Company: CERO
Filing Date: 2025-04-25
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001213900-25-035562
Chunk: 53

Company: CERO THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-25
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 53
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 the participant recognizes such ordinary income. the Company’s ability to realize the benefit of any tax deductions depends on the Company’s generation of taxable income as well as the requirement of reasonableness and the satisfaction of the Company’s tax reporting obligations. Compensation of Covered Employees.The ability of the Company to obtain a deduction for amounts paid under the Amended Plan could be limited by Section 162(m) of the Code. Section 162(m) of the Code limits the Company’s ability to deduct compensation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, paid during any year to a “covered employee” (within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code) in excess of $1 million. 26

Golden Parachute Payments.The ability of the Company (or the ability of one of its subsidiaries) to obtain a deduction for future payments under the Amended Plan could also be limited by the golden parachute rules of Section 280G of the Code, which prevent the deductibility of certain “excess parachute payments” made in connection with a change in control of an employer -corporation. New Plan Benefits and Historical Equity Awards The Compensation Committee has the discretion to grant awards under the Amended Plan and, therefore, it is not possible as of the date of this proxy statement to determine future awards that will be received by the Company’s executive officers or others under the Amended Plan. Please see the section entitled “ Executive Compensation — Overview of Executive Compensation Program — Equity Compensation Plan Information” for more information. The following table sets forth the number of stock options that have been granted under the Amended Plan to named executive officers and the other individuals and groups indicated since the inception of the Amended Plan.

| Name and Position                                                           |     |   Stock 
 Options |
| Chris Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman(1)                      |     | 264,471 |
| Andrew “Al” Kucharchuk, Chief Financial Officer                             |     |   5,000 |
| Kristen Pierce, Ph.D., Chief Development Officer                            |     |   2,659 |
| Brian G. Atwood, Former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman(2)             |     |  34,951 |
| Charles R. Carter, Former Chief Financial Officer(3)                        |     |       — |
| Daniel Corey, M.D., Former Chief Technology Officer(4)                      |     |       — |
| All current executive officers (three executive officers)                   |     | 272,130 |
| All former executive