Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy, as amended
Exhibit 10.9
ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy
Amended Effective: December 6, 2022
Each member of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) who is not also serving as an employee of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) or any of its subsidiaries (each such member, an “Eligible Director”) will receive the compensation described in this Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy for his or her Board service. An Eligible Director may decline all or any portion of his or her compensation by giving notice to the Company prior to the date cash may be paid or equity awards are to be granted, as the case may be. This policy is effective as of the December 6, 2022 (the “Effective Date”) and may be amended at any time in the sole discretion of the Board or the Compensation Committee of the Board.
Annual Cash Compensation
The annual cash compensation amount set forth below is payable to Eligible Directors in equal quarterly installments, payable in arrears on the last day of each fiscal quarter in which the service occurred. If an Eligible Director joins the Board or a committee of the Board at a time other than effective as of the first day of a fiscal quarter, each annual retainer set forth below will be pro-rated based on days served in the applicable fiscal quarter, with the pro-rated amount paid on the last day of the first fiscal quarter in which the Eligible Director provides the service and regular full quarterly payments thereafter. All annual cash fees are vested upon payment.
1. Annual Board Service Retainer:
a. All Eligible Directors: $40,000
b. Chair of the Board Service Retainer (in addition to Eligible Director Service Retainer): $30,000
2. Annual Committee Chair Service Retainer:
a. Chair of the Audit Committee: $20,000
b. Chair of the Compensation Committee: $15,000
c. Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee: $15,000
3. Annual Committee Member Service Retainer (not applicable to Committee Chairs):
a. Member of the Audit Committee: $10,000
b. Member of the Compensation Committee: $7,500
c. Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee: $5,000
Equity Compensation
The equity compensation set forth below will be granted under the Company’s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), subject to the approval of the Plan by the Company’s stockholders. All stock options granted under this policy will be nonstatutory stock options, with an exercise
1.
price per share equal to 100% of the Fair Market Value (as defined in the Plan) of the underlying shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Common Stock”) on the date of grant, and a term of ten years from the date of grant (subject to earlier termination in connection with a termination of service as provided in the Plan).
1. Initial Grant: For each Eligible Director who is first elected or appointed to the Board following the Effective Date, on the date of such Eligible Director’s initial election or appointment to the Board (or, if such date is not a market trading day, the first market trading day thereafter), the Eligible Director will be automatically, and without further action by the Board or the Compensation Committee of the Board, granted a stock option to purchase 80,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Initial Grant”). One-third of the shares subject to each Initial Grant will vest twelve months after the date of grant and the remaining shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the following two‑year period such that the option is fully vested on the third anniversary of the date of grant, subject to the Eligible Director’s Continuous Service (as defined in the Plan) through each such vesting date and will vest in full upon a Change in Control (as defined in the Plan).
2. Annual Grant: On the date of each annual stockholder meeting of the Company held after the Effective Date (an “Annual Meeting”), each Eligible Director who continues to serve as a non-employee member of the Board following such Annual Meeting will be automatically, and without further action by the Board or the Compensation Committee of the Board, granted a stock option to purchase 40,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Annual Grant”). If an Eligible Director was elected or appointed for the first time to be an Eligible Director after the Effective Date and prior to an Annual Meeting, then the Eligible Director will be granted a prorated Annual Grant on the date of the Eligible Director’s election or appointment (the “Prorated Annual Grant”) that will be subject to the number of shares of Common Stock equal to 40,000 multiplied by a fraction (the numerator of which is equal to (i) 12 minus (ii) the number of completed months since the most recent Annual Meeting as of the Eligible Director’s date of election or appointment, and the denominator of which is 12), with the resulting number of shares rounded down to the nearest whole share. The shares subject to the Annual Grant or Prorated Annual Grant will vest in full on the sooner of the first anniversary of the date of grant or on the date of Company’s next Annual Meeting, subject to the Eligible Director’s Continuous Service (as defined in the Plan) through such vesting date; provided, further, that the shares subject to the Annual Grant or Prorated Annual Grant will vest in full upon a Change in Control (as defined in the Plan).
Non-Employee Director Compensation Limit
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the aggregate value of all compensation granted or paid, as applicable, to any individual for service as a Non-Employee Director (as defined in the Plan) shall in no event exceed the limits set forth in the Plan.
2.
