EX-10.4 5 exhibit1042024one-yearserv.htm EX-10.4 Document
展示10.4
old national bancorp
經修訂和重新制訂的2008年激勵報酬計劃
限制性股票獎勵協議


本受限股票獎勵協議(包括所有附錄,以下簡稱「獎勵協議」),於2024年3月1日簽署並執行(以下簡稱“授予日期“之間的老國民銀行股份有限公司(下文簡稱“公司”以及[[FIRSTNAME]] [[LASTNAME]],公司或其關聯公司之一的職員或僱員(下文簡稱“參與者”).
見證:
鑑於公司已通過修訂後的2008年Old National Bancorp激勵報酬計劃(以下簡稱“401(k)計劃的僱主貢獻”),以進一步促進公司及其關聯公司的增長和財務成功,通過使參與的高級管理人員和關鍵僱員(以下簡稱「參與者」)的利益與公司股東的利益更加緊密地對齊,爲參與者提供額外的激勵,激勵他們在爲公司及其關聯公司提供服務時取得卓越表現,並促進參與者之間的團隊合作;
鑑於公司認爲通過授予公司普通股("股份)以受限股份("受限股票,除非參與者對根據2018年計劃授予的受限股票進行第83(b)條款選舉(如下所述),否則在授予該獎項時,接收此類獎勵的參與者將不會認可美國應稅普通收入,同時我們將不會被允許在此類獎項授予時認可扣減款項。當一項獎勵保持未獲豁免或其他實質性風險失去之狀態時,參與者將認可股息的數量作爲報酬所認可的收入,我們將允許扣除相同的金額。當獎項獲得豁免或不再存在重大風險失去之時,公允價值溢價將被認可爲參與者的普通收入,並且將以我們的聯邦所得稅的目的表明爲扣減。根據有關規定,股票被處分所獲得的利潤或損失將被視爲資本收益或資本損失,資本收益或損失是根據參與者從認購股票或解除實質性風險失去之日期算起持有該股票的時間而定的,如果持有期超過一年,則將是長期或短期的。)形式授予符合條件的高管和其他關鍵員工,可以實現該目標;並
鑑於爲了激勵參與者的未來發展並進一步促進公司的成功,已指定參與者爲應授予限制性股票的個人;
因此,鑑於前述敘述和本協議中包含的相互約定,公司和參與者同意如下:
1.    限制股票獎勵;建立初始帳戶條目
公司已批准向參與者發放 [[SHARESGRANTED]] 限制性股票(本獎勵協議所涵蓋的限制性股票被稱爲”限制性股票”),但須遵守本獎勵協議和本計劃的條款和條件(本獎勵協議中使用的所有大寫術語在本計劃中均未另行定義)。在參與者簽署接受本獎勵協議後的合理時間內,公司應指示其過戶代理人以參與者的名義設立一個代表限制性股票的賬面記賬帳戶,該帳戶自授予之日起生效;但是,在限制性股票根據本獎勵協議歸屬之前,公司應保留對此類帳戶的控制權。在不限制上述條件的一般性的前提下,以參與者名義保存的賬面記賬帳戶應帶有適當的註釋,類似於本計劃第8.04(c)節所設想的任何限制性股票證書上的限制性圖例,大意是其中包含的限制性股票受本獎勵協議和計劃以及適用的證券法的限制。公司可以指示其過戶代理人對此類帳戶中任何未歸屬的限制性股票發出停止轉賬指令。
2.    限制期;歸屬期
限制期與限制股份有關的期限應自授予日期開始計算,併除了本獎勵協議第3和第4節另有規定外,將按以下方式屆滿:




限制期限失效日期受限股份比例獎勵
2025年3月1日100%

除非另有規定,在本獎勵協議的第3和第4節中,受限股份僅在參與方在公司或其任何關聯公司之一中持續僱傭到適用於此受限股份的限制期間到期日時才會行使。
3.    控制權變更
如果公司的控制權在授予日期後發生變更,則《計劃》第十六條將管理根據本授予協議授予的受限股票的處置。

