UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 5.02. | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Executive Leadership Changes
On January 10, 2026, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Henry Schein, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Mr. Frederick Lowery as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective March 2, 2026 (the “Effective Date”). In connection with Mr. Lowery’s appointment, the Board expanded the size of the Board from 14 to 15 members and appointed Mr. Lowery to fill the resulting vacancy, in each case, effective as of the Effective Date. Mr. Lowery, 54, comes to the Company from Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., where he has most recently served as Executive Vice President and President, Laboratory Products and BioProduction. Prior to this role, he served as Senior Vice President and President, Customer Channels since January 2021. He joined Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. in 2005 as head of operations for the Molecular BioProducts business of Fisher Scientific International.
As previously announced, the Company had entered into a letter agreement with its current Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Stanely M. Bergman, pursuant to which he had agreed to extend his employment for a term through the earlier of (a) the date of commencement of employment of a new Chief Executive Officer of the Company and (b) the date following the thirtieth (30th) day after Mr. Bergman notifies the Company in writing of his decision to end his employment with the Company. Accordingly, Mr. Bergman will continue as Chief Executive Officer of the Company until the date that Mr. Lowery commences employment with the Company, and then following his retirement as Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bergman will continue as Chairman of the Board.
The Company issued a press release on January 12, 2026 announcing Mr. Lowery’s appointment, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto.
Employment Agreement with Mr. Lowery
In connection with his appointment, Mr. Lowery and the Company entered into an employment agreement, dated January 10, 2026 (“Employment Agreement”). Under the Employment Agreement, Mr. Lowery will receive during the employment period an annual base salary of $1,250,000 and a target annual bonus opportunity under the Company’s Incentive Plan of no less than 150% of base salary, subject to the attainment of performance criteria established by the Compensation Committee of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”). The performance criteria for 2026 will be 70% based on the Company’s earnings per share and 30% based on the Company’s strategic scorecard results (with a maximum payment of 175% of target). The annual bonus payout for fiscal year 2026 will equal no less than $1,875,000.
The Employment Agreement provides that Mr. Lowery will be eligible to receive annual equity awards under the Company’s 2024 Stock Incentive Plan (or successor plan). Solely with respect to the equity awards to be granted to Mr. Lowery in fiscal year 2026, such equity awards will have an aggregate target grant date fair value equal to $10,000,000, allocated as follows: (i) 50% in the form of stock options, which will vest ratably on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date; (ii) 25% in the form of time-based restricted stock units, which will vest ratably on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date; and (iii) 25% in the form of performance-based restricted stock units, which will vest on the third anniversary of the grant date subject to the achievement and certification of performance goals. All vesting is subject to Mr. Lowery’s continued employment through the applicable vesting dates, except in the case of certain termination events. In addition, Mr. Lowery will be eligible to be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses associated with Mr. Lowery’s relocation in connection with his employment with the Company, up to $500,000, subject to customary submission of appropriate documentation evidencing such expenses.
The Employment Agreement further provides that, subject to Mr. Lowery not receiving an annual bonus paid in 2026 and remaining employed by the Company through the date of payment, he will receive a one-time bonus in the amount of $1,184,000 on or as soon as reasonably practicable following the Effective Date. In addition, Mr. Lowery will also automatically receive, on the Effective Date, a special one-time equity award with a target value of $2,500,000 (the “Sign-On Award”). The Sign-On Award will be comprised of time-based restricted stock units, which will be issued pursuant to a Restricted Stock Unit Agreement to be entered into on Mr. Lowery’s start date and will vest ratably on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date, subject to Mr. Lowery’s continued employment through the applicable vesting dates. If Mr. Lowery is terminated by the Company without cause, resigns for good reason, dies or becomes disabled the then-unvested portion of the Sign-On Award will vest in full.
Subject to Mr. Lowery’s timely execution and non-revocation of a release of claims in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Company, Mr. Lowery will be eligible to receive the benefits provided by the amended and restated Henry Schein, Inc. Executive Severance Plan (the “Executive Severance Plan”) or the Company’s Executive Change in Control Plan, as applicable, which for a Chief Executive Officer generally provide, upon a qualifying termination not in connection with a change in control, for a pro-rated annual bonus for the year of termination based on actual performance, cash severance equal to two times the sum of base salary and the average annual bonus paid over the three fiscal years preceding termination, payable in installments over the two-year period following such termination, pro rata acceleration of equity awards (subject to actual performance for performance-based awards), subsidized COBRA health coverage, and outplacement services (collectively, the “Non-CIC Severance Benefits”), and, in the case of a qualifying termination in connection with a change in control, for severance pay equal to 2.5 times base salary and target bonus, payable in one lump sum, pro rata annual incentive compensation for the year of termination based on actual performance, accelerated vesting of equity and certain retirement benefits, and continued health and welfare benefits, in each case subject to the terms of the Employment Agreement and the applicable plan. With respect to a qualifying termination not in connection with a change in control, the Employment Agreement further provides Mr. Lowery protection against amendments to the Company’s Executive Severance Plan that would materially and adversely affect his rights under such plan without his prior written consent.
The foregoing descriptions of the Employment Agreement and the Sign-On Award do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the Employment Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 hereto, and the full text of the Sign-On Award Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.2 hereto, and are incorporated by reference herein.
No arrangement or understanding exists between Mr. Lowery and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Lowery was selected to serve as Chief Executive Officer. There have been no related party transactions between the Company or any of its subsidiaries and Mr. Lowery reportable under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Mr. Lowery has no family relationships with any of the Company’s directors or executive officers.
Executive Severance Plan
On January 9, 2026, the Compensation Committee approved the adoption of the Amended and Restated Executive Severance Plan, effective March 2, 2026. The Amended and Restated Executive Severance Plan generally continues the existing provisions of the plan and incorporates the following change: the Chief Executive Officer, who is currently excluded from participation, will become eligible to participate and, upon a qualifying termination not in connection with a change in control, will be entitled to receive the Non-CIC Severance Benefits.
The foregoing summary of the Amended and Restated Executive Severance Plan does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Executive Severance Plan, which is attached as Exhibit 10.3 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 5.03. | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year |
On January 10, 2026, upon the recommendation of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board, the Board approved an amendment and restatement of the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated By-Laws (as amended and restated, the “By-Laws”), effective immediately. Among other things, the amendments:
| • | eliminate the requirement that the Board appoint a President and related concepts; and |
| • | permit the Board to appoint a Chief Executive Officer who is not also President or Chairman of the Board. |
The foregoing summary of the amendments to the By-Laws does not purport to be a complete description and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the By-Laws, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 3.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| HENRY SCHEIN, INC. | ||||||
| Date: January 12, 2026 | By: | /s/ Kelly Murphy | ||||
| Name: | Kelly Murphy | |||||
| Title: | Senior Vice President and General Counsel | |||||
Exhibit 3.1
BY-LAWS
OF
HENRY SCHEIN, INC.
(a Delaware Corporation)
(as amended and restated as of January 10, 2026)
FIFTH AMENDED AND RESTATED BY-LAWS
OF
HENRY SCHEIN, INC.
ARTICLE I.
OFFICES
A registered office shall be established and maintained in the State of Delaware as required by law. The Corporation may have an office or offices, either within or without the State of Delaware, at such other place or places as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine or as the business of the Corporation may from time to time require.
ARTICLE II.
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS
Section 1. Annual Meetings. Annual meetings of stockholders of the Corporation for the election of directors and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting shall be held at such place, if any, either within or without the State of Delaware, and at such time and date as the Board of Directors from time to time by resolution shall determine.
Section 2. Voting. Except as otherwise required by the Corporation’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by such stockholder. A stockholder may vote in person or by proxy executed in writing (or in such manner permitted by law, including Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act) by the stockholder or their attorney-in-fact; provided, however, that no proxy shall be voted after three (3) years from its date unless such proxy provides for a longer period. Directors shall be elected in accordance with Article III Section 1 of these By-Laws. All other action shall be authorized by the affirmative vote of the majority in voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter, unless a different or minimum vote is required by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, these By-Laws, the rules or regulations of any stock exchange applicable to the Corporation, or any law or regulation applicable to the Corporation or its securities, in which case such different or minimum vote shall be the applicable vote on the matter.
Any stockholder directly or indirectly soliciting proxies from other stockholders must use a proxy card color other than white, which shall be reserved for exclusive use by the Board of Directors.
Section 3. List of Stockholders. A complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at each meeting, arranged in alphabetical order, with the address of each, and the number of shares held by each, shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present.
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Section 4. Quorum. Except as otherwise required by law or by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, a majority in voting power of the shares of the Corporation entitled to vote at the meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders. Except as otherwise required by law, in case a quorum shall not be present at any meeting, a majority in interest of the stockholders entitled to vote thereat, present in person or represented by proxy, shall have the power to adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than an announcement of the time and place of the adjourned meeting at the meeting at which an adjournment is taken, until the requisite amount of stock entitled to vote shall be present. At any such adjourned meeting at which the requisite amount of stock entitled to vote shall be represented, any business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the original meeting; provided, however, that only those stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting as originally noticed shall be entitled to vote at any adjournment or adjournments thereof unless a new record date is set for the meeting.
Section 5. Special Meetings. Except as otherwise provided by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, special meetings of the stockholders for any purpose or purposes may be called by the Chairman of the Board, or by resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Directors.
(a) A special meeting of stockholders shall be called by the Board of Directors upon written request to the Secretary by the record holder or holders of at least 10% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Corporation (the “Requisite Percentage”) who have complied in full with the requirements set forth in these By-laws (such request, a “Stockholder Meeting Request”). A special meeting of stockholders may be held at such date, time and place, if any, within or without the State of Delaware as may be designated by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that the date of any such special meeting called upon the receipt of a Stockholder Meeting Request shall be not more than ninety (90) days after the Special Meeting Request is received by the Secretary. In fixing a date, time and place, if any, for any special meeting of stockholders, the Board of Directors may consider such factors as it deems relevant, including without limitation, the nature of the matters to be considered, the facts and circumstances related to any request for a meeting and any plan of the Board of Directors to call an annual meeting or special meeting. The Corporation may postpone, reschedule or cancel any previously scheduled special meeting of stockholders.
(b) A Stockholder Meeting Request shall be delivered to the Secretary and shall be signed by each stockholder, or a duly authorized agent of such stockholder, requesting the special meeting and shall be accompanied by a written notice setting forth the information required by Section 6(b) of this Article II as to the business proposed to be conducted at the special meeting and as to the stockholder(s) proposing such business, and/or as to any nominations proposed to be presented at the special meeting and as to the stockholder(s) proposing such nominations. In addition to the foregoing, a Stockholder Meeting Request must include (x) an acknowledgment of the requesting stockholder(s) that any disposition by such stockholder(s) after the date of the Stockholder Meeting Request of any shares of the Corporation’s common stock shall be deemed a revocation of the Stockholder Meeting Request with respect to such shares and that such shares will no longer be included in determining whether the Requisite Percentage has been satisfied, and (y) a commitment by such stockholder(s) to continue to satisfy the Requisite Percentage through the date of the requested special meeting of stockholders and to notify the Corporation upon any disposition of any shares of the Corporation’s common stock. The requesting stockholder(s) shall certify in writing on the day prior to the requested special meeting of stockholders as to whether the requesting stockholder(s) continue to satisfy the Requisite Percentage. In addition to the foregoing, the requesting stockholder(s) shall provide any other information reasonably requested by the Corporation promptly and in any event within five (5) business days after it has been requested.
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(c) In determining whether a special meeting of stockholders has been requested by the record holders of shares representing in the aggregate at least the Requisite Percentage, multiple Special Meeting Requests delivered to the Secretary will be considered together only if (i) each Special Meeting Request identifies substantially the same purpose or purposes of the special meeting and substantially the same matters proposed to be acted on at the special meeting, in each case as determined by the Board of Directors (which, if such purpose is the nominating of a person or persons for election to the Board of Directors, will mean that the exact same person or persons are nominated in each relevant Stockholder Meeting Request), and (ii) such Special Meeting Requests have been dated and delivered to the Secretary within sixty (60) days of the earliest dated Special Meeting Request. A stockholder may revoke a Special Meeting Request at any time by written revocation delivered to the Secretary. If, following such revocation, there are unrevoked requests from stockholders holding in the aggregate less than the Requisite Percentage, the Board of Directors, in its discretion, may cancel the special meeting. If none of the requesting stockholder(s) who submitted the Special Meeting Request appears or sends a qualified representative to present the matters to be presented for consideration that were specified in the Stockholder Meeting Request, the Corporation need not present such matters for a vote at such meeting, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such matter may have been received by the Corporation.
(d) At any special meeting requested by stockholders, the business transacted shall be limited to the purpose(s) stated in the Stockholder Meeting Request; provided, however, that the Board of Directors shall have the authority in its discretion to submit additional matters to the stockholders and to cause other business to be transacted.
Section 6. Notice of Meetings; Waivers.
(a) Written notice, stating the place, if any, date and time of any meeting of stockholders, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which such meeting is called, shall be given to each stockholder entitled to vote thereat, not less than (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting, except as otherwise required by law, the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws. Whenever any notice is required by these By-Laws to be given, personal notice is not meant unless expressly so stated, and any notice so required shall be deemed to be sufficient if given by depositing the same in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person entitled thereto at his or her address as it appears on the records of the Corporation, and such notice shall be deemed to have been given on the day of such mailing. Stockholders not entitled to vote shall not be entitled to receive notice of any meetings except as otherwise provided by law.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by law, at any annual or special meeting of stockholders only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting in accordance with the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation and these By-Laws. In order to be properly brought before the meeting, such business must have either been (i) specified in the written notice of the meeting (or any supplement thereto) given to stockholders of record on the record date for such meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, (ii) brought before the meeting at the direction of the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the meeting, or (iii) specified in a written notice given by or on behalf of a stockholder of record on the record date for such meeting entitled to vote thereat or a duly authorized proxy for such stockholder of record, in accordance with all of the following requirements. A notice referred to in clause (iii) of this Section 6(b) must be delivered personally to, or mailed to and received at, the principal executive office of the Corporation, addressed to the attention of the Secretary of the Corporation, in the case of business to be brought before a special meeting of stockholders, not more than ten (10) days after the date of the initial notice referred to in clause (i) of this Section 6(b), and, beginning with the annual meeting of stockholders held in 2024, in the case of business to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders, such notice shall be delivered personally to, or mailed to and received by the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders. Such notice referred to in clause (iii) of this Section 6(b) shall set forth (A) a full description of each such item of business proposed to be brought before the meeting, (B) the name and address of the person proposing to bring such business before the meeting, (C) the
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class and number of shares held of record, held beneficially and represented by proxy by such person as of the record date for the meeting (if such date has then been made publicly available) and as of the date of such notice, (D) if any item of such business involves a nomination for director(s), all information regarding each such nominee that would be required to be set forth in a definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or any successor thereto, and the written consent of each such nominee to serve if elected, (E) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest has been entered into by or on behalf of such stockholder or any of its affiliates with respect to the shares of the Corporation, (F) whether any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares) has been made by or on behalf of such stockholder or any of its affiliates, the effect or intent of which is to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of share price changes for, such stockholder or any of its affiliates or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such shareholder or any of its affiliates with respect to the shares of the Corporation, (G) any material interest of such stockholder or any of its affiliates in any nomination, including any anticipated benefit therefrom to such stockholder or any of its affiliates, (H) a representation that the stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting or special meeting to nominate the person(s) named in its notice and (I) if applicable, all other information that would be required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission if, with respect to the business proposed to be brought before the meeting, the person proposing such business were a participant in a solicitation subject to Section 14 of the Exchange Act, or any successor thereto. In addition, the Corporation may require any proposed nominee to submit to interviews with the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, and such proposed nominee shall make themselves available for any such interviews with no less than ten (10) business days following the date of such request. No business shall be brought before any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation otherwise than as provided in this Section 6(b). For the purposes of these By-laws, the term “beneficially” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act.
(c) In addition, a stockholder who has delivered a notice of nomination pursuant to this Section 6 and Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act shall promptly certify to the Secretary of the Corporation, and notify the Secretary of the Corporation in writing, that such stockholder has met the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a) (including for the avoidance of doubt Rule 14a-19(a)(3) which provides that “No person may solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the registrant’s nominees unless such person:...Solicits the holders of shares representing at least 67% of the voting power of shares entitled to vote on the election of directors and includes a statement to that effect in the proxy statement or form of proxy.”) and upon request of the Corporation, shall, not later than five (5) business days prior to the date of the applicable meeting of stockholders, deliver to the corporation reasonable evidence of such compliance.
The stockholder providing such notice and, if applicable, the proposed nominee for election as a director, shall update and supplement its notice to the Corporation, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice or accompany such notice pursuant to this Section 6 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the day that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment thereof, and such update and supplement shall be in writing and must be received by the Secretary of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of the record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date of the meeting, or any adjournment thereof. For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any notice provided by a stockholder, to extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any proposal or to submit any new proposal, including by changing or adding matters, business or resolutions proposed to be brought before a meeting of the stockholder.
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(d) Whenever any notice whatsoever is required to be given to stockholders under the provisions of any law, or pursuant to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws, a waiver thereof, given by the stockholder or stockholders entitled to said notice in writing or by electronic transmission, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of any regular or special meeting of stockholders need be specified in any waiver of notice.
Section 7. Action Without Meeting. Unless otherwise provided by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders, or any action which may be taken at any annual or special meeting, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which minutes of proceedings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall, to the extent required by law, be given to those stockholders who have not consented in writing and who, if the action had been taken at a meeting, would have been entitled to notice of the meeting if the record date for notice of such meeting had been the date that written consents signed by a sufficient number of holders to take the action were delivered to the Corporation.
