Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;


           Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Agreements of Certain
           Officers.

On August 24, 2020, Avient Corporation (the "Company") announced that Jamie A. Beggs has been named as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective today. Ms. Beggs will act as the Company's principal financial officer and principal accounting officer.

Bradley C. Richardson intends to retire from his position as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective August 24, but will stay with the Company for a period of time to ensure a seamless transition with Ms. Beggs.

Ms. Beggs previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., one of the largest privately-held companies in the U.S. and a diversified holding company for a group of businesses in several industries, including oil and gas exploration and production, refining, liquefied natural gas, power, real estate, investments, ranching and infrastructure, from 2017 through 2020. She served as Vice President and Treasurer at Celanese Corporation, a global technology leader in the production of specialty materials and chemical products, from 2015 to 2017. Prior to serving as Vice President and Treasurer at Celanese, Ms. Beggs worked in a variety of financial and business positions at Celanese from 2007 to 2015 and with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board from 2005 to 2007. She started her career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP in 1999. Ms. Beggs is 44 years old.

Ms. Beggs will be entitled to receive the following compensation in connection with her service as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of the Company:





  •   an initial base salary of $525,000 per year;




     •    participation in the Company's Annual Incentive Plan with payment based
          on the achievement of performance goals established by the Compensation
          Committee of the Board of Directors;




     •    reimbursement for expenses of up to $10,000 per year for financial
          planning and tax preparation; and




     •    participation in the Company's other standard benefit programs, including
          the long-term incentive plan.

Ms. Beggs will also receive a grant of 40,000 restricted stock units ("RSUs"). The terms and conditions of the RSUs shall be (i) in all respects in accordance with the provisions of the PolyOne Corporation 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan, and (ii) in accordance, in all material respects, with the specific terms and conditions approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors for the grants of RSUs made on February 10, 2020. The Company will enter into its standard award agreement with Ms. Beggs with respect to the RSUs.

In addition, if (i) Ms. Beggs's employment is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in the Company's Amended and Restated Executive Severance Plan (the "Executive Severance Plan"), which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014), (ii) such termination is not following a change in control of the Company entitling Ms. Beggs to benefits under the Continuity Agreement (as defined below), and (iii) Ms. Beggs agrees to standard non-compete and non-solicitation covenants for a period of two years following the date of termination, Ms. Beggs will be entitled to:





  •   two years of salary continuation;




     •    a pro-rated annual incentive amount as earned for the year in which the
          termination of employment occurs; and

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• two years of continuation in the Company's medical and dental plans.

Ms. Beggs will also enter into a Management Continuity Agreement (the "Continuity Agreement"), substantially in the form of the Form of Management Continuity Agreement that was filed as Exhibit 10.12 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. The Continuity Agreement will provide for a severance payment and other benefits if Ms. Beggs's employment is terminated by the Company for any reason other than for cause or by Ms. Beggs with good reason within 24 months after a change in control of the Company, as set forth in more detail in the Continuity Agreement. Ms. Beggs will also execute the Company's standard employee agreement, containing certain confidentiality, non-competition and non-solicitation covenants, and the Company's standard indemnification agreement for directors and officers and will agree to be bound by the Company's Code of Conduct and the Company's Code of Ethics for senior financial officers.

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