4.    服務的終止
(a) 死亡、殘疾或退休儘管獎勵協議的其他條款,但如果參與者因死亡、殘疾或養老而終止服務,將適用以下規定:
(i)如果參與者的服務終止是因爲死亡,那麼限制期將於死亡日期起效失效。
(ii) 如果參與者的服務終止是因殘疾或養老(如計劃中定義的那樣,對於養老,應要求在公司服役至少五年並達到五十五歲),他或她將繼續被視爲參與者,限制期將在本獎勵協議第2節規定的時間到期,但是,如果在任何此類由於殘疾或養老導致的服務終止後,參與者在限制期結束前去世,則本第4節的小節(a)的規定將適用。
(b) 無故解除或基於正當理由的解除:如果參與者的僱傭終止是無故解除或基於正當理由(如在計劃中所定義的那樣,提及任一此類終止在本部分稱爲「被迫終止」),並且參與者向公司執行並交付與此種終止相關的適用的解除和補償協議,那麼限制期將在被迫終止的生效日期終止,並且所有持續的僱傭/服務限制將作廢,但僅限於未受限制股票的按比例部分(如本部分所確定)。根據本獎勵協議第1條所提供的未投資股票的全比例部分將成爲已投資受限股票的股份數(如果滿足前述條件)應等於(A)從授予日期到被迫終止日期的整月數量作爲分子,與從授予日期到第2部分中規定的最終預定解除日期(最終限制期到期日期)的整月數量作爲分母的分數相乘,減去(B)在被迫終止日期之前根據第2條已投資的受限制股票數量。根據本第4條(b)部分生效的受限制股票的按比例部分將繼續受本獎勵協議的條款和條件約束。
2




本協議(包括第8和第10條)以及本獎勵協議涵蓋的所有受限股份,經過本第4(b)條之後仍未獲得授予的,參與者在非自願終止的生效日期失去這些股份。儘管本第4(b)條中的上述條款,如果經歷非自願終止的參與者在該終止時符合養老(如計劃中定義並在本獎勵協議第4(a)(ii)條中規定的),則應適用第4(a)(ii)條中的養老規定,而不是適用本第4(b)條。
(c) 喪失除非委員會在其唯一酌情權下另有決定,依據並與計劃一致,在參與者因其他原因終止服務時,尚未到期的限制股份將自參與者終止服務之日起被沒收。
5.    Dividends on Restricted Stock
From and after the Grant Date and the establishment of the book entry account representing the Restricted Shares pursuant to Section 1 of this Award Agreement, the Participant shall be entitled to receive any per Share cash dividends paid by the Company with respect to the Restricted Shares covered by this Award Agreement and remaining outstanding (that is, not previously forfeited by the Participant), even though the Period of Restriction with respect to some or all of such Restricted Shares has not then lapsed. Any stock dividends paid with respect to any such Restricted Shares during the same period shall be (a) added to the Restricted Shares account maintained by the Company’s transfer agent in the Participant’s name (as provided in Section 1 hereof), and (b) subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Award Agreement and the Plan, including the same restrictions set forth herein as applicable to the underlying Restricted Shares on which they are paid.
6.    Voting Rights
From and after the Grant Date and the establishment of the book entry account representing the Restricted Shares pursuant to Section 1 of this Award Agreement, the Participant may exercise full voting rights with respect to all Restricted Shares covered by this Award Agreement, including any Restricted Shares remaining subject to any applicable Period of Restriction.
7.    Participant’s Investment Representations
The Participant shall provide any investment representations requested by the Company before the issuance of any Restricted Shares pursuant hereto or any release to the Participant of Vested Restricted Shares (as defined and described in Section 10(a) of this Award Agreement).
8.    Income and Employment Tax Withholding
As described in Section 15.02 of the Plan, prior to the release to the Participant of any Vested Restricted Shares, the Company shall have the right to have the Participant satisfy all required federal, state, city and local income and employment taxes required to be withheld on the lapse of the Period of Restriction. In order to satisfy such withholding obligations, the Participant shall be deemed to have elected to have the Company withhold Shares that otherwise would be released to the Participant upon vesting pursuant to Section 10 of this Award Agreement, unless before such vesting the Company and the Participant have agreed to an alternative tax withholding means permitted by the Plan. The Fair Market Value of the Shares to be so withheld shall equal to the dollar amount of the Company’s aggregate withholding tax obligations, calculated on the day the Period of Restriction ends.
9.    Nontransferability
3




