Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain
Officers.
Retirement of Douglas Campbell as Chief Executive Officer and Director
On November 28, 2022, Douglas Campbell provided notice to Solid Power, Inc. (the
"Company") that he has decided to retire from his role as Chief Executive
Officer of the Company (the "CEO") and as a member of the Board of Directors
(the "Board"), effective as of November 29, 2022. Mr. Campbell's resignation was
not the result of any disagreement on matters relating to the Company's
operations, policies, or practices. The Company has reduced the size of its
Board to eight members and the total number of Class I directors to two members.
Appointment of David Jansen as Interim Chief Executive Officer
On November 29, 2022, the Company announced that David Jansen, the Company's
Chair and President, has been appointed Interim CEO, effective immediately.
Mr. Jansen will continue to serve as Chair of the Board and President.
In connection with Mr. Jansen's appointment as Interim CEO, the Company and
Mr. Jansen entered into an amendment to his Letter Agreement dated August 5,
2021, amending and restating his Participation Agreement under the Company's
Executive Change in Control and Severance Plan and agreeing to a new Restrictive
Covenant Agreement (the "Interim CEO Agreement"). Pursuant to the Interim CEO
Agreement, Mr. Jansen will receive an annual base salary of $432,000, and his
annual bonus opportunity will be determined based on his aggregate annual base
salary for the applicable fiscal year. Mr. Jansen is also eligible to receive a
transition award in the gross amount of $300,000, 50% of which will be paid in a
lump sum in cash and 50% will be paid in fully-vested shares of the Company's
common stock if Mr. Jansen remains employed through the date a permanent
successor to Mr. Campbell is appointed as the Company's chief executive officer
(the "Successor CEO") and Mr. Jansen assists in the transition of the Successor
CEO for a period of three months. The transition award will also vest if
Mr. Jansen remains employed (subject to the same termination protections set
forth in his amended and restated Participation Agreement) through the first
anniversary of his appointment as Interim CEO and no permanent chief executive
officer has been appointed as of such time. Pursuant to the new Restrictive
Covenant Agreement, Mr. Jansen agreed to reasonable and customary restrictive
covenants, including restrictions relating to non-competition and
non-solicitation of customers and employees for a period of 24 months following
the termination of his employment from the Company for any reason.
The foregoing description of the Interim CEO Agreement does not purport to be
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the
agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and incorporated
herein by reference.
Mr. Jansen, age 60, has served as the Company's President since February 2017
and as a member of the Board since March 2014 and was an advisor to the Company
since its inception. He has held various leadership roles, having previously
served as a Managing Partner of Murphree Colorado, a small business venture
capital fund, from 2002 to 2010. From 2005 to 2009, he served as the President
and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Distributed Sensor Systems, which
developed and manufactured remote sensors for intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance applications. He has also served on a variety of boards and has
been involved with helping startups from formation to exit. Mr. Jansen has a
B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona.
There is no arrangement or understanding with any person pursuant to which
Mr. Jansen was appointed as Interim CEO. There are no family relationships
between Mr. Jansen and any director or executive officer of the Company, and
Mr. Jansen is not a party to any transaction requiring disclosure under Item
404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Adoption of Retention Agreements
On November 29, 2022, the Company announced the adoption of retention agreements
(the "Retention Agreements") in respect of designated employees to assist the
Company with the retention of talent as it continues to execute on its long-term
strategic plan and undergoes the aforementioned executive officer transitions.
Pursuant to the Retention Agreements, Joshua Buettner-Garrett, Chief Technology
Officer, Derek Johnson, Chief Operating Officer, James Liebscher, Chief Legal
Officer and Secretary, and Kevin Paprzycki, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer, each are eligible to receive a retention bonus in a gross cash amount
equal to one times' the employee's annual base salary (the "Retention Bonus"),
subject to any and all required tax withholdings. The Retention Bonus will vest
100% on the first anniversary of the appointment of the Successor CEO, subject
to the employee's continuous employment with the Company. Vesting of the
Retention Bonus may accelerate in accordance with certain qualifying termination
scenarios.
The foregoing description of the Retention Agreements does not purport to be
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the
form of the Retention Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.2 hereto and
incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On November 29, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing
Mr. Campbell's retirement as the Company's CEO and the appointment of Mr. Jansen
as the Company's Interim CEO.
Such exhibit and the information set forth therein will not be deemed to be
filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise be subject to the liabilities of that
section, nor will it be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
See the Exhibit index below, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Exhibit
No. Description
10.1 Interim CEO Agreement, dated November 29, 2022.
10.2 Form of Retention Agreement, dated November 29, 2022.
99.1 Press Release, dated November 29, 2022.
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL
document).
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