AMENDED AND RESTATED EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 10.1
AMENDED AND
RESTATED
THIS
AMENDED AND RESTATED EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this "Agreement") is made
as of January 21, 2010, by and between Conn's, Inc, a Delaware corporation with
its principle offices at 0000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000 ("Conn's"), and Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, Xx., an individual (the "Executive").
WHEREAS, Executive and Conn's
have previously entered into that certain Executive Employment Agreement, as
amended by that First Amendment to Executive Employment Agreement and further
amended and restated by that certain “Amended and Restated Executive Employment
Agreement”, dated June 1, 2007 (the "Prior
Agreement");
WHEREAS, Conn's and Executive
desire to amend and restate the Prior Agreement as provided herein;
WHEREAS, Executive is
currently employed by Conn's as its Chairman pursuant to the terms of the Prior
Agreement;
WHEREAS, Conn's desires to
continue to employ Executive as its Chairman and Executive desires to be so
employed, upon the terms and conditions set forth herein; and
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the foregoing and in consideration of the mutual promises and
agreements contained herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
A. Employment
Period. The employment period shall be for the period
beginning on February 1, 2010 and ending on January 31, 2011 (as may be renewed,
the "Employment
Period"), unless earlier terminated pursuant to Section
D. This Agreement may be extended for additional one year periods
upon the mutual written consent of Conn's and Executive.
B. Nature of
Duties.
|
|
1.
|
Executive's
duties and responsibilities shall be to serve Conn's as its Chairman and
have the responsibilities and duties set forth on Schedule A, in
conformity with management policies, guidelines and directions issued by
Conn's, and shall have general charge and supervision of those functions
and such other responsibilities as the Conn's Board of Directors (the
"Board")
shall determine. Executive's employment shall be subject to all
of Conn's corporate policies and personnel manuals as modified by this
Agreement. Executive shall report to the Chairman of the Board
in the event Executive is no longer the Chairman of the Board of
Directors.
|
|
|
2.
|
Executive
shall work for Conn's on a half-time basis in such capacity and shall
carry on his employment at Conn's corporate headquarters in Beaumont,
Texas or such other location as Executive and the Board may agree. During
normal business hours, Executive, on an aggregate basis, shall devote
approximately one-half of his time and attention to Conn's
business. During the Employment Period, it shall not be a
violation of this Agreement for Executive to (i) serve on corporate, civic
or charitable boards or committees to the extent permitted by Sections G
and Q, (ii) deliver lectures or fulfill speaking engagements and (iii)
manage personal investments and engage in other activities, so long as
such activities do not materially interfere with the performance of
Executive's responsibilities in accordance with this
Agreement. Executive shall perform his duties and
responsibilities diligently, faithfully and loyally in order to cause the
proper, efficient and successful operation of Conn's
business.
|
C. Compensation and
Benefits.
|
|
1.
|
Conn's
shall pay to Executive as compensation for services rendered by Executive
during the term of this Agreement a base annualized salary of
$240,000 per
year, (the "Salary"),
subject to adjustment as set forth below, payable
semi-monthly. The Compensation Committee shall review the
Salary no less frequently than annually, and may, in its discretion,
adjust the Salary upward or
downward.
|
|
|
2.
|
With
respect to each fiscal year during the Employment Period, Executive shall
be eligible to receive an annual cash bonus (the "Incentive
Compensation"), the amount of such bonus to be determined by the
Compensation Committee based on Executive's attainment of certain
performance goals relating to Conn's annual business plan/budget as
established by the Compensation Committee. Such performance
goals shall be communicated to Executive in writing no later than sixty
(60) days from the beginning of each fiscal year during the Employment
Period. In the event such performance goals are met, the
Incentive Compensation shall be paid to Executive no later than forty-five
(45) days following the close of the fiscal year to which such Incentive
Compensation relates. Such bonus is intended to be 50% of what
Executive would have been entitled to had Executive been working on a
full-time basis.
|
|
|
3.
|
Executive
shall be entitled to participate in 401(k), life insurance, major medical,
dental, disability and other employee benefit plans of Conn's that may be
in effect from time to time and which other senior executives of Conn's
are otherwise eligible, to the extent Executive is eligible under the
terms of such plans (collectively, the "Benefits"). For
purposes of clarity, during the term of this Agreement, Conn’s shall
provide a major medical plan for senior executives of
Conn’s.
|
|
|
4.
|
Conn's,
from time to time, shall grant stock options exercisable for shares of
Conn's common stock to the Executive at such time it grants options to
other Senior Executives. Such options shall be subject to the terms and
conditions determined by the Compensation
Committee.
