EXHIBIT 10.2
VANS, INC.
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT ("Agreement" herein) is entered into as of
October 10, 2003, by and between VANS, INC., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), and XXXX X. XXXXXXX ("Employee").
1. Employment and Duties. Subject to appointment by the Board of
Directors, the Company hereby employs Employee as Vice President - Product
Development of the Company on the terms and subject to the conditions contained
in this Agreement. Employee shall be responsible for managing the Company's
product development department and interfacing with the factories with which the
Company contracts. Employee hereby accepts such employment and agrees to perform
in good faith and to the best of Employee's ability all services which may be
required of Employee hereunder, to do what is asked of him, and to be available
to render services at all times and places in accordance with such directions,
requests, rules and regulations made by the Company in connection with
Employee's employment. Employee hereby acknowledges and understands the duties
and services that are expected of him hereunder, and he hereby represents that
he has the experience and knowledge to perform such duties and services.
Employee shall, during the term hereof, devote Employee's full time and energy
to performing his duties. Employee shall report to the Chief Executive Officer
of the Company, or such other executive officer as may be designated by the
Company. Employee shall be based at the Company's corporate offices. Employee
understands, however, that Employee may be required to travel within and out of
the State of California to discharge his duties hereunder.
2. Term of Employment. The term of this Agreement shall commence as of
the date hereof and shall terminate on October 9, 2006, unless sooner terminated
as provided herein. This Agreement does not give Employee any enforceable right
to employment beyond this term, and Employee agrees that he shall have no rights
hereunder thereafter. AS PROVIDED FURTHER IN PARAGRAPH 11.1 BELOW, THIS
AGREEMENT CONSTITUTES AN EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL THAT MAY BE TERMINATED AT ANY TIME
BY COMPANY OR EMPLOYEE, WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE, NOTWITHSTANDING THE THREE - YEAR
TERM OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF EMPLOYEE IS TERMINATED WITHOUT CAUSE DURING THE TERM
HEREOF, OR AFTER A "CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT OR CONTROL," AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH
11.5 BELOW, OR TERMINATES THIS AGREEMENT FOR "GOOD REASON," AS DEFINED IN
PARAGRAPH 11.3 BELOW, EMPLOYEE'S SOLE REMEDY SHALL BE THE COMPENSATION SET FORTH
IN PARAGRAPH 11.4 BELOW.
Initial CEG Initial DG
--------------- --------
Representative Employee
of the Company
3. Salary Compensation. As salary compensation for Employee's services
hereunder and all the rights granted hereunder by Employee to the Company, the
Company shall pay Employee a gross salary of not less than $180,000 during the
term of this Agreement. Employee's salary shall be payable in bi-weekly
increments in accordance with the Company's payroll practices for salaried
employees, upon the condition that Employee fully and faithfully performs
Employee's services hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions of
this Agreement. The Company shall deduct and withhold from the compensation
payable to Employee hereunder any and all amounts required to be deducted or
withheld by the Company under the provisions of any statute, regulation,
ordinance, or order and any and all amendments hereinafter enacted requiring the
withholding or deducting from compensation payable to employees.
4. Expense Reimbursement. Employee shall be reimbursed by the Company
for all traveling, hotel, entertainment and other expenses that are properly and
necessarily incurred by Employee, pursuant to the Company's policies on the
same.
5. Death or Disability of Employee.
5.1 General. In the event of Employee's death or
"disability" (as such term is defined in Paragraph 5.2 hereof) while in the
employ of the Company, this Agreement, and the compensation due to Employee
pursuant to Paragraph 3 hereof, shall terminate upon the date of death or
disability and the Company shall thereafter be required to make payments only to
Employee, as provided in Paragraph 11.2 hereof. If Employee shall recover from
such disability prior to the expiration date of the Agreement, this Agreement
and Employee's employment hereunder shall be reinstated for the balance of the
term of this Agreement.
5.2 Definition of Disability. Employee shall be deemed
disabled if, in the sole opinion of the Company, Employee is unable to
substantially perform the services required of Employee hereunder for a period
in excess of 60 consecutive work days or 60 work days during any 90 work day
period. In such event, Employee shall be deemed disabled as of such 60th
workday.
