Exhibit 10.24
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This Agreement executed this 23rd day of July, 1999 by and between
INTRAC ACQUISITION CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation ("IAC") and XXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX ("Employee").
The parties, each intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:
1. POSITION. IAC employs Employee in the position of Chief Executive
Officer pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. Employee will perform such
services in this capacity as may from time to time be reasonably requested by
IAC.
2. TERM. This Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date, as defined in
the Agreement and Plan of Merger among WorldWide Web NetworX Corporation
("WWWX"), Intrac Acquisition Corporation, The Intrac Group, a company in which
Employee was a principal shareholder, and the Sellers signatory thereto, which
includes Employee (the "Merger Agreement") and shall except as provided in
paragraph 9, remain in effect for a period of ten (10) years thereafter. After
this ten (10) year term, the Agreement shall automatically renew from year to
year unless either party gives written notice to the other at least ninety (90)
days prior to the expiration of the then current term that he or it is not
renewing.
3. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS. For all services rendered by Employee under
this Agreement, IAC shall compensate Employee as follows:
(a) Employee shall have an annual salary (the "Base Salary") of
$400,000, that will be paid jointly by IAC and ATM Service, Ltd.,
a New York corporation ("ATM"). IAC will pay Employee, on an
quarterly basis, the difference between the amount of the Base
Salary and the portion thereof paid by ATM.
(b) Employee shall be entitled to receive such other benefits as are
contained in Schedule "A".
(c) The Base Salary shall be subject to annual review, and Employee
shall be entitled to such increase as is determined by the Board
of Directors of IAC. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to
the contrary, the Base Salary shall be increased pro rata to any
increase in salary received by Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx. As an example,
if Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx'x Base Salary is $75,000 and Employee's Base
Salary is $50,000, Employee shall be entitled to 66.67% of any
increase received by Xxxxxxxxx. Employee's entitlement to any
stock options and bonuses or other additional compensation shall
likewise be pro rata with that of any stock options or bonuses or
other additional compensation granted or awarded to Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx.
4. DUTIES. The duties of Employee are as contained in the attached Schedule
"B". Those duties shall be performed in such manner so as to uphold the
reputation of IAC in the business
community. Those duties may be reasonably extended or curtailed from time to
time, at the discretion of the Board of Directors of IAC.
5. TIME AND ATTENTION DEVOTED TO DUTIES. Employee shall devote his entire
time and attention to the business of IAC and ATM. He shall not, during the term
of this Agreement, be engaged in any other business activity which interferes
with his ability to perform the duties assigned to him by IAC and/or ATM,
whether or not such business activity is pursued for gain, profit or other
pecuniary advantage. This shall not be construed as preventing Employee from
investing his assets in such form or manner as will not require any services on
the part of Employee in the operation of the affairs of the companies in which
such investments are made, subject to the qualification that Employee may not
invest in a company which is competitive in any manner whatsoever with IAC, its
parents, subsidiaries or affiliates (except for investments constituting less
than one percent (l%) of a publicly owned company).
6. NONDISCLOSURE AND RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS. Employee acknowledges that his
duties will necessarily result in his becoming familiar with the business,
software, patents and copyrights, methods and operations, client and customer
lists, client and customer information, manufacturing processes, product
specifications, vendors, trading patterns, financial goals, and other
proprietary and confidential information of IAC and WWWX, a publicly traded
corporation (the "Confidential Information"). Therefore, Employee acknowledges
and agrees that the following nondisclosure provisions and restrictive covenants
shall apply to the Confidential Information. The rights hereunder shall inure to
the benefit of IAC and WWWX, each of whom shall have the right to enforce the
terms of paragraphs 6 through 8 of this Agreement. For the purposes of
paragraphs 6 through 8 of this Agreement, the term "IAC" or "WWWX" shall include
each of their affiliated companies. The terms contained in paragraphs 6 through
8 shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement. Therefore,
Employee agrees:
(a) Employee will not, at any time during his employment by IAC, or
at anytime thereafter, unless terminated by IAC without cause or
by Employee for cause pursuant to sub-paragraph 9(c), without the
written approval of IAC or its duly constituted officers, use for
his benefit or the benefit of third parties reveal, divulge, or
make known to any person, firm or corporation, the Confidential
Information or any portions thereof.
(b) Employee agrees to return to IAC and WWWX upon request or
immediately upon the termination of his employment by IAC, any
and all written information, materials, equipment and software
which constitutes, contains or relates in any way to the
Confidential Information or trade secrets of IAC or WWWX
including, but not limited to, any copies of such information.
(c) Unless Employee's employment hereunder is terminated by IAC
without cause or by Employee for cause, or in the event of a
material breach by any of the WWWX Parties under the Merger
Agreement, Employee will not for a period equal to the later of
the length of employment under this Agreement or five (5) years
after Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement) (the time
period in this Section 6(c) being the "Non-Compete Term") compete
in any
way with IAC or WWWX, directly or indirectly, whether as an
employee, officer, director, agent, security holder, creditor,
consultant or otherwise. During the Non-Compete Term, Employee
will not consult with or have an interest in any business, firm,
person, partnership, corporation or other entity which engages in
the same or substantially similar business to that of WWWX or IAC
worldwide , it being acknowledged that the business of WWWX and
IAC is global in nature. A business shall be deemed similar or
competitive to WWWX or IAC if it conducts one or more business
activities substantially similar to that conducted by WWWX or
IAC. During the Non-Compete Term, Employee will not provide
services or products to any individual or entity which competes
with IAC or WWWX.
