Document:

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Emile Nuwaysir

 Exhibit 10.17 
 NimbleGen Systems LLC 
 505 S. Rosa Road 
 Madison, Wisconsin 53719 
 February 14, 2000 
 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 5170 Anton Drive 
 Apartment 1 
 Fitchburg, WI 53719 
 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir: 
 This letter will confirm our agreement with respect to your employment relationship with NimbleGen Systems LLC (the “Company”). We have agreed as follows:

 1. Employment Period. 
 (a)
Employment and Duties. Beginning 21 February, 2000, you will be employed by the Company on a full-time basis upon the terms and conditions herein set forth. During the term of your employment by the Company, you shall perform such duties
as are assigned to you from time to time by the Manager of the Company, and you agree to devote your best efforts and all of your business time, attention and skill to the business and affairs of the Company. 
 (b) Employment Compensation. During the first two years of the term of your employment, the Company will pay you a salary equal to Seventy
Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($72,500) per year, as may be increased from time to time by the Company. Beginning 21 February, 2002, and continuing for the term of your employment, the Company will pay you a salary equal to Eighty Thousand
Dollars ($80,000) per year, as may be increased from time to time by the Company. Your salary will be paid in arrears in substantially equal monthly installments, in accordance with the normal payroll practices of the Company. 
  

  Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

 Page 2 
   
 (c) Benefits and Vacation Pay. During the term of your employment with the Company, you will be entitled to two (2) weeks of paid
vacation per year, or such greater amount as the Company may from time to time establish. Except as otherwise required by law, you will not receive any employee benefits or perquisites from the Company, including, but not limited to, medical
insurance. 
 (d) Relocation Expenses. In order to ensure your comfortable relocation to Madison, the Company will provide
payment for reasonable moving expenses, including packing and transportation of household goods, not to exceed $ 2,000. 
 3. Equity.
Concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and in connection with your employment relationship with the Company, the Company is granting to you 10,000 Class A Units in accordance with that certain Grant Agreement of even
date herewith among you and the Company. 
 4. Obligations. In further consideration for the payments to be made and benefits to be provided to
you, you agree as follows: 
 (a) Nondisclosure. 
 (i) You will not, directly or indirectly, at any time during the term of your employment with the Company, or during the one-year period following
the termination of your employment with the Company, use for yourself or others, or disclose to others, any Confidential Information, whether or not conceived, developed, or perfected by you and no matter how it became known to you, unless
(a) you first secure written consent of the Company to such disclosure or use, (b) the same shall have lawfully become a matter of public knowledge other than by 

  Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

 Page 3 
   
 
your act or omission, or (c) you are ordered to disclose the same by a court of competent jurisdiction or are otherwise required to disclose the same by law, and
you promptly notify the Company of such disclosure. “Confidential Information” shall mean all information (whether or not in written form) which relates to the Company and which is not known to the public generally (absent your
disclosure), including, without limitation, any product offered or under development by the Company (including without limitation, any technical information, know-how, or manufacturing or engineering specifications, components or procedures) or any
other confidential information regarding the Company’s business (including, without limitation, confidential knowledge, operating instructions, competitive strategies, litigation files, customer lists, financial data, and personnel-related
information). Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Subsection 4(a)(i) shall not apply following the termination of your employment with the Company if your employment with the Company is terminated by the Company for any reason other than for Cause.

 (ii) You agree that upon the termination of your employment with the Company you will promptly surrender to the Company any
documents, materials, or computer or other electronic records containing any Confidential Information which are in your possession or under your control. 
 (iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, you agree that this Subsection 4(a) will not be construed to in any way limit the Company’s rights to protect 

  Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

 Page 4 
   
 
confidential information which constitutes trade secrets under applicable trade secrets law even after the one-year period (if applicable) stated above. 
 (b) Disclosure and Assignment of Inventions. You agree to disclose promptly and fully to the Company all inventions, improvements or
discoveries made or conceived by you, solely or jointly with others, at any time during the term of your employment by the Company, whether or not developed on your own time or with the Company’s resources. All right, title and interest in and
to such inventions, improvements and discoveries will belong exclusively to the Company, and you agree to execute and deliver whatever documentation may be requested by the Company to confirm such ownership. You also agree to assist the Company
during the term of your employment by the Company in every way (at the Company’s expense, including reimbursement for lost wages) (i) to obtain patents for such inventions in any and all countries, and (ii) in any controversy or legal
proceeding relating to such inventions, improvements or discoveries, or to the patents resulting therefrom. 
 (c) Nonsolicitation of
Employees. You will not, directly or indirectly, at any time during the term of your employment by the Company, or during the one-year period following the termination of your employment by the Company, induce, solicit, entice or procure any
person now employed or hereafter employed during the term of your employment by the Company to leave such employment so as to accept employment elsewhere. 
 (d) Injunction. You recognize that irreparable and incalculable injury will result to the Company and its businesses and properties in the event of your breach of any of the restrictions imposed by Subsections 4(a),
4(b), or 4(c), above. You therefore agree that, in the event of any such actual, impending or threatened breach, the Company will be entitled, in 

 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

  Page
 5
 
 addition to any other remedies and damages available to it, to temporary and permanent injunctive
relief (without the necessity of posting a bond or other security) restraining the violation, or further violation, of such restrictions by you and by any other person or entity from whom you may be acting or who is acting for you or in concert with
you. 
 (e) Cause. Termination by the Company of your employment with the Company for “Cause” will mean termination
upon (i) your repeated failure to perform work reasonably assigned to you in a competent, diligent and satisfactory manner as determined by the Board of Directors in its reasonable judgment, (ii) your commission of any material act of
dishonesty or disloyalty involving the Company, (iii) your chronic absence from work other than by reason of a serious health condition, (iv) your commission of a crime which substantially relates to the circumstances of your position with
the Company or which has a material adverse effect on the business of the Company, or (v) the willful engaging by you in conduct which is demonstrably and materially injurious to the Company. For purposes of this Subsection 4(e), no act, or
failure to act, on your part will be deemed “willful” unless done, or omitted to be done, by you not in good faith. 
 5.
Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify you and hold you harmless from and against any loss, cost, expense or other damage (including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by you in connection with any claim
brought by a third party to which you are a party because of your position as an employee of the Company, including claims of patent infringement, unless such loss, cost, expense or other damage arises out of your breach or failure to perform a duty
you owe to the Company and the breach or failure to perform constitutes any of the following: (i) a willful failure to deal fairly with the Company in 

 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

  Page
 6
 
 connection with a matter in which you have a material conflict of interest, (ii) a violation of criminal law,
unless you have reasonable cause to believe that your conduct was lawful or no reasonable cause to believe that your conduct was unlawful, (iii) a transaction in which you derived an improper personal profit, or (iv) willful misconduct.

 6. Successors; Binding Agreement. This letter agreement will inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by your personal or legal
representatives, executors, administrators, successors, heirs, distributees, devisees and legatees. 
 7. Previous Agreement. This letter, upon
acceptance by you, expressly supersedes any and all previous agreements or understandings relating to your employment by the Company, and all such agreements and understandings shall, as of the date of your acceptance, have no further force or
effect. 
 8. Modification. No provision of this letter may be modified, waived or discharged unless such waiver, modification or discharge is
agreed to in writing by you and the Company. 
 9. Withholding. The amounts payable to you hereunder are stated before deductions, if any,
required to be made by the Company under applicable law. 
 10. No Right to Remain Employed. Nothing contained in this letter, or the Grant
Agreement of even date among you and the Company, will be construed as conferring upon you any right to remain employed by the Company or affect the right of the Company to terminate your employment at any time for any reason or for no reason,
subject to the obligations of the Company as set forth in this letter. 
  

 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

  Page
 7
 
 If this letter correctly sets forth your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return one
copy where indicated below to confirm our agreement with respect to the subject matter of this letter. 
  

			
	 Sincerely,
  
 NIMBLEGEN SYSTEMS LLC

		
	By:	 	/s/ Robert J. Palay
		 	For NimbleGen Systems LLC

  

	
	Agreed this 14th day of February, 2000.
	
