THREE YEAR EXECUTIVE OFFICER CHANGE IN CONTROL AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT
10.6
THREE YEAR EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CHANGE IN CONTROL AGREEMENT
CHANGE IN CONTROL AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT, dated as of ___(the “Effective Date”), is made by and between Visteon
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and ___(the “Executive”).
WHEREAS, the Company considers it essential to the best interests of its stockholders to
xxxxxx the continued employment of key management personnel; and
WHEREAS, the Board recognizes that, as is the case with many publicly held corporations, the
possibility of a Change in Control exists and that such possibility, and the uncertainty and
questions which it may raise among management, may result in the departure or distraction of
management personnel to the detriment of the Company and its stockholders; and
WHEREAS, the Board has determined that appropriate steps should be taken to reinforce and
encourage the continued attention and dedication of members of the Company’s management, including
the Executive, to their assigned duties without distraction in the face of potentially disturbing
circumstances arising from the possibility of a Change in Control;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants herein contained,
the Company and the Executive hereby agree as follows:
1. Defined Terms. The definitions of capitalized terms used in this Agreement are
provided in the last Section hereof.
2. Term of Agreement. The Term of this Agreement shall commence on the
Effective Date and shall continue in effect through the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date;
provided, however, that commencing on the first anniversary of the Effective Date,
and on each anniversary of the Effective Date thereafter, the Term shall automatically be extended
for one additional year unless, not later than 90 days prior to each such date, the Company or the
Executive shall have given notice not to extend the Term; and provided, further,
that if a Change in Control shall have occurred during the Term, the Term shall expire no earlier
than 36 months beyond the month in which such Change in Control occurred.
3. Company’s Covenants Summarized. In order to induce the Executive to remain in the
employ of the Company and in consideration of the Executive’s covenants set forth in Section 4
hereof, the Company agrees, under the conditions described herein, to pay the Executive the
Severance Payments and the other payments and benefits described herein. Except as provided in
Section 9.1 hereof, no Severance Payments shall be payable under this Agreement unless there shall
have been (or, under the terms of the second sentence of Section 6.1 hereof, there shall be deemed
to have been) a termination of the Executive’s employment with the Company following a Change in
Control and during the Term. This Agreement shall
not be
construed as creating an express or implied contract of employment and, except as otherwise
agreed in writing between the Executive and the Company, the Executive shall not have any right to
be retained in the employ of the Company.
4. The Executive’s Covenants.
4.1 The Executive agrees that, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, in the
event of a Potential Change in Control during the Term, the Executive will remain in the employ of
the Company until the earliest of (i) a date which is six months from the date of such Potential
Change of Control, (ii) the date of a Change in Control, (iii) the date of termination by the
Executive of the Executive’s employment for Good Reason or by reason of death, Disability or
Retirement, or (iv) the termination by the Company of the Executive’s employment for any reason.
4.2 The Executive agrees that, during the Term and for a period ending on the second
anniversary of a termination of the Executive’s employment following a Change in Control under
circumstances entitling the Executive to payments and benefits under Section 6 hereof, the
Executive will not, without the prior written consent of the Chairman of the Board or the Chief
Executive Officer of the Company, engage in or perform any services of a similar nature to those
performed by the Executive at the Company for any other corporation or business which is primarily
engaged in the design, manufacture, development, promotion or sale of climate, instrument and door
panels or electronic components for the automotive industry within North America, Latin America,
Asia, Australia or Europe in competition with the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries or
Affiliates, or any joint ventures to which the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries or
Affiliates are a party.
4.3 During the Term and thereafter, the Executive will not (other than in the regular course
and in furtherance of the Company’s business) divulge, furnish or make available to any person any
confidential knowledge, information or materials, whether tangible or intangible, regarding
proprietary matters relating to the Company, including, without limitation, trade secrets, customer
and supplier lists, pricing policies, operational methods, marketing plans or strategies, product
development techniques or plans, business acquisition or disposition plans, new personnel
employment plans, methods of manufacture, technical processes, designs and design projects,
inventions and research projects and financial budgets and forecasts of the Company except (1)
information which at the time is available to others in the business or generally known to the
public other than as a result of disclosure by the Executive not permitted hereunder, and (2) when
required to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction, by any governmental agency or by any
administrative body or legislative body (including a committee thereof) with purported or apparent
jurisdiction to order the Executive to divulge, disclose or make accessible such information.
