Document:

ex10_1.htm

    Plantronics,
      Inc.

    

    Executive
      Incentive Plan

    

    The
      purpose of the Plantronics, Inc. Executive Incentive Plan (“EIP” or the “Plan”)
      is to focus participants on achieving company-wide financial performance goals
      as well as product group, segment, or functional objectives and individual
      performance goals by providing the opportunity to receive quarterly and annual
      cash payments based on performance.

    

    Administration

    

    The
      EIP
      will be administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors
      for
      the CEO and certain of his direct reports and other selected participants
      (“Participants”). An Administrative Committee designated by the Compensation
      Committee will administer the EIP for all other employees in the
      plan.  The Administrative Committee will initially include the CEO and
      CFO of Plantronics.  The Administrative Committee is authorized to
      interpret the Plan and to adopt such rules and regulations as it may from time
      to time deem necessary for the effective operation of the Plan.  Any
      determination, interpretation, construction or other action made or taken
      pursuant to the provisions of the Plan by or on behalf of the Compensation
      Committee shall be final, conclusive and binding.  The Administrative
      Committee shall approve all matters concerning eligibility of other
      employees.  Amendment or termination of the Plan and all matters
      concerning eligibility of Participants shall require the approval of the
      Compensation Committee.

    

    Participation

    

    Participants
      for the EIP will be approved by the Compensation Committee. Participants shall
      be documented on Schedule A to this EIP.   Schedule A will be
      reviewed and edited as appropriate at least annually by the Compensation
      Committee. The Compensation Committee will select Plan participants based on
      specific criteria, including: employees who can have a significant impact on
      business performance and shareholder value creation through their actions or
      decisions; employees with consistent outstanding performance and contributions
      to the Company; and reference to competitive market pay
      practices.  The Administrative Committee will notify those deemed
      participants in the plan upon final determination of eligibility.  The
      Compensation Committee reserves the right to remove any Plan participant from
      the Plan at any time.  Plan participation in one year does not
      guarantee participation in subsequent years.

    

    Highlights
      and Overview of the Plan

    

    The
      highlights of the Plan are as follows:

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              Each
                participant will be assigned a target award opportunity (as a % of
                base
                salary)

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              A
                portion of this award opportunity (currently one-half) will be tied
                to
                achieving Annual Corporate Financial Performance and be paid
                annually

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              The
                remaining portion of the award opportunity (currently one-half) will
                be
                tied to achieving Product Group/Segment or Functional Goals and will
                be
                paid quarterly

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              The
                actual award earned for each quarter will be determined as soon as
                practical after the end of each fiscal quarter and will range between
                zero
                and one times (0x – 1x) the opportunity for the portion of the plan tied
                to Product Group/Segment or Functional
                Goals

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              The
                actual award earned for the annual portion will be determined as
                soon as
                practical after the end of each fiscal year and will range between
                zero
                and two times (0x – 2x) the opportunity for the portion of the plan tied
                to Annual Corporate Financial Performance, as follows (shown for
                FY 2008,
                subject to adjustment in future
                years):

            

    

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    
      
        
          
            
              	 
                      
                      Performance
                        Factor

                    	 
                      
                      Weight

                    	 
                      
                      Payout
                        Range

                    	 
                      
                      Payout
                        Frequency

                    
	 
                      
                      Annual
                        Corporate Financial Performance

                      (Includes
                        AEG and Clarity)

                    	 
                      
                      50%

                    	 
                      
                      0%-200%

                    	 
                      
                      Annual

                    
	 
                      
                      Product
                        Group/Segment or Functional Goals

                       

                    	
                       50%

                    	
                       0%-100%

                    	
                      Quarterly

                    

            

          

        

      

    

     

     

    Note:
      Payouts on the quarterly incentives will be capped if the Annual Corporate
      Financial Performance is below target.