Until the end of the Period of Restriction, the Restricted Shares cannot be (i) sold, transferred, assigned, margined, encumbered, bequeathed, gifted, alienated, hypothecated, pledged or otherwise disposed of, whether by operation of law, whether voluntarily or involuntarily or otherwise, other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, or (ii) subject to execution, attachment, or similar process. Any attempted or purported transfer of Restricted Shares in contravention of this Section 9 or the Plan shall be null and void ab initio and of no force or effect whatsoever. Following the execution of this Award Agreement, the Participant may expressly designate a death beneficiary (“Beneficiary”) by completing and delivering a designation of beneficiary agreement (“Beneficiary Designation”) and delivering a copy of the Beneficiary Designation to the Company. In the event the Participant does not designate a Beneficiary, then the applicable state law shall determine succession.
10.    Release of Shares to Participant after Vesting
(a)    General Vesting and Release Timing. Subject to Section 10(b) hereof, as promptly as reasonably practicable (and generally within 30 days) after (i) the lapse of the Period of Restriction with respect to, and the resulting vesting of, all or any portion of the Restricted Shares (the “Vested Restricted Shares”) and (ii) the Company’s receipt of any required tax withholding in accordance with Section 8, the Company shall instruct its transfer agent to transfer such Vested Restricted Shares, less any deduction for Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations under Section 8, to an unrestricted account over which only the Participant (or, in the case of the Participant’s death, his or her Beneficiary or estate) has control.
(b)    Additional Release Conditions and Related Timing Impact. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 10, the Company will not be required to release or deliver any Vested Restricted Shares pursuant to this Section 10 prior to (i) completing any registration or other qualification of the Shares, which the Company deems necessary or advisable under any federal or state law or under the rulings or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body; and (ii) obtaining any approval or other clearance from any federal or state governmental agency or body, which the Company determines in either case to be necessary or advisable. The Company has no obligation to obtain the fulfillment of the conditions specified in the preceding sentence. As a further condition to the release of any Vested Restricted Shares pursuant to this Section 10, the Company may require the making of any investment or other representation or warranty which the Company deems necessary or advisable under any applicable law or regulation, as provided in Section 7. Under no circumstances shall the Company delay the release of Vested Restricted Shares pursuant to this Section to a date that is later than 2-1/2 months after the end of the calendar year in which the Period of Restriction lapses, unless the release of such Shares would violate applicable federal or state securities law or any other applicable law, in which case the Company shall issue such shares as soon as administratively practicable (and not more than 30 days) after such issuance would no longer violate such laws.
11.    Participant’s Satisfaction of Applicable Stock Ownership Guidelines
At the time an applicable Period of Restriction lapses with respect to the Restricted Shares, if the Participant is subject to, and does not then satisfy, the Company’s Stock Ownership Guidelines for executives and directors, as may be amended and in effect from time to time and as set forth in the applicable section of the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines posted on the Company’s website or as otherwise established by the Committee (the “Stock Ownership Guidelines”), the Participant shall continue to hold the Vested Restricted Shares released to the Participant pursuant to Section 10 hereof (net of Shares withheld for taxes) until such time thereafter as the Participant first or again satisfies the Stock Ownership Guidelines.
12.    Clawback Policy
4




