EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This
Employment Agreement (the "Agreement") is made effective as of
October
1, 2007 (the
"Effective Date"),
by and between
Beacon Federal, a federally
chartered savings
association with its
principal office in East Syracuse, New
York (the "Bank") and Ross J. Prossner ("Executive").
WHEREAS, Executive is
serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of
the Bank and the Bank wishes to assure itself of the services of
Executive as an
officer of the Bank for the period provided in this Agreement;
and
WHEREAS, in order to
induce Executive to
remain in the employ of the Bank
and to provide further
incentive for Executive to achieve the
financial and
performance objectives
of the Bank,
the parties desire to enter into this
Agreement.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in
consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained,
and upon the terms and conditions hereinafter provided, the parties
hereby agree
as follows:
1. POSITION AND
RESPONSIBILITIES.
During the term of this Agreement, Executive shall serve as President
and
Chief Executive
Officer of the Bank.
Executive shall be responsible for the
overall management of
the Bank, and shall be responsible for establishing the
business objectives,
policies and strategic
plan of the Bank, in
conjunction
with the Board of Directors of the Bank (the "Board"). Executive also shall be
responsible for
providing leadership and direction to all departments or
divisions of the Bank,
and shall be the primary contact between the Board and
the staff. As Chief
Executive Officer,
Executive shall
directly report to the
Board. Executive
also shall be
nominated as a member of the Board, subject to
election by members or shareholders of the Bank, as the case may be.
Executive
also agrees to serve, if elected, as an officer and director of any
affiliate of
the Bank.
2. TERM AND
DUTIES.
(a)
Three Year Contract; Annual Renewal. The term of Executive's
employment
under this Agreement
shall commence as of the Effective Date and shall continue
thereafter for a period of three (3) years. Commencing on the first
anniversary
date of this Agreement (the "Anniversary Date") and continuing on each
Anniversary Date
thereafter,
the term of this
Agreement shall renew for an
additional year such
that the remaining
term of this Agreement is always three
(3) years, unless
written notice of
non-renewal (a
"Non-Renewal
Notice") is
provided to
Executive at least thirty (30) days and not more than
sixty (60)
days prior to such
Anniversary Date, in
which case the term of this Agreement
shall become
fixed and shall end
three (3) years
following such
Anniversary
Date. The
disinterested members
of the Board of Directors (the "Board") of the
Bank will conduct a performance evaluation and review of Executive
annually for
purposes of
determining
whether to give notice
not to extend the term of this
Agreement, and the
results thereof shall be included in the minutes of the
Board's meeting.
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(b)
Termination of Agreement. Notwithstanding anything contained in this
Agreement to
the contrary, either Executive or the Bank may terminate
Executive's employment
with the Bank at any time during the term of this
Agreement, subject to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.
(c)
Continued Employment
Following Expiration of Term. Nothing in this
Agreement shall
mandate or prohibit a continuation of Executive's employment
following the
expiration
of the term of this
Agreement,
upon such terms
and
conditions as the Bank and Executive may mutually agree.
(d)
Duties; Membership on
Other Boards. During the term of this Agreement,
except for
periods of
absence occasioned by illness, reasonable vacation
periods, and reasonable leaves of absence approved by the Board,
Executive shall
devote substantially all of his business time, attention,
skill, and efforts
to
the faithful
performance of his
duties hereunder,
including activities and
services related to
the organization,
operation and management of the Bank;
provided, however, that, with the prior approval of the Board, as
evidenced by a
resolution of the Board, from time to time, Executive may serve, or continue
to
serve, on the boards
of directors of, and
hold any other offices
or positions
in, business
companies or business organizations, which, in the Board's
judgment, will not present any conflict of interest with the Bank,
or materially
affect the
performance
of Executive's duties pursuant to this Agreement.
Executive shall provide the Board of Directors annually for its approval a
list
of organizations for which the Executive acts as a director or
officer.
3. COMPENSATION,
BENEFITS AND REIMBURSEMENT.
(a)
Base Salary. In consideration of Executive's performance of the duties
set forth in Section
2, the Bank
shall provide Executive the compensation
specified in this
Agreement. The Bank
shall pay Executive a salary of $180,000
per year ("Base
Salary"). The Base
Salary shall be payable biweekly, or with
such other frequency as officers of the Bank are generally paid.
During the term
of this Agreement,
the Base Salary shall
be reviewed at least
annually by the
Board or by a committee designated by the Board, and the Bank may
increase, but
not decrease
(except for a decrease that is generally applicable to all
employees) Executive's
Base Salary. Any increase in Base Salary shall
become
"Base Salary" for purposes of this Agreement.
(b)
Bonus and Incentive Compensation. Executive shall be entitled to
incentive compensation and bonuses as provided in any plan or
arrangement of the
Bank in which
Executive is eligible to participate. Nothing paid to Executive
under any such plan or arrangement will be deemed to be in lieu of other
compensation to which Executive is entitled under this
Agreement.
