The Restated Thoren Agreement also provides that we will indemnify Mr. Thoren for all acts or omissions and for any suits brought against him which relate to duties he performed in good faith for us.
Christopher J. Thome. As of March 7, 2022, we entered into an Employment Agreement, effective as of April 4, 2022 with Mr. Thome, our Vice President – Finance, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Thome’s agreement automatically renews such that it always has a one-year term remaining, unless we or Mr. Thome elect not to extend the term further, in which case the term will end on the first anniversary of the date on which notice of such election not to extend is given. If not terminated sooner, the agreement will end on the last day of the month in which Mr. Thome turns 65. Mr. Thome’s initial base salary rate pursuant to the agreement was $290,000 per year. The agreement also provides for us to make certain payments to Mr. Thome in the event we terminate his employment without cause or upon the occurrence of certain events relating to a change in control of the Company, as described under “Involuntary Termination” and “Termination Following a Change in Control” under the heading “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
In addition, if Mr. Thome’s employment with us is terminated for any reason, he will be subject to a covenant not to disclose to anyone our confidential information as well as a 12-month covenant not to compete with us and not to interfere in certain of our business relationships.
The agreement also provides that we will indemnify Mr. Thome for all acts or omissions and for any suits brought against him which relate to duties he performed in good faith for us.
Alan E. Smith. On July 30, 2007, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Smith, as subsequently amended on December 31, 2008. The agreement provides that Mr. Smith will receive an annual minimum base salary as well as other customary benefits. Mr. Smith’s agreement automatically renews such that it always has a one-year term remaining, unless we or Mr. Smith elect not to extend the term further, in which case the term will end on the first anniversary of the date on which notice of such election not to extend is given. If not terminated sooner, the agreement will end on the last day of the month in which Mr. Smith turns 65. Mr. Smith’s initial base salary rate pursuant to the agreement was $152,500.
Pursuant to our employment agreement with Mr. Smith, if his employment with us is terminated for any reason, he will be subject to an 18-month covenant not to compete with us, not to interfere in certain of our business relationships, and not to disclose to anyone our confidential information.
Our employment agreement with Mr. Smith also provides for us to make certain payments to him in the event we terminate his employment without cause as described below under “Involuntary Termination” under the heading “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
Our employment agreement with Mr. Smith provides that we will indemnify him for all acts or omissions and for any suits brought against him which relate to duties he performed in good faith for us.
Matthew J. Malone. We entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement (the “Restated Malone Agreement”) with Mr. Malone, effective as of February 5, 2025, which amended and restated the employment agreement between us and Mr. Malone dated as of June 1, 2021. Pursuant to the terms of the Restated Malone Agreement, Mr. Malone served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company effective February 5, 2025 through the close of business on June 9, 2025 (the “COO Period”). Effective June 10, 2025, Mr. Malone was employed as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (the “CEO Period”). The Restated Malone Agreement has a term of one-year and automatically renews such that it always has a one-year term remaining, unless we or Mr. Malone elect not to extend the term further, in which case the term will end on the first anniversary of the date on which notice of such election not to extend is given. If not terminated sooner, the Restated Malone Agreement will end on the last day of the month in which Mr. Malone turns 65. Mr. Malone’s initial annual base salary pursuant to the Restated Malone Agreement was $400,000 per year during the COO Period and is $480,000 per year during the CEO Period. The Restated Malone Agreement also provides for us to make certain payments to Mr. Malone in the event we terminate his employment without cause or upon the occurrence of certain events relating to a change in control of the Company, as described under “Involuntary Termination” and “Termination Following a Change in Control” under the heading “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
Pursuant to our the Restated Malone Agreement, if Mr. Malone’s employment with us is terminated for any reason, he will be subject to a covenant not to disclose to anyone our confidential information as well as a 12-month covenant not to compete with us and not to interfere in certain of our business relationships.
The Restated Malone Agreement also provides for us to make certain payments to Mr. Malone in the event we terminate his employment without cause as described below under “Involuntary Termination” under the heading “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
The Restated Malone Agreement also provides that we will indemnify Mr. Malone for all acts or omissions and for any suits brought against him which relate to duties he performed in good faith for us.
In addition, Mr. Malone was eligible to receive benefits under the Amended and Restated Performance Bonus Agreement (the “Performance Bonus Agreement”) during fiscal 2025. Mr. Malone will no longer qualify for benefits under the Performance Bonus Agreement during fiscal 2026 due to his appointment as our President and Chief Executive Officer. As part of our acquisition of Barber-Nichols, we entered into a contingent earn-out agreement dependent upon certain financial measures of Barber-Nichols post-acquisition. In the second quarter of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 (“fiscal year 2022"), upon the request of the former shareholders of Barber-Nichols, the earn-out agreement was terminated and replaced with the Performance Bonus Agreement. The Performance Bonus Agreement provides certain employees of Barber-Nichols, including Mr. Malone, with performance-based cash awards based on the achievement of Barber-Nichols performance objectives for fiscal years ending March 31, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The bonus pool can range between $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 per year and is distributed among those certain employees eligible to participate at the time the bonus payment is made by the Company based upon each employee’s base salary, impact to the organization and length of service.