5. Compensation Other Than Severance Payments.
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5.1 Following a Change in Control and during the Term, during any period that the Executive
fails to perform the Executive’s full-time duties with the Company as a result of incapacity due to
physical or mental illness, the Company shall pay to the Executive an amount that when added to the
amount paid to the Executive under the Company’s short-term and/or long-term disability plans, will
result in the Executive receiving his full salary at the rate in effect at the commencement of any
such period, together with all compensation and benefits payable to the Executive under the terms
of any other compensation or benefit plan, program or arrangement maintained by the Company during
such period, until the Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company for Disability.
5.2 If the Executive’s employment shall be terminated for any reason following a
Change in Control and during the Term, the Company shall pay the Executive’s full salary to the
Executive through the Date of Termination at the rate in effect immediately prior to the Date of
Termination or, if higher, the rate in effect immediately prior to the first occurrence of an event
or circumstance constituting Good Reason, together with all compensation and benefits payable to
the Executive through the Date of Termination under the terms of the Company’s compensation and
benefit plans, programs or arrangements as in effect immediately prior to the Date of Termination
or, if more favorable to the Executive, as in effect immediately prior to the first occurrence of
an event or circumstance constituting Good Reason.
5.3 If the Executive’s employment shall be terminated for any reason following a Change in
Control and during the Term, the Company shall pay to the Executive the Executive’s normal
post-termination compensation and benefits as such payments become due. Such post-termination
compensation and benefits shall be determined under, and paid in accordance with, the Company’s
retirement, insurance and other compensation or benefit plans, programs and arrangements as in
effect immediately prior to the Date of Termination or, if more favorable to the Executive, as in
effect immediately prior to the occurrence of the first event or circumstance constituting Good
Reason.
6. Severance Payments.
6.1 If (i) the Executive’s employment is terminated following a Change in Control and
within three (3) years after a Change in Control, other than (A) by the Company for Cause, (B) by
reason of death or Disability, or (C) by the Executive without Good Reason, or (ii) the Executive
voluntarily terminates his employment for any reason during the 30 day period commencing on the
first anniversary of a Change in Control, then, in either such case, the Company shall pay the
Executive the amounts, and provide the Executive the benefits, described in this Section 6.1
(“Severance Payments”) and Section 6.2, in addition to any payments and benefits to which the
Executive is entitled under Section 5 hereof. For purposes of this Agreement, the Executive’s
employment shall be deemed to have been terminated following a Change in Control by the Company
without Cause or by the Executive with Good Reason, if (i) the Executive’s employment is terminated
by the Company without Cause prior to a Change in Control (whether or not a Change in Control ever
occurs) and such termination was at the
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request or direction of a Person who has entered into an agreement with the Company the consummation
of which would constitute a Change in Control, or (ii) the Executive terminates his employment for
Good Reason prior to a Change in Control (whether or not a Change in Control ever occurs) and the
circumstance or event which constitutes Good Reason occurs at the request or direction of such
Person. For purposes of any determination regarding the applicability of the immediately preceding
sentence, any position taken by the Executive shall be presumed to be correct unless the Company
establishes to the Board by clear and convincing evidence that such position is not correct.
(A) In lieu of any further salary payments to the Executive for periods subsequent to the
Date of Termination, the Company shall pay to the Executive within five (5) business days after the
Date of Termination, a lump sum severance payment, in cash, equal to three (3) times the sum of (i)
the Executive’s base salary as in effect immediately prior to the Date of Termination or, if
higher, in effect immediately prior to the first occurrence of an event or circumstance
constituting Good Reason, and (ii) the Executive’s target annual bonus pursuant to any annual bonus
or incentive plan maintained by the Company in respect of the fiscal year in which occurs the Date
of Termination or, if higher, the fiscal year in which occurs the first event or circumstance
constituting Good Reason. The amount payable pursuant to this Section 6.1(A) shall be reduced by
the amount of any cash severance or salary continuation benefit paid or payable to the Executive
under any other plan, policy or program of the Company or any of its Affiliates or any written
employment agreement between the Executive and the Company or any of its Affiliates.
(B) For the 36 month period immediately following the Date of Termination, the Company
shall arrange to provide the Executive and his dependents life, accident and health insurance
benefits substantially similar to those provided to the Executive and his dependents immediately
prior to the Date of Termination or, if more favorable to the Executive, those provided to the
Executive and his dependents immediately prior to the first occurrence of an event or circumstance
constituting Good Reason, at no greater cost to the Executive than the cost to the Executive
immediately prior to such date or occurrence; provided, however, that, unless the
Executive consents to a different method (after taking into account the effect of such method on
the calculation of “parachute payments” pursuant to Section 6.2 hereof), such health and life
insurance benefits shall be provided through a third-party insurer. Benefits otherwise receivable
by the Executive pursuant to this Section 6.1(B) shall be reduced to the extent benefits of the
same type are received by or made available to the Executive during the 36 month period following
the Executive’s termination of employment (and any such benefits received by or made available to
the Executive shall be reported to the Company by the Executive); provided,
however, that the Company shall reimburse the Executive for the excess, if any, of the cost
of such benefits to the Executive over such cost immediately prior to the Date of Termination or,
if more favorable to the Executive, the first occurrence of an event or circumstance constituting
Good Reason.
