TRINSEO EUROPE GMBH EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.6
TRINSEO EUROPE GMBH
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of June 3, 2019, is among Trinseo Europe GmbH, a Swiss limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschrӓnkter Haftung) (the “Company”), and Xxxxx Xxxxxx-Xxxxxxxx of Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 00, 0000 Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxx (the “Executive”).
W I T N E S S E T H
WHEREAS, the Company desires to continue to employ the Executive as Senior Vice President of Human Resources of the Company and to pay all of the Executive’s compensation and other benefits described in this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Company and the Executive desire to update the terms and conditions of such employment by entering into this Agreement which shall define the terms of the Executive’s employment with the Company.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, of the mutual promises contained herein and of other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:
1. POSITION AND DUTIES. |
(a) During the Employment Term (as defined in Section 2 hereof), the Executive shall serve as Senior Vice President of Human Resources of the Company and its ultimate parent company, Trinseo S.A. (“Parent”). In this capacity, the Executive shall have the duties, authorities and responsibilities commensurate with the duties, authorities and responsibilities of persons in similar capacities in similarly sized companies, and such other executive duties, authorities and responsibilities as may reasonably be assigned to the Executive that are not inconsistent with the Executive’s position as Senior Vice President of Human Resources of the Company and the Parent. The Executive’s principal place of employment with the Company shall be in Horgen, Switzerland, or such other location in Switzerland within 75 kilometers from Horgen as the Company may designate. However, the Executive is aware and accepts that she will be required to travel frequently for business purposes. The Executive shall report directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Parent. |
(b) During the Employment Term, the Executive shall devote all of the Executive’s business time, energy, business judgment, knowledge and skill and the Executive’s reasonable best efforts to the performance of the Executive’s duties with the Company and the Parent, provided that the foregoing shall not prevent the Executive from (i) serving on the boards of directors of non-profit organizations and, with the prior written approval of the Board of the Parent (the “Board”), other for profit companies, (ii) participating in charitable, civic, educational, professional, community or industry affairs, and (iii) managing the Executive’s passive personal investments so long as such activities in the aggregate do not violate Section 10 hereof, interfere |
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or conflict with the Executive’s duties hereunder or create a business or fiduciary conflict. Any overtime worked by the Executive is fully compensated by the Base Salary (as defined in Section 3). |
4. ANNUAL BONUS. |
(a) During the Employment Term, the Executive shall be eligible for an annual discretionary cash performance bonus (an “Annual Bonus”) in respect of each calendar year that ends during the Employment Term, to the extent earned based on performance against objective performance criteria. The performance criteria for any particular calendar year shall be determined in good faith by the Board, no later than ninety (90) days after the commencement of such calendar year. The Executive’s targeted Annual Bonus for a calendar year shall equal 55% of the Executive’s Base Salary for such calendar year (the “Target Bonus”) if target levels of performance for such year are achieved, with greater or lesser amounts (including zero) paid for performance above and below target (such greater and lesser amounts to be determined by a formula established by the Board for such year when it establishes the targets and performance criteria for such year); provided that the Executive’s maximum Annual Bonus for any calendar year during the Employment Term shall equal 200% of the Target Bonus for such calendar year. |
(b) The Executive’s Annual Bonus for a calendar year shall be determined by, and is subject to the discretion of, the Board after the end of the applicable calendar year based on the level of achievement of the applicable performance criteria, and shall be paid to the Executive in the calendar year following the calendar year to which such Annual Bonus relates at the same time annual bonuses are paid to other senior executives of the Company, subject to continued employment at the time of payment (except as otherwise provided in Section 7 hereof). |
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(a) BENEFIT PLANS. During the Employment Term, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in any employee benefit plan that the Company has adopted or may adopt, maintain or contribute to and which benefit any of the senior executives of the Company, on a basis no less favorable than that applicable to any such senior executives, subject to satisfying the applicable eligibility requirements, except to the extent such plans are duplicative of the benefits otherwise provided hereunder. The Executive’s participation in any such employee benefit plan shall be subject to the terms of the applicable plan documents and generally applicable Company policies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may modify or terminate any employee benefit plan at any time, if and to the extent allowed pursuant to the terms of such plan, provided that any such amendment may have no more adverse effect on the Executive than on any other participant in such plan. The Company may provide perquisites to the Executive at the discretion of the Board. |