Any grant of Restricted Shares under this Award Agreement or any other award granted or paid to the Participant under the Plan, whether in the form of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, performance shares, performance units, stock or cash, is subject to recoupment or “clawback” by the Company in accordance with the Company’s Clawback Policy, adopted by the Company in 2023 and as the same may be amended and in effect from time to time.
13.    Additional Restrictive Covenants Applicable to the Participant
By executing and accepting this Award Agreement, and in consideration of the award of the Restricted Shares to the Participant, the Participant: (a) hereby agrees to comply with and be bound by the restrictive covenants contained in Appendix A (the “Restrictive Covenants”); (b) understands and acknowledges that (i) the grant of Restricted Shares pursuant to this Award Agreement, and (ii) any vesting or release of Vested Restricted Shares to the Participant, are expressly conditioned on and subject to the Participant’s continuing compliance with each of the Restrictive Covenants; and (c) understands and acknowledges that the Company may seek any and all available remedies for any non-compliance with the Restrictive Covenants, in addition to the forfeiture of any Restricted Shares or Vested Restricted Shares. The Restrictive Covenants are independent of and in addition to (not in replacement of) any covenants on the same or similar subjects to which the Participant may have previously agreed in any employment, confidentiality, non-solicitation, non-competition, severance, change in control, incentive compensation grant or award or other agreement to which the Participant is a party or by which he or she is bound, all of which other agreements shall remain in full force and effect.
14.    Indemnity
The Participant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its Affiliates (and their respective directors, officers and employees), and the Committee, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses based upon or arising out of any actual or alleged breach or failure of the Participant to comply with any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement made by the Participant to the Company in or pursuant to this Award Agreement. The Participant hereby further agrees to release and hold harmless the Company and its Affiliates (and their respective directors, officers and employees) from and against any tax liability, including without limitation, interest and penalties, incurred by the Participant in connection with this Award Agreement (including the vesting of any Restricted Shares) or the Participant’s overall participation in the Plan.
15.    No Rights to Future Awards or Continued Employment
Nothing in the Plan or this Award Agreement creates any right for the Participant to receive, or any obligation on the part of the Company to grant to the Participant, any future awards of any kind under the Plan. In addition, nothing in the Plan or this Award Agreement confers any rights or obligations on the Participant to continued employment or service with the Company or any of its Affiliates or affects in any manner the right of the Company or its Affiliates or the Participant to terminate the Participant’s employment or service to the Company or any of its Affiliates at any time, subject to the terms of any employment agreement between the Participant and the Company or any of its Affiliates and any Plan terms applicable to Terminations for Good Reason.
16.    Changes in Shares
In the event of any change in the Shares as described in Section 4.04 of the Plan, the Committee will make appropriate adjustment or substitution in the number or kind of shares included within the Restricted Shares or the terms of this Award Agreement (taking into account the terms relating to stock dividends set forth in Section 5 hereof), all as provided in Section 4.04 of the Plan.
5




17.    Plan Terms; Committee Determinations; Other Interpretative Matters
All provisions of the Plan, including capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein, are incorporated herein and expressly made a part of this Award Agreement by reference. In the event of any conflict between any terms of this Award Agreement (before giving effect to any such incorporation of any such Plan provisions) and any provisions of the Plan, the Plan provisions shall govern and take precedence over any such conflicting terms of this Award Agreement. Any and all determinations made by the Committee under and as permitted by the Plan with respect to this Award Agreement or the Plan shall be conclusive, final and binding upon the Participant and any and all of his or her heirs, executors, administrators or others purporting to derive any rights or claims by or through the Participant. Except where otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, (i) references such as “herein,” “hereto” or “hereof” refer to this Award Agreement in its entirety, including any and all Appendices hereto, (ii) “including” and similar references whenever used herein mean “including, without limitation,” and (iii) the descriptive headings of the Sections and, where applicable, subsections of this Award Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Award Agreement.
18.    Governing Law
To the extent not otherwise governed by the laws of the United States (including the Internal Revenue Code), this Award Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Indiana, without reference to the choice of law principles thereof.
19.    Jury Trial Waiver
The Company and the Participant hereby knowingly, voluntarily, and irrevocably waive any right to a trial by jury of any dispute under or action relating to this Award Agreement and agree that any such dispute or action shall be tried before a judge sitting without a jury.
20.    Survival
The provisions of Sections 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11 through 15 and 17 through 19, inclusive, and 21 of this Award Agreement and this Section 20, as well as the Restrictive Covenants contained in Appendix A hereto, will survive the expiration or termination of this Award Agreement, the vesting and release or forfeiture of any and all Restricted Shares pursuant hereto and/or any Termination of the Participant’s employment or service for any reason whatsoever.
21.    Counterparts
This Award Agreement may be executed in two (2) or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original, but all of which collectively will constitute one and the same agreement.
________

6




IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company, by its officer thereunder duly authorized, and the Participant have caused this Award Agreement to be executed as of the day and year first above written.

