EXECUTIVE CONSULTING AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 10.4
EXECUTIVE CONSULTING AGREEMENT
THE AGREEMENT is dated effective November _14th_, 2017 (the “Effective Date”).
AMONG:
DEPLOY TECHNOLOGIES INC., a British Columbia corporation with an address at 750 – 1095 West Xxxxxx Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 2M6 (the “Company”)
(the “Company”)
AND:
TORO PACIFIC MANAGEMENT INC., a company incorporated under the laws of British Columbia and having an office at 0000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx, XX, X0X 0X0.
(the “Consultant”)
AND:
XXXXXXX XXXXXX, an individual with an address at of 0000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx, XX, X0X 0X0.
(the “Principal”)
WHEREAS:
A. The Principal has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Company; and
B. The Company wishes to engage the Consultant to provide the services of the Principal as Chief Executive Officer on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the premises and mutual agreements set out below, the parties agree as follows:
PART 1
POSITION, SERVICES, REPORTING
Position and Services
1.1 Subject as otherwise herein provided, the Company hereby engages the Consultant as an independent contractor and not as an employee or agent of the Company as of the Effective Date, and hereby appoints the Principal to the office of Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the “CEO”). As of the Effective Date, the Consultant will cause the Principal to perform the duties and responsibilities normally and reasonably associated with the position of CEO including, without limitation, those duties set out in Schedule “A ” attached hereto and such other duties and responsibilities as may from time to time be assigned by the Company to the Consultant, subject always to the limitations as may from time to time be set by the Company (all services to be provided by the Consultant hereunder are referred to as the “Services”).
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Standard of Performance
1.2 The Consultant warrants that the Services will be performed in a timely, competent and professional manner in accordance with the highest standards and practices commonly expected of qualified and experienced providers of similar services and that the Principal will devote sufficient time to the performance of the Services as may be reasonably required by the Company to fulfil the standard of performance as aforesaid, including, without limitation, making himself available at such times and at such places as may reasonably be required by the Company in connection with the Services.
Reporting Procedures
1.3 The Consultant and the Principal will report to the Board of Directors of the Company on an as needed basis.
Subcontracting and Assignment
1.4 The Consultant will not, without the prior written consent of the Company (which consent the Company may in its sole discretion withhold), subcontract, delegate or otherwise assign any or all of the Consultant’s obligations under this Agreement.
Concurrent Work
1.5 Provided that the Consultant is fulfilling the terms of this Agreement and in particular the standards of performance contemplated in § 1.2 herein, the Consultant may take employment, concurrently work on projects, accept assignments and serve on boards that are in related industries to the Company (or substantially similar enterprise) provided that such work or engagement does not directly or indirectly compete with the Company at the time such work or engagement is entered into or is intended or could reasonably be perceived to compete with the Company. The Consultant may take on any assignment, work on projects, serve as a board member or management of any entity not engaged in a competitive activity as aforesaid provided that such position or activity does not unreasonably limit or prohibit the Consultant from fulfilling the Services contemplated in § 1.1 hereof.
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PART 2
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Salary
2.1 The Company will pay to the Consultant a monthly fee of CDN$10,000 plus applicable taxes (the “Fee”) payable on the first day of each calendar month during the term of this Agreement by way of direct deposit to the account of the Consultant as directed from time to time. The Company will review the Fee from time to time during the term of this Agreement and may in its sole discretion increase the Fee depending on the Principal’s performance of the Services and having regard to the financial circumstances of the Company. The Consultant will be responsible for remitting and paying any applicable taxes.
Bonus and Benefits
2.2 The Company will consider, but will be under no obligation, to provide the Consultant with a bonus, which is entirely discretionary.
2.3 The Company will provide health benefits to the Principal based on the best health benefits plan available to employees or officers of the Company from time to time.
Expenses
2.4 The Company will reimburse the Consultant for all reasonable travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Consultant directly related to the performance of the Services, subject to the policies of the Company from time to time. The Consultant will account for such expenses in accordance with the policies and directions provided by the Company.
Stock Options
2.5 The Consultant or its designate, may be granted stock options in accordance with the Company’s Stock Option Plan.
PART 3
TERM, TERMINATION, PLACE OF WORK
Term and Termination
3.1 The term of the Agreement will begin on the Effective Date, and will continue until the Agreement is terminated earlier by the Company as follows:
(a) for any reason without cost, charge or liability upon 90 days’ notice or payment in lieu thereof to the Consultant;
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(b) immediately without cost, charge or liability if the Consultant
(i) is not carrying out the terms of this Agreement or is otherwise failing to comply with any term of this Agreement,
(ii) becomes bankrupt or insolvent, or
(iii) commits an act of fraud, intentional deceit or criminal action in respect of the provision of Services contemplated hereunder.
