Executive employment agreements and equity arrangements are the “golden keys” that unlock “golden handcuffs”. Signing bonuses serve as the key to open the door to hiring. Vesting options, bonuses and other “golden handcuff” benefits make executives more reluctant to leave their current position for a new one. However, signing bonuses are often used as a tool of persuasion – urging an executive to sign with a new company. Signing bonuses are crucial when accompanying a job offer that has a lower salary than an executive wants.

CEO, Maria Leone* sought out the counsel of Attorney Robert Adelson who helped her negotiate an increased signing bonus with a new firm that expressed interest in hiring her. Maria Leone was currently working as a CEO at a NY ad agency where she made a comfortable salary with foreseeable bonuses and vesting options, however when a young, rising agency (we will call Marketing X*) expressed interest with a higher salary Maria grew interested. Since the Marketing X was still young, and the salary the company was offering was not substantially higher Maria wanted to explore her options and negotiate her executive contract terms.

On May 28, 2019, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “Negotiating Your COO Employment Agreement” The magazine advised me that I can use “Featured in the CEOWOLRD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website.
 
This article is designed for Chief Operating Officers (COOs) hired to oversee all areas of company operations, including production, marketing and sales, and research and development.  My article also recognizes that a COO can also be hired for further specific missions including any of the following:

• To fill a specific need in an operational area or line of business, e.g. to turnaround a failing operation,
• To expand company operations into a new market,
• To fill a gap in the CEO’s knowledge, expertise, skills, management style or experience, and thus complement the CEO,
• To meet the company need for succession planning when the CEO is about to retire where the Board wants to hire a COO to prepare him or her to be the successor CEO
• Conversely, to hire the COO to mentor a first-time founder-CEO where  the COO would likely be an industry veteran with wisdom and a business relationship network who can develop both the CEO and assist the scale up of the company to the next level or to achieve a liquidity event, or
• To hire the COO to mentor an inexperienced family-member CEO to aid that family member to grow into the job and responsibilities expected of him or her.

My article discusses delineation of your duties, responsibilities, authority and reporting and including in those special circumstances listed above.  My article also offers suggestions for your COO offer letter or employment contract to include key executive employment terms on which you rely to take the job.

My article next discusses what to seek in getting the right COO Executive Compensation Package, and concludes with a discussion of severance rights to enable you to protect the terms of your bargain reached with the company.

To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK:  https://ceoworld.biz/2019/05/28/negotiating-your-coo-employment-agreement/
Or my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/negotiating-your-coo-employment-agreement/
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With more than 12.4+ million-page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.

With the editor’s email to me of May 28, 2019, advising me of publication, I was also advised that I can add CEOWORLD magazine in my LinkedIn profile’s “Experience Section” as an “Opinion Columnist.”  See https://ceoworld.biz/author/robert-adelson/

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to senior executives in technology, life sciences and other fields and industries, who are being recruited and have now, or anticipate soon receiving, an attractive offer to serve as COO, the chief operating officer with need to review the job offer or executive employment contract including special circumstances included in the position. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at radelson@engelschultz.com.

This article is designed for CEOs, CMOs, CSOs, CTOs and other C-suite and senior executives in technology and life sciences, who are being recruited and have now, or anticipate soon receiving, an attractive offer to move on, yet are also critical to their current company, where your current company might provide a significant retention package for you to stay.

This frequently occurs when the company is “in play”.  However, besides this change of control situation, my article discusses a number of other circumstances where executive retention negotiations occur, including where:

• The company is nearing a critical milestone, necessary for a funding round,
• The company is planning its IPO and needs an executive lockup,
• The executive has close relationships with key accounts and the company fears a significant loss of business,
• The executive has close relationships with key management and performers in the company and fears a significant attrition,
• The executive as an inventor, innovator and technologist has a critical role in product creation, maintenance or development, or
• The executive has achieved a level of notoriety such that his or her loss could have a negative impact on perception of the company within the customer or business community where the company operates.

My article also discusses how to raise the issue of executive retention, how to negotiate and frame the executive retention package as a mutually beneficial “win-win” for the executive and the company, and finally the key terms to seek in your executive retention agreement.