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(C) Each option to purchase shares of common stock of the Company outstanding as of the Date
of Termination shall become fully vested and exercisable as of such date and shall remain
exercisable during the remaining term of such option (such remaining term to be determined as if
the Executive were still actively employed), and each grant of restricted stock or similar grant,
the award of which is contingent only upon the continued employment of the Executive to a
subsequent date, shall become fully vested as of the Date of Termination.
(D) Unless payable to the Executive under the terms of any annual or long-term incentive
plan, the Company shall pay to the Executive within five (5) business days after the Date of
Termination, a lump sum amount, in cash, equal to the sum of (i) any unpaid incentive compensation
(including performance share awards) which has been allocated or awarded to the Executive for a
completed fiscal year or other measuring period preceding the Date of Termination under any such
plan and which, as of the Date of Termination, is contingent only upon the continued employment of
the Executive to a subsequent date, and (ii) a pro rata portion to the Date of Termination of the
aggregate value of all contingent incentive compensation awards (including performance share
awards) to the Executive for all then uncompleted periods under any such plan, calculated as to
each such award by multiplying the award that the Executive would have earned on the last day of
the performance award period, assuming the achievement, at the target level (or if higher, at the
then projected actual final level), of the individual and corporate performance goals established
with respect to such award, by the fraction obtained by dividing the number of full months and any
fractional portion of a month during such performance award period through the Date of Termination
by the total number of months contained in such performance award period.
(E) The benefits then accrued by or payable to the Executive under the Company’s
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, Executive Separation Allowance Plan, Deferred Compensation
Plan, Savings Parity Plan, or any successor to any such plan, and the benefits then accrued by or
payable to the Executive under any other nonqualified plan providing supplemental retirement or
deferred compensation benefits (other than the Select Retirement Plan), shall become fully vested
and payable notwithstanding any eligibility conditions that would otherwise apply with respect to
such benefits; provided that if the Executive has not attained fifty-five (55) years of age, the
Executive’s benefit under the Executive Separation Allowance Plan will commence to be paid upon the
Executive’s attainment of age fifty-five (55). With respect to the Supplemental Executive
Retirement Plan, Executive Separation Allowance Plan, and any other nonqualified nonaccount balance
plan or portion of a plan providing supplemental retirement or deferred compensation benefits
(other than the Select Retirement Plan), the Company shall transfer an amount in cash sufficient to
pay all benefits then accrued by or payable to the Executive under the terms of such plans into an
irrevocable grantor trust (a so-called “Rabbi Trust”) whose trustee shall be an entity unaffiliated
with and independent of the Company, which trust shall be required to pay such benefits in
accordance with and subject to the applicable terms of each plan (as modified by this Agreement)
and the trust instrument; provided that any amendment or termination of any such plan on or after
the Change in Control date the effect of which would be to reduce or eliminate the benefit payable
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to the Executive shall be disregarded.
With respect to the Deferred Compensation Plan, Savings Parity Plan, and any other
nonqualified account balance plan or portion of a plan providing supplemental retirement or
deferred compensation benefits, the Company shall pay to the Executive, within five (5) business
days after the Date of Termination, a lump sum amount, in cash, equal to the sum of the aggregate
account balances of the Executive under such plans or portions of plans as of the date of such
payment.
(F) The Company shall reimburse the Executive for expenses incurred for outplacement services
suitable to the Executive’s position for a period of three (3) years following the Date of
Termination (or, if earlier, until the first acceptance by the Executive of an offer of employment)
in an amount not exceeding 25% of the sum of the Executive’s annual base salary as in effect
immediately prior to the Date of Termination or, if higher, in effect immediately prior to the
first occurrence of an event or circumstances constituting Good Reason, and target annual bonus
pursuant to any annual bonus or incentive plan maintained by the Company in respect of the fiscal
year in which occurs the Date of Termination or, if higher, the fiscal year in which occurs the
first event or circumstance constituting Good Reason.
