Exhibit 10.3
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT is made effective as of the 13th day of July, 2011 (the “Effective Date”).
AMONG:
VANITY EVENTS HOLDING, INC., a corporation formed pursuant to the laws of the State of Delaware and having an office for business located at 118 Front Street, Brookings, SD 57006 ("Employer");
AND
Greg Pippo, an individual having an address at 30 Waterside Plaza, Apt. 36K, NY, NY 10010 (“Employee”).
WHEREAS, Employee has agreed to as an Employee of Employer, and Employer has agreed to hire Employee as such, pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Employment Agreement (the “Agreement”).
NOW THEREFORE THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH THAT in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants, agreements, representations and warranties contained herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Employee and Employer hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1
EMPLOYMENT
Employer hereby agrees to the employment of Employee as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Employee hereby affirms and accepts such employment by Employer for the “Term” (as defined in Article 3 below), upon the terms and conditions set forth herein.
ARTICLE 2
DUTIES
During the Term, Employee shall serve Employer faithfully, diligently and to the best of his ability, under the direction and supervision of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Employer and shall use his best efforts to promote the interests and goodwill of Employer and any affiliates, successors, assigns, subsidiaries, and/or future purchasers of Employer. Employee shall render such services during the Term at Employer’s principal place of business or at such other place of business as may be determined by the Board, as Employer may from time to time reasonably require of him, and shall devote all of his business time to the performance thereof. Employee shall have those duties and powers as generally pertain to each of the offices of which he holds, as the case may be, subject to the control of the Board.
ARTICLE 3
TERM
The “Term” of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and continue thereafter for a term of one (1) year, as may be extended or earlier terminated pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. After the first three (3) months of employment, Employer agrees to revisit terms of this Agreement and make alterations as the company’s finances allow.
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ARTICLE 4
COMPENSATION
Salary
4.1
Employer shall pay to Employee monthly a net salary of Twenty Five Hundred Dollars $2500.00 and also agrees to payment of all associated income taxes applicable to Employee’s wages as set forth in this section. All payments shall be made in monthly installment with the payroll practices of Employer for its senior executives.
Benefits
4.2
During the Term, Employee shall be entitled to participate in all medical and other employee benefit plans, including vacation, sick leave, retirement accounts and other employee benefits provided by the Employer to similarly situated employees on terms and conditions no less favorable than those offered to such employees. Such participation shall be subject to the terms of the applicable plan documents, Employer’s generally applicable policies, and the discretion of the Board of Directors or any administrative or other committee provided for in, or contemplated by, such plan.
Expense Reimbursement
4.3
Employer shall reimburse Employee for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by him on behalf of Employer in the performance of his duties hereunder during the Term in accordance with Employer's then customary policies, provided that such expenses are adequately documented.
ARTICLE 5
OTHER EMPLOYMENT
During the Term of this Agreement, Employee shall devote a portion of his business and professional time and effort, attention, knowledge, and skill to the management, supervision and direction of Employer’s business and affairs as Employee’s highest professional priority, provided, however, that for the first six months of this Agreement, Employee shall be permitted to devote not less than 20% of his business and professional time to Employer. Except as provided below, Employer shall be entitled to all benefits, profits or other issues arising from or incidental to all work, services and advice performed or provided by Employee. Provided that the activities listed below do not materially interfere with the duties and responsibilities under this Agreement, nothing in this Agreement shall preclude Employee from devoting time for:
| (a) | Serving as an officer, director, member, founder, employee or consultant for any other business or activity which does not conflict with the business of the Employer as such may then be conducted by Employer from time to time; |
| (b) | Serving as a member of any organization involving no conflict of interest with Employer, provided that Employee must obtain the written consent of the Board; |
| (c) | Serving as a consultant in his area of expertise to government, commercial and academic panels where it does not conflict with the interests of Employer; and |
| (d) | Managing his personal investments or engaging in any other non-competing business |
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ARTICLE 6
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION/INVENTIONS
Confidential Information
6.1
Employee shall not, in any manner, for any reasons, either directly or indirectly, divulge or communicate to any person, firm or corporation, any confidential information concerning any matters not generally known or otherwise made public by Employer which affects or relates to Employer’s business, finances, marketing and/or operations, research, development, inventions, products, designs, plans, procedures, or other data (collectively, “Confidential Information”) except in the ordinary course of business or as required by applicable law. Without regard to whether any item of Confidential Information is deemed or considered confidential, material, or important, the parties hereto stipulate that as between them, to the extent such item is not generally known, such item is important, material, and confidential and affects the successful conduct of Employer’s business and goodwill, and that any breach of the terms of this Section 6.1 shall be a material and incurable breach of this Agreement. Confidential Information shall not include information in the public domain at the time of the disclosure of such information by Employee or information that is disclosed by Employee with the prior consent of the Board.
