CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. EXECUTIVE INCENTIVE PLAN
Exhibit 10.2
CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.
EXECUTIVE INCENTIVE PLAN
(As Adopted September 13, 2007)
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Plan is to motivate and reward eligible employees by making a portion of their cash compensation dependent on the achievement of certain Performance Goals related to the performance of Cisco Systems, Inc. (the “Company”) and its affiliates. The Plan is designed with the intention that the incentives paid hereunder to certain executive officers of the Company are deductible under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and interpretations promulgated thereunder (the “Code”). The adoption of the Plan as to current and future covered employees (determined under Code Section 162(m)) and executive officers (within the meaning of Rule 3b-7 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) is subject to the approval of the Company’s shareholders.
2. DEFINITIONS
The following definitions shall be applicable throughout the Plan:
(a) “Award” means the amount of a cash incentive payable under the Plan to a Participant with respect to a Performance Period.
(b) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company, as constituted from time to time.
(c) “Committee” means the Compensation and Management Development Committee of the Board or another Committee designated by the Board which is comprised of two or more “outside directors” as defined in Code Section 162(m).
(d) “Participant” means any officer or key employee of the Company who is designated as a Participant by the Committee.
(e) “Performance Goal” means an objective formula or standard determined by the Committee with respect to each Performance Period utilizing one or more of the following factors and any objectively verifiable adjustment(s) thereto permitted and preestablished by the Committee in accordance with Code Section 162(m): (i) operating income; (ii) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; (iii) earnings; (iv) cash flow; (v) market share; (vi) sales; (vii) revenue; (viii) profits before interest and taxes; (ix) expenses; (x) cost of goods sold; (xi) profit/loss or profit margin; (xii) working capital; (xiii) return on capital, equity or assets; (xiv) earnings per share; (xv) economic value added; (xvi) stock price; (xvii) price/earnings ratio; (xviii) debt or debt-to-equity; (xix) accounts receivable; (xx) writeoffs; (xxi) cash; (xxii) assets; (xxiii) liquidity; (xxiv) operations; (xxv) intellectual property (e.g., patents); (xxvi) product development; (xxvii) regulatory activity; (xxviii) manufacturing, production or inventory; (xxix) mergers and acquisitions or divestitures; (xxx) financings; and/or (xxxi) customer satisfaction, each with respect to the Company and/or one or more of its affiliates or operating units. Awards issued to Participants who are not subject to the limitations of Code Section 162(m) may take into account other factors (including subjective factors).
(f) “Performance Period” means any period not exceeding 36 months as determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion. The Committee may establish different Performance Periods for different Participants, and the Committee may establish concurrent or overlapping Performance Periods.
(g) “Plan” means this Cisco Systems, Inc. Executive Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.
3. ADMINISTRATION
The Plan shall be administered by the Committee, which shall have the discretionary authority to interpret the provisions of the Plan, including all decisions on eligibility to participate, the establishment of payment targets and the amount of the Awards payable under the Plan. The decisions of the Committee shall be final and binding on all parties making claims under the Plan. The Committee may delegate its administrative authority in whole or in part with respect to Awards issued to Participants who are not current or future covered employees or executive officers (each, as defined in Section 1).
4. ELIGIBILITY
Officers and key employees of the Company shall be eligible to participate in the Plan as determined at the sole discretion of the Committee.
5. AMOUNT OF AWARDS
With respect to each Participant, the Committee will establish one or more Performance Periods, an individual Participant incentive target for each Performance Period and the Performance Goal or Goals to be met during such Performance Periods. With respect to Participants who are or may become subject to Code Section 162(m), the establishment of the Performance Period(s), the applicable Performance Goals and the targets shall occur in compliance with and to the extent required by the rules of Code Section 162(m).
The maximum amount of any Awards that can be paid under the Plan to any Participant during any Performance Period is $10,000,000. The Committee reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reduce or eliminate the amount of an Award otherwise payable to a Participant with respect to any Performance Period. In addition, with respect to Awards issued to Participants who are not subject to the limitations of Code Section 162(m), the Committee reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to increase the amount of an Award otherwise payable to a Participant with respect to any Performance Period.
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6. PAYMENT OF AWARDS
(a) Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, a Participant must be employed on the date the Award is to be paid. The Committee may make exceptions to this requirement in the case of retirement, death or disability or under other circumstances, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.