(c)
Employee Benefits.
The Bank shall
provide Executive with employee
benefit plans, arrangements and perquisites substantially
equivalent to those in
which Executive
was participating or from which he was deriving benefit
immediately prior to
the commencement of
the term of this
Agreement, and the
Bank shall not, without Executive's prior written consent,
make any changes
in
such plans,
arrangements or perquisites that would adversely affect
Executive's
rights or benefits
thereunder, except as
to any changes that are applicable to
all participating
employees or as reasonably or customarily available. Without
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limiting the
generality of the
foregoing provisions of this Section 3(c),
Executive will be
entitled to
participate
in or receive
benefits under any
employee benefit
plans including, but not limited to, retirement plans,
supplemental
retirement
plans, pension
plans,
profit-sharing
plans,
health-and-accident
insurance plans,
medical coverage or any other employee
benefit plan or
arrangement
made available by the Bank in the future to
its
senior executives,
including any stock benefit plans, subject to and on a basis
consistent with the terms, conditions and overall
administration of such
plans
and arrangements.
(d)
Paid Time Off.
Executive shall be
entitled to paid vacation time each
year during the term of this Agreement (measured on a fiscal or calendar
year
basis, in accordance
with the Bank's usual
practices), as well as
sick leave,
holidays and other
paid absences in
accordance
with the Bank's
policies and
procedures for senior
executives.
Any unused paid time off during an annual
period shall be treated in accordance with the Bank's personnel policies as in
effect from time to time.
(e)
Expense
Reimbursements. During
the term of this
Agreement, the
Bank
shall pay or reimburse
Executive for the full
cost of the use of an automobile
that is mutually agreeable to the Bank and Executive. The Bank
shall also pay or
reimburse
Executive for
all reasonable travel, entertainment and other
reasonable expenses
incurred by Executive
during the course of
performing his
obligations under
this Agreement, including, without limitation, fees for
memberships in such
clubs and
organizations as
Executive and the
Board shall
mutually agree are necessary and appropriate in connection with the
performance
of his duties under this Agreement, upon presentation to the Bank
of an itemized
account of such expenses in such form as the Bank may reasonably
require.
4. PAYMENTS TO
EXECUTIVE UPON AN EVENT OF TERMINATION.
(a)
Upon the occurrence
of an Event of
Termination
(as herein
defined)
during the term of this Agreement, the provisions of this Section 4
shall apply;
provided, however,
that benefits
shall be provided
either under Section 4
or
Section 5 (related
to a Change
in Control), but not both, such that to the
extent the Executive
has received payments
under one of those
Sections, the
Executive shall not receive payments under the other of those
Sections. As used
in this Agreement, an
"Event of Termination"
shall mean and include any one or
more of the following:
(i) the termination
by the Bank of
Executive's full-time
employment
hereunder for any reason other than a "Change in Control," as
defined in Section
5, a termination
for death or "Disability," as set forth in Section 6, a
termination upon
"Retirement,"
as defined in Section
7, or a termination
for
"Cause," as defined in Section 8; and
(ii) Executive's
resignation
from the Bank's
employ upon any of
the
following, unless consented to by Executive:
(A) failure to appoint
Executive to the
position set forth in
Section 1,
or a material change in Executive's function, duties, or
responsibilities, which change would cause Executive's position to
become one of
lesser
responsibility,
importance, or
scope
from
the position and
responsibilities
described in Section 1, to which Executive has not agreed in
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writing (and any such
material change
shall be deemed a
continuing breach
of
this Agreement by the Bank);
(B) a relocation of Executive's principal place of employment
to
a location that is more than 50 miles from the location of the
Bank's principal
executive offices as of the date of this Agreement;
(C) a material reduction in the benefits and perquisites,
including Base
Salary, to Executive from those being provided as of the
Effective Date (except
for any reduction that
is part of a reduction in pay or
benefits that is generally applicable to officers or employees of
the Bank);
(D) a liquidation or dissolution of the Bank; or
(E) a material breach of this Agreement by the Bank.
Upon the occurrence of any event described in clause (ii) above,
Executive shall
have the right to elect to terminate his employment under this Agreement by
resignation upon not
less than 30 days
prior written
notice given within a
reasonable period of time (not to exceed, except in case of a
continuing breach,
90 days) after the event giving rise to the right to elect, which
termination by
Executive shall be an Event of Termination; provided, however, that the Bank
shall have at least 30 days to remedy the situation. No payments or benefits
shall be due to Executive under this Agreement upon the termination of
Executive's employment except as provided in Section 4 or 5.
(b)
Upon the occurrence
of an Event of
Termination,
the Bank shall pay
Executive, or,
in the event of his subsequent death, his beneficiary or
beneficiaries, or his estate, as the case may be, as severance pay
or liquidated
damages, or both,
a lump sum in cash
equal to three
times the sum of (i)
the
highest annual
rate of Base Salary
paid to Executive at any time under this
Agreement, plus (ii)
the highest bonus paid
to Executive
with respect to
the
three most recently
completed fiscal years
prior to the Event of
Termination.
