EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this
“Employment Agreement”), dated as of March 1, 2006
(the “Commencement Date”), by and between Chindex
International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
“Company” or “Chindex”), and Roberta Lipson
(“Employee”).
WHEREAS, the Company desires that
Employee enter into this Employment Agreement, and Employee desires
to enter into this Employment Agreement, on the terms and
conditions set forth herein; and
|
|
|
|
|
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Duties; Term.
|
|
|
|
|
(a) The Company agrees to
employ Employee, and Employee agrees to be so employed, in the
position of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the
Company, reporting to the Board of Directors (the
“Board”) of the Company. Employee agrees to perform
such duties, functions and responsibilities as are generally
incident to such position, for a period commencing on March 1,
2006 and ending on December 31, 2013, unless sooner terminated
in accordance with Section 4 hereof (the “Term”).
Employee agrees to faithfully perform the lawful duties assigned to
Employee pursuant to this Employment Agreement to the best of
Employee’s abilities. Employee shall be subject to all laws,
rules, regulations and policies as are from time to time applicable
to employees of the Company and, in the case of rules or policies
adopted by the Company, communicated to Employee in writing.
(b) Notwithstanding the
foregoing, Employee may (i) serve on civic or charitable
boards or not-for-profit industry related organizations,
(ii) engage in charitable, civic, educational, professional,
community and/or industry activities without remuneration therefor
and (ii) manage personal and family investments, so long as
such activities do not interfere with performance of
Employee’s duties under the Employment Agreement. Employee
also may serve on the board of directors or advisory committee of
other for-profit enterprises subject to the consent of the Board,
which shall not unreasonably be withheld; provided ,
however , that Employee shall not serve on more than two
such boards at the same time.
(c) Employee shall devote
substantially all Employee’s working time, attention, best
efforts and ability during regular business hours exclusively to
the service of the Company, its affiliates and its subsidiaries
during the term of this Agreement.
Section 2.
Compensation.
(a) Annual Salary . As
compensation for Employee’s services hereunder, the Company
shall pay to Employee an initial annual salary at the rate of Two
Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars ($220,000) per annum, payable
in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll policies,
and less all applicable federal, state and local withholding taxes
(the “Annual Salary”). The Annual Salary shall be
reviewed by the Company each December during the Term, and shall be
subject to such increases (but not decreases) as the Company may
determine, taking into consideration the Company’s and
Employee’s performance during the preceding year as well as
increases in the cost of living and other factors.
(b) Bonus . The Company
shall also pay Employee annual bonus compensation (“Bonus
Compensation”) based on the success of business operations
and the pre-tax profits of the Company and upon the performance of
the Employee in accordance with the Company’s Executive
Management Incentive Program or other then-existing bonus
program.
(c) Long-term Equity
Incentive Compensation . In addition to stock options
previously granted pursuant to the terms of the Chindex
International, Inc. 1994 Stock Option Plan or the Chindex
International, Inc. 2004 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2004
Plan”) and option agreements thereunder (collectively, the
“Option Agreements”), the Company shall also grant to
Employee unrestricted or restricted stock and/or stock options
under any new plans adopted by the Company and/or other equity
incentive compensation in such form and having such terms as the
Compensation Committee of the Board may determine.
Section 3.
Benefits; Expense Reimbursement.
During the Term, Employee shall
participate in any group life, accident, sickness and
hospitalization insurance, and any other employee benefit plans of
the Company in effect during the Term and generally available to
the Company’s senior executive officers. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, during the Term, the Company will
provide Employee at its expense with a life insurance policy with a
death benefit equal to three (3) times Employee’s Annual
Salary, the beneficiary to be named by Employee. Employee shall
have the right to reimbursement, upon proper accounting, of
reasonable expenses and disbursements incurred by Employee in the
course of Employee’s duties hereunder. In addition, during
each year of the Term, Employee shall be entitled to no less than
five (5) weeks of paid home-leave vacation. In connection with
such home-leave vacation the Company shall reimburse Employee for
round-trip economy-class air fare for Employee, Employee’s
spouse and Employee’s dependent children from Beijing to
Employee’s home in the United States. In addition, in each
year of the Term, Employee shall be reimbursed for the tuition
costs paid by Employee for Employee’s dependent children, if
any, attending primary or secondary schools, provided ,
however , that such reimbursement shall not exceed ninety
thousand dollars ($90,000) per year. Employee shall be entitled to
the use of a Company-owned automobile or an allowance to reimburse
Employee for Employee’s costs associated with the use of a
personal automobile. Employee shall also annually be provided a
housing allowance of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per month in
connection with Employee’s residence outside the United
States.