(d) Nothwithstanding if Employee is terminated without cause and
receives a mutually agreed upon severance package, Employee shall
be bound to all covenants contained herein for the time periods
contained above.
7. RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN EMPLOYEE'S PROFESSION. Paragraph 6 is not intended to
restrict Employee in the exercise of his training and skills, provided that the
exercise of such training and skills does not involve competing with IAC or WWWX
in violation of the provisions of this Agreement.
8. REMEDIES IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER REMEDIES PROVIDED BY LAW. Employee
agrees that the breach of any of the covenants contained in paragraph 6 may
result in irreparable damage to IAC and WWWX and, in addition to any other
remedies provided in this Agreement or at law, IAC and WWWX shall have the right
to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin Employee from violating
such covenants.
9. EARLIER TERMINATION.
(a) Notwithstanding the termination provision of paragraph 2, this
Agreement may be terminated at any time by IAC upon the
occurrence of any of the following:
(i) Employee's inability to perform substantially all of the
duties assigned, through death or total disability in excess
of sixty (60) consecutive days or total disability in excess
of ninety (90) days in any twelve (12) month period.
(ii) Any act of dishonesty or disloyalty by Employee
involving or materially affecting IAC.
(iii)Employee's Material Breach of the confidentiality
provisions of this Agreement.
(iv) Any other material breach of this Agreement by
Employee.
(v) The termination of the business of IAC, the sale of
substantially all of the assets of IAC or a merger or
consolidation in which IAC is not the surviving entity.
(b) IAC may further terminate this Agreement in the event of the
failure of Employee to substantially perform the duties
assigned to him by IAC providing IAC shall provide thirty
(30) days written notice to Employee of his failure to
perform his duties with an opportunity to cure within said
thirty (30) day period.
(c) Employee may terminate this Agreement in the event of IAC's
material breach of this Agreement or in the event of a
material breach of the Merger Agreement by any of the WWWX
parties, providing Employee shall provide thirty (30) days
written notice to IAC of its breach with an opportunity to
cure within said thirty (30) day period.
(d) In the event that Employee terminates this Agreement for any
reason other than (1) a material breach by IAC hereunder or
by any of the WWWX Parties under the Merger Agreement or (2)
for reasons contained in sub-paragraph 9(a)(i) above, prior
to the expiration of the first five (5) years of the term,
then for each such month or portion thereof prior to the
expiration of such five-year period, Employee shall pay to
IAC the sum of Eighteen Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty
($18,750.00) Dollars at the date of Termination. As an
example, if this Agreement terminates after thirty-six (36)
months, Employee shall pay to IAC Four Hundred Fifty
Thousand ($450,000.00) Dollars. This sum was determined by
way of calculation of IAC's actual damages, in that Employee
received certain benefits upon the merger of Intrac into
WWWX and those benefits were dependent upon at least five
(5) years of service of Employee at IAC.
10. REPRESENTATIONS OF EMPLOYEE
(a) Employee represents that to the best of his knowledge he is
not the subject of any pending or threatened claim which
involves any criminal or governmental proceedings, or
allegations of misfeasance, and that he has not been charged
nor threatened to be charged by any governmental or
administrative body with violation of law except for minor
traffic violations and similar charges.
(b) Employee represents and warrants that he is not prohibited
from acting in any capacity for IAC by virtue of the
operation of any non-competition or similar agreement with
any prior employer, or by any applicable statutes,
regulations or ordinances or any other applicable law or by
the rules and regulations of the US Securities and Exchange
Commission or any national securities exchange, and that his
acting in the capacity for IAC that is contemplated by the
parties
hereto and by virtue of his position with IAC described in
Section 1 hereof will not subject IAC to claims or
materially impair the license status of IAC or its
affiliates or any entity operated by IAC or its affiliates.
11. DEFENSE OF CLAIMS. Employee agrees that during the Term, and at all
reasonable times thereafter, he will cooperate with IAC in the defense of any
claim that may be made against IAC or any affiliates, to the extent that such
claims may relate to services performed by Employee for IAC or its affiliates.
In connection with such claim, IAC will reimburse Employee for all of his
reasonable out-of-pocket expenses associated and, to the extent reasonably
practicable, to provide Employee with notice at least ten (10) days prior to the
date on which any travel is required, and (ii) if Employee is no longer employed
by IAC, to compensate Employee at a reasonable rate for his time.
