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| HPOL > SEC Filings for HPOL > Form 8-K on 17-Dec-2008 | All Recent SEC Filings |
17-Dec-2008
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Costs Associated with Exit or
• Alix's agreement to provide other consulting assistance to the Company at hourly rates dependent upon the particular consultant involved
• payment by the Company of a retainer to Alix, refundable to the extent not earned
• agreement of Alix to preserve the confidentiality of non-public confidential and proprietary information received in the course of the engagement
• preservation of intellectual property rights of Alix in its methodologies, processes, and the like, and ownership by the Company of work product created specifically for the Company
• agreement of the Company to provide specified insurance and to indemnify Alix under specified circumstances
• ability of Alix or the Company to terminate the arrangement at will
• limitation of Alix liability
• arbitration of disputes
A copy of the agreement between the Company and Alix is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.1.
The Company will file an amended Form 8-K if it determines that there are
material changes to any of the estimates noted above. The Company continuously
reviews its operations and cost structure, including its seasonal cycles, and
while it does not have any specific commitments to do so at this time, may
pursue additional workforce and leased space reductions in the future.
Section 5 - Corporate Governance and Management
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain
Officers.
Departure of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and
Secretary of the Company, Ronald E. Salluzzo:
On December 16, 2008, the Company and Ronald E. Salluzzo, Executive Vice
President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Company,
agreed that Mr. Salluzzo will leave his positions with the Company effective
December 19, 2008 as part of the Company's strategic realignment initiatives.
Mr. Salluzzo's departure is not based on any disagreement with the Company's
accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosures or
otherwise. Mr. Salluzzo will receive payments provided under his existing
Employment Agreement, as previously amended, related to termination without
cause. Mr. Salluzzo's Employment Agreement and Amendment 1 to Employment
Agreement were filed as Exhibit 10.9 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2007 and Exhibit 10.5 to the
Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended
December 31, 2007, respectively.
Appointment of Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Company,
Deborah Rieger-Paganis:
Effective as of December 20, 2008, Deborah Rieger-Paganis has been appointed
interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company.
Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Rieger-Paganis, age 53, has served as a
Director at AlixPartners LLP, a global business advisory firm, since 2002.
Ms. Rieger-Paganis is a Certified Public Accountant whose areas of focus at Alix
have been, among others, financial performance and turnaround engagements for
both public and private companies.
Ms. Rieger-Paganis will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company
pursuant to the Alix Agreement described in Item 1.01 above. Pursuant to the
Alix Agreement, Alix will be compensated for Ms. Rieger-Paganis' time based on
an hourly rate. Ms. Rieger-Paganis will not receive any compensation directly
from the Company and will continue to be employed and compensated by Alix.
A copy of the Alix Agreement is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as
Exhibit 10.1.
Modification of Arrangements with Named Executive Officer, George H. Terhanian:
On December 16, 2008, the Company and George H. Terhanian entered into Amendment
2 (the "Amendment") to Dr. Terhanian's Employment Agreement, as previously
amended. Dr. Terhanian's Employment Agreement and Amendment 1 to Employment
Agreement were filed as Exhibit 10.4.34 to the Company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2007 and Exhibit 10.8 to the Company's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2008,
respectively. The material terms of the Amendment include:
• Change in Dr. Terhanian's title and duties from President, Harris
Interactive Europe and Global Internet Research to President, Global
Solutions
• Relocation of Dr. Terhanian from the United Kingdom to the United States approximately March 1, 2009, after which he will no longer be eligible for foreign currency exchange rate adjustments to his compensation
• Payment of Dr. Terhanian's relocation expenses for his move to the United States
• Change in the list of "good reasons" for voluntary termination by Dr. Terhanian with severance to add failure of the Compensation Committee of the Board to grant 100,000 non-qualified options at fair market value to Dr. Terhanian on the Company's regular quarterly grant date in February, 2009
A copy of the Amendment is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as
Exhibit 10.2.
