Document:

EX-10.1

EMPLOYMENT / CONSULTING AGREEMENT

This Employment / Consulting Agreement (this “Agreement”), dated as of January 16,
2014, confirms the following understandings and agreements by and between Allied World National
Assurance Company, a New Hampshire corporation (the “Company”), and W. Gordon Knight (the
“Employee”).

W I T N E S S E T H:

WHEREAS, Employee and the Company are parties to that certain Amended and Restated Employment
Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2008 (the “Employment Agreement”); and

WHEREAS, in connection with the mutual agreement of Employee and the Company relating to the
Employee’s new role at the Company, and in consideration of the payments and benefits described
herein, Employee and the Company have mutually agreed to terminate the Employment Agreement, and to
enter into this Agreement;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, it is hereby agreed as
follows:

1. Resignation as an Executive; Acceptance and Term of Employment. (a) From and after
January 31, 2014, Employee agrees the he will no longer serve as an executive officer of the
Company and will resign from any and all positions Employee held as an officer or director of
Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG (the “Parent”) and its direct or indirect
subsidiaries (the “Company Group”).

(b) The Company agrees to employ Employee and Employee agrees to serve the Company on the
terms and conditions set forth herein. The term of employment shall commence on January 31, 2014
and shall continue until January 31, 2019, unless earlier terminated by the Company for Cause (as
defined in Section 7 below).

2. Duties. Employee shall have those duties and responsibilities as may be assigned
by the Parent’s Chief Executive Officer from time to time.

3. Compensation; Continued Vesting of Equity Awards. During the term of employment,
Employee shall be paid $10,000 per month, payable in accordance with the regular payroll practices
of the Company. All stock options granted to Employee under the Parent’s Third Amended and
Restated 2001 Employee Stock Option Plan, all performance-based awards and restricted stock units
granted under the Parent’s Third Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan and all
performance-based awards and restricted stock units granted under the Parent’s 2012 Omnibus
Incentive Compensation Plan shall continue to vest in accordance with their terms; provided, that
Employee remains employed with the Company or another company within the Company Group. The
Company may withhold from any payments made under this Agreement all applicable taxes, including,
but not limited to, income, employment and social insurance taxes, as shall be required by law.

4. Benefits. During the term of employment, Employee shall be entitled to participate
in health, insurance and other benefits generally provided to similarly situated employees of the
Company that are made available and as are in effect from time to time. During the term of
employment, Employee shall be entitled to an office at the Company’s office in Atlanta, Georgia or
such other location as the Employee and the Company shall mutually agree.

5. Restrictive Covenants. Employee acknowledges and agrees that (A) the agreements
and covenants contained in this Section 5 are (i) reasonable and valid in geographical and temporal
scope and in all other respects, and (ii) essential to protect the value of the business and assets
of the Company Group; and (B) by his employment with the Company, Employee has and will obtain
knowledge, contacts, know-how, training and experience and there is a substantial probability that
such knowledge, contacts, know-how, training and experience could be used to the substantial
advantage of a competitor of the Company Group and to the Company Group’s substantial detriment.

(a) Non-Competition. Employee covenants and agrees that during the period commencing
on the date hereof and ending on January 31, 2019 (the “Non-Compete Period”), with respect
to Bermuda (including any province thereof), any State of the United States of America or any other
jurisdiction in which any member of the Company Group engages (or has committed plans to engage) in
business during the term of employment, or, following termination of Employee’s employment, was
engaged in business (or had committed plans to engage) at the time of such termination of
employment, Employee shall not, directly or indirectly, individually or jointly, own any interest
in, operate, join, control or participate as a partner, director, principal, officer, or agent of,
enter into the employment of, act as a consultant to, or perform any services for any Person (as
defined in Section 7 below) (other than any member of the Company Group), that engages in any
Competitive Activities (as defined in Section 7 below). Notwithstanding anything herein to the
contrary, this Section 5(a) shall not prevent Employee from acquiring as an investment securities
representing not more than three percent (3%) of the outstanding voting securities of any
publicly-held corporation or from being a passive investor in any mutual fund, hedge fund, private
equity fund or similar pooled account so long as Employee’s interest therein is less than three
percent (3%) and he has no role in selecting or managing investments thereof.

