GNPX 2017 Annual Report

91 On November 3, 2016, we granted Julien Pham an option to purchase 162,800 shares of common stock, at an exercise price of $5.29 per share. The option vests at a rate of 1/48 of the shares subject to the option each month following October 26, 2016. The agreement provides that during the term of Dr. Pham’s employment with us and for one year after the termination of his employment, Dr. Pham will not encourage any of our employees or consultants to leave Genprex and will not compete or assist others to compete with us. If Dr. Pham is employed by us for at least one year and we terminate Dr. Pham’s employment without cause or if Dr. Pham resigns for good reason, we are obligated to pay Dr. Pham, subject to our having at least $5 million in cash or cash equivalents and a net worth of at least $5 million on the date of termination, a severance payment equal to six months of Dr. Pham’s base salary then in effect. For the purposes of Dr. Pham’s employment agreement, “cause” means the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) his failure or inability to perform his duties as described in the employment agreement; or (ii) his breach of the employment agreement. For purposes of Dr. Pham’s employment agreement, “good reason” means the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) Dr. Pham is not paid compensation under the employment agreement when due; (ii) Dr. Pham’s job title is changed without his consent; (iii) we or stockholders acting in concert sell a majority of our issued and outstanding shares in one transaction or a series of coordinated transactions to a single buyer or a group of buyers acting in concert with each other; or (iv) we sell substantially all of our assets. Employment Agreement with Ryan Confer We have entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Confer, our Chief Financial Officer, which became effective in April 2018, following the closing of the recently completed initial public offering of our common stock. Mr. Confer’s employment under the agreement is at will and may be terminated at any time by us or by him. Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Confer is initially entitled to receive an annual base salary of $240,000. The agreement provides that the Company may pay Mr. Confer a bonus as described above under “—Bonus Compensation” and provides that the Company may grant to Mr. Confer options to purchase shares of common stock. The agreement provides that during the term of Mr. Confer’s employment with us and for one year after the termination of his employment, Mr. Confer will not encourage any of our employees or consultants to leave Genprex and will not compete or assist others to compete with us. If we terminate Mr. Confer’ employment without cause or if Mr. Confer resigns for good reason, and Mr. Confer delivers to us a signed settlement agreement and general release of claims, we are obligated to pay Mr. Confer: (i) a severance payment equal to 12 months of Mr. Confer’ base salary then in effect; (ii) a payment equal to Mr. Confer’s then applicable annual target bonus, calculated at full attainment; (iii) reimbursement of COBRA premium payments made by Mr. Confer for the 12 months following such termination; and (iv) acceleration as to 100% of Mr. Confer’s unvested equity awards from us, subject in the case of (i) and (ii) to our having at least $5 million in cash or cash equivalents and a net worth of at least $5 million on the date of termination. For the purposes of Mr. Confer’s employment agreement, “cause” means the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) a determination by our board of directors that Mr. Confer’s performance is unsatisfactory after there has been delivered to him a written demand for performance which describes the specific deficiencies in his performance and the specific manner in which his performance must be improved, and which provides 30 business days from the date of notice to remedy such performance deficiencies; (ii) Mr. Confer’s conviction of or plea of nolo contendere to a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude which our board of directors reasonably finds has had or will have a detrimental effect on our reputation or business; (iii) Mr. Confer’s engaging in an act of gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of his employment obligations and duties that materially harms us; (iv) Mr. Confer’s committing an act of fraud against, material misconduct or willful misappropriation of property belonging to us; or (v) Mr. Confer’s material breach of his confidentiality, invention assignment and noncompetition agreement with us or of any other unauthorized misuse of our trade secrets or proprietary information. For purposes of Mr. Confer’s employment agreement, “good reason” means the occurrence of any of the following taken without Mr. Confer’s written consent and conditioned on (a) his providing us with notice of the basis for such resignation for good reason, (b) our failure to cure the event constituting good reason within 30 days after notice and (c) his termination of his employment within 30 days following the expiration of the cure period: (i) a material change in Mr. Confer’s position, titles, offices or duties; (ii) an assignment of any significant duties to Mr. Confer that are inconsistent with his positions or offices held under his employment agreement; (iii) a decrease in Mr. Confer’s then current annual base salary by more than 10% (other than in connection with a general decrease in the salary of all of our other similarly situated employees); or (iv) the relocation of Mr. Confer to a facility or a location more than 50 miles from his then current location.