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 Russell Tiejema as Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
On September 28, 2026, Vestis Corporation
(the “Company”) announced that it had appointed Russell Tiejema as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Tiejema, 58, has more than 30 years of
finance and leadership experience. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of US LBM, the largest
privately owned full-line distributor of specialty building materials in the United States, from June 2024 to July 2026. Prior
to US LBM, Mr. Tiejema served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Masonite International Corporation, a leading
global designer and manufacturer of interior and exterior doors, from November 2015 to May 2024. Earlier in his career, Mr. Tiejema
served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Lennox International's residential business and held multiple financial
leadership roles at General Motors. Mr. Tiejema holds a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University's Kelley School
of Business and a bachelor's degree from Kettering University.
There are no family relationships between Mr. Tiejema
and any director or executive officer of the Company. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Tiejema and any other
person pursuant to which he was appointed, and there are no transactions requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
The Company and Mr. Tiejema entered into
an Employment Agreement, dated September 17, 2026 (the “Employment Agreement”), and the Employment Agreement became
effective as of September 28, 2026 (the “Effective Date”). The Employment Agreement governs the terms of Mr. Tiejema’s
service as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company.
Mr. Tiejema’s initial annual base salary
under the Employment Agreement is $700,000 and, beginning with the Company’s fiscal year 2027, he will be entitled to a target annual
bonus opportunity (“Target Bonus”) of 100% of his base salary, with the actual annual bonus payable to Mr. Tiejema
for any year being determined and paid based on the terms of the Company’s Management Incentive Plan.
Beginning with the Company’s 2027 fiscal
year, Mr. Tiejema will be entitled to receive an annual equity or equity-based award under the Vestis Corporation Long-Term Incentive
Plan (the “LTIP”) with a target grant date value of $1,750,000, subject to approval by the Company’s Compensation
and Human Resources Committee (the “Committee”). The form, timing and terms of any such awards will be determined in
the sole discretion of the Committee and will be made at the same time as annual awards are made to similarly situated executives of the
Company.
In connection with commencement of his employment,
Mr. Tiejema is entitled to receive a one-time equity award (the “Sign-on Award”) under the LTIP with a grant date
value of $2,500,000, consisting of 50% restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and 50% nonqualified stock options (“NSOs”),
to be granted as of the first day of the Company’s fiscal year 2027 (the “Grant Date”). The Sign-on Award will
vest ratably over three years on each anniversary of the Grant Date, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable award agreement.
Mr. Tiejema is also generally eligible to
participate in the Company’s standard employee benefit plans maintained from time to time for similarly situated executives, including
the Company’s Executive Benefits and Perquisites Program and Executive Relocation Program; Mr. Tiejema, however, will not be
entitled to participate in any termination or severance pay plan of the Company, other than as provided in the Employment Agreement.
Under the Employment Agreement, upon Mr. Tiejema’s
termination of employment with the Company and its affiliates for any reason (the “Termination Date”), he will be entitled
to any accrued amounts (such as accrued but unpaid salary and vacation, annual bonus for any completed fiscal year that has not yet been
paid and other amounts required by applicable law or an employee benefit plan). Upon termination, Mr. Tiejema’s outstanding
equity and equity-based awards will be treated in the manner provided in the LTIP and the applicable award agreements; provided, however,
that in the case of an Anticipatory Change of Control Termination (as described below), the outstanding unvested awards will remain outstanding
until the earliest of (a) the date of a Change of Control (as defined in the LTIP), (b) six months following the Termination
Date and (c) the expiration date of the award.
If Mr. Tiejema’s Termination Date occurs
on account of death or disability, he will be entitled to the accrued amounts and a pro-rata annual bonus for the year in which the Termination
Date occurs.
If Mr. Tiejema’s Termination Date occurs
by reason of termination by the Company for Cause (as defined in the Employment Agreement) or by Mr. Tiejema other than for Good
Reason (as defined in the Employment Agreement), Mr. Tiejema will be entitled only to the accrued amounts.
If Mr. Tiejema’s Termination Date occurs
on account of termination by the Company without Cause or by Mr. Tiejema for Good Reason (and other than as a result of a Qualifying
Termination as described below), he will be entitled to the following payments and benefits (in addition to the accrued amounts), subject
to the execution and non-revocation of a release:
a payment equal to the sum of his base salary
and Target Bonus, payable in accordance with the normal payroll practices of the Company ratably over 12 months;
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a pro-rata portion of the annual bonus that would
otherwise have been paid to him for the year of termination had the Termination Date not occurred, taking into account satisfaction of
any applicable performance conditions, payable in a lump sum at the same time as annual bonuses for the year to which the pro-rata bonus
relates are payable to similarly situated executives of the Company whose Termination Date has not occurred;
if he is eligible for and timely elects COBRA
coverage, a monthly payment (each a “Benefit Payment”) equal to the amount of the applicable monthly premium for medical,
dental and vision coverage, which Benefit Payments will be payable for 12 months following the Termination Date; and
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reimbursement for outplacement services by a
recognized outplacement services firm selected by Mr. Tiejema in an amount not to exceed 10% of his base salary.
If Mr. Tiejema’s Termination Date occurs
as the result of a “Qualifying Termination,” meaning termination of Mr. Tiejema’s employment (a) within
24 months after a Change of Control by the Company without Cause or by Mr. Tiejema for Good Reason or (b) within six months
prior to a Change of Control at the request of a third party involved in a Change of Control or otherwise in connection with or in anticipation
of a Change of Control (which termination is referred to as an “Anticipatory Change of Control Termination”), he will
be entitled to the following payments and benefits, subject to the execution and non-revocation of a release:
a lump sum payment equal to 1.5 times the sum
of his base salary and Target Bonus;
a lump sum payment equal to a pro-rata portion
of his Target Bonus for the year in which the Termination Date occurs;
if he is eligible for and timely elects COBRA
coverage, a lump sum Benefit Payment for the 18-month severance period; and
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reimbursement for outplacement services by a
recognized outplacement services firm selected by Mr. Tiejema in an amount not to exceed 10% of his base salary.
Mr. Tiejema is not entitled to duplicate
benefits for both a termination prior to a Change of Control and a Qualifying Termination.
In the event that any payment or benefit payable
to Mr. Tiejema would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code, the aggregate payments
and benefits will be reduced to 2.99 times Mr. Tiejema’s “base amount” (as defined in Section 280G(b)(3) of
the Code) if such reduction would result in a greater net after-tax amount to Mr. Tiejema.
The Employment Agreement requires Mr. Tiejema
to enter into a restrictive covenant agreement that provides for perpetual non-disclosure and non-disparagement covenants and 12-month
post-employment non-competition, non-solicitation and non-hire covenants. Mr. Tiejema and any compensation payable to him are also
subject to the Company’s clawback and recoupment policies.
A copy of the Employment Agreement is filed with
this Current Report on Form 8-K and attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated by reference herein. The foregoing description
of the Employment Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Employment Agreement.
Item 7.01Item 7.01 - Regulation FD Disclosure
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On September 28, 2026, the Company issued
a press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Tiejema as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and reaffirming
the Company’s fiscal year 2026 financial outlook. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current
Report on Form 8-K.
The information set forth under this Item 7.01
of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section,
nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing made by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the
Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.