EX-10.01:



 





Exhibit 10.1




December 9, 2004




Dear Kevin:




     DoubleClick Inc., a Delaware corporation (“DoubleClick” or “Company”),
desires to assure itself as to the continued focus of your services and to
avoid disruption to the Company while it explores and possibly implements
strategic alternatives. Accordingly, subject to the terms of this letter
agreement (this “Agreement”), DoubleClick desires to offer and pay to you the
retention bonuses and severance payments, if applicable, set forth below. All
capitalized terms shall have the meanings set forth on Schedule A.



Retention Payments




     In consideration for the terms of this Agreement and to provide you with
an additional incentive to remain with DoubleClick,



          (a) if you have remained continuously employed full-time by DoubleClick at
all times from the date of this Agreement through April 30, 2005 (the “First
Retention Period”), DoubleClick will pay you a retention bonus of $150,000 (the
“First Retention Payment”) in a lump sum within 30 days following the end of
the First Retention Period, subject to the provisions set forth below; and



          (b) if you have remained continuously employed full-time by DoubleClick at
all times from the date of this Agreement through January 31, 2006 (the “Second
Retention Period”), DoubleClick will pay you a retention bonus of $300,000 (the
“Second Retention Payment”) in a lump sum within 30 days following the end of
the Second Retention Period, subject to the provisions set forth below.



     Notwithstanding the foregoing, if prior to the end of the First Retention
Period and/or Second Retention Period, as the case may be, your employment with
DoubleClick is terminated by DoubleClick without Cause or by you for Good
Reason, DoubleClick shall pay to you the First Retention Payment and the Second
Retention Payment, if and to the extent they have not previously been paid to
you, in a lump sum within 30 days following the effective date of your
termination of employment (the “Termination Date”).



Severance Payments




     In addition to the retention payments discussed above, upon the
termination of your employment with DoubleClick under circumstances in which
you would be eligible to receive severance payments under the terms of the
DoubleClick Severance Plan as in effect on the date of this Agreement (the
“Severance Plan”), DoubleClick will pay you a severance payment equal to the
amount you are eligible to receive pursuant to the terms of the Severance Plan
plus the pro rata amount of your target bonus for the year in which your
employment is terminated, which shall be determined by multiplying your target
bonus for the year in which your employment is terminated by (A) the lesser of
(x) DoubleClick’s accrual rate for the bonus pool at the time of



 









 





the termination of your employment and (y) 100%, and (B) a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of days in the then current fiscal year
through the date of your termination and the denominator of which is 365.



Sabbatical Benefit




     In addition, if you are or become eligible to take a four-week paid
sabbatical pursuant to DoubleClick’s Employee Sabbatical Program during the
period from the date of this Agreement through the earlier of the Termination
Date or the Second Retention Period, DoubleClick may, at its option and in its
sole discretion, pay to you your sabbatical benefit equal to four-weeks’ salary
at your then current base rate of pay in lieu of permitting you to take such
four- week sabbatical leave.



Responsibilities




     As part of this Agreement, you agree to assist with and facilitate in a
constructive manner DoubleClick’s assessment and implementation of any
strategic alternatives DoubleClick may choose to pursue.



Taxes




     DoubleClick may withhold from any amounts payable hereunder any federal,
state, local or foreign taxes as shall be required to be withheld under
applicable law or regulation.



Assignment




     This Agreement binds DoubleClick, its successors or assigns.



At-Will Employment




     Nothing in this Agreement changes the at-will nature of your employment by
DoubleClick. No provision of this Agreement is intended to provide you with
any right to continue employment with DoubleClick or otherwise affect the right
of DoubleClick, which right is hereby expressly reserved, to terminate your
employment at any time for any reason, with or without Cause.



Non-Compete




     In consideration for DoubleClick entering into this Agreement and as a
member of DoubleClick’s management, you agree as follows:



     (1) Non-Solicitation. You hereby agree that during your employment and
for a period of one year from the Termination Date, you shall not solicit any
DoubleClick employee on behalf of another employer or encourage any DoubleClick
employee to leave DoubleClick. You also agree for a period of one year from
the Termination Date that you shall not solicit any DoubleClick account, on
your behalf or on behalf of any other individual or entity, for any purpose or
in any way competitive with the businesses of DoubleClick.