Such payments
shall not be reduced in the event Executive obtains other
employment following the Event of Termination. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, in
the event Executive is
a "Specified
Employee," as defined in Internal Revenue
Code ("Code")
Section 409A,
then, to the extent
required to comply
with Code
Section 409A, no
payment shall be made
to Executive prior to
the first day of
the seventh month following the Event of Termination.
(c)
Upon the occurrence of an Event of Termination, the Bank shall provide
at the Bank's expense,
life insurance coverage and non-taxable medical and
dental insurance coverage substantially comparable to the coverage
maintained by
the Bank for Executive prior to the Event of Termination, except to the extent
such coverage may be
changed in its
application to all
Bank employees.
Such
coverage shall cease
thirty-six (36) months following the Event of Termination.
The period for group health care continuation coverage rights under COBRA
shall
not begin until the expiration of such thirty-six (36) month
period.
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5. CHANGE IN
CONTROL.
(a)
Any payment made to Executive pursuant to this Section 5 is in
lieu of
any payments that may otherwise be owed to Executive pursuant to
Section 4, such
that Executive shall either receive payments pursuant to Section 4 or
pursuant
to Section 5, but not pursuant to both Sections.
(b)
Except for payments that are subject to Code Section 409A, for
purposes
of this Agreement, the
term "Change in Control" shall mean any of the following
but shall not include a conversion of the Bank from mutual to stock
form:
(i) a change in
control of a nature that would be required to be
reported in response
to Item 5.01(a) of the
current report on Form
8-K, as in
effect on the date
hereof, pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"); or
(ii) a change in
control of the Bank
within the
meaning of the
Home
Owners' Loan Act, as amended ("HOLA"), and applicable rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder, as in effect at the time of the Change in
Control; or
(iii) any of the following events, upon which a Change in Control
shall
be deemed to have occurred:
(A) any "person" (as the term is used in Sections 13(d) and
14(d)
of the Exchange Act)
is or becomes the
"beneficial owner" (as
defined in Rule
13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of
securities of the Bank
or the Bank's holding
company representing
25% or more of the
combined voting
power of such outstanding securities, except for any securities
purchased by any
employee stock ownership plan or trust established by the Bank;
or
(B) individuals
who constitute the Board on the
Effective Date
(the "Incumbent
Board") cease for any
reason to constitute at least a majority
thereof, provided
that any person becoming a director subsequent to the
Effective Date whose election was approved by a vote of at least
three-quarters
of the directors
comprising
the Incumbent Board, or whose nomination for
election by
stockholders of the Bank or the Bank's holding company was
approved
by the same Nominating Committee serving under an Incumbent Board,
shall be, for
purposes of this subsection (B), considered as though they were
members of the
Incumbent Board; or
(C) a sale of all or substantially all the assets of the Bank or
the Bank's holding company, or a plan of reorganization,
merger,
consolidation,
or similar transaction
occurs in which the
security holders of the Bank or the
Bank's holding company
immediately prior to the consummation of the transaction
do not own at least
50.1% of the
securities
of the surviving entity to be
outstanding upon consummation of the transaction; or
(D) a proxy statement is issued soliciting proxies from
stockholders of the Bank or the Bank's holding company by someone
other than the
current management
of the Bank or the
holding company of the Bank, seeking
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stockholder approval of a plan of reorganization, merger or
consolidation of the
Bank or the Bank's
holding company,
or similar
transaction
with one or more
corporations as a
result of which the outstanding shares of the class of
securities then
subject to the plan are to be exchanged for or converted into
cash or property
or securities not issued by the Bank or the
Bank's holding
company; or
(E) a tender
offer is made for 25% or more of the voting
securities of the Bank or the Bank's holding company, and stockholders owning
beneficially or of record 25% or more of the outstanding
securities of the
Bank
or the Bank's holding
company have tendered or offered to sell their
shares
pursuant to such tender offer and such tendered shares have been
accepted by the
tender offeror.
(c) With respect to
any payments
hereunder that are subject to Code
Section 409A,
"Change in Control"
shall mean (i) a
change in the ownership of
the Bank or the Bank's holding company, (ii) a change in the effective
control
of the Bank or the Bank's holding company, or (iii) a change in the
ownership of
a substantial portion
of the assets of the Bank or the Bank's holding company,
as described below:
(i) A change in
ownership occurs on
the date that any one person, or
more than one person
acting as a group (as
defined in Treasury Regulations
section
1.409A-3(i)(5)(v)(B)),
acquires ownership of
stock of the Bank or the
Bank's holding company
that, together with
stock held by such person or group,
constitutes more than
50% of the total fair market value or total voting power
of the stock of the Bank or the Bank's holding company.
(ii) A change
in the effective control of the Bank or the Bank's
holding company occurs