(c) BUSINESS EXPENSES. Upon presentation of reasonable substantiation and documentation as the Company may specify from time to time, the Executive shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Company’s expense reimbursement policies as in effect from time to time, for all reasonable out-of-pocket business expenses incurred and paid by the Executive during the Employment Term and in connection with the performance of the Executive’s duties hereunder. |
6. TERMINATION. Notwithstanding Section 2 above, the Executive’s employment and the Employment Term shall terminate on the first of the following to occur: |
(a) DEATH. Automatically upon the date of death of the Executive. |
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unfavorably upon Company or Parent and, as a result of such act or involvement, reduces the commercial value of Company's or Parent’s association with Executive; (ix) willful actions (other than legal action or arbitration arising out of this Agreement) or making or authorizing statements in derogation of Company or Parent or their products and such actions or statements become public during the Term that result in damage to the business of the Company; or (x) breach of any of the restrictive covenants set forth in Section 10 hereof or in any other written agreement between the Executive and the Company and/or its Affiliate that causes material and demonstrable harm to the Company or Parent and that is not cured within fifteen (15) days of written notice from the Board. |
For purposes of this Section 6(b), no act, or failure to act, on the part of the Executive shall be considered “willful” unless it is done, or omitted to be done, by the Executive in bad faith or without reasonable belief that the Executive’s action or omission was in the best interests of the Company.
(ii) any Annual Bonus earned but unpaid with respect to the calendar year ending on or preceding the date of termination; |
(vii) if the Executive is survived by a spouse, a registered partner, children who are minors or, in the absence of such heirs, other persons to whom she had a duty to provide support, the Base Salary for one month or, if the Executive had completed more than five years of service, for two months; |
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(i) the Accrued Benefits; |
an amount equal to one and one-half (1.5) multiplied by the sum of the Executive’s then current annual Base Salary and Target Bonus for the year of termination, paid in equal monthly installments for a period of eighteen (18) months following such termination. Payments and benefits provided in this Section 7(c) shall be in lieu of any notice period as defined in Section 2, termination or severance payments or benefits for which the Executive may be eligible under any of the plans, policies or programs of the Company or under applicable law and shall be reduced by such number of monthly installments that corresponds to the number of months by which the notice period is extended based art. 336c CO, provided that the aggregate severance benefits payable hereunder shall be no less than as required by applicable law.
A “Material Covenant Violation” shall mean a breach of any of the restrictive covenants set forth in Section 10 hereof or in any other written agreement between the Executive and the Company and/or any of the Company’s or Parent’s direct or indirectly controlled subsidiaries (each an “Affiliate”) that causes material and demonstrable harm to the Company and/or any Affiliate.
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hereof, the Executive shall receive a lump sum payment equal to the Severance Amount on the date of such termination. |
(ii) For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Change in Control” shall mean the consummation off the first transaction following the Effective Date, whether in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, in which any individual, entity or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) (A) acquires (whether by merger, consolidation, or transfer or issuance of equity interests or otherwise) equity interests of the Parent (or any surviving or resulting entity) representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding voting securities or economic value of the Parent (or any surviving or resulting entity), or (B) acquires assets constituting all or substantially all (more than eighty percent (80%)) of the assets of the Parent and its subsidiaries (as determined on a consolidated basis). |
8. OTHER OBLIGATIONS. Upon any termination of the Executive’s employment with the Company and at any time before at the request of the Board, the Executive shall promptly resign from any other position as an officer, director or fiduciary of the Company, Parent and any Affiliate. |
(a) CONFIDENTIALITY. During the course of the Executive’s employment with the Company, the Executive will learn confidential information regarding the Company. The Executive agrees that the Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, use, make available, sell, disclose or otherwise communicate to any person, other than in the course of the Executive’s assigned duties and for the benefit of the Company, either during the period of the Executive’s employment or at any time thereafter, any business and technical information or trade secrets, nonpublic, proprietary or confidential information, knowledge or data relating to the Company or any Affiliate, or received from third parties subject to a duty on the Company’s or any Affiliates’ part to maintain the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes, in each case which shall have been obtained by the Executive during the Executive’s employment by the Company. The foregoing shall not apply to information that (i) was known to the public prior to its disclosure to the Executive; (ii) becomes generally known to the public subsequent to disclosure to the Executive through no wrongful act of the Executive or any |