6. Restrictive Covenant. During the term of this Agreement, Employee
shall (i) devote his full time and energy solely and exclusively to the
performance of his duties described herein; (ii) not directly or indirectly
provide services to or through any company or firm except the Company unless
otherwise instructed by the Company; (iii) not directly or indirectly own,
manage, operate, join, control, contribute to, or participate in the ownership,
management, operation or control of or be employed by or connected in any manner
with any enterprise which is engaged in any business competitive with or similar
to that of the Company; and (iv) not render any services of any kind or
character for Employee's own account of for any other person, firm or
corporation without first obtaining the Company's consent in writing; provided,
however, Employee shall have the right to perform such incidental services as
are necessary in connection
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with Employee's (a) private passive investments where he is not obligated or
required to, and shall not in fact, devote any managerial efforts, as long as
such investments are not in companies which are in competition in any way with
the Company; or (b) charitable or community activities, or in trade or
professional organizations, provided that such incidental services do not
interfere with the performance of Employee's services hereunder.
7. Non-Solicitation. Employee shall not, during the full term of this
Agreement and for a period of one (1) year thereafter, for himself or on behalf
of any other person, partnership, corporation or entity, directly or indirectly,
or by action in concert with others, solicit, induce, suggest or encourage any
person known to him to be an employee of the Company or any affiliate of the
Company to terminate his or her employment or other contractual relationship
with the Company or any of its affiliates.
8. Trade Secrets and Related Matters
8.1 Definitions. For purpose of this Section 8:
(a) "Records" means files, accounts, records,
log books, documents, drawings, sketches, designs, diagrams, models, plans,
blueprints, specifications, manuals, books, forms, notes, reports, memoranda,
studies, surveys, software, flow charts, data, computer programs, listing of
source code, calculations, recordings, catalogues, compilations of information,
correspondence, confidential data of customers and all copies, abstracts or
summaries of the foregoing in any storage medium, as well as instruments, tools,
storage devices, disks, equipment and all other physical items related to the
business of the Company (other than merely personal items of a general
professional nature), whether of a public nature or not, and whether prepared by
Employee or not.
(b) "Trade Secrets" means confidential business
or technical information or trade secrets of the Company which Employee acquires
while employed by the Company, whether or not conceived of, developed or
prepared by Employee or at his direction and includes:
(i) Any information or compilation of
information concerning the Company's financial position, financing, purchasing,
accounting, marketing, merchandising, sales, salaries, pricing, investments,
costs, profits, plans for future development, employees, prospective employees,
research, development, formulae, patterns, inventions, plans, specifications,
devices, products, procedures, processes, operations, techniques, software,
computer programs or data;
(ii) Any information or compilation of
information concerning the identity, plans, requirements, preferences, practices
and methods of doing business on specific customers, suppliers, prospective
customers and prospective suppliers of the Company;
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(iii) Any other information or "know how"
which is related to any product, process, service, business or research of the
Company; and
(iv) Any information which the Company
acquires from another party and treats as its proprietary information or
designates as "Confidential," whether or not owned or developed by the Company.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, "Trade Secrets" do not include any of
the following:
(i) Information which is publicly known
or which is generally employed by the trade, whether on or after the date that
Employee first acquires the information;
(ii) General information or knowledge
which Employee would have learned in the course of similar work elsewhere in the
trade; or
(iii) Information which Employee can
prove was known by Employee before the commencement of Employee's engagement by
the Company;
8.2 Acknowledgments. Employee acknowledges that:
(a) Employee's relationship with the Company
will be a confidential relationship in which Employee will have access to and
may create Trade Secrets.
(b) The Company uses the Trade Secrets in its
business to obtain a competitive advantage over its competitors who do not know
or use that information.
(c) The protection of the Trade Secrets against
unauthorized disclosure or use is of critical importance in maintaining the
competitive position of the Company.
8.3 Protection of Trade Secrets. Employee shall not at
any time, without the prior written consent of the Company, which may be
withheld by it in its sole and absolute discretion, disclose any Trade Secret in
any way except to employees of the Company, and shall not use any Trade Secret
in any way except in connection with his or her duties to the Company.
8.4 Records.
(a) Ownership. All Records are and shall remain
the exclusive property of the Company.
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(b) Return of Records. At the termination of
this Agreement, Employee shall promptly return to the Company all records in
Employee's possession or over which Employee has control.
8.5 Prohibited Use of Trade Secrets. During the term of
this Agreement and for 12 months following termination of this Agreement,
Employee shall not undertake any employment or consulting relationship (the "New
Activity") if the loyal and complete fulfillment of his duties in the New
Activity would inherently call upon Employee to reveal any Trade Secret.
