CONSULTING AGREEMENT
Exhibit
10.51
THIS
CONSULTING AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is entered into as of
October 10, 2007 between BLUE HILL Data Services, Inc. (the
“Company” or “Blue Hill”), and Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx (“Xxxxxxx”), an individual.
RECITALS
X. Xxxxxxx
is a party to that certain Stock Purchase Agreement with BPO Management
Services, Inc. (the “Buyer”) dated as of the date hereof (the
“Stock Purchase Agreement”), with respect to the stock of the
Company.
B. The
Stock Purchase Agreement provides that Xxxxxxx shall provide consulting services
to the Company in accordance with the terms herein.
C. The
parties hereto intend that this Agreement shall be effective upon the Closing
Date as defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Effective
Date”).
AGREEMENT
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises, the following mutual
covenants and agreements contained herein and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged
by
each of the parties hereto, the parties hereto agree, intending to be legally
bound, as follows:
1. Consulting
Engagement The Company hereby engages Xxxxxxx to provide consulting
services to the Company, and Xxxxxxx hereby accepts such engagement and agrees
to provide such services to the Company, upon the terms and subject to the
conditions hereinafter contained.
2. Consulting
Period The term (the “Term”) of this Agreement shall
commence on October 1, 2007 and end 15 months thereafter on December 31, 2008
(the “Termination Date”). Either party hereto shall have the
right to terminate this Agreement without notice and effective upon in the
event
of the death, bankruptcy, insolvency, or assignment for the benefit of creditors
of the other party.
3. Duties
and Responsibilities Commencing on the Effective Date,
Xxxxxxx shall perform for the Company the services described on Exhibit
A attached hereto (collectively, the “Services”), on a
full time basis, reporting to and solely as requested by Xxxx Xxxxx, as the
lead
director of the Company (the “Lead Director”) or his designee,
and solely during regular business hours. Xxxxxxx will perform the
Services in accordance with this Agreement at BLUE HILL’s offices located at 0
Xxxx Xxxx Xxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxx, XX 00000, by telephone or at
such other place(s) as are reasonably necessary to perform the Services in
accordance with this Agreement. Xxxxxxx will use his best efforts to
effect an orderly transition in management of
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BLUE
HILL
to the person or persons designated by the Lead Director. During the
Consulting Period, Xxxxxxx will use his best efforts, and take all action
reasonably requested by the Lead Director, to preserve the business and goodwill
of BLUE HILL and its relationship with customers, suppliers and others having
business dealings with it and to integrate the business of BLUE HILL with
certain businesses and activities of the Buyer as may be directed from time
to
time by the Lead Director. Xxxxxxx’x specific duties shall include
those described in Schedule A attached hereto.
4. Consulting
Fees Xxxxxxx shall be paid a fee for performance of the
Services herein during the Term in the amount of $12,500.00 per month, payable
on a monthly basis in advance, no later than the first day of each
month. In addition, BLUE HILL shall reimburse Xxxxxxx promptly for
reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Services rendered
under this Agreement. Xxxxxxx shall bear any taxes arising from the Company’s
payment to him of the fees hereunder. Xxxxxxx shall indemnify BLUE
HILL for any taxes, penalties or interest incurred by BLUE HILL due to Xxxxxxx’x
failure to pay taxes described in the immediately preceding
sentence.
5. General
Provisions Both Company and Xxxxxxx agree that, from and
after the date hereof, Xxxxxxx is and shall be deemed to be an
independent contractor, and not an employee of the Company. The
Company shall indemnify and hold Xxxxxxx harmless from and against any and
all
third party claims, assignments, liabilities, damages, losses, obligations,
judgments and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expert fees)
relating to, resulting from or arising out of Xxxxxxx’x performance of the
Services unless due to Xxxxxxx’x gross negligence or willful
misconduct.
6. MISCELLANEOUS.
a. No
waiver or modification of this Agreement shall be binding unless it is in
writing signed by the parties hereto. No waiver of a breach hereof
shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of a future breach, whether of a similar
or dissimilar nature.
b. All
notices and other communications required or permitted under this Agreement
shall be in writing, served personally on, or mailed by certified or registered
United States mail to, the party to be charged with receipt
thereof. Notices and other communications served by mail shall be
deemed given hereunder upon receipt if delivered by Fed EX, UPS or other
nationally recognized overnight delivery service or 72 hours after deposit
of
such notice or communication in the United States Post Office as certified
or
registered mail with postage prepaid and duly addressed to whom such notice
or
communication is to be given at the addresses provided for in the notice section
of the Stock Purchase Agreement. Any such party may change said
party’s address for purposes of this Section 6.b. by giving to the party
intended to be bound thereby, in the manner provided herein, a written notice
of
such change.
c. This
Agreement may be executed by facsimile and in one or more counterparts, each
of
which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute
one and the same Agreement.
