personal benefits in limited circumstances, such as where we believe it is appropriate to assist an individual executive officer in the performance of the executive’s duties, to make our executive officers more efficient and effective, and/or recruitment, motivation, or retention purposes. All future practices with respect to perquisites or other personal benefits will be approved by the Compensation Committee.
We do not generally provide any tax “gross-ups” to our NEOs.
Severance and Change in Control Arrangements
The Executive Severance Plan (as amended and restated, the “Executive Severance Plan”), which provides certain of our executives, including our NEOs (other than Mr. Braunstein), with severance benefits and payments upon certain terminations without cause or, following a change in control, resignations for good reason. Our Compensation Committee believes that the Executive Severance Plan is necessary to attract and retain executive talent and is a customary component of executive compensation. In particular, the Executive Severance Plan can mitigate a potential disincentive for our NEOs when they are evaluating a potential acquisition of the Company and can encourage retention through the conclusion of the transaction. The payments and benefits provided under the Executive Severance Plan are designed to be competitive with market practices. A description of the Executive Severance Plan, as well as information on the estimated payments and benefits that our NEOs would have been eligible to receive as of December 31, 2022, is set forth in “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.
Other Policies and Considerations
Clawback Policy. We believe in maintaining best practices for our executive compensation program. Consistent with that belief, our board of directors has adopted a “clawback” policy with respect to excess incentive-based cash and equity compensation in the event our publicly disclosed financial statements are required to be restated due to material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement. Where such a restatement has occurred, the policy provides the Compensation Committee with the discretion to recover cash incentives, equity awards or other incentive compensation of employees to the extent such compensation would have been reduced if calculated under the restatement, regardless of whether the employee was responsible for the restatement. Additionally, the policy provides the Compensation Committee with the discretion to recover cash incentives, equity awards or other incentive compensation of employees who have engaged in behavior that is intentionally contrary to or in reckless disregard of the employee’s duties to the Company or in material violation of the Company’s code of conduct, any other Company policy, or any law or regulation. We are in the process of adopting a clawback policy that will comply with the requirements of the NASDAQ clawback listing standard.
Stock Ownership Guidelines. Effective June 22, 2021, the Board adopted stock ownership guidelines that are applicable to our executive officers, including our NEOs, and to our non-employee directors. Our executive officers and non-employee directors are expected to satisfy the applicable guidelines based on a base salary or annual retainer multiple, as applicable, within five years of the later of (i) the effective date of the guidelines, and (ii) the date of such individual’s appointment to a position with the Company that is subject to such guidelines, and to hold at least the applicable minimum value in shares of common stock for so long as they are an executive officer or non-employee director, as applicable. We believe that stock ownership guidelines align the interests of our officers and directors with those of our stockholders and encourage long-term management of the Company for the benefit of its stockholders.
Anti-Hedging Policy. Our Board of Directors has adopted an Insider Trading Compliance Policy, which applies to all of our directors, officers, and employees. The policy prohibits our directors, officers, and employees and any entities they control from purchasing financial instruments, such as prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds, or otherwise engaging in transactions that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of the Company’s equity securities.
Insider Trading Compliance Policy. Our Insider Trading Compliance Policy provides that No officer, director or employee n or any entities they control may purchase, acquire or sell (or contract to purchase, acquire or sell) any type of security while in possession of material, non-public information relating to the security or the issuer of the security (whether or not the issuer of the security is the Company). This includes a put option, a call option or a short sale, or engaging in hedging transactions, as further described above under “Anti-Hedging Policy”. In addition, the prohibitions under our Insider Trading Compliance Policy do not apply to certain transactions, such as the exercise of stock options and/or the surrender of shares to the Company in payment of the exercise price or in satisfaction of any tax withholding obligations, pursuant to the applicable equity incentive plan or award agreement; such exceptions are only permitted to the extent they do not involve a market sale of the Company’s securities.