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COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Compensation Objectives

        We invest our resources to grow our business in a manner that we believe will increase shareholder value. To further this objective, our compensation committee oversees our compensation program to support and reward the achievement of our financial goals and to promote the attainment of other key business objectives. In order to conduct our business effectively, we must attract, motivate and retain highly qualified executive officers. Our compensation program is designed to reward high performance and innovation, to promote accountability and to ensure that executive interests are aligned with the interests of our shareholders.

        Our named executive officers for 2010 were Eyal Waldman, chairman of our board of directors, CEO and president; Michael Gray, chief financial officer; Marc Sultzbaugh, vice president of worldwide sales; Michael Kagan, chief technology officer and vice president of architecture; and Shai Cohen, vice president of operations and engineering.

        Our executive compensation program has three primary components: (i) base compensation or salary, (ii) annual cash bonuses and (iii) equity awards, including stock option grants and awards of restricted stock units. Our program is designed to provide incentives and rewards for both our short-term and long-term performance, and is structured to motivate the company's named executive officers to meet our strategic objectives, thereby maximizing total return to shareholders. In addition, we provide our named executive officers with benefits that we also generally make available to all salaried employees in the geographic location where they are based. In Israel, we make contributions on behalf of most of our employees, including our named executive officers, to an education fund and also to a fund known as Managers' Insurance, which provides a combination of retirement plan, insurance and severance pay benefits to Israeli employees, and permit employees to participate in the company's automobile leasing program, under which we pay for gas, maintenance, insurance and the cost of normal wear and tear of the vehicle over the life of the lease. For employees based in the United States, we make matching 401(k) plan contributions in an amount up to 4% of base salary for all employees, including our U.S.-based named executive officers.

        Our executive compensation program is administered by our compensation committee, which is comprised of four independent members of, and reports to, our board of directors. Operating under its charter, our compensation committee reviews, in consultation with management and the board of directors, and evaluates the compensation plans, policies and programs of the company. In addition, our compensation committee reviews and recommends to our audit committee and board of directors the approval of our CEO's compensation (including base salary, cash bonuses and equity awards, including stock option grants and awards of restricted stock units). Our compensation committee also annually evaluates and approves certain elements of our other named executive officers' compensation. These annual evaluations include: (i) consideration of the current levels and components of compensation paid to our named executive officers, (ii) consideration of the mix of cash incentives and long-term equity awards and (iii) a review of compensation paid by our Peer Group Companies conducted by our compensation committee (and our board of directors and audit committee, with respect to our CEO's compensation), as described below, to executives in positions comparable to those held by our named executive officers.

        In making compensation decisions, our compensation committee and board of directors reference third-party surveys that provide compensation data. These compensation surveys allow our compensation committee and board of directors to be better informed in determining the key elements of our compensation program. In reviewing base salaries of our named executive officers, our compensation committee reviewed 2008 salary surveys prepared by Radford Surveys + Consulting, an Aon Consulting Company, or Radford, for named executive officers in the United States and Tali Atzmon for named executive officers in Israel. To determine competitive bonus levels for services

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provided in 2010, our compensation committee and board of directors utilized data from the 2008 Radford Executive Survey—U.S., an independent third-party national compensation survey covering more than 1,100 high-tech companies in the United States, and the Radford International Survey—Israel, an independent third-party survey of compensation practices by high-tech companies in Israel, which, together, we refer to as the Radford Surveys. The industry data from the Radford Surveys consists of salaries and other compensation paid by companies to executives in positions comparable to those held by our named executive officers. Specifically, we reviewed data on named executive officer positions in the United States from the Radford Executive Survey—U.S. and for positions in Israel from the Radford International Survey—Israel.

        In reviewing the data from the Radford Surveys, we focused on compensation data for the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles of our Peer Group Companies, which participate in the Radford Surveys and are similar to us with respect to industry sector, revenue, market capitalization and headcount or operate in industry sectors in which we typically compete for senior management talent. For 2010, our Peer Group Companies in the 2008 Radford Executive Survey—U.S. consisted of the following companies:

•       3PAR, Inc.

 

•       Microtune, Inc.

•       Actel Corp.

 

•       Mindspeed Technologies, Inc.

•       BigBand Networks, Inc.

 

•       Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.

•       California Micro Devices Corp.

 

•       NetLogic Microsystems, Inc.

•       Cirrus Logic, Inc.

 

•       NetScout Systems, Inc.

•       Cray, Inc.

 

•       Occam Networks, Inc.

•       Digi International, Inc.

 

•       Pericom Semiconductor Corp.

•       EMCORE Corp.

 

•       PLX Technology, Inc.

•       Endwave Corp.

 

•       Rambus, Inc.

•       Entropic Communications,  Inc.

 

•       ShoreTel, Inc.

•       Exar Corp.

 

•       Tessera Technologies, Inc.

•       Ikanos Communications, Inc.

 

•       ZiLOG, Inc.

•       Ixia

   

        For 2010, our Peer Group Companies within the 2008 Radford International Survey—Israel as provided by Tali Atzmon consisted of the following:

•       Applied Materials, Inc.

 

•       Marvell Technology Group Ltd.

•       BMC Software, Inc.

 

•       Polycom, Inc.

•       Broadcom Corporation

 

•       Qualcomm Incorporated

•       Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

 

•       Sandisk Corporation

•       Conexant Systems, Inc.

 

•       Tessera Technologies, Inc.

•       Dune Networks

 

•       Websense, Inc.

•       KLA-Tencor Corporation

 

•       Wintegra

•       Kulicke And Soffa Industries,  Inc.

 

•       Zoran Corporation

        We did not engage a compensation consultant during 2010 because our compensation committee determined that it had received sufficient information from the compensation consultant and surveys used in 2008 to make compensation decisions in fiscal year 2010.

        Throughout the fiscal year, our CEO provides our compensation committee with his assessment of the performance levels of the company and our named executive officers (other than himself) and his recommendations with respect to compensation of our named executive officers (other than himself). Our compensation committee believes it is important to consider and evaluate our CEO's input on matters concerning compensation of other named executive officers. The compensation committee believes that our CEO's input regarding our other named executive officers' individual performances, as

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well as the expected contributions and future potential of each of them, is useful because each other named executive officer reports directly to our CEO, and our CEO interacts with our other named executive officers on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

        While our compensation committee considers our CEO's recommendations, our compensation committee is responsible for setting the base salary and annual cash bonus for our executive officers, other than our CEO whose base salary and annual cash bonus is recommended by the compensation committee to the audit committee and board of directors for approval. Our compensation committee also recommends to the Board of Directors, and with respect to our CEO, the audit committee, for final approval the equity awards, including stock option grants and awards of restricted stock units made to our executive officers. In addition, under Israeli law, our CEO's compensation is subject to approval by the company's shareholders at each annual general meeting.

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

        Our compensation philosophy includes compensating our executives at levels that are competitive with our Peer Group Companies in order to attract and retain talented executives and to provide equity incentives that align the interests of our executives with the interests of our shareholders.

        Since our initial public offering, we have paid base salaries to our named executive officers that were less than base salaries paid to executive officers of our Peer Group Companies because we believed that the lower base salaries we paid were partially offset by the potential value of stock option grants awarded to our named executive officers and, to a lesser extent, by annual cash bonus awards earned by our named executive officers.

        As we have grown and matured as a public company, our compensation objectives continue to evolve. Base salaries for our named executive officers were increased in 2010 so that they would approximate the 50th percentile for named executive officers in the United States and between the 50th and 75th percentile for named executive officers in Israel, in each case, as compared to the Peer Group Companies in 2008. Bonus awards for 2010 were set in reference to the 25th percentile of our Peer Group Companies in 2008. In addition to base salary and cash bonuses, we continue to believe that the opportunity to share in the creation of shareholder value through equity compensation is critical for retaining our executive officer talent and for providing appropriate incentives to drive our company's performance and to ensure that we maximize long-term shareholder value.

        Historically, we have sought to align the interests of our executives and other employees with the interests of our shareholders by granting our executives and other employees stock options, which will not have any value unless our share price increases. In January 2010, our compensation committee granted our named executive officers restricted stock units that have value regardless of whether our share price increases or decreases from the date we make any such awards. Our compensation committee believes that restricted stock units can provide value certainty in a turbulent economic environment while continuing to align the interests of our executives and other employees with the interests of our shareholders. Our compensation committee expects to continue to consider awarding stock options and/or restricted stock units when it determines such awards may be necessary as an incentive to motivate and retain our executives and other employees and/or may provide a better alignment of the interests of our executives and other employees with those of our shareholders.

        In order to provide our named executive officers security so that they can remain focused on our business in the event of a potential change in control, we have entered into executive severance benefits agreements with each of our named executive officers that provide for certain payments and other severance benefits in the event their service is terminated following a change in control of our company. We believe that these executive severance benefits agreements help attract and retain talented executives by ensuring their efforts remain focused on our shareholders' long term interests rather than the individual executive's short term employment-related interests.

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        We believe that the cash compensation (including base salary and annual cash bonus awards) and equity award grants we provide, along with the security provided by restricted stock units and executive severance benefits agreements, created a competitive total compensation package for our named executive officers in light of the economic climate in 2010 and based on the data of compensation packages provided by our Peer Group Companies in 2008.

Base Salary

        We design base salaries to fall within a competitive range of the companies against which we compete for executive talent. In 2010, the base salaries of our named executive officers fell near the 50th percentile, in the case of named executive officers in the United States, and between the 50th and 75th percentile, in the case of named executive officers in Israel, of the companies that participated in salary surveys using our Peer Group Companies prepared by Radford for named executive officers in the United States and Tali Atzmon for named executive officers in Israel. Generally, the base salary established for an individual named executive officer reflects many inputs, including our CEO's assessment of the named executive officer's performance, the level of responsibility of the named executive officer, and competitive pay levels based on salaries paid to employees with similar roles and responsibilities at our Peer Group Companies.

        Our CEO's base salary is the highest base salary at the company because he has the central management role, which is consistent with our review of CEO salaries in the salary surveys referenced above. Our Chief Financial Officer's base salary is higher than that of other named executive officers because of the importance of retaining consistency and quality financial expertise as a public company, which is also consistent with our review of chief financial officer salaries in the salary surveys referenced above. The base salaries of other named executive officers are determined based on their overall duties and responsibilities within the company, their experience and qualifications and the base salaries paid by the companies participating in the salary surveys for similar roles.