Documents
6.2
Employee further agrees that all documents and materials furnished to Employee by Employer and relating to the Employer’s business or prospective business are and shall remain the exclusive property of Employer. Employee shall deliver all such documents and materials, not copied, to Employer upon demand therefore and in any event upon expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement. Any payment of sums due and owing to Employee by Employer upon such expiration or earlier termination shall be conditioned upon returning all such documents and materials, and Employee expressly authorizes Employer to withhold any payments due and owing pending return of such documents and materials.
Inventions
6.3
All ideas, inventions, and other developments or improvements conceived or reduced to practice by Employee, alone or with others, during the Term of this Agreement, whether or not during working hours, that are within the scope of the business of Employer or that relate to or result from any of Employer’s work or projects or the services provided by Employee to Employer pursuant to this Agreement, shall be the exclusive property of Employer. Employee agrees to assist Employer, at Employer’s expense, to obtain patents and copyrights on any such ideas, inventions, writings, and other developments, and agrees to execute all documents necessary to obtain such patents and copyrights in the name of Employer.
Disclosure
6.4
During the Term, Employee will promptly disclose to the Board of Directors of Employer full information concerning any interest, direct or indirect, of Employee (as owner, shareholder, partner, lender or other investor, director, officer, employee, consultant or otherwise) or any member of his immediate family in any business that is reasonably known to Employee to purchase or otherwise obtain services or products from, or to sell or otherwise provide services or products to, Employer or to any of its suppliers or customers.
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ARTICLE 7
COVENANT NOT TO COMPETE
Except as expressly permitted in Article 5 above, during the Term of this Agreement, (a) Employee shall not engage, directly or indirectly, in any business or activity competitive to any active business then currently engaged in, or proposed to be engaged in, by Employer or (b) soliciting or taking away or interfering with any contractual relationship of any employee, agent, representative, contractor, supplier, vendor, customer, franchisee, lender or investor of Employer, or using, for the benefit of any person or entity other than Employer, any Confidential Information of Employer. The foregoing covenant prohibiting competitive activities shall survive the termination of this Agreement and shall extend, and shall remain enforceable against Employee, for the period of one (1) year following the date this Agreement is terminated. In addition, during the one-year period following such expiration or earlier termination, neither Employee nor Employer shall make or permit the making of any negative statement of any kind concerning Employer or its affiliates, or their directors, officers or agents or Employee.
ARTICLE 8
SURVIVAL
Employee agrees that the provisions of Articles 6, 7 and 9 shall survive expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement for any reasons, whether voluntary or involuntary, with or without cause, and shall remain in full force and effect thereafter. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if this Agreement is terminated upon the dissolution of Employer, the filing of a petition in bankruptcy by Employer or upon an assignment for the benefit of creditors of the assets of Employer, Articles 6, 7 and 9 shall be of no further force or effect.
