EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
WITH STOCK PURCHASE AND STOCK OPTION
PROVISIONS
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of 22nd day of
October, 2007 (the “Effective Date”), and between
Braintech, Inc., a U.S. corporation (the “Company”) and
Frederick (Rick) Weidinger (the “Executive”).
RECITALS:
A. The Company and its wholly owned subsidiary
Braintech Canada, Inc. are engaged in the business of developing
advanced vision software and selling robot vision technologies and
related engineering services world wide;
B. in furtherance of its business objectives,
the Company wishes to move its principle executive business offices
to Washington, D.C. and hire the Executive as Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer on the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement; and
C. the Company and the Executive also desire to
enter into an agreement pursuant to which, as set forth in Appendix
I and Schedule A attached hereto, the Executive will purchase
8,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at the
purchase price of $0.01 per share for a total of $80,000, and
pursuant to which the Company will grant to the Executive stock
options to purchase 2,000,000 shares of the Company at an exercise
price equal to 85% of the closing market value on the date of
execution of this Agreement, thereby providing the Executive with
additional incentives to maximize the Executive’s efforts to
develop the Company to the fullest extent possible, and to achieve
the targets hereinafter defined.
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual
covenants contained herein and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
PROVISIONS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT
| 1. |
Employment
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| 1.1 |
Term. As of the Effective Date, the
Company will employ the Executive, and the Executive accepts
employment with the Company, upon the terms and conditions set
forth in this Agreement. The Executive’s employment with the
Company is for an indefinite term and will continue until or unless
terminated as provided in this Agreement. The period of employment
is referred to as the “Employment Period”.
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| 1.2 |
Position The Executive will serve as the
Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the Company and the
Executive will also serve as Chairman of the Board for the
Company.
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| 1.3 |
Duties . During the Employment Period,
the Executive will perform the duties, responsibilities and
authority customarily performed by a CEO, Chairman, director, and
fiduciary of a company, including without limitation the
following:
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(a) |
overseeing and directing all business activities
of the Company;
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(b) |
developing strategic business plans for the
Company;
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(c) |
managing and directing the employees of the
Company;
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(d) |
providing leadership and direction for the
Company;
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(e) |
overseeing the Company’s efforts for
raising capital required to advance the strategic objectives of the
Company;
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(f) |
overseeing the Company’s relationships
with the Company’s customers, suppliers, strategic partners,
and other organizations important to the strategic business
objectives of the Company; and
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(g) |
as Chairman, presiding over meetings of the
Board of Directors and having such other duties as are customary
for the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a public company
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| 1.4 |
Reporting. The Executive will report to
the Board of Directors.
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| 1.5 |
Best Efforts . The Executive will devote
his best efforts and his full business time and attention (except
for permitted activities and other permitted board activities,
vacation periods, or reasonable periods of illness or other
incapacity) to the business and affairs of the Company and its
subsidiaries. The Executive will perform his duties and
responsibilities to the best of his abilities in a diligent,
trustworthy, businesslike and efficient manner.
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| 1.6 |
Other Business Activities . The Executive
may serve in the capacity of director of other corporations or
charities provided that activity does not materially interfere with
Executive’s ability to perform his duties hereunder and that
any such entities do not compete with the business.
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| 1.7 |
Permission to Re-organize. The Executive
will not, without the prior specific written permission of the
Board of Directors and the shareholders (to the extent the
Company’s bylaws or applicable law require shareholder
approval) undertake or engage in any transaction that would result
a reverse stock split of the Company’s share capital, or
undertake or engage in any transaction that would result in the
common shares being no longer listed on a recognized stock exchange
or stock market in a “going private” transaction.
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| 2. |
Compensation & Perquisites
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| 2.1 |
Base Salary. During the Employment
Period, the Executive’s base salary will be $258,000 (US
Funds) per annum or such higher rate as the Board may designate
from time to time (the “Base Salary”), which salary
will be payable in regular installments in accordance with the
Company’s general payroll practices.
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| 2.2 |
Signing Bonus. Upon execution of this
Agreement, the Executive will be granted an options to purchase
2,000,000 shares of Common Stock. The stock options received will
vest immediately and the exercise price of the stock options will
be equal to 85% of the closing market price of the Common Stock on
the date this Agreement is executed by the Executive. The stock
options will be granted pursuant to the Company’s 2007 Stock
Option Plan, a copy of which is attached as Schedule B and which
may not be changed in any manner adverse to Executive without
Executive’s prior written consent. Upon execution of this
Agreement, the Executive will also purchase 1,000,000 shares of the
Company’s common stock at the purchase price of $0.01 per
share for a total of $10,000. The securities issued pursuant to
this signing bonus are a portion of the securities referred to in
Recital C.