|
|
|
5.
|
Executive
shall be entitled to paid vacation each calendar year and to such personal
and sick leave with pay in accordance with the policy of Conn's, as may be
established from time to time by Conn's and applied to all other employees
of Conn's.
|
|
|
6.
|
If
Conn's maintains any liability insurance covering members of its Board of
Directors, Executive will be included within the covered class of
individuals under such policy.
|
2
|
|
7.
|
During
the Employment Period, Conn's shall provide an automobile (or reimburse
Executive for his automobile) and gas card to Executive for business and
personal use consistent with what it provided Executive during the term of
the Prior Agreement. Income shall be imputed to Executive for
the personal use of such
automobile.
|
|
|
8.
|
Conn's
shall reimburse Executive for all customary and reasonable expenses
incurred by Executive in performance of his duties under this Agreement;
provided,
however, that Executive must furnish to Conn's an itemized account
satisfactory to Conn's, in substantiation of such expenditures and such
expenditures shall otherwise be in accordance with Conn's policies and
procedures.
|
D. Termination.
|
|
1.
|
This
Agreement shall terminate automatically upon Executive's
death.
|
|
|
2.
|
Conn's
may terminate Executive other than for Cause (as hereinafter defined) or
if Executive becomes permanently disabled, at any time, upon no fewer than
five (5) days prior written notice to Executive. For purposes
of this Agreement, permanent disability (i) shall be determined in
accordance with the disability insurance that Conn's may then have in
effect, if any, or (ii) if no such insurance is in effect, shall mean that
Executive is subject to a medical determination that he, because of a
medically determinable disease, injury, or other mental or physical
disability, is unable to perform substantially all of his then regular
duties, and that such disability is determined or reasonably expected to
last at least twelve (12) months, based on then-available medical
information.
|
|
|
3.
|
Conn's
may terminate Executive for Cause, at any time, without written notice,
except in the case of a material breach of this Agreement, Conn's shall
provide Executive notice of such breach and an opportunity to cure such
breach within thirty (30) days of such
notice.
|
|
|
4.
|
Executive
may terminate his employment, at any time, upon no fewer than thirty (30)
days prior written notice to
Conn's.
|
|
|
5.
|
Any
termination under this Section D shall be communicated to the other party
in writing and if the date of termination is other than the date of
receipt of such notice, such written notice shall specify the date of
termination (which shall not be more than ninety (90) days after giving of
such notice). The date of termination shall be the date of
receipt of the notice of termination or any later date specified
therein.
|
E. Effects of
Termination.
|
|
1.
|
In
the event of automatic termination by reason of Executive's death or by
Conn's by reason of Executive's permanent disability, Conn's shall have no
further obligations under this Agreement except for its obligation to pay
Executive's Base Salary and Incentive Compensation, if any, earned and
accrued but unpaid through the date of death or permanent
disability. Executive shall have the right to receive payments
under the death or disability benefits, if any, provided to Executive
pursuant to Section C.3. of this
Agreement.
|
3
|
|
2.
|
In
the event (i) Conn's exercises its right of termination other than for
Cause or (ii) this Agreement is not renewed by Conn's when it expires,
Conn's shall be obligated to pay Executive's Base Salary and Incentive
Compensation, if any, earned and accrued but unpaid through the date of
termination. In addition, Conn's shall pay as severance pay one
(1) year of Executive's current Base Salary. Such payments
shall be made in equal installments in such intervals as the Base Salary
was paid at the time of such termination or
expiration.
|
|
|
3.
|
In
the event Conn's terminates Executive for Cause or Executive terminates
his employment, Conn's shall have no further obligations under this
Agreement except for its obligations to pay Executive's Base Salary earned
and accrued but unpaid through the date of
termination.
|
F. Certain
Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the following
terms shall have the following meanings:
|
|
1.
|
"Affiliate"
shall mean, with respect to a person, any other person controlling,
controlled by or under common control with the first
person.
|
|
|
2.
|
"Cause"
shall mean (i) behavior of Executive which is adverse to Conn's interests,
(ii) Executive's dishonesty, criminal charge or conviction, grossly
negligent misconduct, willful misconduct, acts of bad faith, neglect of
duty or (iii) material breach of this Agreement which is not cured within
the thirty (30) day cure period pursuant to Section
D.3.
|
|
|
3.
