Direct Digital Holdings, LLC 2022 Omnibus Incentive Plan
Exhibit 10.3
DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC.
2022 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN
| 1. | Purpose |
The purpose of the Plan is to provide a means through which the Company and its Affiliates may attract able persons to enter and remain in the employ of the Company and its Affiliates and to provide a means whereby employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its Affiliates can acquire and maintain Common Stock ownership, or be paid incentive compensation measured by reference to the value of Common Stock, thereby strengthening their commitment to the welfare of the Company and its Affiliates and promoting an identity of interest between stockholders and these persons.
This Plan document is an omnibus document which may include, in addition to the Plan, separate sub-plans (“Sub Plans”) that permit offerings of grants to employees of certain Designated Foreign Subsidiaries. Offerings under the Sub Plans may be made in particular locations outside the United States of America and shall comply with local laws applicable to offerings in such foreign jurisdictions. The Plan shall be a separate and independent plan from the Sub Plans, but the total number of shares of Stock authorized to be issued under the Plan applies in the aggregate to both the Plan and the Sub Plans.
So that the appropriate incentive can be provided, the Plan provides for granting Incentive Stock Options, Nonqualified Stock Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Phantom Stock Awards, Stock Bonuses and Cash Bonus Awards, or any combination or variation of the foregoing.
The Plan is effective upon (a) the approval by the Company’s stockholders of this Plan and (b) the date of consummation of the Company’s initial public offering.
| 2. | Definitions |
The following definitions shall be applicable throughout the Plan.
(a) “Affiliate” means (i) any entity that directly or indirectly is controlled by, controls or is under common control with the Company and (ii) to the extent provided by the Committee, any entity in which the Company has a significant equity interest.
(b) “Award” means, individually or collectively, any Incentive Stock Option, Nonqualified Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Phantom Stock Award, Stock Bonus or Cash Bonus Award granted under the Plan.
(c) “Award Agreement” means an agreement, contract or other instrument, document or other type or form of writing pursuant to which an Award is granted, whether in writing or through an electronic medium.
(d) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(e) “Cash Bonus Award” means an Award of a cash bonus pursuant to Section 11 of the Plan.
(f) “Cause” shall mean, unless in the case of a particular Award the applicable Award Agreement states otherwise, the Company or an Affiliate having “cause” to terminate a Participant’s employment or service, as defined in any existing employment, consulting or any other agreement between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate in effect at the time of such termination or, in the absence of such an employment, consulting or other agreement, upon (i) the good faith determination by the Committee that the Participant has ceased to perform his duties to the Company or an Affiliate (other than as a result of his incapacity due to physical or mental illness or injury), which failure amounts to an intentional and extended neglect of his duties to such party, provided that no such failure shall constitute Cause unless the Participant has been given notice of such failure (if cure is reasonably possible) and has not cured such act or omission within 15 days following receipt of such notice, (ii) the Committee’s good faith determination that the Participant has engaged or is about to engage in conduct materially injurious (financially, reputationally, or otherwise) to the Company or an Affiliate, (iii) the Participant having been convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to, a felony or any crime involving as a material element fraud or dishonesty, (iv) the consistent failure of the Participant to follow the lawful instructions of the Board or his direct superiors, which failure amounts to an intentional and extended neglect of his duties to such party, or (v) in the case of a Participant who is a non-employee director, the Participant ceasing to be a member of the Board in connection with the Participant engaging in any of the activities described in clauses (i) through (iv) above.
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(g) “Change in Control” shall, unless in the case of a particular Award the applicable Award Agreement states otherwise or contains a different definition of “Change in Control,” be deemed to occur upon:
(i) the acquisition by any individual, entity or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act (an “Entity”)) of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of more than 50% (on a fully diluted basis) of either (A) the then outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company, taking into account as outstanding for this purpose such Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or warrants, the conversion of convertible stock or debt, and the exercise of any similar right to acquire such Common Stock or (B) the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “Outstanding Company Voting Securities”); provided, however, that for purposes of this Plan, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (I) any acquisition by the Company or any Affiliate, (II) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan sponsored or maintained by the Company or any Affiliate, (III) any acquisition which complies with clauses (A), (B) and (C) of subsection (v) of this Section 2(g), or (IV) in respect of an Award held by a particular Participant, any acquisition by the Participant or any group of persons including the Participant (or any entity controlled by the Participant or any group of persons including the Participant);
(ii) individuals who, on the date hereof, constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Directors”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, provided that any person becoming a director subsequent to the date hereof, whose election or nomination for election was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the Incumbent Directors then on the Board (either by a specific vote or by approval of a registration statement of the Company describing such person’s inclusion on the Board, or a proxy statement of the Company in which such person is named as a nominee for director, without written objection to such nomination) shall be an Incumbent Director; provided, however, that no individual initially elected or nominated as a director of the Company as a result of an actual or threatened election contest with respect to directors or as a result of any other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on behalf of any person other than the Board shall be deemed to be an Incumbent Director;
(iii) the dissolution or liquidation of the Company;
(iv) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company; or
(v) the consummation of a reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, statutory share exchange or similar form of corporate transaction involving the Company that requires the approval of the Company’s stockholders, whether for such transaction or the issuance of securities in the transaction (a “Business Combination”), unless immediately following such Business Combination: (A) more than 50% of the total voting power of (x) the entity resulting from such Business Combination (the “Surviving Company”), or (y) if applicable, the ultimate parent entity that directly or indirectly has beneficial ownership of sufficient voting securities eligible to elect a majority of the members of the Board of Directors (or the analogous governing body) of the Surviving Company (the “Parent Company”), is represented by the Outstanding Company Voting Securities that were outstanding immediately prior to such Business Combination (or, if applicable, is represented by shares into which the Outstanding Company Voting Securities were converted pursuant to such Business Combination), and such voting power among the holders thereof is in substantially the same proportion as the voting power of the Outstanding Company Voting Securities among the holders thereof immediately prior to the Business Combination, (B) no Entity (other than any employee benefit plan sponsored or maintained by the Surviving Company or the Parent Company), is or becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power of the outstanding voting securities eligible to elect members of the Board of Directors of the Parent Company (or the analogous governing body) (or, if there is no Parent Company, the Surviving Company) and (C) at least a majority of the members of the Board of Directors (or the analogous governing body) of the Parent Company (or, if there is no Parent Company, the Surviving Company) following the consummation of the Business Combination were Board members at the time of the Board’s approval of the execution of the initial agreement providing for such Business Combination.
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(h) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Reference in the Plan to any section of the Code shall be deemed to include any amendments or successor provisions to such section and any regulations under such section.
(i) “Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board, or if the Board is acting as the Committee, the individuals constituting Eligible Directors of the Board. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “Committee” means the Board for purposes of granting Awards to members of the Board who are not employees, and administering the Plan with respect to those Awards, unless the Board determines otherwise.
(j) “Common Stock” means the common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company and any stock into which such common stock may be converted or into which it may be exchanged.
(k) “Company” means Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., and any successor thereto.
(l) “Date of Grant” means the date on which the granting of an Award is authorized, or such other date as may be specified in such authorization or, if there is no such date, the date indicated on the applicable Award Agreement.
(m) “Designated Foreign Subsidiaries” means all Affiliates organized under the laws of any jurisdiction or country other than the United States of America that may be designated by the Board or the Committee from time to time.
(n) “Disability” means, unless in the case of a particular Award the applicable Award Agreement states otherwise, the Company or an Affiliate having cause to terminate a Participant’s employment or service on account of “disability,” as defined in any existing employment, consulting or other similar agreement between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate or, in the absence of such an employment, consulting or other agreement, a condition entitling the Participant to receive benefits under a long-term disability plan of the Company or an Affiliate, or, in the absence of such a plan, the complete and permanent inability by reason of illness or accident to perform the duties of the occupation at which a Participant was employed or served when such disability commenced, as determined by the Committee based upon medical evidence acceptable to it.
(o) “Effective Date” means the earlier of (i) the date on which this Plan is approved by the Company’s stockholders, or (ii) the date on which this Plan is adopted by the Company’s Board.
(p) “Eligible Director” means a person who is (i) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, or a person meeting any similar requirement under any successor rule or regulation, and (ii) an “independent director” under the rules of the stock exchange on which the Stock is listed or the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (the “Nasdaq”), as applicable.
(q) “Eligible Person” means any (i) individual regularly employed by the Company or Affiliate who satisfies all of the requirements of Section 6; provided, however, that no such employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall be an Eligible Person unless and to the extent that such eligibility is set forth in such collective bargaining agreement or in an agreement or instrument relating thereto; (ii) director of the Company or an Affiliate or (iii) consultant or advisor to the Company or an Affiliate who may be offered securities pursuant to Form S-8.
