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Sample Business Contracts

Employment Agreement - Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. and Eugene P. Beard

Employment Forms

  • Employment Contract. Employers can customize an employment agreement that states the salary, benefits, working hours and other important provisions for their new or existing employee.
  • Consulting Agreement. Answer simple questions to build a contract with a consultant. Specify the services rendered, when payment is due, as well as IP rights.
  • Commission Agreement. 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.
  • Executive Employment Agreement. 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.
  • Sales Representative Contract. 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

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                                                   January 17, 2000

                             PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL
                             -----------------------
                                     REVISED
                                     -------

Mr. Eugene P. Beard
Vice Chairman - Finance & Operations
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.
1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020

Dear Gene:

         The  purpose  of this  letter  is to  request  that you  continue  your
full-time employment and responsibilities  through February 28, 2000. We believe
at this particular  time, the activities in which you are involved  require your
continued employment to such date.

         Our request  alters to a degree our previous  agreed upon  arrangements
detailed  in my  letter  to you of  October  27,  1998.  Therefore,  we  feel it
appropriate to propose some  restructuring  of the previous  agreement along the
following:

1.       Timing
         ------

         You continue in your current role through February 28, 2000.  Effective
         March 1, 2000 you would relinquish your corporate responsibilities, IPG
         Directorship  and  Chairmanship  of  Finance  Committee  and  become an
         Employee Consultant for the remainder of the year.

2.       Compensation
         ------------

         o Employee Consultancy Compensation

                  Effective  March 1 through  December  31,  2000  your  monthly
                  employee  consultancy  rate would be $30,000.  You will retain
                  your existing employee benefits.

         o ERISA Benefit

                  You currently have a commitment for a $400,000/A  (payable for
                  15 years) ERISA benefit.  Based on a formula  recently adopted
                  by the  Compensation  Committee  (see  attached)  to determine
                  ERISA benefits to select  executives and to further reward you
                  for  extending  your  employment,  we propose to increase your
                  ERISA benefit to $600,000/A.  For your  information  the ERISA
                  formula   was  also   reviewed   and   endorsed  by  the  Todd
                  Organization.

         o Restricted Stock

                  You were  granted on May 5, 1999 60,000  (120,000  post split)
                  shares of restricted stock that will lapse on January 1, 2002.
<PAGE>
         o Stock Options

                  You also were  granted on October  10, 1998  150,000  (300,000
                  post split) stock  options  (@$26.125  per share) that will be
                  100% vested on January 1, 2000.

         o L.T.P.I.P. - 1997-2000

                  Your award for this period includes 12,500  performance  units
                  and 270,000 options. You will be fully vested for this period.

         o L.T.P.I.P. - 1999-2002

                  You have been  granted  14,000  performance  units and 140,000
                  stock options for this period. We previously  committed to you
                  that if you retired fully from the Company prior to January 1,
                  2001,  you  would be  pro-rated  from date of grant to date of
                  retirement in this performance period.

                  We further  committed  that if you  remained  as an  employee,
                  employee consultant or consultant for any period subsequent to
                  January 1, 2001, you would become 100% vested in the 1999-2002
                  grant period.

                  These commitments stand as originally offered.

3.       Consultancy Continuation
         ------------------------

         We had previously  agreed in 1996 that after your  retirement  from the
         Company you would for a period of time remain as an IPG consultant,  at
         a rate to be determined,  primarily to consult on The Interpublic Group
         of Companies,  Inc. Benefit Protection Trust (Rabbi Trust). Although we
         do  not  expect  this  activity  to be  time  consuming,  it  would  be
         reassuring to us that you continue to consult in this area.

         The above  arrangements  pretty much fit our original  understanding as
outlined in my letter of October 27,  1998.  In many ways Gene you must as I do,
take a lot of pride in what has been  accomplished  over the last 20 years. What
has been built in  comparison  to what we  inherited  is short of I believe  ---
incredible.  For  this  and all  the  other  things  accomplished,  you  have my
unyielding respect and lasting gratitude.

                                                Very best regards,

                                                /s/ Philip H. Geier
                                                -------------------
                                                  Philip H. Geier

cc: Members of the Compensation Committee