Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of Chief Financial Officer
On January 1, 2021, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of ZIVO Bioscience, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Keith Marchiando as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Mr. Marchiando succeeds Philip Rice who stepped down from his role as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective January 1, 2021, and who is remaining as a non-executive employee of the Company for a transition period.
Mr. Marchiando, age 58, joins the Company from New US Nonwovens, LLC (“Nonwovens”), a contract manufacturer of personal care and home care products, where he was Chief Financial Officer since August 2019. At US Nonwovens, he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial activities, including strengthening corporate controls, implementing financial planning and developing the Company’s IT strategy. Prior to Nonwovens, he served as a consultant to Plante & Moran PLLC from January 2017 to August 2019, where he engaged in interim chief financial officer roles which included restructuring and transitioning companies in ownership changes, supporting M&A activities and enhancing financial functions and processes. Prior to this position, he served as CFO of Perceptron, Inc. beginning in February 2014, and then CFO of AP Exhaust LLC beginning in May 2015. Mr. Marchiando earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in corporate finance from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Management and an undergraduate degree in finance and economics at Lehigh University.
On January 1, 2021, the Company entered into an employment letter with Mr. Marchiando (“Marchiando Agreement”). Under the terms of the Marchiando Agreement, Mr. Marchiando will serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Company for one year, with successive automatic renewals for one year terms, unless either party terminates the Marchiando Agreement on at least sixty days’ notice prior to the expiration of the then current term of the Marchiando Agreement. Mr. Marchiando will receive an annual base salary, commencing on January 1, 2021, of $280,000 (“Marchiando Base Salary”). The Marchiando Base Salary shall increase to $300,000 if within one (1) year after the effective date, the Company enters into a term sheet and receives the related financing to receive at least $10,000,000 in equity or other form of investment or debt (“Third Party Financing”) on terms satisfactory to the board of directors of the Company. On January 1, 2021, Mr. Marchiando received a stock option award issued pursuant to the Company’s 2019 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan to purchase 13,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), with an exercise price of $0.14 per share. Vesting of these options shall be as follows: 3,000,000 shares vested immediately upon grant of the option award, and 1,250,000 shares will vest on each 6 month anniversary of January 1, 2021.
Mr. Marchiando shall also receive $25,000 upon the closing, prior to December 31, 2021, of a Third Party Financing that raises at least $10,000,000. If, upon the closing prior to December 31, 2021 of a Third Party Financing that raises over $13,000,000 for the Company, Mr. Marchiando shall receive a maximum bonus of $50,000, as long as Mr. Marchiando is employed at the time of closing.
If Mr. Marchiando’s employment is terminated by the Company due to death or Disability, or without Cause, or if Mr. Machiando resigns for Good Reason (each as defined in the Marchiando Agreement) or if either party does not renew the employment term, Mr. Marchiando will be entitled to receive the following severance benefits: a continuation of the Marchiando Base Salary for one year, payment of an amount equal to Mr. Marchiando’s target bonus in the year of termination and a fully-vested, nonqualified stock option to purchase 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock. Additionally, all outstanding and contingent nonqualified options owned directly or beneficially by Mr. Marchiando shall be converted immediately into vested options, with terms as specified in the applicable award agreement.
The Marchiando Agreement provides that if a Change of Control (as defined in the Marchiando Agreement) occurs and Mr. Marchiando resigns for Good Reason (as defined in the Marchiando Agreement) or Mr. Marchiando’s employment is terminated without Cause (as defined in the Marchiando Agreement) during the 24-month period following the Change of Control or during the sixty (60) days immediately preceding the date of a Change of Control, 100% of Mr. Marchiando’s unvested options will be fully vested and the restrictions on his restricted shares will lapse. The Marchiando Agreement also provides for severance payments of, amongst other things, a lump sum payment of 200% of the Marchiando Base Salary, 200% of Mr. Marchiando’s Performance Bonus (as defined in the Marchiando Agreement) earned in the last 12 months preceding the Change of Control and payment of 24 months of the Marchiando Base Salary in such event.
The foregoing summary of the Marchiando Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Marchiando Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Marchiando and any other person with respect to the appointments described above, and Mr. Marchiando has no family relationship with any director or executive officer of the Company. Mr. Marchiando is not a party to any transaction that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
Resignation of Chief Financial Officer
On January 7, 2021, the Company and Rice entered into a written agreement concerning Rice’s departure from the Company (the “Separation Agreement”). In consideration for Rice’s assistance in providing transition services to the Company related to the appointment of Mr. Marchiando as the new Chief Financial Officer and other factors, the Separation Agreement provides for certain payments and benefits to Rice upon his final termination of employment.
Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, Mr. Rice resigned from his position as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective on January 1, 2021, and following a transition period, agreed to resign from all positions as an officer or employee of the Company effective as of January 31, 2021 (the “Separation Date”). The Separation Agreement provides that Mr. Rice will receive certain benefits that he is entitled to receive under his employment agreement dated March 4, 2020. Accordingly, under the Separation Agreement, subject to non-revocation of a general release and waiver of claims in favor of the Company, the Company has agreed to pay Mr. Rice his base salary of $280,000 for one year and three weeks, beginning on the Separation Date, and grant him an option to purchase 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock. Mr. Rice remains subject to the restrictive covenants in his employment agreement. The foregoing summary of the Separation Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Separation Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.