        In late 2009, our CEO completed his focal review of each of our named executive officers and recommended base salary increases for each for 2010 to our compensation committee. Our compensation committee determined that the increases in base salary were appropriate in light of significant contributions to our company in 2009, including both revenue growth and positive earnings during the extraordinarily difficult economic climate of 2009. Our compensation committee then approved the base salaries for 2010 based on our CEO's recommendations for each of the named executive officers other than himself. Our compensation committee's determination was based largely on the average salaries in the 50th percentile in the United States and between the 50th and 75th percentiles in Israel, in each case, as compared to the companies that participate in the salary surveys referenced above for positions similar to the positions held by each of our named executive officers. Based on the salary surveys, our compensation committee provided an average salary increase of 8% for employees located in the United States and 12% for employees located in Israel. With input from our CEO (except with respect to himself), our compensation committee determined the base salary increase amount for each individual named executive officer's base salary following the process described above. Mr. Gray's base salary was increased 6.5% to $245,000; Mr. Kagan's base salary was increased 6.4% to $182,599; Mr. Sultzbaugh's base salary was increased 9.1% to $240,000; and Mr. Cohen's base salary was increased 13.5% to $198,193. The base salaries reported for Messrs. Kagan and Cohen are converted from New Israeli Shekels to U.S. dollars using the 2010 average exchange rate of 3.73 Shekels to 1 U.S. dollar.

        Upon recommendation of our compensation committee, and following the approval of our audit committee and our board of directors, our shareholders approved increasing our Chief Executive Officer's base salary to $375,000, an increase of 15% over our Chief Executive Officer's 2009 base salary. Our compensation committee, audit committee and board of directors determined the increase in base salary was appropriate in light of our Chief Executive Officers significant contributions to our

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company in 2009, including both revenue growth and positive earnings during the extraordinarily difficult economic climate of 2009.

Annual Discretionary Cash Bonus Program

        We structure our annual discretionary cash bonus award program to reward named executive officers for our company's successful performance, measured on the basis of our operating income (determined on a GAAP basis), and for each individual's contribution to that performance. We initiated our annual discretionary cash bonus program in 2005 and since then, other than with respect to our CEO, annual cash bonuses have not constituted a significant portion of our named executive officers' total compensation because we primarily rely on equity awards to provide incentives to our named executive officers. With respect to 2010, our board of directors, following the recommendation of the audit committee, has recommended that our CEO be awarded a significant bonus (relative to his base salary) in light of his significant leadership contributions to our company in 2010 associated with the company's financial performance in 2010.

        Under our annual discretionary cash bonus award program, our employees in good performance standing, including our named executive officers, are eligible to receive an award from a bonus pool in an amount that is determined annually. The annual bonus pool amount is determined by our compensation committee based on its assessment of our achievement of our operating plan and company profitability. For 2010, the aggregate discretionary cash bonus pool was set at 10% of our fiscal year 2010 operating income, as measured on a GAAP basis. Based on consultation with our CEO, the compensation committee determined and approved the amount of each named executive officer's bonus award from this pool. The amount of the bonus award to each named executive officer is not tied to individual performance objectives. No specific performance targets for our named executive officers were established in connection with the determination of the aggregate amount of the bonus pool for the year ended December 31, 2010, or the portion of the pool allocated to our named executive officers.

        Our compensation committee then determined the allocation of the bonus pool based, in part, on information gathered from the 2008 Radford Executive Survey—U.S. (no data was available from the Radford International Survey—Israel) which indicated that the 25th percentile of our Peer Group provide target annual bonus opportunities in 2008 ranging from 30% to 45% of base salaries for the named executive officer positions. Consistent with our approach of placing a greater emphasis on equity compensation, our compensation committee awarded bonuses under the company's annual discretionary cash bonus compensation program in February 2011 for services performed in the year ended December 31, 2010 that ranged from 20% to 22% of each named executive officer's, other than our chief executive officer's, base salary paid during 2010. Specifically, Mr. Gray was awarded $49,500, which represents 21% of his base salary; Mr. Kagan was awarded $36,900, which represents 20% of his base salary; Mr. Sultzbaugh was awarded $49,500, which represents 21% of his base salary; and Mr. Cohen was awarded $43,200, which represents 22% of his base salary. Payments under the annual discretionary cash bonus program were contingent upon continued employment through the actual date of payment, which was January 31, 2011 in the United States and February 1, 2011 in Israel.

        Also, subject to shareholder approval at our 2011 annual general meeting of shareholders, upon the recommendation of our Compensation Committee and the approval of our audit committee, on January 25, 2011, our Board of Directors approved a cash bonus to our CEO, Eyal Waldman, in the amount of $157,500, which represents 43% of his base salary paid during 2010, for services performed in the year ended December 31, 2010 pursuant to the company's annual discretionary cash bonus compensation program. Because no annual bonus data was available from the 2008 Radford International Survey—Israel, this amount was determined by our compensation committee, audit committee and board of directors largely based on data from the 2008 Radford Executive

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Survey—U.S., which indicates that the 25th percentile of our Peer Group Companies provide a target bonus opportunity of 75% of base salary for chief executive officers.

Policies with Respect to Equity Compensation Awards

        As described above, stock options and restricted stock units are the only types of equity award we currently grant to our named executive officers from our equity incentive plan. Restricted stock units may have some value regardless of whether our share price increases or decreases from the date we make any such awards.

        We grant stock options and restricted stock units to our named executive officers in order to align their interests with the interests of our shareholders by tying the value delivered to our named executive officers to the value of our ordinary shares. We also believe that stock option and restricted stock unit grants to our named executive officers provide them with long-term incentives that will aid in retaining executive talent by providing opportunities to be compensated through the company's performance and rewarding executives for creating shareholder value over the long-term. Our compensation committee believes that granting stock options, restricted stock units and/or other equity awards on an annual basis to existing named executive officers and employees provides an important incentive to retain executives and employees and rewards them for short-term company performance while also creating long-term incentives to sustain that performance. We may also make grants of stock options and restricted stock units at the discretion of our board of directors and the compensation committee in connection with the hiring or promotion of new named executive officers.

        We grant stock options with exercise prices equal to the closing price of our ordinary shares on the date of the grant; therefore, the options only have value if our share price increases. Stock option grants to newly hired employees, including our named executive officers, generally vest over four years, with 25% of the shares subject to the grant vesting on the one-year anniversary of employment, and 1/48th of the shares vesting during each subsequent month of employment. Annual stock option grants made to existing employees, including named executive officers, generally vest over four years, with 25% of the shares subject to the grant vesting on the one-year anniversary of the grant date, and 1/48th of the shares vesting during each subsequent month of employment.

        Annual awards of restricted stock units made to existing employees in January 2010, including named executive officers, vest over four years at the rate of 13/48th of the shares on February 1, 2011, and thereafter at the rate of 3/48th of the original number of shares on the first day of each quarterly period of May, August, November and February commencing May 1, 2011, with the last 2/48th of the original number of shares vesting on January 1, 2014, so long as the restricted stock unit holder remains an officer or employee of the company. We set these vesting schedules in order to provide an incentive to our employees, including our named executive officers, to continue their employment with us over the long term and, with respect to the restricted stock units, generally to provide them the opportunity to sell their vested shares during a period following the public release of our prior quarter's fiscal operating results.

        Generally, we determine the size of each equity award to a named executive officer after reviewing long-term incentive compensation data from the compensation surveys and after considering the role of each named executive officer within our company, the criticality of their function within the organization and the named executive officer's current equity position from previous equity awards. Since long-term incentive compensation levels fluctuate from year to year (depending on each company's granting patterns, valuation assumptions, and stock price) and given the relatively low trading price of our ordinary shares, we generally review surveys using long-term incentive information from our Peer Group Companies under both a value approach, which is based on the fair value of long-term incentive awards, and a percentage of common shares outstanding approach, which compares the number of shares subject to each long-term incentive award to the number of shares outstanding for each company.

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        In January 2010, our board of directors granted each of our named executive officers restricted stock units as follows: Mr. Waldman, 45,000; Mr. Gray, 12,000; Mr. Sultzbaugh, 12,000; Mr. Kagan, 11,000 and Mr. Cohen, 12,000. These restricted stock units vest in accordance with the schedule described above in this section "Policies with Respect to Equity Compensation Awards." The initial determinations with respect to the number of restricted stock units granted to each named executive officer and the vesting terms were made by our compensation committee in consultation with our CEO (except for his own grant). Our compensation committee and CEO reviewed the 2008 Radford Executive Surveys—U.S. and the 2008 Radford International Survey—Israel in the process of determining the size of restricted stock unit grants but did not target a particular percentile or engage in any benchmarking. Our compensation committee and our CEO (except with respect to his own grant) recommended the number of restricted stock units and the vesting terms to our board of directors.

        The company does not have any equity ownership guidelines that require any of our directors or executive officers to hold a stated number or fixed percentage of our ordinary shares.

Change of Control Severance Arrangements

        In November 2006, we entered into executive severance benefits agreements with each of our named executive officers, some of which were amended in 2008 to ensure compliance with, or exemption from, Section 409A of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

        Each of the executive severance benefit agreements to which we are a party provide that if the executive's employment with our company is terminated without cause or if the executive is constructively terminated (as these terms are defined in the agreements), in each case during the 12-month period following a change of control (as defined in the agreements) of our company, then the executive is entitled to receive the following payments and benefits:

        We determined the amount of these payments and benefits prior to our initial public offering by reference to the general practices of public companies in our industry at that time.

        The benefits payable under the severance agreements are in addition to payments or other benefits, if any, that any named executive officer who resides in Israel may be entitled to receive under applicable Israeli law. Israeli law generally requires severance pay equal to one month's salary for each year of employment upon the retirement, death or termination without cause (as defined in the Israeli Severance Pay Law) of an employee. To satisfy this requirement, we make contributions on behalf of most of our Israeli-based employees to a fund known as Managers' Insurance. This fund provides a combination of pension plan, insurance and severance pay benefits to the employee, giving the employee or his or her estate payments upon retirement or death and securing the severance pay, if legally entitled, upon termination of employment. Each full-time Israeli employee, including each of our Israeli-based named executive officers, is entitled to participate in the plan, and each employee who participates contributes an amount equal to 5% of his or her salary to the pension plan and we contribute between 13.33% and 15.83% of his or her salary (consisting of 5% to the pension plan, 8.33% for severance payments and up to 2.5% for disability insurance). In addition to the above, each

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full-time Israeli employee, including each of our Israeli-based named executive officers, is entitled to participate in an education fund plan, and each employee who participates contributes an amount equal to 2.5% of his or her salary to the education fund and we contribute 7.5% of his or her salary. The Company's contributions to the education fund are made up to the maximum amount recognized for tax purposes (approximately 15,800 NIS) and any amounts beyond the maximum amount recognized for tax purposes is paid to the employee directly through his or her salary.

        Within the context of our compensation philosophy, the compensation committee believes the terms of our executive severance agreements with our named executive officers will encourage their continued attention and dedication to their assigned duties through and following any change of control of our company. We believe that the terms of these agreements will further ensure that each of our named executive officers will continue to remain focused on the long-term objective of delivering shareholder value during and following a change of control event if they are assured that their long-term employment interests are reasonably provided for with a competitive market severance arrangement. We believe that these executive severance agreements thus help ensure the best interests of our shareholders.

        The potential payments under the executive severance benefits agreements as of December 31, 2010 are set forth below under the heading "Potential Payments Following a Change in Control."