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representative of the Executive; or (iii) the Executive is required to disclose by applicable law, regulation or legal process (provided that the Executive provides the Company with prior notice of the contemplated disclosure and cooperates with the Company at its expense in seeking a protective order or other appropriate protection of such information). The Executive shall keep the terms and conditions of this Agreement strictly confidential, and the Executive hereby agrees not to disclose the terms and conditions hereof to any person or entity, other than immediate family members, legal advisors or personal tax or financial advisors, or prospective future employers solely for the purpose of disclosing the limitations on the Executive’s conduct imposed by the provisions of this Section 10 who, in each case, shall be instructed by the Executive to keep such information confidential. |
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(d) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. The rights to inventions and designs made or conceived by the Executive individually or jointly while performing his employment activity and in performance of his contractual duties belong to the Company regardless of whether they are legally protected. |
(i) The rights to inventions and designs, made or conceived by the Executive while performing his employment activity, but not during the performance of his contractual duties, shall be assigned by the Executive to the Company as of their inception, regardless of whether they are legally protected. The Executive is obliged to inform the Company in writing of any such inventions or designs. The Company is entitled to grant the rights to these inventions and designs to the Executive. Should the Company retain such rights the Executive will be entitled to a special reasonable compensation. |
(ii) Other rights to any work products and any know-how, which the Executive creates or in which creation he participates while performing his employment activity belong exclusively to the Company. To the extent that work products (e.g., software, reports, documentations) are protected by copyrights, the Executive hereby assigns to the Company any and all rights related to such work products, particularly the copyright and any and all rights of use, including the rights of production and duplication, of publishing, to use, to license or to sell, to distribute over data or online media, to modify and develop further as well to develop new products on the basis of the work product of the Executive or on the basis of parts of such work product. |
(e) RETURN OF COMPANY PROPERTY. On the date of the Executive’s termination of employment with the Company for any reason (or at any time prior thereto at the Company’s request), the Executive shall return all property belonging to the Company or any Affiliate (including, but not limited to, any Company-provided laptops, computers, cell phones, wireless electronic mail devices or other equipment, or documents and property belonging to the Company). Any retention right is excluded. |
(f) REASONABLENESS OF COVENANTS. In signing this Agreement, the Executive gives the Company assurance that the Executive has carefully read and considered all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the restraints imposed under this Section 10. The Executive agrees that these restraints are necessary for the reasonable and proper protection of the Company and the Company and any Affiliate’s trade secrets and confidential information and that each and every one of the restraints is reasonable in respect to subject matter, length of time and geographic area, and that these restraints, individually or in the aggregate, will not prevent the Executive from obtaining other suitable employment during the period in which the Executive is bound by the restraints. The Executive acknowledges that each of these covenants has a unique, very substantial and immeasurable value to the Company and its Affiliates and that the Executive has sufficient assets and skills to provide a livelihood while such covenants remain in force. It is also agreed that the Affiliates will have the right to enforce all of the Executive’s obligations to such Affiliates under this Agreement, including without limitation pursuant to this Section 10. |
(g) REFORMATION. If it is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in any state that any restriction in this Section 10 is excessive in duration or scope or is unreasonable or unenforceable under applicable law, it is the intention of the parties that such restriction may be |
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modified or amended by the court to render it enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by the laws of that state. |
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If to the Executive:
At the address (or to the facsimile number) shown
If to the Company:
Trinseo Europe GmbH c/o Trinseo LLC Chief Legal Officer 0000 Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000 Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000
And
With a copy (which shall not constitute notice hereunder) to:
Trinseo Europe GmbH Business President Xxxxxxxxxxxx 000 Xxxxxx, XX-0000, Xxxxxxxxxxx
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or to such other address as either party may have furnished to the other in writing in accordance herewith, except that notices of change of address shall be effective only upon receipt.