    

    So,
      for
      example, an individual might earn the following award of $21,500 if corporate
      performance is greater than the individual portion linked to Product
      Group/Segment or Functional Goals:

     

          Target
      award:

        

        
      
        
          
            	
                     

                    Salary

                    $100,000

                     

                  	
                     x

                  	
                    Target
                      award

                    20%

                  	
                     =

                  	
                     Target
                      Award Value

                    $20,000

                  

          

        

      

    

     

    Actual
      award
      earned:

     

    
          
        
          
            
              	
                       

                      Product
                        Group 

                      Portion

                      $10,000

                       

                    	
                       x

                    	
                      Avg.
                        Results

                      (paid
                        quarterly)

                      95%

                    	
                       =

                    	
                       Award
                        Earned

                      (full-year)

                      $9,500

                    

            

          

        

      

       

           

      
        
          
            
              
                	
                         

                        Corporate
                          

                        Portion

                        $10,000

                         

                      	
                         x

                      	
                        Final
                          Results

                        (paid
                          annually)

                        120%

                      	
                         =

                      	
                         Award
                          Earned

                         

                        $12,000

                      

              

            

          

        

         

      

    

    However,
      if corporate performance is less than the individual portion, the final result
      will be adjusted so that the total amount earned is no higher than as if the
      entire plan were tied to corporate performance alone:

    

    Actual
      award:

    
      
            
          
            
              
                	
                         

                        
                          Product
                            Group 

                          Portion

                          $10,000

                        

                         

                      	
                         x

                      	
                        
                          Avg.
                            Results

                          (paid
                            quarterly)

                          95%

                        

                      	
                         =

                      	
                         Award
                          Earned 
                           

                          $9,500

                        

                      

              

            

          

        

         

            
          
            
              
                	
                         

                        
                          Corporate
                            

                          Portion

                          $10,000

                        

                         

                      	
                         x

                      	
                        
                          Final
                            Results

                          (paid
                            annually)

                          80%

                        

                      	
                         =

                      	
                         Award
                          Earned 
                          $8,000
                            - $1,500 = 

                          $6,500

                        

                      

              

            

          

        

        
Note
          that the total payout is $16,000, or 80% of the total award opportunity
          for the
          year.

      

    

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    Specific
      Plan Mechanics

    

    Opportunity
      levels

    The
      Compensation Committee shall determine appropriate total target award
      opportunities for the CEO and Participants.  The Administrative
      Committee shall determine appropriate total target award opportunities for
      all
      other employees in the Plan.  Opportunity levels are determined
      individually for each participant and are communicated to each participant
      separately.

    

    The
      total
      target award opportunity will be expressed as a percentage of Base
      Salary.  Base Salary will be calculated as a participant’s regular
      wages earned during the fiscal year, before any deferrals (such as deferrals
      into the 401(k) plan).  The minimum payable will be zero based on
      significant underperformance across all measurement dimensions, and the maximum
      payable will be 1x for the portion tied to Quarterly Product Group/Segment
      or
      Functional Goals and 2x for the portion tied to Annual Corporate Financial
      Performance.

    

    Performance
      Measures and Goals

    Specific
      financial and operational performance measures shall be defined for each
      participant.  The Compensation Committee will be responsible for
      approving performance objectives for the Annual Corporate Financial Performance
      portion of the plan for all participants.  The objectives will be
      based on the Company’s strategic operating plan, prior year performance, and
      external market expectations for performance, among other factors which may
      be
      considered by the Compensation Committee, in its discretion.

    

    The
      Administrative Committee shall determine appropriate performance objectives
      for
      Product Group/Segment or Functional Goals, including individual MBOs, for
      participants in the Plan, with the Compensation Committee to approve the same
      for the CEO and Participants.  Examples of performance objectives that
      might be included in this portion of the plan include:

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              Operating
                Income

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              Working
                capital efficiency metrics

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              Market
                share

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              Individual
                MBOs

            

    

    

    All
      approvals for all performance measures and goals will be made within ninety
      (90)
      days after the beginning of the fiscal year.

