Document:

Amendment to Employment Agreement with Brian H. McCurrie

 Exhibit 10.54 
 AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT 
 December 19, 2008 
 THIS AMENDMENT (“Amendment”) to the Employment Agreement (the “Agreement”) between Koppers Inc. (the “Company”) and Brian
H. McCurrie (“Executive”) is effective as of January 1, 2009. 
 WHEREAS, the Company and Executive previously entered into
the Agreement, setting forth the terms and conditions of Executive’s employment with the Company; and 
 WHEREAS, the Company and
Executive desire to amend the Agreement to comply with applicable requirements under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and final regulations and other interpretive guidance issued thereunder; 
 NOW, THEREFORE, the parties, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows: 
 1. Effective as of January 1, 2009, a new Section 20 shall be added to the Agreement, to read as follows: 
 20. Code Section 409A. 
 (a) This
Agreement is intended to comply with Section 409A of the Code (“Section 409A”) and the final regulations and interpretative guidance issued thereunder, including the exceptions for short-term deferrals, separation pay arrangements,
reimbursements, and in-kind distributions, and shall be administered accordingly. The Agreement shall be construed and interpreted with such intent. If any provision of this Agreement needs to be revised to satisfy the requirements of
Section 409A, then such provision shall be modified or restricted to the extent and in the manner necessary to be in compliance with such requirements of the Code and any such modification will attempt to maintain the same economic results as
were intended under this Agreement. Each payment under this Agreement is intended to be treated as one of a series of separate payments for purposes of Section 409A and Treas. Reg. §1.409A-2(b)(2)(iii) (or any similar or successor
provisions). Any reimbursement or similar payment required to be paid to Executive hereunder (including, without limitation, reimbursement of medical expenses beyond the 18-month period following Executive’s Separation from Service, as defined
below) shall be paid by the Company no later than the latest date on which such payment may be made under Section 409A and applicable regulations without causing such payment to be deemed deferred compensation subject to Section 409A.

 (b) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, to the extent that Executive is considered a
“specified employee” (as defined in Section 409A and Treas. Reg. §1.409A-1(c)(i) or any similar or successor provision) and would be entitled to a payment during the six month period beginning on Executive’s date of
Separation from Service (as defined below) that is not otherwise excluded under Section 409A under the exception for short-term deferrals, separation pay arrangements, reimbursements, in-kind distributions, or any otherwise applicable
exemption, the payment will not be made to Executive until the earlier of the six month anniversary of Executive’s date of Separation from Service or Executive’s death and will be accumulated and paid on the first day of the seventh month
following the date of termination. For purposes of this Agreement, any reference to a termination of employment where such event gives rise to the payment of deferred compensation shall be deemed a reference to a Separation from Service (as defined
below). 
 (c) “Separation from Service” shall mean Executive’s death, retirement or other termination of employment with the
Company and all affiliates. For purposes of this definition, a “termination of employment” shall occur when the facts and circumstances indicate that the Company and Executive reasonably anticipate that no further services would be
performed by Executive for the Company and any affiliate after a certain date or that the level of bona fide services Executive would perform after such date (whether as an employee or as an independent contractor) would permanently decrease to no
more than 20% of the average level of bona fide services performed (whether as an employee or as an independent contractor) over the immediately preceding 36-month period. 
 (d) In the event that Executive qualifies for benefits under Section 9 of this Agreement as the result of a termination prior to the date of a
Change in Control, as provided under Section 9(b)(ii), then notwithstanding any other provision of Section 9, any portion of the benefit payable under Section 9 that is (i) subject to Section 409A and (ii) equals the
amount of benefit Executive would have been eligible to receive under Section 8 if such termination were not in connection with a Change in Control shall be paid at the same time and in the same form as provided under Section 8, with the
remaining amount of such benefit payable as otherwise provided under Section 9. 
 2. Except as amended above, the Agreement is hereby
ratified and affirmed in all respects. 
  

 2 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed and delivered this Amendment as of the day and year
first above written. 
  

