Exhibit 10.18
AMENDED AND RESTATED EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT
This Amended And Restated Employment
Agreement (the “ Agreement ”)
is made and entered into effective as of October 12, 2009 (the
“Effective Date”), by and between PURE
Bioscience , a
California corporation (the “ Company ”),
and Michael L.
Krall , (the “ Executive
”). The Company and the Executive are hereinafter
collectively referred to as the “ Parties
”, and individually referred to as a “
Party ”. This Agreement shall
replace and supersede that certain Employment Agreement between the
Executive and the Company entered into effective as of April 17,
1996 (the “ Prior Agreement
”).
Recitals
A. The
Company desires assurance of the continued association and services
of the Executive in order to retain the Executive’s
experience, skills, abilities, background and knowledge, and is
willing to engage the Executive’s services on the terms and
conditions set forth in this Agreement.
B. The
Executive desires to continue to be in the employ of the Company,
and is willing to accept such continued employment on the terms and
conditions set forth in this Agreement.
C. The
Company and the Executive desire to amend and restate the Prior
Agreement in its entirety as set forth herein, effective as of the
date set forth above, to, among other things, provide for severance
benefits payable to the Executive upon certain qualifying
terminations and reflect the application of Section 409A of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “
Code ”) to the severance benefits that may be
provided to the Executive.
Agreement
In consideration of the foregoing Recitals and
the mutual promises and covenants herein contained, and for other
good and valuable consideration, the Parties, intending to be
legally bound, agree as follows:
1.1
Term. The
Company hereby employs the Executive, and the Executive hereby
accepts employment by the Company, upon the terms and conditions
set forth in this Agreement, until the termination of the
Executive’s employment in accordance with Section 4 below, as
applicable (the “ Term ”). The
Executive shall be employed at will, meaning that either the
Company or the Executive may terminate this agreement and the
Executive’s employment at anytime, for any reason or no
reason, with or without cause, without liability to the other save
for wages earned through the effective date of termination and
severance compensation and benefits provided in Section 4, as
applicable.
1.2
Title. The Executive shall have the title
of President and Chief Executive Officer (“ CEO
”) of the Company and shall serve in such other capacity or
capacities as the Board of Directors of the Company (the “
Board ”) may from time to time prescribe with
the Executive’s consent.
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1.3
Duties . The Executive shall do and perform
all services, acts or things necessary or advisable to manage and
conduct the business of the Company and which are normally
associated with the position of CEO, consistent with the bylaws of
the Company and as required by the Board. During the
Term, the Executive shall report solely to the
Board. The Executive has been previously appointed as
member of the Board and its Chairman to serve until the
Company’s next annual stockholders’ meeting.
1.4
Policies and
Practices. The employment relationship between
the Parties shall be governed by the policies and practices
established from time to time by the Company and the
Board.
1.5
Location. Unless the Parties otherwise agree
in writing, during the term of this Agreement, the Executive shall
perform the services the Executive is required to perform pursuant
to this Agreement at the Company’s offices, located in El
Cajon, California, or, with the consent of the Company and the
Executive, at any other place at which the Company maintains an
office; provided, however, that the Company may from time to time
require the Executive to travel temporarily to other locations in
connection with the Company’s business.
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2.
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Loyal And Conscientious
Performance; Noncompetition.
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2.1
Loyalty. During the Executive’s
employment by the Company, the Executive shall devote the
Executive’s full business energies, interest, abilities and
productive time to the proper and efficient performance of the
Executive’s duties under this
Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Executive
may engage in personal, investment, civic, and charitable
activities to the extent they do not unreasonably interfere with
the Executive’s performance of his duties under this
Agreement or violate paragraphs 2.2 or 2.3 of this
Agreement.