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| 2.3 |
Bonus & Incentive Compensation . The
Executive will be entitled to cash and other performance bonuses
normally granted to individuals in positions equalvalent to the
Executive. These bonuses and performance levels will be determined
by the Board of Directors of the Company.
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The Executive will also be entitled to bonuses
based on achieving certain milestones, which will be provided in
the form of issued restricted Common Stock (the “Bonus
Stock”) of the Company and options to purchase Common Stock
(the “Bonus Stock Options”) of the Company, in
accordance with the Bonus Stock and Bonus Stock Option Incentive
Plan (the “Bonus Plan”) attached to this Agreement as
Schedule “A”. The milestones and level of incentive
compensation are detailed in the Executive Bonus Securities
Compensation Structure as set forth in Appendix I of this
Agreement.
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The securities to be issued pursuant to the
Bonus Stock and Bonus Stock Option Plan have not been registered
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“Act”), and may not be sold or transferred in the
absence of an effective Registration Statement under the Act or an
exemption from registration thereunder.
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The Board of Directors of the Company has
approved the Bonus Plan (Schedule “A”) and this
Executive Employment Agreement including Appendix I attached
hereto. Upon execution of this Agreement, the Company will
immediately undertake to obtain shareholder approval of the
registration of the securities to be issued under the Bonus Plan by
filing a Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act
of 1933. Act.
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| 2.4 |
Health and Welfare Benefits . The
Executive will be entitled to participate in all health and welfare
benefit insurance and programs that the Company provides from time
to time for its senior executive employees and their
dependents.
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| 2.5 |
Transition Expenses . The Company and
Executive acknowledge that the Company’s principal business
offices will be moved from North Vancouver, BC, to the metropolitan
area of Washington DC within approximately nine (9) months of the
Effective Date. Until such time as the Company’s offices have
been so relocated, the Company will reimburse the Executive for
expenses as follows:
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(a) |
First class travel to the Company’s
offices in North Vancouver from his home in Great Falls,
Virginia;
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(b) |
hotel (and/or apartment rental) and meal
expenses while working in North Vancouver; and
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three (3) round trips per month in order for the
Executive to visit his family in Great Falls, Virginia. Until such
time as the relocation to Washington DC has occurred, Executive, in
his discretion, may perform his duties hereunder both at the
Company’s offices in North Vancouver as well as from his home
office in the Washington DC metropolitan area. In the event that
the relocation has not occurred within a nine month period from
Effective Date, Executive shall no longer be required to perform
any duties from the North Vancouver office but may perform all
duties from his home office in the Washington DC metropolitan
area.
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| 2.6 |
Business Expenses. The Company will
reimburse the Executive for all reasonable expenses incurred by him
in the course of performing his duties under this Agreement which
are consistent with the Company’s policies in effect from
time to time with respect to travel, entertainment and other
business expenses, subject to the Company’s customary
requirements with respect to reporting and documentation of such
expenses. The Company will also reimburse the Executive for any
legal fee reasonably incurred in the initial negotiation of this
Agreement. All such expenses to be reimbursed within ten business
days.
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| 2.7 |
Vacation . The Executive will be entitled
to six (6) weeks of paid vacation per year.
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| 2.8 |
Personal Business Affairs. In addition to
the vacation time off referred to in section 2.7, the Executive
will also be entitled to paid time off to attend, at his own cost,
up to eight (8) A1 GP races between the Effective Date and May 30,
2008.
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| 3. |
Termination
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| 3.1 |
Definitions . For the purposes of this
Agreement, the terms “Just Cause” and “Good
Reason” are set out as follows:
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(a) |
“ Just Cause ” means:
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(i) |
an act or acts of material dishonesty on the
part of the Executive resulting or intending to result directly or
indirectly in substantial gain or personal enrichment to which the
Executive was not legally entitled at the expense of the
Company;
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(ii) |
any material breach by the Executive of the
terms of this Agreement, and repeated and demonstrated failure on
the part of the Executive to perform his duties hereunder or lawful
directives of the Board, and where the Executive fails to remedy
the failure or breach within 30 days after receiving written notice
of such failure; or
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(iii) |
a material breach of the Executive’s
duties or responsibilities resulting in material injury to the
Company or any of its subsidiaries where the Executive fails to
remedy the failure or breach within 30 days after receiving written
notice of such failure or breach ; provided, however, that
such breach shall not include: (1) bad judgment on the part of the
Executive, (2) any act or omission believed by the Executive in
good faith to have been in or not opposed to the interests of the
Company or its subsidiaries; or (3) any act or omission in respect
of which a determination could properly be made that the Executive
met the applicable standard of conduct prescribed for
indemnification or reimbursement or payment of expenses under the
by-laws of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, the laws of the
province of British Columbia or the State of Delaware , or
the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance of the
Company and its subsidiaries, in each case as in effect at the time
of such act or omission.