Section 8. Organization. The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall preside at all meetings of stockholders. In the absence of, or in case of a vacancy in the office of, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the President, or in his or her absence, such officer as the Board of Directors shall from time to time determine, shall preside. The Secretary of the Corporation shall act as secretary at all meetings of the stockholders and in the Secretary’s absence, the presiding officer may appoint a secretary.
Section 9. Stockholders Record Date for Meetings and Entitlement to Rights.
(a) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall, unless otherwise required by law, not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If the Board of Directors so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board of Directors determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board of Directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance herewith at the adjourned meeting.
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(b) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights, or entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no such record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.
Section 10. Action by Written Consent.
(a) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which date shall not be more than ten (10) days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors. Any stockholder of record seeking to have the stockholders authorize or take corporate action by written consent shall, by written notice to the Secretary, request that the Board of Directors fix a record date. The Board of Directors shall promptly, but in all events within ten (10) days after the date on which such written notice is received, adopt a resolution fixing the record date (unless a record date has previously been fixed by the Board of Directors pursuant to the first sentence of this Section 10(a)). If no record date has been fixed by the Board of Directors pursuant to the first sentence of this Section 10(a) or otherwise within ten (10) days after the date on which such written notice is received, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, when no prior action by the Board of Directors is required by applicable law, shall be the first date after the expiration of such ten (10) day time period on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in Delaware, its principal place of business, or to any officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. If no record date has been fixed by the Board of Directors pursuant to the first sentence of this Section 10(a), the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting if prior action by the Board of Directors is required by applicable law shall be at the close of business on the date on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.
(b) In the event of the delivery, in the manner provided by this Section 10 and applicable law, to the Corporation of written consent or consents to take corporate action and/or any related revocation or revocations, the Corporation shall engage independent inspectors of elections for the purpose of performing promptly a ministerial review of the validity of the consents and revocations. For the purpose of permitting the inspectors to perform such review, no action by written consent and without a meeting shall be effective until such inspectors have completed their review, determined that the requisite number of valid and unrevoked consents delivered to the Corporation in accordance with this Section 10 and applicable law have been obtained to authorize or take the action specified in the consents, and certified such determination for entry in the records of the Corporation kept for the purpose of recording the proceedings of meetings of stockholders. Nothing contained in this Section 10(b) shall in any way be construed to suggest or imply that the Board of Directors or any stockholder shall not be entitled to contest the validity of any consent or revocation thereof, whether before or after such certification by the independent inspectors, or to take any other action (including, without limitation, the commencement, prosecution or defense of any litigation with respect thereto, and the seeking of injunctive relief in such litigation).
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(c) Every written consent shall bear the date of signature of each stockholder who signs the consent and no written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within sixty (60) days after the earliest dated written consent received in accordance with this Section 10 a valid written consent or valid written consents signed by a sufficient number of stockholders to take such action are delivered to the Corporation in the manner prescribed in this Section 10 and applicable law, and not revoked.
Section 11. Conduct of Meeting. The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the person presiding over the meeting. The Board of Directors may adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of the meeting of stockholders as it shall deem appropriate. Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board of Directors, the person presiding over any meeting of stockholders shall have the right and authority to convene and (for any or no reason) to recess and/or adjourn the meeting, to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such presiding person, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board of Directors or prescribed by the presiding person of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (iii) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the presiding person of the meeting shall determine; (iv) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (v) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants. The presiding person at any meeting of stockholders, in addition to making any other determinations that may be appropriate to the conduct of the meeting, shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a matter or business was not properly brought before the meeting and if such presiding person should so determine, such presiding person shall so declare to the meeting and any such matter or business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted or considered. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board of Directors or the person presiding over the meeting, meetings of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure.
Section 12. Proxy Access.
A. General Requirements.
(a) Information to be included in the Corporation’s Proxy Materials. Following the 2021 annual meeting of the Corporation’s stockholders, the Corporation shall include in its proxy materials for an annual meeting the Required Information (as defined below) with respect to any person nominated for election to the Board of Directors in accordance with this Section 12 (the “Stockholder Nominee”) by an Eligible Stockholder (as defined below) who complies with the requirements of this Section 12, and expressly elects at the time of providing the notice required by this Section 12 (the “Notice of Proxy Access Nomination”) to have its Stockholder Nominee included in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 12. The Corporation shall not be required to include, pursuant to this Section 12, any Stockholder Nominee in its proxy materials for any annual meeting of stockholders for which the Secretary of the Corporation receives a notice that a stockholder has nominated a person for election to the Board of Directors pursuant to the advance notice requirements for stockholder nominees for directors set forth in Section 6(b) of this Article II.
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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 12, the Corporation may (i) omit from its proxy materials any information that (x) is untrue in any material respect, (y) fails to state a material fact necessary in order to make the information, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading or (z) would violate any applicable law or regulation and (ii) solicit against, and include in the proxy materials its own statement relating to, any Eligible Stockholder or any Stockholder Nominee.
For purposes of this Section 12:
(i) The “Required Information” means
(a) the name of any Stockholder Nominee;
(b) information provided to the Secretary of the Corporation by the Eligible Stockholder concerning the Stockholder Nominee and the Eligible Stockholder that is required to be disclosed in the Corporation’s proxy materials by the rules under the Exchange Act; and
(c) if the Eligible Stockholder so elects, a written statement, not to exceed 500 words, in support of each of its Stockholder Nominee(s)’ candidacy.
(ii) An “Eligible Stockholder” is a stockholder or group of no more than twenty (20) Stockholders (counting as one stockholder for this purpose any “Qualifying Fund Group,” which shall mean any two or more funds that are (i) under common management and investment control, (ii) under common management and funded primarily by the same employer or (iii) a “group of investment companies,” as such term is defined in Section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) that:
(a) has Owned continuously for at least three years (the “Minimum Holding Period”) as of both the Receipt Date (as defined in subparagraph A.(b) below) and the record date for determining stockholders eligible to vote at the applicable annual meeting of stockholders, at least three percent (3%) of the Corporation’s shares of common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote in the election of directors as of the Receipt Date (the “Required Shares,” and such percentage the “Required Ownership Percentage”);
(b) Owns continuously the Required Shares at all times between the Receipt Date and the date of the applicable annual meeting of stockholders; and
(c) satisfies all other requirements of, and complies with all applicable procedures set forth in, this Section 12, including providing evidence of continuous Ownership of the Required Shares for the Minimum Holding Period from one or more securities intermediaries or registered stockholders.
If the Eligible Stockholder consists of a group of Stockholders, any and all requirements and obligations for an individual Eligible Stockholder that are set forth in this Section 12, including the Minimum Holding Period (as defined below), shall apply to each member of such group; provided, however, that the Required Ownership Percentage shall apply to the ownership of the group in the aggregate. No stockholder shall be permitted to join more than one group of stockholders to become an Eligible Stockholder pursuant to this Section 12 per each annual meeting.
(iii) An Eligible Stockholder shall be deemed to “Own” only those outstanding shares of common stock of the Corporation as to which the stockholder possesses both:
(a) the full voting and investment rights pertaining to the shares; and
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(b) the full economic interest in (including the opportunity for profit from and risk of loss on) such shares;
provided that the number of shares calculated in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) shall not include any shares:
| A. | sold by such stockholder or any of its affiliates in any transaction that has not been settled or closed; |
| B. | with respect to which the stockholder’s economic interest has been reduced or otherwise hedged as a result of engaging in any other transaction, such as a short sale, with respect to securities of the same or a related class, whether or not the transaction is settled in stock or in cash; |
| C. | borrowed by such stockholder or any of its affiliates for any purposes or purchased by such stockholder or any of its affiliates pursuant to an agreement to resell; or |
| D. | subject to any option, warrant, forward contract, swap, contract of sale, other derivative or similar agreement entered into by such stockholder or any of its affiliates, whether any such instrument or agreement is to be settled with shares or with cash based on the notional amount or value of shares of common stock of the Corporation, in any such case which instrument or agreement has, or is intended to have, or if exercised by either party would have, the purpose or effect of: |
| 1. | reducing in any manner, to any extent or at any time in the future, such stockholder’s or its affiliates’ full right to vote or direct the voting of any such shares; and/or |
| 2. | hedging, offsetting or altering to any degree any gain or loss realized or realizable from maintaining the full economic ownership of such shares by such stockholder or its affiliates. |
A stockholder shall “Own” shares held in the name of a nominee or other intermediary so long as the stockholder (i) retains the right to instruct how the shares are voted with respect to the election of directors and the right to direct the disposition thereof and (ii) possesses the full economic interest in the shares. A stockholder’s ownership of shares shall be deemed to continue during any period in which the stockholder has (i) delegated any voting power by means of a proxy, power of attorney or other instrument or arrangement which is revocable at any time by the stockholder or (ii) loaned such shares provided that the stockholder has the power to recall such loaned shares on five (5) business days’ notice. The terms “Owned,” “Owning” and other variations of the word “Own” shall have correlative meanings. For purposes of this Section 12, the term “affiliate” or “affiliates” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto by Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act.
(b) Notice Period: To be timely, the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must be received by the Secretary of the Corporation (the date of such receipt, the “Receipt Date”) no earlier than the close of business on the 150th day prior to and no later than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the date that the Corporation mailed its proxy statement for the previous year’s annual meeting of stockholders (such 120th day, the “Final Proxy Access Nomination Date”); provided, however, that if either (i) the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or after the first anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting or (ii) no annual meeting of stockholders was held in the previous year, the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must be received by the Secretary of the Corporation between the dates, or by the date, publicly announced by the Corporation (such date(s) shall be a reasonable time before the Corporation mails its proxy statement for such annual meeting) and the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date shall be the latest of such date(s).
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(c) Permitted Number of Stockholder Nominees: The maximum number of Stockholder Nominees nominated by all Eligible Stockholders that will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders shall not exceed the greater of (i) two and (ii) twenty percent (20%) of the total number of directors in office as of the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date (rounded down to the nearest whole number) (the “Proxy Access Nominee Maximum”). If the Board of Directors resolves to reduce the size of the Board of Directors after the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date but before the date of the annual meeting, the maximum number of Stockholder Nominees included in the Corporation’s proxy materials shall be calculated based on the number of directors in office as so reduced. The following persons shall be counted as a Stockholder Nominee for purposes of determining whether the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum has been reached:
| i. | any person serving on the Board of Directors as of the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date who (1) will be included as a management nominee for the Board of Directors in the Corporation’s proxy materials for the annual meeting to which the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum determination relates and (2) was included in the Corporation’s proxy materials as a Stockholder Nominee pursuant to this Section 12 for either of the two preceding annual meetings; |
| ii. | any individual nominated by an Eligible Stockholder for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 12 and: |
| 1. | whom the Board of Directors decides to nominate as a nominee of the Board of Directors; or |
| 2. | whose nomination is subsequently withdrawn (whether before or after the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date). |
(d) Any Eligible Stockholder submitting more than one stockholder Nominee for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 12 shall rank such Stockholder Nominees based on the order that the Eligible Stockholder desires such Stockholder Nominees to be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials if the total number of Stockholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Stockholders pursuant to this Section 12 exceeds the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum. If the number of Stockholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Stockholders pursuant to this Section 12 exceeds the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum, the highest ranking Stockholder Nominee who meets the requirements of this Section 12 from each Eligible Stockholder will be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials until the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum is reached. Selection will be in order of the amount (from largest to smallest) of shares of the Corporation’s common stock each Eligible Stockholder disclosed as owned in its respective Notice of Proxy Access Nomination. If the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum is not reached after the highest ranking Stockholder Nominee who meets the requirements of this Section 12 from each Eligible Stockholder has been selected, this process will continue as many times as necessary, following the same order each time, until the Proxy Access Nominee Maximum is reached. Following such determination, if any Stockholder Nominee who satisfies the eligibility requirements of this Section 12 (y) thereafter is nominated by the Board of Directors or (z) thereafter is not included in the Corporation’s proxy materials or is not submitted for election as a director, in either case, as a result of the Nominating Stockholder becoming ineligible or withdrawing its nomination, the Stockholder Nominee becoming unwilling or unable to serve on the Board of Directors or the Eligible Stockholder or the Stockholder Nominee failing to comply with the provisions of this Section 12, no other nominee or nominees shall be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials or otherwise submitted for director election in substitution thereof.
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B. Stockholder Nominee Requirements.
(a) Form of Notice. The Notice of Proxy Access Nomination provided by an Eligible Stockholder must include the following information:
| i. | the number of shares it is deemed to own for the purposes of this Section 12; |
| ii. | written statement(s), from a person and in a form acceptable for purposes of a stockholder proposal under Rule 14a-8(b)(2) under the Exchange Act, verifying that, as of a date within seven (7) calendar days prior to the date the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is received by the Secretary of the Corporation, the Eligible Stockholder owns, and has owned continuously for the Minimum Holding Period, the Required Shares; |
| iii. | the Eligible Stockholder’s agreement to provide, within five (5) business days after the record date for the annual meeting, written statement(s), from a person and in a form acceptable for purposes of a Stockholder proposal under Rule 14a-8(b)(2) under the Exchange Act, verifying the Eligible Stockholder’s continuous ownership of the Required Shares through the record date; |
| iv. | a copy of the Schedule 14N that has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by Rule 14a-18 under the Exchange Act; |
| v. | the information, representations and agreements that are the same as those that would be required to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice of nomination pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Article II; |
| vi. | a representation that the Eligible Stockholder: |
| 1. | acquired the Required Shares in the ordinary course of business and not with the intent to change or influence control at the Corporation, and does not presently have such intent; |
| 2. | will maintain ownership of the Required Shares through the date of the annual meeting; |
| 3. | has not nominated and will not nominate for election any individual as a director at the annual meeting, other than its Stockholder Nominee(s) pursuant to this Section 12; |
| 4. | has not engaged and will not engage in, and has not and will not be a “participant” in another person’s, “solicitation,” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(l) under the Exchange Act, in support of the election of any individual as a director at the annual meeting other than its Stockholder Nominee(s) or a nominee of the Board of Directors; |
| 5. | agrees to comply with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to any solicitation in connection with the annual meeting or applicable to the filing and use, if any, of soliciting material; |
| 6. | will provide facts, statements and other information in all communications with the Corporation and its stockholders that are or will be true and correct in all material respects and that do not or will not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the communications, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and |
| vii. | an undertaking that the Eligible Stockholder agrees to: |
| 1. | assume all liability stemming from any legal or regulatory violation arising out of the Eligible Stockholder’s communications with the Stockholders of the Corporation or out of the information that the Eligible Stockholder provided to the Corporation, in each case in connection with the Eligible Stockholder’s use of this Section 12 or efforts to elect its Stockholder Nominee(s); |
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| 2. | indemnify and hold harmless the Corporation and each of its directors, officers and employees individually against any liability, loss or damages in connection with any threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding, whether legal, administrative or investigative, against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or employees arising out of any nomination submitted by the Eligible Stockholder pursuant to this Section 12; and |
| viii. | in the case of a nomination by a group of stockholders that together is an Eligible Stockholder, the designation by all group members of one group member that is authorized to act on behalf of all such members with respect to the nomination and matters related thereto, including withdrawal of the nomination. |
| ix. | in the case of a nomination by a group of stockholders that together is an Eligible Stockholder in which two or more funds that are part of the same Qualifying Fund Group are counted as one stockholder for purposes of qualifying as an Eligible Stockholder, documentation reasonably satisfactory to the Corporation that demonstrates that the funds are part of the same Qualifying Fund Group. |
(b) In order to be eligible for nomination pursuant to this Section 12, within the time period specified in this Section 12 for delivering the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination, a Stockholder Nominee must deliver to the Secretary of the Corporation:
| i. | a consent of such Stockholder Nominee to being named in the proxy materials as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected; |
| ii. | the information required with respect to such Stockholder Nominee if he were a person nominated for election or reelection as a director pursuant to Section 6(b) of this Article II; |
| iii. | a written representation and agreement that such Stockholder Nominee: |
| 1. | will submit all questionnaires required by the Corporation of its directors and director nominees; and |
| 2. | will provide facts, statements and other information in all communications with the Corporation and its stockholders that are or will be true and correct in all material respects and that do not or will not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the communications, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; |
| iv. | such additional information requested by the Corporation as necessary to permit the Board of Directors to determine if such Stockholder Nominee is independent under the listing standards of the principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any publicly disclosed standards used by the Board of Directors in determining and disclosing the independence of the Corporation’s directors; and |
(c) Agreements of the Stockholder Nominee. At the request of the Corporation, each Stockholder Nominee must deliver to the Secretary a written representation and agreement (a form of which may be obtained upon written request of the Secretary) that such Stockholder Nominee (i) is not and will not become a party to (1) any Voting Commitment that has not been disclosed to the Corporation in such representation and agreement or (2) any Voting Commitment that could limit or interfere with such person’s ability to comply, if elected as a director of the Corporation, with such person’s fiduciary duties under applicable law, (ii) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation, reimbursement or indemnification in connection with service or action as a director that has not been disclosed to the Corporation in such representation and agreement, (iii) would be in compliance, if elected as a director of the Corporation, and will comply with the Corporation’s code of conduct and ethics, corporate
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governance guidelines, stock ownership and trading policies and guidelines and any other policies or guidelines of the Corporation applicable to directors and (iv) will make such other acknowledgments, enter into such agreements and provide such information as the Board of Directors requires of all directors, including promptly submitting all completed and signed questionnaires and other documents and agreements required of the Corporation’s directors. “Voting Commitment” shall mean any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, or any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how a Stockholder Nominee, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question.