2.2
Covenant not to
Compete. Except with the prior written
consent of the Board, the Executive will not, during the
Term of this Agreement, engage in competition with the Company
and/or any of its Affiliates, either directly or indirectly, in any
manner or capacity, as adviser, principal, agent, affiliate,
promoter, partner, officer, director, employee, stockholder, owner,
co-owner, consultant, or member of any association or otherwise, in
any phase of the business of developing, manufacturing and
marketing of products or services which are in the same field of
use or which otherwise compete with the products or services or
proposed products or services of the Company and/or any of its
Affiliates. For purposes of this Agreement, “
Affiliate ” means, with respect to any specific
entity, any other entity that, directly or indirectly, through one
or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under
common control with such specified entity. Ownership by
the Executive, as a passive investment, of less than two percent
(2%) of the outstanding shares of a capital stock of any
corporation with one or more classes of its capital stock listed on
a national or foreign securities exchange or publicly traded on the
Nasdaq Stock Market or in the over-the-counter market shall not
constitute a breach of this paragraph.
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2.3
Agreement not to Participate in
Company’s Competitors. During the Term, the Executive
agrees not to acquire, assume or participate in, directly or
indirectly, any position, investment or interest known by the
Executive to be adverse or antagonistic to the Company, its
business or prospects, financial or otherwise or in any company,
person or entity that is, directly or indirectly, in competition
with the business of the Company or any of its
Affiliates. Ownership by the Executive, as a passive
investment, of less than two percent (2%) of the outstanding shares
of capital stock of any corporation with one or more classes of its
capital stock listed on a national or foreign securities exchange
or publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market or in the
over-the-counter market shall not constitute a breach of this
paragraph.
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3.
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compensation Of The
Executive.
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3.1
Base Salary.
The Company shall pay
the Executive a base salary of Three Hundred Thousand dollars
($300,000) per year, less payroll deductions and all required
withholdings payable in regular periodic payments in accordance
with Company policy (the “ Base Salary
”). Such Base Salary shall be prorated for any
partial year of employment on the basis of a 365 day fiscal
year. The Board, or its Compensation Committee will
review the Executive’s rate of Base Salary on an annual basis
and may, in its sole discretion, increase (but not decrease) the
rate then in effect.
3.2
Annual Discretionary
Bonus. In
addition to the Executive’s Base Salary, the Executive will
be eligible to receive an annual incentive bonus for each fiscal
year. The Executive’s initial target annual
incentive bonus for each fiscal year during the Term shall be 50%
of the annual Base Salary amount, subject to any discretionary
increase or decrease in such amount by the Board or its
Compensation Committee. The incentive bonus amount the Executive
will actually receive, if any, shall be determined in the sole
discretion of the Compensation Committee of the Board by evaluating
the Executive’s and the Company’s performance against
milestones and targets established by the Compensation Committee in
consultation with the Executive. Any annual incentive
bonus shall be paid to the Executive no later than the fifteenth
day of the third month following the fiscal year for which such
bonus was earned.
3.3
Reductions to
Compensation. The Executive’s compensation
may be reduced only by mutual agreement of the Executive and the
Company.
3.4
Employment Taxes.
All of the
Executive’s compensation shall be subject to customary
withholding taxes and any other employment taxes as are commonly
required to be collected or withheld by the Company.
3.5
Benefits. The Executive shall, in accordance
with Company policy and the terms of the applicable plan documents,
be eligible to participate in benefits under any executive benefit
plan or arrangement that may be in effect from time to time and is
made generally available to the Company’s executive or key
management employees, including but not limited to paid vacation
and medical insurance, provided that, the Executive shall receive
not less than four (4) weeks paid vacation per year.
3.6
Stock Awards.
The Company may grant
the Executive stock awards at such times and on such terms as may
be decided from time to time by the Board or its Compensation
Committee, in its sole discretion. Notwithstanding any
contrary provisions of the Executive’s previously granted
stock options, in connection with any termination of the
Executive’s employment for any reason other than for Cause
(as defined in Section 4.3(b) below), the Executive shall have a
period of not less than one hundred twenty (120) days following
such termination to exercise the Executive’s then outstanding
stock options, but in no event beyond the maximum permitted
expiration date ( e.g. , expiration of the five (5) year
term) of such stock options.