Perquisites

        Historically, from time to time, our compensation committee and board of directors have provided certain of our named executive officers with perquisites that we believe are reasonable. We do not view perquisites as a significant element of our comprehensive compensation structure, but do believe they can be useful in attracting, motivating and retaining the below named executive officers. We believe that these additional benefits may assist our executive officers in performing their duties and provide time efficiencies for our executive officers in appropriate circumstances, particularly when we require frequent or lengthy travel, and we may consider providing additional perquisites in the future. In 2010, our named executive officers received the perquisites set forth in the table below, which our compensation committee determined were appropriate in order to facilitate the efforts of Mr. Waldman and Mr. Sultzbaugh on behalf of our company while at our California headquarters and the efforts of Mr. Gray on behalf of our company while conducting business from his home in Oregon.

Name
  Perquisite
Eyal Waldman   Housing and housing-related expense reimbursement
Tax reimbursement related to perquisites provided
Michael Gray   Select travel reimbursement
Housing-related expense reimbursement
Tax reimbursement related to perquisites provided
Marc Sultzbaugh   Housing and housing-related expense reimbursement
Car expense reimbursement
Tax reimbursement related to perquisites provided
Select travel reimbursement

        The table above does not include automobile-related expense reimbursement, insurance reimbursement, retirement fund contributions, severance fund contributions and education fund contributions, all of which are provided to all of our employees, including our named executive officers, who are based in Israel.

        In the future, we may provide additional perquisites to our named executive officers as an element of their overall compensation structure. We do not expect these perquisites to be a significant element

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of our compensation structure. All future practices regarding perquisites will be approved and subject to periodic review by our compensation committee and/or board of directors.

Tax Considerations

        Section 162(m) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, establishes a limitation on the deductibility of compensation payable in any particular tax year to our named executive officers. Section 162(m) generally provides that publicly-held companies cannot deduct compensation paid to certain named executive officers to the extent that such compensation exceeds $1 million per officer. Compensation that is "performance-based" compensation within the meaning of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code does not count toward the $1 million limit. While the compensation committee may consider Section 162(m) in making its compensation decisions, historically, the deductibility of compensation under Section 162(m) has not been a factor in the compensation committee's determination process. The compensation committee will monitor the level of compensation paid to the company's named executive officers and may act in response to the provisions of Section 162(m).

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2010 Summary Compensation Table

        The following table summarizes the compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to each named executive officer for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008.

Name and Principal Position
  Year   Salary ($)   Bonus ($)   Stock
Awards
($)(1)
  Option
Awards
($)(2)
  All Other
Compensation ($)
  Total ($)  
(a)
  (b)
  (c)
  (d)
  (e)
  (f)
  (i)
  (j)
 

Eyal Waldman(8)

    2010     363,451     157,500     899,550         149,485 (3)   1,569,986  
 

President & Chief Executive Officer

    2009     301,171     142,000             167,386     610,556  
 

    2008     307,643     162,500         448,659     112,620     1,031,422  

Michael Gray

   
2010
   
231,942
   
49,500
   
231,240
   
   
47,146

(4)
 
559,828
 
 

Chief Financial Officer

    2009     213,058     40,000             30,863     283,921  

    2008     225,794     47,000         98,745     5,110     376,649  

Marc Sultzbaugh

   
2010
   
235,009
   
49,500
   
231,240
   
   
90,028

(5)
 
605,777
 
 

Vice President of Worldwide Sale

    2009     204,460     40,000             105,780     350,240  
 

    2008     215,463     47,000         138,586     39,601     440,650  

Michael Kagan(8)

   
2010
   
186,736
   
36,900
   
211,970
   
   
43,120

(6)
 
478,726
 
 

CTO and Vice President of

    2009     154,153     32,000             36,133     222,286  
 

Architecture

    2008     170,829     37,000         112,603     41,668     362,100  

Shai Cohen(8)

   
2010
   
193,156
   
43,200
   
231,240
   
   
45,977

(7)
 
513,574
 
 

Vice President of Operations

    2009     156,808     33,000             38,057     227,864  
 

and Engineering

    2008     180,737     37,000         95,280     43,806     356,823  

(1)
Amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate incremental grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted during 2010, as calculated under FASB ASC Topic 718. The amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions. The valuation assumptions used in determining such amounts are described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

(2)
Amounts shown in this column for 2009 represent the aggregate incremental grant date fair value of options granted in exchange for surrendered options as part of our option exchange, as calculated under FASB ASC Topic 718. Amounts shown in this column for 2008 represent the aggregate grant date fair value of the award(s) granted during the applicable year, as calculated under FASB ASC Topic 718. The amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions. The valuation assumptions used in determining such amounts are described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

(3)
Includes $35,363 in tax related reimbursements, $37,286 in housing and housing-related expense reimbursements, $25,069 contributed to a severance fund, which is mandated by Israeli Law, $15,047 contributed to a retirement fund on behalf of Mr. Waldman, $22,571 contributed to an employee education fund on behalf of Mr. Waldman, $6,625 in automobile related expense reimbursements and $7,524 in insurance reimbursements.

(4)
Includes 401(k) plan matching contribution of $9,650, select travel reimbursements of $11,431, housing-related expense reimbursements of $17,146, tax related reimbursements of $8,381 and insurance benefits of $538.

(5)
Includes automobile related expense reimbursements of $8,992, housing and housing-related expense reimbursements of $22,488, 401(k) plan matching contribution of $9,400, select travel reimbursements of $14,119, tax related reimbursements of $34,687 and insurance benefits of $342.

(6)
Includes $14,885 contributed to a severance fund, which is mandated by Israeli Law, $8,935 contributed to a retirement fund on behalf of Mr. Kagan, $4,826 for automobile related expenses pursuant to the

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(7)
Includes $16,090 contributed to a severance fund, which is mandated by Israeli Law, $9,658 contributed to a retirement fund on behalf of Mr. Cohen, $4,584 for automobile related expenses pursuant to the company's automobile leasing program, $14,487 contributed to an employee education fund on behalf of Mr. Cohen and $1,158 in insurance reimbursements.

(8)
Amounts reported for Messrs. Waldman, Kagan and Cohen in 2010 are converted from New Israeli Shekels to U.S. dollars using the 2010 average exchange rate of 3.73 Shekels to 1 U.S. dollar. Amounts reported for Messrs. Waldman, Kagan and Cohen in 2009 are converted from New Israeli Shekels to U.S. dollars using the 2009 average exchange rate of 3.91 Shekels to 1 U.S. dollar. Amounts reported for Messrs. Waldman, Kagan and Cohen in 2008 are converted from New Israeli Shekels to U.S. dollars using the 2008 average exchange rate of 3.56 Shekels to 1 U.S. dollar.


2010 Grants of Plan-Based Awards

        The table below sets forth information regarding grants of plan-based awards made to our named executive officers during the year ended December 31, 2010.

Name
  Grant Date(2)   Date of Board
or
Compensation
Committee
Action
  All Other Stock
Awards:
Number of
Shares of Stock
or Units (#)
  Grant Date
Fair Value of
Stock and
Option Awards
($)(1)
 
(a)
  (b)
   
  (i)
  (l)
 

Eyal Waldman

    1/5/2010     1/4/2010     45,000     899,550  

Michael Gray

    1/20/2010     1/20/2010     12,000     231,240  

Marc Sultzbaugh

    1/20/2010     1/20/2010     12,000     231,240  

Michael Kagan

    1/20/2010     1/20/2010     11,000     211,970  

Shai Cohen

    1/20/2010     1/20/2010     12,000     231,240  

(1)
Represents the grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted in 2010 calculated in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 718. The amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions. The valuation assumptions used in determining such amounts are described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

(2)
All restricted stock units vest with respect to 13/48th of the original number of ordinary shares subject thereto on February 1, 2011 and thereafter at a rate of 3/48th of the original number of shares on the first day of each quarterly period of May, August, November and February commencing on May 1, 2011, with the last 2/48th of the original number of shares vesting on January 1, 2014.

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2010 Outstanding Equity Awards At Fiscal Year-End Table

        The following table provides information on the stock options held by each of our named executive officer as of December 31, 2010.

 
  Option Awards   Stock Awards  
Name
  Vesting
Commencement
Date
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
Exercisable
(#)
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
Unexercisable
(#)(1)
  Option
Exercise
Price
($)
  Option
Expiration
Date
  Number of
Shares or
Units of Stock
that Have Not
Vested
(#)(2)
  Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of Stock
that Have Not
Vested
(#)
 
(a)
   
  (b)
  (c)
  (e)
  (f)
   
   
 

Eyal Waldman

    10/26/2006     102,380     11,904     9.19     10/26/2016              

    12/26/2008     22,500     67,500     8.23     12/26/2018              

    4/22/2009         40,972     10.23     4/22/2019              

                                  45,000     1,177,650  

Michael Gray

   
12/1/2004
   
107,285
   
   
3.5
   
10/15/2014
             

    11/1/2005     10,000         6.65     12/8/2015              

    10/26/2006     22,857         9.19     10/26/2016              

    12/26/2008     4,952     14,856     8.23     12/26/2018              

    4/22/2009         30,577     10.23     4/22/2019              

                                  12,000     314,040  

Marc Sultzbaugh

   
5/1/2000
   
11,714
   
   
1.3
   
2/28/2011
             

    6/1/2002     2,510         1.47     6/19/2012              

    6/1/2003     3,428         2.63     12/28/2013              

    11/1/2004     2,714         3.85     12/3/2014              

    6/2/2005     4,000         5.08     6/2/2015              

    11/1/2005     5,295         6.65     12/8/2015              

    10/26/2006     5,857         9.19     10/26/2016              

    12/26/2008     6,951     20,849     8.23     12/26/2018              

    4/22/2009         117,354     10.23     4/22/2019              

                                  12,000     314,040  

Michael Kagan

   
5/1/2000
   
65,714
   
   
1.3
   
2/28/2011
             

    6/1/2002     28,571         1.47     6/19/2012              

    11/1/2005     5,957         6.65     12/8/2015              

    10/26/2006     90,476     23,809     9.19     10/26/2016              

    12/26/2008     5,647     16,941     8.23     12/26/2018              

    4/22/2009         24,793     10.23     4/22/2019              

                                  11,000     287,870  

Shai Cohen

   
5/1/2000
   
7,142
   
   
1.3
   
2/28/2011
             

    6/1/2002     30,000         1.47     6/19/2012              

    6/1/2003     2,857         2.63     12/28/2013              

    12/26/2008     4,779     14,334     8.23     12/26/2018              

    4/22/2009         30,578     10.23     4/22/2019              

                                  12,000     314,040  

(1)
Options with a vesting commencement date of April 22, 2009 vest with respect to 1/3 of the ordinary shares subject thereto on the first anniversary of the date of grant and then in equal monthly installments over the next two years. All other options vest with respect to twenty-five percent (25%) of the shares subject thereto on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and with respect to 1/48th of the shares subject to the option on each monthly anniversary of the vesting commencement date thereafter.