PARTICIPANT


Accepted by: [[SIGNATURE]]                Date: [[SIGNATURE_DATE]]



OLD NATIONAL BANCORP


By: _____________________________    
    




    















7




APPENDIX A TO RESTRICTED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT
(Restrictive Covenants)
1.    Definitions. When used in and for purposes of this Appendix A, the following capitalized terms have the respective meanings set forth below. Unless otherwise defined or redefined in this Appendix A, capitalized terms herein have the same respective meanings as set forth in the body of the Award Agreement.
"Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls, is Controlled by or is under common Control with, such Person, with “Control” and such similar terms meaning the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such other Person, whether through ownership of voting securities or similar ownership interests, by contract or otherwise.
Business” means, collectively, the products and services provided by the Company, as the same may evolve or be changed from time to time, including but not limited to those involving the following core business areas: (i) community and/or commercial banking, including lending activities (whether individual/retail consumer loans or lines of credit or commercial loans, letters of credit and real estate or lease transactions), depositary activities, debit and ATM cards, merchant cash management, internet banking and other general banking activities; (ii) investment and brokerage services, including provision of investment advice and investment options; (iii) treasury services, including investment management, wholesale funding, interest rate risk, liquidity and leverage management and capital markets products or services (including interest rate derivatives, foreign exchange and bond financings); (iv) wealth management, including fiduciary and trust services, fee-based asset management, mutual fund management or other investment advisory services; (v) insurance agency services, including insurance brokerage services such as commercial property and casualty, surety, loss control services, employee benefits consulting and administration and personal insurance.
Company” when used in and for purposes of this Appendix A means Old National Bancorp and its Affiliates, collectively or individually, as the same may exist at any particular referenced time or for any referenced historical “look-back” periods used in this Appendix A (“Look-Back Periods”) and shall include any predecessors or successors to any such entities; and “Employing Company” means the Company entity that was the employer of the Participant at the relevant time or for the relevant period. For illustrative purposes only: (i) as of the Grant Date, the Company includes Old National Bancorp, as the surviving corporation in the February 15, 2022 merger of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (“First Midwest”) and Old National Bancorp (the “Merger”), and Old National Bancorp’s subsidiaries; and (ii) as to any Look-Back Periods covering or extending in whole or in part into historical periods prior to the Merger, the Company includes First Midwest and its subsidiaries (and, with respect to any Participant who is a former employee of First Midwest or one of its subsidiaries, refers to and includes any pre-Merger periods of employment with or service to First Midwest or such subsidiary).
Confidential Information” means any and all information of or relating to the Company or its Business (including Third-Party Confidential Information, as defined below) that is confidential, private, proprietary or otherwise not generally available to the public (including any and all trade secrets) or not generally known by or available to those engaged in the same or similar business, trade or industry as the Company, together with any and all tangible embodiments, copies, recordations or derivatives of any such information, including, without limitation, any and all reports, analyses, studies, plans, notes, summaries, communications, files, records or other documents or materials based on, derived from, excerpting, incorporating or otherwise reflecting, in whole or in part, any Confidential Information. All such information shall constitute “Confidential Information” (A) whether or not identified or labeled as confidential, (B) whether provided or made available to the Participant before or after the date of this Award Agreement, (C) whether (i) disclosed or made available to the Participant by the Company, (ii) created, authored, collected, compiled, prepared or otherwise developed by the Participant, other Company employees or any third parties in the course of or in connection with their services for the Company or for its benefit, or (iii) provided or made available to the Participant for the Company’s use, in trust or confidence (including pursuant to a legal, contractual, fiduciary or other duty of confidentiality), by any customers, clients, vendors, suppliers or other third parties having or considering a business or contractual relationship with the Company (“Third-Party Confidential Information”), and (D) regardless of the form, format, mode of disclosure or
8




