EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT
10.21
This
Agreement is made and entered into as of the 29th day of
August, 2008 (“Agreement Date”) by and between Advanced Growing Systems, Inc., a
Nevada corporation (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”), and Xxx X. Xxxx, an individual
(hereinafter referred to as the “Employee”). The Company and the
Employee are collectively referred to as the “Parties”. This
Agreement supersedes any similar agreement between the Parties.
WITNESSETH:
Whereas it is in the best
interest of the Company to retain quality personnel such as the Employee;
and
Whereas the Employee is
willing to enter into an employment agreement with the Company in accordance
with the conditions hereinafter provided.
Now, therefore, for and in
consideration of the terms and conditions contained herein, the Parties agree as
follows, to wit:
1.
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Definitions. As
used in this Agreement:
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A.
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“Company” means Advanced
Growing Systems, Inc. its successors and assigns, and any of its present
or future subsidiaries or organizations controlled by, controlling, or
under common control with it.
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B.
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“Confidential
Information” means any and all information disclosed or made
available to the Employee or known by the Employee as a direct or indirect
consequence of or through Employee’s employment by the Company and not
generally known in the industry in which the Company is or may become
engaged, or any information related to the Company’s products, processes,
or services, including, but not limited to, information relating to
research, development, inventions, manufacture, purchasing, accounting,
engineering, marketing, merchandising, or
selling.
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C.
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“Inventions” mean
discoveries, concepts and ideas, whether patentable or not, relating to
any present or prospective activities of the Company, including, but not
limited to, devices, processes, methods, formulae, techniques,
applications, technology and any improvements to the foregoing. Such
definition shall also encompass all such discoveries, concepts and ideas,
even if formulated by the Employee prior to his employment by the
Company.
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D.
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“Company Monthly Base Pay”
means the employee’s last monthly remuneration, prior to
termination of Employee’s employment with the Company, before federal,
state, and local taxes and other withholding, but exclusive of extra
compensation, such as that attributable to bonuses, overtime or employee
retirement or pension benefits.
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E.
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“Conflicting
Organization” means any person or organization engaged, directly or
indirectly, in the research, development, production, marketing or selling
of a Conflicting Product.
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F.
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“Conflicting Product”
means any product, process, technology, application, or service of any
person or organization, other than the Company, in existence or under
development, which resembles, competes with or is marketed or offered for
sale or lease to the same or similar potential customers as a product,
process, technology, application, or service which is the subject of
research, development, production, marketing or selling activities of the
Company.
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2.
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Employment. The Company
hereby employs the Employee and the Employee hereby agrees to accept
employment with the Company upon the terms and conditions herein set
forth.
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3.
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Term. The
Company hereby employs the Employee for a period of roughly
twenty-four (24) months beginning on
the 29th
day of August, 2008, and ending on the 31st day of August, 2010, unless
sooner terminated as provided in Section 13 (Disability), Section 14
(Death During Employment) or Section 16 (Termination), hereof; provided,
this Agreement may be extended for additional periods or its terms amended
upon the mutual written agreement of the
Parties.
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4.
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Position. The
Employee shall be employed in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer
with such managerial, administrative and other services as are
customarily associated with or incident to such position and shall perform
such other duties and responsibilities for the Company as the Company may
reasonably require, consistent with such position. The Employee
shall not be assigned nor requested to perform duties or functions for
which he has not been adequately trained or for which he does not have
adequate education and/or professional
experience.
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5.
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Extent of
Services. The Employee shall diligently and
conscientiously devote Employee’s time, attention and energies to the
business of the Company and shall not, during the term of this Agreement,
be engaged in any other full time business activity whether or not such
business activity is pursued for gain, profit, or other pecuniary
advantage; however, except as set forth in Section 16, this provision
shall not be construed as preventing the Employee from investing
Employee’s assets in such form or manner as will not require full-time
services on the part of the Employee outside of the
Company.
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6.
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Working
Facilities. The Employee shall be furnished with such
facilities suitable to Employee’s position and adequate for the
performance of Employee’s duties and the conduct of the Company’s
business. The Employee’s principal office shall be
located in the area selected by the Company; provided, however, the
Employee agrees to do such traveling as is required to carry out
Employee’s duties hereunder.
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7.
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Compensation. The
Company’s Board of Directors or the management of the Company may increase
the Employee’s Company Monthly Base Pay from time to time as the Board may
see fit to grant such an increase. The Employee shall be a participant in
any deferred compensation, bonus and/or stock option plans designed and
implemented by the Company’s Board of Directors for the benefit of the
Company’s key executives and employees. The Employee
shall participate in any such plans at a level commensurate with
Employee’s position with the
Company.
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A.
