Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain
Officers.
Departure of Chief Executive Officer
On April 5, 2023, TransAct Technologies Incorporated (the "Company") announced
that on April 4, 2023 (the "Departure Date"), Bart C. Shuldman had stepped down
as the Company's Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company,
effective immediately (the "Effective Time"). Mr. Shuldman's resignation as
director is not due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating
to the Company's operations, policies or practices.
In connection with Mr. Shuldman's departure, the Company and Mr. Shuldman
entered into a Separation Agreement and General Release, dated April 20, 2023
(the "Separation Agreement"). The Separation Agreement will become effective on
April 28, 2023 if it is not revoked by Mr. Shuldman in writing on or before
April 27, 2023. The Separation Agreement, in exchange for a release of claims
and other agreements, acknowledgements and representations of Mr. Shuldman set
forth therein, provides for the payment of the following severance benefits
following the Departure Date that are generally consistent with the severance
benefits provided for in connection with a termination without cause under Mr.
Shuldman's Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated as of December 14,
2022, which was previously filed with the SEC: (i) payment, in accordance with
the Company's regular payroll practices, of Mr. Shuldman's base salary for a
period of two years following the Departure Date at his final base rate of
$595,801 per year; (ii) $115,079 paid in equal installments over a one-year
period in accordance with the Company's regular payroll practices, representing
a pro-rated bonus for 2023 based on Mr. Shuldman's annual bonus target of
$446,851 (75% of base salary); and (iii) if Mr. Shuldman timely elects to
continue his group health insurance pursuant to COBRA, reimbursement on an
after-tax basis of Mr. Shuldman's health insurance COBRA premiums for continuing
his health care coverage and the coverage of his dependents who were covered as
of his departure date for a period of 18 months or until Mr. Shuldman becomes
eligible for another employer's group health plan during such 18-month period.
In addition, the Severance Agreement provides that (i) the Company will
reimburse Mr. Shuldman up to an aggregate of $50,000 for the cost of his
existing life insurance policy through the end of the term of such policy; (ii)
any vested options held by Mr. Shuldman as of the Departure Date will remain
exercisable for two years thereafter; and (iii) the Company will continue to pay
for Mr. Shuldman's required SEC filings in connection with his ownership of
Company securities for a period of two years following execution of the
Separation Agreement. In accordance with the terms of the Company's 2014 Equity
Incentive Plan, as amended and restated, and the related award agreements, all
unvested equity awards held by Mr. Shuldman were forfeited as of the Departure
Date.
The foregoing description of the Separation Agreement is a summary and is
qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete terms of such agreement,
which is filed herewith as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated by reference herein.
The Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") reduced its size from seven
to six directors, effective at the Effective Time, eliminating the vacancy
created by Mr. Shuldman's departure.
Appointment of Interim Chief Executive Officer
On April 4, 2023, the Board appointed John M. Dillon, a Board member, to serve
as interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective as of the Effective
Time. In this capacity, Mr. Dillon will serve as the Company's principal
executive officer. Mr. Dillon will continue to serve on the Board but has
stepped down from his position as Audit Committee chair and from his membership
on each of the committees of the Board. The Board has elected Emanuel P. N.
Hilario to replace Mr. Dillon as chair of the Audit Committee, effective as of
the Effective Time. Given Mr. Hilario's new responsibilities as Audit Committee
chair, effective as of the Effective Time, the Board elected Randall Friedman to
replace Mr. Hilario as Chair of the Compensation Committee and Haydee Ortiz
Olinger to replace Mr. Friedman as chair of the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee.
