Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements · Regulation FD Disclosure
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. Appointment of Chief Operating Officer Effective January 13, 2025, James Lee was appointed the Chief Operating Officer of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (the “Company”). Mr.…
Filed Jan 13, 2025Accepted Jan 13, 2025, 8:06 AM ESTCIK 1031308Accession 0001104659-25-002871
Around the world, infrastructure professionals rely on software from Bentley Systems to help them design, build, and operate better and more resilient infrastructure for transportation, water, energy, cities, and more. Founded in 1984 by engineers for engineers, Bentley is the partner of choice for engineering firms and owner-operators worldwide, with software that spans engineering disciplines, industry sectors, and all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle. Through our digital twin solutions, we help infrastructure professionals unlock the value of their data to transform project delivery and asset performance.
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Item 5.02Item 5.02 - Departure/Election of Directors
Item 5.02
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of Chief Operating Officer
Effective January 13, 2025,
James Lee was appointed the Chief Operating Officer of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (the “Company”).
Mr. Lee, 45, joined Google
in 2020 and has served as the general manager of the startups and AI business at Google Cloud, an infrastructure and platform services
business, since 2023. Prior to joining Google, Mr. Lee worked at SAP, an enterprise software solutions company, from 2008 to 2020, most
recently serving as Chief Operating Officer for SAP Ariba and Fieldglass. Mr. Lee earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard
Business School, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and a Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory
of Music.
As part of Mr. Lee’s
hiring, the Company and Mr. Lee entered into an at-will employment agreement (the “Employment Agreement”) that provides
as follows:
Cash Compensation
Mr. Lee will receive a base
salary of $400,000 (prorated for 2025) and will have an initial annual cash incentive compensation (“OTI”) target of
$400,000 (prorated for Mr. Lee’s start date with the Company). The OTI payments will be paid to Mr. Lee in the Company’s sole
discretion, based on a combination of Mr. Lee’s individual performance and the attainment of business unit goals.
Equity Compensation
Mr. Lee will receive a one-time
grant of time-based restricted stock units (“RSUs”) with respect to the Company’s Class B Common Stock having
an aggregate value of $7.5 million. The RSUs will be granted pursuant to the Company’s 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”)
and will vest as follows: 14% four months after Mr. Lee’s start date; 14% on December 15, 2025; and 18% on each subsequent December
15 through 2029.
As part of the Company’s
annual equity awards to executives in 2025, Mr. Lee will also receive Plan-based grants of RSUs consisting of: (i) time-based RSUs having
an aggregate value of $488,889, vesting in four substantially equal annual installments; and (ii) performance-based RSUs having an aggregate
value of $488,889, which shall vest in accordance with the performance criteria communicated to Mr. Lee at the time of grant.
All RSUs noted above will
be subject to the Company’s “change in control” vesting policy as described in the Company’s 2024 Definitive Proxy
Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12, 2024.
Other Benefits
Following Mr. Lee’s
start date, it is expected that he will become: (i) a participant in the Company’s Career Stock Program at a participation percentage
equal to one-half of the participation percentage applicable to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer; and (ii) a “Covered
Executive” under the Company’s Severance Policy for Key Executives (the “Severance Policy”). Each of the
Career Stock Program and the Severance Policy is described in the Company’s Form 8-K/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on June 28, 2024.
Compensation Upon Termination
The Company may terminate
Mr. Lee’s employment at any time with or without Cause (as defined in the Severance Policy). In addition, Mr. Lee may terminate
his employment with the Company at any time, including for Good Reason (as defined in the Severance Policy). To the extent the Company
terminates Mr. Lee’s employment without Cause or Mr. Lee terminates his employment for Good Reason, Mr. Lee shall be entitled to
receive the compensation provided for in the Severance Policy, namely: (x) payments for the 12 months following his termination of an
amount equal to the average of the base salary and cash incentive compensation actually paid to Mr. Lee in the two prior full calendar
years; (y) payment of premiums by the Company for 12 months of continuing coverage for Mr. Lee and his family of medical benefits; and
(z) payment for accrued vacation and other perquisites through the date of termination.
There are no other arrangements
or understandings between Mr. Lee and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Lee will be appointed as the Company’s Chief Operating
Officer. Mr. Lee does not have any family relationship with any of the Company’s directors or executive officers or any persons
nominated or chosen by the Company to be a director or executive officer. Mr. Lee does not have any direct or indirect interest in any
transaction or proposed transaction required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Transition of Chief Product Officer
In connection with the Company’s
elimination of the position of Chief Product Officer, on January 7, 2025, the Company and Michael M. Campbell entered into a Mutual Separation
Agreement and General Release (the “Separation Agreement”), pursuant to which Mr. Campbell will leave the Company on
January 21, 2025.
Under the terms of the Separation
Agreement, in return for a general release of claims against the Company and its affiliates, Mr. Campbell will receive a cash severance
payment of $1.5 million (subject to applicable withholding) and will remain eligible to receive his cash OTI payment for the fourth quarter
of 2024 and any shares of Class B Common Stock issuable in connection with the vesting, if any, of Mr. Campbell’s performance-based
RSUs granted in 2024 (in each case, subject to applicable withholding). Mr. Campbell is also subject to customary post-employment confidentiality,
non-disparagement and non-solicitation restrictive covenants.
Item 7.01Item 7.01 - Regulation FD Disclosure
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On January 13, 2025, the Company
issued a press release announcing the above executive changes. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated
herein by reference.
Filed exhibits (1)
EX-99.1 (by filename) tm252935d1_ex99-1.htm
EX-99.1
2
tm252935d1_ex99-1.htm
EXHIBIT 99.1
Exhibit 99.1
Bentley Systems Welcomes James Lee as Chief
Operating Officer
Also consolidating product development and technology
strategy under
Chief Technology Officer Julien Moutte
EXTON, Pa., January 13, 2025 - Bentley
Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced the appointment of
James Lee as Chief Operating Officer. Lee joins Bentley from Google, where he served as General Manager for startups and artificial intelligence
at Google Cloud.
Prior to joining Google in 2020, Lee spent 12
years at SAP, including as Chief Operating Officer for SAP Ariba and Fieldglass, and as Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of
Sales for SAP Greater China. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree
from the University of British Columbia, and is based in the Pacific Northwest.
Lee will strengthen Bentley’s cross-functional
alignment across planning and execution, will drive operational excellence, and will oversee China, Japan, and portfolio development including
growth initiatives such as Bentley Asset Analytics…