Sample Business Contracts


Offer Letter - American Greetings Corp. and Cathy Kilbane

Employment Forms

  • Employers can customize an employment agreement that states the salary, benefits, working hours and other important provisions for their new or existing employee.
  • Answer simple questions to build a contract with a consultant. Specify the services rendered, when payment is due, as well as IP rights.
  • Employers who compensate their sales employees based on commissions can prepare an agreement to reduce misunderstandings by specifying the base salary and how commissions are calculated.
  • Companies may offer their business executives a contract that is different from the one provided to their regular employees. Executive employment agreements may be more complex because the compensation structure may include a combination of salary and commissions, provide for bonuses based on sales, stock or other financial targets, and include non-compete, confidentiality and severance provisions.
  • Independent sales representatives offer companies the potential to increase the sale of products or services without the burden of increasing headcount. Both parties should understand how commissions are calculated, when commissions will be paid, as well as how the representative will treat confidential information from the company and whether the representative may also sell a competing line of products or services.
  • More Employment Agreements 

                                                    August 22, 2003

Ms. Cathy Kilbane

Dear Cathy,

We are pleased to extend to you an offer of employment with American Greetings
as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, reporting to me. We have agreed
that, if you accept this offer, you will begin with us on a date that we will
mutually determine.

The terms of this offer are that you will:

1.    receive a base salary of $300,000 annually (less appropriate withholdings
      and deductions); this salary will be reviewed in April 2004 as part of the
      annual officer performance and salary review process, and may be adjusted
      as appropriate; the salary will be reviewed annually thereafter, and may
      be increased based on your performance;

2.    receive a sign on bonus of $30,000, less appropriate withholdings and
      deductions; one-third of this bonus will be paid within your first two
      weeks of employment, the second third will be paid six months after your
      date of employment, and the last third will be paid twelve months after
      your date of employment;

3.    participate in the Key Management Annual Incentive Plan at the Senior Vice
      President level (70% target payout, with the payouts increased or
      decreased from target based on actual business unit, corporate and
      individual performance); the payout from this Plan for this fiscal year,
      if any, will be based on your actual base salary earnings for the fiscal
      year; details of the Plan are described in the enclosed booklet,

4.    participate in the American Greetings Stock Option Plan at the Senior Vice
      President level:

            a)    20,000 options on American Greetings Class A Common Stock will
                  be granted within 30 days of the date you begin your
                  employment with American Greetings; the grant price will be
                  the closing price of the stock on the date of grant:

                  -     15,000 of these options shall vest one year from the
                        date of grant;

                  -     5,000 of these options shall vest two years from the
                        date of grant.

                                       11

<PAGE>

Ms. Cathy Kilbane
Page 2

            b)    10,000 additional options will be granted annually thereafter
                  (the size of these grants may be increased or decreased based
                  on individual performance; the actual grant date shall be the
                  date approved by the Board of Directors for the general grant
                  to all employees):

                        -     5,000 options from each grant will vest one year
                              from the date of the grant;

                        -     5,000 options from each grant will vest two years
                              from the date of the grant.

            c)    the details of this Plan are described in the enclosed
                  booklet.

5.    be eligible to participate in the American Greetings flexible benefits
      program, which includes such benefits as health care, disability and life
      insurance; an overview of this program is described in the enclosed
      Benefits-at-a-Glance booklet.

6.    be eligible to participate in the American Greetings Retirement Profit
      Sharing and Savings Plan; the details of this Plan are described in the
      enclosed booklet and Summary Plan Description.

7.    receive other benefits normally provided to Senior Vice Presidents, such
      as the personal use of a company automobile, and additional company paid
      life, AD&D and personal liability insurances; the details of these
      benefits as currently provided are described in the enclosed Executive
      Benefits booklet.

Cathy, congratulations. We believe that you can make significant contributions
to our efforts. We look forward to your acceptance of this offer.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Zev Weiss
----------------------------
Zev Weiss
Chief Executive Officer
American Greetings

encls.

cc: Morry Weiss
    Pam Linton

                                       12

ClubJuris.Com