3.2 Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Consultant, at its sole discretion, may terminate this Agreement at any time, without cause and without any cost, charge or liability during the Term, by providing 90 days’ notice of such termination to the Company.
3.3 If this Agreement is terminated as provided herein, the Company’s sole liability to the Consultant will be for payment of all properly performed Services to the effective date of termination, plus any amounts owing under § 3.1(a) and a severance fee equal to u months' salary if terminated after the Effective Date (the “Severance Payments”). Aside from those provided in this §16, the Consultant will not have any other claim for compensation, losses, costs or damages of any nature or kind based on such termination.
Place of Work and Tools
3.4 The Company will provide reasonable office space for the Consultant as the Company deems appropriate. It is acknowledged that office space is currently not required.
3.5 The Company may, at its sole discretion, provide additional software, hardware and other tools to the Consultant to perform the Services.
PART 4
CONFIDENTIALITY; INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; AND RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
4.1 Definitions. In this Part,
(a) “Company Entities” means the Company and its affiliate, subsidiary and parent corporations, to the extent that such reference does not require any other party to be added as a party to this Agreement other than as a third party beneficiary, each of whom will be expressly deemed an intended third party beneficiary of this Agreement and will have the right to enforce the terms and conditions of this Agreement;
(b) “Company Inventions” mean all Inventions owned by the Company Entities prior to or outside of this Agreement (together with those forming part of Work Product);
(c) “Company Property” means all Confidential Information, Work Product and Company Inventions;
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(d) “Confidential Information” means all information in any form (including all electronic, magnetic, physical, intangible, visual and oral forms) and whether or not such information has been marked or indicated as confidential, that is known, held, used or disclosed by or on behalf of the Company Entities in connection with its business, and that, at the time of its disclosure (i) is not available or known to the general public, (ii) by its nature or the nature of its disclosure, would reasonably be determined to be confidential, or (iii) is marked or indicated as proprietary or confidential, and in any event includes trade secrets, know-how, supplier and customer information (whether past, present, future and prospective), strategic plans, source code and related data, financial information, marketing information, information as to business opportunities (including strategies and research and development), consultation records and plans, engineering data, third party data, Company Inventions, and Work Product, whether they are trade secrets or not;
(e) “Develop” means conceive, develop, create, acquire, reduce to practice or otherwise make, either alone or with others, whether or not during regular working hours and whether or not having been specifically instructed to do so;
(f) “Intellectual Property Rights” means, collectively, all proprietary rights provided or recognized under patent law, copyright law, trade-xxxx law, design patent or industrial design law, semi-conductor chip or mask work law, or any other applicable statutory provision or otherwise arising at law or in equity anywhere in the world, including trade secret law, that may provide or recognize any right in Materials, Inventions, Work Product, Confidential Information, know-how, or the expression or use thereof, including (i) applications, registrations, licenses, sublicenses, agreements, or any other evidence of a right in any of the foregoing, and (ii) past, present, and future causes of action, rights of recovery, and claims for damage, accounting for profits, royalties, or other relief relating, referring, or pertaining to any of the foregoing;
(g) “Inventions” means, collectively, whether patentable or not, discoveries, inventions, innovations, ideas, suggestions, technology, methodologies, techniques, concepts, procedures, processes, protocols, treatments, tests, developments, scientific or other formulae and each and every portion thereof, and any and all revisions and improvements relating to any of the foregoing;
(h) “Materials” means, collectively, all materials in any form (including verbal, visual, magnetic, electronic, or physical), including any reports, documents, designs, compilations, products, works, and computer programs (including all source code, object code, compilers, libraries and developer tools, and any manuals, descriptions, data files, resource files and other such materials relating thereto), studies, reports, records, research, surveys, services, sales, patterns, machines, manufactures, compositions, technical data, devices, sketches, photographs, plans, drawings, specifications, samples, manuals, documents, prototypes, hardware, software and other equipment, working materials, findings and each and every portion thereof, and any and all revisions and improvements relating to any of the foregoing;
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(i) “Solicit” means solicit by any means, including persuasion, enticement inducement, or the direct or indirect assistance to any other person in any such activity, in all cases regardless of whether successful or not and regardless of whether the initial contact was by the Consultant, Principal or any other person;
(j) “Work Product” means all Materials and Inventions that are Developed during the term of this Agreement that in any way relate to (i) the present or proposed programs, services, products or business of the Company Entities, (ii) tasks assigned to the Consultant or the Principal in relation to or arising from this Agreement, or (iii) any other Company Inventions, Work Product or Confidential Information.