9. Ownership of Material and Ideas. Employee agrees that all material,
ideas, and inventions pertaining to the business of the Company or of any client
of the Company, including but not limited to, all patents and copyrights thereon
and renewals and extensions thereof, trademarks and trade names, and the names,
addresses and telephone numbers of customers, distributors and sales
representatives of the Company, belong solely to the Company. Employee hereby
assigns any rights he may have to any such property to the Company, and agrees
to execute and deliver any documents which evidence such assignment.
10. Employee Plans, etc. Employee shall be entitled to participate, to
the same extent as most other officers of the Company, in any bonus compensation
plan, stock purchase or stock option plan, group life insurance plan, group
medical insurance plan and other compensation or employee benefit plans
(collectively, "Plans") which are generally available to a majority of the other
officers of the Company during the term hereof and for which Employee shall
qualify. Employee further understands, however, that the Board of Directors, or
such committee or person or persons designated by the Board of Directors, shall
determine in its sole discretion (i) whether any Plans are made available to a
majority of the officers of the Company; (ii) whether one or more Plans are
adopted solely for the Chief Executive Officer and/or one or more (but not a
majority) of the officers of the Company; (iii) whether one or more Plans are
made available to a majority of the officers; and (iv) the amounts payable or
the benefits provided thereunder to each participant in whole or in part.
Employee agrees and acknowledges that he has no vested interest in the
continuance of any Plan, and that no Plan in existence on the date of the
Agreement has acted as a material inducement to Employee in entering into this
Agreement.
11. Termination.
11.1 "At Will" Employment. This Agreement, and Employee's
employment, is at will, and the Company may, with or without notice, terminate
this Agreement and all of the Company's obligations hereunder with or without
"Cause." Employee may also terminate this Agreement at any time, for any reason,
upon the giving of thirty (30) days' written notice to the Company; provided,
however, the Company may waive all or any portion of such notice period in its
sole and absolute discretion. Termination by the Company for "Cause" means
termination due to (i)
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Employee's conviction of a felony ( which, through the lapse of time or
otherwise is not subject to appeal); (ii) Employee's material refusal, failure
or neglect without proper cause to perform adequately his obligations under this
Agreement or follow the instructions of his supervisor(s); (iii) any negligence
or willful misconduct by Employee; (iv) Employee's material breach of any of his
fiduciary obligations as an executive officer of the Company; (v) Employee's
material failure to adhere to the code of conduct and rules set forth in the
Company's Employee Handbook, as amended or in existence from time to time; (vi)
the death or disability of Employee; or (vii) the voluntary termination by
Employee of his employment, except for "Good Reason" (as defined in Paragraph
11.3 hereof).
11.2 Termination for Cause. Upon termination for Cause,
the Company shall only be required to pay Employee (i) accrued salary
compensation due to Employee as compensation for services rendered hereunder and
not previously paid; (ii) accrued vacation pay; and (iii) any appropriate
business expenses incurred by Employee in connection with his duties hereunder
and approved pursuant to Section 4 hereof, all through the date of termination.
Employee shall not be entitled to any severance compensation; bonus
compensation, whether "vested" or unvested; or any other compensation, benefits
or reimbursement of any kind.
11.3 Termination for "Good Reason." Employee may terminate
this Agreement for "Good Reason" (as hereinafter defined) upon thirty (30) days
written notice to the Company. The term "Good Reason" means (i) Employee is not
appointed or is removed from the position of Vice President - Product
Development without Cause during the term of this Agreement; or (ii) without
Employee's consent, a majority of the duties defined in Section 1 hereof are
removed from Employee's responsibilities. The term Good Reason does not include
a situation where certain of the duties defined in Section 1 hereof are removed
from Employee's responsibilities and are replaced with duties which have greater
responsibility and/or authority than the duties which are removed. Unless
Employee terminates this Agreement within thirty (30) days of learning from any
source that the Company has acted so as to provide Good Reason for Employee to
terminate this Agreement, and gives thirty (30) days' written notice of such
termination, Employee's right to receive severance compensation pursuant to
Paragraph 11.4 for such event shall be forever lost.