	/s/ Emile F. Nuwaysir
	Emile Nuwaysir

 NimbleGen Systems Inc. 
 505 S. Rosa Road 
 Madison, Wisconsin 53719 
 August 30, 2000 
 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 2022 Madison Street 
 Madison,
WI 53711 
 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir: 
 This letter will confirm our agreement with respect to your employment relationship with NimbleGen Systems Inc. (the “Company”), to be effective upon the closing under that certain Exchange Agreement of even date herewith (the
“Exchange Agreement”) among the Company and certain entities and individuals, including you, and the subsequent dissolution of NimbleGen Systems LLC. You have previously agreed to certain terms of employment with NimbleGen Systems LLC in a
letter dated February 14, 2000 (the “Prior Agreement”). We have agreed that the terms of such letter shall govern your employment with the Company (and the term “Company” as used in such agreement will refer to NimbleGen
Systems Inc.); provided, however, that: 
 1. Paragraph 3 of the Prior Agreement shall be deleted in its entirety. Pursuant to the
Exchange Agreement, the Company is issuing to you 10,000 shares of Common Stock, which shall be held subject to that certain Restricted Stock Agreement of even date herewith among you and the Company. 
 2. Any references to the Grant Agreement in the Prior Agreement shall be replaced by references to the Restricted Stock Agreement. 
  

 Mr. Emile Nuwaysir 
 14 February, 2000

 Page 2 
 3. Any references to the Manager in the Prior Agreement
shall be replaced by references to the President. 
 If this letter correctly sets forth your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return one
copy where indicated below to confirm our agreement with respect to the subject matter of this letter. 
  

			
	 Sincerely,
  
 NIMBLEGEN SYSTEMS INC.

		
	 By:
	 	  

		 	

 Agreed this          day of

                         , 2000. 

	
	
	
	   
	Emile NuwaysirSeverance Agreement between the Registrant and Emile Nuwaysir

 Exhibit 10.18 
 NimbleGenTM Systems, Inc. 
 1 Science Ct. 
 Madison, WI 53711 
 September 5, 2003 
 Dr. Emile F. Nuwaysir 
 2022 Madison Street 
 Madison, WI 53711 
 Dear Emile 
 This letter confirms that by action of the Board of Directors of NimbleGen Systems Inc. (“NimbleGen”) taken at its meeting held August 27,
2003, and in recognition of your value and continued service to NimbleGen and in order to induce you to remain employed by NimbleGen: 
  

	 	(a)	NimbleGen has agreed to pay you three months of severance in the event your employment is terminated by NimbleGen, unless such termination is a Termination for Cause (as defined in
NimbleGen’s 2000 Stock Option and Restricted Stock Plan (the “Plan”)), and such termination occurs within ninety days after (i) a new chief executive officer is hired by NimbleGen or (ii) a Change in Control (as defined in
the Plan) occurs; provided that entitlement to such severance is contingent upon you providing NimbleGen with a release of any claims against NimbleGen, in a form reasonably satisfactory to NimbleGen, and you providing such other cooperative actions
as NimbleGen may request. Any such severance will be calculated based upon your base salary in effect on the date of the termination of your employment by NimbleGen, and will be paid in three equal monthly installments beginning on the last day of
the calendar month in which termination occurs and continuing on the last day of the next two succeeding calendar months. 

  

	 	(b)	NimbleGen has agreed that all Stock Options under the Plan held by you as of this date (or any Restricted Shares, as defined in the Award Agreement relating to any such Stock
Option, received upon exercise of the Stock Option) shall immediately vest, in addition to the circumstances for immediate vesting provided for in the Award Agreement relating to any such Stock Option, in the event your employment is terminated by
NimbleGen, unless such termination is a Termination for Cause, and such termination occurs within ninety days after (i) a new chief executive officer is hired by NimbleGen or (ii) a Change in Control occurs; provided that such immediate
vesting is contingent upon your providing NimbleGen with a release of any claims against NimbleGen, in a form reasonably satisfactory to NimbleGen, and your providing such other cooperative actions as NimbleGen may request. 

 

			
	 Phone: 608-218-7600
 FAX: 608-218-7601
	  	info@nimblegen.com
www.nimblegen.com

 Please acknowledge your agreement to the foregoing by signing this letter in the space provided below and
returning it to NimbleGen. 
  

	
	Very truly yours,
	
	NIMBLEGEN SYSTEMS INC.
	
	/s/ Robert J. Palay
	Robert J. Palay
	President & Chief Executive Officer

  

	
	 Acknowledged and agreed to
 this 5th day of September,
2003.

	
	Emile Nuwaysir
	
	/s/ Emile F. Nuwaysir

  

 2

Source: [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00123-of-00352.parquet"}, [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00123-of-00352.parquet"}]]