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3.7
Legal
Expenses. The
Company will directly pay Cooley Godward Kronish LLP all legal fees
incurred by the Executive in connection with the preparation and
negotiation of this Agreement.
3.8
Deferred Compensation
Plan. At the
Executive’s election, the Company shall, subject to the
approval of the Compensation Committee of the Board, at its expense
establish a non-qualified deferred compensation plan that permits
the Executive to elect to defer taxation on his Base Salary and
bonus payments and any stock unit awards that may be granted by the
Company to the Executive (the “ Deferred Compensation
Plan ”). Any such Deferred Compensation
Plan shall be established in accordance with the requirements of
Section 409A of the Code, subject to the approval of the
Compensation Committee of the Board, may permit other highly
compensated senior executives of the Company to
participate.
(a)
Ordinary Business
Expenses. The
Executive is authorized to incur reasonable expenses in the conduct
of the business of the Company, including expenses for meals,
travel, and other similar items. The Company shall
prepay or reimburse the Executive for all such expenses.
(b)
Entertainment and Goodwill
Expenses. The
Executive is authorized to incur reasonable entertainment, goodwill
or other promotional expenses deemed by the Executive to be
necessary or beneficial to the Company. The Company
shall prepay or reimburse the Executive for all such
expenses.
(c)
Expense Prepayment and
Reimbursement Procedures. All prepayments and reimbursements of the
Executive’s expenses pursuant to this Section 3.9 are subject
to the Executive’s provision of invoices, an itemized
accounting or other appropriate documentation evidencing such
expenses no later than six (6) months following the date such
expenses were incurred. Any reimbursement payment shall
be made by the Company as soon as practicable following its receipt
of such documentation, but in no event later than the end of the
Executive’s taxable year following the year in which the
Executive incurred such expenses.
4.1
Termination.
If the Executive’s
employment is terminated (either by the Company or by the
Executive) then the Company shall pay to the Executive or the
Executive’s heirs the Executive’s Base Salary, any
bonus awarded under Section 3.2 not previously paid, and any
accrued and unused vacation benefits, each as earned through the
date of termination at the rate then in effect, less standard
deductions and withholdings, and the Company shall thereafter have
no further obligations to the Executive and/or the
Executive’s heirs under this Agreement, except as expressly
otherwise provided in this Section 4. If the
Executive’s employment terminates due to the
Executive’s death or Complete Disability (as defined below),
the Company shall provide to the Executive (or the
Executive’s beneficiaries, as applicable) the severance
benefits described in Section 4.2.
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4.2
Benefits Upon Termination Without
Cause or for Good Reason. In the event the Executive’s
employment with the Company is terminated by the Company without
Cause (as defined below) or the Executive terminates his employment
for Good Reason (as defined below), then subject to the
Executive’s delivery to the Company of a Release and Waiver
in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A within the
applicable time period set forth therein, but in no event later
than forty-five (45) days following termination of the
Executive’s employment, and permitting such Release and
Waiver to become fully effective in accordance with its terms, (the
date the Executive’s Release becomes fully effective, the
“ Release Effective Date ”), the Company
shall provide the Executive with the following severance benefits
hereunder, as applicable:
(a)
the Executive shall be entitled to
severance pay in the form of a single lump sum payment equal to one
hundred fifty percent (150%) of “Executive’s Annual
Base Compensation Amount” (the “ Cash Severance
Benefits ”). “ Executive’s Annual
Base Compensation Amount ” means the
Executive’s annual Base Salary then in effect. For
purposes of calculating the Executive’s Annual Base
Compensation Amount, the Executive’s Base Salary shall be
calculated based on the rate in effect prior to any material
reduction in Base Salary that would give the Executive the right to
resign for Good Reason, as defined below. Such Cash Severance
Benefits payment shall be subject to standard deductions and
withholdings and paid in accordance with the Company’s
regular payroll policies and practices in the first payroll period
following the Release Effective Date.