11.4 Severance Compensation. In the event (i) Employee
terminates this Agreement for Good Reason in accordance with Paragraph 11.3
hereof; (ii) Employee is terminated for any reason (except death or disability)
upon, or within six months following, a "Change in Management or Control (as
such term is defined in Paragraph 11.5 hereof);" or (iii) Employee is terminated
without Cause, the Company shall be obligated to pay severance compensation to
Employee in an amount equal to his salary compensation (at the rate payable at
the time of such termination) for a period of six (6) months from the date of
termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Employee is employed by a new
employer, or as a consultant after the termination of this Agreement, the
severance compensation payable to Employee hereunder shall be reduced by the
amount of compensation that Employee actually receives from the new
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employer, or as a consultant. However, Employee shall have a duty to inform the
Company that he has obtained such new employment, and the failure to do so is a
material breach of this Agreement. In such event, the Company shall be entitled
to (i) cease all payments to Employee under this Paragraph 11.4; and (ii)
recover any unauthorized payments to Employee in an action for breach of
contract. Notwithstanding anything else in this Agreement to the contrary,
solely in the event of a termination upon or following a Change in Management or
Control, the amount of severance compensation paid to Employee hereunder shall
not include any amount that the Company is prohibited from deducting for federal
income tax purposes by virtue of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, or any successor provision. In addition to the foregoing
severance compensation, the Company shall pay Employee (i) all compensation for
services rendered hereunder and not previously paid; (ii) accrued vacation pay;
and (iii) any appropriate business expenses incurred by Employee in connection
with his duties hereunder and approved pursuant to Section 4 hereof, all through
the date of termination. Employee shall not be entitled to any bonus
compensation, whether vested or unvested; or any other compensation, benefits or
reimbursement of any kind.
11.5 Definition of "Change in Management or Control." The
term "Change in Management or Control" means (i) the time that the Company first
determines that any person and all other persons who constitute a group (within
the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
("Exchange Act")) have acquired direct or indirect beneficial ownership (within
the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of twenty percent (20%) or
more of the Company's outstanding securities, unless a majority of the
"Continuing Directors" (as such term is hereinafter defined) approves the
acquisition not later than ten (10) business days after the Company makes that
determination, or (ii) the first day on which a majority of the members of the
Company's Board of Directors are not "Continuing Directors." The term
"Continuing Directors" means, as of any date of determination, any member of the
Board of Directors of the Company who (i) was a member of that Board of
Directors on the date of this Agreement, (iii) has been a member of that Board
of Directors for the two years immediately preceding such date of determination,
or (iv) was nominated for election or elected to the Board of Directors with the
affirmative vote of the greater of (x) a majority of the Continuing Directors
who were members of the Board at the time of such nomination or election, or (y)
at least four Continuing Directors.
11.6 Exclusive Remedy. The payments referred to in this
Section 11 shall be exclusive and shall be the only remedy available to Employee
for termination of his employment with the Company, regardless of the
circumstances, reasons or motivation for any such termination. If Employee gives
notice of termination of this Agreement, or if it becomes known that this
Agreement will otherwise terminate in accordance with its provisions, the
Company may, in its sole discretion, relieve Employee of his duties under this
Agreement or assign Employee other duties and responsibilities to be performed
until the termination becomes effective.
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12. Services Unique. It is agreed that the services to be rendered by
Employee hereunder are of a special, unique, unusual, extraordinary and
intellectual character which gives them a peculiar value, the loss of which
cannot be reasonably or adequately compensated in damages in an action at law
and that a breach by Employee of any of the provisions contained herein will
cause the Company irreparable injury and damage. Employee expressly agrees that
the Company shall be entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief to prevent
a breach hereof. Resort to any such equitable relief shall not be construed as a
waiver of any of the rights or remedies which the Company may have against
Employee for damages or otherwise.
13. Key Man Life Insurance. During the term of this Agreement, the
Company may at any time effect insurance on Employee's life and/or health in
such amounts and in such form as the Company may in its sole discretion decide.
Employee shall not have any interest in such insurance, but shall, if the
Company requests, submit to such medical examinations, supply such information
and execute such documents as may be required in connection with, or so as to
enable the Company to effect, such insurance.
14. Vacation. Employee shall have the right during each one year period
of the term of this Agreement to take an aggregate of three weeks of vacation,
with pay, at such times as are mutually convenient to Employee and to the
Company.
