Exhibit
10.24
EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT
This Executive
Employment Agreement (“Agreement”), dated December 6,
2005, is between OXIS International, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(the “Company”), Bio Check, Inc., a California
corporation (“Bio Check”) and John Chen, an individual
residing in California (“Executive”).
1. POSITION AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
a.
Position.
Executive shall be employed as
President of Company’s majority-owned subsidiary, Bio Check.
Executive shall perform such duties and responsibilities as are
normally related to the position of President and any additional
duties now or hereafter reasonably assigned to Executive. At all
times during which the Company owns less than all of the issued and
outstanding capital stock of Bio Check, Executive shall report to
the Board of Directors of Bio Check. On and after the time the
Company owns all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Bio
Check (the “Complete Ownership Date”), Executive shall
report to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Executive
shall abide by the rules, regulations, and practices as adopted or
modified from time to time by the Board of Directors of Bio Check.
Executive shall also be appointed as a member of the Board of
Directors of Bio Check and, provided that Executive is serving as
Bio Check’s President, the Board of Directors of Bio Check
shall nominate and recommend a vote for Executive in connection
with any election of the Board of Directors.
b.
Other
Activities. Executive covenants and agrees to devote not
less than ninety percent (90%) of his business time and efforts to
the primary business of Bio Check. The parties acknowledge that
Executive will, consistent with the terms of this Agreement, be
providing services to Evernew Biotech, Inc. that involves less than
ten percent (10%) of his business time and efforts. Except as
otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, Executive will not,
during the term of this Agreement, (i) accept any other
employment, or (ii) engage, directly or indirectly, in any
other business activity (whether or not pursued for pecuniary
advantage) that might interfere with Executive’s duties and
responsibilities hereunder or create a conflict of interest with
the Company, Bio Check or their affiliates. Subject to the time and
efforts limitation of this Section 1(b), providing business
development support to Evernew Biotech, Inc. to build and maintain
relationships with its customers and investors shall not be deemed
to be a violation of this Section 1(b), so long as (i) within
six months from the date hereof, the Executive is no longer
affiliated as an executive officer or director of Evernew Biotech,
Inc., and (ii) Executive (together with his family members) no
longer holds any shares of Evernew Biotech, Inc., within six months
from the date that a principal product or service of Evernew
Biotech, Inc. competes with a principal product or service of the
Company, as reasonably determined by the Company.
c.
No Conflict.
Executive represents and warrants
that Executive’s execution of this Agreement,
Executive’s employment hereunder, and the performance of
Executive’s proposed duties under this Agreement shall not
violate any obligations Executive may have to any other employer,
person or entity, including any obligations with respect to
proprietary or confidential information of any other person or
entity.
2. COMPENSATION AND
BENEFITS
a.
Base Salary.
In consideration of the services to
be rendered under this Agreement, Bio Check shall pay Executive a
salary at the rate of Two Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($240,000)
per year (“Base Salary”). The Base Salary shall be paid
in accordance with Bio Check’s regularly established payroll
practice. Executive’s Base Salary will be reviewed from time
to time by the Board of Directors of Bio Check in accordance with
the established procedures for adjusting salaries and may be
adjusted in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors; provided
however, Executive’s salary shall not be reduced without the
consent of Executive.
b.
Stock
Options. The Board
of Directors of the Company has approved the grant to Executive of
an option to purchase 500,000 shares of the common stock of the
Company (the “Initial Options”) at an exercise price
equal to the fair market value of the Company’s common stock
as of the date of grant pursuant to the form of Notice of Stock
Option Award and Stock Option Agreement appended hereto as
Exhibit A . If the Company consummates the purchase of all
of the outstanding shares of Bio Check pursuant to that Stock
Purchase Agreement between the Company, Bio Check and the
stockholders of Bio Check dated September 19, 2005, as amended
on November 18, 2005 and December 6, 2005 (“Stock Purchase
Agreement”), Executive will be eligible for an additional
grant of options equal to 250,000 shares of the common stock of the
Company (as adjusted for stock splits, dividends, combinations or
other recapitalizations) at the conclusion of each of the twelve
(12) month and twenty-four (24) month periods following the date
hereof (collectively, “Additional Options”) (the
Initial Options and the Additional Options, collectively, the
“Options”), so long as at the conclusion of the
applicable twelve (12) month and twenty-four (24) month period, Bio
Check’s net sales for the then most recently completed fiscal
year exceed the net sales of the fiscal year which immediately
precedes such most recently completed fiscal year (“Net Sales
Goals”). If Bio Check fails to meet or exceed the Net Sales
Goal at the conclusion of the initial twelve (12) month period
following the date hereof, Executive shall nevertheless be eligible
to receive the Additional Options allocated for the initial twelve
(12) month period following the date hereof, if at the end of the
twenty-four (24) month period following the date hereof, the
Company exceeds its overall Net Sales Goal for the overall
twenty-four (24) month period. Executive’s eligibility to
receive each of the Options is conditioned upon Executive’s
signing of the Company’s form of Stock Option Agreement as
attached hereto as Exhibit A and is subject to its terms and
the terms of the Company’s 2003 Stock Incentive Plan under
which such Options are granted and other applicable law. All
Additional Options to be granted hereunder shall have an exercise
price equal to the fair market value of the Company’s common
stock on the date of grant. All Options and accompanying grants of
restricted stock, if any, shall be subject to vesting at a rate of
25% per annum subject to continued employment, and all options
shall be exercisable for ten (10) years from the date of grant.