(d) If any information or communications provided by the Eligible Stockholder or the Stockholder Nominee to the Corporation or its Stockholders (i) ceases to be true and correct in all material respects or (ii) requires disclosure of a new material fact to make the information or communications, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, each Eligible Stockholder or Stockholder Nominee, as the case may be, shall promptly notify the Secretary of the Corporation of any defect in such previously provided information and of the information that is required to correct any such defect.
C. Disqualification.
(a) The Corporation shall not be required to include, pursuant to this Section 12, a Stockholder Nominee in its proxy materials for any annual meeting of stockholders:
| i. | if the Eligible Stockholder who has nominated such Stockholder Nominee has engaged in or is currently engaged in, or has been or is a “participant” in another person’s “solicitation” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(l) under the Exchange Act, in support of the election of any individual as a director at the annual meeting other than its Stockholder Nominee(s) or a nominee of the Board of Directors. |
| ii. | if the Stockholder Nominee is or becomes a party to any compensatory, payment, reimbursement, indemnification or other financial agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation or a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, or has received or will receive any such compensation, reimbursement, indemnification or other payment from any person or entity other than the Corporation or a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, in each case in connection with candidacy or service as a director of the Corporation (other than agreements providing only for indemnification and/or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses in connection with candidacy as a director) unless the amount(s) of compensation, source(s) of compensation, payment criteria, form and timing of compensation, and all other material terms and conditions with respect to such compensatory, payment, reimbursement, indemnification or other financial agreements, arrangements or understandings are accurately disclosed by such Stockholder Nominee to the Corporation’s stockholders in timely filed and distributed proxy solicitation disclosures in connection with the annual meeting; |
| iii. | who is not independent under the listing standards of any principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any publicly disclosed standards used by the Board of Directors in determining and disclosing independence of the Corporation’s directors; |
| iv. | whose election as a director would cause the Corporation to be in violation of these By-laws, the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the rules and listing standards of any principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed, or any applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation; |
| v. | who is or has been, within the past three (3) years, an officer or director of a competitor, as defined in Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914; |
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| vi. | who is subject to an event for which disclosure would be required by Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K in the proxy statement for the annual meeting; |
| vii. | who is subject to any disqualification event specified in Rule 506(d) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
| viii. | if such Stockholder Nominee, or the Eligible Stockholder that nominated such Stockholder Nominee, has provided information to the Corporation or its stockholders in respect to such nomination that was untrue in any material respect or that omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the information, in light of the circumstances under which they were provided, not misleading; or |
| ix. | if such Stockholder Nominee, or the Eligible Stockholder that nominated such Stockholder Nominee, fails to comply with his, her or its obligations pursuant to these By-laws, including, but not limited to, this Section 12. |
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Board of Directors or the chairman of the meeting may declare the nomination of a Stockholder Nominee by an Eligible Stockholder to be invalid, and such nomination shall be disregarded notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation, if:
| i. | such Stockholder Nominee and/or such Eligible Stockholder has breached his, her or its obligations under this Section 12; or |
| ii. | such Eligible Stockholder (or a qualified representative thereof) does not appear at the annual meeting to present such nomination pursuant to this Section 12. |
(c) Any Stockholder Nominee who is included in the Corporation’s proxy materials for a particular annual meeting of Stockholders but either:
| i. | withdraws from or becomes ineligible or unavailable for election at the annual meeting; or |
| ii. | does not receive at least twenty-five (25%) of the votes cast in favor of such Stockholder Nominee’s election |
will be ineligible to be a Stockholder Nominee pursuant to this Section 12 for the next two annual meetings.
For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 12.C.(c) shall not prevent any stockholder from nominating any person to the Board of Directors pursuant to and in accordance with Section 6(b) of this Article II.
ARTICLE III.
DIRECTORS
Section 1. Number and Term.
(a) The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of its Board of Directors. Subject to the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the number of directors constituting the Board of Directors shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. Except as provided in Section 3 of this Article, each director shall be elected by the vote of the majority of the votes cast with respect to that director’s election at any meeting for the election of directors at which a quorum is present, provided that if the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the directors shall be elected by the vote of a plurality of the votes cast. For purposes of this Section, a majority of the votes cast means that the number of shares voted “for” a director must exceed the number of votes cast “against” that director. For purposes of this Section, abstentions and broker non-votes shall not be votes cast. If a nominee for director is not elected and the
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nominee is an incumbent director, that director shall promptly tender his or her resignation to the Board of Directors, subject to acceptance by the Board of Directors. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors as to whether to accept or reject the tendered resignation, or whether other action should be taken. The Board of Directors will act on the tendered resignation, taking into account the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s recommendation, and publicly disclose (by a press release, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other broadly disseminated means of communication) its decision regarding the tendered resignation and the rationale behind the decision within ninety (90) days from the date of the certification of the election results. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in making its recommendation and the Board of Directors in making its decision may each consider any factors or other information that they consider appropriate and relevant. The director who tenders his or her resignation will not participate in the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee or the decision of the Board of Directors with respect to his or her resignation.
(b) If a director’s resignation is accepted by the Board of Directors pursuant to this By-Law, or if a nominee for director is not elected and the nominee is not an incumbent director, then the Board of Directors may fill the resulting vacancy pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of this Article or may decrease the size of the Board of Directors pursuant to the provisions of this Section and the Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
(c) Subject to the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the directors shall be elected at the annual meeting of the stockholders and each director shall be elected to serve until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified. Directors need not be stockholders of the Corporation.
Section 2. Resignations. Any director may resign at any time by delivering his or her resignation in writing or by electronic transmission which shall specify whether it will be effective at a particular time, upon receipt by the President or the Secretary of the Corporation or at the pleasure of the Board of Directors, and if no time be specified at the time of its receipt by the President or the Secretary of the Corporation. The acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective unless such resignation provides otherwise.
Section 3. Vacancies. Newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors and any other vacancies on the Board of Directors, whether resulting from death, disability, resignation, disqualification, removal or any other circumstances, shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum of the Board of Directors. Any director elected in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office until such director’s successor shall have been elected and qualified.
Section 4. Removal.
(a) Except as hereinafter provided, any director or directors may be removed with or without cause at any time by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote on the matter and the vacancies thus created may be filled, at the meeting held for the purpose of removal or by the consent effecting such removal, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66-2/3% of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote on such matter.
(b) If the holders of any class or series are entitled to elect one or more directors pursuant to the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the provisions of the foregoing paragraph shall apply, in respect of the removal without cause of a director or directors so elected, to the vote of the holders of the outstanding shares of that class or series and not to the vote of the outstanding shares as a whole.
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Section 5. Powers. The Board of Directors shall exercise all of the powers of the Corporation except such as are by law or by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or by these By-Laws conferred upon or reserved to the stockholders.
Section 6. Committees. The Corporation elects to be governed by Section 141(c)(2) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. The Board of Directors may designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of two or more of the directors of the Corporation. The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of the committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not he, she or they constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in place of any such absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent permitted by law and to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board of Directors, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers which may require it. Unless the Board of Directors otherwise provides, each committee designated by the Board of Directors may make, alter and repeal rules for the conduct of its business. In the absence of such rules each committee shall conduct its business in the same manner as the Board of Directors conducts its business pursuant to Article III of these By-Laws.
Section 7. Meetings.
(a) Regular meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places as the Board of Directors shall from time to time by resolution determine. Notice of regular meetings of the Board or of any adjourned meeting thereof need not be given.
(b) Special meetings of the Board shall be held whenever called by the Chairman of the Board or by the Secretary on the written request of any director. Notice of each special meeting of the Board shall be given by overnight delivery service or mailed to each director, in either case addressed to such director at such director’s residence or usual place of business, at least two (2) days before the day on which the meeting is to be held or shall be sent to such director at such place by email, telecopy or other form of electronic transmission, or be given personally or by telephone, not later than the day before the meeting is to be held. Every such notice shall state the time and place but need not state the purpose of the meeting. A waiver, given by the director in writing or by electronic transmission, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a director at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any special meeting of the directors need be specified in any waiver of notice.
(c) Unless otherwise restricted by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws, members of the Board of Directors, or any committee designated by the Board of Directors, may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors, or any committee, by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a meeting shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.
Section 8. Quorum and Voting. Except as otherwise provided in these By-Laws, a majority of the total number of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If at any meeting of the Board there shall be less than a quorum present, a majority of those present may adjourn the meeting from time to time until a quorum is obtained, and no further notice thereof need be given other than by announcement at the meeting at which an adjournment is taken. Except as otherwise required by law, by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or by these By-Laws, any action required to be taken by the Board shall be authorized by a vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present.
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Section 9. Action Without Meeting. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting, if a consent in writing or by electronic transmission thereto is signed or given by all members of the Board or of such committee, as the case may be, and such written consent or consents and such electronic transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board or committee.
Section 10. Compensation of Directors. Each director, in consideration of such person serving as a director, shall be entitled to receive from the Corporation such amount per annum and such fees for attendance at meetings of the Board or of the committees of the Board, or both, as the Board shall from time to time by resolution determine. In addition, each director shall be entitled to receive from the Corporation reimbursement for the reasonable expenses incurred by such person in connection with the performance of such person’s duties as a director. Noting contained in this Section shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries in any other capacity and receiving proper compensation therefor.
ARTICLE IV.
OFFICERS
Section 1. Officers. The officers of the Corporation shall include the Secretary, and the Treasurer and such other officers, including a Chairman, one or more Vice Presidents and Assistant Secretaries and Assistant Treasurers as the Board of Directors may from time to time deem necessary, each of whom shall have such duties, powers and functions as provided in these By-laws and as may be determined from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. More than one office may be held by the same person. None of the officers of the Corporation need be directors.
Section 2. Election and Term of Office. Each officer shall be elected by the Board of Directors to hold office until the next annual meeting of the Board of Directors and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified, or until such earlier date as shall be prescribed by the Board of Directors at the time of his or her election or until an earlier resignation or removal from office. Any officer elected by the Board of Directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by vote of a majority of the Board of Directors.
Section 3. Resignations. Any officer may resign at any time. Such resignation shall be made in writing, and shall take effect at the time specified therein, and if no time be specified, at the time of its receipt by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The acceptance of a resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective unless such resignation provides otherwise.
Section 4. Vacancies. In the event of the resignation, removal or other displacement from office of an officer elected by the Board of Directors, the Board, in its sole discretion, may elect a successor to fill the unexpired term.
Section 5. Chairman. The Chairman, if one be elected, shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors when present, and preside as Chairman at all meetings of the stockholders. The Chairman shall also have such other powers and perform such other duties required by law or by these By-Laws or as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.
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Section 6. President. If the Board of Directors in its discretion determines to appoint a President, the President shall have general direction over the day-to-day business of the Corporation, subject to the control and direction of the Board of Directors. In the absence of the Chairman, the President if appointed shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and of the stockholders. The President if appointed shall also have such other powers and perform such other duties required by law or by these By-Laws or as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.
Section 7. Other Officers. Each of the Corporation’s other officers shall have such powers and perform such duties pertaining to his or her office as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or be delegated to him or her by the Chairman or as may be required by law, by these By-Laws or by the Corporation’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
Section 8. Designated Officers.
(a) The Board of Directors shall designate the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation. The officer so designated shall have, in addition to the powers and duties applicable to his or her office set forth in this Article IV, general and active supervision and direction over the business and affairs of the Corporation and over its several officers, agents and employees, subject, however, to the control of the Board of Directors. The Chief Executive Officer shall also have such other powers and duties incident to the designated position of Chief Executive Officer as the Board of Directors may from time to time by resolution determine. Any reference to the Chief Executive Officer in these By-Laws shall be deemed to mean, if there is a Co-Chief Executive Officer, either Co-Chief Executive Officer, each of whom may exercise the full powers and authorities of the designated position of Chief Executive Officer.
(b) The Board of Directors may from time to time designate officers to serve as President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and other such designated positions and to fulfill the responsibilities of such designated positions in addition to the powers and duties applicable to his or her office as set forth in this Article IV. Such designated officers shall also have such other powers and duties incident to his or her designated position as the Board of Directors may from time to time by resolution determine.
ARTICLE V.
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 1. Certificate of Stock.
(a) The certificates of shares of the stock of the Corporation shall be in such form as shall be approved by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors, by resolution, may provide that some or all of any or all classes or series of stock shall be uncertificated shares. The certificates shall be signed by any two authorized officers of the Corporation, including, without limitation, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, if they be elected, the President, any Vice President, the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer and any Assistant Treasurer. Each certificate of stock shall certify the number of shares owned by the stockholder in the Corporation.
(b) A facsimile of the seal of the Corporation and of the signatures of the officers named in this Section may be used in connection with the certificates of shares of stock of the Corporation. In the event any officer who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall cease to be such officer before the certificate is issued, the certificate may be issued with the same effect as if such person was an officer at the date of issue.
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Section 2. Lost Certificates. A new certificate of stock may be issued in the place of any certificate theretofore issued by the Corporation, alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, and the Corporation may, in its discretion, require the owner of the lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or his or her legal representatives, to give the Corporation a bond, in such sum as they may direct, not exceeding double the value of the stock, to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss of any such certificate, or the issuance of any such new certificate.
Section 3. Transfer of Shares. The shares of stock of the Corporation shall be transferable only upon its books by the holders thereof in person or by their duly authorized attorneys or legal representatives, and upon such transfer the old certificates, if any, shall be surrendered to the Corporation by the delivery thereof to the person in charge of the stock and transfer books and ledgers, or to such other person as the directors may designate, by whom they shall be cancelled, and new certificates, if any, shall thereupon be issued. Any transfer of stock shall require that the stock certificate, if any, be duly executed for transfer or shall require the delivery of a stock power or other instrument or direction of transfer with respect to either certificated or uncertificated shares. A record shall be made of each transfer and whenever a transfer shall be made for collateral security, and not absolutely, it shall be so expressed in the entry of the transfer if, when the certificates are presented to the Corporation for transfer, both the transferor and the transferee request the Corporation to do so.
Section 4. Dividends. Subject to the provisions of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors may, out of funds legally available therefor at any regular or special meeting, declare dividends upon the shares of the Corporation as and when they deem expedient. Before declaring any dividend, there may be set apart out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends, such sum or sums as the directors from time to time in their discretion deem proper for working capital or as a reserve fund to meet contingencies or for equalizing dividends or for such other purposes as the directors shall deem conducive to the interests of the Corporation.
Section 5. Seal. The corporate seal shall be circular in form and shall contain the name of the Corporation, the year of its creation and the words ‘CORPORATE SEAL DELAWARE.” Said seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.
Section 6. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Section 7. Checks. All checks, drafts or other orders for the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents of the Corporation, and in such manner as shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Section 8. Transfer Agents and Registrars. The Board by resolution may appoint, or authorize any officer or officers to appoint, one or more transfer agents and one or more registrars.
ARTICLE VI.
AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be amended or repealed and any By-Laws may be adopted at any annual meeting of the stockholders or at any special meeting thereof if notice of the proposed amendment or repeal, or By-Law or By-Laws to be adopted, be contained in that notice of such special meeting, by the affirmative vote of holders of at least two-thirds in voting power of the shares of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote thereat, or at any regular meeting of the Board of Directors, or at any special meeting of the Board of Directors, if notice of the proposed amendment or repeal, or By-Law or By-Laws to be adopted, be contained in the notice of such special meeting, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the Board of Directors.
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Exhibit 10.1
EXECUTION VERSION
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) dated as of January 10, 2026, by and between HENRY SCHEIN, INC., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Frederick M. Lowery (“Executive”).