15. Notices. Any and all notices, demands or other communications
required or desired to be given hereunder by any party shall be in writing and
shall be validly given or made to another party if given by personal delivery,
telex, facsimile, telegram or if deposited in the United States mail, certified
or registered, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. If such notice, demand
or other communication is given by personal delivery, telex, facsimile or
telegram, service shall be conclusively deemed made at the time of such personal
service. If such notice, demand or other communication is given by mail, such
notice shall be conclusively deemed given forty-eight (48) hours after the
deposit thereof in the United States mail addressed to the party to whom such
notice, demand or other communication is to be given as hereinafter set forth:
To the Company: VANS, INC.
00000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx Xx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
Attn: General Counsel
562/565-8413 - facsimile
To Employee: Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx
(at the address set forth below his signature)
Any party hereto may change his or its address for the purpose of receiving
notices, demands and other communications as herein provided by a written notice
given in the manner aforesaid to the other party or parties hereto.
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16. Applicable Law and Severability. This Agreement shall, in all
respects, be governed by the laws of the State of California applicable to
agreements executed and to be wholly performed within the State of California.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed so as to require the commission of
any act contrary to law, and wherever there is any conflict between any
provision contained herein and any present or future statute, law, ordinance or
regulation contrary to which the parties have no legal right to contract, the
latter shall prevail but the provision of this Agreement which is affected shall
be curtailed and limited only to the extent necessary to bring it within the
requirements of the law.
17. Attorneys' Fees. In the event any action is instituted by a party
to enforce any of the terms and provisions contained herein, the prevailing
party in such action shall be entitled to such reasonable attorneys' fees, costs
and expenses as may be fixed by the Court.
18. Modifications or Amendments. No amendment, change or modification
of this Agreement shall be valid unless in writing and signed by all of the
parties hereto. Further, any amendment, change or modification of this Agreement
(including but not limited to the at-will nature of this Agreement as set forth
in Section 2 and Paragraph 11.1 hereof) must be approved in advance by the Board
of Directors of Company and reflected in the minutes of such Board's meetings or
in an action by unanimous written consent.
19. Successors and Assigns. All of the terms and provisions contained
herein shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the parties
hereto and their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors and
assigns.
20. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire
understanding and agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter of
this Agreement, and any and all prior agreements, understandings or
representations are hereby terminated and canceled in their entirety and are of
no further force or effect.
21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts.
22. Arbitration of Employment Disputes. All disputes or controversies
arising out of the employment relationship between Employee and the Company,
including claims by the Company against Employee, and claims by Employee against
the Company, including but not limited to claims for wrongful termination;
violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; violations
of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; or claims for violations of any
State law, rule or regulation regarding discrimination, harassment or other
wrongful conduct, shall be decided by an arbitrator in a final and binding
arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") to be
conducted in Los Angeles, California, in accordance with its rules, guidelines
and standards for employment arbitration. Notwithstanding anything in the rules
of the body administering the arbitration, or applicable law to the contrary,
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each party to the arbitration shall be entitled to conduct sufficient discovery
to adequately prepare its claims or defenses for arbitration, including access
to essential documents and witnesses, to be determined by the arbitrator,
subject to judicial review as allowed by law. The arbitrator shall have
jurisdiction to decide any questions as to the arbitrability of such claims,
whether an agreement to arbitrate exists, or whether an agreement to arbitrate
covers the claims in question. The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant
any and all rights, remedies and relief that would otherwise be available to the
parties if the claims were brought in a court of law, including punitive
damages, and shall have the authority to award the prevailing party reasonable
attorneys' fees. The arbitrator shall issue a written award and arbitration
decision that sets forth the arbitrator's findings of fact and conclusions of
law upon which the award is based. Judgment upon the award rendered by the
arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The cost of
arbitration (other than Employee's attorneys' fees and costs) shall be borne by
the Company. Each of us shall have the right, within 20 days after the issuance
of an award by the arbitrator, to seek a review thereof by a second arbitrator
who shall be appointed in accordance with the rules of the AAA, and such
arbitrator shall have the authority to affirm or reverse and remand the award in
accordance with the law and procedures applicable to appellate review by the
California Court of Appeal of a civil judgment following a trial.
23. Survival of Certain Provisions. Sections 7,8,9, and 22 of this
Agreement shall survive the termination hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this
Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
EMPLOYEE: THE COMPANY:
VANS, INC.,
a Delaware corporation
/s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx
--------------------------- ------------------------------
Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx
___________________________ Senior Vice President and
Address General Counsel
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