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d. This
Agreement shall be construed in accordance with, and governed by, the laws
of
the State of New York applicable to agreements executed and to be performed
in
New York by New York residents. The exclusive venue for any legal proceeding
with respect to this Agreement shall be New York, New York.
e. This
Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect
to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes all previous oral and
written and all contemporaneous oral negotiations, commitments, writings, and
understandings; provided however, the covenants contained in Section 7 hereof
are in addition to (and not in substitution for) covenants made by Xxxxxxx
in
the Stock Purchase Agreement and any covenants made by Xxxxxxx in any
non-disclosure or confidentiality or assignment of invention or work product
agreements which Xxxxxxx may have executed in favor of Blue Hill at any time
prior to the date hereof.
f. If
any provision of this Agreement or application thereof to anyone or under any
circumstances is adjudicated to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction,
such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions or
applications of this Agreement that can be given effect without the invalid
or
unenforceable provision or application and shall not invalidate or render
unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction or under any other
circumstance.
g. Time
is of the essence with respect to the performance of each term of this
Agreement.
h. This
Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto;
provided, however, Xxxxxxx may not assign any of his obligations under this
Agreement.
i. Arbitration.
Any dispute between the parties arising out of or in connection with this
Consulting Agreement, including as to the scope of this arbitration provision
which the parties intend be as broad and encompassing as possible, shall be
submitted to the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) for binding
arbitration by a single arbitrator in the County of New York pursuant to the
AAA’s rules for commercial arbitration, including the optional rules, each party
to bear its own attorney’s fee and disbursements, but the costs of arbitration
(AAA and arbitrator fees and charges) to be born equally by the parties. During
the period from the time that a notice of arbitration pursuant to this provision
is served on a party until the time has run to appeal an arbitral award made
pursuant to this provision, all periods of limitation and all defenses asserting
the passage of time or laches are agreed to be tolled.
j. Vacation. Xxxxxxx
shall earn, in addition, one week of paid vacation for each three month portion
of the term of this Consulting Agreement. Xxxxxxx may take that
vacation at any time during the term of this Consulting Agreement provided
that
at the termination of this Consulting Agreement any vacation taken in excess
of
that earned shall be considered to be unpaid vacation and Xxxxxxx shall repay
to
BLUE HILL any excess amounts paid to him.
7. CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION. Xxxxxxx agrees as follows:
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7.1 Nondisclosure
and Nonuse of Confidential Information. Xxxxxxx acknowledges that
he is aware of Confidential Information (as defined in Section 7.4) relating
to
BLUE HILL, that BLUE HILL and the Buyer and its Affiliates continually develop
Confidential Information, that Xxxxxxx may develop Confidential Information
for
BLUE HILL and the Buyer or its Affiliates and that Xxxxxxx may learn of
Confidential Information during the course of services rendered to BLUE HILL
and
the Buyer or its Affiliates. Xxxxxxx will comply with BLUE HILL’s and
the Buyer’s policies and procedures for protecting Confidential Information and,
except as required by the nature of his duties, Xxxxxxx will never,
directly or indirectly, use or disclose any Confidential Information
without the prior written consent of the Lead Director. Xxxxxxx
understands that this restriction will continue to apply after the termination
of this Agreement.
7.2 Use
and Return of Property and Documents. Xxxxxxx will protect the
integrity of Confidential Information and keep confidential all documents,
customer lists, records of research, proposals, reports, memoranda, computer
software and programming, financial information, and other materials
(“Documents”) including any copies thereof, in which
Confidential Information may be contained. Xxxxxxx will not copy any
Documents except as reasonably required by the nature of the services rendered
under this Agreement. Xxxxxxx will not remove any Documents or copies
from BLUE HILL’s or the Buyer’s or its Affiliates’ premises except as reasonably
required by the nature of the services rendered under this Agreement or if
authorized by the Lead Director. Upon BLUE HILL’s written request, Xxxxxxx will
return to BLUE HILL immediately after the termination of this Agreement all
Documents and copies and any other property of BLUE HILL, the Buyer or its
Affiliates then in Xxxxxxx’x possession or control.
7.3 Assignments
of Rights. Xxxxxxx will promptly and fully disclose all Company
Property (as defined in Section 7.4) to BLUE HILL and the
Buyer. Xxxxxxx hereby assigns and agrees to assign to BLUE HILL (or
as otherwise directed by BLUE HILL) Xxxxxxx’x full right, title and interest to
all Company Property. Xxxxxxx agrees to execute any and all
applications for domestic and foreign patents, copyrights or other proprietary
rights and do such other acts (including, among others, the execution and
delivery of instruments of further assurance or confirmation) requested by
BLUE HILL to assign the Company Property to BLUE HILL and to permit BLUE HILL
to
enforce any patents, copyrights or other proprietary rights in the Company
Property. All copyrightable works that qualify as Company Property
shall be considered “works made for hire.”
7.4 Definitions: For
the purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions shall
apply:
“Affiliate”
has the meaning set forth in Rule 12b-2 of the regulations promulgated
under the Securities Exchange Act.