(G) For the six (6) month period immediately following the Date of Termination, the Company
shall provide the Executive with the use of any Company provided automobile on the same terms and
conditions that were applicable immediately prior to the Date of Termination or, if more favorable,
immediately prior to the first occurrence of an event or circumstance constituting Good Reason.
6.2 (A) Whether or not the Executive becomes entitled to the Severance Payments, if any of
the payments or benefits received or to be received by the Executive in connection with a Change in
Control or the Executive’s termination of employment (whether pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement or any other plan, arrangement or agreement with the Company, any Person whose actions
result in a Change in Control or any Person affiliated with the Company or such Person) (such
payments or benefits, excluding the Gross-Up Payment, being hereinafter referred to as the “Total
Payments”) will be subject to the Excise Tax, the Company shall pay to the Executive an additional
amount (the “Gross-Up Payment”) such that the net amount retained by the Executive, after deduction
of any Excise Tax on the Total Payments and any federal, state and local income and employment
taxes and Excise Tax upon the Gross-Up Payment, shall be equal to the Total Payments.
(B) For purposes of determining whether any of the Total Payments will be subject to
the Excise Tax and the amount of such Excise Tax, (i) all of the Total Payments shall be treated as
“parachute payments” (within the meaning of section 280G(b)(2) of the Code) unless, in the opinion
of tax counsel (“Tax Counsel”) reasonably acceptable to the Executive and selected by the
accounting firm which was, immediately prior to the Change in Control, the Company’s independent
auditor (the “Auditor”), such payments or benefits (in whole or in part) do not constitute
parachute payments, including by reason of section 280G(b)(4)(A) of the Code, (ii) all “excess
parachute payments” within the meaning of section 280G(b)(l) of the Code shall
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be treated as
subject to the Excise Tax unless, in the opinion of Tax Counsel, such excess parachute
payments (in whole or in part) represent reasonable compensation for services actually rendered
(within the meaning of section 280G(b)(4)(B) of the Code) in excess of the Base Amount allocable to
such reasonable compensation, or are otherwise not subject to the Excise Tax, and (iii) the value
of any noncash benefits or any deferred payment or benefit shall be determined by the Auditor in
accordance with the principles of sections 280G(d)(3) and (4) of the Code. For purposes of
determining the amount of the Gross-Up Payment, the Executive shall be deemed to pay federal income
tax at the highest marginal rate of federal income taxation in the calendar year in which the
Gross-Up Payment is to be made and state and local income taxes at the highest marginal rate of
taxation in the state and locality of the Executive’s residence on the Date of Termination (or if
there is no Date of Termination, then the date on which the Gross-Up Payment is calculated for
purposes of this Section 6.2), net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be
obtained from deduction of such state and local taxes.
(C) In the event that the Excise Tax is finally determined to be less than the amount
taken into account hereunder in calculating the Gross-Up Payment, the Executive shall repay to the
Company, within five business days following the time that the amount of such reduction in the
Excise Tax is finally determined, the portion of the Gross-Up Payment attributable to such
reduction (plus that portion of the Gross-Up Payment attributable to the Excise Tax and federal,
state and local income and employment taxes imposed on the Gross-Up Payment being repaid by the
Executive), to the extent that such repayment results in a reduction in the Excise Tax and a
dollar-for-dollar reduction in the Executive’s taxable income and wages for purposes of federal,
state and local income and employment taxes, plus interest on the amount of such repayment at 120%
of the rate provided in section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code. In the event that the Excise Tax is
determined to exceed the amount taken into account hereunder in calculating the Gross-Up Payment
(including by reason of any payment the existence or amount of which cannot be determined at the
time of the Gross-Up Payment), the Company shall make an additional Gross-Up Payment in respect of
such excess (plus any interest, penalties or additions payable by the Executive with respect to
such excess) within five business days following the time that the amount of such excess is finally
determined. The Executive and the Company shall each reasonably cooperate with the other in
connection with any administrative or judicial proceedings concerning the existence or amount of
liability for Excise Tax with respect to the Total Payments.