media in which it may be maintained, used or communicated (whether written, printed, verbal, visual, graphic, digital, electronic or otherwise and whether in tangible or intangible form (as when held in a Person’s mind or memory)). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, “Confidential Information” includes information of the types described in any employment, confidentiality, restrictive covenant or award agreements between the Company and the Participant and in any Company confidentiality policies or guidelines applicable to the Participant.
Covered Personnel” means any individual Person who as of the time in question is, or at any time within the two-year Look-Back Period prior thereto was, an employee or temporary or contract worker of, or other individual independent contractor to, the Company with whom the Participant had a supervisory or other working relationship during the Participant’s employment with the Company or about whom the Participant had knowledge or access to or use of Confidential Information relating to such Person’s position, responsibilities, performance or potential by virtue of the Participant’s employment by the Company.
Customer” means any Person (or any Affiliate thereof) which (i) is a customer or client of any services or products of the Employing Company as of the time at which it is being determined (or, for or in respect of any post-Termination period, the date of the Participant’s employment Termination), (ii) was a customer or client of any services or products of the Employing Company at any time during the two-year Look-Back Period immediately prior thereto or (iii) otherwise was a Person with whom the Participant had direct contact on behalf of the Employing Company at any time during the period of the Participant’s employment with the Employing Company.
"Person” means any individual or any corporation, general or limited partnership, firm, limited liability company, joint venture, association, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization or other entity.
Prospective Customer” means any Person (or any Affiliate thereof) which, as of the time at which it is being determined (or, for or in respect of any post-Termination period, the date of the Participant’s employment Termination) or at any time during the two-year Look-Back Period immediately prior thereto, is or was the direct target or subject of sales or marketing activities by the Participant or is or was a Person that the Participant knew was a target of the Employing Company’s sales or marketing activities.
2.    Non-Solicitation of Customers and Employees. During the term of Participant’s employment with the Company and for one (1) year following Termination thereof, the Participant shall not, directly or indirectly, individually or jointly with any other Persons, (a) solicit or attempt to solicit in any manner, seek to obtain or service, or accept the business of, any Customer or Prospective Customer for any product or service of the type offered by the Company or competitive with the Company's Business, (b) request, advise or suggest, or otherwise induce or cause (or attempt to induce or cause) any customer, client, vendor, supplier, licensor, licensee or consultant, advisor or other business relation of or to the Company to terminate, reduce, limit, or change its business or relationship with the Company, or interfere with any such Person’s business or relationship with the Company, (c) request, encourage, induce or influence (or attempt to induce, influence or cause) any Covered Personnel to quit, leave or terminate their employment, temporary labor or independent contractor relationship or arrangement with the Company or solicit any such Covered Personnel for employment or engagement on behalf of any Person other than the Company, or (d) hire, employ or otherwise engage (whether as employee, part-time or temporary staff or labor, consultant, independent contractor or otherwise) any such Covered Personnel either directly or for or on behalf of any Person other than the Company.
3.Safeguarding, and Non-Use and Non-Disclosure, of Confidential Information.
a.Value and Importance of Confidentiality Protections. The Participant acknowledges and agrees that (i) by virtue of Participant’s employment, Participant will be given access to and use of Confidential Information, (ii) the Company has devoted (and will continue to devote) substantial time, money, and effort to develop Confidential Information and maintain the proprietary and confidential nature thereof, and (iii) Confidential Information is proprietary and confidential and, if any Confidential Information were disclosed or became known by persons engaging in a business in any way competitive with the Company's Business, such disclosure would result in hardship, loss, irreparable injury, and damage to the Company, the measurement of which would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine. Accordingly, the Participant agrees that the preservation and protection of
9




Confidential Information is an essential part of Participant’s duties of employment and that, as a result of the Participant’s employment with the Company, Participant has a duty of fidelity, loyalty, and trust to the Company in safeguarding Confidential Information.

b.Confidentiality Covenants. At all times both during and after the Termination of the Participant’s employment with the Company: (i) the Participant will hold as strictly confidential, and take all steps necessary to protect and safeguard Confidential Information; (ii) the Participant will not, directly or indirectly, use, or otherwise employ any Confidential Information, except for such use as reasonably required in the ordinary course of Participant’s employment by the Company, and then solely during the term of such Company employment and exclusively for the Company’s benefit; and (iii) the Participant will not, directly or indirectly, disclose, distribute, communicate, disseminate or reveal any Confidential Information to any Person, except for such disclosure (A) to other Company employees who reasonably “need to know” the same to discharge their responsibilities to the Company, but only during the term of the Participant’s employment with the Company or (B) as legally required by any court or governmental agency (as by subpoena or similar mandatory legal process or court order), but only after prompt notice to the Company to permit it to seek a protective order or other confidential treatment of the Confidential Information being sought and then only to the extent any portions of such Confidential Information are legally required to be disclosed. The Participant shall follow all Company policies and procedures regarding Confidential Information and shall exercise utmost diligence and take any additional precautions necessary or appropriate under the particular circumstances to safeguard, and protect against any prohibited use or disclosure of, any Confidential Information.