4.2 Confidentiality. In connection with the Consultant’s performance of under this Agreement, the Company has furnished or may furnish to the Consultant or Principal, or the Consultant or Principal may acquire, develop or conceive of, Confidential Information, all of which the Consultant or Principal will each treat strictly in accordance with this Agreement. For greater clarity, the parties hereby acknowledge and agree that Confidential Information can encompass information regardless of whether it was disclosed prior to the date of this Agreement or after. In connection with this,
(a) Obligations—at all times during and after this Agreement, each of the Consultant or Principal will protect the Confidential Information using a reasonable degree of care, and will take all reasonable steps to safeguard the Confidential Information from unauthorized disclosure, and without limiting the foregoing will not, directly or indirectly, (i) copy or reproduce any of the Confidential Information, (ii) use any Confidential Information for any purpose other than the proper performance of the Consultant’s duties, or (iii) subject to Section 4.3(e) disclose any of the Confidential Information except strictly to those of Company’s directors, officers, consultants, attorneys, accountants, advisors and personnel to whom disclosure is necessary to carry out the Consultant’s duties,
(b) Exceptions—this Section 4.2 imposes no obligation upon the Consultant and the Principal with respect to any information or part thereof that the Consultant can establish with documentary evidence that, other than as a result of a breach of this Agreement, (i) was already known to, or in the possession of, the Consultant or the Principal at the time the Consultant or the Principal obtained it or access to it from Company in the same form and substance without a duty of confidentiality, (ii) is or becomes generally available to the public rightfully without restrictions of confidentiality, or (iii) becomes available to the Consultant or the Principal after the term of the Agreement from a third party (other than any Company Entity) who has no obligation of confidentiality with respect thereto,
(c) Required Disclosures—if the Consultant or the Principal is requested or required (including, without restriction, by oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents, subpoena, civil investigative demand or other similar process) by any law to disclose any Confidential Information, the Consultant or the Principal may disclose strictly that Confidential Information for which disclosure is required to comply with any such applicable law, provided that the Consultant or the Principal (i) unless prohibited by such applicable law, provides the Company with written notice as soon as practicable in the circumstances so that the Company may contest the disclosure or seek an appropriate protective order, and (ii) cooperates reasonably and in good faith with the Company in its efforts to prevent, restrict or contest such required or requested disclosure, and
(d) Acknowledgement—each of the Consultant and the Principal acknowledge and agree that the right to maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information, and the right to preserve the Company’s goodwill therein, constitute proprietary rights which the Company is entitled to protect.
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4.3 Ownership and Intellectual Property Rights. Each of the Consultant and the Principal agree that all right, title and interest (including Intellectual Property Rights) in and to all Company Property, and all services and products which embody, emulate or employ any Company Property, are and will remain fully vested in the Company. For greater clarity, the parties hereby acknowledge and agree that Company Property includes Confidential Information, Work Product and Company Inventions regardless of whether they were conceived, developed, prepared, known, used or disclosed prior to the date of this Agreement or its execution. In connection with this, the following provisions apply:
(a) Assignment—to the extent that the foregoing does not fully vest in the Company all right, title and interest (including all Intellectual Property Rights) in and to any Company Property, the Consultant and the Principal each hereby assign to the Company or its nominee (or their respective successors or assigns), all of the Consultant’s or the Principal’s right, title and interest (including all Intellectual Property Rights) in and to such Company Property without further payment by the Company (and, for greater certainty, this assignment includes any future-arising Company Property, which the Consultant and the Principal will be deemed to have automatically assigned pursuant to this provision as it arises without further instrument);
(b) Opportunities—if the Consultant’s or Principal’s access, possession, use or creation of Company Property should give rise to a business opportunity to commercially exploit the Company Property, any such exploitation by the Consultant or Principal, directly or indirectly, is strictly prohibited;
(c) Disclosure—the Consultant will promptly disclose to the Company, or any persons designated by the Company, all Inventions that are Derived from Work, and agrees the Company has all right, title and interest (including all Intellectual Property Rights) to such Company Inventions under this Section 4.3 ;
(d) Third Party Rights—the Consultant and the Principal each agree not to introduce into any Company Property any third-party Intellectual Property Right, including any (i) Intellectual Property Rights relating to Materials and Inventions owned by the Consultant or the Principal, such as those that are not Work Product, or (ii) confidential information, trade secrets or other proprietary rights of former employers, in each case without first obtaining the written consent of the Company and, if requested by the Company, the third-party rightsholder;
(e) Work for Hire—for purposes of the copyright laws of the United States of America, to the extent (if any) that such laws are applicable to any Work Product, to the duties arising hereunder, or to the Consultant or Principal, all Work Product will be considered a work made for hire and the Company will be considered the author thereof; and
(f) Moral Rights—the Consultant and the Principal hereby irrevocably waives for the benefit of the Company Entities and their successors or assigns any and all of the Consultant or Principal’s moral rights or “droits d’autuers” in respect of the Work Product.
