EXHIBIT 10 (a)
ALBERTO-CULVER
COMPANY
MANAGEMENT INCENTIVE
PLAN
(as amended and restated through
September 21, 2006)
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1.
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Establishment.
Alberto-Culver Company and its
subsidiaries hereby establish the Management Incentive Plan
(“MIP”) for key salaried employees of the Company. The
MIP provides for annual awards to be made to Participants based
upon financial performance and achievement of Individual Bonus
Objectives. This MIP is established as an unfunded, non-qualified
incentive compensation plan intended for the benefit of employees
who are among a select group of management and/or highly
compensated participants. Nothing contained in this MIP and no
action taken pursuant to the provisions of this MIP shall create or
be construed to create a trust of any kind, or a fiduciary
relationship between the Company and the Participant, his
designated beneficiary or any other person. Any funds which may be
invested under the provisions of this MIP shall continue for all
purposes to be a part of the general assets of the Company and no
person other than the Company shall by virtue of the provisions of
this MIP have any interest in such funds. To the extent that any
person acquires a right to receive payments from the Company under
this MIP, such right shall be no greater than the right of any
unsecured general creditor of the Company.
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2.
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Purpose.
The purpose of the MIP is to attract
and retain in the employ of the Company persons possessing
outstanding management skills and competence who will contribute
substantially to the success of the Company. The MIP is intended to
provide incentives to such persons to exert their maximum efforts
on behalf of the Company by rewarding them with additional
compensation when the Company or Profit Center and/or the
Participant have achieved the financial performance and Individual
Business Objectives, respectively, provided for in the
MIP.
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3.
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Effective Date and Performance
Periods. Except for the
amendments made to Sections 8, 11.c and 14.c to comply with
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the
rules and regulations thereunder (the “Code”), which
amendments shall be effective as of January 1, 2005, the
effective date of the amended and restated MIP is
September 21, 2006. The Plan Year shall be the 12
consecutive-month period ending September 30 of each year. The
MIP will continue in effect until and unless terminated by the
Compensation Committee or the Board of Directors.
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4.
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Definitions.
The definition of key terms are as
follows:
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a.
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“Base Salary” means
the base salary, as set by the Company, paid to the Participant
during the Plan Year, exclusive of any amounts payable under bonus
and incentive plans, severance plans, option plans, and any other
benefit or welfare plan of the Company now or hereafter
existing.
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b.
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“Bonus Award
Opportunity” means 200% of Base Salary.
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c.
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“Change in Control”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14.d.1.
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d.
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“Committee” means the
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee of the Board of
Directors of the Company or, if any member of the Compensation
Committee is not (i) an “outside director” within
the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code or (ii) a
“non-employee director” within the meaning of
Section 16 (“Section 16”) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations thereunder
(“Exchange Act”), the Committee shall set up a
subcommittee comprised solely of outside directors and non-employee
directors for purposes of all matters arising under this MIP
involving “officers” within the meaning of Rule
16a-1(f) under Section 16 (“Executive Officer”)
and Covered Employees as defined herein.
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e.
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“Company” means
Alberto-Culver Company or a Subsidiary.
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f.
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“Covered Employee”
means a Participant who is a “covered employee” within
the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code during the Plan Year
at issue.
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g.
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“Employee” means any
person, including an officer or director, who is employed on a
permanent basis by, and receives a regular salary from, the
Company.
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h.
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“Exempt Person” and
“Exempt Persons” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 14.d.2.
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i.
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“Incumbent Board”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14.d.3.
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j.
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“Individual Business
Objectives” means the objectives as set forth in a letter of
recommendation prepared by the Participant and agreed upon by
(i) the Chairman, any Vice Chairman or the Chief Executive
Officer of the Company, (ii) the President of Alberto-Culver
Consumer Products Worldwide or Sally Beauty Company, Inc. or
(iii) the Committee.
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k.
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“Participant” means
any Employee of the Company who has been selected to participate in
the MIP.
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l.
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“Plan Year” shall be
the Company’s fiscal year for financial reporting purposes (
i.e. , the 12 consecutive-month period ended
September 30).
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m.
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“Profit Center” means
a division or Subsidiary of the Company which is responsible for
preparing and submitting annual sales and pre-tax profit (loss)
objectives.
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n.
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“Subsidiary” means
any corporation in which the Company owns (directly or indirectly)
50% or more of the outstanding stock entitled to vote for
directors.
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5.
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Eligibility.
Participation in the MIP is limited
to key salaried Employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries. Each
Plan Year, the Committee shall designate those eligible Employees
who will participate in the MIP during that Plan Year. In the event
an employee who would be
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eligible to participate in the
MIP is hired after the beginning of the Plan Year, the Committee
may, but need not, designate such employee as a Participant for
such Plan Year; provided, however, that no employee shall be
eligible to participate in the MIP for any Plan Year in which he or
she was employed with the Company for less than four months. In the
event a new employee is designated as a Participant, the Committee
shall notify the new Participant of his or her financial
performance award opportunities and his or her Individual Business
Objectives on which any cash award will be based. The Committee
shall make such adjustments to the new Participant’s actual
cash award as the Committee deems necessary or appropriate to take
into account the fact that such Participant was not employed for
the entire Plan Year.
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6.