6.3 The payments provided in subsections (A), (D) and (E) of Section 6.1 hereof and in
Section 6.2 hereof shall be made not later than the fifth day following the Date of Termination;
provided, however, that if the amounts of such payments cannot be finally
determined on or before such day, the Company shall pay to the Executive on such day an estimate,
as determined in good faith by the Executive or, in the case of payments under Section 6.2 hereof,
in accordance with Section 6.2 hereof, of the minimum amount of such payments to which the
Executive is clearly entitled and shall pay the remainder of such payments (together with interest
on the unpaid remainder (or on all such payments to the extent the Company fails to make such
payments when due) at 120% of the rate provided in section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the
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Code) as soon as
the amount thereof can be determined but in no event later than the 30th day after the Date of
Termination. In the event that the amount of the estimated payments exceeds
the amount subsequently determined to have been due, such excess shall constitute a loan by the
Company to the Executive, payable on the fifth business day after demand by the Company (together
with interest at 120% of the rate provided in section 1274(b)(2)(B) of the Code). At the time that
payments are made under this Agreement, the Company shall provide the Executive with a written
statement setting forth the manner in which such payments were calculated and the basis for such
calculations including, without limitation, any opinions or other advice the Company has received
from Tax Counsel, the Auditor or other advisors or consultants (and any such opinions or advice
which are in writing shall be attached to the statement).
6.4 The Company also shall pay to the Executive all legal fees and expenses incurred
by the Executive in disputing in good faith any issue hereunder relating to the termination of the
Executive’s employment, in seeking in good faith to obtain or enforce any benefit or right provided
by this Agreement or in connection with any tax audit or proceeding to the extent attributable to
the application of section 4999 of the Code to any payment or benefit provided hereunder. Such
payments shall be made within five business days after delivery of the Executive’s written requests
for payment accompanied with such evidence of fees and expenses incurred as the Company reasonably
may require.
7. Termination Procedures and Compensation During Dispute.
7.1. Notice of Termination. After a Change in Control and during the Term, any
purported termination of the Executive’s employment (other than by reason of death) shall be
communicated by written Notice of Termination from one party hereto to the other party hereto in
accordance with Section 10 hereof. For purposes of this Agreement, a “Notice of Termination” shall
mean a notice which shall indicate the specific termination provision in this Agreement relied upon
and shall set forth in reasonable detail the facts and circumstances claimed to provide a basis for
termination of the Executive’s employment under the provision so indicated. Further, a Notice of
Termination for Cause is required to include a copy of a resolution duly adopted by the affirmative
vote of not less than three-quarters (3/4) of the entire membership of the Board at a meeting of
the Board which was called and held for the purpose of considering such termination (after
reasonable notice to the Executive and an opportunity for the Executive, together with the
Executive’s counsel, to be heard before the Board) finding that, in the good faith opinion of the
Board, the Executive was guilty of conduct set forth in clause (i) or (ii) of the definition of
Cause herein, and specifying the particulars thereof in detail.
7.2 Date of Termination. “Date of Termination,” with respect to any purported
termination of the Executive’s employment after a Change in Control and during the Term, shall mean
(i) if the Executive’s employment is terminated for Disability, 30 days after Notice of Termination
is given (provided that the Executive shall not have returned to the full-time performance of the
Executive’s duties during such 30 day period), and (ii) if the Executive’s employment is terminated
for any other reason, the date specified in the Notice of Termination
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(which, in the case of a
termination by the Company, shall not be less than 30 days (except in the case of a termination for
Cause) and, in the case of a termination by the Executive, shall not be
less than 15 days nor more than 60 days, respectively, from the date such Notice of
Termination is given).
7.3 Dispute Concerning Termination. If within 15 days after any Notice of
Termination is given, or, if later, prior to the Date of Termination (as determined without regard
to this Section 7.3), the party receiving such Notice of Termination notifies the other party that
a dispute exists concerning the termination, the Date of Termination shall be extended until the
earlier of (i) the date on which the Term ends or (ii) the date on which the dispute is finally
resolved, either by mutual written agreement of the parties or by a final judgment, order or decree
of an arbitrator or a court of competent jurisdiction (which is not appealable or with respect to
which the time for appeal therefrom has expired and no appeal has been perfected);
provided, however, that the Date of Termination shall be extended by a notice of
dispute given by the Executive only if such notice is given in good faith and the Executive pursues
the resolution of such dispute with reasonable diligence.
7.4 Compensation During Dispute. If a purported termination occurs following a
Change in Control and during the Term and the Date of Termination is extended in accordance with
Section 7.3 hereof, the Company shall continue to pay the Executive the full compensation in effect
when the notice giving rise to the dispute was given (including, but not limited to, salary) and
continue the Executive as a participant in all compensation, benefit and insurance plans in which
the Executive was participating when the notice giving rise to the dispute was given, until the
Date of Termination, as determined in accordance with Section 7.3 hereof. Amounts paid under this
Section 7.4 are in addition to all other amounts due under this Agreement (other than those due
under Section 5.2 hereof) and shall not be offset against or reduce any other amounts due under
this Agreement.
