Company: PFIS
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-021551
Chunk: 54

Company: PEOPLES FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP.
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 54
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 compensation committee approved time-vested restricted stock, which vests ratably over three years subject to the executive
officer’s continued employment by us.

We are a party to employment
agreements with certain of our named executive officers, which are described in the following sections. These employment agreements control
many aspects of the compensation of our named executive officers.

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Craig W. Best Employment Agreement

We have been a party to an
amended and restated employment agreement with our former chief executive officer, Craig W. Best, dated January 3, 2011, as amended
as of December 31, 2015 (the “Best Employment Agreement”).

The Best Employment Agreement
provides for an annual base salary, which is subject to annual review by the compensation committee. In 2024, Mr. Best’s annual
base salary remained the same at $472,420.

The Best Employment Agreement
also provided that Mr. Best was eligible to:

| ● | receive an annual cash incentive payment equal to a percentage of his base salary, which percentage will 
 be determined by the compensation committee from time to time;                                           |

| ● | participate in certain deferred compensation plans maintained by the Company; and |

| ● | participate in our long-term incentive equity-based compensation plans. |

Under the Best Employment
Agreement, the Company agreed to purchase and maintain a bank owned life insurance (“BOLI”) policy on the life of Mr. Best.
Any death benefit payable under the policy is payable to the Company, subject to a split-dollar arrangement that provided if Mr. Best
had died in active service to the Company, the Company would have paid his estate a portion of the death benefit. In addition, the Best
Employment Agreement provided that Mr. Best would be eligible for Company-paid term-life insurance coverage with a death benefit
of not less than two times Mr. Best’s base salary, as in effect from time to time, a portion of which may be satisfied by the
Company’s group term life insurance. The Company also agreed to provide Mr. Best with the use of an automobile, along with
reasonable insurance and maintenance costs, as well as reimbursement for country and dining club memberships and reasonable business expenses.

The Best Employment Agreement
contained customary confidentiality and restrictive covenant provisions. For a period of 12 months following termination of employment
for any reason, Mr. Best agreed that he will not: (1) solicit customers, potential customers or suppliers for or on