(b) Any distribution made under the Plan shall be made in cash and occur within a reasonable period of time after the end of the Performance Period in which the Participant has earned the Award but may occur prior to the end of the Performance Period with respect to Awards issued to Participants who are not subject to the limitations of Code Section 162(m); provided, that no Award shall become payable to a Participant who is subject to the limitations of Code Section 162(m) with respect to any Performance Period until the Committee has certified in writing that the terms and conditions underlying the payment of such Award have been satisfied. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in order to comply with the short-term deferral exception under section 409A of the Code, if the Committee waives the requirement that a Participant must be employed on the date the Award is to be paid, payout shall occur no later than the 15th day of the third month following the later of (i) the end of the Company’s taxable year in which such requirement is waived or (ii) the end of the calendar year in which such requirement is waived.
7. GENERAL
(a) TAX WITHHOLDING. The Company shall have the right to deduct from all Awards any federal, state or local income and/or payroll taxes required by law to be withheld with respect to such payments. The Company also may withhold from any other amount payable by the Company or any affiliate to the Participant an amount equal to the taxes required to be withheld from any Award.
(b) CLAIM TO AWARDS AND EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS. Nothing in the Plan shall confer on any Participant the right to continued employment with the Company or any of its affiliates, or affect in any way the right of the Company or any affiliate to terminate the Participant’s employment at any time, and for any reason, or change the Participant’s responsibilities. Awards represent unfunded and unsecured obligations of the Company and a holder of any right hereunder in respect of any Award shall have no rights other than those of a general unsecured creditor to the Company.
(c) BENEFICIARIES. To the extent the Committee permits beneficiary designations, any payment of Awards due under the Plan to a deceased Participant shall be paid to the beneficiary duly designated by the Participant in accordance with the Company’s practices. If no such beneficiary has been designated or survives the Participant, payment shall be made to the Participant’s legal representative. A beneficiary designation may be changed or revoked by a Participant at any time, provided the change or revocation is filed with the Committee prior to the Participant’s death.
(d) NONTRANSFERABILITY. A person’s rights and interests under the Plan, including any Award previously made to such person or any amounts payable under the Plan,
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may not be assigned, pledged, or transferred except, in the event of a Participant’s death, to a designated beneficiary as provided in the Plan, or in the absence of such designation, by will or the laws of descent and distribution.
(e) INDEMNIFICATION. Each person who is or shall have been a member of the Committee and each employee of the Company or an affiliate who is delegated a duty under the Plan shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from and against any loss, cost, liability or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by him in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit or proceeding to which he may be a party or in which he may be involved by reason of any action or failure to act under the Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by him in satisfaction of judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding against him, provided such loss, cost, liability or expense is not attributable to such person’s willful misconduct. Any person seeking indemnification under this provisions shall give the Company prompt notice of any claim and shall give the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before the person undertakes to handle and defend it on his own behalf. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such persons may be entitled under the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.
(f) EXPENSES. The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company.
(g) PRONOUNS. Masculine pronouns and other words of masculine gender shall refer to both men and women.
(h) TITLES AND HEADINGS. The titles and headings of the sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only, and in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.
(i) INTENT. The intention of the Company and the Committee is to administer the Plan in compliance with Code Section 162(m) so that the Awards paid under the Plan to Participants who are or may become subject to Code Section 162(m) will be treated as performance-based compensation under Code Section 162(m)(4)(C). If any provision of the Plan does not comply with the requirements of Code Section 162(m), then such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to such requirements. With respect to all other Participants, the Plan may be operated without regard to the constraints of Code Section 162(m).
(j) GOVERNING LAW. The validity, construction, and effect of the Plan, any rules and regulations relating to the Plan, and any Award shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the State of California (without giving effect to principles of conflicts of laws thereof) and applicable Federal law. No Award made under the Plan shall be intended to be deferred compensation under section 409A of the Code and will be interpreted accordingly.
(k) AMENDMENTS AND TERMINATION. The Committee may terminate the Plan at any time, provided such termination shall not affect the payment of any Awards accrued
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under the Plan prior to the date of the termination. The Committee may, at any time, or from time to time, amend or suspend and, if suspended, reinstate, the Plan in whole or in part, provided however, that any amendment of the Plan shall be subject to the approval of the Company’s shareholders to the extent required to comply with the requirements of Code Section 162(m), or any other applicable laws, regulations or rules.
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