8. No Mitigation. The Company agrees that, if the Executive’s employment with
the Company terminates during the Term, the Executive is not required to seek other employment or
to attempt in any way to reduce any amounts payable to the Executive by the Company pursuant to
Section 6 hereof or Section 7.4 hereof. Further, the amount of any payment or benefit provided for
in this Agreement (other than Section 6.1(B) hereof) shall not be reduced by any compensation
earned by the Executive as the result of employment by another employer, by retirement benefits, by
offset against any amount claimed to be owed by the Executive to the Company, or otherwise.
9. Successors; Binding Agreement.
9.1 In addition to any obligations imposed by law upon any successor to the Company, the
Company will require any successor (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation
or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company to expressly
assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to
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the same extent that the
Company would be required to perform it if no such succession had taken place. Failure of the
Company to obtain such assumption and agreement prior to the effectiveness
of any such succession shall be a breach of this Agreement and shall entitle the Executive to
compensation from the Company in the same amount and on the same terms as the Executive would be
entitled to hereunder if the Executive were to terminate the Executive’s employment for Good Reason
after a Change in Control, except that, for purposes of implementing the foregoing, the date on
which any such succession becomes effective shall be deemed the Date of Termination.
9.2 This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the Executive’s
personal or legal representatives, executors, administrators, successors, heirs, distributees,
devisees and legatees. If the Executive shall die while any amount would still be payable to the
Executive hereunder (other than amounts which, by their terms, terminate upon the death of the
Executive) if the Executive had continued to live, all such amounts, unless otherwise provided
herein, shall be paid in accordance with the terms of this Agreement to the executors, personal
representatives or administrators of the Executive’s estate.
10. Notices. For the purpose of this Agreement, notices and all other
communications provided for in the Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been
duly given when delivered or mailed by United States registered mail, return receipt requested,
postage prepaid, addressed, if to the Executive, to the address inserted below the Executive’s
signature on the final page hereof and, if to the Company, to the address set forth below, or to
such other address as either party may have furnished to the other in writing in accordance
herewith, except that notice of change of address shall be effective only upon actual receipt:
To the Company:
Visteon Corporation
Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Attention: General Counsel
Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Attention: General Counsel
11. Miscellaneous. No provision of this Agreement may be modified, waived or
discharged unless such waiver, modification or discharge is agreed to in writing and signed by the
Executive and such officer as may be specifically designated by the Board. No waiver by either
party hereto at any time of any breach by the other party hereto of, or of any lack of compliance
with, any condition or provision of this Agreement to be performed by such other party shall be
deemed a waiver of similar or dissimilar provisions or conditions at the same or at any prior or
subsequent time. This Agreement supersedes any other agreements or representations, oral or
otherwise, express or implied, with respect to the subject matter hereof which have been made by
either party; provided, however, that this Agreement shall supersede any agreement
setting forth the terms and conditions of the Executive’s employment with the
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Company only in the
event that the Executive’s employment with the Company is terminated on or following a Change in
Control, by the Company other than for Cause or by the Executive other than for Good Reason. The
validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this Agreement shall be governed by
the laws of the State of Delaware. All references to sections of the Exchange Act or the Code
shall be deemed also to refer to any successor provisions to such sections. Any payments provided
for hereunder shall be paid net of any applicable withholding required under federal, state or
local law and any additional withholding to which the Executive has agreed. The obligations of the
Company and the Executive under this Agreement which by their nature may require either partial or
total performance after the expiration of the Term (including, without limitation, those under
Sections 6 and 7 hereof) shall survive such expiration.
12. Validity. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this
Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this Agreement,
which shall remain in full force and effect.
13. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same
instrument.
14. Settlement of Disputes. All claims by the Executive for benefits under this
Agreement shall be directed to and determined by the Board and shall be in writing. Any denial by
the Board of a claim for benefits under this Agreement shall be delivered to the Executive in
writing and shall set forth the specific reasons for the denial and the specific provisions of this
Agreement relied upon. The Board shall afford a reasonable opportunity to the Executive for a
review of the decision denying a claim and shall further allow the Executive to appeal to the Board
a decision of the Board within 60 days after notification by the Board that the Executive’s claim
has been denied.
15. Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated below:
(A) “Affiliate” shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under Section 12
of the Exchange Act.
(B) “Auditor” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2 hereof.
(C) “Base Amount” shall have the meaning set forth in section 280G(b)(3) of the Code.
(D) “Beneficial Owner” shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act.
(E) “Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.