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4.4 Return or Destruction. Upon the request of the Company, the Consultant will immediately return or cause to be returned to Company all originals and copies in any form of Company Property (including Confidential Information or Work Product) in the possession or control of the Consultant or the Principal and will destroy or cause to be destroyed all originals, copies or other reproductions or extracts of such Company Property not so returned. For the purposes of this paragraph, Company Property stored in electronic form on non-removable media (i) will be deemed to be returned when a copy thereof is delivered in reasonable electronic form to the Company, and (ii) destroyed when the Consultant performs a commercially reasonable “delete” function with respect to such data, provided that the Consultant thereafter does not directly or indirectly permit or perform any recovery or restoration of such Company Property, whether through undeletion, archives, forensics or otherwise (except as it relates to source code or other information indicated as requiring further acts of deletion by Company, in which case such information must be deleted using reasonably secure deletion techniques as directed by the Company).
4.5 Further Assistance. The Consultant agrees to assist the Company in every proper way to obtain and, from time to time, enforce the Intellectual Property Rights to the Company Property in any and all countries, and to that end the Consultant will execute all documents for use in applying for, obtaining and enforcing the Intellectual Property Rights in and to such Company Property may desire, together with any assignments of Work Product or Company Inventions to the Company or persons designated by it. The Consultant’s obligation to assist Company in obtaining and enforcing such Intellectual Property Rights in any and all countries will continue beyond the termination of this Agreement, and shall always be at the Company’s reasonable expense.
No Solicitation
4.6 During the Term of this Agreement and for a period of 12 months thereafter, the Consultant will not, directly or indirectly, solicit any of the Company Entities’ customers or clients with which the Consultant performed services or had business dealings (or access to Confidential Information with respect to Company’s other business dealings) in connection with the Services hereunder.
No Hire
4.7 During the Term of this Agreement and for a period of 12 months thereafter, the Consultant will not, directly or indirectly, hire or engage any of the Company’s employees, staff, contractors or consultants, or solicit or encourage any of the foregoing, to terminate any employment or contract with the Company, nor will the Consultant provide any information concerning such persons to any recruiter or prospective employer without prior written consent from the Company.
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PART 5
OTHER PROVISIONS
No Liability
5.1 In no event will the Company be liable for any claims made by the Consultant or any third party for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, whether for negligence or breach of contract, including without limitation loss of business opportunities, profits or revenues, and whether or not the possibility of such damages or loss of opportunities, profits or revenues has been disclosed by the Consultant in advance or could have been reasonably foreseen by the Company.
Taxes and Benefits
5.2 The Consultant represents, warrants and covenants that the Consultant is acting and will act only as an independent contractor and not as an employee of the Company, and acknowledges that in so acting, the Consultant will not be entitled to any employee-like benefits, or any direct or indirect compensation other than that expressly set out in this Agreement. The Consultant will, as an independent contractor, collect and/or remit as required, all amounts, and will register with any workers’ compensation entities or other governmental bodies, and deal with all tax and other requirements, and satisfy all applicable compliance requirements, as required or permitted under law by all municipal, provincial or federal governments. Without affecting the Consultant’s other obligations in this § 5.2 , the Consultant will provide proof acceptable to the Company, acting reasonably, of the Consultant’s registrations, remittances or other tax or other compliance with applicable law, upon each such registration or remittance or upon request by the Company. The Consultant agrees that the Company will not be responsible for registering under any workers’ compensation legislation or for withholding or remitting any amounts for income taxes, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, or other deductions that would be required in an employment relationship. The Consultant will promptly indemnify the Company for any liability that the Company incurs as a result of not making such registrations or remittances or other relevant compliance. In the event that Canada Revenue Agency determines that remuneration paid by the Company for the Services was employment income to the Consultant, and further determines that the Company was obligated to withhold taxes at source, the Consultant shall be liable to indemnify the Company for any and all costs or assessment thereby occasioned.