WHEREAS, the Company wishes to employ Executive in the capacity of Chief Executive Officer of the Company upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, and Executive wishes to accept such employment.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the agreements herein after set forth, the Company and Executive agree as follows:
| 1 | EMPLOYMENT |
| 1.1 | EFFECTIVE DATE. Executive’s employment with the Company will commence on March 2, 2026 (the “Effective Date”). |
| 1.2 | CAPACITY; DUTIES. The Company hereby agrees to employ Executive as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Executive shall have general supervision over the business and affairs of the Company and its subsidiaries and shall report solely and directly to the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”). During the Employment Period (as defined below), Executive shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors (and any committees thereof, if requested), without additional compensation. In furtherance of the foregoing, upon termination of Executive’s employment hereunder for any reason, Executive shall be deemed to have resigned and/or shall be removed automatically from the Board of Directors (and any committees thereof), and Executive agrees to execute any documents reasonably requested by the Company to evidence such resignation and/or removal. Subject to Section 6(b), Executive (i) may serve, with prior written approval of the Board of Directors, on the board of directors of any other corporation; (ii) may be involved in civic or charitable activities; or (iii) may manage his (and his family’s) personal investments, in each case, so long as such service does not interfere with his duties to the Company or its subsidiaries and such other corporation is not a supplier or customer of the Company and does not engage in any business that is competitive with the business of the Company. Executive accepts the employment described herein and agrees to devote substantially all of his business time and effort thereto, and to perform those duties normally attributable to the position for which he is employed hereunder, provided, however, that the Board of Directors shall not assign any duties or responsibilities that are materially inconsistent with, or that materially impair his ability to discharge, the foregoing duties and responsibilities to the Company. |
| 1.3 | EMPLOYMENT PERIOD. Executive’s employment shall be for the period (the “Employment Period”) commencing on the Effective Date and ending on the date on which Executive’s employment is terminated earlier pursuant to Section 4. |
| 2 | COMPENSATION |
| 2.1 | BASE SALARY. During the Employment Period, as compensation for Executive’s employment hereunder, Executive shall receive a base salary at the rate of $1,250,000 per annum, payable in accordance with the Company’s normal payroll practices for its senior executive officers in effect from time to time. The base salary may be increased (but not decreased) by such amounts and at such times as shall be determined by the Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Compensation Committee”) from time to time, in its sole discretion (the base salary, as it may be increased from time to time, is hereinafter referred to as the “Base Salary”). |
| 2.2 | INCENTIVE COMPENSATION. During each year of the Employment Period, Executive shall be eligible to receive, in addition to Base Salary, annual incentive compensation pursuant to the target annual incentive compensation opportunity and performance criteria for Executive established by the Compensation Committee, in consultation with Executive, for such year in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Company’s Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Compensation”). Executive’s target Incentive Compensation opportunity shall be equal to no less than 150% of the Base Salary, subject to the attainment of performance criteria established by the Compensation Committee, with such performance criteria for fiscal year 2026 being 70% based on the Company’s earnings per share over such period and 30% based on the Company’s Strategic Scorecard results over such period (with a maximum payout of 175% of the target opportunity); provided, that, in no event will Executive’s Incentive Compensation payout for fiscal year 2026 be equal to less than $1,875,000 (without pro-ration based on the Effective Date). All Incentive Compensation, including for fiscal year 2026, shall be paid as soon as practicable after the amount of such compensation has been finally determined, and in all events during the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year with respect to which the Incentive Compensation was earned, and Incentive Compensation for any subsequent fiscal year shall be paid in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Company’s Incentive Plan. Except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, payment of Incentive Compensation for any fiscal year is subject to Executive remaining employed by the Company through the date of payment. |
| 2.3 | ANNUAL EQUITY-BASED AWARDS. During each year of the Employment Period, and subject to the Compensation Committee’s approval (which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), Executive shall receive equity or equity-based awards under the Company’s 2024 Stock Incentive Plan (as Amended and Restated Effective as of May 21, 2024) or a successor plan thereto (such plan, the “Stock Incentive Plan” and, each award, an “Equity-Based Award”). Any Equity-Based Awards shall be in the form determined by the Committee in its sole discretion. Solely with respect to the Equity-Based Awards to be granted to Executive in fiscal year 2026, subject to the Compensation Committee’s approval (which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), such Equity-Based Awards shall have an aggregate target grant date fair value equal to $10,000,000, allocated as follows: (i) 50% in the form of stock options (the “2026 Options”); (ii) 25% in the form of time-based restricted stock units (the “2026 Time-Based RSUs”); and (iii) 25% in the form of performance-based restricted stock units (the “2026 Performance-Based RSUs”). The number of Shares (as defined in the Stock Incentive Plan) subject to the 2026 Options shall be determined by dividing (x) the target grant |
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| date fair value specified above with respect to the 2026 Options by (y) the per-option fair market value of an option to purchase one Share as determined by the Company in accordance with the Black-Scholes option pricing methodology. The 2026 Options shall vest ratably on each of the first four anniversaries of the applicable grant date, subject to Executive’s continued employment through the applicable vesting date (except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the Executive Severance Plan, or the Stock Incentive Plan). The 2026 Time-Based RSUs shall vest ratably on each of the first four anniversaries of the applicable grant date, subject to Executive’s continued employment through the applicable vesting date (except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the Executive Severance Plan, or the Stock Incentive Plan). The 2026 Performance-Based RSUs shall vest on the third anniversary of the grant date, subject to Executive’s continued employment through such date (except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the Executive Severance Plan, or the Stock Incentive Plan) and the attainment of performance criteria established by the Compensation Committee over the Company’s 2026, 2027 and 2028 fiscal years, with such performance criteria being 50% based on the Company’s earnings per share over such period and 50% based on the Company’s return on invested capital over such period (with a maximum payout of 200% of the target number of restricted stock units subject to such 2026 Performance-Based RSUs). Any Equity-Based Awards granted to Executive shall be subject to terms and conditions of the applicable award agreements and the Stock Incentive Plan. |
| 2.4 | SIGN-ON EQUITY-BASED AWARD. On, or as soon as reasonably practicable following, the Effective Date, and subject to the Compensation Committee’s approval (which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), Executive shall be eligible to receive a one-time equity-based award under the Stock Incentive Plan in the form of time-based restricted stock units with a grant date fair value equal to $2,500,000, which shall vest ratably on each of the first three anniversaries of the applicable grant date, subject to Executive’s continued employment through the applicable vesting date (except as otherwise set forth in the Stock Incentive Plan) (the “Sign-On Equity-Based Award”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason pursuant to Section 4.1(c)(i) below, the unvested portion of the Sign-On Equity-Based Award, if any, shall vest on the date of such termination. The Sign-On Equity-Based Award granted to Executive shall be subject to terms and conditions of the applicable award agreements and the Stock Incentive Plan. |
| 2.5 | SIGN-ON BONUS. On, or as soon as reasonably practicable following, the Effective Date, and subject to Executive not receiving an annual bonus paid in 2026 (after providing evidence of such non-payment that is reasonably satisfactory to the Chair of the Compensation Committee) and Executive remaining employed by the Company through the date of payment (except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement), Executive shall receive a one-time bonus in the amount of $1,184,000. |
| 2.6 | EXPENSES. The Company shall promptly reimburse Executive for all expenses incurred by him in the performance of his duties under this Agreement in accordance with the Company’s policies and practices for senior executive officers in effect from time to time; provided that in no event shall any such reimbursement be made later than the later of (i) the 15th day of the third month following the end of the calendar year in which the applicable expense is incurred or (ii) the 15th day of the third month following the end of the fiscal year in which the applicable expense is incurred. |
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| 2.7 | RELOCATION. The Company agrees to reimburse Executive for all reasonable expenses associated with Executive’s (and his family’s) relocation in connection with Executive’s employment with the Company in an aggregate amount not to exceed $500,000, subject to customary submission of appropriate documentation evidencing such expenses. |
| 2.8 | VACATION. During each calendar year during the Employment Period, Executive shall be entitled to four weeks of paid vacation (which shall be prorated for partial years during the Employment Period) and such other number of personal days generally afforded to senior executive officers of the Company. |
| 3 | BENEFITS |
| 3.1 | BENEFITS. During the Employment Period, Executive shall be eligible to participate in all benefit plans, policies and programs in accordance with the terms and conditions as are generally provided from time to time by the Company for its senior management employees and for which Executive is eligible. |
| 4 | TERMINATION |
| 4.1 | TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. Executive’s employment (and the Employment Period) shall terminate upon the occurrence of any of the following events: |
| (a) | upon Executive’s death or Executive’s Disability (as defined below); or |
| (b) | (i) by action of the Company for Cause (as defined below); or (ii) by action of the Board of Directors without Cause upon no less than thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to Executive; provided that the Board of Directors may, in its sole discretion, relieve Executive of some or all of Executive’s duties and/or require Executive not to report to the Company’s offices during all or any portion of such notice period; or |
| (c) | by Executive (i) following the occurrence of an event that constitutes Good Reason, as hereinafter defined, or (ii) voluntarily upon 180 days prior written notice to the Company. |
For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Cause” shall have the meaning set forth in the Company’s Executive Severance Plan or Executive Change in Control Plan, as applicable, as of the Effective Date; provided, that to the extent any event or circumstance constituting Cause is curable, it shall not be deemed Cause unless and until the Company has provided written notice to Executive describing such event or circumstance and Executive has failed to cure such event or circumstance within 30 days after receipt of such notice, as determined by the Board of Directors.
For purposes of this Agreement, “Disability” means a permanent and total disability, as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion, provided that in no event shall any disability that is not a permanent and total disability within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code be treated as a Disability. A Disability shall be deemed to occur at the time of the determination by the Board of Directors of the Disability.
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For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Good Reason” shall have the meaning set forth in the Company’s Executive Severance Plan or Executive Change in Control Plan, as applicable, as of the Effective Date; provided, that Good Reason shall also include any material breach by the Company of this Agreement that results in the Company’s failure to pay, when due, any material compensation, in each case, subject to the notice and cure period set forth in the definition of “Good Reason” in the Executive Severance Plan.
| 5 | CONSEQUENCES OF TERMINATION |
| 5.1 | DEATH OR DISABILITY. If Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated by reason of Executive’s death or upon Executive’s Disability, the Company shall have no further obligation to Executive under this Agreement except that, subject to Section 5.5 hereof, Executive or Executive’s heirs or estate, as the case may be, shall be paid those obligations accrued hereunder to the date of Executive’s termination, consisting only of (a) Executive’s unpaid Base Salary to the extent unpaid through the date of Executive’s termination, (b) the annual Incentive Compensation due to Executive, if any, for the last full fiscal year of the Company ending on or prior to the date of Executive’s termination (if not previously paid), (c) the product of (i) the annual Incentive Compensation payable to Executive for the fiscal year of the Company (based on the actual achievement of the specified goals in the case of Incentive Compensation for the applicable fiscal year other than for fiscal year 2026, or target achievement of the specified goals in the case of Incentive Compensation for fiscal year 2026) in which Executive’s date of Executive’s termination occurs multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days in such fiscal year during which Executive was employed by the Company, and the denominator of which is 365, (d) any accrued and unpaid vacation pay, and (e) any other amounts or benefits owing to Executive or his beneficiaries that are vested and accrued under the then applicable benefit plans, policies and programs of the Company or otherwise required to be provided under this Agreement (all amounts determined pursuant to the provisions of clauses (a) through (e) above are hereinafter referred to as “Accrued Obligations”). Unless otherwise required by any benefit plan qualified under Section 401(a)of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) (any such plan hereinafter referred to as a “Qualified Plan”), the Accrued Obligations described in clauses (a), (b), (d) and (e) above shall be paid to Executive or Executive’s estate or designated beneficiaries, as the case may be, in a lump sum (to the extent such obligations are able to be paid in a lump sum, under the terms of the plan for which such obligation arose) in cash within 15 business days after the date of Executive’s termination, and, otherwise, in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan or applicable law. The Accrued Obligation described in clauses (b) and (c) above shall be paid in a lump sum to Executive, Executive’s estate or designated beneficiaries, as the case may be, at the time at which Incentive Compensation awards are otherwise paid for the applicable plan year. |
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| 5.2 | COMPANY TERMINATION FOR CAUSE; RESIGNATION OTHER THAN FOR GOOD REASON. If Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated by the Company for Cause or by Executive voluntarily pursuant to Section 4.1(c)(ii), the Company shall have no further obligation to Executive under this Agreement, except that, unless otherwise required by any Qualified Plan, Executive shall be paid all Accrued Obligations to the date of termination (other than the obligations specified in clauses (b) and (c) of Section 5.1) in a lump sum (to the extent such obligations are able to be paid, under the terms of the plan for which such obligation arose, in a lump sum) in cash within 15 business days after the date of termination, and, otherwise, in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan or applicable law. |
| 5.3 | COMPANY TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE; RESIGNATION FOLLOWING GOOD REASON. Subject to Section 5.4, if Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason pursuant to Section 4.1(c)(i) above, Executive shall be eligible to receive the severance benefits under the Company’s Executive Severance Plan (the “Executive Severance Plan”) or the Company’s Executive Change in Control Plan (the “CIC Plan”), as applicable and shall be subject to the terms and conditions specified in the Executive Severance Plan and the CIC Plan, as applicable; provided, that: |
| (a) | Executive’s participation in the Executive Severance Plan shall be governed by the following terms and conditions: |
| a. | The number of weeks applicable to Executive pursuant to Section 2(a)(iii) of the Executive Severance Plan shall be equal to 104; |
| b. | The multiple applicable to Executive pursuant to Section 2(a)(iv) of the Executive Severance Plan shall be equal to 2; |
| c. | The number of weeks applicable to Executive pursuant to Section 3(b)(iii) of the Executive Severance Plan shall be 78; |
| d. | Solely with respect to Incentive Compensation for fiscal year 2026, the benefit under Section 2(a)(ii) of the Executive Severance Plan shall be determined based on target achievement of the applicable performance goals; |
| e. | References to “twelve (12) months” in Section 4 of the Executive Severance Plan shall instead be “twenty-four (24) months”; and |
| f. | Executive’s participation in the Executive Severance Plan shall be governed by the terms of the Executive Severance Plan in effect as of the Effective Date, without regard to any amendments thereto that would materially and adversely affect the rights of Executive without Executive’s prior written consent. |
| (b) | Executive’s participation in the CIC Plan shall be governed by the following terms and conditions: |
| a. | Executive’s Severance Multiple (as defined in the CIC Plan) shall be equal to 2.5; |
| b. | Solely with respect to Incentive Compensation for fiscal year 2026, the benefit under Section 2(a)(ii) of the CIC Plan shall be determined based on target achievement of the specified goals; and |
| c. | Executive’s participation in the CIC Plan shall be subject to Executive’s execution of the Participation Agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A not more than 10 business days following the Effective Date. |
| 5.4 | NO MITIGATION / NO OFFSET. In the event of termination of his employment, Executive shall be under no obligation to seek other employment and there shall be no offset against amounts due to him on account of any remuneration or benefits provided by any subsequent employment he may obtain. |
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| 6 | CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, NON-COMPETITION. |
| (a) | (i) Both during and after the Employment Period, Executive shall hold in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of the Company and shall not, without the prior written consent of the Company, communicate or divulge (other than in the regular course of the Company’s business), to anyone other than the Company, its subsidiaries and those designated by it, any confidential or proprietary information, knowledge or data relating to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or to any of their respective businesses, obtained by Executive before, in connection with the hiring process, or during the Employment Period except to the extent (A) disclosure is made during the Employment Period by Executive in the course of his duties hereunder and Executive reasonably determines in good faith that it is in the best interest of the Company to do so, (B) Executive is compelled pursuant to an order of a court, subpoena or other legal process, or other body having jurisdiction over such matter to do so (in which case, to the extent legally permitted, the Company shall be given prompt written notice of such intention to divulge not less than five days prior to such disclosure or such shorter period as the circumstances may reasonably require) or (C) such information, knowledge or data is or becomes public knowledge or is or becomes generally known within the Company’s industry other than through improper disclosure by Executive. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b), nothing in this Agreement is intended to interfere with or discourage the Executive’s good faith disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential information to any governmental entity related to a suspected violation of law. Furthermore, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (the “DTSA “) provides that Executive cannot be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law if Executive discloses a trade secret or other confidential information (i) in confidence to (x) any federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or (y) an attorney, and solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of the law or (ii) in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal. The DTSA further provides that an individual who files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law may disclose the trade secret to the attorney of the individual and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if the individual (i) files any document containing the trade secret under seal and (ii) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order. Executive may also disclose in good faith confidential information solely to the minimum extent directly related to and reasonably necessary in connection with any litigation between Executive and the Company or any of its Affiliates, provided that Executive shall take all actions necessary to ensure that any such disclosure shall be made under seal. (ii) Executive acknowledges and agrees that the whole interest in any invention, improvement, confidential information, copyright, design, plan, drawing or data, including all worldwide rights to copyrights or any other intellectual property rights (collectively, the “Rights”) arising out of or resulting from Executive’s performance of his duties during the Employment Period shall be the sole and exclusive property of the Company. Executive undertakes (at the expense of the Company) to execute any document |
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| or do any reasonably necessary act to enable the Company to obtain or to assist the Company in obtaining any Rights. Executive hereby irrevocably appoints the Company to be his attorney-in-fact to execute in his name and on his behalf any instrument required and take any actions reasonably necessary for the purpose of giving to the Company the full benefit of the provisions of this subsection; provided, however, that the Company shall notify Executive prior to executing any such instruments or taking any such actions. |
| (b) | Executive will not (other than on behalf of the Company or with the express prior written consent of the Company) directly or indirectly, during the Employment Period and thereafter until the end of the “Restricted Period,” (i) take other employment with, render services to, or otherwise engage in any business activities with, companies or other entities that are competitors of the Company or any of its Affiliates, (ii) recruit, solicit or induce (or attempt to recruit, solicit or induce) any employee of, or consultant to, the Company or any of its Affiliates to terminate their employment with, or otherwise cease their relationship with, the Company or any of its Affiliates, (iii) divert (or attempt to divert) any person or entity from doing business with the Company or any of its Affiliates or induce (or attempt to induce) any person or entity from ceasing to be a customer or other business partner of the Company or any of its Affiliates, (iv) violate any agreement between Executive and the Company or any of its Affiliates relating to the non-disclosure of proprietary or confidential information of the Company or any of its Affiliates, and/or (v) conduct himself in a manner adversely affecting the Company or any of its Affiliates, including, without limitation, making false, misleading or negative statements, either orally or in writing, about the Company or any of its Affiliates; provided, that this shall not prohibit truthful statements made in good faith or statements required by law, regulation, or legal process. The determination as to whether Executive has engaged in activity in violation of this Section 6(b) shall be made by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion. The “Restricted Period” shall end two years after termination of employment. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company shall instruct its directors and executive officers to, during the Employment Period and thereafter until the end of the “Restricted Period,” refrain from making false, misleading or negative statements, either orally or in writing, about Executive; provided, that this shall not prohibit truthful statements made in good faith or statements required by law, regulation, or legal process. |
| (c) | If any restriction set forth in Section 6(b) is found by any court of competent jurisdiction or arbitrator to be unenforceable because it extends for too long a period of time or over too great a range of activities or in too broad a geographic area, it shall be interpreted to extend only over the maximum period of time, range of activities or geographic area as to which it may be enforceable. |
| (d) | The restrictions contained in Sections 6(a) and (b) are necessary for the protection of the business and goodwill of the Company and are considered by Executive to be reasonable to such purpose. Executive acknowledges and agrees that money damages would not adequately compensate the Company for any breach of Section 6(a) or 6(b) and will cause the Company substantial and irreparable damage and therefore, in the event of any such breach, in addition to such other remedies which may be available, the Company shall have the right to seek specific performance and injunctive relief. |
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| (e) | For the purposes of this Agreement, “Affiliate” shall mean any (i) Subsidiary or (ii) other entity, trade or business (including, without limitation, a partnership or limited liability company) that is directly or indirectly controlled (whether by ownership of stock, assets or an equivalent ownership interest or voting interest or the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of management or policies of such entity, trade or business) by the Company or any Subsidiary. |
| (f) | Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason pursuant to Section 4.1(c)(i) above, and Executive is eligible to receive severance benefits under the CIC Plan, the restrictive covenants provided for in Section 4 of the CIC Plan shall apply in lieu of the covenants in this Section 6 and the period pursuant to Section 4(b) of the CIC Plan shall be equal to 24 months. |
| 7 | LEGAL FEES |
The Company shall pay or reimburse Executive for all reasonable legal fees incurred by him in connection with the negotiation and execution of this Agreement up to a maximum amount of $50,000.