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(F) “Cause” for termination by the Company of the Executive’s employment shall mean (i) the
willful and continued failure by the Executive to substantially perform the Executive’s duties with
the Company (other than any such failure resulting from the Executive’s incapacity due to physical
or mental illness or any such actual or anticipated failure after the issuance of a Notice of
Termination for Good Reason by the Executive pursuant to Section 7.1 hereof) after a written demand
for substantial performance is delivered to the Executive by the Board, which demand specifically
identifies the manner in which the Board believes that the Executive has not substantially
performed the Executive’s duties, or (ii) the willful engaging by the Executive in conduct which is
demonstrably and materially injurious to the Company or its subsidiaries, monetarily or otherwise.
For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii) of this definition, (x) no act, or failure to act, on the
Executive’s part shall be deemed “willful” unless done, or omitted to be done, by the Executive not
in good faith and without reasonable belief that the Executive’s act, or failure to act, was in the
best interest of the Company and (y) in the event of a dispute concerning the application of this
provision, no claim by the Company that Cause exists shall be given affect unless the Company
establishes to the Board by clear and convincing evidence that Cause exists.
(G) “Change in Control” shall be deemed to have occurred if the event set forth in any one of
the following paragraphs shall have occurred:
(I) any Person is or becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of
the Company (not including in the securities beneficially owned by such Person any securities
acquired directly from the Company or its affiliates) representing 40% or more of the combined
voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities, excluding any Person who becomes such a
Beneficial Owner in connection with a transaction described in clause (a) of paragraph (III) below;
(II) within any twelve (12) month period, the following individuals cease for any
reason to constitute a majority of the number of directors then serving: individuals who, on the
Effective Date, constitute the Board and any new director (other than a director whose initial
assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest, including but
not limited to a consent solicitation, relating to the election of directors of the Company) whose
appointment or election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders was
approved or recommended by a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the directors then still in
office who either were directors on the date hereof or whose appointment, election or nomination
for election was previously so approved or recommended;
(III) there is consummated a merger or consolidation of the Company or any direct or indirect
subsidiary of the Company with any other corporation, other than (a) a merger or consolidation
which results in the directors of the Company immediately prior to such merger or consolidation
continuing to constitute at least a majority of the board of directors of the Company, the
surviving entity or any parent thereof or (b) a merger
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or consolidation effected to implement a
recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in
which no Person is or becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of
the Company (not including in the securities Beneficially Owned by such Person any securities
acquired directly from the Company or its Affiliates) representing 40% or more of the combined
voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities;
(IV) the shareholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation or dissolution of
the Company or there is consummated an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of more
than 50% of the Company’s assets, other than a sale or disposition by the Company of more than 50%
of the Company’s assets to an entity, at least 50% of the combined voting power of the voting
securities of which are owned by shareholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions
as their ownership of the Company immediately prior to such sale; or
(V) any other event that the Board, in its sole discretion, determines to be a Change in
Control for purposes of this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a “Change in Control” shall not be deemed to have
occurred by virtue of the consummation of any transaction or series of integrated transactions
immediately following which the record holders of the common stock of the Company immediately prior
to such transaction or series of transactions continue to have substantially the same proportionate
ownership in an entity which owns all or substantially all of the assets of the Company immediately
following such transaction or series of transactions.
(H) “Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time.
(I) “Company” shall mean Visteon Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and, except in
determining under Section 15(G) hereof whether or not any Change in Control of the Company has
occurred, shall include any successor to its business and/or assets which assumes and agrees to
perform this Agreement by operation of law, or otherwise.
(J) “Date of Termination” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7.2 hereof.
(K) “Disability” shall be deemed the reason for the termination by the Company of the
Executive’s employment, if, as a result of the Executive’s incapacity due to physical or mental
illness, the Executive shall have been absent from the full-time performance of the Executive’s
duties with the Company for a period of six consecutive months, the Company shall have given the
Executive a Notice of Termination for Disability, and, within 30 days after such Notice of
Termination is given, the Executive shall not have returned to the full-time performance of the
Executive’s duties.
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(L) “Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to
time.
(M) “Excise Tax” shall mean any excise tax imposed under section 4999 of the Code.
(N) “Executive” shall mean the individual named in the first paragraph of this Agreement.