Employee acknowledges that some or all of these benefits may be
deemed compensation to Employee and that the Company may withhold
from any benefits payable to Employee all federal, state, local
and/or other taxes and amounts as shall be required pursuant to
law, rule or regulation.
Section 4.
Employment Termination.
(a) At any time during the
Term, and except as otherwise provided in Section 4(b) hereof, the
Company shall only have the right to terminate this Employment
Agreement and Employee’s employment with the Company
hereunder, upon written notice to Employee, in the event Employee
engages in conduct which constitutes “Cause.” For
purposes of this Employment Agreement, Cause shall mean (i)
Employee’s willful misconduct in the performance of
Employee’s obligations under this Employment Agreement or
gross negligence in the performance of Employee’s obligations
under this Employment Agreement, (ii) dishonesty or
misappropriation by Employee relating to the Company or any of its
funds, properties, or other assets, (iii) inexcusable repeated
or prolonged absence from work by Employee (other than as a result
of, or in connection with, a disability), (iv) any
unauthorized disclosure by Employee of confidential or proprietary
information of the Company which is reasonably likely to result in
material harm to the Company, (v) a conviction of Employee
(including entry of a guilty or nolo contendere plea) involving
fraud, dishonesty, or moral turpitude, or involving a violation of
federal or state securities laws, or (vi) the failure by
Employee to attempt to perform faithfully Employee’s duties
hereunder, or other material breach by Employee of this Employment
Agreement, and such failure or breach is not cured, to the extent
cure is possible, by Employee within thirty (30) days after
written notice thereof from the Company to Employee;
provided , however , that no event or condition
described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and
(vi) shall constitute Cause unless (x) the Company first
gives Employee written notice of its intention to terminate
Employee’s employment for Cause and the grounds for such
termination no fewer than twenty (20) days prior to the date
of termination; and (y) Employee is provided the opportunity
to appear before the Board, with or without legal representation at
Employee’s election to present arguments on Employee’s
own behalf; provided further, however, that notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Agreement and subject to the other
terms of this proviso, the Company may take any and all actions,
including without limitation suspension (but not without pay), it
deems appropriate with respect to Employee and Employee’s
duties at the Company pending such appearance. No act or failure to
act on Employee’s part will be considered
“willful” unless done, or omitted to be done, by
Employee not in good faith and without reasonable belief that
Employee’s action or omission was in the best interests of
the Company. If this Employment Agreement and Employee’s
employment with the Company hereunder is terminated for Cause, or
if Employee voluntarily resigns (which Employee may do at any time)
from the Company without Good Reason during the Term, the Company
shall pay Employee a lump sum amount within thirty (30) days
of such termination equal to the sum of (A) all earned but
unpaid portions of the Annual Salary, (B) any earned but unpaid
Bonus Compensation for a previously completed fiscal year of the
Company, (C) reimbursement for any unreimbursed business expenses
incurred by Employee prior to the date of termination or
resignation (the “Termination Date”) subject to
reimbursement pursuant to Section 3, (D) payment for any
unused vacation days through the Termination Date, and (E) any
other amounts or benefits (other than severance, termination or
similar pay) required to be paid or provided by law or under any
plan, program or policy of the Company ((A)-(E) collectively, the
“Accrued Amounts”), and following any such termination,
Employee shall not be entitled to receive any other compensation or
benefits from the Company hereunder, including, without limitation,
any portion of the Annual Bonus for the year in which Employee is
terminated.
