Exhibit 10.7
EMPLOYMENT AND SEVERANCE
AGREEMENT
AS AMENDED AND RESTATED
This Employment
and Severance Agreement (the “Agreement”), originally
effective as of the 5th day of August, 2005, is amended and
restated this by and between AGCO CORPORATION, a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”), and Hubertus
Mühlhäuser (the “Executive”). This Agreement
amends, restates and supersedes the Employment and Severance
Agreement between the Company and the Executive effective as of the
5 th
day of August, 2005 and any
subsequent amendments or restatements thereto.
In consideration
of the mutual covenants and agreements hereinafter set forth, the
Company and the Executive do hereby agree as follows:
(a) The
Company hereby employs the Executive, and the Executive hereby
agrees to serve the Company, upon the terms and conditions set
forth in this Agreement.
(b) The
employment term commenced on September 1, 2005, and shall
continue in effect until terminated in accordance with
Section 5 or any other provision of the Agreement.
The Executive
shall serve as a Senior Vice President of the Company and shall
perform such duties and responsibilities as may from time to time
be prescribed by the Company’s board of directors (the
“Board”), provided that such duties and
responsibilities are consistent with the Executive’s
position. The Executive shall perform and discharge faithfully,
diligently and to the best of his ability such duties and
responsibilities and shall devote all of his working time and
efforts to the business and affairs of the Company and its
affiliates. During the two (2) years following a Change in
Control (as defined herein), the Executive’s position
(including offices, titles and reporting requirements), duties, and
responsibilities shall not be reduced, and the Executive shall not
be required to work at a location other than the location at which
the Executive was based at the time of the Change in
Control.
(a) BASE
SALARY. The Company shall pay to the Executive an annual base
salary (“Base Salary”) of Five Hundred and Eleven
Thousand Four Hundred Swiss Francs (CHF 511,400) (no adjustments
will be made in the future for any movement in exchange rates)
subject to Section 5 hereof and subject to applicable tax and
payroll deductions. The Company shall consider increases in the
Executive’s Base Salary annually, and any such increase in
salary implemented by the Company shall become the
Executive’s Base Salary for purposes of this Agreement. The
Base Salary and annual bonus will be paid through a Swiss payroll
provider in Swiss francs.
(b) INCENTIVE
COMPENSATION. Provided Executive has duly performed his obligations
pursuant to this Agreement, the Executive shall be entitled to an
annual bonus to be paid upon the Executive achieving pre-agreed
targets that will be annually reviewed and participate in the
Long-Term Incentive Plan that is implemented by the
Company.
(c) PENSION.
The Company will contribute 50 percent of the cost of
providing retirement benefits in Switzerland. Pension contributions
will be calculated on Base Salary only, not other remuneration,
e.g., incentive compensation. The Company will make the required
contributions, if any, to the Swiss social security system. The
Executive is responsible for the employee portion of both pension
contributions and the social securities system.
(d) HEALTH
INSURANCE. The Company will provide a health insurance and related
benefits consistent generally with current practices, subject to
adjustment to the extent that similar benefits for similarly
situated executives are adjusted. .
(e) OTHER
BENEFITS. The Company will pay for sickness and accident insurance
in Switzerland consistent generally with current practices, subject
to adjustment to the extent that similar benefits for similarly
situated executives are adjusted.
(f) FRINGE
BENEFITS. The Company shall pay or reimburse the Executive promptly
for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by him in
connection with his duties hereunder, upon submission by the
Executive to the Company of such written evidence of such expenses
as the Company may reasonably require. Throughout the term of this
Agreement, the Company will provide the Executive with the use of a
vehicle for purposes within the scope of his employment and shall
pay, or reimburse the Executive for, all expenses for fuel,
maintenance and insurance in connection with such use of the
automobile. Executive shall also be entitled to use the vehicle for
private purposes. In no event will any such reimbursements or
payments under this Subsection 3(f) be made, if at all, later than
the last day of the Executive’s taxable year next following
the Executive’s taxable year in which the Executive incurs
the expense. The Company further agrees that the Executive shall be
entitled to four (4) weeks of vacation in any year of the term
of employment hereunder, subject to the terms of the
Company’s vacation policy.