(r) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(s) “Fair Market Value” on a given date, means (i) if the Stock is listed on a national securities exchange, the closing price reported as having occurred on the primary exchange with which the Stock is listed and traded on the date prior to such date, or, if there is no such sale on that date, then on the last preceding date on which such a sale was reported; (ii) if the Stock is not listed on any national securities exchange but is quoted in the Nasdaq National Market on a last sale basis, the last sale price on such date, or, if there is no such sale on that date, then on the last preceding date on which a sale was reported; or (iii) if the Stock is not listed on a national securities exchange nor quoted in the Nasdaq on a last sale basis, the amount determined by the Committee to be the fair market value based upon a good faith attempt to value the Stock accurately and computed in accordance with applicable regulations of the Internal Revenue Service.
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(t) “Good Reason” shall mean, unless in the case of a particular Award the applicable Award Agreement states otherwise, the Participant having “good reason” to terminate the Participant’s employment or service, as defined in any existing employment, consulting or any other agreement between the Participant and the Company or an Affiliate in effect at the time of such termination or, in the absence of such an employment, consulting or other agreement, upon (i) a material diminution in the Participant’s base compensation or target bonus below the amount as of the date of the award, totaling more than 20% in the aggregate; (ii) a material diminution in the Participant’s authority, duties or responsibilities; (iii) a material change in the geographic location at which the Participant must perform services; or (iv) any action or inaction that constitutes a material breach by the Company of the Plan or an Award Agreement entered into with the Participant; provided, however, that for the Participant to be able to terminate his or her employment with the Company on account of “Good Reason” the Participant must provide notice of the occurrence of the event constituting Good Reason and his or her desire to terminate his or her employment with the Company on account of such Good Reason, and the Company must have a period of thirty (30) days following receipt of such notice to cure the condition. If the Company does not cure the event constituting Good Reason within such thirty (30) day period, the Participant’s employment will terminate the day immediately following the end of such thirty (30) day period, unless the Company provides for an earlier employment termination date.
(u) “Incentive Stock Option” means an Option granted by the Committee to a Participant under the Plan which is designated by the Committee as an incentive stock option as described in Section 422 of the Code and otherwise meets the requirements set forth herein.
(v) “Nonqualified Stock Option” means an Option granted by the Committee to a Participant under the Plan which is not designated by the Committee as an Incentive Stock Option.
(w) “Option” means an Award granted under Section 7 of the Plan.
(x) “Option Price” means the exercise price for an Option as described in Section 7(a) of the Plan.
(y) “Parent” means any parent of the Company, as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code.
(z) “Participant” means an Eligible Person who has been selected by the Committee to participate in the Plan and to receive an Award pursuant to Section 6 of the Plan.
(aa) “Performance Criteria” shall mean the criterion or criteria that the Committee shall select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goal(s) for a Performance Period with respect to any Award under the Plan. The Performance Criteria that may be used to establish the Performance Goal(s) may be based on the achievement of specific levels of performance of the Company (or Affiliate, division or operational unit of the Company). Performance Criteria, may include, without limitation, any of the following: (i) net earnings or net income (before or after taxes); (ii) basic or diluted earnings per share (before or after taxes); (iii) net revenue or net revenue growth; (iv) gross revenue; (v) new client revenue; (vi) gross profit or gross profit growth; (vii) net operating profit (before or after taxes); (viii) return measures (including, but not limited to, return on assets, capital, invested capital, equity or sales); (ix) cash flow (including, but not limited to, operating cash flow, free cash flow, and cash flow return on capital); (x) earnings before or after taxes, interest, depreciation and/or amortization; (xi) share price (included, but not limited to, growth measures and total stockholder return); and (xii) any other objective or subjective criterion or criteria that the Committee may select from time to time.
Without limiting the Committee’s authority to select any Performance Criteria as it determines appropriate, any Performance Criteria may be used on an absolute or relative basis to measure the performance of the Company and/or an Affiliate as a whole or any business unit of the Company and/or an Affiliate or any combination thereof, as the Committee may deem appropriate, or any Performance Criteria as compared to the performance of a group of comparable companies, or published or special index that the Committee, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, or the Company may select Performance Criterion as compared to a selected peer group or published index. Performance Goals may also be based on individual performance goals. The Committee also has the authority to provide for accelerated vesting of any Award based on the achievement of Performance Goals pursuant to the Performance Criteria.
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(bb) “Performance Goals” shall mean, for a Performance Period, the one or more goals established by the Committee for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria. The Committee is authorized at any time during a Performance Period, or during the performance review period following the Performance Period, in its sole and absolute discretion, to adjust or modify the calculation of a Performance Goal for such Performance Period based on the occurrence of any of following events: (i) asset write downs; (ii) litigation or claim judgments or settlements; (iii) the effect of changes in tax laws, accounting principles, or other laws or regulatory rules affecting reported result; (iv) any reorganization or restructuring programs; (v) extraordinary nonrecurring items as described in Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 30 (or any successor pronouncement thereto) or unusual or infrequently occurring items pursuant to Accounting Standards Update 2015-01 (or any successor pronouncement thereto) and/or in management’s discussion and analysis of financial conditions and results of operations appearing in the Company’s annual report to stockholders for the applicable year; (vi) acquisitions or divestitures; (vii) any other specific unusual or nonrecurring events, or objectively determinable category thereof; (viii) foreign exchange gains or losses; (ix) a change in the Company’s fiscal year; or (x) any other event or circumstance the Committee deems appropriate.
(cc) “Performance Period” shall mean the one or more periods of time, as the Committee may select, over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to and the payment of an Award.
(dd) “Phantom Stock Award” shall mean a cash award whose value is determined based on the change in the value of the Company Common Stock from the Effective Date.
(ee) “Plan” means this Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as may be amended from time to time.
(ff) “Restricted Period” means, with respect to any Award of Restricted Stock or any Restricted Stock Unit, the period of time determined by the Committee during which such Award is subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 9 or, as applicable, the period of time within which performance is measured for purposes of determining whether an Award has been earned.
(gg) “Restricted Stock” means shares of Stock issued or transferred to a Participant subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, as defined in Section 83 of the Code, and the other restrictions set forth in Section 9 of the Plan.
(hh) “Restricted Stock Unit” means a hypothetical investment equivalent to one share of Stock granted in connection with an Award made under Section 9.
(ii) “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(jj) “Stock” means the Common Stock or such other authorized shares of stock of the Company as the Committee may from time to time authorize for use under the Plan.
(kk) “Stock Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means an Award granted under Section 8 of the Plan.
(ll) “Stock Bonus” means an Award granted under Section 10 of the Plan.
(mm) “Stock Option Agreement” means any agreement between the Company and a Participant who has been granted an Option pursuant to Section 7 which defines the rights and obligations of the parties thereto.
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(nn) “Strike Price” means (i) in the case of a SAR granted in tandem with an Option, the Option Price of the related Option, or (ii) except with respect to a SAR that is a Substitute Award, in the case of a SAR granted independent of an Option, the Fair Market Value on the Date of Grant.
(oo) “Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company.
(pp) “Substitute Award” means an Award granted or issued to a Participant in assumption or substitution of outstanding awards by an entity acquired by the Company or any Affiliate or Subsidiary or with which the Company, an Affiliate or a Subsidiary combines.
(qq) “Vested Unit” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 9(d).
| 3. | Effective Date, Duration and Stockholder Approval |
The Plan is effective as of the Effective Date. No Option shall be treated as an Incentive Stock Option unless the Plan has been approved by the stockholders of the Company in a manner intended to comply with the stockholder approval requirements of Section 422(b)(i) of the Code; provided, that any Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option shall not fail to be effective solely on account of a failure to obtain such approval, but rather such Option shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option unless and until such approval is obtained.
The expiration date of the Plan, on and after which no Awards may be granted hereunder, shall be the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date; provided, however, that the administration of the Plan shall continue in effect until all matters relating to Awards previously granted have been settled.
| 4. | Administration |
(a) The Committee shall administer the Plan. The majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The acts of a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present or acts approved in writing by a majority of the Committee shall be deemed the acts of the Committee.