(b)
should the Executive elect to
continue group health and dental insurance benefits in accordance
with the provisions of COBRA following the date of termination, the
Company shall pay the full premium for such health and dental
insurance continuation benefits for the Executive and the
Executive’s eligible dependents for a period of eighteen (18)
months after the termination date (the “ Continuation
Period ”). If the Company ceases to
provide group health and dental benefits and the Executive converts
to an individual policy or policies that provide a substantially
similar level of coverage as the Company’s benefit plans did
prior to their termination, the Company shall reimburse the
Executive’s actual premium costs for such continued health
and dental coverage under the individual policy or policies for the
duration of the Continuation Period. If such
reimbursement is not exempt from application of Section 409A of the
Code, such reimbursement shall occur strictly in accordance with
the procedures established under Section 3.9(c).
(c)
notwithstanding any contrary terms
of any stock option grants, any outstanding vested stock options
held by the Executive at the date of such termination shall
continue to be exercisable for a period of up to one hundred twenty
(120) days following such termination, but in no event beyond the
maximum permitted expiration date ( e.g. , expiration of the
five (5) year term) of such stock options.
4.3
Definitions.
For purposes of this
Agreement, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
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(a)
Good Reason.
“ Good
Reason ” for the Executive to terminate the
Executive’s employment hereunder shall mean the occurrence of
any of the following events without the Executive’s consent;
provided however, that any resignation by the Executive due to any
of the following conditions shall only be deemed for Good Reason
if: (i) the Executive gives the Company written notice of the
intent to terminate for Good Reason within ninety (90) days
following the first occurrence of the condition(s) that the
Executive believes constitutes Good Reason, which notice shall
describe such condition(s); (ii) the Company fails to remedy, if
remediable, such condition(s) within thirty (30) days following
receipt of the written notice (the “ Cure
Period ”) of such condition(s) from the Executive;
and (iii) the Executive actually resigns his employment within the
first ninety (90) days after expiration of the Cure
Period.
(i)
a material reduction by the Company
of the Executive’s Base Salary or target bonus percentage as
initially set forth herein or as the same may be increased from
time to time;
(ii)
a material reduction by the Company
of the Executive’s authority, duties or
responsibilities;
(iii)
the material relocation of the
Company’s offices that requires an increase in the
Executive’s one-way driving distance by more than fifty (50)
miles;
(iv)
a requirement that the Executive
report to a corporate officer or employee instead of reporting
directly to the Board;
(v)
a material breach of this
Agreement by the Company; or
(vi)
a material diminution in the budget
over which the Executive retains authority (unless such diminution
relates to a spin-off, spinout, reorganization, sale of assets or
other similar transaction).
(b)
Cause. “ Cause ”
shall mean that one or more of the following has
occurred:
(i)
the Executive has been convicted of
a felony crime involving fraud, dishonesty or violence (under the
laws of the United States or any relevant state, in the
circumstances, thereof);
(ii)
the Executive has intentionally and
willfully engaged in material acts of fraud, dishonesty or gross
misconduct that have a material adverse effect on the Company,
unless the Executive believed in good faith that such acts were in
the best interests of the Company;
(iii)
the Executive intentionally and
willfully refuses to perform his duties under this Agreement after
there has been delivered to the Executive a written demand for
performance from the Company which describes the basis for the
Company’s belief that the Executive has violated his
obligation to perform his duties to the Company; or
(iv)
any intentional material breach by
the Executive of the Employee Proprietary Information and
Inventions Agreement referred to in Section 8.1, any provision of
Section 8.2 of this Agreement, or any other confidentiality
agreement he is a party to with the Company.
(c)
Complete Disability.
“ Complete
Disability ” shall mean the inability of the
Executive to perform the Executive’s duties under this
Agreement because the Executive has become permanently disabled
within the meaning of any policy of disability income insurance
covering employees of the Company then in force. In the
event the Company has no policy of disability income insurance
covering employees of the Company in force when the Executive
becomes disabled, the term Complete Disability shall mean the
inability of the Executive to perform the Executive’s duties
under this Agreement by reason of any incapacity, physical or
mental, which the Board, based upon medical advice or an opinion
provided by a licensed physician acceptable to the Board,
determines to have incapacitated the Executive from satisfactorily
performing the Executive’s usual services for the Company for
a period of at least one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days
during any 12-month period.