Survival
5.3 All obligations and rights that, by their nature, are intended to survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement (the “Surviving Terms”), will survive the actual or purported termination or expiration, for any reason, of the Agreement.
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Severability
5.4 If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will not be affected.
Governing Law
5.5 This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the laws of Canada applicable therein.
Notice
5.6 Every notice, request, demand or direction (each, for the purposes of this section, a “notice”) to be given pursuant to this Agreement by either party to another will be in writing and will be delivered or sent by registered or certified mail postage prepaid and mailed in any government post office or by email, or other similar form of written communication, in each case, addressed as above or as follows:
If to the Company, at:
Address: 750 – 0000 Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxx, XX, X0X 0X0
Telephone: u
Attention: Chairman of the Board
If to the Consultant, at:
Address: u
Telephone: u
E- Mail: u
Attention: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
or to such other address as is specified by the particular party by notice to the other.
Entire Agreement
5.7 This Agreement forms the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements, proposals or communications relative to the subject matter of this Agreement. Amendments to or waivers of this Agreement will be effective only if in writing and signed by authorized representatives of both parties. Unless otherwise expressly stated, if there is any necessary conflict or inconsistency between any of the terms of this Agreement, this Agreement will take precedence.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF this Agreement has been executed by the parties hereto as of the day and year first above written.
| DEPLOY TECHNOLOGIES INC. | ||
| Per: | /s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx | |
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| TORO PACIFIC MANAGEMENT INC. |
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Schedule “A”
Duties
1.0 Culture
The Chief Executive Officer (the “CEO”) must understand, reflect and xxxxxx the culture and goals of the Company. The Company’s culture and goals, although continuously evolving, include the following:
(a) to practice the highest standards of integrity;
(b) to achieve superior financial returns;
(c) pursue growth opportunities in the context of stability and a long-term perspective; and
(d) to be a respected and leading employer, customer, supplier and investment.
2.0 Leadership
The CEO is responsible for executive leadership and overall day-to-day management of the Company. The CEO is responsible for the implementation of policies, directives and resolutions adopted by the board of directors from time to time. The CEO must be able to communicate effectively with managers and promote a sense of participation in, and commitment to, the organization. The CEO is expected to be “hands on”, accessible, collaborative and resourceful.
The CEO must set goals for the various members of the management team and ensure accountability.
3.0 Specific Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the CEO include,
(a) in collaboration with the board, developing and monitoring the Company’s strategic direction;
(b) directing the overall business operations of the Company and taking steps to increase shareholder value;
(c) ensuring that the board is kept appropriately informed of the overall business operations of the Company and major issues facing the Company;
(d) having ultimate accountability for the development (with the board) and execution of the strategy and policies of the Company and their communication to the Company’s key internal and external stakeholders;
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(e) identifying and assessing key business risks and implementing strategies to mitigate those risks;
(f) having responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Company, including the annual planning process, capital and financial management, acquisitions, divestitures, etc., all of which must be accomplished within the strategic framework of the Company approved by the board;
(g) having responsibility for ensuring the proper discharge of management’s duties in relation to financial reporting and disclosure;
(h) having the responsibility for the employment, compensation, job descriptions, performance assessment, leadership development and succession planning of senior management personnel in order to ensure adequate resources and expertise are available to fulfil the Company’s goals; and
(i) representing the Company to its major stakeholders, including investment and financial communities, governments, customers and the public.
4.0 Priorities
A key responsibility of the CEO is to identify, assess and determine priorities for the Company, its management and employees. These include priorities for improvement of existing operations, growth opportunities and general allocation of financial, management and other resources. In establishing priorities the CEO is guided by determinations of the board. The CEO is responsible for ensuring buy-in by management of priorities that are established. This will require effective communications skills as well as decisiveness and consistency.
5.0 Scope of Involvement
The CEO of the Company must deal with a broad spectrum of matters including international trade, national, regional and local politics, as well as employee, investor and customer relations. As a result, the CEO must have a high energy level combined with a total commitment to the Company’s interests. The breadth of the CEO’s involvement also emphasizes the importance of prioritizing. The CEO is management’s representative on the board and must be able to effectively articulate management’s vision to the board. Conversely, the CEO is responsible to effectively articulate to management and implement determinations made by the board.
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