| 8 | INDEMNIFICATION |
During the Employment Period and thereafter, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold Executive and his heirs and representatives harmless, to the maximum extent permitted by law or under the Company’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws, against any and all damages, costs, liabilities, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees of counsel of Executive’s choice) as a result of any claim or proceeding, or threatened claim or proceeding, against the Executive that arises out of or relates to his service as an officer, director or employee, as the case may be, of the Company, or his service in any such capacity or similar capacity with any of its Affiliates or other entity at the request of the Company, both prior to and after the Effective Date, and to advance to Executive or his heirs or representatives such expenses upon written request. During the Employment Period and for 6 years thereafter, the Company also shall provide Executive with coverage under its current directors’ and officers’ liability policy to the same extent as its other senior executives until such time as suits against Executive are no longer permitted by law.
| 9 | SUCCESSORS; BINDING AGREEMENT |
| (a) | Unless otherwise resulting by operation of law, the Company shall require any successor (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company to expressly assume and agree inwriting to perform this Agreement in the same manner, and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform it if no such transaction had taken place. As used in this Agreement, “Company” shall mean the Company as hereinbefore defined and any successor to its business or assets as aforesaid which assumes and agrees to perform this Agreement by operation of law, or otherwise. |
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| (b) | The Company may not assign this Agreement except in connection with, and to the acquiror of, all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company, provided such acquiror expressly assumes and agrees in writing to perform this Agreement as provided in Sections 9(a) or 9(b). |
| (c) | This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by Executive and his personal or legal representatives, executors, administrators, successors, heirs, distributees, devisees and legatees; provided, however, that this Agreement may not be assigned by Executive. |
| 9.1 | MISCELLANEOUS |
| (a) | Any notices or other communications required or permitted to be given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly made, given or received when hand-delivered, one business day after being transmitted by telecopier (confirmed by mail) or sent by overnight courier against receipt, or five days after being mailed by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the party to whom such communication is given at the address set forth below, which address may be changed by notice given in accordance with this Section: |
If to the Company:
Henry Schein, Inc.
135 Duryea Road
Melville, New York 11747
Attention: Corporate Secretary
If to Executive:
At the address on file with the Company
| (b) | If any provision of this Agreement shall be held by court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, including, without limitation, under any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended from time to time, such provision shall be construed and enforced as if it had been more narrowly drawn so as not to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable and such illegality, invalidity or unenforceability shall have no effect upon and shall not impair the enforceability of any other provision of this Agreement. |
| (c) | No provision of this Agreement may be modified, waived or discharged except by a waiver, modification or discharge in writing signed by Executive and such officer as may be designated by the Board of Directors. No waiver by either party hereto at any time of any breach by the other party hereto of, or in compliance with, any condition or provision of this Agreement to be performed by such other party shall be deemed a waiver of similar or dissimilar provisions or conditions at the time or at any prior or subsequent time. No agreements or representations, oral or otherwise, express or implied, with respect to the subject matter have been made by either party which are not expressly set forth in this Agreement. |
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| (d) | This Agreement represents the entire agreement of the parties and shall supersede any and all previous contracts, arrangements or understandings between the Company and Executive with respect to the subject matter. |
| (e) | This Agreement shall be construed, interpreted, and governed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without reference to rules relating to conflicts of law. |
| (f) | The section headings herein are for the purpose of convenience only and are not intended to define or limit the contents of any section. |
| (g) | The parties may sign this Agreement in counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same instrument. |
| (h) | It is intended that the provisions of this Agreement comply with, or be exempt from, Section 409A of the Code and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder (collectively “Code Section 409A”), and all provisions of this Agreement (or of any award of compensation, including equity compensation or benefits) shall be construed in a manner consistent with the requirements for avoiding taxes or penalties under Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company does not guarantee any particular tax treatment and the Company shall have no liability with regard to any failure to comply with Code Section 409A. In no event whatsoever shall the Company be liable for any additional tax, interest or penalty that may be imposed on Executive pursuant to Code Section 409A or any damages for failing to comply with Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, each and every payment made under this Agreement shall be treated as a separate and distinct payment and not as a series of payments. In no event shall Executive designate the tax year of the commencement of any payments or benefits hereunder and the Company shall determine the actual commencement date of payment of any payments or benefits hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything else contained in this Agreement to the contrary, if Executive is a “specified employee” (determined in accordance with Code Section 409A and Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(2)) as of the termination date, and if any payment, benefit or entitlement provided for in this Agreement both (i) constitutes a “deferral of compensation” within the meaning of Code Section 409A and (ii) cannot be paid or provided in a manner otherwise provided herein or otherwise without subjecting Executive to additional tax, interest and/or penalties under Code Section 409A, then any such payment, benefit or entitlement that is payable during the first 6 months following the date of Executive’s separation from service shall be paid or provided to Executive in a lump sum cash payment to be made on the earlier of (x) Executive’s death or (y) the first business day of the seventh calendar month immediately following the month in which the separation from service occurs. A termination of employment shall not be deemed to have occurred for purposes of any provision of this Agreement providing for the payment of any amounts or benefits, which are subject to Code Section 409A, upon or following a termination of employment unless such termination is also a “separation from service” within the meaning of Code Section 409A (and the guidance issued thereunder) and, for purposes of any such provision of this Agreement, references to a “resignation,” “termination,” “termination of employment,” “retirement” or like terms shall mean separation from service. |
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| (i) | Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Executive agrees and acknowledges that his cash and non-cash incentive compensation (whether provided under this Agreement or otherwise) shall be subject to the terms and conditions of (i) the Company’s Incentive Compensation Recoupment Policy, (ii) the Company’s Dodd-Frank Clawback Policy and (iii) any other clawback and/or recoupment policy approved by the Board of Director’s (or any committee thereof) from time to time, in each case, as amended from time to time and to the extent set forth in each applicable policy. |
| (j) | Executive represents and warrants to the Company that (a) Executive has the legal right to enter into this Agreement and to perform all of the obligations on Executive’s part to be performed hereunder in accordance with its terms and conditions, and (b) Executive is not a party to any agreement or understanding, written or oral, and is not subject to any restriction, which, in either case, could reasonably be expected to prevent Executive from entering into this Agreement or performing all of Executive’s duties and obligations hereunder. |
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Page Follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands as of the day and year first above written.
| HENRY SCHEIN, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Michael S. Ettinger | |
| NAME: | Michael S. Ettinger | |
| TITLE: | Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer | |
| By: | /s/ Frederick M. Lowery | |
| FREDERICK M. LOWERY | ||
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EXHIBIT A
Form of Executive Change in Control Plan Participation Agreement
Henry Schein, Inc. Executive Change in Control Plan
Participation Agreement
Henry Schein, Inc. (the “Company”) is pleased to inform you, Frederick M. Lowery, that you have been selected to participate in the Company’s Executive Change in Control Plan, as may be amended from time to time (the “Plan”), but subject to the terms and conditions of that certain Employment Agreement, dated as of January 10, 2026 by and between you and the Company (the “Employment Agreement”). A copy of the Plan was delivered to you with this Participation Agreement. Your participation in the Plan is subject to all of the terms and conditions of the Plan, as modified by the terms and conditions of the Employment Agreement. All capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this Participation Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Plan.
In order to become a participant in the Plan (a “Participant” as described in the Plan), you must complete and sign this Participation Agreement and return it to Jennifer Ferrero, Vice President, Senior Counsel & Corporate Secretary, at [email protected] no later than ten business days following the Effective Date (as defined in the Employment Agreement).
The Plan describes in detail certain circumstances under which you may become eligible for Payments. As described more fully in the Plan, you may become eligible for a Payment under Section 2 of the Plan if you experience a Termination.
In order to receive and/or retain any Payments for which you otherwise become eligible under the Plan, you must sign and deliver to the Company the Release, which must have become effective and irrevocable within the requisite period, and you must also adhere to the non-disclosure, non-disparagement and non-solicitation provisions of the Plan as set forth in the Plan. Also, as explained in the Plan, your Payments (if any) may be reduced under certain circumstances, if necessary, to avoid your Payments from becoming subject to “golden parachute” excise taxes under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
By signing this Participation Agreement and being eligible to participate in the Plan, you and the Company agree that your participation in the Plan is governed by this Participation Agreement and the provisions of the Plan, as modified by the Employment Agreement. Your signature below confirms that: (1) you have received a copy of the Plan; (2) you have carefully read this Participation Agreement and the Plan; (3) you agree to comply with the restrictive covenants set forth in Section 4 of the Plan; (4) you agree to settle all disputes relating to the Plan and your rights thereunder by binding arbitration as set forth in Section 5 of the Plan following your exhaustion of the claims and appeal procedure under Section 5 of the Plan; and (5) you agree and acknowledge that in the event you cease to be a member of the Company’s Executive Management Committee (or a successor committee thereof) for any reason other than due to (i) a Termination, or (ii) any change in your title that would entitle you to resign with Good Reason under the Plan, then you will immediately cease to be a Participant under the Plan and you will not have any rights under the Plan or this Participation Agreement (unless the Compensation Committee determines otherwise in its sole discretion).
[Signature Page Follows]
| HENRY SCHEIN, INC. | FREDERICK M. LOWERY | |||||
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Date | |||||
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[Signature Page to the Participation Agreement]
Exhibit 10.2
CEO Sign-On RSU Award
FORM OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AGREEMENT
PURSUANT TO THE
HENRY SCHEIN, INC. 2024 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
(AS AMENDED AND RESTATED EFFECTIVE AS OF MAY 21, 2024)
THIS AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is made as of [Grant Date] (the “Grant Date”), by and between Henry Schein, Inc. (the “Company”) and Frederick Lowery (the “Participant”).
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the Company has adopted the Henry Schein, Inc. 2024 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended and restated effective as of May 21, 2024), as amended from time to time (the “Plan”) (a copy of which is on file with the Company’s Corporate Human Resources Department and is available for the Participant to review upon request at reasonable intervals as determined by the Company), which is administered by the Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”);
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 9(d) of the Plan, the Committee may grant Restricted Stock Units to Key Employees under the Plan;
WHEREAS, the shares of the Company’s common stock are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “HSIC”; and
WHEREAS, the Participant is a Key Employee of the Company or a Subsidiary.
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises herein contained, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
1. Grant of Restricted Stock Units.
Subject to the restrictions and other conditions set forth herein and in the Plan, the Committee has authorized this grant of [Shares Granted] Restricted Stock Units to the Participant on the Grant Date.
2. Vesting and Payment.
(a) Vesting Schedule. Except as set forth in Sections 2(c) and 2(d), the Restricted Stock Units shall vest in three equal installments on each of the first three anniversaries of the Grant Date (each, a “Scheduled Payment Date”); provided that the Participant has not had a Termination of Employment at any time prior to the applicable Scheduled Payment Date.
(b) No Proportionate or Partial Vesting. Except as set forth in Section 2(c), there shall be no proportionate or partial vesting in the periods prior to each vesting date and all vesting shall occur only on the vesting dates; provided that no Termination of Employment has occurred prior to such dates.
(c) Retirement. The Restricted Stock Units shall vest on a pro-rated basis upon the Participant’s Retirement, unless otherwise provided expressly in a written agreement between the Participant and the Company (or a Subsidiary). For purposes of this Section 2(c), the Participant shall qualify for “Retirement” if (i) the Participant’s age (minimum 55) plus years of service with the Company and its Subsidiaries equal or exceed 70, (ii) the Participant has provided written notice of the Participant’s retirement to the Company at least 30 days prior to the date of such retirement, and (iii) no Termination of Employment has occurred prior to the date of such retirement. For purposes of determining the age and service requirement under Section 2(c)(i), the Participant’s age and years of service shall be determined by the Participant’s most recent birthday and employment anniversary, respectively. For purposes of this Section 2(c), vesting on a pro-rated basis shall be calculated by multiplying the number of Restricted Stock Units set forth under Section 1 by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days from the Grant Date to the date of the Participant’s Retirement, and the denominator of which is the number of days from the Grant Date to the Scheduled Payment Date.
(d) Termination without Cause or for Good Reason, Disability and Death. The Restricted Stock Units shall become fully vested on the earliest of (i) a Termination of Employment by the Company (or a Subsidiary) without Cause, (ii) a Termination of Employment by the Participant for Good Reason, (iii) the Participant’s Disability and (iv) the Participant’s death (each, a “Qualifying Termination”); provided that no Termination of Employment has occurred prior to any such event, unless otherwise provided expressly in a written agreement between the Participant and the Company (or a Subsidiary). For purposes of this Agreement, “Cause”, “Good Reason” and “Disability” shall have the meanings set forth in that certain Employment Agreement, dated as of January 10, 2026 , between the Participant and the Company, as may be amended from time to time.
(e) Payment. The Participant shall be entitled to receive one share of Common Stock with respect to one vested Restricted Stock Unit. The Participant shall be paid one share of Common Stock with respect to each vested Restricted Stock Unit within thirty (30) days of the applicable Scheduled Payment Date; except that, in the event of (i) Retirement or (ii) a Qualifying Termination, the Participant shall be paid within thirty (30) days of such Retirement or Qualifying Termination, subject to Section 17 to the extent applicable, including with respect to a Participant who qualifies for Retirement at any time following the Grant Date.
3. Forfeiture and Recoupment.
(a) Forfeiture on Termination. Subject to Section 2 above, all unvested Restricted Stock Units will be forfeited on the Participant’s Termination of Employment.
(b) Forfeiture due to Cause Conduct. Notwithstanding anything herein or in the Plan to the contrary, in the event that the Participant engages in conduct that could reasonably be expected to constitute Cause, as defined in Section 2(d) above (regardless of whether the Participant had a Termination of Employment), as determined by the Company in its sole discretion, at any time on or after the Grant Date and prior to the applicable settlement date set forth in Section 2 above (such applicable settlement date, the “Payment Date”) the Committee shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to cause the immediate forfeiture of all the Restricted Stock Units (including any dividends credited thereupon) (whether or not vested) in their entirety, in which case the Participant shall have no further rights or interests with respect to such Restricted Stock Units (including any such dividends).
(c) Forfeiture Following Competitive Activity. Notwithstanding anything herein or in the Plan to the contrary, the grant of Restricted Stock Units (including any dividends credited thereupon) provided for under this Agreement is conditioned on the Participant not engaging in any Competitive Activity (as defined below) from the date that is twelve (12) months prior to the Payment Date through the first anniversary of such Payment Date. If, on or after the date that is twelve (12) months prior to the Payment Date but prior to the Payment Date, the Participant engages in a Competitive Activity, the Committee shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to cause the immediate forfeiture of all of the Restricted Stock Units (including any dividends credited thereupon) (whether or not vested) in their entirety, in which case the Participant shall have no further rights or interests with respect to such Restricted Stock Units (including any such dividends).
(d) Recoupment Following Cause Conduct or Competitive Activity After Payment Date. In the event that (i) the Participant engages in conduct described under Section 3(b) on or after the Payment Date, but on or prior to the first anniversary of such Payment Date or (ii) the Participant engages in a Competitive Activity on or after the Payment Date but on or prior to the first anniversary of such Payment Date, in each case, the Company shall have the right to recoup, in its sole discretion, from the Participant, and the Participant shall repay to the Company, within thirty (30) days following demand by the Company, a payment equal to the Fair Market Value of the aggregate shares of Common Stock payable in respect of such Restricted Stock Units (including any dividends credited thereupon) on the Payment Date (including any dividends or other distributions thereafter paid thereon); provided, that, the Company may require the Participant to satisfy such payment obligations hereunder either by forfeiting and returning to the Company such shares of Common Stock, Restricted Stock Units, dividends or any other shares of Common Stock, or making a cash payment or any combination of these methods, as determined by the Company in its sole discretion. The Company and its Subsidiaries, in their sole discretion, shall have the right to set off (or cause to be set off) any amounts otherwise due to the Participant from the Company (or the applicable Subsidiary) in satisfaction of such repayment obligation, provided that any such amounts are exempt from, or set off in a manner intended to comply with, the requirements of any applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 409A of the Code).