(2)
Restricted stock units vest with respect to 13/48th of the original number of ordinary shares subject thereto on February 1, 2011 and thereafter at a rate of 3/48th of the original number of shares on the first day of each quarterly period of May, August, November and February commencing on May 1, 2011, with the last 2/48th of the original number of shares vesting on January 1, 2014.

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2010 Option Exercises and Shares Vested Table

        The following table summarizes share option exercises by our named executive officers in 2010.

 
  Option Awards  
Name
  Number of Shares
Acquired on Exercise (#)
  Value Realized on
Exercise(1) ($)
 
(a)
  (b)
  (c)
 

Eyal Waldman

         

Michael Gray

    66,000     1,392,520  

Marc Sultzbaugh

    20,366     457,043  

Michael Kagan

    90,956     1,974,960  

Shai Cohen

    7,142     135,127  

(1)
The value realized upon exercise is the difference between the option exercise price and the market price of the underlying shares at exercise multiplied by the number of shares covered by the exercised option.

Pension Benefits

        None of our named executive officers participate in or have account balances in qualified or non-qualified defined benefit plans sponsored by us.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

        None of our named executives participate in or have account balances in non-qualified defined contribution plans or other deferred compensation plans maintained by us.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control

        The following table sets forth quantitative estimates of the benefits to be received by each of our named executive officers if his employment were terminated without cause or constructively terminated (as these terms are defined in the executive severance benefits agreements) on December 31, 2010, assuming that such termination occurred during the 12-month period following a change of control (as such term is defined in the executive severance benefits agreements) of our company.


Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control

Name
  Salary Continuation
($)
  COBRA Coverage
($)
  Israeli Severance
Benefits ($)
  Value of Accelerated
Equity Awards
($)(1)
  Total ($)  

Eyal Waldman

    225,000     6,206     347,915     1,137,601     1,716,722  

Michael Gray

    147,000     19,264         354,163     520,427  

Marc Sultzbaugh

    144,000     13,571         697,377     854,948  

Michael Kagan

    120,219         183,668     333,064     636,951  

Shai Cohen

    124,981         190,943     351,050     666,973  

(1)
The value of accelerated equity awards represents the aggregate intrinsic value of each named executive officer's unvested options as of December 31, 2010. The intrinsic value with respect to each option is the positive difference, if any, between the aggregate exercise price of the option and the aggregate fair market value of the ordinary shares subject to the option as of December 31, 2010. The closing price of our ordinary shares on December 31, 2010 was $26.17 per share.

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Equity Compensation Plan Information

        The following table provides certain information with respect to all of our equity compensation plans in effect as of December 31, 2010.

Plan Category
  Number of Securities
to be Issued Upon
Exercise of
Outstanding
Options, Warrants
and Rights (a)
  Weighted Average
Exercise Price of
Outstanding
Options, Warrants
and Rights ($)(b)
  Number of Securities Remaining
Available for Future Issuance
Under Equity Compensation
Plans (Excluding Securities
Reflected in Column (a))(c)
 

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders(1)

    5,849,913     10.56     1,017,257  

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

             
               

Total

    5,849,913     10.56     1,017,257  
               

(1)
Consists of 1999 United States Equity Incentive Plan, 1999 Israeli Share Option Plan, 2003 Israeli Share Option Plan, Global Share Incentive Plan (2006) and Global Share Incentive Assumption Plan (2010).

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

        The following table provides information relating to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of January 31, 2011, by:

        Beneficial ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC and generally means that a person has beneficial ownership of a security if he, she or it possesses sole or shared voting or investment power of that security, and includes options that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of January 31, 2011. Except as indicated by footnote, and subject to community property laws where applicable, we believe the persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares shown as beneficially owned by them.

        Unless otherwise indicated below, the address for each beneficial owner listed is c/o Mellanox Technologies, Inc., 350 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, California 94085, Attention: Chief Financial Officer.

 
  Beneficial Ownership  
Name of Beneficial Owner
  Shares
Beneficially
Owned
  Options
Exercisable
within 60 Days
  Percentage of
Shares
Outstanding(1)
 

5% Shareholders:

                   
 

FMR LLC(2)

    4,415,042         12.88 %
 

Oracle Corporation(3)

    3,437,800         10.03 %

Executive Officers, Directors and Nominees for Director:

                   
 

Eyal Waldman(4)

    1,647,023     203,274     5.40 %
 

Roni Ashuri

    265,143     56,713     *  
 

Dov Baharav

        5,556     *  
 

Shai Cohen

    273,285     66,395     *  
 

Glenda Dorchak

        31,746     *  
 

Irwin Federman

        37,097     *  
 

Michael Gray(5)

    439     108,070     *  
 

Amal M. Johnson

    10,000     78,669     *  
 

Michael Kagan

    191,400     155,096     1.01 %
 

Thomas J. Riordan

    35,544     32,955     *  
 

Marc Sultzbaugh

    588     109,017     *  
 

Thomas Weatherford

        50,097     *  
 

All executive officers and directors as a group (12 persons)

    10,276,264     934,685     32.72 %

*
Represents beneficial ownership of less than one percent (1%) of the outstanding ordinary shares.

(1)
The applicable percentage ownership for members of our board of directors and named executive officers is based on 34,266,072 ordinary shares outstanding as of January 31, 2011, together with applicable options for such shareholder. The applicable percentage ownership for the beneficial

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(2)
This information is based on Amendment No. 4 of the Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2011 by FMR LLC (FMR), Fidelity Management & Research Company (Fidelity), Fidelity Growth Company Fund (Fidelity Growth) and Edward C. Johnson 3d, pursuant to a joint filing agreement. Fidelity, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR and an investment adviser, is the beneficial owner of 4,415,042 ordinary shares as a result of acting as investment adviser to various investment companies. The ownership of one investment company, Fidelity Growth, amounted to 3,172,091 ordinary shares. Edward C. Johnson 3d and FMR, through its control of Fidelity, and the funds each has sole power to dispose of the 4,415,042 ordinary shares owned by FMR funds. Members of the family of Edward C. Johnson 3d, chairman of FMR, are the predominant owners, directly or through trusts, of Series B voting common shares of FMR, representing 49% of the voting power of FMR. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders of FMR have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B voting common shares of FMR will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B voting common shares of FMR. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR. Neither FMR nor Edward C. Johnson 3d, chairman of FMR, has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the shares owned directly by the Fidelity funds, which power resides with the funds' Boards of Trustees. Fidelity carries out the voting of the shares under written guidelines established by the funds' Boards of Trustees. Fidelity, FMR and Fidelity Growth have their principal business office at 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.

(3)
This information is based on the Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on November 1, 2010 by Oracle Corporation (Oracle). Oracle is the beneficial owner and has sole power to dispose of the 3,437,800 ordinary shares owned by Oracle. The address of Oracle's the principal business office is 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, California 94065.

(4)
Includes 1,647,023 ordinary shares held by Waldo Holdings 2, a general partnership formed pursuant to the laws of Israel, of which Eyal Waldman is a general partner. Mr. Waldman has sole voting and dispositive power over all of the shares.

(5)
Includes 439 ordinary shares held by the M&M Gray Family 2001 Trust U/T/A, for which Mr. Gray is a trustee.

Compliance with Section 16(a) Filing Requirements

        Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires directors, executive officers and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities to file initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership with the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market. Such persons are required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely on a review of copies of such forms received with respect to the fiscal year 2010, we believe that all directors, executive officers and persons who own more than 10% of our ordinary shares have complied with the reporting requirements of Section 16(a).

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

        Set forth below is certain information regarding each of our executive officers as of April 1, 2011.

Name
  Age   Position(s)

Eyal Waldman

    50   Chief Executive Officer, President, Chairman of the Board and Director

Roni Ashuri

    51   Vice President of Engineering

Shai Cohen

    47   Vice President of Operations and Engineering

Michael Gray

    54   Chief Financial Officer

Michael Kagan

    53   Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Architecture

Marc Sultzbaugh

    47   Vice President of Worldwide Sales

        Eyal Waldman is a co-founder of Mellanox, and has served as Mellanox's chief executive officer, president and chairman of Mellanox's board of directors since March 1999. From March 1993 to February 1999, Mr. Waldman served as vice president of engineering and was a co-founder of Galileo Technology Ltd., or Galileo, a semiconductor company, which was acquired by Marvell Technology Group Ltd. in January 2001. From August 1989 to March 1993, Mr. Waldman held a number of design and architecture related positions at Intel Corporation, a manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Mr. Waldman serves on the board of directors of a number of private companies. Mr. Waldman holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Waldman is located in Israel.

        Roni Ashuri is a co-founder of Mellanox and has served as our vice president of engineering since June 1999. From March 1998 to May 1999, Mr. Ashuri served as product line director of system controllers at Galileo. From May 1987 to February 1998, Mr. Ashuri worked at Intel Corporation, where he was a senior staff member in the Pentium processors department and a cache controller group staff member. Mr. Ashuri holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Ashuri is located in Israel.

        Shai Cohen is a co-founder of Mellanox and has served as our vice president of operations and engineering since June 1999. From September 1989 to May 1999, Mr. Cohen worked at Intel Corporation, where he was a senior staff member in the Pentium processors department and a circuit design manager at the cache controllers group. Mr. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Cohen is located in Israel.

        Michael Gray has served as our chief financial officer since December 2004. Prior to joining Mellanox, from March 1995 until July 2004, Mr. Gray served in various capacities at SanDisk Corporation, a data storage company, including director of finance from March 1995 to July 1999, vice president of finance from August 1999 to February 2002 and as senior vice president of finance and administration and chief finance officer from March 2002 to July 2004. From July 1990 to February 1995, Mr. Gray served as controller of Consilium, Inc., a systems software development company which was acquired by Applied Materials, Inc. in December 1998. From October 1981 to June 1990, Mr. Gray served in various capacities at ASK Computer Systems, Inc., an enterprise resource planning solutions provider, including as treasury manager. Mr. Gray holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University. Mr. Gray is located in the United States.

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        Michael Kagan is a co-founder of Mellanox and has served as chief technology officer and vice president of architecture since January 2009. Previously, Mr. Kagan served as vice president of architecture from May 1999 to December 2008. From August 1983 to April 1999, Mr. Kagan held a number of architecture and design positions at Intel Corporation. While at Intel Corporation, between March 1993 and June 1996, Mr. Kagan managed Pentium MMX design, and from July 1996 to April 1999, he managed the architecture team of the Basic PC product group. Mr. Kagan holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Kagan is located in Israel.

        Marc Sultzbaugh has served as our vice president of worldwide sales since April 2007. Mr. Sultzbaugh joined Mellanox in 2001 as director of high performance computing and director of central area sales, and was later promoted to senior director of sales in October 2005. Prior to joining Mellanox, he held various executive sales and marketing positions with Brooktree Semiconductor. From 1985 to 1989, Mr. Sultzbaugh was an engineer at AT&T Microelectronics. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Missouri-Rolla, and a Masters of Business Administration from The University of California, Irvine. Mr. Sultzbaugh is located in the United States.