(b) Non-Interference. During the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on
January 31, 2019, Employee shall not, directly or indirectly, for his own account or for the
account of any other Person, engage in Interfering Activities (as defined in Section 7 below).

(c) Blue Pencil. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall at any time deem the
duration or the geographic scope of any of the provisions of this Section 5 unenforceable, the
other provisions of this Section 5 shall nevertheless stand and the duration and/or geographic
scope set forth herein shall be deemed to be the longest period and/or greatest size permissible by
law under the circumstances, and the parties hereto agree that such court shall reduce the time
period and/or geographic scope to a permissible duration or size.

6. Breach of Restrictive Covenants. Without limiting the remedies available to the
Company, Employee acknowledges that a breach of any of the covenants contained in Section 5 hereof
may result in material irreparable injury to the Company Group for which there is no adequate
remedy at law, that it will not be possible to measure damages for such injuries precisely and
that, in the event of such a breach or threat thereof, the Company shall be entitled to obtain a
temporary restraining order and/or a preliminary or permanent injunction, without the posting of a
bond or the necessity of proving irreparable harm or injury as a result of such breach or
threatened breach of Section 5 hereof, restraining Employee from engaging in activities prohibited
by Section 5 hereof or such other relief as may be required specifically to enforce any of the
covenants in Section 5 hereof. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the
Non-Compete Period, in the case of the covenants contained in Section 5(a), and the
Non-Interference Period, in the case of the covenants contained in Section 5(b), shall be tolled
during any period of violation of any of such covenants and during any other period required for
litigation during which the Company seeks to enforce such covenants against Employee or another
Person with whom Employee is affiliated if it is ultimately determined that Employee was in breach
of such covenants.

7. Additional Definitions.

(a) “Cause” shall mean (i) Employee’s willful failure (except where due to physical or
mental incapacity), willful neglect or willful refusal to substantially perform his duties; (ii)
any willful or intentional act of Employee with regard to any member of the Company Group that has
the effect of injuring the reputation or business of any member of the Company Group in a material
manner; (iii) Employee’s conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, the
commission of a criminal act that would constitute a felony in the United States; (iv) the
commission by Employee of an act of fraud, embezzlement or material dishonesty against any member
of the Company Group (other than a good faith expense account dispute); or (v) Employee’s breach of
any material provision of this Agreement.

(b) “Competitive Activities” shall mean any business activities in which any member of
the Company Group is engaged, or has committed plans to engage, during the term of employment.

(c) “Interfering Activities” shall mean (i) encouraging, soliciting or inducing, or in
any manner attempting to encourage, solicit or induce, any Person employed by, as agent of, or a
service provider to, any member of the Company Group to terminate (or, in the case of an agent or
service provider, reduce) such Person’s employment, agency or service, as the case may be, with any
member of the Company Group; provided, that the foregoing shall not be violated by general
advertising not targeted at employees of any member of the Company Group nor by serving as a
reference upon an employee’s request with regard to an entity with which Employee is not
affiliated; or (ii) encouraging, soliciting or inducing, or in any manner attempting to encourage,
solicit or induce any customer, supplier (including insurance brokers), licensee or other business
relation of any member of the Company Group to cease doing business with or reduce the amount of
business conducted with any member of the Company Group, or in any way interfere with the
relationship between any such customer, supplier (including insurance brokers), licensee or
business relation and any member of the Company Group.

(d) “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability
company, joint venture, association, joint-stock company, trust (charitable or non-charitable),
unincorporated organization or other form of business entity.