(b) Subject to the provisions of the Plan and applicable law, the Committee shall have the power, and in addition to other express powers and authorizations conferred on the Committee by the Plan, to: (i) designate Participants; (ii) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to a Participant; (iii) determine the number of shares of Stock to be covered by, or with respect to which payments, rights, or other matters are to be calculated in connection with, Awards; (iv) determine the terms and conditions of any Award; (v) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances Awards may be settled or exercised in cash, shares of Stock, other securities, other Awards or other property, or canceled, forfeited, or suspended and the method or methods by which Awards may be settled, exercised, canceled, forfeited, or suspended; (vi) determine whether, to what extent, and under what circumstances the delivery of cash, Stock, other securities, other Options, other property and other amounts payable with respect to an Award shall be deferred either automatically or at the election of the holder thereof or of the Committee; (vii) accelerate the exercisability of any option or SAR and to remove any restriction on any Award; (viii) interpret, administer, reconcile any inconsistency, correct any defect and/or supply any omission in the Plan and any instrument or agreement relating to, or Award granted under, the Plan; (ix) establish, amend, suspend, or waive such rules and regulations; (x) appoint such agents as it shall deem appropriate for the proper administration of the Plan; and (xi) make any other determination and take any other action that the Committee deems necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may delegate to any officer or officers of the Company or any Affiliate the authority to act on behalf of the Committee with respect to any matter, right, obligation, or election which is the responsibility of or which is allocated to the Committee herein, and which may be so delegated as a matter of law, except for grants of Awards to persons subject to Section 16 of the 1934 Act.
(d) Unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan, all designations, determinations, interpretations, and other decisions under or with respect to the Plan or any Award or any documents evidencing Awards granted pursuant to the Plan shall be within the sole discretion of the Committee, may be made at any time and shall be final, conclusive and binding upon all parties, including, without limitation, the Company, any Affiliate, any Participant, any holder or beneficiary of any Award, and any stockholder.
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(e) No member of the Board, Committee or any officer or employee to whom authority has been delegated administrative authority shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to the Plan or any Award hereunder.
| 5. | Grant of Awards; Shares Subject to the Plan |
The Committee may, from time to time, grant Awards of Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Phantom Stock Awards, Stock Bonuses and/or Cash Bonus Awards to one or more Eligible Persons; provided, however, that:
(a) Subject to Section 15, the aggregate number of shares of Stock in respect of which Awards may be granted under the Plan as of the Effective Date is 1,500,000 shares of Stock, all of which may be granted pursuant to Incentive Stock Options.
(b) Shares of Stock shall not be deemed to have been used in settlement of Awards in the event the Award is settled in cash. Shares of Stock delivered (either directly or by means of attestation) in full or partial satisfaction of applicable tax withholding obligations or withheld by the Company in full or partial satisfaction of applicable tax withholding obligations for any Award, or that are withheld or delivered in satisfaction of any Option Price with respect to any Option, do not result in an issuance of shares under the Plan and accordingly do not reduce the number of shares of Stock in respect of which Awards may be granted under the Plan. If and to the extent an Award under the Plan expires, terminates or is canceled for any reason whatsoever without the Participant having received any benefit therefrom, the shares covered by such Award shall again become available for future Awards under the Plan. For purposes of the foregoing sentence, a Participant shall not be deemed to have received any “benefit” (i) in the case of forfeited Restricted Stock Awards by reason of having enjoyed voting rights and dividend rights prior to the date of forfeiture or (ii) in the case of an Award canceled pursuant to Section 5(d) by reason of a new Award being granted in substitution therefor.
(c) Stock delivered by the Company in settlement of Awards may be authorized and unissued Stock, Stock held in the treasury of the Company, Stock purchased on the open market or by private purchase, or a combination of the foregoing.
(d) Without limiting the generality of the preceding provisions of this Section 5 and subject to Section 17(b), the Committee may, but solely with the Participant’s consent, agree to cancel any Award under the Plan and issue a new Award in substitution therefor upon such terms as the Committee may in its sole discretion determine, provided that the substituted Award satisfies all applicable Plan requirements as of the date such new Award is granted.
(e) Substitute Awards shall not be counted against the shares of Stock available for granting Awards under the Plan.
(f) In the event the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate acquires or combines with a company that has shares available under a pre-existing plan, such shares shall be available for grant of Awards under this Plan, subject to applicable listing exchange requirements and shall not be counted against the shares of Stock available for granting Awards under the Plan.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision in the Plan to the contrary, the maximum number of shares of Stock subject to Awards granted during a single calendar year to any Eligible Director, taken together with any cash fees paid during the calendar year to the Eligible Director in respect of the Eligible Director’s service as a member of the Board during such year (including service as a member or chair of any committees of the Board), shall not have an aggregate Fair Market Value on the Date of Grant (computed as of the Date of Grant in accordance with applicable financial accounting rules) in excess of an amount to be set by the independent members of the Board. The independent members of the Board may make exceptions to this limit for a non-executive chair of the Board, provided that the Eligible Director receiving such additional compensation may not participate in the decision to award such compensation.
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| 6. | Eligibility |
Participation shall be limited to Eligible Persons who have entered into an Award Agreement or who have received written notification (which may be electronic) from the Committee, or from a person designated by the Committee, that they have been selected to participate in the Plan.
| 7. | Options |
The Committee is authorized to grant one or more Incentive Stock Options or Nonqualified Stock Options to any Eligible Person; provided, however, that no Incentive Stock Option shall be granted to any Eligible Person who is not an employee of the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary. Each Option so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 7, or to such other conditions as may be reflected in the applicable Stock Option Agreement.
(a) Option Price. Except with respect to an Option that is a Substitute Award, the Option Price per share of Stock for each Option shall be set by the Committee at the time of grant but shall not be less than the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the Date of Grant.
(b) Manner of Exercise and Form of Payment. No shares of Stock shall be delivered pursuant to any exercise of an Option until payment in full of the Option Price therefor is received by the Company. Options which have become exercisable may be exercised by delivery of written notice of exercise to the Committee accompanied by payment of the Option Price. The Option Price shall be payable (i) in cash, check, cash equivalent and/or shares of Stock valued at the Fair Market Value at the time the Option is exercised (including by means of attestation of ownership of a sufficient number of shares of Stock in lieu of actual delivery of such shares to the Company), (ii) in the discretion of the Committee, either (A) in other property having a fair market value on the date of exercise equal to the Option Price or (B) by delivering to the Committee a copy of irrevocable instructions to a stockbroker to deliver promptly to the Company an amount of loan proceeds, or proceeds from the sale of the Stock subject to the Option, sufficient to pay the Option Price or (iii) by such other method as the Committee may allow. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall a Participant be permitted to exercise an Option in the manner described in clause (ii) or (iii) of the preceding sentence if the Committee determines that exercising an Option in such manner would violate the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, any other applicable law or the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the applicable rules and regulations of any securities exchange or inter dealer quotation system on which the securities of the Company or any Affiliates are listed or traded. Options may be exercised only with respect to whole shares of Stock or their equivalents.
(c) Vesting, Option Period and Expiration. Options shall vest and become exercisable in such manner and on such date or dates determined by the Committee and shall expire after such period, not to exceed ten years, as may be determined by the Committee (the “Option Period”); provided, however, that notwithstanding any vesting dates set by the Committee, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the exercisability of any Option, which acceleration shall not affect the terms and conditions of such Option other than with respect to exercisability. If an Option is exercisable in installments, such installments or portions thereof which become exercisable shall remain exercisable until the Option expires.
(d) Stock Option Agreement - Other Terms and Conditions. Each Option granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by a Stock Option Agreement. Except as specifically provided otherwise in such Stock Option Agreement, each Option granted under the Plan shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
(i) Each Option or portion thereof that is exercisable shall be exercisable for the full amount or for any part thereof.
(ii) Each share of Stock purchased through the exercise of an Option shall be paid for in full at the time of the exercise. Each Option shall cease to be exercisable, as to any share of Stock, when the Participant purchases the share or exercises a related SAR or when the Option expires.
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(iii) Subject to Section 13(l), Options shall not be transferable by the Participant except by will or the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the Participant’s lifetime only by him.
(iv) Each Option shall vest and become exercisable by the Participant in accordance with the vesting schedule established by the Committee and set forth in the Stock Option Agreement.
(v) At the time of any exercise of an Option, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, require a Participant to deliver to the Committee a written representation that the shares of Stock to be acquired upon such exercise are to be acquired for investment and not for resale or with a view to the distribution thereof and any other representation deemed necessary by the Committee to ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state securities laws. Upon such a request by the Committee, delivery of such representation prior to the delivery of any shares issued upon exercise of an Option shall be a condition precedent to the right of the Participant or such other person to purchase any shares. In the event certificates for Stock are delivered under the Plan with respect to which such investment representation has been obtained, the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be placed on such certificates to make appropriate reference to such representation and to restrict transfer in the absence of compliance with applicable federal or state securities laws.