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS MATTERS

Director Independence

        The board of directors consists of seven directors. Our board of directors has determined that each of our current directors other than Eyal Waldman, our president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board, are independent under the director independence standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market.

        The Companies Law provides that our board of directors is required to determine how many of our members of the board of directors should be required to have financial and accounting expertise, in addition to an outside director with financial and accounting expertise. Our board of directors has determined that at least one member of our board of directors (excluding outside directors) should be required to have financial and accounting expertise. Each member of the audit committee of our board of directors has financial and accounting expertise as defined under Israeli law.

Board Leadership Structure

        Mr. Waldman is a co-founder of the company and has served as our chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board of directors since March 1999. The board of directors has determined that this is the most effective leadership structure for the company at the present time, taking into consideration the efficiencies associated with the company's co-founder and chief executive officer serving as chairman of the board and the active role of the remaining directors, each of whom is independent. As the chief executive officer, Mr. Waldman's has detailed knowledge of the risks, opportunities and challenges facing the company and is, therefore, the most appropriate person to identify strategic priorities and to develop an agenda that ensures that the board of director's time and attention are focused on critical matters. The combined role also facilitates the flow of information between management and the board of directors and ensures clear accountability for the execution of the company's strategy.

        The board of directors acts independently of management. In March 2010, the board of directors designated Irwin Federman as lead independent director, which we believe further contributes to the board's independence. The board of directors regularly holds independent director sessions of the board without members of management present. In addition, each of the committees of the board of directors comprises only independent directors.

Risk Oversight

        The board of directors oversees the company's risk exposures and risk management of various parts of the business, including appropriate guidelines and policies to minimize business risks and major financial risks and the steps management has undertaken to control them. In its risk oversight role, the board of directors reviews annually the company's strategic plan, which includes an assessment of potential risks facing the company. While the board of directors has the ultimate oversight responsibility for the risk management process, various committees of the board also have responsibility for risk management. In particular, the audit committee focuses on financial risk, including internal controls, as described below under the section titled "Audit Committee." In addition, in setting compensation, the compensation committee strives to create incentives that do not encourage risk-taking behavior that is inconsistent with the company's business strategy. Each committee regularly reports to the full board of directors.

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Committees of the Board of Directors

        Our board of directors has three standing committees: the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee. From time to time, the board of directors may also create various ad hoc committees for special purposes. The membership of each of the three standing committees of the board of directors as of December 31, 2010 is set forth below:

Name of Director
  Audit
Committee
  Compensation
Committee
  Nominating and
Corporate
Governance
Committee

Glenda Dorchak

    Member   Member

Irwin Federman

  Member   Member  

Thomas Riordan

  Member   Chairman  

Amal M. Johnson

  Member   Member   Chairman

Thomas Weatherford

  Chairman     Member

        Messrs. Baharav and Waldman are not members of any committee of our board of directors.

Audit Committee

        Our board of directors must appoint an audit committee comprised of at least three directors including all of the outside directors, but excluding the chairman of our board of directors, any general manager, our chief executive officer, any controlling shareholder, any relative of the foregoing persons and any director employed by the company or who provides services to the company on a regular basis.

        Our audit committee oversees our corporate accounting and financial reporting process. Among other matters, our audit committee evaluates the independent auditors' qualifications, independence and performance, determines the engagement of the independent auditors, reviews and approves the scope of the annual audit and the audit fee, discusses with management and the independent auditors the results of the annual audit and the review of our quarterly financial statements, approves the retention of the independent auditors to perform any proposed permissible non-audit services, monitors the rotation of partners of the independent auditors on the Mellanox engagement team as required by law, reviews our critical accounting policies and estimates, oversees our internal audit function, reviews, approves and monitors our code of ethics and "whistleblower" procedures for the treatment of reports of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters and annually reviews the audit committee charter and the committee's performance.

        Under the Companies Law, our audit committee must approve specified actions and transactions with office holders and controlling shareholders. A "controlling shareholder" is a shareholder who has the ability to direct the company's activity, excluding an ability deriving merely from holding an office of director or another office in the company, and a person shall be presumed to control the company if he holds 50% or more of (i) our voting rights or (ii) the rights to appoint our directors or general managers. For the purpose of "transactions with an interested party," the definition also includes a shareholder that owns 25% or more of the voting rights in the general meeting of the company, if there is no other person who holds more than 50% of the voting rights in the company. Two or more persons holding voting rights in the company each of which has a personal interest in the approval of the transaction being brought for approval of the company shall be considered to be joint holders.

        Our audit committee may not approve any action or a transaction with a controlling shareholder or with an office holder, as required under Chapter Five of the Companies Law, unless, at the time of approval, our two outside directors are serving as members of the audit committee and at least one of them is present at the meeting at which the approval is granted.

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        Additionally, under the Companies Law, the role of the audit committee is, inter alia, to identify any irregularities in the business management of the company in consultation with the company's independent accountants and internal auditor and to suggest an appropriate course of action. Our audit committee charter allows the committee to rely on interviews and consultations with our management, our internal auditor and our independent public accountant, and does not obligate the committee to conduct any independent investigation or verification. We initially designated an internal auditor during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

        All members of our audit committee meet the requirements for financial literacy under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market. Our board has determined that Mr. Weatherford is an audit committee financial expert as defined by the SEC rules and has the requisite financial sophistication as defined by The NASDAQ Stock Market rules and regulations. Our board has determined that Ms. Johnson, as an outside director, has the requisite financial and accounting expertise required under the Companies Law. Our board has also determined that each of the members of our audit committee is independent within the meaning of the independent director standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market and the SEC. Our board of directors has adopted a written charter for the audit committee. A copy of the charter is available on our website at www.mellanox.com under "Investor Relations—Corporate Governance."

Compensation Committee

        Our compensation committee reviews and recommends our programs, policies and practices relating to compensation and benefits of our officers and employees. The compensation committee, in consultation with our chief executive officer and our board of directors, decides how much cash compensation should be part of each officer's total compensation by comparing the officer's compensation against a peer group of companies listed in the survey data we utilize and considering the relative importance of short-term incentives. In addition, the compensation committee, in consultation with our chief executive officer, makes recommendations to our board of directors regarding equity-based compensation to align the interests of our management with shareholders, considering each officer's equity holdings. The compensation committee also manages the issuance of share options and other awards under our equity incentive plans. The compensation committee will review and evaluate, at least annually, the goals and objectives of our incentive compensation plans and monitors the results against the approved goals and objectives. All members of our compensation committee are independent under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, The NASDAQ Stock Market and the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Our board of directors has adopted a written charter for the compensation committee. A copy of the charter is available on our website at www.mellanox.com under "Investor Relations—Corporate Governance."

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

        Our nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for making recommendations to the board of directors regarding candidates for directorships and the composition and organization of our board. In addition, the nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for overseeing our corporate governance guidelines and reporting and making recommendations to the board concerning governance matters. We believe that the composition of our nominating and corporate governance committee meets the criteria for independence under, and the functioning of our nominating and corporate governance committee complies with, the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market. Our board of directors has adopted a written charter for the nominating and corporate governance committee. A copy of the charter, as amended to date, is available on our website at www.mellanox.com under "Investor Relations—Corporate Governance."

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Meetings Attended by Directors

        The board of directors held a total of fifteen meetings during 2010. The audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee held eight, eight and five meetings, respectively, during 2010. During 2010, each of our directors attended or participated in at least 75% of the aggregate of the total number of meetings of the board of directors and the total number of meetings held by the committee(s) of the board of directors on which he or she served, except that Dov Baharav, who joined the board of directors on November 22, 2010, attended three meetings of the board of directors.

        Our directors are encouraged to attend our annual general meeting of shareholders although we do not maintain a formal policy regarding director attendance at the annual general meeting of shareholders. In 2010, Mr. Waldman was the sole member of our board who attended the annual general meeting of shareholders.

Consideration of Director Nominees

        Shareholder Nominations and Recommendations.    Our articles of association set forth the procedure for the proper submission of shareholder nominations for membership on the board of directors as previously discussed. In addition, the nominating and corporate governance committee may consider properly submitted shareholder recommendations for candidates for membership on the board of directors. A shareholder may make such a recommendation by submitting the following information to the secretary of the company at the offices of Mellanox Technologies, Inc., 350 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, California 94085: the name and address of both the shareholder who intends to make the nomination and of the person or persons to be nominated; a representation that the recommending shareholder is a holder of record of our ordinary shares and is entitled to vote at the meeting, and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the candidate; if applicable, a description of all arrangements or understandings between the shareholder and each nominee pursuant to which nominations are to be made by the shareholder; the consent of each nominee to serve as a director if so elected; and a declaration signed by each nominee declaring that there is no limitation under the Companies Law for the appointment of such nominee. Shareholders are also advised to review our amended and restated articles of association, which contain additional requirements with respect to shareholder nominees for our board of directors. The chairman of the board of directors may refuse to acknowledge the nomination of any person not made in compliance with these procedures.

        Director Qualifications.    Members of the board of directors should have the highest professional and personal ethics and values, and conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. While the nominating and corporate governance committee has not established specific minimum qualifications for director candidates, the committee believes that candidates and nominees must reflect a board of directors that comprises directors who have: personal and professional integrity, ethics and values; experience in corporate management, such as serving as an officer or former officer of a publicly held company, and a general understanding of marketing, finance and other elements relevant to the success of a publicly-traded company in today's business environment; experience in the company's industry and with relevant social policy concerns; experience as a board member of another publicly held company; academic expertise in an area of the company's operations; and practical and mature business judgment, including ability to make independent analytical inquiries.

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        Identifying and Evaluating Director Nominees.    Although candidates for nomination to the board of directors typically are suggested by existing directors or by our executive officers, candidates may come to the attention of the board of directors through professional search firms, shareholders or other persons. The nominating and corporate governance committee reviews the qualifications of any candidates who have been properly brought to the committee's attention. Such review may, at the committee's discretion, include a review solely of information provided to the committee or may also include discussions with persons familiar with the candidate, an interview with the candidate or other actions that the committee deems proper. The nominating and corporate governance committee considers the suitability of each candidate, including the current members of the board of directors, in light of the current size and composition of the board of directors. In evaluating the qualifications of the candidates, the committee considers many factors, including issues of character, judgment, independence, age, expertise, diversity of experience, length of service, other commitments and other similar factors. The committee evaluates such factors, among others, and does not assign any particular weighting or priority to any of these factors. Candidates properly recommended by shareholders are evaluated by the committee using the same criteria as other candidates. In addition, under the Companies Law, if at the time for the appointment of outside directors all members of the board of directors are of the same gender, then at least one of the outside directors to be appointed must be of the other gender.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

        We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of business conduct and ethics. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics reflects our values and the business practices and principles of behavior that support this commitment. The code applies to all of our officers, directors and employees and satisfies SEC rules for a "code of ethics" required by Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as the NASDAQ listing standards requirement for a "code of conduct." The code is available on our website at www.mellanox.com under "Investor Relations—Corporate Governance." We will post any amendment to the code, as well as any waivers that are required to be disclosed by the rules of the SEC or The NASDAQ Stock Market, on our website.

