EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This Employment Agreement (this "Agreement") is entered into this date by and between ALAMOSA PCS, LLC, a Texas Limited Liability Company, having its principal executive office located at 4403 Brownfield Highway, Lubbock, Texas 79407 (the "Company"), and KENDALL COWAN, an individual residing at 8402 Vicksburg, Lubbock, Texas (the "Employee").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the parties are entering into this Agreement to set forth and confirm their respective rights and obligations with respect to the Employee's employment by the Company.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties hereto mutually agree as follows:
1. EMPLOYMENT; TERM; DUTIES. The Company hereby employs the Employee as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"). The term of the Employee's employment, pursuant to this Agreement, will commence on December 1, 1999, (the "Commencement Date") and will continue until November 30, 2004, or the termination of this Agreement as described in Section 6 hereof, whichever shall occur first. The Employee hereby accepts such employment, and agrees to devote his full time and effort to the business and affairs of the Company with such duties consistent with the Employee's position as may be assigned to him from time to time by the Board of Managers of the Company and/or the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the Company. The CFO shall report to the CEO of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company acknowledges that the Employee has other business interests and ownerships as well as serving on the Boards of Directors of other companies in which the Employee is a stockholder or owner. Subject to the provisions of Sections 8 through 11 hereof, the Company acknowledges and consents to the continuation of these ownerships and relationships, provided they do not interfere with the Employee's duties under this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to impose any obligation on the Company or any of its subsidiaries to continue to employ the Employee, or on the Employee to remain in the employ of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
2. COMPENSATION. In consideration of all services rendered by the Employee as CFO during the term of his employment, pursuant to this Agreement, the Company will provide the Employee with the following compensation:
(a) BASE SALARY. The Company will pay the Employee a base
salary at the annual rate of $150,000.00, payable periodically
but no less often than semi-monthly, in substantially equal
amounts, in accordance with the
Employment Agreement PAGE 1 OF 21 Alamosa PCS LLC and Kendall Cowan
Company's payroll practices from time to time in effect. The
Company will review the Employee's base salary at least once
each year and may, in its discretion, increase the Employee's
base salary.
(b) BONUS. In addition to the Employee's base salary, the
Employee shall be eligible to receive a bonus (a "Quarterly
Bonus") for each calendar quarter in an amount, if any,
determined as follows: In each calendar quarter, beginning
with the quarter ending December 31, 1999, Employee's
Quarterly Bonus shall be equal to the sum of (1) plus (2) as
follows:
(1) $18,750.00 multiplied by the
percentage set forth opposite each Expected Milestone
set forth in the attached EXHIBIT "A", incorporated
herein by reference, which is achieved for that
calender quarter.
(2) $18,750.00 multiplied by the percentage set forth
opposite each Exceptional Milestone set forth in
EXHIBIT "A" which is achieved for that calendar
If any particular Expected Milestone or Exceptional Milestone
is not achieved for any calendar quarter, that percentage
share of the dollar amount specified in (1) or (2) above, as
the case may be, shall not be payable as part of the Quarterly
Bonus. The Expected Milestones, Exceptional Milestones and
percentages set forth on EXHIBIT "A" may be changed by the
Company at any time and from time to time, but any such change
shall not apply earlier than the calendar quarter following
the calendar quarter in which such change is made by the
Company and communicated to the Employee.
Any Quarterly Bonus owing to the Employee shall be paid within
forty-five (45) days following the end of the applicable
calendar quarter.
(c) UNIT OPTIONS. If, on June 30, 2000, the Company has not
become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alamosa PCS Holdings,
Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Holdings"), then on said date
the Company will convert the membership interests in the
Company to forty-eight million five hundred thousand
(48,500,000) membership units, and shall grant to the Employee
options to purchase membership units in the Company as
follows:
(1) Option. An option (the "Option") to purchase one
million four hundred fifty-five thousand (1,455,000)
membership units in the Company at a per unit
purchase price equal to Fifteen Dollars ($15.00),
said Option, subject to Section 7 hereof, to vest and
Employment Agreement PAGE 2 OF 21 Alamosa PCS LLC and Kendall Cowan
exercisable by the Employee in five (5) equal
installments of two hundred ninety-one thousand
(291,000) membership units each on November 30, 2000,
November 30, 2001, November 30, 2002, November 30,
2003, and November 30, 2004, respectively, and
thereafter be exercisable at any time until January
5, 2009, in accordance with the option agreement to
be entered into between the Company and the Employee
as of July 31, 2000, upon terms and conditions
substantially similar to the terms and conditions of
the Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement entered into
by the Employee pursuant to the Alamosa PCS Holdings,
Inc. 1999 Long-Term Incentive Plan.