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5.
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Change Of Control
Termination Benefits
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5.1
Change of Control
Severance. In
the event that within twelve (12) months following a Change of
Control either: (A) the Executive’s employment with the
Company is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in
Section 4.3), or (B) a condition arises that triggers the
Executive’s right to give notice of resignation for Good
Reason (as defined in Section 4.3), and the Executive actually
terminates his employment for Good Reason within the applicable
time periods thereafter as provided under Section 4.3, in
either case subject to fulfillment of the Release and Waiver
requirements of Section 4.2, the Company shall provide the
Executive with the following severance benefits:
(a)
In addition to the cash severance
payable under Section 4.2(a), the Executive shall be entitled
to severance pay in the form of a single lump sum payment equal to
(A) one hundred percent (100%) of Executive’s Annual Base
Compensation Amount, plus (B) the average annual bonus
actually payable for the last two (2) fiscal years of the
Company (with the target bonus used in lieu of the actual bonus if
less than two (2) years of bonus history are in
existence).
(b)
Notwithstanding any vesting terms of
any stock option grants, the vesting of all outstanding stock
options held by the Executive will automatically accelerate and any
outstanding stock options held by the Executive as of the date of
such termination shall continue to be exercisable for
twelve (12) months (rather than one hundred twenty (120)
days) following such termination, but in no event beyond the
maximum permitted expiration date ( e.g. , expiration of the
five (5) year term) of such stock options.
5.2
Definitions.
For purposes of this
Section 5, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
Change of Control.
“ Change of
Control ” shall mean the occurrence of any of the
following events:
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(i)
the closing of the sale, transfer or
other disposition of all or substantially all of the
Company’s assets or the exclusive license of substantially
all of the intellectual property of the Company material to the
business of the Company resulting in the Company being unable to
continue its business as in effect prior to such license; provided,
however, that a mortgage, pledge or grant of a security interest to
a bona fide lender shall not by itself constitute a Change of
Control;
(ii)
the consummation of a merger or
consolidation of the Company with or into another entity in which
the stockholders of the Company exchange their shares of capital
stock of the Company for cash, stock, property or other
consideration (except one in which the stockholders of the Company
as constituted immediately prior to such transaction continue to
hold after the transaction at least 70% of the voting power of the
capital stock of the Company or the surviving or acquiring entity
or parent entity of the surviving or acquiring entity);
(iii)
the closing of the acquisition, in
one transaction or a series of related transactions by a person or
group of affiliated persons (other than an underwriter of the
Company’s securities), of beneficial ownership of 30% or more
of the outstanding voting stock of the Company;
(iv)
individuals who, on the Effective
Date of this Agreement are members of the Board (the “
Incumbent Board ”) cease for any reason to
constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board;
provided, however, that if the appointment or election (or
nomination for election) of any new Board member was approved or
recommended by a majority vote of the members of the Incumbent
Board then still in office, such new member shall, for purposes of
this Plan, be considered as a member of the Incumbent
Board;
(v)
provided, however, that a
transaction under clauses (ii) or (iii) above shall not constitute
a Change of Control: (A) if its primary purpose is to change the
state of the Company’s incorporation, (B) if its primary
purpose is to create a holding company that will be owned in
substantially the same proportions by the persons who held the
Company’s securities immediately prior to such transaction,
or (C) if it is a bona fide equity financing in which the Company
is the surviving corporation.
6.1
Notwithstanding anything contained
in this Agreement to the contrary, to the extent that any payment
or benefit (within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code to
the Executive or for the Executive’s benefit, paid or payable
or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement or otherwise in connection with, or arising out of, the
Executive’s employment with the Company or a Change of
Control (a “ Payment ” or “
Payments ”), would be subject to the excise tax
imposed under Code Section 4999, or any interest or penalties are
incurred by the Executive with respect to such excise tax (such
excise tax, together with any such interest and penalties, are
hereinafter collectively referred to as the “ Excise
Tax &rdq