	
	AGREED:
	
	KOPPERS INC.:
	
	 /s/ Walter W. Turner

	Signature
	
	 Walter W. Turner

	Name
	
	 President and Chief Executive Officer

	Title
	
	 436 Seventh Avenue

	Address
	
	 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

	
	 December 22, 2008

	Date
	
	EXECUTIVE:
	
	 /s/ Brian H. McCurrie

	Signature
	
	 Brian H. McCurrie

	Name
	
	 V.P., Chief Financial Officer

	Title
	
	  

	Address
	  

	
	 December 22, 2008

	Date

  

 3Amendment to Benefit Restoration Plan

 Exhibit 10.55 
 AMENDMENT TO THE 
 KOPPERS HOLDINGS INC. BENEFIT RESTORATION PLAN 
 WHEREAS, Koppers Holdings Inc. (the “Company”) sponsors the Benefit Restoration Plan for the benefit of certain key employees; 
 WHEREAS, the Company has reserved the right to amend the Plan in Section 7.1 of the Plan; and 
 WHEREAS, the Company wishes to amend the Plan to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and final the
Treasury Regulations issued thereunder. 
 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT 
 RESOLVED, that the Plan shall be and hereby is amended, effective January 1, 2009, as follows: 
 1. Section 2.5 of the Plan is amended in its entirety to read as follows: 
 2.5 Change in Control. Change in Control means the first to occur of any of the following events: 
  

	 	(a)	a person, partnership, joint venture, corporation or other entity, or two or more of any of the foregoing acting as a “person” within the meaning of Sections 13(d)(3) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), other than the Company, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Company or an employee benefit plan of the Company or such subsidiary (or such plan’s related trust), become(s) the
“beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Act) of fifty percent (50%) or more of the then outstanding voting stock of the Company; 

  

	 	(b)	during any 12-consecutive month period, individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the board of directors of the Company (together with any new board member whose
election by the Company’s board or whose nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders, was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the board members then still in office who either were board members at the beginning of such
period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for any reason to constitute a majority of the board members then in office; 

  

	 	(c)	all or substantially all of the business of the Company is disposed of pursuant to a merger, consolidation or other transaction in which the Company is not the surviving corporation
or the Company combines with another company and is the surviving corporation (unless the Company’s stockholders immediately following such merger, consolidation, combination, or other transaction beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more
than fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate voting stock or other ownership interests of (x) the entity or entities, if any, that succeed to the business of the Company or (y) the combined company);

  

	 	(d)	the closing of the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or a liquidation or dissolution of the Company; or 

	 	(e)	the acquisition during any 12-consecutive month period, directly or indirectly, by any person or related group of persons (other than the Company or a person that directly or
indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Company of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) of securities possessing more than thirty percent (30%) of the total combined
voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made directly to the Company’s stockholders which the board does not recommend such stockholders to accept. 

 2. Section 2.23 of the Plan is amended in its entirety to read as follows: 
 Separation from Service. Separation from Service means a Participant’s separation from service with the Employer within the meaning of Code
Section 409A. A Separation from Service occurs when the facts and circumstances indicate that the Employer and the Participant reasonably anticipate that no further services would be performed after a certain date or that the level of services
the Participant would perform after such date would permanently decrease to no more than 20% of the average level of services performed over the immediately preceding 36-month period (or, if shorter, the entire period of the Participant’s
employment with the Employer). 
 3. Section 2.25 of the Plan is amended to replace the term “key employee” with the term
“specified employee.” 
 4. Section 5.7 of the Plan is amended in its entirety to read as follows: 
 Deferred Commencement. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Article V or any other article of this Plan, no distribution in
connection with the Separation from Service by a Participant who is at that time deemed to be a “specified employee” within the meaning set forth in Section 1.409A-1(i) of the Treasury Regulations issued under Code Section 409A
shall be made or otherwise commence prior to the earlier of (i) the expiration of the six (6)-month period measured from the date of such Separation from Service or (ii) the date of the Participant’s death. 
 5. The last sentence of Section 7.1 of the Plan is deleted and replaced with the following new language: 
 In the event of the termination of the Plan or any portion thereof, payment of the balance of each affected Participant’s Account shall be made under
and in accordance with the terms of the Plan and any applicable elections, except that the Company may determine, in its sole discretion, to accelerate payments to all such affected Participants if and to the extent that such acceleration is
permitted under Code Section 409A. 
 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Amendment to be adopted, effective as of the date set forth
above. 
  

			
	KOPPERS HOLDINGS INC.
		
	By:	 	 /s/ Steven R. Lacy

	Title:	 	Senior VP, Administration, General Counsel & Secretary

Source: [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00153-of-00352.parquet"}, [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00153-of-00352.parquet"}]]