    

    See
      Appendix A for the current Annual Corporate Financial Performance objectives
      and
      the measures to be included for each Product Group/Segment or Functional
      Goals.  Specific performance targets for the Product Group/Segment or
      Functional Goals will be communicated to each individual
      separately.

    

    Calculation
      of Awards

    The
      Compensation Committee will determine quarterly and annual awards earned for
      the
      CEO, and annual awards for all other Participants. The Administrative Committee
      will determine the quarterly awards for all other Participants, and the
      Administrative Committee will determine awards earned for all other
      employees.  Awards earned will be based on actual performance relative
      to pre-established performance goals.

    

    Performance
      against Product Group/Segment or Functional Goals will be determined
      quarterly.  Up to 1⁄4 the total annual opportunity for this portion
      (currently 1⁄2 of the total target award opportunity for each individual) may
      be earned each quarter.

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    Performance
      against Annual Corporate Financial Performance objectives will be determined
      annually.  The Compensation Committee will establish minimum
      performance goals for each performance measure, which will earn 0.5x of the
      target award opportunity assigned to that measure, target performance goals,
      which will earn 1.0x of the target opportunity, and maximum goals, which will
      earn 2.0x the target award opportunity for that measure.  Performance
      below the minimum goal will result in zero payout for that
      measure.  Performance between discrete performance levels will be
      interpolated on a straight line basis.

    

    To
      the
      extent that more than one measure is used for the Annual Corporate Financial
      Performance portion of the plan, each measure will be assigned a specific weight
      and the final performance calculation will be determined as a weighted-average
      of the payouts earned for each goal.  For example:

     

    
       

      
        
          
            
              
                	 
                        
                        Measure

                      	 
                        
                        Weight

                      	 
                        
                        Payout
                          Earned (Illustrative)

                      	 
                        
                        Weighted
                          Payout

                      
	 
                        
                        GAAP
                          EPS

                         

                      	 
                        
                        75%

                      	 
                        
                        120%

                      	 
                        
                        90%

                      
	 
                        
                        Asset
                          Utilization

                         

                      	
                         25%

                      	
                         80%

                      	
                        20%

                      
	
                         

                        Total
                          Payout Earned

                        (as a % of target award value
                          for this portion of
                          the plan)

                          

                      	
                        110%

                      

              

            

          

        

      

       

    

     

    Year-End
      True-Up for Corporate Performance

    If
      the
      weighted-average payout calculated against all Annual Corporate Financial
      Performance objectives is less than the average quarterly payout earned
      for an individual participant on his or her Product Group/Segment or Functional
      Goals, then the final annual payout – including the annual payment on the Annual
      Corporate Financial Performance portion of the plan and the last quarterly
      payment on the Product Group/Segment or Functional Goals portion of the plan
–
will be reduced as needed so that the total award paid for all performance
      goals
      on all measures during the year is no more than the weighted-average payout
      calculated for Annual Corporate Financial Performance.  So, for
      example:

     

    
      
        	
                 

                If
                  the total target award is:

                 

              	
                 $20,000

              
	
                 

                And
                  if the amount earned for each of the quarters is 90% of goal:

                 

              	
                 $9,000

              
	
                 

                And
                  if the Corporate Financial Performance is only 70% of goal:

                 

              	
                 $7,000

              
	
                 

                The
                  final year-end payout will be reduced so that the total payout
                  is

                no more than 70% x $20,000 = 

                 

              	
                 $14,000
                  max total 

                payout
                  for the year

              

      

    

    

    In
      this
      example, the final year-end payout would be reduced by $2,000, and only $5,000
      would be paid for the Annual Corporate Financial Performance portion of the
      plan, instead of $7,000.  However, in no circumstances will a
      participant be required to repay any quarterly incentive previously paid due
      to
      this annual true-up provision of the plan (i.e., if annual performance were
      zero, the most that the participant would lose would be 1⁄4 of his or her award
      opportunity for the Product Group/Segment or Functional portion of the plan
      for
      the last quarter and all of the award opportunity for the Annual Corporate
      Financial Performance portion of the plan).