|
"Confidential
Information" shall mean information: (i) disclosed to or known
by the Executive as a consequence of or through his employment with
Conn's, (ii) not generally known outside Conn's and (iii) which relates to
any aspect of Conn's or its business, research, or
development. "Confidential Information" includes, but is not
limited to Conn's trade secrets, proprietary information, business plans,
marketing plans, methodologies, computer code and programs, formulas,
processes, compilations of information, results of research, proposals,
reports, records, financial information, compensation and benefit
information, cost and pricing information, customer lists and contact
information, supplier lists and contact information, vendor lists and
contact information, and information provided to Conn's by a third party
under restrictions against disclosure or use by Conn's or others; provided,
however, that the term "Confidential Information" does not include
information that (a) at the time it was received by Executive was
generally available to the public, (b) prior to its use by Executive,
becomes generally available to the public through no act or failure of
Executive, (c) is received by Executive from a person or entity other
than Conn's or an Affiliate of Conn's who is not under an obligation of
confidence with respect to such information or (d) was generally
known by Executive by virtue of his experience and know how gained prior
to employment with Conn's.
|
4
|
|
4.
|
"Control"
and correlative terms shall mean the power, whether by contract, equity
ownership or otherwise, to direct the policies or management of a
person.
|
|
|
5.
|
"Copyright
Works" shall mean materials for which copyright protection may be obtained
including, but not limited to literary works (including all written
material), computer programs, artistic and graphic works (including
designs, graphs, drawings, blueprints, and other works), recordings,
models, photographs, slides, motion pictures, and audio-visual works,
regardless of the form or manner in which documented or
recorded.
|
|
|
6.
|
"Person"
shall mean an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, trust or unincorporated organization, or a government or agency
or political subdivision thereof.
|
|
|
7.
|
"Work
Product" shall mean all methods, analyses, reports, plans, computer files
and all similar or related information which (i) relate to Conn's or
any of its Affiliates and (ii) are conceived, developed or made by
Executive in the course of his employment by
Conn's.
|
G. Non-Disclosure,
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation. Executive and Conn's
acknowledge and agree that during and solely as a result of his employment by
Conn's, Conn's has provided and will continue to provide Confidential
Information and special training to Executive in order to allow Executive to
fulfill his obligations as an executive of a publicly-held company and under
this Agreement. In consideration of the special and unique
opportunities afforded to Executive by Conn's as a result of Executive's
employment, as outlined in the previous sentence, Executive hereby agrees as
follows:
|
|
1.
|
Executive
agrees that Executive will not, except as Conn's may otherwise consent or
direct in writing, reveal or disclose, sell, use, lecture upon, publish or
otherwise disclose to any third party any Confidential Information of
Conn's or any of its Affiliates, or authorize anyone else to do these
things at any time either during or subsequent to Executive's employment
with Conn's. This Section G.1 shall continue in full force and
effect after termination of Executive's employment for any
reason. Executive's obligations under this Section G.1 with
respect to any specific Confidential Information shall cease only when
that specific portion of the Confidential Information becomes publicly
known, other than as a result of disclosure by Executive, in its entirety
and without combining portions of such information obtained
separately. It is understood that such Confidential Information
of Conn's and any of its Affiliates includes matters that Executive
conceives or develops, as well as matters Executive learns from other
executives of Conn's and any of its
Affiliates.
|
|
|
2.
|
During
the Employment Period, Executive will not (other than for the benefit of
Conn's or any of its Affiliates pursuant to this Agreement) compete with
Conn's or any of its Affiliates by engaging in the conception, design,
development, production, marketing, or servicing of any product or service
that is substantially similar to the products or services which Conn's or
any of its Affiliates provides, and that he will not work for, assist,
loan money, extend credit or become affiliated with as an
individual, owner, partner, director, officer, stockholder,
employee, advisor, independent contractor, joint
venturer, consultant, agent, representative, salesman or any other
capacity, either directly or indirectly, any individual or business which
offers or performs services, or offers or provides products substantially
similar to the services and products provided by Conn's or any of its
Affiliates. The restrictions of this Section G.2 shall not be
violated by the ownership of no more than 1% of the outstanding securities
of any company whose equity securities are traded on a national securities
exchange or is quoted on the NASDAQ National
Market.
|
5
|
|
3.
|
Executive
agrees that he shall not, directly or indirectly, at any time during the
period of one (1) year after the termination of this Agreement for any
reason, including expiration of the Agreement, within the geographical
area of 100 miles of any existing or specifically contemplated Conn's
retail or support location at the time of termination, as an individual,
owner, partner, director, officer, stockholder, employee, advisor,
independent contractor, joint venturer, consultant, agent, representative,
salesman or any other capacity, work for, assist, loan money, extend
credit or become affiliated with, either directly or indirectly, any
individual or business which offers or performs services, or offers or
provides products substantially similar to the services and products
provided by Conn's or any of its Affiliates. The restrictions
of this Section G.3 shall not be violated by the ownership of no more than
1% of the outstanding securities of any company whose equity securities
are traded on a national securities exchange or is quoted on the NASDAQ
National Market. It is understood that the geographical area
set forth in this covenant is divisible so that if this clause is invalid
or unenforceable in an included geographic area, that area is severable
and the clause remains in effect for the remaining included geographic
areas in which the clause is valid.