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     (2) Non-Competition. You agree that during your employment and for a
period of one year following the Termination Date, you shall not, as an
employee, agent, consultant, advisor, independent contractor, partner, officer,
director, stockholder, owner, co-venturer, principal, investor, lender, or
guarantor of any corporation, partnership, or other entity, or in any other
capacity, directly or indirectly: (a) engage in any business that is
competitive with any of the businesses of DoubleClick as they exist at the time
of this Agreement (a “Competitive Business”); (b) permit your name to be used
in connection with a Competitive Business; or (c) acquire any debt, equity, or
other ownership interest in any person or entity engaged in a Competitive
Business, except that you may own, in the aggregate, not more than one percent
(1%) of the outstanding shares of any publicly held corporation which is a
Competitive Business, which has shares listed for trading on a securities
exchange registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or through the
automatic quotation system of a registered securities association; provided,
however, that if the Termination Date occurs at any time after a Change in
Control, the covenants and restrictions contained in this subsection (2) shall
be applicable to you if, and only if, the Company pays the Restricted Payment
to you within two (2) weeks following the Termination Date. It shall be the
Company’s (or its successor in interest) sole option whether to pay the
Restricted Period Payment.



     (3) Remedies. If you breach any covenants made in this Agreement,
DoubleClick shall have a right to the return of all payments paid pursuant to
this Agreement. DoubleClick’s rights under this paragraph are without
prejudice to its other rights, including the right of DoubleClick to seek
preliminary and permanent injunctive relief in court to preclude any
irreparable harm arising out of a violation or threatened violation of this
agreement, and to seek an award of compensatory and/or exemplary damages
arising from any breaches of this Agreement.



     (4) Construction. Each of the clauses contained in this section of the
Agreement constitutes an entirely separate and independent covenant. If any
restriction is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent
jurisdiction, it is intended and understood by the parties that such invalidity
or unenforceability will not affect the remaining restrictions or the validity
of the rest of the Agreement. If any restriction contained in this section of
the Agreement is deemed to be unreasonable, overbroad or otherwise
unenforceable, the parties agree that the court should interpret the covenant
in such a way and with such modification as may be required to make such
covenant reasonable and enforceable over the greatest area and time permitted
by applicable law.



Release




     As a condition to your right to receive each payment payable to you under
this Agreement, you agree to execute and deliver to DoubleClick a release in
substantially the form attached as Annex A hereto prior to each such payment.
The parties agree that such form may be altered prior to signing, in order to:
(i) account for any changes in the law that would affect the enforceability of
the release; or (ii) include such additional provisions as may be reasonably
required to give effect to the parties’ intent that such release be a general
release of all claims by you.



General




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     This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement of the parties hereto in
respect of the subject matter contained herein and supersedes all prior
agreements, promises, covenants, arrangements, communications, representations
or warranties, whether oral or written, by any officer, employee or
representative of any party hereto in respect of the subject matter contained
herein; and any prior agreement of the parties hereto in respect of the subject
matter contained herein, including, without limitation, any prior retention or
severance agreement or any prior agreement providing for bonus payments in
connection with a change in control, is hereby terminated and cancelled. Your
outstanding options to purchase DoubleClick common stock shall remain subject
to the terms of the applicable stock option agreement and plan, and no
additional rights with respect to such options are conferred by this Agreement.
The laws of the State of New York (other than its conflict of laws provisions)
govern this Agreement. Each of DoubleClick and you hereby waives any right to
trial by jury in any proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement.



[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]




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     If you accept the terms of this Agreement, please sign below and return a
copy to Hillary B. Smith, Esq., DoubleClick Inc., 111 Eighth Avenue,
10th  Floor, New York, NY 10011, by no later than December 9, 2004. We
encourage you to consult with any advisors you choose.








Very truly yours,



DOUBLECLICK INC.




		
	By: 	/s/ Hillary Smith
	 	






Name: Hillary Smith

Title: Senior Vice President, General Counsel









I accept and agree to the terms set forth in this Agreement:





			
	/s/ Kevin P. Ryan	 	Dated: December 9, 2004
	

	 	 
	Kevin P. Ryan
	 	 







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Schedule A




     “Cause” means (i) your willful misconduct in connection with your
employment or your failure to perform the employment responsibilities assigned
to you or your responsibilities under this Agreement, which is not cured after
notice and a reasonable opportunity (not to exceed 20 days) to cure, (ii) your
conviction of, or your entry of a pleading of guilty or nolo contendere to, any
crime involving moral turpitude or any felony, (iii) your breach of any
confidentiality agreement with DoubleClick or any significant violation of
DoubleClick employee policies, including its code of ethics.



     “Change in Control” means the later of (i) the acquisition by any person,
corporation or other entity of all or substantially all of DoubleClick’s
TechSolutions business segment and (ii) the acquisition by any person,
corporation or other entity of all or substantially all of DoubleClick’s Data
business segment; in each case whether by sale of assets, merger or otherwise.



     “Good Reason” means (i) a material reduction in your annual base salary as
in effect on the date of this Agreement, or (ii) a change in the location at
which you perform your principal duties for DoubleClick to a new location more
than 30 miles from the location at which you performed your principal duties
for DoubleClick on the date of this Agreement.