To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to LINK:  https://ceoworld.biz/2019/04/26/negotiating-executive-retention-agreement-terms-to-protect-your-interests/
Or on my website https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/executive-retention-agreement/
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With more than 12.4+ million-page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to CEOs, CMOs, CSOs, CTOs and other C-suite and senior executives in technology and life sciences, who are being recruited and have now, or anticipate soon receiving, an attractive offer to move on, yet are also critical to their current company, where the current company might provide a significant retention package for the executive to stay.   If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at radelson@engelschultz.com.

Robert A. Adelson, Esq. is a business and tax attorney, and partner in the firm Engel & Schultz LLP in Boston, MA.  He has an advanced LLM degree in the law of Taxation from NYU and has for more than 20 years represented CEOs, C-Suite and senior executives across the country in issues of senior executive employment including terms of equity, executive compensation package, severance agreement, change of control, restrictive covenants and other key executive issues. 

On December 29, 2018, CEOWorld magazine published an article I wrote on “Essential Employment Contract Terms for Medical Device and Biotechnology Executives”    The magazine advised me that I can use “Featured in the CEOWOLRD magazine” and the CEOWORLD “Logo” on my website. 
This article was designed for CEOs and other C-Suite, VPs or other senior executives in Medical Device, Biotechnology and other life science companies who, when negotiating a new job offer or employment contract or terms of executive compensation, need to give attention to essential employment terms in these fast growing and changing industries.

​My article indicates how in these negotiations, the executive should seek key executive employment terms in the following important areas:

• Signing bonus to at least make you whole for anything you are giving up,
• Performance targets geared to your type and stage of life science company and its exit goals,
• Equity in scope and form matched to your position, stage of company and potential tax issues
• Relocation and other expenses (e.g. maintaining your M.D. license) again to keep you whole when you change companies.

The article also discusses executive severance terms and triggers for your protection in case changes necessitate you to change companies in the future.
To see my full CEOWorld magazine. article, go to

LINK:  https://ceoworld.biz/2018/12/29/essential-employment-contract-terms-for-medical-device-and-biotechnology-executives/
Or on my website
https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/essential-employment-contract-terms-for-medical-device-and-biotechnology-executives/
With more than 12.4+ million page views, CEOWORLD magazine is the world’s leading business magazine written strictly for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, senior management executives, business leaders, and high net worth individuals worldwide.

It is my hope that this article will be helpful to CEOs and other senior executives in the medical device, biotechnology or other life science industries who are negotiating new executive job offers, employment contracts or executive compensation packages and should pay attention to the essential contract terms discussed in my article. If you or any colleague of yours has a need in this area, please do reach out to me at radelson@engelschultz.com.

You are a C-suite officer or senior executive and your company is "in play" and may be acquired.  How do you protect yourself  or even advance your position in the event of a "successful" acquisition and change in control of your company?
My article on this subject was published March 1, 2016 by CEOWorld magazine.
The article first discusses this situation faced by CEOs. COOs, CTOs, CMOs and other C-Suite and senior executives, then advocates self-assessment of your role and importance in the pre-deal and post deal environment, and finally the importance of establishing your role and rights in a retention / change of control agreement.
Among the key elements of that agreement are the following:

• Significant equity of the target company to the executive,
• Liquidity for the executive on the levels of liquidity offered owners
• Properly structured equity, tax favored for capital gain taxation
• Proper severance in the event of early termination after the acquisition
• The ability to trigger severance if the executive's position or responsibilities are reduced
• Proper structuring to avoid potential excise tax for parachute payments under IRC §280G.

To see my full article, go to LINK: http://ceoworld.biz/2016/03/01/change-of-control-agreements-a-quick-guide-for-ceos-cfos-and-other-senior-executi
or my website at https://www.executiveemploymentattorney.com/change-of-control-agreements-a-quick-guide-for-ceos-cfos-and-other-senior-executives/
If you or one of your colleagues is in a change of control situation, I am glad to assist.  Please do reach out to me at radelson@engelschultz.com.



Robert A. Adelson, Esq. is a corporate and tax attorney and partner at Engel & Schultz LLP, Boston, Massachusetts. He represents C-Level executives and key employees in negotiations over executive employment terms, equity, compensation, relocation, retention and separation agreements, severance packages, and where necessary suits over wrongful termination. 
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