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(b) |
“ Good Reason ” means:
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(i) |
the assignment to the Executive of any duties
inconsistent with the Executive’s status as CEO of the
Company, or a substantial adverse alteration in the nature or
status of the Executive’s responsibilities or any change in
the Executive’s title ;
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(ii) |
the failure by the Company, without the
Executive’s consent, to pay to the Executive any portion of
his earned compensation within ten (10) business days of the date
such compensation is due or other breach by the Company of any of
its obligations hereunder;
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(iii) |
any material change in the Bonus Stock and Bonus
Stock Option Incentive Plan which forms part of this Agreement;
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(iv) |
any requirement for the Executive to relocate to
any metropolitan area outside of the Washington DC metropolitan
area; or
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the failure of the Company, prior to the
Effective Date, to have disclosed to Executive any violations by
the Company of the securities laws of any jurisdiction, any pending
investigations regarding the foregoing or any material agreements
between the Company and any shareholder or related party.
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| 3.2 |
Termination by the Company . The Company
may terminate the employment of the Executive without notice (or
payment in lieu thereof) for Just Cause. In such event, the
Executive or the Executive’s heirs will be entitled to all
unpaid compensation and benefits, allowances and perquisites
described in Section 2 above up to the termination date . In
such event, Executive shall be entitled to keep all Bonus Stock for
which the milestone conditions have been satisfied, free of all
restrictions, escrows or other conditions and to all Bonus Stock
Options which are vested as of such time and such Bonus Stock
Options may be exercised at any time within thirty six (36) months
of such termination.
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| 3.3 |
Termination by the Executive . The
Executive may terminate this Agreement for any reason by giving the
Company 90 days prior written notice. The Executive will be
entitled to treat his employment as having been terminated by the
Company without Just Cause in the event of any Good Reason.
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| 3.4 |
Termination Due to Total Permanent
Incapacity . Notwithstanding any other provision in this
Agreement, the Company may terminate the employment of the
Executive without notice (or payment in lieu thereof) in the event
of total permanent disability or death of the Executive. For the
purposes of this section, “Total Permanent Disability”
means any physical or mental incapacity, disease or affliction as
determined by a legally qualified medical practitioner, which
prevents the Executive from performing his obligations as set out
in this Agreement and which incapacity persists for a continuous
period of six months or more. This provision will also be subject
to any duty to accommodate or human rights laws imposed by any
government authority and which supersede any terms agreed to
between the parties.
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| 3.5 |
Severance . In the event of a termination
of this Agreement by the Company without Just Cause, due to Total
Permanent Disability or due to the death of the Executive, or by
the Executive for Good Reason, then the Executive or the
Executive’s heirs will be entitled to:
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unpaid compensation and benefits described in
Section 2 earned up to the termination date to be paid within 10
days of termination ;
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a lump sum payment (less all deductions required
by law such as income taxes) equal to the then current Base Salary
set out in Section 2.1 multiplied by two to be paid within 10 days
of termination;
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the continuation of health and welfare benefits
described in Section 2.4, for a period terminating on the earlier
of
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(i) |
the date the Executive obtains employment with
another company, and
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two years from the date of termination.
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despite anything to the contrary set out in The
Bonus Stock and Bonus Stock Option Incentive Plan (Schedule
“A”):
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(i) |
all restrictions, including escrow restrictions,
satisfaction of milestones on Bonus Stock issued to the Executive
will cease and the Executive will have clear title to the Bonus
Stock subject to no further restrictions or contingencies ,
and
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all Bonus Stock Options granted as of the date
of termination will immediately vest in the Executive (and all
milestones shall be deemed satisfied) , and may be exercised
on any date between the date of termination and a date which is 36
months from the date of termination.
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(e) The Company shall
reimburse within 10 days of incurrence, to the full extent provided
by law, all legal fees and expenses that the Executive, the
Executive’s legal representatives or the Executive’s
family may reasonably incur or face arising out of or in connection
with this Agreement (but this Agreement only), including any
litigation concerning the validity or enforceability of, or
liability under, any provision of this Agreement or any action by
the Executive, the Executive’s legal representatives or the
Executive’s family to enforce his or their rights under the
Agreement (but this Agreement only), provided that the Executive
prevails in such litigation.
| 3.6 |
Resignation as Director. If the
Executive’s employment with the Company is terminated for any
reason, the Executive agrees that he will resign as a director
effective on the date of termination.
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| 4. |
Executive’s Right to Appoint Directors
to the Company
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| 4.1 |
As of the date the parties enter into this
Agreement, the Company’s Board of Directors will consists of
(4) directors, of which the Executive is one. The Company and the
Executive agree that shortly after the signing date of this
Agreement the Company will increase the number of directors to six
(6), and at the time the Board is so increased, (and provided this
Agreement has not been terminated), the Executive will be entitled
to have up to two (2) of the other six (6) directors chosen by the
Executive at all times . Further, in preparation for the
2008 Annual General meeting of Shareholders, the size of the Board
of Directors shall be increased to 7 and Executive shall be
entitled to designate one additional Director who has experience in
the defense industry in the United States.