“Company
Property” means developments, methods of doing business, compositions,
works, concepts and ideas (whether or not patentable or copyrightable or
constituting trade secrets) conceived, made, created, developed or reduced
to
writing or practice by Xxxxxxx (whether alone or with others, and whether
or not during normal business hours or on or off BPOMS’s premises) prior to the
date hereof while Xxxxxxx was employed by BLUE
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HILL
or
while rendering services hereunder to BLUE HILL or the Buyer or any of its
Affiliates during the Term that relate to either the services provided by,
business of, or any prospective activity of, BLUE HILL, the Buyer or any of
its Affiliates known to Xxxxxxx, or about which Xxxxxxx had reason to know,
as a
result of his prior employment by BLUE HILL or his services rendered under
this
Agreement.
“Confidential
Information” shall mean any and all information of BLUE HILL, the Buyer
and its Affiliates that is not generally known by others with whom BLUE HILL,
the Buyer or any of its Affiliates does or plans to compete or do
business. Confidential Information includes, without
limitation, such information relating to (i) BLUE HILL’s, the Buyer’s and
its Affiliates’ development, research and marketing activities, (ii) BLUE
HILL’s, the Buyer’s and its Affiliates’ strategic plans, (iii) the identity and
special needs of BLUE HILL’s, the Buyer’s and its Affiliates’ customers and (iv)
people and organizations with whom BLUE HILL, the Buyer and its Affiliates
has business relationships. Confidential Information also
includes such information that BLUE HILL or the Buyer and its Affiliates
may receive or have received belonging to customers or others who do
business with BLUE HILL or the Buyer and/or any of its Affiliates and,
except to the extent disclosed by BLUE HILL or the Buyer or any of its
Affiliates on a nonconfidential basis, the Company Property.
7.5 Remedies.
Xxxxxxx acknowledges that, if Xxxxxxx breaches the provisions of this Section
7,
the harm to BLUE HILL, the Buyer and its Affiliates will be
irreparable. Xxxxxxx therefore agrees that, in the event of such a
breach by Xxxxxxx, in addition to damages, BLUE HILL or the Buyer shall be
entitled to obtain preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against any
such breach. The Buyer is a third party beneficiary of this
Agreement.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned
have executed this Consulting Agreement on the day and year first above
written.
BLUE
HILL DATA SERVICES, INC.
/Xxxx
Xxxxx/
Xxxx
X. Xxxxx, President
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XXXXXX
XXXXXXX
/Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx/
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EXHIBIT
A
DESCRIPTION
OF SERVICES
In
conjunction with the Consulting Agreement to which this Exhibit
A is attached, the parties have agreed to the following list of
Services to be performed by Xxxxxxx:
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1.
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Responsibilities
– Specific services to be performed on an ongoing day to day basis
include
pricing for both new business and BLUE HILL client renewals,
cost and pricing analysis for required vendor hardware and software,
BLUE
HILL facility/infrastructure requirements, analysis and
recommendations, continue and further hardware and software
vendor relationship, support sales services functions, support sales
contract requirements, except to the extent otherwise requested by
Xx.
Xxxx Xxxxx, as the lead director of the Company (the “Lead
Director”).
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2.
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Customer/Client
retention – Facilitate meetings with any customers, as requested by the
Lead Director, to effect an orderly transition to new management
of
Company or deal with any customer issues Develop a plan with
steps and timelines to best ensure, and where possible improve, BLUE
HILL’s continuing business relationship with its customers. The plan will
focus on the 60-90 day period following acquisition and include the
Lead
Director and the customer-facing staff of BLUE HILL. Assist with
collection of any material delinquent accounts
receivable.
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3.
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Transition
Process - Monitor progress of the transition in management of the
business
and recommend to the Lead Director from time to time any necessary
or
desirable steps or actions to improve the effectiveness and efficiency
of
the transition process.
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4.
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Buyer’s
ITO Division Integration - Relative to finance and accounting in
connection with the integration of the Buyer’s ITO Digica business unit,
assist and make recommendations with cost controls and preparation
of
financial analysis and reporting. Assist and make recommendations
in the
facility and infrastructure aspects of the Digica ITO
integration, and assist and make recommendations in integrating certain
other functions of the Buyer’s business units as determined by the Lead
Director from time to time..
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5.
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Employee
retention – Support and participate in staff communications designed to
maintain the morale as well as the continuing employment and interest
of
BLUE HILL staff.
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6.
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Management
succession – Participate and advise on BLUE HILL management staffing
decisions and provide personnel consulting/training as appropriate
for
incumbents or new hires.
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7.
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Sales/Marketing
– Participate and advise in the development of sales and marketing
plans
designed to grow BLUE HILL sales and hosted services to new customers.
Assist in identifying cross-selling opportunities between the IT
outsourcing division and other business units of the
Buyer.
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8.
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Company
Information – Assist in providing all BLUE HILL information required by
the Buyer from time to time for administrative, financial, legal
or
regulatory purposes.
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