Risk Assessment and Compensation Practices

        Our management assessed and discussed with our compensation committee and board of directors the company's compensation policies and practices for our employees as they relate to our risk management and, based upon this assessment, we believe that any risks arising from such policies and practices are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the company in the future.

        Our employees' base salaries are fixed in amount and thus we do not believe that they encourage excessive risk-taking. While performance-based cash bonuses and sales commissions focus on achievement of short-term or annual goals, which may encourage the taking of short-term risks at the expense of long-term results, we believe that our internal controls help mitigate this risk and our performance-based cash bonuses and sales commissions are limited, representing a small portion of the total compensation opportunities available to most employees. We also believe that our performance-based cash bonuses and sales commissions appropriately balance risk and the desire to focus our employees on specific short-term goals important to our success, and do not encourage unnecessary or excessive risk-taking.

        A significant proportion of the compensation provided to our employees is in the form of long-term equity-based incentives that are important to help further align our employees' interests with those of our shareholders. We do not believe that these equity-based incentives encourage unnecessary or excessive risk taking because their ultimate value is tied to our share price. In addition, we generally stagger grants of equity-based awards and subject them to long-term vesting schedules to help ensure that employees have significant value tied to the long-term performance of our ordinary shares.

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Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

        None of the members of our compensation committee has at any time been one of our executive officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past fiscal year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors or compensation committee.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

        In our last fiscal year, there has not been, nor is there currently proposed, any transaction or series of similar transactions to which we were or are to be a party in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and in which any of our directors, executive officers, holders of more than 5% of our ordinary shares or any members of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Family Relationships

        There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

Communications with the Board of Directors

        We provide a process for shareholders to send communications to our board of directors, any committee of our board of directors or any individual director, including non-employee directors. Shareholders may communicate with our board of directors by writing to: Board of Directors, c/o Corporate Secretary, Mellanox Technologies, Inc., 350 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, California 94085. The secretary will forward correspondence to our board of directors, one of the committees of our board of directors or an individual director, as the case may be, or, if the secretary determines in accordance with his best judgment that the matter can be addressed by management, then to the appropriate executive officer.

Director Compensation

        In October 2006, our board of directors adopted a compensation program for non-employee directors which became effective on February 6, 2007 and was amended at our 2008 annual general meeting of shareholders with respect to the annual retainer amount paid to Mr. Weatherford for his service as chairperson of our audit committee. Effective January 1, 2011, except with respect to outside directors under the Companies Law, for whom the following compensation program was effective from the date of their reappointment as outside directors at our 2010 annual general meeting of shareholders, our board of directors and our audit committee adopted the following revised cash compensation program for non-employee directors. This revised compensation program was approved by shareholders at our 2010 annual general meeting of shareholders. Pursuant to this program, each member of our board of directors who is not our employee will receive the following cash compensation for board services, as applicable:

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        In addition to cash compensation, each of our non-employee directors receive initial and annual, automatic, non-discretionary grants pursuant to our Non-Employee Director Option Grant Policy, which was established under our Global Share Incentive Plan (2006), of nonqualified share options, in the case of non-employee directors who are U.S. taxpayers, and options that qualify in accordance with Section 102 of the Israeli Tax Ordinance, 1961, in the case of non-employee directors who are Israeli taxpayers. On January 26, 2010, the board of directors amended the Non-Employee Director Grant Policy, effective as of the date of the 2010 annual general meeting of shareholders. The amendment of the Non-Employee Director Grant Policy was approved by shareholders at the 2010 annual general meeting Pursuant to the Non-Employee Director Grant Policy, each new non-employee director will receive an option to purchase 50,000 ordinary shares as of the date he or she first becomes a non-employee director, which will begin vesting immediately in equal monthly increments over the thirty-six months following such appointment and will be 100% vested on the thirty-six month anniversary of such appointment provided the director continues to serve as a non-employee director. In addition, following the date of each annual general meeting, each individual who continues to serve as a non-employee director on such date will receive an award of 5,000 restricted stock units, which will begin vesting immediately in equal monthly increments over the twelve months following such meeting and will be 100% vested on the twelve-month anniversary of the grant date provided the director continues to serve as a non-employee director.

        The exercise price of each equity award granted to a non-employee director will be equal to 100% of the fair market value on the date of grant of the shares covered by such award. Equity awards will have a maximum term of ten years measured from the grant date, subject to earlier termination in the event of the director's cessation of service to our company.

        Under our Non-Employee Director Option Grant Policy, our directors will have a three-month period following cessation of service to our company in which to exercise any outstanding vested options, except in the case of a director's death or disability, in which case the options will be exercisable by the director or his or her estate or beneficiary for a 12-month period following the cessation of services. Options and restricted stock units granted to our non-employee directors pursuant to our Non-Employee Director Option Grant Policy will fully vest and become immediately exercisable upon a change in control of our company.

        The compensation of our outside directors, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Riordan, is subject to restrictions imposed by Israeli law, and cannot be greater than the average compensation paid to all other non-executive directors nor less than the lowest compensation paid to any other non-executive director at the time of determination of the outside directors' compensation.

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        The table below sets forth information regarding compensation provided by us to our non-employee directors during the year ended December 31, 2010.


Director Compensation in Fiscal Year 2010

Name
  Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash ($)
  Stock Awards
($)(1)
  Option Awards
($)(1)(2)
  Total  
(a)
  (b)
  (c)
  (d)
  (h)
 

Thomas Riordan

    49,019     112,700         161,719  

Thomas Weatherford

    63,250     112,700         175,950  

Irwin Federman

    43,375     112,700         156,075  

Dov Baharav

    11,523         679,585     691,108  

Amal M. Johnson

    53,949     112,700         166,649  

Glenda Dorchak

    39,742             39,742  

(1)
Amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate incremental grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted during 2010, as calculated under FASB ASC Topic 718. The amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions. The valuation assumptions used in determining such amounts are described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

(2)
Amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate incremental grant date fair value of stock options granted during 2010, as calculated under FASB ASC Topic 718. The amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions. The valuation assumptions used in determining such amounts are described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

        The aggregate number of ordinary shares subject to outstanding option awards for each person in the table set forth above as of December 31, 2010 is as follows:

Name
  Shares
Subject to
Outstanding
Options as of
12/31/10 (#)
  Shares
Subject to
Unvested
Restricted
Stock
Units as of
12/31/10 (#)
 

Thomas Riordan

    34,284     2,083  

Thomas Weatherford

    51,426     2,083  

Irwin Federman

    38,426     2,083  

Dov Baharav

    50,000      

Amal M. Johnson

    79,998     2,083  

Glenda Dorchak

    57,142      

        This proxy statement contains "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based on the company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding actions to be taken by the company. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the company's business, particularly those mentioned in the

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risk factors in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in our periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.


WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

        We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC's facilities located at Judiciary Plaza, Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549 or at the offices of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. located at 1735 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. You may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information about the SEC's public reference rooms. Our SEC filings are also available to the public at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and through our website at www.mellanox.com.


OTHER MATTERS

        As of the date of this proxy statement, no shareholder had advised us of the intent to present any other matters, and we are not aware of any other matters to be presented, at the meeting. Accordingly, the only items of business that our board of directors intends to present at the meeting are set forth in this proxy statement.

        If any other matter or matters are properly brought before the meeting, the persons named as proxyholders will use their discretion to vote on the matters in accordance with their best judgment as they deem advisable.

Menlo Park, California
April 11, 2011

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EXHIBIT A

Form of Proposed Amended and Restated Articles of Association

AMENDED AND RESTATED
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES,  LTD.

A COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

PRELIMINARY

1.     COMPANY NAME

        The name of the company is "Mellanox Technologies Ltd." (the "Company").

2.     INTERPRETATION

3.     PUBLIC COMPANY; LIMITED LIABILITY AND COMPANY OBJECTIVES

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SHARE CAPITAL

4.     SHARE CAPITAL

5.     INCREASE OF AUTHORIZED SHARE CAPITAL

6.     SPECIAL RIGHTS; MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS

A-2


Table of Contents

7.     CONSOLIDATION, SUBDIVISION, CANCELLATION AND REDUCTION OF SHARE CAPITAL


SHARES

8.     ISSUANCE OF SHARE CERTIFICATES; REPLACEMENT OF LOST CERTIFICATES

A-3


Table of Contents

9.     REGISTERED HOLDER

10.   ALLOTMENT OF SHARES

11.   PAYMENT IN INSTALLMENTS

12.   CALLS ON SHARES

A-4


Table of Contents

13.   PREPAYMENT

14.   FORFEITURE AND SURRENDER

A-5


Table of Contents

15.   LIEN

16.   SALE AFTER FORFEITURE OR SURRENDER OR IN ENFORCEMENT OF LIEN

A-6


17.   REDEEMABLE SHARES


TRANSFER OF SHARES

18.   REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER

19.   RECORD DATE FOR NOTICES OF GENERAL MEETINGS AND OTHER ACTION

A-7



TRANSMISSION OF SHARES

20.   DECEDENTS' SHARES

21.   RECEIVERS AND LIQUIDATORS


GENERAL MEETINGS

22.   ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

A-8


23.   EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS

24.   NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS; OMISSION TO GIVE NOTICE

25.   MANNER OF MEETING

A-9



PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

26.   QUORUM

27.   CHAIRMAN

28.   ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

A-10


29.   RESOLUTIONS IN WRITING

30.   POWER TO ADJOURN

31.   VOTING POWER

32.   VOTING RIGHTS

A-11



PROXIES

33.   INSTRUMENT OF APPOINTMENTS

"I, [insert name of shareholder] of [insert address of shareholder], being a member of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (the "Company"), hereby appoints [insert name of proxy] or [insert address of proxy] as my proxy to vote for me and on my behalf at the [Annual / Extraordinary] General Meeting of the Company to be held on the    day of                , 20    and at any adjournment(s) thereof.

Signed this    day of                , 20    .


