AMENDED AND RESTATED EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN CHRISTOPHER & BANKS CORPORATION AND MONICA DAHLEmployee Retention Agreement |
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EXHIBIT 10.3
AMENDED AND RESTATED EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
CHRISTOPHER & BANKS CORPORATION
AND
MONICA DAHL
THIS AGREEMENT is effective as of July 31, 2008, by and between Christopher & Banks Corporation, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the Corporation) and Monica Dahl (Executive).
PREAMBLE
Executive is an employee of the Corporation, and the parties previously executed an Executive Employment Agreement dated August 6, 2006. This Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement (Agreement) supersedes and replaces that prior agreement. The parties have agreed to execute this Agreement containing the following terms and conditions:
ARTICLE 1
EMPLOYMENT
1.1
The Corporation agrees to employ Executive, and Executive agrees to be employed
by the Corporation, as Senior Vice President, Planning & Allocation
and e-Commerce. Executive agrees to perform such other duties which may
be assigned to her from time to time by the Corporations Chief Executive
Officer, the Corporations Board of Directors or the person to whom she reports
per the provisions of Section 3.1.
ARTICLE 2
TERM
2.1
The term of this Agreement shall be the period commencing on July 31, 2008
and ending on February 28, 2010, unless sooner terminated as hereinafter
provided in Article 12; provided, however, Executive is and shall remain
an at-will employee. The term of this Agreement will expire on
February 28, 2010, if it has not earlier been terminated, without any
further action required by either party hereto at that time.
ARTICLE 3
DUTIES
3.1
Executive agrees to devote her full time and effort, to the best of her
ability, to carry out her duties as Senior Vice President, Planning &
Allocation and e-Commerce for the profit, benefit and advantage of the business
of the Corporation and its related entities (the Company). Executive
shall continue to report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the
Corporation until February 28, 2009; she shall report thereafter to either
(i) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation or (ii) such other
executive as is designated by the Chief Executive Officer.
ARTICLE 4
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
4.1
Executives annual base salary hereunder will initially be $375,000.
Effective March 1, 2009, Executives annual base salary shall be adjusted
to $325,000. Effective June 1, 2009, Executives annual base salary
shall be adjusted to $250,000. Executive will thereafter be eligible for
potential increases to her annual base salary based on her performance and the
Corporations salary guidelines, and such other factors as are deemed relevant
by the Chief Executive Officer and/or the Compensation Committee of the
Corporations Board of Directors
(Compensation Committee). Executives base salary
shall be payable at the same intervals as the Corporation pays other
executives.
4.2
As long as she remains employed hereunder, Executive shall be eligible for
potential equity awards in accordance with the guidelines and parameters that are
used in the normal course of business by the Compensation Committee.
4.3
Executive shall continue to be eligible to receive annual bonuses in accordance
with the Corporations senior executive incentive plan as in effect and
approved by the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee from time to time.
4.4
Subject to the terms and conditions of such plans and programs, Executive shall
be entitled to participate in the various other employee benefit plans and
programs applicable to senior executives of the Corporation including, but not
limited to, medical, life and other benefits.
4.5
The Corporation shall continue to pay to Executive a car allowance of $1,000
per month through the earlier of (a) February 28, 2009, or
(b) the termination of her employment.
4.6
Executive shall be entitled, during each full calendar year in which this
Agreement remains in effect, to twenty-three (23) days of paid time off (PTO),
and a pro rata portion thereof for any partial calendar year of
employment. Except as expressly provided in the Corporations PTO policy,
any PTO not used during any such calendar year may not be carried forward to
any succeeding calendar year and shall be forfeited. Employee shall not
be entitled to receive any payment in cash for PTO remaining unused at the end
of any year. At separation from employment, the Corporation will pay
Executive for any unused PTO in the year of such separation, pro rated from
January 1 of the year of separation through Executives last day of
employment to the extent consistent with the terms of the Corporations PTO
policy. As of the effective date of this Agreement, Executive had 122.50
hours of PTO available for the remainder of 2008.
ARTICLE 5
INSURANCE
5.1
The Corporation, at its own expense, shall continue to provide life insurance
coverage on Executives life through the earlier of (a) February 28,
2009, or (b) the termination of her employment. The death benefit
shall be in the amount of $1,000,000; $500,000 in the form of whole life
insurance and $500,000 in the form of term life insurance. The Executive
will be the owner of both policies, and the death benefit shall be payable to a
beneficiary designated solely by Executive. The Corporation shall have
the right at its own expense and for its own benefit to purchase additional
insurance on Executives life, and Executive shall cooperate by providing
necessary information, submitting to required medical examinations, and
otherwise complying with the insurance carriers requirements.