(e) Participant Acknowledgement of Reasonableness. The Participant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the forfeiture and recoupment conditions set forth in this Section 3, in view of the nature of the business in which the Company and its affiliates are engaged, are reasonable in scope and necessary in order to protect the legitimate business interests of the Company and its affiliates, and that any violation thereof would result in irreparable harm to the Company and its affiliates. The Participant also acknowledges and agrees that (i) it is a material inducement and condition to the Company’s issuance of the Restricted Stock Units (including any dividends credited thereupon) that such Participant agrees to be bound by such forfeiture and recoupment conditions and, further, that the amounts required to be forfeited or repaid to the Company pursuant to forfeiture and recoupment conditions set forth above are reasonable, and (ii) nothing in this Agreement or the Plan is intended to preclude the Company (or any affiliate thereof) from seeking any remedies available at law, in equity, under contract to the Company or otherwise, and the Company (or any affiliate thereof) shall have the right to seek any such remedy with respect to the Restricted Stock Units, any dividends credited thereupon, or otherwise.
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(f) Definition of Competitive Activity. For purposes of this Agreement, the Participant will be deemed to engage in a “Competitive Activity” if, either directly or indirectly, without the express prior written consent of the Company, the Participant (i) takes other employment with, renders services to, or otherwise engages in any business activities with, companies or other entities that are competitors of the Company or any of its affiliates, (ii) solicits or induces, or in any manner attempts to solicit or induce, any person employed by or otherwise providing services to the Company or any of its affiliates, to terminate such person’s employment or service relationship, as the case may be, with the Company or any of its affiliates, (iii) diverts, or attempts to divert, any person or entity from doing business with the Company or any of its affiliates or induces, or attempts to induce, any such person or entity from ceasing to be a customer or other business partner of the Company or any of its affiliates, (iv) violates any agreement between the Participant and the Company or any of its affiliates relating to the non-disclosure of proprietary or confidential information of the Company or any of its affiliates, and/or (v) conducts himself or herself in a manner adversely affecting the Company or any of its affiliates, including, without limitation, making false, misleading or negative statements, either orally or in writing, about the Company or any of its affiliates. The determination as to whether the Participant has engaged in a Competitive Activity shall be made (A) if the Participant is an executive officer of the Company, by the Committee in its sole discretion or (B) if the Participant is not an executive officer of the Company, by the Company in its sole discretion.
(g) Protected Rights. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed (i) to prohibit or is intended to restrict or impede the Participant from discussing the terms and conditions of the Participant’s employment with coworkers or exercising protected rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act or (ii) to prohibit the Participant from reporting possible violations of federal or state law or making other disclosures that are protected under whistleblower or other provisions of any applicable federal or state law or regulations; further, nothing herein prevents the Participant from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination or any other conduct that a Participant has reason to believe is unlawful. In addition, the Participant is hereby advised as follows pursuant to the Defend Trade Secrets Act: An individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that: (A) is made (I) in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney, and (II) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (B) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal. An individual who files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law may disclose the trade secret to the attorney of the individual and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if the individual (1) files any document containing the trade secret under seal; and (2) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.
(h) Clawback Policies. This Section 3(h) applies solely with respect to Participants who are members of the Company’s Executive Management Committee. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent applicable to the Participant, by accepting the Restricted Stock Units granted under this Agreement, the Participant agrees and acknowledges that the Restricted Stock Units awarded under this Agreement (including the underlying shares) (whether or not vested) shall be subject to, and the Participant agrees to abide by, the terms and conditions of (i) the Company’s Incentive Compensation Recoupment Policy, (ii) the Company’s Dodd-Frank Clawback Policy and (iii) any other clawback and/or recoupment policy approved by the Board (or any committee thereof) from time to time, in each case, as amended from time to time and to the extent set forth in each applicable policy. To the extent that the Participant is subject to the terms and conditions of any of the foregoing Company clawback policies, the Participant shall have signed or shall sign each applicable clawback policy acknowledgement provided by the Company either in connection with the execution of this Agreement or prior to the Participant’s execution of this Agreement; provided, that the Participant’s failure to sign such acknowledgement shall have no impact on the applicability or enforceability of such Company clawback policy.
4. Dividend Equivalents. Cash dividends on shares of Common Stock shall be credited to a dividend book entry account on behalf of the Participant with respect to each Restricted Stock Unit granted to a Participant, provided that such cash dividends shall not be deemed to be reinvested in shares of Common Stock and will be held uninvested and without interest and paid in cash if and when the Restricted Stock Unit vests. Stock dividends on shares of Common Stock shall be credited to a dividend book entry account on behalf of the Participant with respect to each Restricted Stock Unit granted to a Participant, provided that the Participant shall not be entitled to such dividend unless and until the Restricted Stock Unit vests.
5. Rights as a Stockholder. The Participant shall have no rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares covered by any Restricted Stock Unit unless and until the Participant has become the holder of record of the shares, and no adjustments shall be made for dividends in cash or other property, distributions or other rights in respect of any such shares, except as otherwise specifically provided for in this Agreement or the Plan.
6. Withholding. The Participant shall pay, or make arrangements to pay, in a manner satisfactory to the Company, an amount equal to the amount of all applicable foreign, federal, state, provincial and local taxes that the Company is required to withhold at any time (“Tax-Related Items”). In the absence of such arrangements, the Company or one of its Subsidiaries shall have the right to withhold such taxes from the Participant’s normal pay or other amounts payable to the Participant. In addition, any statutorily required withholding obligation may be satisfied, in whole or in part, at the Participant’s election, in the form and manner prescribed by the Committee, by delivery of shares of Common Stock (including shares issuable under this Agreement).
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7. Provisions of Plan Control. This Agreement is subject to all the terms, conditions and provisions of the Plan, including, without limitation, the amendment provisions thereof, and to such rules, regulations and interpretations relating to the Plan as may be adopted by the Committee and as may be in effect from time to time. The Plan is incorporated herein by reference. Capitalized terms in this Agreement that are not otherwise defined shall have the same meaning as set forth in the Plan. Subject to Section 3, if and to the extent that this Agreement conflicts or is inconsistent with the terms, conditions and provisions of the Plan, the Plan shall control, and this Agreement shall be deemed to be modified accordingly. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior agreements between the Company and the Participant with respect to the subject matter hereof.
8. Amendment. To the extent applicable, the Board or the Committee may at any time and from time to time amend, in whole or in part, any or all of the provisions of this Agreement to comply with any applicable laws and stock exchange rules and regulations (including, without limitation, Section 409A of the Code and the regulations thereunder) and may also amend, suspend or terminate this Agreement subject to the terms of the Plan. Except as otherwise provided in the Plan, no modification or waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be effective unless in writing and signed by the party against whom it is sought to be enforced.
9. Notices. Any notice or communication given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered in person, or by regular United States mail or similar foreign mail or post, first class and prepaid, to the appropriate party at the address set forth below (or such other address as the party shall from time to time specify):
If to the Company, to:
Henry Schein, Inc.
135 Duryea Road
Melville, New York 11747
Attention: General Counsel
If to the Participant, to the address on file with the Company.
10. No Obligation to Continue Employment or Services. This Agreement is not an agreement of employment, consultancy or directorship. This Agreement does not guarantee that the Company or its Subsidiaries will employ or retain, or continue to employ or retain, the Participant during the entire, or any portion of the, term of this Agreement, including but not limited to any period during which any Restricted Stock Unit is outstanding, nor does it modify in any respect the Company or its Subsidiaries’ right to terminate or modify the Participant’s employment, service relationship or compensation.
11. Legend. The Company may at any time place legends referencing any applicable federal, state or foreign securities law restrictions on all certificates representing shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to this Agreement. The Participant shall, at the request of the Company, promptly present to the Company any and all certificates representing shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to this Agreement in the possession of the Participant in order to carry out the provisions of this Section.
12. Securities Representations. The grant of the Restricted Stock Units and issuance of shares of Common Stock upon vesting of the Restricted Stock Units shall be subject to, and in compliance with, all applicable requirements of federal, state or foreign securities law. No shares of Common Stock may be issued hereunder if the issuance of such shares of Common Stock would constitute a violation of any applicable federal, state or foreign securities laws or other law or regulations or the requirements of any stock exchange or market system upon which the shares of Common Stock may then be listed. As a condition to the settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, the Company may require the Participant to satisfy any qualifications that may be necessary or appropriate, to evidence compliance with any applicable law or regulation.
The shares of Common Stock are being issued to the Participant and this Agreement is being made by the Company in reliance upon the following express representations and warranties of the Participant. The Participant acknowledges, represents and warrants that:
(a) He or she has been advised that he or she may be an “affiliate” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) and in this connection the Company is relying in part on his or her representations set forth in this section.
(b) If he or she is deemed an affiliate within the meaning of Rule 144 of the Act, the shares of Common Stock must be held indefinitely unless an exemption from any applicable resale restrictions is available or the Company files an additional registration statement (or a “re-offer prospectus”) with regard to such shares of Common Stock and the Company is under no obligation to register the shares of Common Stock (or to file a “re-offer prospectus”).
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(c) If he or she is deemed an affiliate within the meaning of Rule 144 of the Act, he or she understands that the exemption from registration under Rule 144 will not be available unless (i) a public trading market then exists for the Common Stock of the Company, (ii) adequate information concerning the Company is then available to the public, and (iii) other terms and conditions of Rule 144 or any exemption therefrom are complied with; and that any sale of the shares of Common Stock may be made only in limited amounts in accordance with such terms and conditions.
13. Transfer of Personal Data. The Participant authorizes, agrees and unambiguously consents to the transmission and processing by the Company (or any Subsidiary) of any personal data information related to Restricted Stock Units awarded under this Agreement, for legitimate business purposes (including, without limitation, the administration of the Plan) out of the Participant’s home country and including to countries with less data protection laws than the data protection laws provided by the Participant’s home country. This authorization/consent is freely given by the Participant.
14. Delivery Delay. The delivery of any certificate representing the Common Stock may be postponed by the Company for such period as may be required for it to comply with any applicable foreign, federal, state or provincial securities law, or any national securities exchange listing requirements and the Company is not obligated to issue or deliver any securities if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, the issuance of such shares of Common Stock shall constitute a violation by the Participant or the Company of any provisions of any applicable foreign, federal, state or provincial law or of any regulations of any governmental authority or any national securities exchange. The Participant acknowledges and understands that the Company intends to meet its delivery obligations in Common Stock with respect to Restricted Stock Units, except as may be prohibited by law or described in this Agreement, the Plan or supplementary materials.
15. Miscellaneous.
This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
(a) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of New York (regardless of the law that might otherwise govern under applicable New York principles of conflict of laws).
(b) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which taken together shall constitute one contract.
(c) Waiver. The failure of any party hereto at any time to require performance by another party of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the right of such party to require performance of that provision, and any waiver by any party of any breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any continuing or succeeding breach of such provision, a waiver of the provision itself, or a waiver of any right under this Agreement.
(d) Joint Venture/Partnership. This Agreement and the Plan do not create a joint venture or partnership between the Company and any Subsidiary.
16. ACQUIRED RIGHTS. THE PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT: (A) THE COMPANY MAY TERMINATE OR AMEND THE PLAN AT ANY TIME; (B) THE AWARD OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS MADE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT OF ANY OTHER AWARD OR GRANT AND IS MADE AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE COMPANY; AND (C) NO PAST GRANTS OR AWARDS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS AWARDED HEREUNDER) GIVE THE PARTICIPANT ANY RIGHT TO ANY GRANTS OR AWARDS IN THE FUTURE WHATSOEVER.
17. Section 409A. This Agreement is subject to Section 16(i) of the Plan, and any provisions in this Agreement providing for the payment of “nonqualified deferred compensation” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code and the Treasury regulations thereunder) to the Participant are intended to comply with, or be exempt from, the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, and this Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance therewith. Neither party individually or in combination may accelerate or defer the timing of the payment of any such nonqualified deferred compensation, except in compliance with Section 409A of the Code and this Agreement, and no amount shall be paid prior to the earliest date on which it is permitted to be paid under Section 409A of the Code and this Agreement. In no event whatsoever shall the Company be liable for any additional tax, interest or penalty that may be imposed on the Participant as a result of Section 409A of the Code or any damages for failing to comply with Section 409A of the Code. A Termination of Employment or Retirement shall not be deemed to have occurred for purposes of any provision of this Agreement providing for the payment of any amounts or benefits subject to Section 409A of the Code upon or following a Termination of Employment or Retirement, as applicable, unless such Termination of Employment or Retirement, as applicable, is also a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and, for purposes of any such provision of this Agreement, references to a “termination,” “termination of employment” or like terms shall mean “separation from service.” If the Participant is a “specified employee,” upon his or her “separation from service” (as defined under Section 409A of the Code under such definitions and procedures as established by the Company in accordance with Section 409A of the Code), any portion of a
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payment, settlement, or other distribution made upon such a “separation from service” that would cause the acceleration of, or an addition to, any taxes pursuant to Section 409A of the Code will not commence or be paid until a date that is six (6) months and one (1) day following the applicable “separation from service.” Any payments, settlements, or other distributions that are delayed pursuant to this Section 18 following the applicable “separation from service” shall be accumulated and paid to the Participant in a lump sum without interest on the first business day immediately following the required delay period. Any amounts payable hereunder that satisfy the short-term deferral exception in Treas. Reg. §1.409A-1(b)(4) shall not be subject to Section 409A of the Code. Whenever a payment under this Agreement may be paid within a specified period, the actual date of payment within the specified period shall be within the Company’s sole discretion.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first set forth above.
| HENRY SCHEIN, INC. |
|
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| Michael S. Ettinger |
| Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer |
| PARTICIPANT |
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| Frederick Lowery |
[Acceptance Date]
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Exhibit 10.3
AMENDED AND RESTATED HENRY SCHEIN, INC.
EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE
PLAN
Effective as of March 2, 2026
1. Introduction. The purpose of the Henry Schein, Inc. Executive Severance Plan, as amended and restated effective as of March 2, 2026 (the “Plan”), is to provide specified benefits to executive-level employees of Henry Schein, Inc. (“HSI” or the “Company”) who are eligible to participate as set forth under the Plan and who are members of a select group of management or highly compensated employees (as determined in accordance with Sections 201(2), 301(a)(3) and 401(a)(1) of ERISA) in the event their employment is terminated under the circumstances described in the Plan.
Unless otherwise provided for in Section 2(c) and except with respect to the CIC Plan (as defined herein) or any binding written agreement with the Company providing for severance benefits, the Plan shall supersede, and any Participant covered by the Plan shall not be eligible to participate in any other severance or termination plan, policy or practice of the Company, or agreement or arrangement between a Participant and the Company, that could otherwise apply under the circumstances described herein. The Plan is intended to be a “top-hat” pension benefit plan within the meaning of U.S. Department of Labor Regulation Section 2520.104-23.
Capitalized terms and phrases used herein shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in Section 3.