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15. SECTION HEADINGS; INCONSISTENCY. The section headings used in this Agreement are included solely for convenience and shall not affect, or be used in connection with, the interpretation of this Agreement. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms of this Agreement (including the Exhibits hereto) and any form, award, plan or policy of the Company, the terms of this Agreement shall govern and control. |
17. SUPREMECY & COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement supersedes and replaces all prior agreements and understandings, whether oral or written, in connection with the subject matter hereof; including, but not limited to, the Employment Contract having an effective date of April 1, 2018. 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. |
22. 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 or director as may be designated by the Board. No waiver by either party hereto at any time of any breach by the other party hereto of, or 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 together with all exhibits hereto sets forth the entire agreement of the parties hereto in respect of the subject matter contained herein and supersedes any and all prior agreements or understandings between the Executive and the Company with respect to the subject matter |
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hereof, whether written or oral. No agreements or representations, oral or otherwise, express or implied, with respect to the subject matter hereof have been made by either party which are not expressly set forth in this Agreement. |
23. REPRESENTATIONS; ACTIONS BY PRIOR EMPLOYERS. The Executive represents and warrants to the Company that (a) the Executive has used the Executive’s best efforts to provide the Company with (i) each agreement with a predecessor employer which may have any bearing on the Executive’s legal right to enter into this Agreement and to perform all of the obligations on the Executive’s part to be performed hereunder in accordance with its terms, or (ii) a summary of the applicable provisions of each such agreement which the Executive may not provide to the Company due to an existing confidentiality obligation, and (b) other than the agreements referenced in the preceding clause (a), the Executive is not a party to any agreement or understanding, whether written or oral, and is not subject to any restriction (including, without limitation, any non-competition restriction from a prior employer), which, in either case, could prevent the Executive from entering into this Agreement or performing all of the Executive’s duties and obligations hereunder. The Executive understands that the foregoing representations are a material inducement to the Company entering into this Agreement, and to the extent that either of such representations is untrue in any material respect at any time or for any reason, this Agreement shall be voidable by the Company such that the parties hereunder shall be relieved of all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder; provided that any termination of the Executive’s employment resulting from the Company exercising its rights pursuant to this sentence shall have the same consequences, especially financial consequences, as a termination of employment by the Executive without good reason as defined in art. 340c para 2 CO. If any prior employer of the Executive, or any affiliate of any such prior employer, challenges the Executive’s right to enter into this Agreement and to perform all of the Executive’s obligations hereunder (whether by action against the Executive, the Company, Parent and/or an Affiliate), the Company (on behalf of itself, Parent and all Affiliates) and the Executive each agree to use their reasonable best efforts to defend against such challenge. |
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.
EXHIBIT A
GENERAL RELEASE
I, CANDIDATE NAME, in consideration of and subject to the performance by Trinseo Europe GmbH. (together with its Affiliates, the “Company”), of its obligations under the Employment Agreement, dated as of [●] (the “Agreement”), do hereby release and forever discharge as of the date hereof the Company and its respective Affiliates and all present, former and future directors, officers, employees, successors and assigns of the Company and its Affiliates and direct or indirect owners (collectively, the “Released Parties”) to the extent provided below. The Released Parties are intended third-party beneficiaries of this General Release, and this General Release may be enforced by each of them in accordance with the terms hereof in respect of the rights granted to such Released Parties hereunder. Terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to them in the Agreement.
