EX-10.3






Exhibit 10.3




NON-QUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT



(Time-Based Vesting)




     THIS AGREEMENT, entered into as of October 21, 2008 (the “Grant Date”), is made by and between
Kimberly Till (the “Participant”) and Harris Interactive Inc. (the “Company”) This Agreement is
made in connection with the Employment Agreement (defined below).



     The Company maintains the Harris Interactive Inc. 2007 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”),
which is incorporated into and forms a part of this Agreement, and the Participant has been
selected by the committee administering the Plan (the “Committee”) to receive a Non-Qualified Stock
Option Award under the Plan.



     IT IS AGREED, by and between the Company and the Participant, as follows:



     1. Terms of Award. The following terms used in this Agreement shall have the meanings
set forth in this Section 1:



     (a) The number of “Covered Shares” shall be 900,000 shares of Stock.



     (b) The “Initial Exercise Date” is October 21, 2009.



     (c) The
“Exercise Price” is $1.12 per share.



     (d) The “Stock” shall be par value $.001 shares of common stock of the Company.


Other terms used in this Agreement are defined in Section 9 and elsewhere in this Agreement.




     2. Award and Exercise Price. The Participant is hereby granted an option (the
“Option”) to purchase the number of Covered Shares of Stock at the Exercise Price per share as set
forth in Section 1. The Option is not intended to qualify as an incentive stock option as defined
in Section 422(b) of the Code.



     3. Date of Exercise.



     (a) The rights with respect to this Option shall vest and become exercisable with respect to:




(i) 225,000 of the Covered Shares as of the Initial Exercise Date, and




(ii) 18,750 of the Covered Shares as of the 21st day of each month thereafter,
commencing November 21, 2009 and continuing through and including October 21, 2012
(for an aggregate total of 675,000 Covered Shares);


provided, however, that to the extent that the Option has not vested and become exercisable on or
before the Participant’s Date of Termination (for any reason), such Option shall no longer




1









 




become exercisable in accordance with the foregoing schedule as of any date subsequent to the
Participant’s Date of Termination except as provided in Section 3(b) with respect to a Change in
Control. Vesting under this schedule is cumulative, and after the Option becomes exercisable under
the schedule with respect to any portion of the Covered Shares, it shall continue to be exercisable
with respect to that portion, and only that portion, of the Covered Shares until the Expiration
Date (described in Section 4 below), subject, however, to Section 4.15 of the Plan.




     (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3(a), the Option shall become fully vested and
immediately exercisable with respect to all of the Covered Shares, whether or not previously
vested, upon the occurrence of a Change in Control (as defined in the Employment Agreement) if
either (i) Participant’s date of Termination occurred in contemplation of such Change in Control,
and her termination was without Cause (as defined in the Employment Agreement) or termination was
by her with Good Reason (as defined in the Employment Agreement), or (ii) no Date of Termination of
Participant has yet occurred.



     4. Expiration. The Option, to the extent not theretofore exercised, shall not be
exercisable on or after the Expiration Date. The “Expiration Date” shall be earliest to occur of:



     (a) the ten-year anniversary of the Grant Date;



     (b) material breach by Participant of her obligations under Section 5.2 of the Employment
Agreement (or any successor section(s) dealing with the same subject matter) subject to any rights
to notice and cure provided therein (including but not limited to Section 5.4 thereof);



     (c) the one-year anniversary of such Date of Termination if the Participant’s Date of
Termination occurs by reason of Disability or death;



     (d) six months after the Date of Termination if the Participant’s Date of Termination occurs
for reasons other than death or Disability; provided, however, if a Date of Termination has
occurred prior to and in contemplation of a Change in Control as provided in Section 3(b), six
months after the date of the Change in Control; and



     (e) the occurrence of the circumstances set forth in Section 4.15(c) and (d) of the Plan.


In the event of the Participant’s death while in the employ of the Company, the Participant’s
executors or administrators (or the person or persons to whom the Participant’s rights under the
Option shall have passed by the Participant’s will or by the laws of descent and distribution) may
exercise, any unexercised portion of the Option to the extent such exercise is otherwise permitted
by this Agreement.




     Any Option exercised subsequent to the Participant’s Date of Termination as permitted
hereunder shall be exercisable only to the extent vested and exercisable in accordance with the
terms of Section 3.



2









 





     5. Method of Option Exercise. The Option may be exercised in whole or in part by
filing a written notice with, and which must be received by, the Secretary of the Company (or if
the Participant is then the Secretary, by the Chief Financial Officer, of the Company at its
corporate headquarters on or prior to the Expiration Date. Such notice shall (i) specify the
number of shares of Stock which the Participant elects to purchase; provided, however, that not
less than one hundred (100) shares of Stock may be purchased at any one time unless the number
purchased is the total number of shares available for purchase at that time under the Option, and
(ii) be accompanied by payment of the Exercise Price for such shares of Stock indicated by the
Participant’s election. Payment of the Exercise Price shall be (i) by cash or by check payable to
the Company, (ii) by delivery of shares of Stock or the withholding of shares otherwise issuable
upon exercise of the Option, in each case having an aggregate Fair Market Value (valued as of the
date of exercise) that is equal to the amount of cash that would otherwise be required, or (iii)
the Participant authorizing and directing a third party to sell shares of Stock (or a sufficient
portion of the shares) acquired upon exercise of the Option and to remit to the Company a
sufficient portion of the sale proceeds to pay the entire Exercise Price.