ARTICLE 9
INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
Employee acknowledges and agrees that the covenants and obligations of Employee set forth in Articles 6 and 7 with respect to non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality and Employer’s property relate to special, unique and extraordinary matters and that a violation of any of the terms of such covenants and obligations will cause Employer irreparable injury for which adequate remedies are not available at law. Therefore, Employee agrees that Employer shall be entitled to an injunction, restraining order or such other equitable relief (without the requirement to post bond) as a court of competent jurisdiction may deem necessary or appropriate to restrain Employee from committing any violation of the covenants and obligations referred to in this Article 9. These injunctive remedies are cumulative and in addition to any other rights and remedies Employer may have at law or in equity.
ARTICLE 10
TERMINATION
Termination by Employee
10.1
Employee may terminate this Agreement for Good Reason at any time upon 30 days’ written notice to Employer, provided the Good Reason has not been cured within such period of time. Employee may terminate this Agreement at any time for any reason upon 30 days’ prior notice to Employer.
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Good Reason
10.2
In this Agreement, “Good Reason” means, without Employee’s prior written consent, the occurrence of any of the following events, unless Employer shall have fully cured all grounds for such termination within thirty (30) days after Employee gives notice thereof:
(i) any reduction in his then-current Salary;
| (ii) | any material failure to timely grant, or timely honor, any equity or long-term incentive award; |
| (iii) | failure to pay or provide required compensation and benefits; |
| (iv) | any material diminution in his title or duties or the assignment to him of duties not customarily associated with Employee’s position as Chief Financial Officer of Employer; |
| (vi) | the failure of Employer to obtain the assumption in writing of its obligation to perform the Employment Agreement by any successor to all or substantially all of the assets of Employer or upon a merger, consolidation, sale or similar transaction of Employer or; |
| (vii) | the voluntary or involuntary dissolution of Employer, the filing of a petition in bankruptcy by Employer or upon an assignment for the benefit of creditors of the assets of Employer. |
The written notice given hereunder by Employee to Employer shall specify in reasonable detail the cause for termination, and such termination notice shall not be effective until thirty (30) days after Employer’s receipt of such notice, during which time Employer shall have the right to respond to Employee’s notice and cure the breach or other event giving rise to the termination.
Termination by Employer
10.3
Employer may terminate its employment of Employee under this Agreement for cause at any time by written notice to Employee. For purposes of this Agreement, the term “cause” for termination by Employer shall be (a) a conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere by Employee to a felony, or any crime involving fraud or embezzlement; (b) the refusal by Employee to perform his material duties and obligations hereunder; (c) Employee’s willful and intentional misconduct in the performance of his material duties and obligations; or (d) if Employee or any member of his family makes any personal profit arising out of or in connection with a transaction to which Employer is a party or with which it is associated without making disclosure to and obtaining the prior written consent of Employer. The written notice given hereunder by Employer to Employee shall specify in reasonable detail the cause for termination. In the case of a termination for the causes described in (a) and (d) above, such termination shall be effective upon receipt of the written notice. In the case of the causes described in (b) and (c) above, such termination notice shall not be effective until thirty (30) days after Employee’s receipt of such notice, during which time Employee shall have the right to respond to Employer’s notice and cure the breach or other event giving rise to the termination.
Severance
10.4
Upon a termination of this Agreement without Good Reason by Employee or with cause by Employer, Employer shall pay to Employee all accrued and unpaid compensation as of the date of such termination, subject to the provision of Section 6.2. Upon a termination of this Agreement with Good Reason by Employee or without cause by Employer, Employer shall pay to Employee all accrued and unpaid compensation and expense reimbursement as of the date of such termination and the “Severance Payment.” The Severance Payment shall be payable in a lump sum, subject to Employer’s statutory and customary withholdings. If the termination of Employee hereunder is by Employee with Good Reason, the Severance Payment shall be paid by Employer within five (5) business days of the expiration of any applicable cure period. If the termination of Employee hereunder is by Employer without cause, the Severance Payment shall be paid by Employer within five (5) business days of termination. The “Severance Payment” shall equal the amount of the Salary payable to Employee under Section 4.1 of this Agreement from the date of such termination until the end of the Term of this Agreement (prorated for any partial month).