1. |
I understand that any payments or benefits paid or granted to me under Section 7 of the Agreement represent, in part, consideration for signing this General Release and are not salary, wages or benefits to which I was already entitled. I understand and agree that I will not receive certain of the payments and benefits specified in Section 7 of the Agreement. Such payments and benefits will not be considered compensation for purposes of any employee benefit plan, program, policy or arrangement maintained or hereafter established by the Company or its affiliates. |
3. |
I represent that I have made no assignment or transfer of any right, claim, demand, cause of action, or other matter covered by paragraph 2 above. |
4. |
I agree that this General Release does not waive or release any rights or claims that I may have which arise after the date I execute this General Release. I acknowledge and agree that my separation from employment with the Company in compliance with the terms of the Agreement shall not serve as the basis for any claim or action. |
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the above, I further acknowledge that I am not waiving and am not being required to waive any right that cannot be waived under law at the time I sign this General Release, including the right to file an administrative charge or participate in an administrative investigation or proceeding; provided, however, that I disclaim and waive any right to share or participate in any monetary award resulting from the prosecution of such charge or investigation or proceeding. Additionally, I am not waiving any right to the Accrued Benefits or indemnity. |
6. |
In signing this General Release, I acknowledge and intend that it shall be effective as a bar to each and every one of the Claims hereinabove mentioned or implied. I expressly consent that this General Release shall be given full force and effect according to each and all of its express terms and provisions, including those relating to unknown and unsuspected Claims (notwithstanding any state or local statute that expressly limits the effectiveness of a general release of unknown, unsuspected and unanticipated Claims), if any, as well as those relating to any other Claims hereinabove mentioned or implied. I acknowledge and agree that this waiver is an essential and material term of this General Release and that without such waiver the Company would not have agreed to the terms of the Agreement. I further agree that in the event I should bring a Claim seeking damages against the Company, or in the event I should seek to recover against the Company in any Claim brought by a governmental agency on my behalf, this General Release shall serve as a complete defense to such Claims to the maximum extent permitted by law. I further agree that I am not aware of any pending claim of the type described in paragraph 2 above as of the execution of this General Release. |
7. |
I agree that neither this General Release, nor the furnishing of the consideration for this General Release, shall be deemed or construed at any time to be an admission by the Company, any Released Party or myself of any improper or unlawful conduct. |
8. |
I agree that if I violate this General Release by suing the Company or the other Released Parties, I will pay all costs and expenses of defending against the suit incurred by the Released Parties, including reasonable attorneys’ fees. |
9. |
I agree that this General Release and the Agreement are confidential and agree not to disclose any information regarding the terms of this General Release or the Agreement, except to my immediate family and any tax, legal or other counsel I have consulted regarding the meaning or effect hereof or as required by law, and I will instruct each of the foregoing not to disclose the same to anyone. The Company agrees to disclose any such information only to any tax, legal or other counsel of the Company as required by law. |
10. |
Any non‑disclosure provision in this General Release does not prohibit or restrict me (or my attorney) from responding to any inquiry about this General Release or its underlying facts and circumstances by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), any other self‑regulatory organization or any governmental entity. |
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I represent that I am not aware of any claim by me other than the claims that are released by this General Release. I acknowledge that I may hereafter discover claims or facts in addition to or different than those which I now know or believe to exist with respect to the subject matter of the release set forth in paragraph 2 above and which, if known or suspected at the time of entering |
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into this General Release, may have materially affected this General Release and my decision to enter into it. |
12. |
Notwithstanding anything in this General Release to the contrary, this General Release shall not relinquish, diminish, or in any way affect any rights or claims arising out of any breach by the Company or by any Released Party of the Agreement after the date hereof. |
13. |
Whenever possible, each provision of this General Release shall be interpreted in, such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this General Release is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any applicable law or rule in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision or any other jurisdiction, but this General Release shall be reformed, construed and enforced in such jurisdiction as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein and if possible under applicable law, replaced by such valid, legal and enforceable provision that best reflects the intent of the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision. |
14. |
This General release is subject to the substantive laws of Switzerland. |
BY SIGNING THIS GENERAL RELEASE, I REPRESENT AND AGREE THAT:
1. |
I HAVE READ IT CAREFULLY; |
3. |
I VOLUNTARILY CONSENT TO EVERYTHING IN IT; |
4. |
I HAVE SIGNED THIS GENERAL RELEASE KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY; AND |
5. |
I AGREE THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS GENERAL RELEASE MAY NOT BE AMENDED, WAIVED, CHANGED OR MODIFIED EXCEPT BY AN INSTRUMENT IN WRITING SIGNED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPANY AND BY ME. |
SIGNED: /s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxx-Xxxxxxxx, Director DATED: 07-19-2019
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