Modification to Bonus Plan for President and Chief Executive Officer, Kimberly
Till
The Employment Agreement dated October 21, 2008 between the Company and Kimberly
Till, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, provided that bonus
targets for fiscal 2009 would be established by the Compensation Committee of
the Board of Directors of the Company within approximately 30 days after the
date of the Employment Agreement. On December 16, 2008 the Compensation
Committee determined that Ms. Till's bonus for fiscal 2009 will be based upon
achievement, in the discretion of the Committee, of management objectives
related to strategy, cost reduction, banking relationships, client relationships
and development, organization structure, and technology.
Modification to Bonus Plans
On December 16, 2008, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of
the Company approved modifications to the Company's Corporate Bonus Plan and
Business Unit Bonus Plan. The terms of those plans were filed as Exhibit 10.4.59
to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30,
2008. The modifications affect arrangements with named executive officers, David
B. Vaden, President, North America and Global Operations and George H.
Terhanian, President, Global Solutions, each of whom participates in the
Business Unit Bonus Plan.
The Corporate Bonus Plan previously provided for payouts based upon achievement
of levels of "Adjusted EBITDA" (EBITDA adjusted to remove the effect of non-cash
stock-based compensation expense). In order for a participant to achieve his/her
full personal target bonus, Adjusted EBITDA would have to have been 128% greater
than budget. Absent any discretionary allocation, 66% of the targeted bonus pool
was payable if performance was equal to budget. Pursuant to the plan as
modified, full personal target bonus will be payable if performance is equal to
budget, and amounts in excess of target may be paid for achievement of Adjusted
EBITDA above target levels. The Corporate Bonus Plan previously provided that
absent a discretionary allocation no bonus is payable if performance is less
than 96% of budget. The modified plan lowers the minimum threshold for bonus
payments to 90% of budget. In addition, the fiscal 2009 retention modifier
feature of the plan has been eliminated.
Under the Business Unit Bonus Plan, individual metrics are established for each
participant. In general, 25% of each executive officer participant's bonus is
determined based upon Company-wide operating profit, 65% of bonus is earned
based upon operating profit for the particular business unit with which the
participant is associated, and 10% of the bonus is based upon evaluation of
performance against individual management objectives. Within the Business Unit
Bonus Plan, bonuses may be increased or decreased by set percentages based upon
client satisfaction scores for the business unit with which a particular officer
is associated. The Business Unit Bonus Plan, as modified, provides that with
respect to both the 25% and 65% portions of the bonus, 100% payouts would occur
upon achievement of budgeted operating profit instead of targeted profit, with a
minimum threshold of 80% of budgeted operating profit for receipt of the
respective portion of the bonus. Amounts in excess of target may be paid for
achievement of operating profit above target levels. In addition, the fiscal
2009 retention modifier feature of the plan has been eliminated.
A description of the modified terms of the Corporate Bonus Plan and the Business
Unit Bonus Plan is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.3.
Section 7 - Regulation FD
Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
On December 17, 2008, the Company issued a press release announcing the
management changes described above. A copy of the press release is attached
hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference herein.
Section 9 - Financial Statements and Exhibits
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits.
Exhibit 10.1 Agreement dated December 16, 2008 between the Company and Alix
Partners LLP
Exhibit 10.2 Employment Agreement Amendment 2 dated December 16, 2008 between the
Company and George H. Terhanian
Exhibit 10.3 Description of amended terms of Corporate Bonus Plan and Business
Unit Bonus Plan
Exhibit 99.1 Press Release issued by the Company on December 17, 2008
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The discussion in this Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in
this Form 8-K that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including
statements regarding expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding
the future. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based
on the information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company
assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Actual
results could differ materially from the results discussed herein. Factors that
might cause or contribute to such differences include but are not limited to,
those discussed in the Risk Factors section set forth in reports or documents
the Company files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), such as the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, filed on September 15, 2008. In addition,
general market factors and economic trends, such as interest rates, the U.S. and
world economy, the financial stability of world markets and the financial
condition and outlook of the Company's customers and potential customers should
also be considered. The Risk Factors set forth in other reports or documents the
Company files from time to time with the SEC should also be reviewed.
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