2. Entitlement to Severance Benefits.
(a) Cash Severance Benefit. Subject to Section 2(c) of the Plan, in the event that a Participant’s employment is terminated or terminates (a “Termination”) as a result of an Eligible Termination, the Participant shall be entitled to receive the sum of the following amounts, payable in a cash at the times specified below:
| (i) | to the extent unpaid as of the date of the Termination, an annual incentive compensation award for the plan year prior to the plan year in which the Termination occurs based on actual achievement of the applicable performance goals for such plan year, which shall be payable at the time at which annual incentive compensation awards are otherwise paid for the applicable plan year and in no event later than 2-1/2 months following the end of the calendar year in which the Termination occurs; |
| (ii) | a pro rata annual incentive compensation award based on actual achievement of the applicable performance goals for the plan year in which the Termination occurs and the date of the Participant’s Termination in such plan year, which shall be payable at the time at which annual incentive compensation awards are otherwise paid for the applicable plan year and in no event later than 2-1/2 months following the end of the calendar year in which the Termination occurs; |
| (iii) | continued payment of the Participant’s Base Salary in effect at Termination for a number of weeks based on the Participant’s position, as provided pursuant to Exhibit A (the “Severance Period”), which, subject to Section 16 hereof, shall be payable in equal installments over the Severance Period in accordance with the Company’s regular payroll schedule, commencing on the Company’s next regular payroll date following the date on which the revocation period under the Participant’s Release has ended but in no event earlier than the 60th day following the date of the Participant’s Termination; and |
| (iv) | an amount equal to the product of (A) the Participant’s average annual incentive compensation actually paid over the lesser of (x) the Company’s three most recently completed fiscal years and (y) the number of complete fiscal years of the Company during which the Participant was employed, multiplied by (B) a multiple based on the Participant’s position, as provided pursuant to Exhibit A, which, subject to Section 16 hereof, shall be payable in equal installments over the Severance Period in accordance with the Company’s regular payroll schedule, commencing on the Company’s next regular payroll date following the date on which the revocation period under the Participant’s Release has ended but in no event earlier than the 60th day following the date of the Participant’s Termination. |
(b) Other Severance Benefits. Subject to Section 2(c) of the Plan, in the event a Participant becomes entitled to the amounts provided for in Section 2(a) hereof, the Participant shall also become entitled to the following:
| (i) | with respect to equity incentive awards granted to a Participant under the Company’s 2024 Stock Incentive Plan, as applicable and amended from time to time (the “LTIP”), shall be treated in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable award agreement(s) and the LTIP; provided, however, that in the event a Participant is eligible for “Retirement” vesting (as defined in the applicable award agreement(s)) or other special vesting provisions, then the Participant’s unvested equity incentive awards will become vested in accordance with the Retirement or other special vesting provisions in the LTIP and the applicable award agreement(s); and, provided further, that, after taking into account vesting based on a Participant’s Termination for Retirement or other such special vesting provisions, if any, and regardless of whether a Participant is eligible for Retirement vesting or other special vesting provisions, the Participant’s unvested equity incentive awards shall vest, subject to actual achievement of the applicable performance goals during the applicable performance period, if applicable, on a pro-rated basis upon the date of the Participant’s Termination, with such pro-rated vesting to be calculated by multiplying the number of Shares (as defined in the LTIP) underlying the applicable equity incentive award by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days from the date of grant of the applicable equity incentive award to the date of the Participant’s Termination, and the denominator of which is the number of days from the date of grant of the applicable equity incentive award to the final vesting date of the applicable equity incentive award; |
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| (ii) | settlement of all of the Participant’s deferred compensation arrangements in accordance with any then applicable deferred compensation plan or election form; |
| (iii) | subject to (A) the Participant’s timely election of continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (“COBRA”), and (B) the Participant’s continued copayment of premiums at the same level and cost to the Participant as if the Participant continued as an employee of the Company (excluding, for purposes of calculating cost, an employee’s ability to pay premiums with pre-tax dollars), continued participation in the Company’s group health plan (to the extent permitted under applicable law and the terms of such plan) for a period (not to exceed 18 months) of weeks based on the Participant’s position, as provided for pursuant to Exhibit A, at the applicable active employee rate which shall be provided by reimbursement on a monthly basis of (or the Company otherwise bearing) the premium cost under COBRA health continuation in excess of the applicable active-employee rate, provided that the Participant is eligible and remains eligible for COBRA health continuation coverage; and provided, further, that in the event that the Participant obtains other employment that offers substantially equivalent group health benefits, such continuation of coverage by the Company under this Section 2(b)(iii) shall immediately cease; and |
| (iv) | outplacement services with a provider of the Company’s choice at a level commensurate with the Participant’s position for the period of months following the date of Termination equal to the Severance Period. |
(c) Exclusivity of Severance Payments; Release. In the event a Participant becomes entitled to the amounts provided for in this Section 2, such Participant shall not be entitled to any other severance payments or severance benefits, whether contractual or not, from HSI, or any payments by HSI on account of any claim by the Participant of wrongful termination, including claims under any federal, state or local human and civil rights or labor laws; provided, however, in the event a Participant becomes entitled to amounts under the Company’s Change in Control Plan, as amended from time to time (the “CIC Plan”) or any binding individual agreement with the Company providing for severance benefits, all payments and benefits under the Plan shall cease and the amounts payable to such Participant under the CIC Plan or the applicable individual agreement shall be reduced, but not below zero, by any amounts actually paid or benefits actually provided to such Participant under the Plan. The Termination payments and benefits (other than the obligations specified in Section 2(a)(i) and Section 2(b)(ii) above) provided under the Plan shall be conditioned upon and subject to the Participant executing a valid general release reasonably satisfactory to HSI, releasing any and all claims arising out of the Participant’s employment (other than enforcement of the Participant’s rights under the Plan), any rights under HSI’s incentive compensation and employee benefit plans, and any claim for any non-employment related tort for personal injury (the “Release”). The Company shall provide the Release to a Participant within seven business days following the Participant’s Termination date. In order to receive the payments and benefits provided under the Plan, a Participant shall be required to sign the Release within 45 days after it is provided to the Participant, and not revoke it within the seven-day period following the date on which it is signed.
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3. Definitions. For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them.
(a) “Administrator” means the Company, acting through the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Compensation Committee”), or any person(s) to whom the Compensation Committee has delegated any authority or responsibility with respect to the Plan pursuant to Section 6, but only to the extent of such delegation.
(b) “Base Salary” means one week’s salary, exclusive of any bonus pay, incentives, overtime, car allowances, awards, employee benefits or other additional remuneration of any kind as determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion. Base Salary shall include any salary reduction contributions to a plan established by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company under Code Section 401(k), 125 or 132(f), as well as any elective contributions by a Participant to a deferred compensation plan maintained by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company.
(c) “Cause” means a Participant’s commission of fraud or any felony in connection with the Participant’s duties as an employee or consultant (as applicable) of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or willful misconduct or any act of disloyalty, dishonesty, fraud or breach of trust or confidentiality as to the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or the material violation of any policy or code of conduct of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or the commission of any other act which causes or may reasonably be expected to cause economic or reputational injury to the Company or any subsidiary of the Company.
(d) “Confidential Information” shall mean all information concerning the business of HSI relating to any of their products, product development, trade secrets, customers, suppliers, finances, and business plans and strategies. With respect to each Participant, excluded from the definition of “Confidential Information” is information (i) that is or becomes part of the public domain, other than through such Participant’s violation of Section 4 of the Plan, or (ii) regarding HSI’s business or industry properly acquired by such Participant in the course of the Participant’s career as an employee in HSI’s industry and independent of the Participant’s employment by HSI. For this purpose, information known or available generally within the trade or industry of HSI shall be deemed to be known or available to the public.
(e) “Eligible Termination” means either (i) a Termination without Cause by the Company or (ii) if applicable as provided for pursuant to Exhibit A, a Termination by a Participant that is for Good Reason.
(f) “ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
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(g) “Good Reason” means the occurrence of any of the following without a Participant’s consent: (i) a material diminution of the Participant’s Base Salary or target annual incentive compensation opportunity (other than a reduction not exceeding 20% that is applied across similarly situated employees of the Company), (ii) a material diminution in the Participant’s authority, duties or responsibilities or (iii) a relocation of the Participant’s primary work location by more than 50 miles from their then-current location and which results in a material increase in the Participant’s commute; provided, however, that no Termination by a Participant shall constitute Good Reason unless and until (A) the Participant has given the Company written notice of the reasons for their potential Termination for Good Reason no more than 30 days following the initial existence of the condition(s) that constitute(s) Good Reason and has given the Company at least 30 days to remedy such condition(s) (B) the Company has failed to remedy the same and (C) the Participant actually incurs a voluntary Termination within 30 days following the expiration of the remedy period without remedy of the Good Reason by the Company.
(h) “Participant” means (x) an employee of the Company who is a member of the Company’s Executive Management Committee (or a successor committee thereof), or (y) an employee of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company who has been specifically designated as eligible to participate in the Plan pursuant to notification in writing from the Administrator, and, in case of each of (x) or (y), who is a member of a select group of management or highly compensated employees. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary and for the avoidance of doubt, in the event that Participant ceases to be a member of the Company’s Executive Management Committee (or a successor committee thereof) for any reason other than due to a Termination, then such person shall immediately cease to be a Participant under the Plan and shall cease to have any rights under the Plan, unless the Compensation Committee determines otherwise in its sole discretion.
4. Non-Disclosure; Competitive Activity; Forfeiture and Recoupment.
(a) During a Participant’s employment with the Company or any of its subsidiaries and at all times thereafter, the Participant shall not, without HSI’s prior written consent disclose to anyone (except in good faith in the ordinary course of business) or make use of any Confidential Information except in the performance of the Participant’s duties hereunder or when required to do so by law. In the event that a Participant is so required by law, the Participant shall give prompt written notice to HSI sufficient to allow HSI the opportunity to object to or otherwise resist such order.
(b) The payment of any amounts under the Plan to a Participant is conditioned on the Participant not engaging in any Competitive Activity (as defined herein) from the date that is twelve (12) months prior to the date of the Participant’s Termination through the first anniversary of such date. If, on or after the date that is twelve (12) months prior to the date of the Participant’s Termination through the first anniversary of such date, the Participant engages in a Competitive Activity, the Administrator shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to cause the immediate forfeiture of all of the amounts payable under the Plan in their entirety, in which case the Participant shall have no further rights or interests with respect to any such amounts or the Plan.
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(c) In the event that a Participant engages in a Competitive Activity on or after the date that is twelve (12) months prior to the date of the Participant’s Termination through the first anniversary of such date, the Company shall have the right to recoup, in its sole discretion, from the Participant, and the Participant shall repay to the Company, within thirty (30) days following demand by the Company, a payment equal to the value of any payments received under the Plan prior to the demand by the Company; provided, that, the Company may require the Participant to satisfy such payment obligations hereunder either by forfeiting and returning to the Company any amounts paid or shares of common stock of the Company granted pursuant to equity incentive awards previously granted under the LTIP, or making a cash payment or any combination of these methods, as determined by the Company in its sole discretion.
(d) Each Participant acknowledges and agrees that the forfeiture and recoupment conditions set forth in this Section 4, in view of the nature of the business in which the Company and its affiliates are engaged, are reasonable in scope and necessary in order to protect the legitimate business interests of the Company and its affiliates, and that any violation thereof would result in irreparable harm to the Company and its affiliates. Each Participant also acknowledges and agrees that (i) it is a material inducement and condition to the Company’s payment of any amounts under the Plan that such Participant agrees to be bound by such forfeiture and recoupment conditions and, further, that the amounts required to be forfeited or repaid to the Company pursuant to forfeiture and recoupment conditions set forth in this Section 4 are reasonable, and (ii) nothing in the Plan is intended to preclude the Company (or any affiliate thereof) from seeking any remedies available at law, in equity, under contract to the Company or otherwise, and the Company (or any affiliate thereof) shall have the right to seek any such remedy with respect to any amounts payable under the Plan.
(e) For purposes of the Plan, a Participant will be deemed to engage in a “Competitive Activity” if, either directly or indirectly, without the express prior written consent of the Company, the Participant (i) takes other employment with, renders services to, or otherwise engages in any business activities with, companies or other entities that are competitors of the Company or any of its affiliates, (ii) solicits or induces, or in any manner attempts to solicit or induce, any person employed by or otherwise providing services to the Company or any of its affiliates, to terminate such person’s employment or service relationship, as the case may be, with the Company or any of its affiliates, (iii) diverts, or attempts to divert, any person or entity from doing business with the Company or any of its affiliates or induces, or attempts to induce, any such person or entity from ceasing to be a customer or other business partner of the Company or any of its affiliates, (iv) violates any agreement between the Participant and the Company or any of its affiliates relating to the non-disclosure of proprietary or confidential information of the Company or any of its affiliates, and/or (v) conducts himself or herself in a manner adversely affecting the Company or any of its affiliates, including, without limitation, making false, misleading or negative statements, either orally or in writing, about the Company or any of its affiliates. The determination as to whether the Participant has engaged in a Competitive Activity shall be made (A) if the Participant is an executive officer of the Company, by the Administrator in its sole discretion or (B) if the Participant is not an executive officer of the Company, by the Company in its sole discretion.
(f) Nothing in the Plan shall be construed (i) to prohibit or is intended to restrict or impede a Participant from discussing the terms and conditions of the Participant’s employment with coworkers or exercising protected rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act or (ii) to prohibit a Participant from reporting possible violations of federal or state law or making other disclosures that are protected under whistleblower or other provisions of any
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applicable federal or state law or regulations; further, nothing herein prevents a Participant from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination or any other conduct that a Participant has reason to believe is unlawful. In addition, each Participant is hereby advised as follows pursuant to the Defend Trade Secrets Act: An individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that: (A) is made (I) in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney, and (II) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (B) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal. An individual who files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law may disclose the trade secret to the attorney of the individual and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if the individual (1) files any document containing the trade secret under seal; and (2) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.
(g) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent applicable to a Participant, the Participant agrees and acknowledges that the amounts payable under the Plan shall be subject to, and the Participant agrees to abide by, the terms and conditions of (i) the Company’s Incentive Compensation Recoupment Policy, (ii) the Company’s Dodd-Frank Clawback Policy and (iii) any other clawback and/or recoupment policy approved by the Company’s Board of Director’s (or any committee thereof) from time to time, in each case, as amended from time to time and to the extent set forth in each applicable policy. To the extent that a Participant is subject to the terms and conditions of any of the foregoing Company clawback policies, the Participant shall have signed or shall sign each applicable clawback policy acknowledgement provided by the Company prior to the Participant’s Termination; provided, that the Participant’s failure to sign such acknowledgement shall have no impact on the applicability or enforceability of such Company clawback policy.
(h) The Administrator may, in its sole discretion, adopt country-specific and state-specific terms and conditions that govern the interpretation of this Section 4 that are in no event more restrictive on a Participant than this Section 4 and such additional country-specific terms and conditions for such country or the additional state-specific terms and conditions for such state, if any, will apply to a Participant to the extent that the Company determines that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons.
5. Claims Procedure; Resolution of Disputes. Any claim by a Participant with respect to the Plan, including without limitation eligibility, participation, contributions, benefits or other aspects of the operation of the Plan shall be first made in writing to a person designated by the Administrator from time to time for such purpose. If the designated person receiving a claim believes that the claim should be denied, he or she shall notify the Participant in writing of the denial of the claim within ninety (90) days after his or her receipt thereof. This period may be extended an additional ninety (90) days in special circumstances and, in such event, the Participant shall be notified in writing of the extension, the special circumstances requiring the extension of time and the date by which the Administrator expects to make a determination with respect to the claim. If the extension is required due to the Participant’s failure to submit information necessary to decide the claim, the period for making the determination will be tolled from the date on which the extension notice is sent until the date on which the Participant responds to the Plan’s request for information.
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If a claim is denied in whole or in part, or any adverse benefit determination is made with respect to the claim, the Participant will be provided with a written notice setting forth (a) the specific reason or reasons for the denial making reference to the pertinent provisions of the Plan or of Plan documents on which the denial is based, (b) a description of any additional material or information necessary to perfect or evaluate the claim, and an explanation of why such material or information, if any, is necessary, and (c) notice that the Participant has the right to request review of the decision. The notice shall also provide an explanation of the Plan’s claims review procedure and the time limits applicable to such procedure, as well as a statement of the Participant’s right to bring a civil action under Section 502(a) of ERISA following an adverse benefit determination on review. If a Participant is not notified (of the denial or an extension) within ninety (90) days from the date the Participant notifies the Plan’s Administrator, the Participant may request a review of the application as if the claim had been denied.
A Participant may appeal the denial of a claim by submitting a written request for review to the Administrator within sixty (60) days after written notification of denial is received. Receipt of such denial shall be deemed to have occurred if the notice of denial is sent via first class mail to the Participant’s last shown address on the books of the Company. Such period may be extended by the Administrator for good cause shown. The claim will then be reviewed by the Administrator. In connection with this appeal, the Participant (or his or her duly authorized representative) may (i) be provided, upon written request and free of charge, with reasonable access to (and copies of) all documents, records, and other information relevant to the claim, and (ii) submit to the Administrator written comments, documents, records, and other information related to the claim. If the Administrator deems it appropriate, it may hold a hearing as to a claim. If a hearing is held, the Participant shall be entitled to be represented by counsel.
The review by the Administrator will take into account all comments, documents, records, and other information the Participant submits relating to the claim. The Administrator will make a final written decision on a claim review, in most cases within sixty (60) days after receipt of a request for a review. In some cases, the claim may take more time to review, and an additional processing period of up to sixty (60) days may be required. If that happens, the Participant will receive a written notice of that fact, which will also indicate the special circumstances requiring the extension of time and the date by which the Administrator expects to make a determination with respect to the claim. If the extension is required due to the Participant’s failure to submit information necessary to decide the claim, the period for making the determination will be tolled from the date on which the extension notice is sent to the Participant until the date on which the Participant responds to the Plan’s request for information.
The Administrator’s decision on the claim for review will be communicated to the Participant in writing. If an adverse benefit determination is made with respect to the claim, the notice will include: (1) the specific reason(s) for any adverse benefit determination, with references to the specific Plan provisions on which the determination is based; (2) a statement that the Participant is entitled to receive, upon request and free of charge, reasonable access to (and copies of) all documents, records and other information relevant to the claim; and (3) a statement of the Participant’s right to bring a civil action under Section 502(a) of ERISA. A
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Participant may not start an arbitration proceeding to obtain benefits until after he or she has requested a review and a final decision has been reached on review, or until the appropriate timeframe described above has elapsed since the Participant filed a request for review and the Participant has not received a final decision or notice that an extension will be necessary to reach a final decision. These procedures must be exhausted before a Participant (or any beneficiary) demands arbitration seeking payment of benefits, as set forth below.
After a Participant has exhausted the administrative remedies set forth in this Section 5, all further claims with respect to the Plan, including without limitation eligibility, participation, contributions, benefits or other aspects of the operation of the Plan, shall be resolved by binding arbitration, to be held at an office closest to HSI’s principal offices in accordance with the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Pending the resolution of any arbitration or court proceeding, HSI shall continue payment of all amounts and benefits due to a Participant hereunder. All reasonable costs and expenses of any arbitration or court proceeding (including fees and disbursements of counsel) shall be promptly paid on the Participant’s behalf by HSI; provided, however, that no such expense reimbursement shall be made if and to the extent the arbitrator(s) determine(s) that any of the Participant’s dispute assertions or defenses were in bad faith or frivolous In addition, no action may be started more than two years after the date on which the applicable appeal was denied. If there is no decision on appeal, no action may be started more than two years after the time when the Administrator should have decided the appeal.
6. Administration of the Plan.
(a) Duties of the Administrator. In accordance with Section 3(a), the Plan shall be administered by the Administrator. The Administrator shall have full discretionary authority to interpret the Plan and to decide any questions and settle all controversies and disputes that may arise in connection with the Plan; to determine which individuals are and are not Participants to and designate which portions of Exhibit A apply to each individual; establish, amend, and rescind rules for carrying out the Plan; to administer the Plan, subject to its provisions; to prescribe the form or forms of any instruments required under the Plan (which need not be uniform) and to change such forms from time to time; and to make all other determinations and to take all such steps in connection with the Plan as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, deems necessary or desirable; provided, that all such determinations shall be in accordance with the express provisions, if any, contained in the Plan. The Administrator shall not be bound to any standards of uniformity or similarity of action, interpretation or conduct in the discharge of its duties hereunder, regardless of the apparent similarity of the matters coming before it. The determination, action or conclusion of the Administrator in connection with the foregoing shall be final, binding and conclusive. The Administrator shall also have authority to delegate its responsibilities hereunder (to the extent permitted by applicable law); provided, however, that any Plan amendment or termination or any other action that reasonably could be expected to increase materially the cost of the Plan must be approved by the Compensation Committee. The Administrator may, in its sole discretion, correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or in any agreement relating thereto in the manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary to effectuate the purpose and intent of the Plan. The Administrator may, in its sole discretion, adopt special guidelines and provisions for persons who are residing in or employed in, or subject to, the taxes of, any domestic or foreign jurisdictions to comply with the applicable laws of such domestic or foreign jurisdictions including, without limitation, laws relating to restrictive covenants.