(b) This Employment Agreement
and Employee’s employment with the Company hereunder may also
be terminated by the Company without Cause, or by Employee upon the
occurrence of an event constituting Good Reason. For purposes of
this Employment Agreement, “Good Reason” shall mean (i)
any reduction in Employee’s authority, functions, duties, or
responsibilities; or (ii) any adverse change in
Employee’s positions, titles or reporting responsibility
(such that Employee reports to a person other than the Board),
provided , however , that the foregoing provision
shall not include a change in Employee’s positions, titles or
reporting responsibility following a Change in Control (as defined
in the 2004 Plan) solely by virtue of the Company being acquired
and made part of a larger entity (as, for example, if Employee is
not appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the
acquiring corporation, but continues to have a substantially
similar level of responsibility over the affairs of the Company
following such Change in Control); or (iii) the assignment of
duties to Employee that are inconsistent with Employee’s
position and status as Chief Executive Officer (CEO); or
(iv) a reduction in the Annual Salary or Employee’s
bonus opportunity during the Term; or (v) the failure of the
Company to cure any other material breach of this Employment
Agreement; or (vi) Employee’s relocation by the Company
or a successor thereto without Employee’s written consent to
a location other than the Company’s current offices in
Beijing, China; provided that in the case of
(i) through (v) above, the Company has failed to cure the
event constituting Good Reason within thirty (30) days
following written notice thereof from Employee. In the event that
Employee’s employment with the Company shall terminate during
the Term on account of termination by the Company without Cause, or
by Employee with Good Reason, then the Company shall pay or provide
to Employee, as Employee’s sole and exclusive remedy
hereunder: (A) the Accrued Amounts, (B) a pro-rata (based
on the number of days employed in the year of termination or
resignation) bonus for the fiscal year in which such termination or
resignation occurs based on the greater of (1) the average of
the Bonus Compensation paid to Employee for the two years
immediately preceding such termination or resignation, and
(2) thirty percent (30%) of the Annual Salary of Employee as
of the last day of the most recently completed fiscal year (a
“Pro-Rated Bonus”), (C) (1) group or individual
health, sickness and hospital insurance substantially similar to
that which Employee was receiving immediately prior to the notice
of termination, which obligation to provide insurance shall
continue until Employee qualifies for Medicare, reaches age 65,
dies, or notifies the Company that such benefit should cease,
whichever occurs earliest, and (2) an annuity policy in an
amount which will, at the time Employee qualifies for Medicare,
provide Employee with a monthly payment that Employee can use to
purchase supplemental health insurance, which annuity policy shall
result in a monthly payment in an amount estimated to be the cost
of standard supplemental insurance, but in no event to exceed five
hundred ($500) per month (collectively, the “Termination
Benefits”), (D) Three hundred percent (300%) of the sum
of (1) the Annual Salary to which Employee would have been
entitled if Employee had continued working for the Company for an
additional twelve (12) month period following the Termination
Date and (2) the bonus paid to Employee for the
Company’s fiscal year immediately prior to the fiscal year in
which the Termination Date occurs, (E) all unvested equity
incentive awards, including without limitation all unvested stock
options and all unvested stock grants, granted to Employee prior to
the Termination Date, shall become immediately vested and
exercisable and Employee shall have a period of ninety
(90) days following the Date of Termination (or such longer
exercise period as may be provided in the respective option grant,
but in no event past the respective expiration term of the option
grant) to exercise all options granted under any of the
Company’s plans then exercisable or which become exercisable
pursuant to this paragraph, and (F) tuition reimbursements and the
housing allowance received by Employee in the fiscal year
immediately prior to the Termination Date, if any, shall be
continued for a period of three years to the extent that Employee
continues to be eligible for such benefits as provided in
Section 3, above. The payments provided for in (A),
(B) and (D) above (the “Termination
Payments”) shall be made to Employee in a lump sum payment
within thirty (30) days following such termination or
resignation; provided that the payments provided for in
(D) shall be contingent upon Employee’s continued
compliance with Sections 5 and 6 hereof (except that Employee
shall not be deemed for purposes of this Section 4(b) not to have
been in compliance with Section 6 solely as a result of an
unintentional disclosure of confidential information) and Employee
shall be obligated to repay all such payments upon determination by
the Board that Employee has failed to comply as such with
Sections 5 or 6 hereof; and provided further that the benefits
continuation provided for in (C) above shall terminate upon
Employee’s becoming eligible for corresponding benefits in
connection with new employment.