(vi) Each Participant awarded an Incentive Stock Option under the Plan shall notify the Company in writing immediately after the date he or she makes a disqualifying disposition of any Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Incentive Stock Option. A disqualifying disposition is any disposition (including any sale) of such Stock before the later of (A) two years after the Date of Grant of the Incentive Stock Option or (B) one year after the date the Participant acquired the Stock by exercising the Incentive Stock Option. The Company may, if determined by the Committee and in accordance with procedures established by it, retain possession of any Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option as agent for the applicable Participant until the end of the period described in the preceding sentence, subject to complying with any instructions from such Participant as to the sale of such Stock.
(vii) An Option Agreement may, but need not, include a provision whereby a Participant may elect, at any time before the termination of the Participant’s employment with the Company, to exercise the Option as to any part or all of the shares of Stock subject to the Option prior to the full vesting of the Option. Any unvested shares of Stock so purchased may be subject to a share repurchase option in favor of the Company or to any other restriction the Committee determines to be appropriate. The Company shall not exercise its repurchase option until at least six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes) have elapsed following the exercise of the Option unless the Committee otherwise specifically provides in an Stock Option Agreement.
(e) Incentive Stock Option Grants to 10% Stockholders. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 7, if an Incentive Stock Option is granted to a Participant who owns stock representing more than ten percent of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or of a Subsidiary or Parent, the Option Period shall not exceed five years from the Date of Grant of such Option and the Option Price shall be at least 110 percent of the Fair Market Value (on the Date of Grant) of the Stock subject to the Option.
(f) $100,000 Per Year Limitation for Incentive Stock Options. To the extent the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the Date of Grant) of Stock for which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company) exceeds $100,000, such excess Incentive Stock Options shall be treated as Nonqualified Stock Options.
| 8. | Stock Appreciation Rights |
Any Option granted under the Plan may include SARs, either at the Date of Grant or, except in the case of an Incentive Stock Option, by subsequent amendment. The Committee also may award SARs to Eligible Persons independent of any Option. A SAR shall be subject to such terms and conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as the Committee shall impose, including, but not limited to, the following:
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(a) Vesting, Transferability and Expiration. A SAR granted in connection with an Option shall become exercisable, be transferable and shall expire according to the same vesting schedule, transferability rules and expiration provisions as the corresponding Option. A SAR granted independent of an Option shall become exercisable, be transferable and shall expire in accordance with a vesting schedule, transferability rules and expiration provisions as established by the Committee and reflected in an Award Agreement.
(b) Payment. Upon the exercise of a SAR, the Company shall pay to the Participant an amount equal to the number of shares subject to the SAR multiplied by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of one share of Stock on the exercise date over the Strike Price. The Company shall pay such excess in cash in shares of Stock valued at Fair Market Value, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Committee. Fractional shares shall be settled in cash.
(c) Method of Exercise. A Participant may exercise a SAR at such time or times as may be determined by the Committee at the time of grant by filing an irrevocable written notice with the Committee or its designee, specifying the number of SARs to be exercised, and the date on which such SARs were awarded.
(d) Expiration. Except as otherwise provided in the case of SARs granted in connection with Options, a SAR shall expire on a date designated by the Committee which is not later than ten years after the Date of Grant of the SAR.
(e) Tax Considerations. The Committee shall take into account Section 409A of the Code and applicable regulatory guidance thereunder before granting a SAR.
| 9. | Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units |
(a) Award of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units.
(i) The Committee shall have the authority (A) to grant Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units to Eligible Persons, (B) to issue or transfer Restricted Stock to Participants, and (C) to establish terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, including the Restricted Period and any applicable Performance Goals, as applicable, which may differ with respect to each grantee, the time or times at which Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units shall be granted or become vested and the number of shares or units to be covered by each grant.
(ii) Each Participant granted Restricted Stock shall execute and deliver to the Company an Award Agreement with respect to the Restricted Stock setting forth the restrictions and other terms and conditions applicable to such Restricted Stock. If the Committee determines that the Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company or in escrow rather than delivered to the Participant pending the release of the applicable restrictions, the Committee may require the Participant to additionally execute and deliver to the Company (A) an escrow agreement satisfactory to the Committee, if applicable, and (B) the appropriate blank stock power with respect to the Restricted Stock covered by such agreement. If a Participant shall fail to execute an agreement evidencing an Award of Restricted Stock and, if applicable, an escrow agreement and stock power, the Award shall be null and void. Subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 9(b) and subject to Section 13(b), the Participant generally shall have the rights and privileges of a stockholder as to such Restricted Stock, including the right to vote such Restricted Stock.
(iii) Upon the grant of Restricted Stock, the Committee shall either (i) cause a stock certificate registered in the name of the Participant to be issued and, if it so determines, deposited together with the stock powers with an escrow agent designated by the Committee, or (ii) issue the Restricted Stock on a noncertificated basis, to the extent not prohibited by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated dealer quotation system on which the Shares are traded. If an escrow arrangement is used, the Committee may cause the escrow agent to issue to the Participant a receipt evidencing any stock certificate held by it, registered in the name of the Participant.
(iv) The terms and conditions of a grant of Restricted Stock Units shall be reflected in a written Award Agreement. No shares of Stock shall be issued at the time a Restricted Stock Unit is granted, and the Company will not be required to set aside a fund for the payment of any such Award. At the discretion of the Committee and subject to Section 14(b), each Restricted Stock Unit (representing one share of Stock) may be credited with cash and stock dividends paid by the Company in respect of one share of Stock (“Dividend Equivalents”).
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(b) Restrictions.
(i) Restricted Stock awarded to a Participant shall be subject to the following restrictions until the expiration of the Restricted Period, and to such other terms and conditions, including and without limitation, the satisfaction of any applicable Performance Goals during such period, as may be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement: (A) if an escrow arrangement is used, the Participant shall not be entitled to delivery of the stock certificate; (B) the shares shall be subject to the restrictions on transferability set forth in the Award Agreement; (C) the shares shall be subject to forfeiture to the extent provided in Section 9(c) and the applicable Award Agreement; and (D) to the extent such shares are forfeited, the stock certificates shall be returned to the Company, and all rights of the Participant to such shares and as a stockholder with respect to such shares shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company.
(ii) Restricted Stock Units awarded to any Participant shall be subject to (A) forfeiture until the expiration of the Restricted Period, and satisfaction of any applicable Performance Goals during such period, to the extent provided in the applicable Award Agreement, and to the extent such Restricted Stock Units are forfeited, all rights of the Participant to such Restricted Stock Units shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company and (B) such other terms and conditions as may be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.
(c) Restricted Period. With respect to Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, the Restricted Period shall commence on the Date of Grant and end at the time or times set forth on a schedule established by the Committee in the applicable Award Agreement.
(d) Delivery of Restricted Stock and Settlement of Restricted Stock Units. Upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any shares of Restricted Stock, the restrictions set forth in Section 9(b) and the applicable Award Agreement shall be of no further force or effect with respect to such shares, except as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. If an escrow arrangement is used, upon such expiration, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his beneficiary, without charge, the stock certificate evidencing the shares of Restricted Stock which have not then been forfeited and with respect to which the Restricted Period has expired (to the nearest full share) and any cash dividends or stock dividends credited to the Participant’s account with respect to such Restricted Stock and the interest thereon, if any.
Subject to the applicable Award Agreement, upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any outstanding Restricted Stock Units, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his beneficiary, without charge, one share of Stock for each such outstanding Restricted Stock Unit (“Vested Unit”) and cash equal to any Dividend Equivalents credited with respect to each such Vested Unit in accordance with Section 9(a)(iv) hereof and the interest thereon or, at the discretion of the Committee, in shares of Stock having a Fair Market Value equal to such Dividend Equivalents and interest thereon, if any; provided, however, that, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, elect to (i) pay cash or part cash and part Stock in lieu of delivering only shares of Stock for Vested Units or (ii) delay the delivery of Stock (or cash or part Stock and part cash, as the case may be) beyond the expiration of the Restricted Period. If a cash payment is made in lieu of delivering shares of Stock, the amount of such payment shall be equal to the Fair Market Value of the Stock as of the date on which the Restricted Period lapsed with respect to such Vested Unit.