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Company Monthly Base
Pay. For all services rendered by the Employee under this
Agreement, Employee shall be paid a salary in the sum of $ 120,000 per
year, beginning on February 1, 2008. These amounts shall be paid in equal
monthly or bi-monthly installments to the Employee as Company Monthly Base
Pay. Employee will also receive a monthly auto allowance not to
exceed $1,000 per month. Employee will be required to maintain
full coverage insurance on the vehicle during the term of this
agreement.
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B.
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Benefits. Employee shall
be eligible for Company-paid health insurance, dental insurance, 401K Plan
when available, short/long term disability coverage and other benefits
that are and may become available. Employee shall be eligible to
participate in any such benefits at a level commensurate with Employee’s
position with the Company. Employee will also be given 100,000
shares of Company stock upon execution of this
agreement.
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8.
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Expenses. All
expenses for transportation and travel, including business use of personal
automobile, incurred by the Employee for the furtherance of the legitimate
business interests of the Company, shall be reimbursed or directly paid by
the Company upon presentment of receipts in accordance with the record
keeping requirements of the Internal Revenue
Service.
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9.
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Right to
Participate. The Employee shall have the right to
participate in all other benefits of employment generally made available
to the Company’s executive and managerial employees including but not
limited to medical, dental, disability, life insurance, retirement plans
and any other benefit(s) presented by the Company’s Board of Directors and
befitting the Employee’s position and performance as
available.
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10.
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Vacation. The
Employee shall be entitled to paid vacation, as
follows:
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Ten (10)
working days during the 2008 calendar year
Fifteen (15)
working days during the 2009 calendar year
For
purposes hereunder, the term “working days” refers to Monday through Friday,
exclusive of weekends and holidays, observed by the Company as determined by the
Board of Directors. Employee will not schedule vacation without prior
written approval from the Company’s CEO. Unused vacation days
may not be carried into the next calendar year nor will the Employee receive
compensation for unused vacation days, unless Employee’s work requirements cause
Employee to miss vacation days, in which case Employee can carry over unused
vacation days or be compensated for unused vacation days.
11.
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Warrants. The
Company will issue to employee 400,000warrants to purchase the Company’s
common stock at a strike price of $.50. These warrants
will be effective in 100,000 share blocks available at the end of the next
4 fiscal quarters starting with the quarter ending September 30,
2008. The employee will exercise these warrants with
either a payment in cash, an interest bearing note to the Company at a
rate of six (6) percent per annum or through a cashless
exercise. The formula for the cashless exchange is as
follows:
X
= Y (A-B)
-------
A
Where:
X
= the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to the Holder in
respect of a Cashless Exercise
Y
= the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable under the Option or, if
only a portion of the Option is being exercised, the portion of
the
Option being canceled in connection with such Cashless Exercise (at the
date of such calculation)
A
= the Fair Market Value (as defined below) of one share of the
Corporation's Common Stock (at the date of such calculation)
B
= Option Exercise Price (as adjusted to the date of such
calculation).
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12.
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Disclosure
of Confidential Information.
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A.
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Confidentiality. Except
as required in the performance of Employee’s duties during the term of
Employee’s employment by the Company, the Employee shall treat as
confidential and shall not, directly or indirectly, use, disseminate,
disclose, publish, or otherwise make available any Confidential
Information or any portion thereof. This provision shall
remain in effect for a period of two (2) years after any termination of
such employment.
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B.
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Return of Confidential
Information. Upon termination of Employee’s employment
with the Company, all documents, records, notebooks, and similar
repositories containing Confidential Information, including copies
thereof, then in the Employee’s possession, whether prepared by him or
others, shall be promptly returned to the Company. If at any
time after the termination of employment the Employee determines that he
has any Confidential Information in Employee’s possession or control, he
shall immediately return to the Company all such Confidential Information,
including all copies and portions
thereof.
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13.
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Disability. To
the extent not covered by the Company’s disability insurance, if any, if
the Employee is unable to perform Employee’s services during the term of
this agreement by reason of illness or incapacity, he shall receive
Employee’s full compensation during the first two (2) months of such
disability, to the extent not covered by the Company’s disability
insurance, if any. If such disability should continue for
longer than two (2) months, the compensation otherwise payable to the
Employee during the continued period of disability shall be reduced by
fifty percent (50%) provided such continued period of disability lasts no
longer than four (4) months. The Employee’s full compensation
shall be reinstated upon Employee’s return to employment and the discharge
of Employee’s full duties hereunder. This provision shall not
be operative until all benefits under the Company’s long-term disability
insurance plan, if any, have been calculated and shall not be considered
in determining the amount of benefits under any such insurance
plan.
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A.
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In
the event of disability of the Employee, shares of the Company, as
provided in Section 7(B) of this Agreement shall continue as if this
Agreement were in full force and
effect.