Executive shall have a period of twelve (12) months following any
termination of employment by the Company or Bio Check to exercise
vested options.
c.
Performance
Bonus. Each fiscal
year, Executive shall also be eligible upon achieving annual
performance goals (which prior to the Complete Ownership Date shall
be established by Bio Check’s Board of Directors and on and
after the Complete Ownership Date shall be established by the
Company’s Board of Directors), to earn a target bonus (which
prior to the Complete Ownership Date shall be set in advance by Bio
Check’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion and on and
after the Complete Ownership Date shall be set in advance by the
Company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion). If
Executive’s employment with Bio Check or the Company is
terminated, for any reason, prior to the conclusion of a fiscal
year, he shall not be eligible to earn a performance bonus for such
year.
d.
Benefits.
Executive shall be eligible to
participate in the benefits made generally available by Bio Check
to senior executives, in accordance with the benefit plans
established by Bio Check, and as may be amended from time to time
in the sole discretion of the Bio Check Board of
Directors.
e.
Expenses.
Bio Check shall reimburse Executive
for reasonable business expenses incurred in the performance of
Executive’s duties hereunder in accordance with the Bio
Check’s expense reimbursement guidelines.
f.
Indemnification. Bio Check agrees to defend and indemnify
Executive against any liability that Executive incurs within the
scope of his employment with Bio Check to the fullest extent
permitted by Bio Check’s articles and by-laws and applicable
law.
3. AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT; TERMINATION BY
BIO CHECK
a.
At-Will Termination
by
Company. Subject to the provisions of Section
3(c), the employment of Executive shall be “at-will” at
all times. Subject to the provisions of Section 3(c), Bio Check may
terminate Executive’s employment with Bio Check at any time,
without any advance notice, for any reason or no reason at all,
notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in or arising
from any statements, policies or practices of Bio Check relating to
the employment, discipline or termination of its employees. Upon
and after such termination, all obligations of the Company and Bio
Check under this Agreement shall cease, unless Executive’s
employment is terminated without Cause or Executive terminates his
employment for Good Reason, in which case Bio Check shall provide
Executive with the severance benefits described in Section 3.b
below.
b.
Severance.
Except in situations where the
employment of Executive is terminated for Cause, By Death or By
Disability (as defined below), in the event that Bio Check
terminates the employment of Executive at any time, or if Executive
terminates his employment at any time for Good Reason, Executive
will be eligible to receive an amount equal to twelve (12) months
of the then-current Base Salary of the Executive payable in the
form of salary continuation (“Severance”).
Executive’s eligibility for Severance is conditioned on
Executive having first signed a release agreement in a form
attached hereto as Exhibit B . Executive shall not be
entitled to any Severance payments if Executive’s employment
is terminated for Cause, By Death or By Disability, or if
Executive’s employment is terminated by Executive for any
reason, except for Good Reason.
c.
Limitation
. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 3(a), Bio Check may not terminate this Agreement or
Executive’s employment with Bio Check prior to the Complete
Ownership Date without the unanimous consent of all of the members
of the Board of Directors of Bio Check then in office, provided
that the foregoing unanimous consent shall not be required for a
termination for Cause, By Death or By Disability.
4. OTHER TERMINATIONS BY BIO
CHECK
a.
Termination for
Cause. For purposes
of this Agreement, for “Cause” shall mean: (i)
Executive commits a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or
physical harm to any person; (ii) Executive willfully engages in
conduct that is in bad faith and materially injurious to Bio Check
or the Company, including but not limited to, misappropriation of
trade secrets, fraud or embezzlement; (iii) Executive commits a
material breach of this Agreement or the Shareholders Agreement
between Bio Check, the Company and the Company’s shareholders
of even date herewith, which breach is not cured within twenty (20)
days after written notice to Executive from Bio Check or the
Company; (iv) Executive willfully refuses to implement or follow a
reasonable and lawful policy or directive of the Board of Directors
of Bio Check, which breach is not cured within twenty (20) days
after written notice to Executive from Bio Check; or (v) Executive
engages in misfeasance or malfeasance demonstrated by a pattern of
failure to perform job duties diligently and professionally. Bio
Check may terminate Executive’s employment for Cause at any
time, without any advance notice. Bio Check shall pay to Executive
all compensation to which Executive is entitled up through the date
of termination, subject to any other rights or remedies of Bio
Check or Company under law; and thereafter all obligations of the
Company and Bio Check under this Agreement shall cease.
b.
By Death.
Executive’s employment shall
terminate automatically upon Executive’s death. Bio Check
shall pay to Executive’s beneficiaries or estate, as
appropriate, any compensation then due and owing. Thereafter, all
obligations of the Company and Bio Check under this Agreement shall
cease. Nothing in this Section shall affect any entitl