(Signature of Appointor)"

 

 

34.   EFFECT OF DEATH OF APPOINTOR OR TRANSFER OF SHARE OR REVOCATION OF APPOINTMENT

A-12



BOARD OF DIRECTORS

35.   POWERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

36.   EXERCISE OF POWERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A-13


37.   DELEGATION OF POWERS

A-14


Table of Contents

38.   NUMBER OF DIRECTORS

39.   ELECTION AND REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS

40.   QUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

A-15


Table of Contents

41.   CONTINUING DIRECTORS IN THE EVENT OF VACANCIES

42.   VACATION OF OFFICE

43.   REMUNERATION OF DIRECTORS

44.   CONFLICT OF INTEREST

A-16


Table of Contents

45.   [RESERVED]

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

46.   MEETINGS

47.   RESOLUTIONS IN WRITING

48.   QUORUM

49.   CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

50.   VALIDITY OF ACTS DESPITE DEFECTS

A-17


Table of Contents


CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRESIDENT

51.   CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRESIDENT


MINUTES

52.   MINUTES


DIVIDENDS

53.   DECLARATION OF DIVIDENDS

54.   FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR PAYMENT OF DIVIDEND

55.   AMOUNT PAYABLE BY WAY OF DIVIDENDS

A-18


Table of Contents

56.   INTEREST

57.   PAYMENT IN SPECIE

58.   IMPLEMENTATION OF POWERS UNDER ARTICLE 57

59.   DIVIDEND ON UNPAID SHARES

60.   RETENTION OF DIVIDENDS

A-19


Table of Contents

61.   UNCLAIMED DIVIDENDS

62.   MECHANICS OF PAYMENT

63.   RECEIPT FROM A JOINT HOLDER


ACCOUNTS

64.   BOOKS OF ACCOUNT

65.   AUDIT

66.   AUDITORS

A-20


Table of Contents


BRANCH REGISTERS

67.   BRANCH REGISTERS


INSURANCE, INDEMNITY AND EXEMPTION

68.   INDEMNITY, INSURANCE AND EXEMPTION

A-21


Table of Contents

A-22


Table of Contents


WINDING UP

69.   WINDING UP


RIGHTS OF SIGNATURE, STAMP, AND SEAL

70.   RIGHTS OF SIGNATURE, STAMP, AND SEAL

A-23


Table of Contents


NOTICES

71.   NOTICES

A-24



EXHIBIT B

Form of Amended Indemnification Undertaking Agreement

INDEMNIFICATION UNDERTAKING

dated as of                        , 2011

from Mellanox Technologies Ltd. to [Office Holder] (the "Office Holder")

        In respect of your service as a director or office holder of Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (the "Company"), including your service, at the request of the Company, as a director or office holder of a company controlled by the Company ("control" as defined in the Companies Law)(the "Subsidiary"), the Company desires to provide for your indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law. To that end, the Company hereby agrees as follows:

        1.     The Company hereby undertakes to indemnify you to the maximum extent permitted by the Companies Law—1999 (the "Companies Law"), and by the Securities Law—1968 (the "Securities Law")(3) in respect of the following:


(3)
All terms which are not defined in this Indemnification Undertaking shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Companies Law or the Securities Law.

B-1


        2.     The Company will not indemnify you for any amount you may be obligated to pay in respect of:

B-2


        3.     The Company will make available all amounts payable to you in accordance with Section 1 above on the date on which such amounts are first payable by you and in any event not later than fifteen (15) days following receipt by the Company of your written request therefor ("Time of Indebtedness"), including with respect to any claim against you initiated by the Company or by any Subsidiary or in their right, and with respect to items referred to in Sections 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 above, not later than the date on which the applicable court or other competent authority renders its decision. Advances given to cover legal expenses in criminal proceedings will be repaid by you to the Company, if you are found guilty of a crime which requires proof of criminal intent. Other advances will be repaid by you to the Company if it is determined by an unappealable court judgment that you are not lawfully entitled to such indemnification. As part of the aforementioned undertaking, the Company will make available to you any security or guarantee that you may be required to post in accordance with an interim decision given by a court or an arbitrator or other competent authority, including for the purpose of substituting liens imposed on your assets.

        4.     The Company will indemnify you even if at the Time of Indebtedness you are no longer a director or office holder of the Company provided that the obligations with respect to which you will be indemnified hereunder are in respect of actions taken by you, either prior to or after the date hereof, while you were a director or office holder of the Company or in respect of actions taken by you while you were a director or office holder of any other Subsidiary as aforesaid, and in such capacity.

        5.     The indemnification will be limited to the expenses and payments mentioned in Sections 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 (pursuant and subject to Section 3 and insofar as indemnification with respect thereto is not restricted by law or by the provisions of Section 2 above) and to the expenses mentioned in Section 1.1 above insofar as they result from, or are connected to, events and circumstances set forth in Schedule A hereto, which are deemed by the Company's Board of Directors, based on the current activity of the Company, to be foreseeable as of the date hereof.

        6.     The total amount of indemnification under Section 1.1 that the Company undertakes towards all of the Company office holders whom the Company has resolved to indemnify, jointly and in the aggregate, shall not exceed, during the course of the Company's existence, 50% (fifty percent) of the Company's net assets, measured by the balance sheet of the Company last published prior to the time that notice is provided to the Company.

        7.     The Company will not indemnify you for any liability with respect to which you have received payment by virtue of an insurance policy or another indemnification agreement other than for amounts which are in excess of the amounts actually paid to you pursuant to any such insurance policy or other indemnity agreement (including deductible amounts not covered by insurance policies), within the limits set forth in Section 6 above.

        8.     Subject to the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 above, the indemnification hereunder will, in each case, cover all sums of money that you will be obligated to pay, in those circumstances for which indemnification is permitted under the law and under this Indemnification Undertaking.

        9.     The Company will be entitled to any amount collected from a third party in connection with liabilities indemnified hereunder.

        10.   In all indemnifiable circumstances, indemnification will be subject to the following:

B-3


B-4


        11.   The Company hereby exempts you, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from any liability for damages caused as a result of a breach of your duty of care to the Company or to any Subsidiary, provided that in no event shall you be exempt with respect to any actions listed in Section 2 above or breach of your duty of care in connection with a Distribution.

        12.   The Company undertakes that, subject to the mandatory limitations under applicable law, as long as it may be obligated to provide an Indemnification and advance expenses under this Agreement, the Company shall purchase and maintain in effect directors' and officers' liability insurance, which shall include coverage for the benefit of the Indemnitee, providing coverage in amounts as reasonably determined by the board of directors of the Company. The Company hereby undertakes to notify the Indemnitee 30 days prior to the expiration or termination of the directors' and officers' liability insurance.

        13.   The Company undertakes that in the event of a Change in Control (as defined below) of the Company, the Company's obligations under this Indemnification Undertaking shall continue to be in effect following such Change in Control, and the Company shall take all reasonable necessary action to ensure that the party acquiring control of the Company shall independently undertake to continue in effect such Indemnification Undertaking, to maintain the provisions of the Articles of Association allowing indemnification and to indemnify you in the event that the Company shall not have sufficient funds or otherwise shall not be able to fulfill its obligations hereunder. For purposes of this Indemnification Undertaking, a "Change in Control" shall be deemed to have occurred if: (i) any "Person" (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")), other than a trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or a corporation owned directly or indirectly by the

B-5



shareholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of shares of the Company, is or becomes the "Beneficial Owner" (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 15% or more of the total voting power represented by the Company's then outstanding voting securities; or (ii) during any period of two consecutive years (not including any period prior to the execution of this Indemnification Undertaking), individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board of Directors of the Company and any new director (other than a director designated by a person who has entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in clause (i), (iii) or (iv) of this Section 12) whose election by the Board of Directors or nomination for election by the Company's shareholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board of Directors; or (iii) a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other entity, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than 51% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation and with the power to elect at least a majority of the Board of Directors or other governing body of such surviving entity; or (iv) the shareholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all the Company's assets; or (v) there occurs any other event of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or a response to any similar item on any similar schedule or form) promulgated under the Exchange Act, whether or not the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement.

        14.   The Company undertakes that if there is a Change in Control of the Company then with respect to all matters thereafter arising concerning your rights to payments under this Indemnification Undertaking or any other agreement or under the Company's Articles of Association as now or hereafter in effect, the Company shall seek legal advice only from Independent Legal Counsel (as defined below) selected by the Company and approved by you (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld). Such counsel, among other things, shall render its written opinion to the Company and you as to whether and to what extent you would be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law and the Company agrees to abide by such opinion. The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees of the Independent Legal Counsel referred to above and to fully indemnify such counsel against any and all expenses (including attorneys' fees), claims, liabilities and damages arising out of or relating to this Indemnification Undertaking or its engagement pursuant hereto. For purposes of this Indemnification Undertaking, "Independent Legal Counsel" shall mean an attorney or firm of attorneys who shall not have otherwise performed services for the Company or you within the last three years (other than with respect to matters concerning your rights under this Indemnification Undertaking, or of other indemnitees under similar indemnification undertakings).

        15.   If for the validation of any of the undertakings in this Indemnification Undertaking any act, resolution, approval or other procedure is required, the Company undertakes to cause them to be done or adopted in a manner which will enable the Company to fulfill all its undertakings as aforesaid.

        16.   For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby clarified that nothing contained in this Indemnification Undertaking derogates from the Company's right to indemnify you post factum for any amounts which you may be obligated to pay as set forth in Section 1 above without the limitations set forth in Sections 5 and 6 above.

        17.   If any undertaking included in this Indemnification Undertaking is held invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability will not affect any of the other undertakings which will remain in full force and effect. Furthermore, if such invalid or unenforceable undertaking may be

B-6



modified or amended so as to be valid and enforceable as a matter of law, such undertaking will be deemed to have been modified or amended, and any competent court or arbitrator are hereby authorized to modify or amend such undertaking, so as to be valid and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by law.

        18.   This Indemnification Undertaking and the agreements herein shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Israel.

        19.   This Indemnification Undertaking cancels any preceding letter of indemnification or arrangement for indemnification that may have been issued to you by the Company.

        20.   Neither the settlement or termination of any proceeding nor the failure of the Company to award indemnification or to determine that indemnification is payable shall create an adverse presumption that you are not entitled to indemnification hereunder. In addition, the termination of any proceeding by judgment or order (unless such judgment or order provides so specifically) or settlement, shall not create a presumption that you did not act in good faith and in a manner which you reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company or, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that your action was unlawful.

        21.   This Indemnification Undertaking shall be (a) binding upon all successors and assigns of the Company (including any transferee of all or a substantial portion of the business, stock and/or assets of the Company and any direct or indirect successor by merger or consolidation or otherwise by operation of law), and (b) binding on and shall inure to the benefit of your heirs, personal representatives, executors and administrators. This Indemnification Undertaking shall continue for your benefit and your heirs', personal representatives', executors' and administrators' benefit after you cease to be a director or office holder of the Company.

        22.   Except with respect to changes in the governing law which expand your right to be indemnified by the Company, no supplement, modification or amendment of this Indemnification Undertaking shall be binding unless executed in writing by each of the parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Indemnification Undertaking shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions of this Indemnification Undertaking (whether or not similar), nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver.

B-7


        This Indemnification Undertaking is being issued to you pursuant to the resolutions adopted by the Audit Committee of the Company on                        , the Board of Directors of the Company on and by the shareholders of the Company on                        The Board of Directors has determined, based on the current activity of the Company, that the total amount of indemnification stated in Section 6 is reasonable and that the events listed in Schedule A are reasonably anticipated.