The Employee will receive no additional compensation for serving the Company in any other capacity.
3. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. The Employee will be entitled to participate in all incentive, retirement, profit-sharing, life, medical, disability and other benefit plans and programs (collectively "Benefit Plans") as are from time to time generally available to other executives of the Company with comparable responsibilities, subject to the provisions of those programs. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will provide the Employee with basic health and medical benefits on the terms that such benefits are provided to other executives of the Company with comparable responsibilities. The Employee will also be entitled to holidays, sick leave and vacation in accordance with the Company's policies as they may change from time to time, but in no event shall the Employee be entitled to less than four (4) weeks paid vacation per year.
4. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEE. The Employee is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. The Company acknowledges that it would be in the best interest of the Company for the Employee to maintain such license. As additional benefits to the Employee under this Agreement related to such license, the Company agrees to either pay directly or reimburse the Employee during the term of this Agreement for each of the following:
(a) Continuing Professional Education (CPE). The Employee is
required to maintain CPE classes. The Company will pay or
reimburse the costs of such classes sufficient for Employee to
maintain his license, but such payment shall be limited to the
cost of such classes (i.e. tuition and books) and the direct
costs associated with such classes, such as travel to and from
and housing, including hotel and meals for the Employee only.
Employment Agreement PAGE 3 OF 21 Alamosa PCS LLC and Kendall Cowan
(b) Dues and Licenses. The Company will pay or reimburse the
Employee for all professional dues and licenses attributable
to the Employee's license, including but not limited to the
following:
(1) Texas Society of CPAs;
(2) American Institute of CPAs; and
(3) Annual License Fees, Texas State Board of
5. EXPENSES.
(a) Reimbursement for Expenses. The Company will promptly
reimburse the Employee, in accordance with the Company's
policies and practices in effect from time to time, for all
expenses reasonably incurred by the Employee in performance of
the Employee's duties under this Agreement, including
reimbursement for miles driven by the Employee in furtherance
of the Company's business ("Business Mileage").
(1) Reimbursement for Business Mileage shall be at
the standard mileage rate allowed by the Internal
Revenue Service ("IRS") for the taxable year and set
forth in the appropriate IRS publication.
(2) Business mileage does not include commuting from
Employee's residence to the Company's headquarters.
(3) Employee is responsible for proper substantiation
and reporting of Business Mileage and/or actual
(4) Employee acknowledges that the payment to him of
a monthly vehicle allowance plus the standard mileage
rate may result in taxable income if the business
portion of actual automobile expenses is less than
the total amount paid to employee under this
subsection, or if employee does not maintain the
records required by the Internal Revenue Code and the
Regulations thereunder. Employee has been advised to
consult a tax advisor to determine the taxability of
payments under this subsection, and the record
keeping requirements associated with the travel and
expenses associated with such payments.
(b) Expense Allowance. In addition to reimbursed expenses,
Employee is entitled to $600.00 per month as a vehicle
6. TERMINATION. The Employee's employment by the Company: (a) shall terminate upon the Employee's death or disability (as defined below); (b) may be terminated by the Company for any reason other than cause or nonperformance at any
Employment Agreement PAGE 4 OF 21 Alamosa PCS LLC and Kendall Cowan
time; (c) may be terminated by the Company for cause (as defined below) at any time; (d) may be terminated by the Employee, without cause at any time upon forty-five (45) days' prior written notice delivered by the Employee to the Company; (e) may be terminated by the Employee for cause (as defined below) at any time upon forty-five (45) days' prior written notice delivered by the Employee to the Company; and (f) may be terminated by the Company for non-performance by the Employee at any time.
(a) The term "disability" means the determination under the
Company's Long-Term Disability Plan that the Employee is
eligible to receive a disability benefit.