    

    Distribution
      of awards

    Calculations,
      performance evaluations, and payouts will be determined as soon as practical
      after the close of each quarter, with an objective of payouts occurring within
      2
      weeks of quarterly financial results being made public.  For final
      year-end awards, in no case will payouts occur more than 2 1⁄2 months after the
      close of the fiscal year.

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    All
      awards will be distributed in cash or credited at the participant’s direction to
      a deferral plan (such as a 401(k) plan), as allowable under the terms of such
      deferral plan, if any.

    

    Other
      Administrative Guidelines

    

    Acquisitions
      or Divestitures

    The
      performance objectives established for the Company as a whole or for each
      Product Group or Segment may be adjusted upward or downward as appropriate
      to
      eliminate the effects of acquisitions and divestitures, to the extent that
      the
      impact of such acquisitions or divestitures were not included in setting the
      original goals at the beginning of the year.  The Compensation
      Committee will have discretion to make such adjustments as needed based on
      the
      circumstances of each case.  In general, the adjustment will work as
      follows:

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              For
                an acquisition, the Compensation Committee will adjust the performance
                goals as needed to incorporate the impact of the full-year financial
                projections for the acquired Company, as presented in the base-case
                scenario presented to the Board of Directors upon approval of such
                acquisition.

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              For
                a divestiture, the Compensation Committee will adjust the performance
                goals as needed to eliminate the impact of the full-year financial
                projections for the divested operations, as including in the business
                operating plan presented to the Board of Directors at time that the
                original goals were established at the beginning of the
                year.

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              To
                the extent that an acquisition occurs late in the year, the Compensation
                Committee may choose to completely exclude the financial results
                for the
                remainder of the year for such operation for the purposes of determining
                the performance outcomes.

            

    

    
      	
              ·  

            	
              To
                the extent that discrete financial impact of an acquisition or divestiture
                cannot be determined, the Compensation Committee may choose not to
                make
                any adjustments to goals or results for the
                year.

            

    

    

    Impact
      of One-Time Results

    The
      Compensation Committee may approve adjustments to the calculations of
      performance results to eliminate the impact of one-time items that may accrue
      to
      the benefit or detriment of participants but which do not reflect underlying
      business performance.  This includes the one-time impact of items
      which may not be defined as “extraordinary items” from an accounting standpoint,
      such as the gain or loss on the sale of a business or other asset, an insurance
      settlement or legal settlement from prior periods, or impairment charges for
      assets or other accounts.  This is not
      intended to include adjustments for changes in business conditions such as
      an unexpected increase or decrease in input costs, or greater or lesser demand
      for the Company’s products.  It is also not intended to protect
      participants from the impact of unexpected operational difficulties, such as
      a
      temporary plant closing.

    

    Claw-Back
      Provisions for Restatements

    The
      Compensation Committee maintains the right to require any participant to repay
      to the Company any amounts earned under the Plan in the case of a material
      financial restatement of results for prior years.  It is not
      the Company’s policy to automatically require such repayments in the case of a
      restatement of results (except for select Officers as may be required under
      various laws and regulations).  However, the Compensation Committee
      will evaluate the facts and circumstances of each case and may require repayment
      from select individuals who received undue awards based on a material and
      intentional or negligent misrepresentation of financial results.

    

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    Forfeiture
      of awards

    In
      general, a participant will forfeit any unpaid EIP award or any EIP award
      not credited to the participant under a deferred compensation account upon
      termination of employment.  Forfeiture will not occur as a result of
      death or termination due to disability or retirement.  In any such
      event, a participant’s remaining unpaid EIP award will be payable based on
      actual performance relative to objectives, pro-rated for the number of whole
      pay
      periods for the fiscal year that elapsed before the termination of the
      participant’s employment.