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14.
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Death during
Employment. If the Employee dies during the term of this
Agreement, this Agreement shall be terminated; provided, however, the
Company shall pay to the estate of the employee any salary which would
have otherwise been earned for the balance of the month in which the
Employee’s death occurred. The estate will also have the
ability to exercise any available and earned warrants. This
exercise will be available for a thirty (30) day
period.
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15.
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Non-Competition. During
the term of this Agreement and or as long as thereafter as Employee is
receiving unemployment insurance:
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A.
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For
a period of Three (3) years after Termination, the Employee shall not
engage in competition with the Company, either directly or indirectly, in
any manner or capacity, as advisor, consultant, principal, agent, partner,
officer, director, stockholder, employee, representative, spokesman or
otherwise, in any phase of the business carried on by the Company at any
time.
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B.
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For
a period of Three (3) years after the termination of this Agreement, the
Employee shall not solicit anyone who was an employee of the Company when
the Employee’s employment with the company terminated or solicit anyone
then employed by the Company to terminate or refrain from renewing
Employee’s or her employment with the
Company.
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C.
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For
a period of Three (3) years after the termination of this Agreement, the
Employee shall not, either directly or indirectly, solicit any customer,
broker, or distributor of the Employer, for such products as are
manufactured and/or sold by the Employer, and Employee will similarly not
engage in the business of the manufacture and sales of such products as
are manufactured and/or sold by the Employer within the said
period.
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16.
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Termination. The
Employee may terminate this Agreement upon thirty days (30) written notice
to the Company. Upon the effective date of the Employee
terminating this Agreement, the Employee’s entitlement to any salary or
other benefits hereunder shall cease subject to the provisions of Section
13.
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A.
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The
Employer may terminate this Agreement at any time with twenty-four (24)
hours prior written notice if the Employee commits any material act of
dishonesty, discloses confidential information, is guilty of gross
misconduct, or acts in any way that has a direct, substantial and adverse
effect on the Company’s reputation. Upon the effective date of
the Company terminating this Agreement, the Employee’s entitlement to any
salary or other benefits hereunder shall
cease.
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17.
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Certain Provisions to Survive
Termination. Notwithstanding any termination of this
employment under this Agreement, the Employee, in consideration of
Employee’s employment hereunder to the date of such termination, shall
remain bound by the provisions of Section 12 and 15. It is
acknowledged that the Company would be irrevocably damaged if the Employee
were to violate the provisions of Section 12 and/or 15, and consequently,
in addition to all other remedies that may be available to it, the Company
shall be entitled to injunctive relief for any actual or threatened
violation of such Sections.
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A.
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In
the event of termination of the Agreement as a result of the disability or
death of the Employee, it is agreed that the provisions of Section 7(B)
relating to shares of the Company shall continue as if the Employee were
alive and fulfilling Employee’s obligations under this Agreement and not
disabled or dead.
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18.
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Notice. All
notices herein shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly
given at the time personally delivered or deposited in the United States
Mail, postage prepaid, to the address of the respective parties set forth
below their signatures hereto, subject to changes upon notice to the other
party.
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19.
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Waiver. Failure
to insist upon a strict compliance with any of the terms or conditions of
this Agreement shall not be deemed waiver of such terms or conditions, nor
shall any waiver of any term, condition or right of any party at any time
be deemed a waiver of any other term, condition or right of any party
hereto, nor shall it preclude the party from subsequently asserting or
relying upon such term, condition or
right.
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20.
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Severability. The
invalidity or enforceability of any provision hereof shall in no way
affect the validity or enforceability of any other
provision.
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21.
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Modification. There
are no verbal understandings between the Parties. This
Agreement contains the entire agreement of the Parties and shall not be
changed, modified, or terminated, except in writing signed by the
Parties.
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22.
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Construction. This
Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
Georgia.
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23.
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Assignment. The
rights and obligations of the Company under this Agreement shall inure to
the benefit of and shall be binding upon the successors and assigns of the
Company. The Employee’s rights, powers, privileges and
immunities under this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Employee
without the prior written consent of the
Company.
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24.
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Binding
Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall
inure to the benefit of the Parties and their respective heirs, legal
representatives, successors and
assigns.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the
Parties have hereto set their hands on the day and year first above
written.
COMPANY:
Advanced Growing Systems, Inc.
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This
agreement is hereby ratified by a majority of the Advanced Growing Systems, Inc.
Board of Directors on this 29th day of
August, 2008.
By:
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/s/ Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
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Name:
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Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
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Title:
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Chairman/CEO
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EMPLOYEE:
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By:
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/s/ Xxx
X. Xxxx
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Name:
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Xxx
X. Xxxx
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