(g) MODIFICATION
OF BENEFITS. Without by implication limiting the foregoing, during
the two (2) years following a Change in Control, the
Executive’s compensation, including Base Salary, incentive
compensation opportunity, pension, benefits and fringe benefits
shall not be reduced. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company
shall be entitled to modify the group health benefits provided such
modifications are applicable to all similarly situated management
employees. To the extent that the Company is not able to continue
life, group health or similar benefits as a result of the terms of
the applicable plans or insurance policies, the Company shall pay
the Executive the cost, no less frequently than monthly, that the
Executive must incur to obtain such benefits privately.
(a) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
The Executive acknowledges that as an Executive Officer of the
Company (i) he frequently will be exposed to certain
“Trade Secrets” and “Confidential
Information” of the Company (as those terms are defined in
Subsection 4(b)),
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(ii) his
responsibilities on behalf of the Company will extend to all
geographical areas where the Company is doing business, and
(iii) any competitive activity on his part during the term of
his employment and for a reasonable period thereafter would
necessarily involve his use of the Company’s Trade Secrets
and Confidential Information and, therefore, would unfairly
threaten the Company’s legitimate business interests,
including its substantial investment in the proprietary aspects of
its business and the goodwill associated with its customer base.
Moreover, the Executive acknowledges that, in the event of the
termination of his employment with the Company, he would have
sufficient skills to find alternative, commensurate work in his
field of expertise that would not involve a violation of any of the
provisions of this Section 4. Therefore, the Executive
acknowledges and agrees that it is reasonable for the Company to
require him to abide by the covenants set forth in this
Section 4. The parties acknowledge and agree that if the
nature of the Executive’s responsibilities for or on behalf
of the Company and the geographical areas in which the Executive
must fulfill them materially change, the parties will execute
appropriate amendments to the scope of the covenants in this
Section 4.
(i)
“Business of Company” means designing, manufacturing,
marketing, and distributing agricultural equipment.
(ii)
“Material Contact” as used in the non-solicitation
provision below means personal contact or the supervision of the
efforts of those who have personal contact with an existing or
potential Customer or Vendor in an effort to further or create a
business relationship between the Company and such existing or
potential Customer or Vendor.
(iii)
“Confidential Information” means information about the
Company, its Executives, and Customers which is not generally known
outside of the Company, which the Executive learns of in connection
with the Executive’s employment with the Company, and which
would be useful to competitors of the Company or potentially
harmful to the Company’s reputation. Except where generally
known outside the Company, Confidential Information includes, but
is not limited to: (1) business and employment policies,
marketing methods and the targets of those methods, finances,
business plans, promotional materials and price lists used by the
Company; (2) the terms upon which the Company hires employees
and provides services to its Customers; (3) the nature,
origin, composition and development of the Company’s products
and services; and (4) the manner in which the Company provides
products and services to its Customers.
(iv) “Trade
Secrets” means Confidential Information which meets the
additional requirements of the Georgia Trade Secrets
Act.
(v)
“Territory” means those countries and areas as more
particularly set forth on Exhibit A attached
hereto.
(c) COVENANT
OF CONFIDENTIALITY. During the term of this Agreement, the
Executive agrees only to use and disclose Confidential Information
in connection with his duties hereunder and to otherwise maintain
the secrecy of the same. The Executive agrees that for a period of
five years following the cessation of his employment for any
reason, he shall not directly or indirectly divulge or make use of
any Confidential Information or Trade
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Secrets of the
Company without prior written consent of the Company. The Executive
further agrees that if he is questioned about information subject
to this Agreement by anyone not authorized to receive such
information, he will promptly notify the Chairman of the Board.
This Agreement does not limit the remedies available under common
or statutory law, which may impose longer duties of non-disclosure.
The Executive will immediately notify the Chairman of the Board if
he receives any subpoenas which could require the disclosure of
Confidential Information, so that the Company may take whatever
actions it deems necessary to protect its interests.