     “Restricted Period Payment” shall mean a lump sum payment, less applicable
withholdings, paid to you within the two (2) week period following the
Termination Date, equal to one year of your base salary and one hundred percent
(100%) of your target bonus. The base salary and bonus shall be calculated
using the greater of: (i) your base salary and target bonus effective on the
Termination Date; or (ii) your base salary and target bonus in effect on the
day prior to the closing of the Change in Control. The Restricted Period
Payment shall be exclusive of any other severance or post termination benefits
and thus shall not be considered in determining the amount of the Restricted
Period Payment.



 









 





Annex A




Release




     The undersigned and DoubleClick Inc., a Delaware corporation
(“DoubleClick”), have entered into a retention agreement dated December 9, 2004
(the “Retention Agreement”). Pursuant to the Retention Agreement, the
undersigned is entitled under certain circumstances to retention payments and
severance payments. However, as a condition to the undersigned’s receipt of
such payment, the undersigned is required to deliver this release (the
“Release”) to DoubleClick. The undersigned therefore agrees as follows:



     (1) The undersigned hereby fully, forever, irrevocably and unconditionally
releases and discharges DoubleClick, its directors, officers, stockholders,
affiliated entities, agents, employees and representatives (the “Released
Parties”), from any and all claims, rights, demands, debts, damages, causes of
action, agreements, promises, liabilities, obligations and expenses (“Claims”),
of every kind and nature, whether arising from any act, omission,
misrepresentation or otherwise, and whether based on any federal, state or
other law or right of action at law or in equity, and whether foreseen or
unforeseen, matured or unmatured, known or unknown, that the undersigned ever
had or now has against any and all of the Released Parties, including, without
limitation, (a) all Claims for any acts that violated or may have violated my
rights under any contract, tort, or other common law, any federal, state, or
local fair employment practices or civil rights law or regulation, any employee
relations statute, executive order, law, regulation, or ordinance, any workers
compensation law, or any other duty or obligation of any kind, including but
not limited to rights created by 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(“ADEA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Family and Medical
Leave Act (“FMLA”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A, the New
York Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law § 290 et seq., the New York Civil Rights
Law, N.Y. Civ. Rights Law § 79-e et seq., the New York Equal Rights Law, N.Y.
Civ. Rights Law § 40c et seq., N.Y. Civ. Rights Law § 47 et seq. (New York
rights of persons with disabilities law), N.Y. Lab. Law § 194 et seq. (New York
equal pay law), N.Y. Lab. Law § 740 (New York whistleblower protection law),
all as amended, and all other federal, state, and local laws prohibiting
employment discrimination of whatever kind or nature; (b) all liability for any
Claims whatsoever which were or may have been alleged against or imputed to
DoubleClick by me or anyone acting on my behalf; and (c) all Claims for
attorneys’ fees, costs, or disbursements; provided, that, nothing in this
paragraph (i) shall release or discharge any Claim (w) for salary, personal,
sick or vacation time or other benefits accrued and unpaid through the date of
this Release, (x) for stock options granted to the undersigned with the
specific approval of DoubleClick’s Board of Directors, (y) arising out of facts
or circumstances occurring after the date of this Release, or (z) relating to
the enforcement of the Retention Agreement; or (ii) prevents you from filing,
cooperating with, or participating in any proceeding before the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission or a state Fair Employment Practices Agency
(except that you acknowledge that you may not be able to recover any monetary
benefits in connection with any such claim, charge or proceeding).



     (2) The undersigned understands and agrees that he will not make any
false, disparaging or derogatory statements to any person or entity regarding
DoubleClick or any of its



 









 





directors, officers, stockholders, affiliated entities, agents, employees
or representatives or about DoubleClick’s business affairs or financial
condition.



     The undersigned acknowledges that the undersigned has 21 days to consider
this release (a period which the undersigned acknowledges may be waived) before
signing it and returning it. If the undersigned signs this release, the
undersigned has seven days after signing it to revoke this release and waiver
of claims under ADEA by notifying DoubleClick, in writing. The undersigned
understands that, in the event the undersigned revokes this release of claims
under ADEA, DoubleClick will be relieved of its obligation to pay to the
undersigned any retention or severance payments. Therefore, DoubleClick’s
obligation to pay to the undersigned any retention or severance payments will
take effect eight days after the undersigned returns this signed release
(assuming the undersigned does not exercise the undersigned’s right of
revocation).



     The laws of the State of New York (other than its conflict of laws
provisions) govern this Release. The undersigned hereby waives any right to
trial by jury in any proceeding arising out of or relating to this Release.



     The undersigned accepts and agrees to the terms set forth in this Release:






	
		
	
Kevin P. Ryan
	 	Dated:                      , 200  






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