Mr. Dillon, 73, has served as a director of the Company since 2011. Mr. Dillon
has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aerospike, the world's first
flash-optimized database and the fastest database at scale, since January 2022
and served as CEO of Aerospike from January 2015 to January 2022. Prior to
joining Aerospike, Mr. Dillon served as CEO of Engine Yard, Inc., the leading
cloud platform for automating and developing Ruby on Rails and PHP applications,
from 2009 to 2014. He served as CEO for Navis, Inc., a private company
specializing in software systems for operating large marine container terminals
and distribution centers, from 2002 to 2008. Before Navis, he also served as CEO
for Salesforce.com and President and CEO of Hyperion Solutions. He began his
career as a Systems Engineer for EDS (Electronic Data Systems) and then moved
into a variety of sales management positions for various high-tech companies,
including Oracle Corporation. Mr. Dillon holds a Bachelor's degree in
Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from Golden Gate
University. He served on active duty in the nuclear submarine service for five
years before beginning his civilian career.
There is no arrangement or understanding between Mr. Dillon and any other person
pursuant to which Mr. Dillon has been appointed as interim Chief Executive
Officer. There are no family relationships between Mr. Dillon and any of the
Company's other directors or executive officers, and Mr. Dillon is not a party
to any transaction, or any proposed transaction, required to be disclosed
pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
In connection with Mr. Dillon's appointment as interim Chief Executive Officer,
the Company and Mr. Dillon entered into a letter agreement, dated April 24, 2023
(the "Interim CEO Agreement"). The Interim CEO Agreement provides for at-will
employment effective as of April 4, 2023 and entitles Mr. Dillon to the
following compensation and benefits:
· A base salary in the annualized amount of $600,000;
· Eligibility for a target annual bonus of $200,000, based on achievement of
certain financial and strategic objectives and subject to certain eligibility
criteria, pro-rated for the portion of the 2023 fiscal year for which Mr.
Dillon serves as interim Chief Executive Officer;
· Eligibility, subject to availability of sufficient shares under the Company's
2014 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated (the "Plan"), and approval
of the Compensation Committee of the Board, and on the terms (including vesting
terms) and subject to the conditions to be set forth in related award
agreements, for a one-time award under the Plan of (a) stock-settled,
service-based RSUs valued at $370,000 on the date of grant under a
Black-Scholes valuation model and (b) options to purchase Company common stock
valued at $370,000 on the date of grant under a Black-Scholes valuation; and
· Eligibility to participate in all employee benefit plans, policies and programs
of the Company applicable to senior executives, vacation time in accordance
with the Company's policies as in effect from time to time, and reimbursement
of reasonable and documented business, travel and entertainment expenses
incurred in the performance of Mr. Dillon's duties as interim Chief Executive
Officer in accordance with the Company's expense reimbursement policy.
In the Interim CEO Agreement, Mr. Dillon has agreed to provide at least 60 days'
notice prior to any resignation. Pursuant to the Interim CEO Agreement, Mr.
Dillon has agreed to enter into a Confidential Information and Intellectual
Property Agreement (the "CIIP Agreement") with the Company, attached as an
exhibit to the Interim CEO Agreement, which provides for certain
confidentiality, non-competition, non-solicitation and intellectual property
assignment covenants). In the event of a termination without cause or due to
death or disability before the payment of the annual bonus, Mr. Dillon will be
eligible for (i) a pro-rated bonus based on the portion of the period from the
Effective Date through December 31, 2023 for which Mr. Dillon was employed as
Chief Executive Officer, payable at the time that annual bonuses are paid to
other executives and based on a determination made by the Compensation Committee
as to whether certain financial performance metrics and performance criteria, if
any, were achieved and (ii) if the Company does not waive the non-competition
provisions in the CIIP Agreement, payment of 50% of his base salary for the
duration of the one-year non-competition period.
The foregoing summary of the Interim CEO Agreement is qualified in its entirety
by reference to the full text of the Interim CEO Agreement, which is filed
herewith as Exhibit 10.2 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits:
Exhibit Description
10.1 Separation Agreement and General Release, dated April 20, 2023,
between the Company and Bart C. Shuldman
10.2 Letter Agreement, dated April 24, 2023, between the Company and
John M. Dillon
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL
document)
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