     6. Withholding. All distributions under this Agreement are subject to withholding of
all applicable taxes. The Company may require the recipient to remit to the Company an amount
sufficient to satisfy any Federal, state and local tax withholding requirements prior to the
delivery of any certificate for shares of Stock, or, at the request of the recipient, the Company
shall withhold from the shares to be delivered shares sufficient to satisfy all or a portion of
such tax withholding requirements.



     7. Transferability. The Option is not transferable other than as designated by the
Participant by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and during the Participant’s life,
may be exercised only by the Participant or the Participant’s legal guardian or legal
representative. However, the Participant, with the approval of the Committee, may transfer the
Option for no consideration to or for the benefit of the Participant’s Immediate Family (including,
without limitation, to a trust for the benefit of the Participant or the Participant’s Immediate
Family or to a partnership or limited liability company for the exclusive benefit of the
Participant or one or more members of the Participant’s Immediate Family), subject to such limits
as the Committee may establish, and the transferee shall remain subject to all the terms and
conditions applicable to the Option prior to such transfer. The foregoing right to transfer Option
shall apply to the right to consent to amendments to this Agreement and, in the discretion of the
Committee, shall also apply to the right to transfer ancillary rights associated with the Option.



     8. Limitation of Implied Rights.



     (a) Neither a Participant nor any other person shall, by reason of this Agreement, acquire any
right in or title to any assets, funds or property of the Company whatsoever, including, without
limitation, any specific funds, assets, or other property which the Company, in its sole
discretion, may set aside in anticipation of a liability hereunder. A Participant shall have only
a contractual right to the Stock to the extent provided herein, unsecured by any assets of the
Company. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a guarantee that the assets of the Company
shall be sufficient to pay any benefits to any person.



3









 





     (b) This Agreement does not constitute a contract of employment, and does not give Participant
any right to be retained in the employ of the Company, nor any right or claim to any benefit
hereunder, unless such right or claim has specifically accrued under the terms of this Agreement.
The Option hereunder does not confer upon the Participant any right as a stockholder of the Company
prior to the date on which the Participant exercises the Option in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement.



     10. Definitions. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this Agreement shall have
the meanings given to them in the Plan, and to the extent not inconsistent therewith and herewith,
shall have the meanings given to them in the Employment Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement,
the terms listed below shall be defined as follows:



     (a) “Date of Termination” shall be the first day occurring on or after the Grant Date on which
the Participant’s employment with the Company terminates for any reason; provided, however, that
the Participant’s employment shall not be considered terminated while the Participant is on a leave
of absence from the Company approved by the Committee.



     (b) “Employment Agreement” shall be the Employment Agreement between the Company and the
Participant effective October 21, 2008, as the same may be modified, extended, restated, or
replaced from time to time.



     11. Heirs and Successors. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure to the
benefit of, the Company and its successors and assigns, and upon any person or entity acquiring,
whether by merger, consolidation, purchase of assets or otherwise, all or substantially all of the
Company’s assets and business. In the event of the Participant’s death prior to exercise of this
Award, the Award may be exercised by the estate of the Participant to the extent such exercise is
otherwise permitted by this Agreement. Subject to the terms of the Plan, any benefits
distributable to the Participant under this Agreement that are not paid at the time of the
Participant’s death shall be paid at the time and in the form determined in accordance with the
provisions of this Agreement and the Plan, to the beneficiary designated by the Participant in
writing filed with the Committee in such form and at such time as the Committee shall require. If
a deceased Participant fails to designate a beneficiary, or if the designated beneficiary of the
deceased Participant dies before the Participant or before complete payment of the amounts
distributable under this Agreement, the amounts to be paid under this Agreement shall be paid to
the legal representative or representatives of the estate of the last to die of the Participant and
the beneficiary. Neither the benefits or obligations under this Agreement may be transferred or
assigned by Participant except as otherwise expressly provided herein or in the Plan.



     12. Administration; Application of Plan.



     (a) The authority to manage and control the operation and administration of this Agreement
shall be vested in the Committee, and the Committee shall have all powers with respect to this
Agreement as it has with respect to the Plan. Subject to subsection (b) below, any interpretation
of the Agreement by the Committee and any decision made by it with respect to the Agreement in good
faith is final and binding.



4









 





     (b) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, (i) the terms of this
Agreement shall be subject to the terms of the Plan, a copy of which may be obtained by the
Participant from the office of the Secretary of the Company, and (ii) any determination as to
whether Cause, Good Reason, or Disability exists shall be made under the terms of the Employment
Agreement.



     (c) Acting within the authority vested in it by the Plan, the Committee hereby agrees:



          (i) options that have not been assumed, continued, or substituted, and that remain
outstanding, shall not terminate pursuant to Section 4.15(c) of the Plan unless at least five (5)
days notice (which may be telephonic or electronic) of the termination date (which may be
contingent) has been given to the Participant prior to the effective time of the applicable
Corporate Transaction, and




          (ii) no change shall be made in terms pursuant to Section 4.2(c) of the Plan that may provide
the Participant with a direct or indirect reduction of the Exercise Price within the meaning of
Section 409A of the Code.




     13. Amendment. This Agreement may be amended by written Agreement of the Participant
and the Company, without the consent of any other person.



     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Participant has executed this Agreement, and the Company has caused
these presents to be executed in its name and on its behalf, all as of the Grant Date.



[Signature Pages Follow]




5









 





Participant




	 	 	 
	/s/ Kimberly Till
 

      KIMBERLY TILL

	 	 






6









 





HARRIS INTERACTIVE INC.




	 	 	 	 	 
	By: 

Title:

	 	/s/ George Bell
 

Chairman of the Board
	 	 







7