Termination Upon Death
10.5
If Employee dies during the Term of this Agreement, this Agreement shall terminate, except that Employee’s legal representatives shall be entitled to receive any earned but unpaid compensation or expense reimbursement due hereunder through the date of death.
Termination Upon Disability
10.6
If, during the Term of this Agreement, Employee suffers and continues to suffer from a “Disability” (as defined below), then Employer may terminate this Agreement by delivering to Employee thirty (30) calendar days’ prior written notice of termination based on such Disability, setting forth with specificity the nature of such Disability and the determination of Disability by Employer. For the purposes of this Agreement, “Disability” means Employee’s inability, with reasonable accommodation, to substantially perform Employee’s duties, services and obligations under this Agreement due to physical or mental illness or other disability for a continuous, uninterrupted period of sixty (60) calendar days or ninety (90) days during any twelve month period. Upon any such termination for Disability, Employee shall be entitled to receive any earned but unpaid compensation or expense reimbursement due hereunder through the date of termination.
ARTICLE 11
PERSONNEL POLICIES, CONDITIONS, AND BENEFITS
Except as otherwise provided herein, Employee’s employment shall be subject to the personnel policies and benefit plans which apply generally to Employer’s employees as the same may be interpreted, adopted, revised or deleted from time to time, during the Term of this Agreement, by Employer in its sole discretion. During the Term hereof, Employee shall be entitled to vacation during each year of the Term at the rate of three (3) weeks per year. Employee shall take such vacation at a time approved in advance by Employer, which approval will not be unreasonably withheld but will take into account the staffing requirements of Employer and the need for the timely performance of Employee's responsibilities.
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ARTICLE 12
BENEFICIARIES OF AGREEMENT
This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of Employer and any affiliates, successors, assigns, parent corporations, subsidiaries, and/or purchasers of Employer as they now or shall exist while this Agreement is in effect.
ARTICLE 13
GENERAL PROVISIONS
No Waiver
13.1
No failure by either party to declare a default based on any breach by the other party of any obligation under this Agreement, nor failure of such party to act quickly with regard thereto, shall be considered to be a waiver of any such obligation, or of any future breach.
Modification
13.2
No waiver or modification of this Agreement or of any covenant, condition, or limitation herein contained shall be valid unless in writing and duly executed by the parties to be charged therewith.
Choice of Law/Jurisdiction
13.3
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to any conflict-of-laws principles. Employer and Employee hereby consent to personal jurisdiction before all courts in the State of New York, and hereby acknowledge and agree that New York is and shall be the most proper forum to bring a complaint before a court of law.
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Entire Agreement
13.4
This Agreement embodies the whole agreement between the parties hereto regarding the subject matter hereof and there are no inducements, promises, terms, conditions, or obligations made or entered into by Employer or Employee other than contained herein.
Severability
13.5
All agreements and covenants contained herein are severable, and in the event any of them, with the exception of those contained in Articles 1 and 4 hereof, shall be held to be invalid by any competent court, this Agreement shall be interpreted as if such invalid agreements or covenants were not contained herein.
Headings
13.6
The headings contained herein are for the convenience of reference and are not to be used in interpreting this Agreement.
Independent Legal Advice
13.7
Employer has obtained legal advice concerning this Agreement and has requested that Employee obtain independent legal advice with respect to same before executing this Agreement. Employee, in executing this Agreement, represents and warranties to Employer that he has been so advised to obtain independent legal advice, and that prior to the execution of this Agreement he has so obtained independent legal advice, or has, in his discretion, knowingly and willingly elected not to do so.
No Assignment
13.8
Employee may not assign, pledge or encumber his interest in this Agreement nor assign any of his rights or duties under this Agreement without the prior written consent of Employer.
[Signature page follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have executed this Agreement effective as of the day and year first above written.
Employer: | By: | /s/ Lloyd Lapidus | |
| Name: Lloyd Lapidus | |||
| Title: Interim CEO | |||
| Employee: | By: | /s/ Greg Pippo | |
| Greg Pippo | |||
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