|
|
|
4.
|
Executive
agrees that for the duration of this Agreement, and for a period of two
(2) years after the termination of this Agreement or expiration of this
Agreement, Executive will not either directly or indirectly, on his behalf
or on behalf of others, solicit, attempt to hire, or hire any person
employed by Conn's and any of its Affiliates to work for Executive or for
another entity, firm, corporation, or
individual.
|
|
|
5.
|
Executive
acknowledges that Conn's has taken reasonable steps to maintain the
confidentiality of its Confidential Information and the ownership of its
Work Product and Copyright Works, which is extremely valuable to Conn's
and provides Conn's with a competitive advantage in its market. Executive
further acknowledges that Conn's would suffer irreparable harm if
Executive were to use or enable others to use such knowledge, information,
and business acumen in competition with Conn's. Executive acknowledges the
necessity of the restrictive covenants set forth herein to: protect Conn's
legitimate interests in Conn's Confidential Information; protect Conn's
customer relations and the goodwill with customers and suppliers that
Conn's has established at its substantial investment; and protect Conn's
as a result of providing Executive with specialized knowledge, training,
and insight regarding Conn's operations as a publicly-held
company. Executive further agrees and acknowledges that these
restrictive covenants are reasonably limited as to time, geographic area,
and scope of activities to be restricted and that such promises do not
impose a greater restraint on Executive than is necessary to protect the
goodwill, Confidential Information and other legitimate business interests
of Conn's. Executive agrees that any breach of this Section G
cannot be remedied solely by money damages, and that in addition to any
other remedies Conn's may have, Conn's is entitled to obtain injunctive
relief against Executive without the requirement of posting bond or other
security. Nothing herein, however, shall be construed as
limiting Conn's right to pursue any other available remedy at law or in
equity, including recovery of damages and termination of this
Agreement.
|
6
|
|
6.
|
Executive
acknowledges that all writings, records, and other documents and things
comprising, containing, describing, discussing, explaining, or evidencing
any Confidential Information, Work Product, and/or Copyright Works of
Conn's, any Affiliate of Conn's, or any third party with which Conn's has
a confidential relationship, is the property of Conn's or such
Affiliate. All property belonging to Conn's in Executive's
custody or possession that has been obtained or prepared in the course of
Executive's employment with Conn's shall be the exclusive property of
Conn's, shall not be copied and/or removed from the premises of Conn's,
except in pursuit of the business of Conn's, and shall be delivered to
Conn's, along with all copies or reproductions of same, upon notification
of the termination of Executive's employment or at any other time
requested by Conn's. Conn's shall have the right to retain,
access, and inspect all property of any kind in Executive's office, work
area, and on the premises of Conn's upon termination of Executive's
employment and at any time during Executive's employment, to ensure
compliance with the terms of this
Agreement.
|
|
|
7.
|
The
terms of this Section G are continuing in nature and shall survive the
termination or expiration of this
Agreement.
|
H. Notices. All
notices and other communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and
shall be delivered personally or by facsimile or electronic delivery, given by
hand delivery to the other party, sent by overnight courier or sent by
registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid,
to:
|
If
to Executive:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, Xx.,
|
|||
|
0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
|
||||
|
Xxxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
|
||||
|
Fax
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
||||
|
If
to Company:
|
Conn's,
Inc.
|
|||
|
0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
|
||||
|
Xxxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
|
||||
|
Attn: General
Counsel
|
||||
|
Fax
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
7
|
with
a copy to:
|
Fulbright
& Xxxxxxxx L.L.P.
|
|||
|
0000
Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
|
||||
|
Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
|
||||
|
Attn: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
|
||||
|
Fax
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
I. Assignment. Conn's
shall require any successors (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger,
consolidation or otherwise) to a controlling interest in the business, assets or
equity of Conn's to assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same
manner and to the same extent that Conn's would be required to perform if no
such succession had taken place. This Agreement is a personal
employment contract and the rights, obligations and interests of Executive under
this Agreement may not be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or hypothecated
by Executive.
J. Binding
Agreement. Executive understands that his obligations under
this Agreement are binding upon Executive's heirs, successors, personal
representatives and legal representatives.