5.2
Executive shall be entitled to disability insurance in line with the present
policy of the Corporation, to be provided at the expense of the Corporation.
ARTICLE 6
DEFINITIONS
6.1
Cause shall mean (i) any fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement by
Executive in connection with the business of the Company, (ii) any
conviction of a felony or a gross misdemeanor by Executive, (iii) any
gross neglect or persistent neglect by Executive to perform the duties assigned
to her hereunder or any other act that can be reasonably expected to cause
substantial economic or reputational injury to the Company or (iv) any
material breach of Articles 7 or 8 of this Agreement, provided that the
existence of such neglect or material breach shall be determined by a majority
of the directors and their determination shall be set forth in writing and
attested to by each concurring director. Provided further that in connection
with an event described in Section 6.1 (iii) above, Executive shall
first have received a written notice from the Corporation which sets forth in
reasonable detail the manner in which Executive has grossly or persistently
neglected her duties, and Executive shall have a period of ten
2
(10) days to cure the same, but the Corporation shall
neither be required to give written notice of, nor shall Executive have a
period to cure, the same or any similar gross or persistent neglect or material
breach which the Corporation has previously given written notice to Executive
hereunder and Executive has cured such neglect or breach.
6.2
A Change of Control shall be deemed to have occurred if (i) there shall
be consummated (A) any consolidation or merger in which the Corporation is
not the continuing or surviving corporation or pursuant to which shares of the
Corporations common stock would be converted into cash, securities or other
property, other than a consolidation or a merger having the same proportionate
ownership of common stock of the surviving corporation immediately after the
consolidation or merger or (B) any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer
(in one transaction or a series of related transactions other than in the
ordinary course of business of the Corporation) of all, or substantially all,
of the assets of the Corporation to any corporation, person or other entity
which is not a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Corporation,
or (ii) any person, group, corporation or other entity (collectively,
Persons) shall acquire beneficial ownership (as determined pursuant to
Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) of 50% or more of the
Corporations outstanding common stock. In all cases, the determination
of whether a Change of Control has occurred shall be made in accordance with
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code),
and the regulations, notices and other guidance of general applicability issued
thereunder.
6.3
Confidential Information means any information that is not generally known,
including trade secrets, outside the Company and that is proprietary to the
Company, relating to any phase of the Companys existing or reasonably
foreseeable business which is disclosed to Executive during Executives
employment by the Company including information conceived, discovered or
developed by Executive. Confidential Information includes, but is not
limited to, business plans; financial statements and projections; operating
forms (including contracts) and procedures; payroll and personnel records;
marketing materials and plans; proposals; supplier information; customer
information; software codes and computer programs; customer lists; project
lists; project files; training manuals; policies and procedures manuals; health
and safety manuals; target lists for new stores and information relating to
potential new store locations; price information and cost information;
administrative techniques or documents or information that is designated by the
Company as Confidential or similarly designated.
6.4
A Competitor means any person or organization (1) which is a womens
specialty apparel store retailer whose operations on the date of termination of
Executives employment compete with twenty percent (20%) or more of the
Companys Christopher & Banks, CJ Banks or Acorn store operations,
including, but not limited to, The Cato Corporation, Talbots, Inc.,
Chicos FAS, Inc., Coldwater Creek, Inc., The Limited, Inc.,
Dress Barn Inc. United Retail Group, Inc., Charming
Shoppes, Inc., New York and Company, Bebe, Charlotte Russe and Ann Taylor;
and (2) the following department stores and large box retailers:
Kohls department stores, Target, J.C. Penney and Sears. Competitor
shall also include all divisions, subsidiaries, and affiliates of the stores
identified in this Section 6.4.
6.5
Good Reason shall mean a good faith determination by Executive, in
Executives sole and absolute judgment, that any one or more of the following
events has occurred, at any time during the term of this Agreement or after a
Change of Control; provided, however, that such event shall not constitute
Good Reason if Executive has expressly consented to such event in writing or
if Executive fails to provide written notice of his/her decision to terminate
within sixty (60) days of the occurrence of such event:
(i)
A material change in Executives reporting responsibilities, titles or offices,
or any removal of Executive from or any failure to re-elect Executive to any of
such positions, which has the effect of materially diminishing Executives responsibility
or authority;
(ii)
A requirement imposed by the Corporation on Executive that results in Executive
being based at a location that is outside of a twenty-five (25) mile radius of
Executives prior job location;
(iii)
Any material breach by the Corporation of this Agreement between Executive and
the Corporation.
3
ARTICLE 7
NONCOMPETITION AND NONSOLICITATION
7.1 During Executives employment, Executive will not plan, organize or engage in any business competitive with any product or