8. Miscellaneous.

(a) Entire Agreement; Amendments. Employee and the Company represent and acknowledge
that, in executing this Agreement, neither has relied upon any representation or statement not set
forth herein. This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement between the parties hereto and
supersedes any and all prior negotiations, discussions, agreements or understandings between the
parties hereto pertaining to the subject matter hereof, including the Employment Agreement. This
Agreement may not be changed, amended or modified, except by writing signed by the party affected
by such change, amendment or modification. To avoid any confusion, the parties hereto acknowledge
that the Amended and Restated Indemnification Agreement, by and among the Parent, Allied World
Assurance Company, Ltd and the Employee, dated as of December 1, 2010, shall remain in full force
and effect.

(b) Dispute Resolution. Any controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement
or the breach hereof (other than claims for injunctive relief pursuant to Section 6 hereof) shall
be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the Employment Dispute Resolution Rules of the
American Arbitration Association (before a single arbitrator) and judgment upon the award rendered
may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The costs of any such arbitration
proceedings shall be borne equally by the Company and Employee; provided, however, that the
arbitrator shall have the right to award to either party reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs
expended in the course of such arbitration or enforcement of the awarded rendered thereunder. Any
award made by such arbitrator shall be final, binding and conclusive on the parties for all
purposes, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court
having jurisdiction thereof.

(c) Notices. Every notice or other communication relating to this Agreement shall be
in writing, and shall be mailed to or delivered to the party for whom it is intended at such
address as may from time to time be designated by it in a notice mailed or delivered to the other
party as herein provided, provided that, unless and until some other address be so designated, all
notices or communications by Employee to the Company shall be mailed or delivered to the Company at
its principal executive office, with a copy sent to the General Counsel of Parent, and all notices
or communications by the Company to Employee may be given to Employee personally or may be mailed
to Employee at Employee’s last known address, as reflected in the Company’s records. Any notice so
addressed shall be deemed to be given: (i) if delivered by hand, on the date of such delivery;
(ii) if mailed by courier or by overnight mail, on the first business day following the date of
such mailing; and (iii) if mailed by registered or certified mail, on the third business day after
the date of such mailing.

(d) Headings. The descriptive headings herein are inserted for convenience of
reference only and are not intended to be part of or to affect the meaning or interpretation of
this Agreement.

(e) Survival. Sections 5, 6 and 8 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

(f) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two counterparts, each of which
will be deemed an original, but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument.

(g) Governing Law. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of New York without application of conflict of law provisions.

[Signatures to appear on the following page.]

1

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Agreement as of the date first above
written.

ALLIED WORLD NATIONAL ASSURANCE COMPANY

By:

Name:

Title:

EMPLOYEE

By:

W. Gordon Knight

2crm_ex103.htm

Exhibit 10.3

 

Ocean Cross Business Solutions Group LLC

 

January 1, 2014

Compliance & Risk Management Solutions Inc.

49 Main Street

New Egypt, NJ 06880

Attn:   Chris Neuert, CEO

This letter is incorporated by reference to the consulting agreement (the “Agreement”), made effective August 1, 2013, by and between Ocean Cross Business Solutions Group LLC (the “Consultant”) and Compliance & Risk Management Solutions Inc. (the “Client”).

The Consultant to the above said Agreement, agrees to the following:

At anytime that the Agreement is in place between the Consultant and the Client, at the Client’s request, the Consultant agrees to defer any compensation due (“Deferred Fees”).   Such Deferred Fees will continue to accrue on the Client’s balance sheet, and, unless otherwise paid at the sole discretion of the Client, will be due and payable upon the Client completing a capital raise which exceeds any payments then due to legal counsel of the Client.

As Agreed and Accepted the date first written above.

 

	Ocean Cross Business Solutions Group LLC 	 	 	Compliance & Risk Management Solutions Inc	 
	
/s/ William E. Schloth

	 	 	
/s/ Christopher Neuert

	 
	By: William E. Schloth     	 	 	
By:  Christopher Neuert

	 
	
Title:  CEO

	 	 	
Title: Chief Executive Officer

	 

 

One Gorham Island, Suite 303, Westport CT 06880

Phone: 203-489-2704

 Email: info@ocbizz.com

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