        Kindly sign and return the enclosed copy of this letter to acknowledge your agreement to the contents hereof.

    Very truly yours,

 

 

Mellanox Technologies Ltd.

 

 

By:

 

  

    Name:     

    Title:    

    Date:     

Accepted and agreed to:    


 

 

 

Office Holder:

 

 

Date:

 

 


 

 

B-8



Schedule A

1.
Negotiations, execution, delivery and performance of agreements on behalf of the Company and any Subsidiary including, inter alia, any claim or demand made by a customer, supplier, contractor or other third party transacting any form of business with the Company, its Subsidiaries or affiliates relating to the negotiations or performance of such transactions, representations or inducements provided in connection thereto or otherwise.

2.
Any claim or demand made in connection with any transaction which is not within the ordinary course of business of either the Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates, including the sale, lease or purchase of any assets or businesses.

3.
Anti-competitive acts and acts of commercial wrongdoing.

4.
Acts in regard of invasion of privacy including with respect to databases and acts in regard of slander.

5.
Any claim or demand made for actual or alleged infringement, misappropriation or misuse of any third party's intellectual property rights including, but not limited to confidential information, patents, copyrights, design rights, service marks, trade secrets, copyrights, misappropriation of ideas by the Company, its Subsidiaries or affiliates.

6.
Actions taken in connection with the intellectual property of the Company and any Subsidiary and its protection, including the registration or assertion of rights to intellectual property and the defense of claims relating thereof.

7.
Participation and/or non-participation at the Company's board meetings, bona fide expression of opinion and/or voting and/or abstention from voting at the Company's board meetings.

8.
Approval of corporate actions including the approval of the acts of the Company's management, their guidance and their supervision.

9.
Claims of failure to exercise business judgement and a reasonable level of proficiency, expertise and care in regard of the Company's business.

10.
Violations of securities laws of any jurisdiction, including without limitation, fraudulent disclosure claims, failure to comply with SEC and/or the Israeli Securities Authority and/or any stock exchange disclosure or other rules and any other claims relating to relationships with investors, shareholders and the investment community and any claims related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended from time to time.

11.
Any claim or demand made under any securities laws or by reference thereto, or related to the failure to disclose any information in the manner or time such information is required to be disclosed pursuant to such laws, or related to inadequate or improper disclosure of information to shareholders, or prospective shareholders, or related to the purchasing, holding or disposition of securities of the Company or any other investment activity involving or affected by such securities, including any actions relating to an offer or issuance of securities of the Company or of its Subsidiaries and/or affiliates to the public by prospectus or privately by private placement, in Israel or abroad, including the details that shall be set forth in the documents in connection with execution thereof.

12.
Violations of laws requiring the Company to obtain regulatory and governmental licenses, permits and authorizations or laws related to any governmental grants in any jurisdiction.

13.
Claims in connection with publishing or providing any information, including any filings with any governmental authorities, on behalf of the Company in the circumstances required under any applicable laws.

B-9


14.
Any claim or demand made by employees, consultants, agents or other individuals or entities employed by or providing services to the Company relating to compensation owed to them or damages or liabilities suffered by them in connection with such employment or service.

15.
Resolutions and/or actions relating to employment matters of the Company and/or its Subsidiaries and/or affiliates.

16.
Events, pertaining to the employment conditions of employees and to the employer—employee relations, including the promotion of workers, handling pension arrangements, insurance and saving funds, options and other benefits.

17.
Any claim or demand made by any lenders or other creditors or for moneys borrowed by, or other indebtedness of, the Company, its Subsidiaries or affiliates.

18.
Any claim or demand made by any third party suffering any personal injury and/or bodily injury and/or property damage to business or personal property through any act or omission attributed to the Company, its Subsidiaries or affiliates, or their respective employees, agents or other persons acting or allegedly acting on their behalf.

19.
Any claim or demand made directly or indirectly in connection with complete or partial failure, by the Company or any Subsidiary or affiliate thereof, or their respective directors, officers and employees, to pay, report, keep applicable records or otherwise, of any foreign, federal, state, country, local, municipal or city taxes or other compulsory payments of any nature whatsoever, including without limitation, income, sales, use, transfer, excise, value added, registration, severance, stamp, occupation, customs, duties, real property, personal property, capital stock, social security, unemployment, disability, payroll or employee withholding or other withholding, including any interest, penalty or addition thereto, whether disputed or not.

20.
Any claim or demand made by purchasers, holders, lessors or other users of products or assets of the Company, or individuals treated with such products, for damages or losses related to such use or treatment, and actions in connection with the testing of products developed by the Company and/or its Subsidiaries or in connection with the distribution, sale, license or use of such products.

21.
Any administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, orders, decrees, suits, demands, demand letters, directives, claims, liens, investigations proceedings or notices of noncompliance or violation by any governmental entity or other person alleging potential responsibility or liability (including potential responsibility or liability for costs of enforcement, investigation, cleanup, governmental response, removal or remediation, for natural resources damages, property damage, personal injuries, or penalties or contribution, indemnification, cost recovery, compensation, or injunctive relief) arising out of, based on or related to (a) the presence of, release spill, emission, leaking, dumping, pouring, deposit, disposal , discharge, leaching or migration into the environment (each a "Release") or threatened Release of, or exposure to, any hazardous, toxic, explosive or radioactive substance, wastes or other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any environmental law, at any location, whether or not owned, operated, leased or managed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or (b) circumstances forming the basis of any violation of any environmental law, environmental permit, license, registration or other authorization required under applicable environmental and/or public health law.

22.
Actions in connection with the Company's development, use, sale, licensing, distribution, marketing or offer of products and/or services.

23.
Resolutions and/or actions relating to a merger of the company and/or of its Subsidiaries and/or affiliates, the issuance of shares or securities exercisable into shares of the Company, changing the share capital of the Company, formation of subsidiaries, reorganization, winding up or sale of all or part of the business, operations or shares the Company.

B-10


24.
Resolutions and/or actions relating to investments in the Company and/or its Subsidiaries and/or affiliated companies and/or the purchase or sale of assets, including the purchase or sale of companies and/or businesses, and/or investments in corporate or other entities and/or investments in traded securities and/or any other form of investment.

25.
Any administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, orders, decrees, suits, demands, demand letters, directives, claims, liens, investigations, proceedings or notices of noncompliance or violation by any governmental entity or other person alleging the failure to comply with any statute, law, ordinance, rule, regulation, order or decree of any of its Subsidiaries and/or affiliates, or any of their respective business operations.

26.
Actions relating to the operations and management of the Company and/or its Subsidiaries.

27.
Actions taken in connection with the approval and execution of financial reports and business reports and the representations made in connection therewith.

28.
Any claim or demand, not covered by any of the categories of events described above, which, pursuant to any applicable law, a director or officer of the Company may be held liable to any government or agency thereof, or any person or entity, in connection with actions taken by such director or officer in such capacity.

B-11


0 14475 MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES, LTD. PROXY FOR THE 2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD MAY 16, 2011 THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The undersigned shareholder of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., an Israeli company, hereby acknowledges receipt of the Notice of 2011 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Statement each dated April 11, 2011 and hereby appoints Eyal Waldman and Michael Gray, as each proxy and attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution, on behalf and in the name of the undersigned to represent the undersigned at the 2011 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. to be held on May 16, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. local Israeli time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) at the offices of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., located at Binyan Hermon, Industrial Area, Yokneam, Israel, and at any postponement or adjournment thereof, and to vote all ordinary shares which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if then and there personally present, on the matters set forth below. This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein. If no such direction is made, this proxy will be voted "FOR" the election of each director nominee, for a duration of "THREE YEARS" on the frequency of an advisory vote and "FOR" the approval of each other proposal set forth on the other side in accordance with the Board of Directors' recommendations. (Continued and to be signed on the reverse side)

 

 

Signature of Shareholder Date: Signature of Shareholder Date: Note: Please sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person. To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above. Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method. 1. Election of Directors (Non-Outside) Eyal Waldman Dov Baharav Glenda Dorchak Irwin Federman Thomas Weatherford 2. To approve (i) an increase in the annual base salary of Eyal Waldman from $375,000 to $410,000, effective April 1, 2011, (ii) the contributions to Israeli severance, pension and education funds of up to an aggregate of 21% of Mr. Waldman's base salary from time to time and (iii) the cash bonus previously paid to Mr. Waldman in the amount of $157,500 for services rendered for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. 3. To approve the grant to Mr. Waldman of 50,000 restricted stock units. 4. To conduct an advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers. 5. To conduct an advisory vote on the frequency of an advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers. 6. To approve an amendment to the amended and restated articles of association of the company to authorize the board of directors to appoint up to the maximum authorized number of directors. 7. To approve an amendment to the amended and restated articles of association of the company to replace the provisions in our existing amended and restated articles of association related to indemnification of our directors and officers in order to conform such provisions to amendments to the Israeli Companies Law and the Israeli Securities Law. 8. To approve an amendment to the indemnification undertaking between the company and each of our directors and officers. 9. To ratify and approve the purchase of liability insurance for directors and officers of the company and its subsidiaries for the period commencing on February 7, 2011 and ending no later than the later of (i) the 2016 annual general meeting and (ii) June 1, 2016, whether as a renewal of the company's existing directors and officers liability insurance policy or policies or the purchase of directors and officers liability insurance from one or more different insurers, subject to the following terms: (a) annual coverage of no more than $75 million in the aggregate, (b) annual premiums of no more than $450,000 in the aggregate and (c) prior to purchasing liability insurance, our audit committee and board of directors will authorize the terms of the proposed policy or policies to comply with these terms. 10. To appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 and to authorize our audit committee to determine our accounting firm's remuneration in accordance with the volume and nature of their services. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES, LTD. May 16, 2011 INTERNET - Access “www.voteproxy.com” and follow the on-screen instructions. Have your proxy card available when you access the web page, and use the Company Number and Account Number shown on your proxy card. TELEPHONE - Call toll-free 1-800-PROXIES (1-800-776-9437) in the United States or 1-718-921-8500 from foreign countries from any touch-tone telephone and follow the instructions. Have your proxy card available when you call and use the Company Number and Account Number shown on your proxy card. Vote online/phone until 11:59 PM EST the day before the meeting. MAIL - Sign, date and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided as soon as possible. IN PERSON - You may vote your shares in person by attending the Annual General Meeting. PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided IF you are not voting via telephone or the Internet. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS, “FOR” PROPOSALS 2 THROUGH 4 AND 6 THROUGH 10 AND "THREE YEARS" ON PROPOSAL 5. PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE x COMPANY NUMBER ACCOUNT NUMBER NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIAL: The Notice of Meeting, proxy statement and proxy card are available at https://www.proxydocs.com/mlnx FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN 2 years 3 years ABSTAIN 1 year