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(b) Indemnification. No officer, member or former member of the Administrator shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to the Plan. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws of the Company and to the extent not covered by insurance, each officer, member or former member of the Administrator shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against any cost or expense (including reasonable fees of counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company) or liability (including any sum paid in settlement of a claim with the approval of the Company), and advanced amounts necessary to pay the foregoing at the earliest time and to the fullest extent permitted, arising out of any act or omission to act in connection with the Plan, except to the extent arising out of such officer’s, member’s or former member’s own fraud or bad faith. Such indemnification shall be in addition to any rights of indemnification the officers, members or former members may have as directors under applicable law or under the Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
7. Amendment and Termination. The Company reserves the right to amend or terminate, in whole or in part, any or all of the provisions of the Plan by action of the Compensation Committee or the Company’s Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee thereof) at any time and for any reason, with or without notice, provided that any such amendment or termination that would materially and adversely affect the rights of any Participant who has experienced an Eligible Termination prior to the date of such amendment or termination, as applicable, shall not to that extent be effective without the consent of the affected Participant.
8. Effect of Plan on Other Benefits. Except as specifically provided in the Plan, the existence of the Plan shall not be interpreted to prohibit or restrict a Participant’s participation in any other employee benefit or other plans or programs in which the Participant may participate from time to time.
9. Not an Employment Agreement; Rights Forfeitable. The Plan is not a contract of employment between any Participant and HSI. HSI may terminate a Participant’s employment at any time, subject to the terms hereof or any other agreement that might exist between a Participant and HSI. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary and for the avoidance of doubt, in the event that Participant ceases to be a member of the Company’s Executive Management Committee (or a successor committee thereof) for any reason other than due to a Termination, then such person shall immediately cease to be a Participant under the Plan and shall cease to have any rights under the Plan, unless the Compensation Committee determines otherwise in its sole discretion.
10. Assignability; Binding Nature. For purposes of the Plan, the Company may include any and all successors or assignees, whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise, to all or substantially all the business or assets of the Company, and such successors and assignees shall perform the Company’s obligations under the Plan, in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company, would be required to perform if no such
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succession or assignment had taken place. Any such successor and/or assignee shall be required to expressly assume, in writing, the terms and obligations of the Plan. In the event the surviving entity in any transaction to which the Company is a party is a subsidiary of another entity, then the ultimate parent entity of such surviving entity shall cause the surviving entity to perform the Plan in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession or assignment had taken place. In such event, the term “Company” as used in the Plan, means the Company, as hereinbefore defined and any successor or assignee (including the ultimate parent entity) to the business or assets of the Company, which by reason hereof becomes bound by the terms and provisions of the Plan.
11. Governing Law/Jurisdiction. To the extent legally required, the Code and ERISA shall govern the Plan and, if any provision hereof is in violation of any applicable requirement thereof, the Company reserves the right to retroactively amend the Plan to comply therewith. To the extent not governed by the Code and ERISA the Plan shall be governed by and construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of New York without reference to principles of conflict of laws.
12. Severability. In case any one or more of the provisions, subsections, or sentences contained in the Plan shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the other provisions of the Plan, and the Plan shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein. Moreover, if any one or more of the provisions contained in the Plan shall for any reason be held to be excessively broad as to duration, geographical scope, activity or subject, it shall be construed by limiting and reducing it, so as to be enforceable to the extent compatible with the applicable law as it shall then appear.
13. Withholding. The Company shall have the right to make such provisions as it deems necessary or appropriate to satisfy any obligations it may have to withhold federal, state or local income or other taxes incurred by reason of payments pursuant to the Plan. In lieu thereof, the Company shall have the right to withhold the amounts of such taxes from any other sums due or to become due from the Company to the Participant upon such terms and conditions as the Administrator may prescribe.
14. Minors and Incompetents. If the Administrator shall find that any person to whom Payments are payable under the Plan is unable to care for his or her affairs because of illness or accident, or is a minor, any Payments due (unless a prior claim therefore shall have been made by a duly appointed guardian, committee or other legal representative) shall be paid to the spouse, child, parent, or brother or sister, or to any person deemed by the Administrator to have incurred expense for such person otherwise entitled to the Payments, in such manner and proportions as the Administrator may determine in its sole discretion. Any such Payments shall be a complete discharge of the liabilities of the Company, the Administrator, and the Company’s Board of Directors under the Plan. If a Participant dies or becomes permanently disabled prior to payment of all Payments due to such Participant, any and all unpaid amounts shall be paid to the Participant’s heir(s), executor or estate.
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15. Non-Alienation of Benefits. The Payments payable under the Plan shall not be subject to alienation, transfer, assignment, garnishment, execution or levy of any kind, and any attempt to cause any Payments to be so subjected shall not be recognized.
16. Code Section 409A. It is intended that the provisions of the Plan comply with Code Section 409A of the Code and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder (collectively “Code Section 409A”), and all provisions of the Plan (or of any award of compensation, including equity compensation or benefits) shall be construed in a manner consistent with the requirements for avoiding taxes or penalties under Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall have no liability with regard to any failure to comply with Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary (other than the immediately following sentence), if the aggregate of all amounts payable to a Participant under the Plan (when combined with similar amounts payable to such Participant under any other agreements, methods, programs, or other arrangements with respect to which deferrals of compensation are treated with the Plan as having been deferred under a single nonqualified deferred compensation plan under Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(c)(2)) exceeds the lesser of two times (i) the Participant’s annual rate of pay for the year prior to the year of his or her employment termination, or (ii) the maximum amount that may be taken into account under a qualified pension plan pursuant to Section 401(a)(17) of the Code for the year of his or her employment termination, (A) the payment of such amounts to the Participant that exceeds the above limit shall be commence within 30 days following the six month anniversary of his or her employment termination (and the first payment of which shall include an amount equal to the cumulative amount that would have otherwise been payable to the Participant during such 6-month period) or, if earlier, his or her death, (B) a termination of employment shall not be deemed to have occurred for purposes of any provision of the Plan providing for the payment of any amounts or benefits, which are subject to Code Section 409A, upon or following a termination of employment unless such termination is also a “separation from service” within the meaning of Code Section 409A (and the guidance issued thereunder) and, for purposes of any such provision of the Plan, references to a “resignation,” “termination,” “termination of employment,” “retirement” or like terms shall mean separation from service, and (C) if any other payments due to the Participant hereunder could cause application of an accelerated or additional tax under Code Section 409A, such payments shall be deferred if deferral will make such payment compliant under Code Section 409A, or otherwise such payment shall be restructured, to the extent possible, in a manner, determined by the Administrator, that does not cause such an accelerated or additional tax. The foregoing sentence shall not be applicable if all amounts to be paid under the Plan to a Participant are otherwise fully exempt from the provisions of Code Section 409A. For purposes of Code Section 409A, the Participant’s right to receive any installment payments pursuant to the Plan shall be treated as a right to receive a series of separate and distinct payments. Whenever a payment under the Plan specifies a payment period with reference to a number of days (e.g., “payment shall be made within thirty (30) days following the date of termination”), the actual date of payment within the specified period shall be within the sole discretion of the Company. For purposes of Code Section 409A, any expenses eligible for reimbursement in one taxable year shall not affect the expenses eligible for reimbursement in any other taxable year, the reimbursement of an eligible expense shall be made no later than the end of the calendar year after the calendar year in which such expense was incurred and the right to reimbursement shall not be subject to liquidation or exchange for any other benefit.
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17. Headings and Captions. The headings and captions herein are provided for reference and convenience only. They shall not be considered part of the Plan and shall not be employed in the construction of the Plan.
18. Electronic Communication and Administration. Unless prohibited by applicable law, all announcements, notices and other communications regarding the Plan may be made by the Company by electronic means as determined by the Company in its sole discretion.
19. Not Part of Compensation Package and No Acquired Rights. The Payments payable hereunder are provided solely as a payment for involuntary termination under the circumstances described herein (i.e., an Eligible Termination) and shall not constitute part of a Participant’s employment compensation package. The Payments under the Plan are not part of normal or expected compensation for purposes of calculating any severance, resignation, termination pay, redundancy, end of service payments, long-service awards, bonus, incentive pay, pension, or retirement benefits or similar payments and does not create any acquired rights.
20. Personal Information. By participating in the Plan, each Participant hereunder shall consent to the holding and processing of personal information provided by such Participant to the Company, any affiliate of the Company, trustee or third-party service provider, for all purposes relating to the operation of the Plan and to the extent necessary for such operation. These include, but are not limited to: (i) administering and maintaining Participant records; (ii) providing information to the Company, its affiliates, trustees of any employee benefit trust, registrars, brokers or third-party administrators of the Plan; (iii) providing information to future purchasers or merger partners of the Company or any of its affiliates, or the business in which the Participant works; and (iv) to the extent not prohibited by applicable law, transferring information about the Participant to any country or territory that may not provide the same protection for the information as the Participant’s home country.
* * *
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EXHIBIT A
Base Salary Continuation and Annual Incentive Payment (Section 2(a)(iii) and Section 2(a)(iv))
| Position |
Weeks of Base Salary Continuation |
Multiple of Average Annual Incentive Actually Paid |
||||||
| Executive Management Committee Member (Non-Executive Officer) |
52 | 1 | ||||||
| Executive Officer |
78 | 1.5 | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer |
104 | 2 | ||||||
COBRA Continuation Period (Section 2(b)(iii))
| Position |
Weeks of COBRA Continuation |
|||
| Executive Management Committee Member (Non-Executive Officer) |
52 | |||
| Executive Officer |
78 | |||
| Chief Executive Officer |
78 | |||
Eligible Termination (Section 3)
| Position |
Eligible Termination Components | |
| Executive Management Committee Member (Non-Executive Officer) |
Without Cause | |
| Executive Officer |
Without Cause or for Good Reason | |
| Chief Executive Officer |
Without Cause or for Good Reason |
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Exhibit 99.1
Henry Schein Names Frederick M. Lowery as Chief Executive Officer
Industry veteran brings more than 20 years of healthcare distribution experience and operational excellence
MELVILLE, N.Y., January 12, 2026 – Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the world’s largest provider of healthcare solutions to office-based dental and medical professionals, today announced the appointment of Frederick M. Lowery as its new Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), effective March 2, 2026, at which time he will join the Board of Directors. Mr. Lowery succeeds Stanley M. Bergman, who will step down as CEO after 35 years and continue to serve as Chairman of the Board to ensure a smooth and effective leadership transition.
Mr. Lowery brings more than two decades of healthcare expertise to Henry Schein, with a strong track record of scaling complex businesses to drive significant growth and sustained value creation. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and President, Laboratory Products and BioProduction at Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO), leading the Fisher Scientific distribution channel’s above-market performance. His experience growing distribution and owned product businesses – including manufacturing, R&D, marketing, and sales functions – closely aligns with Henry Schein’s business model, positioning him well to guide the Company’s next phase of growth and continued execution of its BOLD+1 strategic plan.
“I am honored to join Henry Schein at such a pivotal moment. This is an organization with immense potential to impact clinicians and patients, given its remarkable reputation for innovation, customer service, and partnership,” said Mr. Lowery. “I look forward to working with Team Schein to build on the strong foundation established by Stan while accelerating value creation.”
Prior to joining Thermo Fisher, Mr. Lowery worked in leadership roles for Maytag Corporation and General Motors. He holds a master’s degree in manufacturing management from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute of Engineering and Management) and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tennessee Technological University.
“I am very pleased to welcome Fred to Henry Schein. Beyond his extensive operational experience, he brings a leadership philosophy that reflects the values that have long defined our Company,” said Mr. Bergman. “Fred understands the critical role we play in supporting dental and medical practitioners, and he is exceptionally well equipped to lead Henry Schein into its next phase of growth.”
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Stan for his exceptional leadership and invaluable contributions over more than three decades,” said Phil Laskawy, Lead Director and Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at Henry Schein. “After a comprehensive search process, we are confident that Fred is the right successor to honor Henry Schein’s proud heritage. With extensive commercial, logistics, and manufacturing expertise, and a focus on customer satisfaction, he has the combination of experience and capabilities necessary to accelerate growth and value creation.”
“We are excited about our strategic partnership with Henry Schein and look forward to supporting the next chapter of the Company’s journey under Fred’s leadership,” said Max Lin, Board Member and Vice Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at Henry Schein and Partner at KKR. “We believe Fred brings a unique combination of healthcare distribution experience, operational best practices, and accountable leadership that will accelerate our strategic initiatives and further differentiate Henry Schein as a world-class business.”
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
In accordance with the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we provide the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors that, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, expectations and assumptions expressed or implied herein. All forward-looking statements made by us are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These statements are generally identified by the use of such terms as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “anticipate,” “to be,” “to make” or other comparable terms. A fuller discussion of our operations, financial condition and status of litigation matters, including factors that may affect our business and future prospects, is contained in documents we have filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and will be contained in all subsequent periodic filings we make with the SEC. These documents identify in detail important risk factors that could cause our actual performance to differ materially from current expectations.
Risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current and historical results include, but are not limited to: our dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our products and where we manufacture products, our dependence on third parties for raw materials or purchased components; risks relating to the achievement of our strategic growth objectives, including anticipated results of restructuring and value creation initiatives; risks related to the Strategic Partnership Agreement with KKR Hawaii Aggregator L.P. entered into in January 2025; transitions in senior company leadership; our ability to develop or acquire and maintain and protect new products (particularly technology and specialty products) and services and utilize new technologies that achieve market acceptance with acceptable margins; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions and joint ventures, including the failure to achieve anticipated synergies/benefits, as well as significant demands on our operations, information systems, legal, regulatory, compliance, financial and human resources functions in connection with acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures; certain provisions in our governing documents that may discourage third-party acquisitions of us; adverse changes in supplier rebates or other purchasing incentives; risks related to the sale of corporate brand products; risks related to activist investors; security risks associated with our information systems and technology products and services, such as cyberattacks or other privacy or data security breaches (including the October 2023 incident); effects of a highly competitive (including, without limitation, competition from third-party online commerce sites) and consolidating market; political, economic, and regulatory influences on the health care industry; risks from expansion of customer purchasing power and multi-tiered costing structures; increases in shipping costs for our products or other service issues with our third-party shippers, and increases in fuel and energy costs; changes in laws and policies governing manufacturing, development and investment in territories and countries where we do business; general global and domestic macro-economic and political conditions, including inflation, deflation, recession,
unemployment (and corresponding increase in under-insured populations), consumer confidence, sovereign debt levels, fluctuations in energy pricing and the value of the U.S. dollar as compared to foreign currencies and changes to other economic indicators failure to comply with existing and future regulatory requirements, including relating to health care; risks associated with the EU Medical Device Regulation; failure to comply with laws and regulations relating to health care fraud or other laws and regulations; failure to comply with laws and regulations relating to the collection, storage and processing of sensitive personal information or standards in electronic health records or transmissions; changes in tax legislation, changes in tax rates and availability of certain tax deductions; risks related to product liability, intellectual property and other claims; risks associated with customs policies or legislative import restrictions; risks associated with disease outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), or similar wide-spread public health concerns and other natural or man-made disasters; risks associated with our global operations; the threat or outbreak of war (including, without limitation, geopolitical wars), terrorism or public unrest (including, without limitation, the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza war and other unrest and threats in the Middle East and the possibility of a wider European or global conflict); changes to laws and policies governing foreign trade, tariffs and sanctions or greater restrictions on imports and exports, including changes to international trade agreements and the current imposition of (and the potential for additional) tariffs by the U.S. on numerous countries and retaliatory tariffs; supply chain disruption; litigation risks; new or unanticipated litigation developments and the status of litigation matters; our dependence on our senior management (including, without limitation, the transition to a new CEO), employee hiring and retention, increases in labor costs or health care costs, and our relationships with customers, suppliers and manufacturers; and disruptions in financial markets. The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority.
We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive and that many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. We undertake no duty and have no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.
About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) is a solutions company for health care professionals powered by a network of people and technology. With more than 25,000 Team Schein Members worldwide, the Company’s network of trusted advisors provides more than 1 million customers globally with more than 300 valued solutions that help improve operational success and clinical outcomes. Our Business, Clinical, Technology, and Supply Chain solutions help office-based dental and medical practitioners work more efficiently so they can provide quality care more effectively. These solutions also support dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, as well as other alternate care sites.
Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 300,000 branded products and Henry Schein corporate brand products in our distribution centers.
A FORTUNE 500 Company and a member of the S&P 500® index, Henry Schein is headquartered in Melville, N.Y., and has operations or affiliates in 33 countries and territories. The Company’s sales reached $12.7 billion in 2024, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 11.2 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995.
For more information, visit Henry Schein at www.henryschein.com, Facebook.com/HenrySchein, Instagram.com/HenrySchein, LinkedIn.com/Company/HenrySchein, and @HenrySchein on X.
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