12. NOTIFICATION OF AGREEMENT. Employee shall notify any future or
prospective employers, partners or persons with a similar business relationship
to Employee ("Future Employers") about the terms of this Agreement for any
period for which the covenants contained above pertains. Employee does hereby
authorize IAC to notify any Future Employers about the terms of this Agreement
upon discovery by IAC that Employee is being considered for employment,
partnership or similar business relationship (or has entered into such a
relationship) with a Future Employer in order to ensure Employee's observance
and compliance herewith.
13. INJUNCTION AND OTHER RELIEF. Both parties hereto recognize that the
services to be rendered under this Agreement by Employee are special, unique and
of extraordinary character, and that in the event of the breach by Employee of
any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement to be performed by him, or in
the event Employee performs services for any person, firm or corporation in
violation of Sections 6-8, or if Employee shall breach the provisions of this
Agreement with respect to Confidential Information, then IAC shall be entitled,
if it so elects, in addition to all other remedies available to it under this
Agreement or at law or in equity, to affirmative injunctive or other equitable
relief.
14. STIPULATION. Employee hereby specifically acknowledges, agrees,
stipulates and represents to IAC that:
(a) Employee has received adequate and sufficient consideration for
entering into this Agreement including the above-referenced
compensation;
(b) the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the performance
hereunder do not and shall not constitute a violation of any
covenants of non-competition, trade secrecy, or confidentiality
to which Employee is a party;
(c) the covenants of Employee contained in this Agreement are in
consideration of the promise of IAC to provide Confidential
Information (including trade secrets) to Employee and are
necessary to protect IAC
interests in such Confidential Information, as well as IAC's
business good will and other business interests;
(d) IAC may suffer great loss and irreparable harm if Employee
competes directly or indirectly with IAC;
(e) the temporal, geographic and other restrictions contained in this
Agreement are in all respects reasonable and necessary to protect
the business good will, Confidential Information, trade secrets,
prospects and other business interest of IAC; and
(f) the enforcement of this Agreement will not work an undue or
unfair hardship on Employee or otherwise be oppressive to him.
15. SEVERABILITY. In the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement
shall be held invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the remainder of this
Agreement and same shall be construed as if such invalid or unenforceable
provisions had never been a part hereof. If a court of competent jurisdiction
determines that the length of time, geographical restrictions or any other
restriction, or portion thereof, set forth in this Agreement is overly
restrictive and unenforceable, the parties agree that the court shall reduce or
modify such restrictions to those which it deems reasonable and enforceable
under the circumstances, and as so reduced or modified, the parties hereto agree
that the restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
16. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This document constitutes the entire agreement
between IAC and Employee regarding the subject matter hereof and there are no
oral agreements or undertakings affecting this instrument; any future
modifications, in order to be binding upon the parties, must be reduced to
writing and executed by both parties to this Agreement.
17. NO WAIVER. Either party's failure to strictly enforce any provision of
this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver or as excusing either party
from future performance.
18. SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of
the heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns of the respective
parties, but in no event may Employee assign to any other party Employee's
duties or obligations under this Agreement.
19. NEW YORK JURISDICTION AND LAW. THIS AGREEMENT HAS BEEN MADE AND
EXECUTED IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND THE PARTIES CONSENT TO THE JURISDICTION OF
THE NEW YORK COURTS AND THE APPLICATION OF DELAWARE LAW TO ANY CONTROVERSY
HEREUNDER. THE PARTIES AGREE TO WAIVE A JURY TRIAL IN ANY PROCEEDING BROUGHT TO
ENFORCE ANY OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.
20. HEADINGS. Paragraph headings herein shall have absolutely no legal
significance and are used solely for convenience of reference.
21. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Employee acknowledges that notwithstanding the date of
Employee's execution and delivery of this Agreement, Employee was made aware of
and consented to the covenants, conditions and agreements of this Agreement that
he is receiving additional consideration for the same, including, but not
limited to, the employment arrangement contained in this Agreement.
22. NOTICES. All notices which either party is required or may desire to
give to the other under or in conjunction with is Agreement shall be in writing
and shall be given by addressing the same to such other party at the address set
forth below, and by depositing the same so addressed, certified mail, postage
prepaid, return receipt requested, or by overnight mail or by reputable courier
service, or by delivering the same personally to such other party.
If to Employer:
ATM Services, Ltd.
00 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00
Xxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attn: Chairman
with a copy to: Xxxxx X. Xxxxx, Esq.
If to Employee:
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
0 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx, XX 00
Xxxxxx, XX 00000
with a copy to:
Astor, Weiss, Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxxx, LLP
The Bellevue, Sixth Floor
Broad Street at Walnut
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Facsimile No.: 000-000-0000
Attn: G. Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Esq.
Any notice mailed should be deemed to have been given three (3) United
States Post Office delivery days following the date of mailing. Overnight mail
or courier services shall be deemed to have been given on the next business day
following the date of mailing. Any notice delivered in person shall be deemed
effective upon delivery. Either party may change the address for the service of
notice upon it by written notice given to the other in the manner herein
provided for the giving of notice.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands.
INTRAC ACQUISITION CORPORATION
By: //s// Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
--------------------
Name: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Title: Authorized representative
//s// Xxx Xxxxxxxxx
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XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