(e) Stock Restrictions. Each certificate representing Restricted Stock awarded under the Plan shall bear a legend substantially in the form of the following until the lapse of all restrictions with respect to such Stock as well as any other information the Company deems appropriate:
Transfer of this certificate and the shares represented hereby is restricted pursuant to the terms of the Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan and a Restricted Stock Award Agreement, dated as of _____________, between Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., and __________________. A copy of such Plan and Agreement is on file at the offices of Direct Digital Holdings, Inc..
Stop transfer orders shall be entered with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of legend securities.
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| 10. | Stock Bonus Awards |
The Committee may issue unrestricted Stock, or other Awards denominated in Stock, including and without limitation, fully-vested deferred stock units, under the Plan to Eligible Persons, alone or in tandem with other Awards, in such amounts and subject to such terms and conditions as the Committee shall from time to time in its sole discretion determine. A Stock Bonus Award under the Plan shall be granted as, or in payment of, a bonus, or to provide incentives or recognize special achievements or contributions.
| 11. | Cash Bonus Awards |
The Committee shall have the authority to make an Award of a cash bonus to any Participant. Any such Award may be subject to a Performance Period, Performance Goals or such other terms and conditions as the Committee may designate in the applicable Award Agreement.
| 12. | Forfeiture of Awards |
(a) Forfeiture Events. Unless the Committee shall have determined otherwise in an Award Agreement, the recipient of any Award pursuant to the Plan shall forfeit the Award, to the extent not then payable or exercisable, upon the occurrence of any of the following events, subject to compliance with any applicable local laws:
(i) The recipient is terminated for Cause.
(ii) The recipient engages in competition with the Company or any Affiliate.
(iii) The recipient engages in any activity or conduct contrary to the best interests of the Company or any Affiliate, including, but not limited to, conduct that breaches the recipient’s duty of loyalty to the Company or an Affiliate or that is materially injurious to the Company or an Affiliate, monetarily or otherwise. Such activity or conduct may include, without limitation: (i) disclosing or misusing any confidential information pertaining to the Company or an Affiliate, (ii) any attempt, directly or indirectly, to induce any employee of the Company or any Affiliate to be employed or perform services elsewhere, or (iii) any direct or indirect attempt to solicit, or assist another employer in soliciting, the trade of any customer or supplier or prospective customer of the Company or any Affiliate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein prohibits a recipient from (A) reporting possible violations of federal law or regulations, including any possible securities laws violations, to any governmental agency or entity, (B) making any other disclosures that are protected under the whistleblower provisions of federal law or regulations, or (C) otherwise fully participating in any federal whistleblower programs, including but not limited to any such programs managed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange.
(b) Additional/Waiver of Conditions. The Committee or the Board, as the case may be, may include in any Award Agreement any additional or different conditions of forfeiture it may deem appropriate, and may waive any condition of forfeiture stated above or in the Award Agreement.
(c) Effect of Forfeiture. In the event of forfeiture, the recipient shall lose all rights in and to portions of any Award then outstanding. Except in the case of an Award of Restricted Stock as to which restrictions have not lapsed and subject to the clawback provisions in Section 19, this provision, however, shall not be invoked to require any recipient to transfer to the Company any Common Stock or cash already received under an Award.
(d) Committee/Board Discretion. Such determinations as may be necessary for application of this Section, including any grant of authority to others to make determinations under this Section, shall be at the sole discretion of the Committee, or in the case of Awards granted to directors, of the Board, and such determinations shall be conclusive and binding.
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| 13. | General |
(a) Additional Provisions of an Award. Awards to a Participant under the Plan also may be subject to such other provisions (whether or not applicable to Awards granted to any other Participant) as the Committee determines appropriate, including, without limitation, provisions to assist the Participant in financing the purchase of Stock upon the exercise of Options (provided, that the Committee determines that providing such financing does not violate the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), adding Dividend Equivalent rights or other protections to Participants in respect of dividends paid on Stock underlying any Award (in addition to and subject to those provisions of Section 9 and Section 13(b), including the prohibition on currently paying dividends or Dividend Equivalents prior to the release of restrictions or settlement of the corresponding Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units), provisions for the forfeiture of or restrictions on resale or other disposition of shares of Stock acquired under any Award, provisions giving the Company the right to repurchase shares of Stock acquired under any Award in the event the Participant elects to dispose of such shares, provisions allowing the Participant to elect to defer the receipt of payment in respect of Awards for a specified period or until a specified event, and provisions to comply with Federal and state securities laws and Federal and state tax withholding requirements; provided, however, that any such deferral does not result in acceleration of taxability of an Award prior to receipt, or tax penalties, under Section 409A of the Code. Any such provisions shall be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement.
(b) Treatment of Dividends and Dividend Equivalents on Unvested Awards. In no event shall dividends or Dividend Equivalents (whether paid in cash or shares of Stock) be paid with respect to Options or Stock Appreciation Rights. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, with respect to any Award that provides for or includes a right to dividends or Dividend Equivalents, if dividends are declared during the period that an Award is outstanding, such dividends (or Dividend Equivalents) shall either (i) not be paid or credited with respect to such Award or (ii) be accumulated but remain subject to vesting requirement(s) to the same extent as the applicable Award and shall only be paid at the time or times such vesting requirement(s) are satisfied and the Award is settled (as applicable).
(c) Privileges of Stock Ownership. Except as otherwise specifically provided in the Plan, no person shall be entitled to the privileges of ownership in respect of shares of Stock which are subject to Awards hereunder until such shares have been issued to that person.
(d) Government and Other Regulations. The obligation of the Company to settle Awards in Stock shall be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by governmental agencies as may be required. Notwithstanding any terms or conditions of any Award to the contrary, the Company shall be under no obligation to offer to sell or to sell, and shall be prohibited from offering to sell or selling, any shares of Stock pursuant to an Award unless such shares have been properly registered for sale pursuant to the Securities Act with the Securities and Exchange Commission or unless the Company has received an opinion of counsel, satisfactory to the Company, that such shares may be offered or sold without such registration pursuant to an available exemption therefrom and the terms and conditions of such exemption have been fully complied with. The Company shall be under no obligation to register for sale under the Securities Act any of the shares of Stock to be offered or sold under the Plan. If the shares of Stock offered for sale or sold under the Plan are offered or sold pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, the Company may restrict the transfer of such shares and may legend the Stock certificates representing such shares in such manner as it deems advisable to ensure the availability of any such exemption.
(e) Tax Withholding.
(i) A Participant may be required to pay to the Company or any Affiliate, and the Company or any Affiliate shall have the right and is hereby authorized to withhold from any shares of Stock or other property deliverable under any Award or from any compensation or other amounts owing to a Participant, the amount (in cash, Stock or other property) of any required income tax withholding and payroll taxes in respect of an Award, its exercise, or any payment or transfer under an Award or under the Plan and to take such other action as may be necessary in the opinion of the Company to satisfy all obligations for the payment of such withholding and taxes.
(ii) Without limiting the generality of clause (i) above, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit a Participant to satisfy, in whole or in part, the foregoing withholding (at a tax withholding rate that will not result in adverse accounting implications for the Company) by (A) the delivery of shares of Stock owned by the Participant having a Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability, (B) having the Company withhold from the number of shares of Stock otherwise issuable pursuant to the exercise or settlement of the Award a number of shares with a Fair Market Value equal to such withholding liability, (C) by delivering to the Committee a copy of irrevocable instructions to a stockbroker to deliver promptly to the Company an amount of loan proceeds, or proceeds from the sale of the Stock subject to the Option, sufficient to pay the withholding liability or (D) by such other method as the Committee may allow.
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(f) Claim to Awards and Employment Rights. No employee of the Company or an Affiliate, or other person, shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award under the Plan or, having been selected for the grant of an Award, to be selected for a grant of any other Award. Neither the Plan nor any action taken hereunder shall be construed as giving any Participant any right to be retained in the employ or service of the Company or an Affiliate.
(g) Designation and Change of Beneficiary. If permitted by the Committee in its sole discretion, each Participant may file with the Committee a written designation of one or more persons as the beneficiary who shall be entitled to receive the amounts payable with respect to an Award, if any, due under the Plan upon his death. A Participant may, from time to time, revoke or change his beneficiary designation without the consent of any prior beneficiary by filing a new designation with the Committee. The last such designation received by the Committee shall be controlling; provided, however, that no designation, or change or revocation thereof, shall be effective unless received by the Committee prior to the Participant’s death, and in no event shall it be effective as of a date prior to such receipt. If no beneficiary designation is filed by a Participant, the beneficiary shall be deemed to be his or her spouse or, if the Participant is unmarried at the time of death, his or her estate.