c.Duration. The confidentiality obligations contained in this Agreement shall continue as long as Confidential Information remains confidential or protectable as a trade secret under applicable laws (except that such obligations shall continue if Confidential Information loses its confidential nature through improper use or disclosure, including but not limited to any breach of the Restrictive Covenants in this Appendix A) and, in the case of any Third-Party Confidential Information, for so long as the Company remains contractually or otherwise legally obligated to protect the same.

d.Exceptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Appendix A prohibits, limits, or restricts, or shall be construed to prohibit, limit, or restrict, the Participant from exercising any legally protected whistleblower rights (including pursuant to Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder), without notice to or consent from the Company. Moreover, pursuant to the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016: (i) an individual will not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret laws for the disclosure of a trade secret that is made (A) in confidence, to a federal, state or local government official or to a lawyer, solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (B) in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding, if such filing is made “under seal” (meaning that it is not accessible to the public); and (ii) an individual who files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law may disclose the trade secret to the attorney of the individual and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if the individual files any document containing the trade secret under seal and does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.

4.    Remedies. The Company will suffer irreparable damage and injury and will not have an adequate remedy at law if the Participant breaches any provision of the Restrictive Covenants in this Appendix A. Accordingly, in addition to any and all other remedies that may be available to the Company, the Company shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief to prevent or halt actual, attempted or threatened breaches of the Participant’s Restrictive Covenants, or to enforce specifically their terms, without proving actual damages or posting any bond or other security. The rights and remedies of the Company set forth in this Appendix A and in this Award Agreement generally are cumulative with, and not exclusive or in lieu of, other rights and remedies available to the Company at law or in equity. In addition, the Company will retain the right to take appropriate disciplinary action against the Participant for violations of the Restrictive Covenants or any Company policies during the Participant’s employment by the Company. The existence of any claim or cause of action that the Participant has against the Company, whether predicated on this Award Agreement or otherwise, shall not constitute a defense to the enforcement by the Company of the Restrictive Covenants.

10




5.    Periods of Noncompliance and Reasonableness of Periods. The Restrictive Covenants shall be deemed not to run during any periods of noncompliance by the Participant, the intention of the parties being to have such restrictions and covenants apply for the full periods contemplated by this Appendix A (including those specified following the Participant’s Termination of employment with the Company). The Company and the Participant acknowledge and agree that the Restrictive Covenants are reasonable in view of the nature of the Company's Business and the Participant's advantageous knowledge of and familiarity with the Company's Business, operations, affairs, Customers and Prospective Customers. The Restrictive Covenants are essential terms and conditions to the Company entering into this Award Agreement, and they shall be construed as independent of any other provision in this Award Agreement or of any other agreement between the Participant and the Company. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, if the scope of any restriction or covenant is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be too broad to permit enforcement of such restriction or covenant as written, then such restriction or covenant shall be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Participant and the Company hereby acknowledge the same and authorize any such court to strike or modify any such provision or part thereof, to permit enforcement of the Restrictive Covenants and this Award Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by law.
6.    Survival. The Restrictive Covenants shall survive termination or expiration of this Award Agreement and any Termination of the Participant’s employment with the Company.
7.    Reimbursement of Certain Costs. If the Participant breaches or threatens to breach any of the Restrictive Covenants in this Appendix A and the Company initiates legal action against the Participant and substantially prevails against the Participant in such action by enforcing such Restrictive Covenants or obtaining damages for such breaches, the Company shall be entitled to payment or reimbursement from the Participant of the Company’s reasonable costs and expenses in connection with such action (including reasonable attorneys' fees and disbursements, litigation costs and investigative and expert witness fees and costs).



11