Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain
Officers.
(c)
On January 6, 2020, Erick Lucera became the chief financial officer of AVEO
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the "Company"). Mr. Lucera's appointment to the position
of chief financial officer of the Company was approved by the Company's board of
directors (the "Board") on December 25, 2019, to be effective upon Mr. Lucera's
commencement of employment on January 6, 2020.
Biographical information regarding Mr. Lucera is set forth below, followed by a
summary of the offer letter dated December 12, 2019 ("Offer Letter") delivered
by the Company to Mr. Lucera.
Mr. Lucera, age 52, most recently was employed by Valeritas Holdings, Inc.
("Valeritas"), a publicly traded commercial-stage medical technology company
focused on developing solutions for people with diabetes, serving as Valeritas's
chief financial officer from August 2016 to December 2019 where he led Valeritas
through multiple public offerings. From April 2015 to August 2016, Mr. Lucera
served as the chief financial officer, treasurer, and secretary of Viventia Bio
Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing targeted protein
therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. From December 2012 to April 2015, he
served as vice president, corporate development at Aratana Therapeutics, Inc., a
veterinary biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Lucera also previously served as vice
president, corporate development at Sunshine Heart, Inc., a medical device
manufacturer, from March 2012 to December 2012. Prior to Sunshine Heart,
Mr. Lucera served as vice president, healthcare analyst at Eaton Vance
Management, a global asset management company, from February 2008 to November
2011. Mr. Lucera also held various positions at Intrepid Capital Partners,
Independence Investment Associates, LLC and Price Waterhouse & Co. from 1990 to
2008. Since August 2017, Mr. Lucera has served as a member of the board of
directors and chairman of the audit committee of Beyond Air, Inc. Mr. Lucera
holds a C.P.H. from Harvard University, an M.S. in finance from Boston College,
an MBA from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a B.S. in accounting from the
University of Delaware. Mr. Lucera currently holds a CFA designation. Mr. Lucera
previously held CMA and CPA designations, which are expired.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Lucera and any other
person pursuant to which he was appointed as an officer. There are no family
relationships between Mr. Lucera and any director or executive officer of the
Company. There are no transactions in which Mr. Lucera has an interest requiring
disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
Pursuant to the terms of the Offer Letter, Mr. Lucera will serve as an "at-will"
employee. He will be entitled to receive an annual base salary of $340,000. He
will also be eligible to participate in the Company's performance-based
incentive bonus program and his bonus target will be equal to 40% of his base
salary, based on the achievement of performance goals as determined at the
discretion of the Board, and pro rated. In addition, subject to the approval of
the compensation committee of the Board, the Company will grant to Mr. Lucera an
option ("Option") to purchase 500,000 shares of the Company's common stock
pursuant to the Company's 2019 Equity Incentive Plan. The Option shall vest and
become exercisable as to 25% of the shares underlying the Option on the first
anniversary of the date of grant and as to the remaining shares underlying the
Option in 36 equal monthly installments thereafter. Such Option will have a per
share exercise price equal to the closing sale price of the Company's common
stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market on the date of grant. Mr. Lucera will also be
eligible to participate in the Company's annual renewal equity program.
On January 6, 2020, Mr. Lucera and the Company entered into a severance and
change in control agreement (the "Severance Agreement") to provide Mr. Lucera
certain severance benefits were his employment as chief financial officer of the
Company to cease in the future. Pursuant to the Severance Agreement, in the
event that Mr. Lucera's employment is terminated without "cause" or due to
"disability," or if Mr. Lucera terminates his employment for "good reason" (as
such terms are defined in the Severance Agreement), Mr. Lucera will be entitled
to receive: (i) his base salary in effect on the date of termination (the
"Termination Date") for the period of time (such period, the "Severance Period")
until the earlier of (A) the date 12 months following the Termination Date and
(B) the date on which Mr. Lucera commences other employment or a consulting
relationship with substantially equivalent compensation; (ii) reimbursement of
monthly premiums for health coverage pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act in an amount equal to the amount contributed by the Company
for active employees with similar benefits and similar participating
beneficiaries until the earlier of (A) the end of the Severance Period or
(B) the date that he becomes eligible for group health coverage through another
employer; and (iii) any base salary earned but not paid through the date of
termination, any vacation time accrued but not used through the date of
termination, and any reimbursable business expenses incurred through the date of
termination. The severance benefits specified in (i) and (ii) above are subject
to the execution and effectiveness of a general release of claims in favor of
the Company. In the event Mr. Lucera is terminated following a Change in Control
(as defined in the Key Employee Change in Control Severance Benefits Plan, as
previously disclosed by the Company (the "Change in Control Plan")), any
benefits paid to Mr. Lucera shall be determined pursuant to the Change in
Control Plan. The Severance Agreement also includes standard non-competition,
non-solicitation and non-disparagement provisions.
The foregoing summaries of the Offer Letter and Severance Agreement do not
purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by the full text of
the Offer Letter and Severance Agreement, respectively, which the Company
intends to file as exhibits to its future filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
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