(c) In the event that Employee
becomes entitled to one or more payments (with a
“payment” including, without limitation, the vesting of
an option or other non-cash benefit or property, whether pursuant
to the terms of this Employment Agreement or any other plan,
arrangement or agreement with the Company or any affiliated
company) (the “Total Payments”), which are or become
subject to the tax imposed by Section 4999 of the of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) (or any
similar tax that may hereafter be imposed) (the “Excise
Tax”), the Company shall pay to Employee at the time
specified below an additional amount (the “Gross-up
Payment”) (which shall include, without limitation,
reimbursement for any penalties and interest that may accrue in
respect of such Excise Tax) such that the net amount retained by
Employee, after reduction for any Excise Tax (including any
penalties or interest thereon) on the Total Payments and any
federal, state and local income or employment tax and Excise Tax on
the Gross-up Payment provided for by this section 4(c), but before
reduction for any federal, state or local income or employment tax
on the Total Payments, shall be equal to the sum of (a) the
Total Payments, and (b) an amount equal to the product of any
deductions disallowed for federal, state or local income tax
purposes because of the inclusion of the Gross-up Payment in
Employee’s adjusted gross income multiplied by the highest
applicable marginal rate of federal, state or local income
taxation, respectively, for the calendar year in which the Gross-up
Payment is to be made.
(d) For purposes of determining
whether any of the Total Payments will be subject to the Excise Tax
and the amount of such Excise Tax pursuant to subsection
(c) above,
(i) the
Total Payments shall be treated as “parachute payments”
within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code, and all
“excess parachute payments” within the meaning of
Section 280G(b)(1) of the Code shall be treated as subject to
the Excise Tax, unless, and except to the extent that, in the
written opinion of independent compensation consultants or auditors
of nationally recognized standing selected by the Company and
reasonably acceptable to Employee (“Independent
Auditors”), the Total Payments (in whole or in part) do not
constitute parachute payments, or such excess parachute payments
(in whole or in part) represent reasonable compensation for
services actually rendered within the meaning of
Section 280G(b)(4) of the Code in excess of the base amount
within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code or are
otherwise not subject to the Excise Tax,
(ii) the
amount of the Total Payments which shall be treated as subject to
the Excise Tax shall be equal to the lesser of (A) the total
amount of the Total Payments or (B) the amount of excess
parachute payments within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(1) of
the Code (after applying clause (i) above), and
(iii) the
value of any non-cash benefits or any deferred payment or benefit
shall be determined by the Company’s Independent Auditors
appointed pursuant to clause (i) above in accordance with the
principles of Sections 280G(d)(3) and (4) of the
Code.
(e) For purposes of determining
the amount of the Gross-up Payment, Employee shall be deemed
(A) to pay federal income taxes at the highest marginal rate
of federal income taxation for the calendar year in which the
Gross-up Payment is to be made; (B) to pay any applicable
state and local income taxes at the highest marginal rate of
taxation for the calendar year in which the Gross-up Payment is to
be made, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which
could be obtained from deduction of such state and local taxes if
paid in such year (determined without regard to limitations on
deductions based upon the amount of Employee’s adjusted gross
income); and (C) to have otherwise allowable deductions for
federal, state and local income tax purposes at least equal to
those disallowed because of the inclusion of the Gross-up Payment
in Employee’s adjusted gross income. In the event that the
Excise Tax is subsequently determined to be less than the amount
taken into account hereunder at the time the Gross-up Payment is
made, Employee shall repay to the Company at the time that the
amount of such reduction in Excise Tax is finally determined (but,
if previously paid to the taxing authorities, not prior to the time
the amount of such reduction is refunded to Employee or otherwise
realized as a benefit by Employee) the portion of the Gross-up
Payment that would not have been paid if such Excise Tax had been
applied in initially calculating the Gross-up Payment, plus
interest on the amount of such repayment at the rate provided in
Section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code. In the event that the
Excise Tax is determined to exceed the amount taken into account
hereunder at the time the Gross-up Payment is made (including by
reason of any payment the existence or amount of which cannot be
determined at the time of the Gross-up Payment), the Company shall
make an additional Gross-up Payment in respect of such excess (plus
any interest and penalties payable with respect to such excess) at
the time that the amount of such excess is finally determined. The
Gross-up Payment provided for above shall be paid on the thirtieth
day (or such earlier date as the Excise Tax becomes due and payable
to the taxing authorities) after it has been determined that the
Total Payments (or any portion thereof) are subject to the Excise
Tax; provided , however , that if the amount of such
Gross-up Payment or portion thereof cannot be finally determined on
or before such day, the Company shall pay to Employee on such day
an estimate, as determined by the Company’s Independent
Auditors appointed pursuant to clause (i