Exhibit 10.16
EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT
This Employment
Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into
this 1 st
day of January, 2009, by and between
CICERO INC, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and
John P. Broderick, a resident of the State of New Jersey (the
“Employee”).
In
consideration of the mutual covenants, promises and conditions set
forth in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
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Employment . The Company hereby employs Employee
and Employee hereby accepts such employment upon the terms and
conditions set forth in this Agreement.
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Duties of
Employee . Employee will be based in New
Jersey or North Carolina at the discretion of the
Company. Employee’s title will be Chief Executive
Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and
Corporate Secretary and Employee will report directly to the Board
of Directors of the Company. Employee agrees
to perform and discharge such other duties as may be assigned to
Employee from time to time by the Company to the reasonable
satisfaction of the Board of Directors , and such duties will be
consistent with those duties regularly and customarily assigned by
the Company to the position of Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Financial Officer and Secretary. Employee agrees to
comply with all of the Company's policies, standards and
regulations and to follow the instructions and directives as
promulgated by the Board of Directors of the
Company. Employee will devote Employee's full
professional and business-related time, skills and best efforts to
such duties and will not, during the term of this Agreement, be
engaged (whether or not during normal business hours) in any other
business or professional activity, whether or not such activity is
pursued for gain, profit or other pecuniary advantage, without the
prior written consent of the Board of Directors of the
Company. This Section will not be construed to prevent
Employee from (a) investing personal assets in businesses which do
not compete with the Company in such form or manner that will not
require any services on the part of Employee in the operation or
the affairs of the companies in which such investments are made and
in which Employee's participation is solely that of an investor;
(b) purchasing securities in any corporation whose securities are
listed on a national securities exchange or regularly traded in the
over-the-counter market, provided that Employee at no time owns,
directly or indirectly, in excess of one percent (1%) of the
outstanding stock of any class of any such corporation engaged in a
business competitive with that of the Company; or (c) participating
in conferences, preparing and publishing papers or books, teaching
or joining or participating in any professional associations or
trade group, so long as the Board of Directors of the Company
approves such participation, preparation and publication or
teaching prior to Employee’s engaging therein.
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Term . The term of this Agreement will be
at-will, and can be terminated by either party at any time, with or
without cause, subject to the provisions of Section 4 of this
Agreement.
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Termination
by Company for Cause . The Company may terminate this
Agreement and all of its obligations hereunder immediately,
including the obligation to pay Employee severance, vacation pay or
any further accrued benefits or remuneration, if any of the
following events occur:
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Employee
materially breaches any of the terms or conditions set forth in
this Agreement and fails to cure such breach within ten (10) days
after Employee's receipt from the Company of written notice of such
breach (notwithstanding the foregoing, no cure period shall be
applicable to breaches by Employee of Sections 10 through
14 of this Agreement);
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Employee
commits any other act materially detrimental to the business or
reputation of the Company;
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Employee
engages in dishonest or illegal activities or commits or is
convicted of any crime involving fraud, deceit or moral turpitude;
or
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Employee dies
or becomes mentally or physically incapacitated or disabled so as
to be unable to perform Employee's duties under this Agreement even
with a reasonable accommodation. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, Employee's inability adequately to
perform services under this Agreement for a period of sixty (60)
consecutive days will be conclusive evidence of such mental or
physical incapacity or disability, unless such
inability is pursuant to a mental or physical incapacity
or disability covered by the Family Medical Leave Act, in which
case such sixty (60) day period shall be extended to a one hundred
and twenty (120) day period.
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Termination
by Company Without Cause . The Company may terminate
Employee's employment pursuant to this Agreement for reasons other
than those stated in Section 4(a) upon at least thirty (30) days'
prior written notice to Employee. In the event Employee's
employment with the Company is terminated by the Company without
cause, the Company shall be obligated to pay Employee a lump sum
severance payment equal to twelve (12) months of Employee’s
then base salary payable within thirty (30) days after
the date of termination. In addition, Employee will be
entitled to payment of all unused vacation days at his current
daily rate and any accrued but unpaid salary or earned bonuses. Any
option grants or restricted stock awards made to employee will
immediately vest. The payment to Employee
for all deferred salaries and earned bonuses will be
paid within 30 days by the Company. Other than the severance
payments set forth in this Section 4(b), Employee will be entitled
to receive no further remuneration and will not be entitled to
participate in any Company benefit programs following his
termination by the Company, whether such termination is with or
without cause.
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Termination
by Employee for Cause . In the event of a Change of Control
(as defined below) of the Company that results in either a
substantial reduction or change of title in the Employee’s
job duties related to his position as CFO or CEO, ,or a decrease in
or a failure to provide the compensation or vested benefits under
this Agreement or the Company initiates a substantial reduction or
change of title in the Employee’s job duties related to his
position as CFO, Employee shall have the right to resign his
employment and will be entitled to a lump sum severance payment
equal to twelve (12) months of Employee’s then base salary
payable within thirty (30) days after the date of
termination In addition, Employee will be entitled to
payment of all unused vacation days at his current daily rate and a
lump sum equal to all deferred salaries and earned bonuses. In
addition, all Employee’s then outstanding but unvested stock
options shall vest one hundred percent (100%). Employee
shall have 12 months from the date written notice is given to
Employee about the announcement and closing of a transaction
resulting in a Change in Control of the Company that would result
in a substantial change in the Employee’s job duties or
decrease his compensation or vested benefits under this Agreement
to resign or this Section 4(c) shall not apply. In the
event Employee resigns from the Company for any other reason,
Employee will not be entitled to receive or accrue any further
Company benefits or other remuneration under this Agreement, and
Employee specifically agrees that he will not be entitled to
receive any severance pay.
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For purposes of
this Section 4, a Change in Control shall be deemed to have
occurred if any of the following occur:
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the merger or
consolidation of the Company with or into another unaffiliated
entity, or the merger of another unaffiliated entity into the
Company or another subsidiary thereof with the effect that
immediately after such transaction the stockholders of the Company
immediately prior to such transaction hold less than fifty percent
(50%) of the total voting power of all securities generally
entitled to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees
of the entity surviving such merger or
consolidation. This provision will not apply to any
reorganization and reverse merger between the Company and any
subsidiary (or any other similar entity established for a similar
purpose);
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the sale or
transfer of more than fifty-one percent (51%) of the
Company’s then outstanding voting stock (other than a
restructuring event which results in the continuation of the
Company’s business by an affiliated entity) to unaffiliated
person or group (as such term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended); or
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the adoption by
the stockholders of the Company of a plan relating to the
liquidation or dissolution of the Company.
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5.
Compensation and Benefits .
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Annual
Salary . During the term of this Agreement
and for all services rendered by Employee under this Agreement, the
Company will pay Employee a base salary of One Hundred and
Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($175,000.00) per annum in equal
bi-monthly installments. Employee will also be entitled
to earn a short term incentive compensation as further outlined in
Exhibit D.
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Incentive
Compensation . Employee is eligible for
an annual bonus upon the Company reaching certain pre
tax income levels (after accounting for all bonuses) as
set forth in Exhibit C. Said bonus will be payable after
the annual accounts have been presented to the Compensation
Committee. Exhibit C attached hereto provides the benchmarks
associated with achieving the Incentive Compensation.
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Equity
Awards . Employee is eligible for stock
option grants and restricted stock awards as determined by the
Compensation Committee.
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Vacation. Employee shall be eligible for four
(4) weeks of paid vacat
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