    

    Forfeiture
      will occur as a result of any other termination of employment without regard
      to
      the reason unless the Compensation Committee decides otherwise in their
      discretion in special circumstances for a Participant.

    

    Absence
      of a participant on approved leave will not be considered a termination of
      employment during the period of such leave.  However, participants who
      incur a paid (other than vacation) or unpaid leave of absence during the fiscal
      year will not receive credit for EIP award purposes for the time representing
      the leave, and actual awards will be pro-rated for the number of whole pay
      periods for the fiscal year that occur before and/or after such
      leave.  Exceptions, if any, must be approved by the Compensation
      Committee for the CEO and Participants.

    

    New
      Hire/Change of Responsibility

    At
      its
      discretion, the Compensation Committee may apply the foregoing terms, including
      without limitation the performance objectives, to make EIP awards to persons
      such as new employees or those undergoing a change of responsibility during
      a
      fiscal year.

    

    For
      new
      employees, target EIP award opportunity will be based on the participant’s Base
      Salary, pro-rated based on the number of whole pay periods for the fiscal year
      during which the employee was a participant.

    

    If
      a
      participant is employed in multiple positions during a fiscal year (i.e. change
      of responsibility) including changes which result in a change of opportunity
      levels, the participant’s EIP award will be pro-rated as of the first whole pay
      period in which the event occurs, in accordance with actual time and performance
      results in each position and the opportunity levels associated with each
      position.

    

    No
      Guarantee of Employment

    The
      Plan
      shall not confer upon any participant any right with respect to continuation
      of
      employment by the Company, nor shall it interfere in any way with the right
      of
      the Company to terminate any participant’s employment at any time.

    

    Withholding
      Taxes

    The
      Company shall have the right to withhold from payments or otherwise or to cause
      the participant (or the executor or administrator of his or her estate or his
      or
      her distributee) to make payment of any federal, state, local, or foreign taxes
      required to be withheld with respect to the distribution of any
      awards.

    

    Amendment
      and Discontinuance of the Plan

    The
      Compensation Committee, may amend, alter, suspend or discontinue the Plan,
      as it
      shall from time to time consider desirable, without any requirement to
      compensate participants for any award opportunity not yet
      paid.  Participation in the plan does not confer any rights to
      payments to any employee or individual.

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    SCHEDULE
      A

    EXECUTIVES
      ELIGIBLE FOR THE FY08 EIP

    

    

    
      
        
          
            
              	 Name
                      of
                      Executive                                                                	Job
                      Title
	 Ken
                      Kannappan	 President
                      and Chief Executive Officer
	 Barbara
                      Scherer 	 SVP
                      – Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer
	 Don
                      Houston 	 SVP
                      – Sales
	 Gary
                      Savadove 	 President
                      & CEO, Audio Entertainment Group
	 Philip
                      Vanhoutte  	 Managing
                      Director Europe, Middle East and Africa
	 Carsten
                      Trads 	 President,
                      Clarity
	 Renee
                      Niemi 	 VP/General
                      Manager, Mobile and Entertainment
	 Chuck
                      Yort  	 VP/General
                      Manager, Business Solutions
	 Joyce
                      Shimizu   	 VP/General
                      Manager, Home and Home Office
	 Jim
                      Sotelo       	 VP,
                      Product Development and Technology
	 Barry
                      Margerum 	 VP,
                      Strategy and Business
                      Developmentexv10w97

 

EXHIBIT 10.97

FIRST AMENDMENT

TO EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

     This agreement amends the Employment Agreement by and between Gen-Probe Incorporated, a
Delaware corporation with offices at 10210 Genetic Center Drive, San Diego, California 92121
(“Gen-Probe”), and                                          (the “Executive”). This agreement (hereafter referred to
as the “First Amendment”) is effective as of March 1, 2007 (the “Effective Date”).