(h) Payments to Persons Other Than Participants. If the Committee shall find that any person to whom any amount is payable under the Plan is unable to care for his affairs because of illness or accident, or is a minor, or has died, then any payment due to such person or his estate (unless a prior claim therefor has been made by a duly appointed legal representative) may, if the Committee so directs the Company, be paid to his spouse, child, relative, an institution maintaining or having custody of such person, or any other person deemed by the Committee to be a proper recipient on behalf of such person otherwise entitled to payment. Any such payment shall be a complete discharge of the liability of the Committee and the Company therefor.
(i) No Liability of Committee Members. No member of the Committee shall be personally liable by reason of any contract or other instrument executed by such member or on his behalf in his capacity as a member of the Committee nor for any mistake of judgment made in good faith, and the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless each member of the Committee and each other employee, officer or director of the Company to whom any duty or power relating to the administration or interpretation of the Plan may be allocated or delegated, against any cost or expense (including counsel fees) or liability (including any sum paid in settlement of a claim) arising out of any act or omission to act in connection with the Plan unless arising out of such person’s own fraud or willful bad faith; provided, however, that approval of the Board shall be required for the payment of any amount in settlement of a claim against any such person. 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.
(j) Governing Law. The Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts made and performed wholly within the State of Delaware.
(k) Funding. No provision of the Plan shall require the Company, for the purpose of satisfying any obligations under the Plan, to purchase assets or place any assets in a trust or other entity to which contributions are made or otherwise to segregate any assets, nor shall the Company maintain separate bank accounts, books, records or other evidence of the existence of a segregated or separately maintained or administered fund for such purposes. Participants shall have no rights under the Plan other than as unsecured general creditors of the Company, except that insofar as they may have become entitled to payment of additional compensation by performance of services, they shall have the same rights as other employees under general law.
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(l) Nontransferability.
(i) Each Award shall be exercisable only by a Participant during the Participant’s lifetime, or, if permissible under applicable law, by the Participant’s legal guardian or representative. No Award may be assigned, alienated, pledged, attached, sold or otherwise transferred or encumbered by a Participant other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and any such purported assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance shall be void and unenforceable against the Company or an Affiliate; provided that the designation of a beneficiary shall not constitute an assignment, alienation, pledge, attachment, sale, transfer or encumbrance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the execution of transfer documentation in a format acceptable to the Company and subject to the approval of the Committee or a duly authorized officer of the Company, an Option may be transferred pursuant to a domestic relations order.
(ii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, permit Awards other than Incentive Stock Options to be transferred by a Participant, without consideration, subject to such rules as the Committee may adopt consistent with any applicable Award Agreement to preserve the purposes of the Plan, to:
A. any person who is a “family member” of the Participant, as such term is used in the instructions to Form S-8 (collectively, the “Immediate Family Members”);
B. a trust solely for the benefit of the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members;
C. a partnership or limited liability company whose only partners or stockholders are the Participant and his or her Immediate Family Members; or
D. other transferee as may be approved either (a) by the Board or the Committee in its sole discretion, or (b) as provided in the applicable Award Agreement;
(each transferee described in clauses (A), (B), (C) and (D) above is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Transferee”); provided that the Participant gives the Committee advance written notice describing the terms and conditions of the proposed transfer and the Committee notifies the Participant in writing that such a transfer would comply with the requirements of the Plan.
(iii) The terms of any Award transferred in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence shall apply to the Permitted Transferee and any reference in the Plan, or in any applicable Award Agreement, to a Participant shall be deemed to refer to the Permitted Transferee, except that (A) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to transfer any Award, other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution; (B) Permitted Transferees shall not be entitled to exercise any transferred Option unless there shall be in effect a registration statement on an appropriate form covering the shares of Stock to be acquired pursuant to the exercise of such Option if the Committee determines, consistent with any applicable Award Agreement, that such a registration statement is necessary or appropriate, (C) the Committee or the Company shall not be required to provide any notice to a Permitted Transferee, whether or not such notice is or would otherwise have been required to be given to the Participant under the Plan or otherwise, and (D) the consequences of the termination of the Participant’s employment by, or services to, the Company or an Affiliate under the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement shall continue to be applied with respect to the Participant, including, without limitation, that an Option shall be exercisable by the Permitted Transferee only to the extent, and for the periods, specified in the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.
(m) Reliance on Reports. Each member of the Committee and each member of the Board shall be fully justified in acting or failing to act, as the case may be, and shall not be liable for having so acted or failed to act in good faith, in reliance upon any report made by the independent public accountant of the Company and its Affiliates and/or any other information furnished in connection with the Plan by any person or persons other than himself.
(n) Relationship to Other Benefits. No payment under the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits under any pension, retirement, profit sharing, group insurance or other benefit plan of the Company except as otherwise specifically provided in such other plan.
(o) Expenses. The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company and Affiliates.
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(p) Pronouns. Masculine pronouns and other words of masculine gender shall refer to both men and women.
(q) 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.
(r) Termination of Employment. Unless an applicable Award Agreement provides otherwise, for purposes of the Plan, a person who transfers from employment or service with the Company to employment or service with an Affiliate or vice versa shall not be deemed to have terminated employment or service with the Company or an Affiliate. Unless required by Code Section 409A, a transfer from employment to service, or vice versa, within or between the Company or an Affiliate, shall not be deemed a termination of employment or services with the Company or an Affiliate.
(s) Severability. If any provision of the Plan or any Award Agreement is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction or as to any person or Award, or would disqualify the Plan or any Award under any law deemed applicable by the Committee, such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to the applicable laws, or if it cannot be construed or deemed amended without, in the determination of the Committee, materially altering the intent of the Plan or the Award, such provision shall be stricken as to such jurisdiction, person or Award and the remainder of the Plan and any such Award shall remain in full force and effect.
(t) Compliance with Applicable Law. Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, the Committee reserves the right to add any additional terms or provisions to any Award granted under the Plan that it in its sole discretion deems necessary or advisable in order that such Award complies with the legal requirements of any governmental entity to whose jurisdiction the Award is subject.
| 14. | Changes in Capital Structure |
Awards granted under the Plan and any agreements evidencing such Awards, the maximum number of shares of Stock subject to all Awards stated in Section 5(a) shall be subject to adjustment or substitution, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, as to the number, price or kind of a share of Stock or other consideration subject to such Awards or as otherwise determined by the Committee to be equitable (i) in the event of changes in the outstanding Stock or in the capital structure of the Company by reason of stock or extraordinary cash dividends, stock splits, reverse stock splits, recapitalization, reorganizations, mergers, consolidations, combinations, exchanges, or other relevant changes in capitalization occurring after the Date of Grant of any such Award or (ii) in the event of any change in applicable laws or any change in circumstances which results in or would result in any substantial dilution or enlargement of the rights granted to, or available for, Participants, or which otherwise warrants equitable adjustment because it interferes with the intended operation of the Plan. Any adjustment in Incentive Stock Options under this Section 15 shall be made only to the extent not constituting a “modification” within the meaning of Section 424(h)(3) of the Code, and any adjustments under this Section 15 shall be made in a manner which does not adversely affect the exemption provided pursuant to Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act.
Notwithstanding the above, if the Company is merged or consolidated with another corporation or entity and, in connection therewith, consideration is received by stockholders of the Company in a form other than stock or other equity interests of the surviving entity then the Committee may, in its discretion, cancel any outstanding Awards and cause the holders thereof to be paid, in cash or stock, or any combination thereof, the value of such Awards based upon the price per share of Stock received or to be received by other stockholders of the Company in the event.
The terms of this Section 15 may be varied by the Committee in any particular Award Agreement.
| 15. | Effect of Change in Control |
(a) If (i) within 12 months following a Change in Control or (ii) in contemplation of a Change in Control at the acquiror’s request or suggestion, a Participant’s employment or service with the Company or any Affiliate is terminated by the Company or an Affiliate without Cause or by the Participant for Good Reason, all Awards held by such Participant, irrespective of the vesting schedule, shall become fully vested and immediately exercisable and, if applicable, the restricted period shall end at the time of such termination.
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(b) In the event of a Change in Control, all incomplete Performance Periods in respect of such Award in effect on the date the Change in Control occurs shall end on the date of such change, and the Committee shall (A) determine the extent to which performance goals with respect to each such Award have been met based upon such audited or unaudited financial information then available as it deems relevant, (B) cause to be paid to the applicable Participant partial or full Awards with respect to Performance Goals for each such Award based upon the Committee’s determination of the degree of attainment of performance goals, and (C) cause the Award, if previously deferred, to be settled in full as soon as possible.