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Award
Opportunities. Actual
awards can range from 0% to 100% of the Bonus Award Opportunity (a
maximum of 200% of Base Salary or $4.0 million, whichever is less)
based on actual performance compared to the performance objectives
established for the Plan Year. The total Bonus Award Opportunity
will relate to the financial performance of the Company, one or
more Profit Centers, or Individual Business Objectives or any
combination thereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
hereinabove set forth in this Section 6 or in Section 8
or 9 of the MIP, but subject in all respects to Sections 7 and 14
of the MIP, any Bonus Award Opportunity and the amount of any
annual award, other than a Change in Control Award (as such term is
defined in Section 14.b of the MIP), payable to any
Participant other than a Covered Employee may be (i) increased
or decreased by up to 35% of such Participant’s Base Salary
as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine based on
such factors and circumstances as the Committee shall deem
appropriate or (ii) decreased by such amount as the Committee,
in its sole discretion, shall determine in the event a Participant
(a) is found to have violated any policy contained in the
applicable Compliance Policy Manual, (b) is placed on
probation at any time during the Plan Year, (c) has engaged in
purposeful diversion, and/or (d) has engaged in activities
intended to enhance current Plan Year awards to the detriment of
future periods (e.g. inadequate marketing expenditures that
artificially increase short-term profits, unnecessary year-end
loading shipments or promotions that build sales for the
short-term, etc.)
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7.
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Maximum Award
Payable. The maximum
award payable under the MIP to a single Participant may not exceed
the lesser of $4.0 million or 200% of such Participant’s Base
Salary per fiscal year of the Company.
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8.
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Financial Performance Award
Opportunities. Each
Participant will be assigned financial performance award
opportunities for the Company and/or the Profit Center for the Plan
Year no later than the 90 th day of the applicable Plan Year.
Each Participant who is hired after December 1
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of a Plan Year will be
assigned financial performance award opportunities for the Company
and/or the Profit Center for that Plan Year no later than the
30 th day following his first day of
employment. If the Committee fails to timely assign financial
performance award opportunities, a Participant shall not be allowed
to defer payment of his or her award pursuant to an election under
Section 11.c to the extent such deferral would result in
additional taxes under Section 409A of the Code. Financial
performance award opportunities will be based, in whole or in part,
upon one or more of the following: targeted levels of sales,
operating earnings, operating margin, pre-tax earnings, pre-tax
margin, net earnings, earnings per share, return on
stockholders’ equity and, except for Covered Employees, any
other measurements the
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Committee shall deem appropriate.
For purposes of the MIP, “operating earnings” will mean
pre-tax earnings before non-recurring and other unusual items
reported separately in the Company’s income
statement.
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Each Participant will be notified in
writing (“Participant Letter”) of his or her Bonus
Award Opportunity, the Participant’s financial performance
opportunities set for the Company and/or his or her Profit Center,
if applicable, and the portion of his or her Bonus Award
Opportunity allocated to the Participant’s Individual
Business Objectives, if any. The Participant Letter will specify
the percentage of the Bonus Award Opportunity that will be earned
based upon the extent to which such objectives are achieved,
subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 6.
At the end of each Plan Year, the
Committee shall certify the awards that have been attained by each
Participant. Except as otherwise provided in Section 14
hereof, no award may be payable to a Participant prior to such
certification.
The Committee shall have the sole
authority to set all financial performance opportunities and to
modify such financial performance opportunities during the Plan
Year as deemed appropriate; provided, however, that the Committee
may not modify the performance objectives during a Plan Year to
increase the award payable to a Covered Employee.
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9.
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Individual Business
Objectives. Except for
Covered Employees, the Committee, at its sole discretion, may
allocate a portion of a Participant’s Bonus Award Opportunity
for the Plan Year to the Participant’s Individual Business
Objectives. Subject to Section 7, awards for the achievement
of these objectives can range from 0% to 150% of the Bonus Award
Opportunity assigned thereto. The Committee shall determine the
actual level of performance achieved by Participants for their
Individual Business Objectives.
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10 .
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Administration—Powers
and Duties of the Committee.
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a.
Administration. The Committee shall be responsible for the
administration of the MIP. The Committee, by majority action, is
authorized to interpret the MIP, to prescribe, amend, and rescind
rules and regulations relating to the MIP, to provide for
conditions and assurances deemed necessary or advisable to protect
the interest of the Company and to make all other determinations
necessary or advisable for the administration of the MIP.
Determinations by the Committee under the MIP need not be uniform
and may be made by it selectively among Participants, whether or
not such persons are similarly situated. Determinations,
interpretations, or other actions made or taken by the Committee
pursuant to the provisions of the MIP shall be final and binding
and conclusive for all purposes and upon all persons whomsoever. No
member of the Committee shall be liable for any action or
determination made in good faith with respect to the MIP or any
annual award made hereunder.
b.
Amendment, Modification, and Termination of MIP. The Board
of Directors or the Committee may at any time terminate, and from
time to time may amend or modify the MIP, except that no amendment
by the Committee or the Board of Directors shall increase the
amount of an annual award payable to a Covered Employee for
performance achieved during the Plan
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Year of such amendment or any
previous Plan Year or allow a member of the Committee to be a
Participant. Termination of the MIP shall not be effective with
respect to the Plan Year in which it occurs.
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11.
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Payment of Annual
Award.
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a.
Payment of Award. The Company shall
pay the annual award to the Participant after the award has been
determined and certified by the Committee, but no later than
December 15th of each year.
b.
C
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