(O) “Good Reason” for termination by the Executive of the Executive’s employment shall
mean the occurrence (without the Executive’s express written consent) after any Change in Control,
or prior to a Change in Control under the circumstances described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of the
second sentence of Section 6.1 hereof (treating all references in paragraphs (I) through (VI) below
to a “Change in Control” as references to a “Potential Change in Control”), of any one of the
following acts by the Company, or failures by the Company to act, unless, in the case of any act or
failure to act described in paragraph (I), (IV), or (V) below, such act or failure to act is
corrected prior to the Date of Termination specified in the Notice of Termination given in respect
thereof:
(I) the assignment to the Executive of any duties inconsistent with the Executive’s status as
a senior executive officer of the Company or a material adverse alteration in the nature or status
of the Executive’s responsibilities from those in effect immediately prior to the Change in Control
(including, without limitation, the Executive ceasing to be an executive officer of a public
company);
(II) a reduction by the Company in the Executive’s annual base salary as in effect on the
date hereof or as the same may be increased from time to time, except for across-the-board salary
reductions similarly affecting all senior executives of the Company and all senior executives of
any Person in control of the Company;
(III) the relocation of the Executive’s principal place of employment to a location more than
50 miles from the Executive’s principal place of employment immediately prior to the Change in
Control or the Company’s requiring the Executive to be based anywhere other than such principal
place of employment (or permitted relocation thereof) except for required travel on the Company’s
business to an extent substantially consistent with the Executive’s present business travel
obligations;
(IV) the failure by the Company to pay to the Executive any portion of the Executive’s
current compensation, or to pay to the Executive any portion of an installment of deferred
compensation under any deferred compensation program of the Company, within seven days of the date
such compensation is due;
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(V) the failure by the Company to continue to provide the Executive with benefits
substantially similar to the material benefits enjoyed by the Executive under any of the Company’s
executive compensation (including bonus, equity or incentive compensation), pension, savings, life
insurance, medical, health and accident, or disability plans in which the Executive was
participating immediately prior to the Change in Control (except for across the board changes
similarly affecting all senior executives of the Company and all senior executives of any Person in
control of the Company), the taking of any other action by the Company which would directly or
indirectly materially reduce any of such benefits or deprive the Executive of any material fringe
benefit enjoyed by the Executive at the time of the Change in Control, or the failure by the
Company to provide the Executive with the number of paid vacation days to which the Executive is
entitled on the basis of years of service with the Company in accordance with the Company’s normal
vacation policy in effect at the time of the Change in Control; or
(VI) any purported termination of the Executive’s employment which is not effected pursuant
to a Notice of Termination satisfying the requirements of Section 7.1 hereof; for purposes of this
Agreement, no such purported termination shall be effective.
The Executive’s right to terminate the Executive’s employment for Good Reason shall not be
affected by the Executive’s incapacity due to physical or mental illness. The Executive’s
continued employment shall not constitute consent to, or a waiver of rights with respect to, any
act or failure to act constituting Good Reason hereunder. For purposes of any determination
regarding the existence of Good Reason, any claim by the Executive that Good Reason exists shall be
presumed to be correct unless the Company establishes to the Board by clear and convincing evidence
that Good Reason does not exist.
(P) “Gross-Up Payment” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2 hereof.
(Q) “Notice of Termination” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7.1 hereof.
(R) “Person” shall have the meaning given in Section 3(a)(9) of the Exchange Act, as
modified and used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) thereof, except that such term shall not include (i)
the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) a trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under
an employee benefit plan of the Company or any of its Affiliates, (iii) an underwriter temporarily
holding securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, or (iv) a corporation owned,
directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as
their ownership of stock of the Company.
(S) “Potential Change in Control” shall be deemed to have occurred if the event set forth in
any one of the following paragraphs shall have occurred:
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(I) the Company enters into an agreement, the consummation of which would result in the
occurrence of a Change in Control;
(II) the Company or any Person publicly announces an intention to take or to consider taking
actions which, if consummated, would constitute a Change in Control;
(III) any Person becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the
Company representing 15% or more of either the then outstanding shares of common stock of the
Company or the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities (not including in
the securities beneficially owned by such Person any securities acquired directly from the Company
or its affiliates); or
(IV) the Board adopts a resolution to the effect that, for purposes of this Agreement, a
Potential Change in Control has occurred.
(T) “Retirement” shall be deemed the reason for the termination by the Executive of the
Executive’s employment if such employment is terminated in accordance with the Company’s retirement
policy, including early retirement, generally applicable to its salaried employees.
(U) “Severance Payments” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.1 hereof.
(V) “Tax Counsel” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2 hereof.
(W) “Term” shall mean the period of time described in Section 2 hereof (including any
extension, continuation or termination described therein).
(X) “Total Payments” shall mean those payments so described in Section 6.2 hereof.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have duly executed this Agreement to be effective as of the
Effective Date.
| VISTEON CORPORATION | ||||||
| By: |
|
|||||
| Name: | ||||||
| Title: | ||||||
| EXECUTIVE | ||||
| Address: | ||||||
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