K. Arbitration. Except
for any controversy or claim relating to Section G of this Agreement, any
controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach
of any provision of this Agreement, including the arbitrability of any
controversy or claim, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the
American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its
National Rules for the Resolution of Employment Disputes and the Optional Rules
for Emergency Measures of Protection of the AAA, and judgment upon the award
rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction
thereof. Any provisional remedy which would be available from a court
of law, shall be available from the arbitrator to the parties to this Agreement
pending arbitration. Arbitration of disputes is mandatory and in lieu of any and
all civil causes of action and lawsuits either party may have against the other
arising out of Executive's employment with Conn's. Civil discovery shall be
permitted for the production of documents and taking of
depositions. The arbitrator(s) shall be guided by the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure in allowing discovery and all issues regarding compliance with
discovery requests shall be decided by the arbitrator(s). The Federal
Arbitration Act shall govern this Section K. This Agreement shall in
all other respects be governed and interpreted by the laws of the State of
Texas, excluding any conflicts or choice of law rule or principles that might
otherwise refer construction or interpretation of this Agreement to the
substantive law of another jurisdiction. The arbitration shall be
conducted in Beaumont, Texas by one neutral arbitrator chosen by AAA according
to its National Rules for the Resolution of Employment Disputes if the amount of
the claim is one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) or less and by three neutral
arbitrators chosen by AAA in the same manner if the amount of the claim is more
than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00). Neither party nor the
arbitrator(s) may disclose the existence, content, or results of any arbitration
hereunder without the prior written consent of both parties unless compelled to
do so either by judicial process or in order to enforce an arbitration award
rendered pursuant to this Section K. All fees and expenses of the
arbitration shall be borne by the parties equally. However, each
party shall bear the expense of its own counsel, experts, witnesses, and
preparation and presentation of proofs. The prevailing party,
according to the arbitrator(s), shall be entitled to an award of its reasonable
attorneys' fees.
8
L. Waiver. No
waiver by either party to this Agreement of any right to enforce any term or
condition of this Agreement, or of any breach of this Agreement, shall be deemed
a waiver of such right in the future or of any other right or remedy available
under this Agreement.
M. Severability. If
any provision of this Agreement as applied to either party or to any
circumstances shall be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction or
arbitrator to be void or unenforceable the same shall in now way affect any
other provision of this Agreement or the validity or enforceability of this
Agreement. If any court or arbitrator construes any of the provisions
of Section G of this Agreement, or any part thereof, to be unreasonable because
of the duration of such provision or the geographic or other scope thereof, such
court or arbitrator shall reduce the duration or restrict the geographic or
other scope of such provision or enforce such provision to the maximum extent
possible as so reduced or restricted.
N. Entire Agreement;
Amendment. This Agreement, the Indemnification Agreement
entered into by Conn's and Executive and any agreements evidencing any stock
options granted to Executive pursuant to Section C.4 of this Agreement shall
constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to Executive's
employment with Conn's during the Employment Period. This Agreement
replaces and supersedes any and all existing agreements entered into between
Executive and Conn's, whether oral or written, regarding the subject matter of
this Agreement. This Agreement may not be amended or modified other
than by a written agreement executed by the parties to this Agreement or their
respective successors and legal representatives.
O. Understand
Agreement. Executive represents and warrants that he has (i)
read and understood each and every provision of this Agreement, (ii) been given
the opportunity to obtain advice from legal counsel of choice, if necessary and
desired, in order to interpret any and all provisions of this Agreement and
(iii) freely and voluntarily entered into this Agreement.
P. Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the State of Texas and is performable in Beaumont,
Texas.
Q. Professional/Personal. Membership
by Executive on corporate and civic boards should be accepted only after
consideration of conflict of interest and consultation with the Chairman of the
Board. Conn's requires Executive to have a comprehensive annual
medical physical examination.
R. Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be
deemed to be an original, but all of which taken together shall constitute one
and the same instrument.
S. Titles; Pronouns and
Plurals. The titles to the sections of this Agreement are
inserted for convenience of reference only and should not be deemed a part
hereof or affect the construction or interpretation of any provision
hereof. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun used in this
Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms,
and the singular form of nouns, pronouns, and verbs shall include the plural and
vice versa.
9
Survival. Sections
E through P of this Agreement shall survive the termination of Executive's
employment or expiration of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the
parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written
above.
|
EXECUTIVE
|
CONN'S,
INC.
|
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx,
Xx.
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, Xx.
|
By:
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, CEO and President
|
|
Date:
January 26, 2010
|
Date:
January 26, 2010
|
10
SCHEDULE
A
DUTIES
& RESPONSIBILITIES