     WHEREAS, Gen-Probe and Executive have reviewed the Employment Agreement and mutually desire to
amend the terms thereof,

     ACCORDINGLY, Gen-Probe and Executive agree to amend the Employment Agreement as follows:

     1. Section 7(a) (“Severance Benefits in Certain Events — Salary”) shall be and is
hereby amended to add the following text following the existing terms:

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the provisions of this
paragraph shall control if Executive’s employment terminates within the period six
(6) months prior to a Change in Control. Any lump sum payment contemplated by this
Section 7(a) shall be made within 10 days of the Change in Control and shall be in
lieu of, and not in addition to, payments that would otherwise be made to Executive
over the remainder of the Salary Continuation Period. Additionally, any payments
that would otherwise be made to Executive over the remaining portion of the Salary
Continuation Period following the Change in Control shall accelerate as of the date
of the Change in Control only if such Change in Control is a change in the ownership
or effective control of the Company, or in the ownership of a substantial portion of
the assets of the Company, in each case for purposes of Section 409A(a)(2)(A)(v) of
the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations and other guidance thereunder. Any
lump sum payment contemplated by this Section 7(a) shall be reduced by an amount
equal to the aggregate Salary Continuation Period payments already made to
Executive, if any. It is the intent of this paragraph to structure the Executive’s
severance benefit payments so that any lump sum payment of the Executive’s severance
that may occur in connection with a Change in Control shall not result in the
payments being subject to Section 409A(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.

     2. Section 7(d) (“Severance Benefits in Certain Events — 401(k) Plan”) shall be
deleted and replace with the following: “[Intentionally Omitted.]”

 

 

     3. Section 7(h) is hereby added to the Employment Agreement, as follows:

Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and Specified Employees. If
Gen-Probe determines that any of the severance benefits payable to the Executive
pursuant to this Section 7 fail to satisfy the distribution requirement of Section
409A(a)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code as a result of Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i)
of the Internal Revenue Code which applies to specified employees of publicly traded
companies, the payment of such benefit shall be accelerated to the minimum extent
necessary so that the benefit is not subject to the provisions of Section 409A(a)(1)
of the Internal Revenue Code. (It is the intention of the preceding sentence to
apply the short-term deferral provisions of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue
Code, and the regulations and other guidance thereunder, to the severance benefits
payments, and the payment schedule as revised after the application of the preceding
sentence shall be referred to as the “Revised Payment Schedule.”) However, if there
is no Revised Payment Schedule that would avoid the application of Section
409A(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, the payment of such benefits shall not be
paid pursuant to a Revised Payment Schedule and instead shall be delayed to the
minimum extent necessary (e.g., payments to which Executive would otherwise be
entitled during the first six months following separation from service shall
accumulate and be paid at the expiration of such period, unless a permitted
distribution event occurs during such period) so that such benefits are not subject
to the provisions of Section 409A(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Board may
attach conditions to or adjust the amounts paid pursuant to this Section 7 to
preserve, as closely as possible, the economic consequences that would have applied
in the absence of this Section 7; provided, however, that no such condition or
adjustment shall result in the payments being subject to Section 409A(a)(1) of the
Internal Revenue Code.

     4. Except as expressly set forth in this First Amendment, all terms and conditions of the
Employment Agreement are hereby ratified and shall continue in full force and effect.

     In witness whereof, the parties have executed this First Amendment.

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	Executive:	 	 	 	Gen-Probe Incorporated:	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	By	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 	 	Diana De Walt

Vice President, Human Resources	 	 

2

 

The following officers of Gen-Probe have executed the above agreement:

R. William Bowen

Diana De Walt

Martin Edelshain

Paul Gargan

Steve Kondor

Gurney Lashley

Herm Rosenman

Don Tartre

3

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