(d) COVENANT
OF NON-COMPETITION. The Executive agrees that while employed by the
Company and for a period of twelve (12) months following the
cessation of his employment for any reason, he will not compete
with the Business of Company by performing services of the same or
similar type as those he performed for the Company as an employee,
contractor, consultant, officer, director or agent for any person
or entity engaged in the Business of Company. Likewise, the
Executive will not perform activities of the type which in the
ordinary course of business would involve the utilization of
Confidential Information or Trade Secrets protected from disclosure
by Section 4 (c) of this Agreement. This paragraph restricts
competition only within the Territory.
(e) COVENANT
OF NON-SOLICITATION. The Executive agrees that while employed by
the Company and for a period of twelve (12) months following
the cessation of his employment for any reason, he will not
directly or indirectly solicit or attempt to solicit any business
in competition with the Business of Company from any of the
Customers with whom the Executive had Material Contact within the
last 18 months of his employment with the Company. The
Executive further agrees that for a period of twelve
(12) months following the cessation of his employment, he will
not directly or indirectly solicit or attempt to solicit any
Vendors of the Company with whom he had Material Contact during the
last 18 months of his employment with the Company to provide
services to any person or entity which competes with the Business
of Company.
(f) COVENANT
OF NON-RECRUITMENT. The Executive agrees that while employed by the
Company and for a period of twelve (12) months following the
cessation of his employment for any reason, he will not directly or
indirectly solicit or attempt to solicit any other employee of the
Company for the purpose of encouraging, enticing, or causing said
employee to voluntarily terminate employment with the
Company.
(g) COVENANT
TO RETURN PROPERTY AND INFORMATION. The Executive agrees to return
all of the Company’s property within seven (7) days
following the cessation of his employment for any reason. Such
property includes, but is not limited to, the original and any copy
(regardless of the manner in which it is recorded) of all
information provided by the Company to the Executive, or which the
Executive has developed or collected in the scope of his employment
with the Company, as well as all Company-issued equipment,
supplies, accessories, vehicles, keys, instruments, tools, devices,
computers, cell phones, pagers, materials, documents, plans,
records, notebooks, drawings, or papers.
(h) ASSIGNMENT
OF WORK PRODUCT AND INVENTIONS. The Executive hereby assigns and
grants to the Company (and will upon request take any actions
needed to formally assign and grant to the Company and/or obtain
patents, trademark registrations or copyrights belonging to the
Company) the sole and exclusive ownership of any
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and all
inventions, information, reports, computer software or programs,
writings, technical information or work product collected or
developed by the Executive, alone or with others, during the term
of the Executive’s employment. This duty applies whether or
not the forgoing inventions or information are made or prepared in
the course of employment with the Company, so long as such
inventions or information relate to the Business of Company and
have been developed in whole or in part during the term of the
Executive’s employment. The Executive agrees to advise the
Company in writing of each invention that Executive, alone or with
others, makes or conceives during the term of Executive’s
employment. Inventions which the Executive developed before the
Executive came to work for the Company, if any, are as
follows:
(i) REMEDIES
FOR VIOLATION OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS. The Executive acknowledges
that the Company would suffer irreparable harm if the Executive
fails to comply with the foregoing, and that the Company would be
entitled to any appropriate relief, including money damages,
injunctive and other equitable relief and attorneys’ fees.
The Executive agrees that the pendency of any claim whatsoever
against the Company shall not constitute a defense to the
enforcement of this Noncompetition Agreement by the
Company.
(j) SEVERABILITY.
In the event that any one or more of the provisions of these
restrictive covenants shall be held to be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the
remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired
thereby. Moreover, if any one or more of the provisions contained
in these restrictive covenants shall be held to be excessively
broad as to duration, activity or subject, the parties authorize
the Court in which such action is pending to modify said covenants
and enforce them to the extent that the Court deems
reasonable.
(a) DEATH.
This Agreement shall terminate upon the death of the Executive,
provided, however, that for purposes of the payment of Base Salary
to the Executive, the death of the Executive shall be deemed to
have occurred ninety (90) days from the last day of the month
in which the death of the Executive shall have occurred.
(b) DISABILITY.
Executive’s employment and all obligations of the Company
hereunder shall terminate upon a finding that the Executive is
disabled under the Company’s group long term disability
plan.
(c) CAUSE.
The Company may terminate the Executive’s employment
hereunder for Cause by giving written Notice of Termination to the
Executive. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Compa
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