(c) In the event of a Change in Control, the Committee may in its discretion cancel any outstanding vested Awards and pay to the holders thereof, in cash or stock, or any combination thereof, the value of such vested Awards based upon the price per share of Common Stock received or to be received by other stockholders of the Company in the event.
(d) In the event of a Change in Control, the surviving, continuing, successor, or purchasing corporation or other business entity or parent thereof, as the case may be (the “Acquiror”), may, without the consent of any Participant, assume or continue the Company’s rights and obligations under each or any Award or portion thereof outstanding immediately prior to the Change in Control or substitute for each or any such outstanding Award or portion thereof a substantially equivalent award with respect to the Acquiror’s stock, as applicable. For purposes of this Section, if so determined by the Committee in its discretion, an Award denominated in shares of Common Stock shall be deemed assumed if, following the Change in Control, the Award confers the right to receive, subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement, for each share of Common Stock subject to the Award immediately prior to the Change in Control, the consideration (whether stock, cash, other securities or property or a combination thereof) to which a holder of a share of Common Stock on the effective date of the Change in Control was entitled (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock); provided, however, that if such consideration is not solely common stock of the Acquiror, the Committee may, with the consent of the Acquiror, provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise or settlement of the Award, for each share of Common Stock subject to the Award, to consist solely of common stock of the Acquiror equal in Fair Market Value to the per share consideration received by holders of Common Stock pursuant to the Change in Control. Any Award or portion thereof which is not assumed, continued or substituted as provided herein by the Acquiror in connection with the Change in Control, irrespective of the vesting schedule, shall become fully vested and immediately exercisable and, if applicable, the Restricted Period shall end as of the time of consummation of the Change in Control.
(e) In the event any payment(s) or the value of any benefit(s) received or to be received by a Participant in connection with or contingent upon a Change in Control (whether received or to be received pursuant to the terms of the Plan or any Award Agreement or of any other plan, arrangement or agreement of the Company, its successors, any person whose actions result in a Change in Control, or any person affiliated with any of them (or which, as a result of the completion of the transaction(s) causing a Change in Control, will become affiliated with any of them) (collectively, the “Payments”)), are determined, under the provisions of this subsection to be subject to an excise tax imposed by Code Section 4999 (any such excise tax, together with any interest and penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), as determined in this subsection, then the Company shall reduce the aggregate amount of the Payments payable to the Participant such that no Excise Tax shall be payable by the Participant and the Payments shall not cease to be deductible by the Company by reason of Code Section 280G (or any successor provision thereto). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not reduce the aggregate amount of the Payments payable to the Participant pursuant to the foregoing sentence if the After-Tax Amount (as defined below) of the unreduced Payments is greater than the After-Tax Amount that would have been paid had the Payments been reduced pursuant to the foregoing sentence. For purposes of this Agreement, “After-Tax Amount” means the portion of a specified amount that would remain after payment of all Excise Taxes (if any), income taxes, payroll and withholding taxes, and other applicable taxes paid or payable by Participant in respect of such specified amount.
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If there is a determination that the Payments payable to Participant must be reduced pursuant to the immediately preceding paragraph, the Company shall promptly give Participant notice to that effect and a copy of the detailed calculation thereof and of the amount to be reduced. The Participant may then elect which and how much the Payments shall be eliminated or reduced as long as (i) the first such Payments to be reduced are not considered “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Code Section 409A (if any), (ii) if Payments described in clause (i) are exhausted and additional reductions are necessary, any cash Payments are reduced next, and (iii) after such election the aggregate present value of the Payments equals the largest amount that would both (A) not cause any Excise Tax to be payable by the Participant, and (B) not cause any Payments to become nondeductible by the Company by reason of Code Section 280G (or any successor provision thereto). The Participant shall advice the Company in writing of the Participant’s election within ten (10) days of the Participant’s receipt of such notice from the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if no election is made by the Participant within the ten-day period, the Company may elect which and how much of the Payments shall be eliminated or reduced as long (1) the first such payments to be reduced are not considered “deferred compensation” within the meaning of Code Section 409A (if any), (2) if Payments described in clause (1) are exhausted and additional reductions are necessary, any cash Payments are reduced next, and (3) after such election the aggregate present value of the Payments equals the largest amount that would both (A) not cause any Excise Tax to be payable by the Participant, and (B) not cause any Payments to become nondeductible by the Company by reason of Code Section 280G (or any successor provision thereto). For purposes of this paragraph, present value shall be determined in accordance with Code Section 280G(d)(4).
All determinations required to be made under this subsection, including whether the aggregate amount of Payments shall be reduced, and the assumptions to be utilized in arriving at such determinations, shall be made by the certified public accountants regularly employed by the Company immediately prior to the Change in Control transaction (“Accounting Firm”). Any determination by the Accounting Firm shall be binding upon the Company and Participant and shall be made within sixty (60) days immediately following the event constituting the Change in Control transaction. As promptly as practicable following such determination, the Company shall pay to or distribute for the benefit of the Participant such Payments as are then due to the Participant under this Plan and applicable Award Agreement.
At the time of the initial determination by the Accounting Firm, it is possible that amounts will have been paid or distributed by the Company to or for the benefit of the Participant pursuant to this Plan which should not have been so paid or distributed (“Overpayment”) or that additional amounts which will have not been paid or distributed by the Company to or for the benefit of the Participant pursuant to this Plan could have been so paid or distributed (“Underpayment”), in each case, consistent with the calculation hereunder. In the event that the Accounting Firm, based either upon the assertion of a deficiency by the Internal Revenue Service against the Company or the Participant which the Accounting Firm believes has a high probability of success or controlling precedent or other substantial authority, determines that an Overpayment has been made, any such Overpayment paid or distributed by the Company to or for the benefit of the Participant shall be treated for all purposes as a loan ab initio to the Participant which the Participant shall repay to the Company together with interest at the applicable Federal rate provided for in Code Section 7872(f)(2); provided, however, that no such loan shall be deemed to have been made and no amount shall be payable by the Participant to the Company if and to the extent (i) such deemed loan and payment would not either reduce the amount on which the Participant is subject to tax under Code Section 1 and Code Section 4999 or generate a refund of such taxes or (ii) the Participant is subject to the prohibition on personal loans under Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. In the event that the Accounting Firm, based upon controlling precedent or other substantial authority, determines that an Underpayment has occurred, any such Underpayment shall be promptly paid by the Company to or for the benefit of the Participant together with interest at the applicable Federal rate provided for in Code Section 7872(f)(2).
(f) The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be binding upon any successor corporation or organization resulting from the merger, consolidation or other reorganization of the Company, or upon any successor corporation or organization succeeding to substantially all of the assets and business of the Company. The Company agrees that it will make appropriate provisions for the preservation of Participants’ rights under the Plan in any agreement or plan which it may enter into or adopt to effect any such merger, consolidation, reorganization or transfer of assets.
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| 16. | Nonexclusivity of the Plan |
Neither the adoption of this Plan by the Board nor the submission of this Plan to the stockholders of the Company for approval shall be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board to adopt such other incentive arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the granting of stock options otherwise than under this Plan, and such arrangements may be either applicable generally or only in specific cases.
| 17. | Amendments and Termination |
(a) Amendment and Termination of the Plan. The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue, or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time; provided, that no such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuation or termination shall be made without stockholder approval if such approval is necessary to comply with any tax or regulatory requirement applicable to the Plan (including as necessary to comply with any applicable stock exchange listing requirement); and provided, further that any such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance or termination that would impair the rights of any Participant or any holder or beneficiary of any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the consent of the affected Participant, holder or beneficiary. The termination date of the Plan, following which no Awards may be granted hereunder, shall be the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date; provided, that such termination shall not affect Awards then outstanding, and the terms and conditions of the Plan shall continue to apply to such Awards.