(b) The term "cause" in the event of termination of the
Employee's employment by the Company means (i) any breach of
Sections 8 or 10 of this Agreement by Employee which has a
materially adverse effect on the Company and which is not or
cannot be cured within thirty (30) days after notice from the
CEO or the Board of Managers of the Company thereof; (ii)
commission of any act of fraud, embezzlement or dishonesty by
the Employee that is materially and demonstrably injurious to
the Company; (iii) any act or omission by Employee which
constitutes a uncured default or breach of that certain Sprint
PCS Management Agreement dated July 17, 1998 and as it may be
amended from time to time or any other similar Sprint
Management Agreement to which the Company or any of its
affiliates or subsidiaries may be a party ("the Sprint
Agreement"); or (iv) any other intentional misconduct by the
Employee adversely affecting the business or affairs of the
Company in a material manner. The term "intentional misconduct
by the Employee adversely affecting the business or affairs of
the Company" shall mean such misconduct that is detrimental to
the business or the reputation of the Company as it is
perceived both by the general public and the
telecommunications industry.
(c) The term "cause" in the event of termination of the
Employee's employment by the Employee means (i) a dispute
between the Company and the Employee over accounting issues
provided, however, any such dispute shall not constitute
"cause" if the Company, at its own expense, elects to have a
nationally recognized public accounting firm resolve the
accounting issue dispute and such accounting firm agrees with
the Company's position regarding such accounting issue; (ii)
termination of employment by the Employee at any time more
than six (6) months after the date of termination by the
Company for any reason of the employment of David Sharbutt as
Chief Executive Officer of the Company ("Sharbutt's
Termination"), provided the Employee, within sixty (60) days
of the date of Sharbutt's Termination, notifies the Company in
writing of his intention to terminate employment under this
provision and specifies in such notice his date of employment
termination; (iii) the requirement by the Company of
Employment Agreement PAGE 5 OF 21 Alamosa PCS LLC and Kendall Cowan
the relocation of the Employee from Lubbock, Texas; (iv) the
change in job responsibilities of the Employee resulting in
the demotion of the Employee from the position of CFO, which
demotion is caused by something other than would be cause for
termination of the Employee's employment by the Company for
cause and other than the non-performance of the Employee as
defined later herein; or (v) the failure of the Company to
complete its initial public offering (IPO) on or before
December 31, 2000.
(d) The term "non-performance by the Employee" in the event of
termination of the Employee's employment by the Company means
the determination by a super-majority (greater than 75%) of
the members of the Board of Managers of the Company, in their
sole and absolute discretion, that the Employee is not
performing his duties under this Agreement after the CEO or
the Board of Managers of the Company has delivered to the
Employee written notice which specifically identifies the
manner in which the CEO or the Board believes he is not
performing his duties and which is not or cannot be cured
within 15 days after such written notice is delivered to the
7. CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION.
(a) CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION ON EMPLOYEE'S DEATH OR
DISABILITY. If the Employee's employment is terminated prior
to November 30,2004, because of the Employee's death or
disability, (i) subject to Section 7(g) hereof, this Agreement
terminates immediately; (ii) Employee or his legal
representative or estate, as the case may be, shall be
eligible to exercise any options granted and vested pursuant
to Section 2(c) hereof at the time of such death or
disability, plus, if such death or disability does not occur
on November 30 of a given year, a fractional portion of those
options which would have vested and become exercisable
pursuant to Section 2(c) hereof on the November 30 immediately
following such death or disability based on a fraction whose
numerator is the number of months (including the month in
which the date of death or disability occurs) since the
previous November 30 and whose denominator is twelve (12), in
accordance with the provisions of Section 2(c) hereof and the
option agreement referred to therein, and any other options
granted to the Employee shall be forfeited; (iii) the Company
will pay the Employee, or his legal representative or estate,
as the case may be, in full satisfaction of all of its
compensation (base salary and bonus) obligations under this
Agreement, an amount equal to the sum of any base salary due
to the Employee through the last day of employment, plus any
accrued bonus to which the Employee may have been entitled on
the last day of employment, but had not yet been received; and
(iv) the Employee's benefits and rights under any Benefit Plan
shall be paid, retained or
Employment Agreement PAGE 6 OF 21 Alamosa PCS LLC and Kendall Cowan
forfeited in accordance with the terms of such plan; provided,
however, that Employer shall have no obligation to make any
payments toward these benefits for Employee from and after
(b) CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION BY THE COMPANY FOR ANY REASON
OTHER THAN FOR CAUSE OR FOR NON-PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEE.
(1) If the Employee's employment is terminated by the
Company prior to November 30, 2004, for any reason
other than for cause or non-performance of Employee,
(i) subject to Section 7(g) hereof, this Agreement
terminates immediately; (ii) Employee or his legal
representative or estate, as the case may be, shall
be eligible to exercise any options granted but not
exercised pursuant to Section 2(c) hereof, which
options shall be deemed vested as of the date of the
Employee's termination of employment regardless of
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