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| 5. |
Confidentiality and Ownership of Work Product
& Inventions
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| 5.1 |
Confidential Information. The Executive
acknowledges that the information obtained by him while employed by
the Company concerning the business or affairs of the Company or
any subsidiary of the Company (“Confidential
Information”) is the property of the Company or its
subsidiaries. For the purposes of this Agreement, Confidential
Information includes information, reports, documents, or data
pertaining to customer and supplier lists, product pricing,
contract terms, the products and services manufactured or provided,
production and operating methods, financial information,
intellectual property whether patentable or not, trade marks, and
the Work Product (defined below) whether owned by the Company,
Braintech Canada, Inc., or any of the Company’s other
subsidiaries.
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| 5.2 |
Non-disclosure. The Executive agrees that
he will not disclose to any unauthorized person or use for his own
account any Confidential Information without the prior written
consent of the Company, unless and to the extent that the
aforementioned matters become generally known to and available for
use by the public other than as a result of the Executive’s
acts or omissions to act, or the Executive is required to disclose
such Confidential Information in connection with the proper
performance of his obligations under this Agreement or if required
by law.
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| 5.3 |
Return of Confidential Information. The
Executive will deliver to the Company at the termination of the
Employment Period, or at any other time the Company may request,
all memoranda, notes, plans, records, reports, computer tapes and
software and other documents and data (and copies thereof)
containing or relating to the Confidential Information which he may
then possess or have under his control.
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| 5.4 |
Work Product . The Company will own all
title, intellectual property rights, copyright, moral rights,
trademarks and patents in and to all work product conceived,
produced or worked on, by the Executive (collectively the
“Work Product”) for or in relation to the business of
the Company or any affiliate or subsidiary while employed by the
Company. The Executive hereby waives and assigns to the Company any
and all intellectual property rights including moral rights,
copyright, trademarks, and patent rights at law or otherwise that
the Executive has in the Work Product. The Executive will in no
event be entitled to claim title or ownership interest in the Work
Product. Further, the Executive will execute any documentation
reasonably required by the Company to memorialize Company’s
existing and continued ownership or rights to the Work Product.
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| 5.5 |
Inventions and Discoveries . The
Executive will disclose promptly to the Company, any and all
inventions, discoveries and improvements conceived or made by the
Executive while employed by the Company and related to the business
or activities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or
affiliates, and hereby assigns and agrees to assign all his
interest therein to the Company or its nominee. Whenever requested
to do so by the Company, the Executive will execute any and all
applications, assignments or other instruments which the Company
will deem necessary to apply for and obtain Letters Patent of the
United States, Canada, or any foreign country or to protect
otherwise the Company's interest therein.
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| 5.6 |
Company’s Right to Assign . The
Executive agrees that the Company may assign the benefits of the
Executive’s promises made under this Section 5, to any of its
subsidiaries if required to.
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| 6. |
Non-Compete & Non-Solicitation
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| 6.1 |
Non-Solicitation of Employee s. The
Executive will not, during the twenty-four (24) month period
following the termination of this Agreement, regardless of the
reason therefore, solicit any person then employed by the Company
or appointed as a representative of the Company to join the
Executive as a partner, co-venturer, employee, investor or
otherwise, in any substantial business activity whatsoever.
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| 6.2 |
Non-Solicitation of Clients . The
Executive will not, during the twenty-four (24) month period
following the termination of this Agreement, regardless of the
reason therefore, solicit, induce, aid or suggest to any customer
of the Company to leave or terminate its customer relationship as
may exist during such the twenty-four (24) month period.
Furthermore, the Executive will not, within the twenty-four (24)
month period following the termination of this Agreement, directly
contract with any client of the Company to perform tasks which are
in competition with the services and products provided to that
client by the Company.
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| 6.3 |
Non-Competition. While this Agreement is
in effect and for a period of the twenty-four (24) months after the
termination of this Agreement, regardless of the reason therefore,
the Executive will not, directly or indirectly, either as an
employee, employer, consultant, agent, principal, partner,
stockholder, corporate officer, director, or in any other
individual or representative capacity, own, operate, control,
assist, or participate in any business that is in direct
competition with the business of the Company world-wide. The
foregoing prohibitions will not apply to ownership by the Executive
of less than five percent (5%) of the issued or outstanding stock
of any company whose shares are listed for trading over any public
exchange or the over-the-counter market provided that the Executive
does not control, work in or for any such company in any
capacity.
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| 6.4 |
Injunctive Relief. The Executive
expressly agrees and acknowledges that any breach or threatened
breach by him of Sections 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3
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