(b) Amendment of Award Agreements. The Committee may, to the extent consistent with the terms of any applicable Award Agreement, waive any conditions or rights under, amend any terms of, or alter, suspend, discontinue, cancel or terminate, any Award theretofore granted or the associated Award Agreement, prospectively or retroactively; provided that any such waiver, amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuance, cancellation or termination that would impair the rights of any Participant or any holder or beneficiary of any Award theretofore granted shall not to that extent be effective without the consent of the affected Participant, holder or beneficiary; and provided further that, other than in connection with an equitable adjustment under Section 15 or a Change in Control, without stockholder approval, (i) no amendment or modification may reduce the Option Price of any Option or the Strike Price of any SAR, (ii) the Committee may not cancel any outstanding Option or SAR and replace it with a new Option or SAR (with a lower Option Price or Strike Price, as the case may be) in a manner which would either (A) (if the Company is subject to the reporting requirement of the Exchange Act) be reportable on the Company’s proxy statement as Options which have been “repriced” (as such term is used in Item 402 of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Exchange Act), or (B) result in any Option being accounted for under the “variable” method for financial statement reporting purposes and (iii) the Committee may not take any other action which is considered a “repricing” for purposes of the stockholder approval rules of the applicable stock exchange on which the Stock is listed, if any. In no event may the Company buyout for cash any Option or SAR whose Option Price or Strike Price (as applicable) on the date of purchase exceeds the Fair Market Value of the Company’s Stock.
| 18. | Compliance with Section 409A. |
(a) It is intended that any amounts payable under this Plan shall either be exempt from or comply with Section 409A of the Code (including the Treasury regulations and other published guidance relating thereto) so as not to subject a Participant to payment of any interest or additional tax imposed under Section 409A of the Code. To the extent that any amount payable under this Agreement would trigger the additional tax, penalty or interest imposed by Section 409A of the Code, this Plan shall be modified to avoid such additional tax, penalty or interest yet preserve (to the nearest extent reasonably possible) the intended benefit payable to the Participant. In no event shall the Company, any member of the Board of Directors, or any employee, agent or other service provider have any liability to any Participant for any tax, fine or penalty associated with any failure to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.
(b) To the extent a payment or benefit is nonqualified deferred compensation subject to Section 409A of the Code, a termination of employment shall not be deemed to have occurred for purposes of any provision of this Plan or any Award Agreement providing for the payment of any amounts upon or following a termination of employment unless such termination is also a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and, for purposes of any such provision of this Plan and any Award Agreement, references to a “termination,” “termination of employment” or like terms shall mean “separation from service.” If a Participant is deemed on the date of a separation from service (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) to be a “specified employee” (within the meaning of that term under Section 409A(a)(2)(B) of the Code and determined using any identification methodology and procedure selected by the Company from time to time, or, if none, the default methodology and procedure specified under Section 409A of the Code), then with regard to any payment or the provision of any benefit that is “nonqualified deferred compensation” within the meaning of Code Section 409A and which is paid as a result of the Participant’s “separation from service,” to the extent necessary to avoid the imposition of taxes under Section 409A of the Code, such payment or benefit shall not be made or provided prior to the date which is the earlier of (A) the expiration of the six-month period measured from the date of such “separation from service” of the Participant, and (B) the date of the Participant’s death (the “Delay Period”). Upon the expiration of the Delay Period, all payments and benefits delayed pursuant to this clause (whether they would have otherwise been payable in a single sum or in installments in the absence of such delay) shall be paid or reimbursed to the Participant in a lump sum, and any remaining payments and benefits due under this Agreement shall be paid or provided in accordance with the normal payment dates specified for them herein.
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(c) For purposes of Section 409A of the Code, the Participant’s right to receive any installment payments pursuant to this Plan or any Award Agreement shall be treated as a right to receive a series of separate and distinct payments. Whenever a payment under the Plan or any Award Agreement specifies a payment period with reference to a number of days (e.g., “payment shall be made within thirty days following the date of termination”), the actual date of payment within the specified period shall be within the sole discretion of the Company.
(d) With regard to any provision herein that provides for reimbursement of costs and expenses or in-kind benefits, except as permitted by Section 409A of the Code, (i) the right to reimbursement or in-kind benefits shall not be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit; (ii) the amount of expenses eligible for reimbursement, or in-kind benefits, provided during any taxable year shall not affect the expenses eligible for reimbursement, or in-kind benefits to be provided, in any other taxable year, provided, that the foregoing clause (ii) shall not be violated with regard to expenses reimbursed under any arrangement covered by Section 105(b) of the Code solely because such expenses are subject to a limit related to the period the arrangement is in effect; and (iii) such payments shall be made on or before the last day of the Participant’s taxable year following the taxable year in which the expense was incurred.
| 19. | Forfeiture and Recoupment. |
Without limiting in any way the generality of the Committee’s power to specify any terms and conditions of an Award consistent with law, and for greater clarity, the Committee may specify in an Award Agreement that the Participant’s rights, payments and benefits with respect to an Award, including any payment of Common Stock received upon exercise or in satisfaction of an Award under the Plan shall be subject to reduction, cancellation, forfeiture or recoupment upon the occurrence of certain specified events, in addition to any otherwise applicable vesting or performance conditions, without limit as to time. Such events shall include, but not be limited to, failure to accept the terms of the Award Agreement, termination of service under certain or all circumstances, violation of material Company policies, misstatement of financial or other material information about the Company, fraud, misconduct, breach of noncompetition, confidentiality, nonsolicitation, noninterference, corporate property protection, or other agreements that may apply to the Participant, or other conduct by the Participant that the Committee determines is detrimental to the business or reputation of the Company and its Affiliates, including facts and circumstances discovered after termination of service. Awards granted under the Plan shall be subject to any clawback, compensation recovery policy or minimum stock holding period requirement as may be adopted or amended by the Company from time to time.
| 21. | Hedging and Pledging. |
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Plan, an Award will be subject to any Company policy that the Company may adopt and/or amend from time to time regarding the hedging or pledging (or any similar transaction) of Company securities.
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| 22. | Whistleblower Provisions. |
Nothing contained herein prohibits the Participant from: (1) reporting possible violations of federal law or regulations, including any possible securities laws violations, to any governmental agency or entity; (2) making any other disclosures that are protected under the whistleblower provisions of federal law or regulations; or (3) otherwise fully participating in any federal whistleblower programs, including but not limited to any such programs managed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange.
| 23. | Broker-Assisted Sales. |
In the event of a broker-assisted sale of Stock in connection with the payment of amounts owed by a Participant under or with respect to the Plan or Awards: (a) any Stock to be sold through the broker-assisted sale will be sold on the day the payment first becomes due, or as soon thereafter as practicable; (b) such Stock may be sold as part of a block trade with other Participants in the Plan in which all Participants receive an average price; (c) the applicable Participant will be responsible for all broker’s fees and other costs of sale, and by accepting an Award, each Participant agrees to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any losses, costs, damages, or expenses relating to any such sale; (d) to the extent the Company or its designee receives proceeds of such sale that exceed the amount owed, the Company will pay such excess in cash to the applicable Participant as soon as reasonably practicable; (e) the Company and its designees are under no obligation to arrange for such sale at any particular price; and (f) in the event the proceeds of such sale are insufficient to satisfy the Participant’s applicable obligation, the Participant may be required to pay immediately upon demand to the Company or its designee an amount in cash sufficient to satisfy any remaining portion of the Participant’s obligation.
| 24. | Data Privacy |
As a condition for receiving any Award, each Participant explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of personal data as described in this Section by and among the Company and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates exclusively for implementing, administering and managing the Participant’s participation in the Plan. The Company and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates may hold certain personal information about a Participant, including the Participant’s name, address and telephone number; birthdate; social security, insurance number or other identification number; salary; nationality; job title(s); any Stock held in the Company or its Subsidiaries and Affiliates; and Award details, to implement, manage and administer the Plan and Awards (the “Data”). The Company and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates may transfer the Data amongst themselves as necessary to implement, administer and manage a Participant’s participation in the Plan, and the Company and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates may transfer the Data to third parties assisting the Company with Plan implementation, administration and management. These recipients may be located in the Participant’s country, or elsewhere, and the Participant’s country may have different data privacy laws and protections than the recipients’ country. By accepting an Award, each Participant authorizes such recipients to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, to implement, administer and manage the Participant’s participation in the Plan, including any required Data transfer to a broker or other third party with whom the Company or the Participant may elect to deposit any Stock. The Data related to a Participant will be held only as long as necessary to implement, administer, and manage the Participant’s participation in the Plan. A Participant may, at any time, view the Data that the Company holds regarding such Participant, request additional information about the storage and processing of the Data regarding such Participant, recommend any necessary corrections to the Data regarding the Participant or refuse or withdraw the consents in this Section 24 in writing, without cost, by contacting the local human resources representative. The Company may cancel Participant’s ability to participate in the Plan and, in the Committee’s discretion, the Participant may forfeit any outstanding Awards if the Participant refuses or withdraws the consents in this Section 24. For more information on the consequences of refusing or withdrawing consent, Participants may contact their local human resources representative.
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As adopted by the Board of Directors of
Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., as of January 17, 2022.
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