Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA) is a software and information technology services company located in Sunnyvale, California.
Ariba was founded in 1996 by Bobby Lent, Boris Putanec, Paul Touw, Rob Desantis, Ed Kinsey, Paul Heggarty, and Keith Krach on the idea of using the Internet to enable companies to facilitate and improve the procurement process. Procurement had been a paper-based, labor-intensive, and inefficient process for large corporations. According to the company's website, Ariba provides "Spend Management solutions" which help companies "analyze, understand, and manage their corporate spending to achieve cost savings and business process efficiency." Currently, 94 of the Fortune 100 and more than 200,000 other companies use Ariba's SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions to manage their spend and commerce activities.[4]
Ariba was one of the first business-to-business Internet companies to go public (in 1999). The company's stock more than tripled from the offering price on opening day,[citation needed] making the three year-old company worth $6 billion. In 2000, the stock value continued to climb, and Ariba's market capitalization was as high as $40 billion. With the bursting of the dot-com bubble, Ariba's stock price fell dramatically to the low double digits in July 2001, where it has remained since, with a market capitalization of just over $1.5 billion as of June 2010.
Ariba's Competitive Benefits
Our comprehensive and competitive benefits package represents Ariba's significant investment in our employees. An integral component of our dedication to excellence, it also recognizes and rewards outstanding performance.
In addition to health and welfare benefits–including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance coverage for employees and their dependents–we offer attractive benefits not commonly found elsewhere. These include:
A 401(k) plan in which we match a portion of employee contributions with Ariba common stock which vests automatically.
An employee stock purchase plan to allow employees to prepare for their retirement
Employee assistance program
Flexible spending accounts
And much more
Our paid time off (PTO) policy is also very competitive: 20 PTO days for full-time employees, plus nine holidays and one floating holiday. What's more, we currently offer a winter break between the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. Recognizing the importance of work/life balance, Ariba encourages employees to enjoy all of their PTO.
Ariba, Inc. is pleased to offer you employment on the following terms:
1. POSITION. You will start in a full-time position as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. You will report to the Chief Executive Officer. By signing this letter, you confirm to Ariba that you are under no contractual or other legal obligations that would prohibit you from performing your duties for Ariba.
2. COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. You will be paid a starting salary at the rate of $300,000 per annum, payable in accordance with Ariba's standard payroll schedule. As a regular employee of Ariba you will be eligible to participate in a number of Company-sponsored benefits. You shall be eligible to be considered for an annual incentive bonus (pro-rated on a fiscal year basis) with a target amount equal to $300,000 each fiscal year. Such bonus (if any) shall be awarded in the reasonable discretion of the Compensation Committee of the Board based on reasonable objective or subjective criteria established in advance by the Committee.
You will be provided with benefit choices, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage for you and your dependents, as well as participation in the 401(k) and Employee Stock Purchase Plans. The provisions of these and other benefits offered by Ariba are explained more fully in the Employee Benefits Summary which you will be receiving shortly.
3. STOCK OPTIONS. Subject to the approval of Ariba's Compensation Committee, you will be granted an option to purchase 875,000 shares of Ariba's Common Stock (the "First Option"). The exercise price per share will be equal to the fair market value per share on the date the First Option is granted or on your first day of employment, whichever is later. The First Option will be subject to terms and conditions substantially similar to those applicable to options granted under Ariba's 1999 Equity Incentive Plan, as described in that Plan and the applicable stock option agreement. The First Option will become exercisable for 25% of the First Option shares after 12 months of continuous service and the balance in equal monthly installments over the next 36 months of continuous service, as described in the applicable stock option agreement.
Subject to the discretion of Ariba's Compensation Committee, you will be granted an option to purchase 100,000 shares of Ariba Common Stock (the "Second Option") at a future date. The exercise price per share will be equal to the fair market value per share on the date the Second Option is granted. The Second Option will be subject to terms and conditions substantially similar to those applicable to options granted under Ariba's 1999 Equity Incentive Plan, as described in that Plan and the applicable stock option agreement. However, the Second Option may vest on an accelerated basis if so determined by the Compensation Committee on the date of grant.
4. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND INVENTIONS AGREEMENT. You will be required to sign the Ariba Employee Agreement. In this document you will be asked to agree to the following: 1) to hold Ariba's proprietary information confidential during and after employment; 2) that you have not brought any former employer's proprietary information or any of their clients' proprietary information with you; and 3) that you will agree to assign to Ariba any patentable inventions that you created through your work with Ariba.
5. EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP. Employment with Ariba is for no specific period of time. Your employment with Ariba will be "at will," meaning that either you or Ariba may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. Any contrary representations that may have been made to you are superseded by this offer. This is the full and complete agreement between you and Ariba on this term. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as Ariba's personnel policies and procedures, may change from time to time, the "at will" nature of your employment may only be changed in an express written agreement signed by you and the Chief Executive Officer of Ariba.
6. OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES. While you render services to Ariba, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting or other business activity without the written consent of Ariba. While you render services to Ariba, you also will not assist any person or entity in competing with Ariba, in preparing to compete with Ariba or in hiring any employees or consultants of Ariba. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may engage in charitable activities, maintain academic affiliations, board memberships, and related activities all with a view toward maintaining and advancing your professional and community relationships to the benefit of Ariba, so long as such activities do not interfere with your performance of responsibilities to Ariba. You are specifically permitted to perform reasonable services for your former employer to assist with the transition of your successor.
7. WITHHOLDING TAXES. All forms of compensation referred to in this letter are subject to reduction to reflect applicable withholding and payroll taxes.
8. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This letter supersedes and replaces any prior understandings or agreements, whether oral or written, between you and Ariba regarding the subject matter described in this letter.
Ariba was founded in 1996 by Bobby Lent, Boris Putanec, Paul Touw, Rob Desantis, Ed Kinsey, Paul Heggarty, and Keith Krach on the idea of using the Internet to enable companies to facilitate and improve the procurement process. Procurement had been a paper-based, labor-intensive, and inefficient process for large corporations. According to the company's website, Ariba provides "Spend Management solutions" which help companies "analyze, understand, and manage their corporate spending to achieve cost savings and business process efficiency." Currently, 94 of the Fortune 100 and more than 200,000 other companies use Ariba's SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions to manage their spend and commerce activities.[4]
Ariba was one of the first business-to-business Internet companies to go public (in 1999). The company's stock more than tripled from the offering price on opening day,[citation needed] making the three year-old company worth $6 billion. In 2000, the stock value continued to climb, and Ariba's market capitalization was as high as $40 billion. With the bursting of the dot-com bubble, Ariba's stock price fell dramatically to the low double digits in July 2001, where it has remained since, with a market capitalization of just over $1.5 billion as of June 2010.
Ariba's Competitive Benefits
Our comprehensive and competitive benefits package represents Ariba's significant investment in our employees. An integral component of our dedication to excellence, it also recognizes and rewards outstanding performance.
In addition to health and welfare benefits–including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance coverage for employees and their dependents–we offer attractive benefits not commonly found elsewhere. These include:
A 401(k) plan in which we match a portion of employee contributions with Ariba common stock which vests automatically.
An employee stock purchase plan to allow employees to prepare for their retirement
Employee assistance program
Flexible spending accounts
And much more
Our paid time off (PTO) policy is also very competitive: 20 PTO days for full-time employees, plus nine holidays and one floating holiday. What's more, we currently offer a winter break between the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. Recognizing the importance of work/life balance, Ariba encourages employees to enjoy all of their PTO.
Ariba, Inc. is pleased to offer you employment on the following terms:
1. POSITION. You will start in a full-time position as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. You will report to the Chief Executive Officer. By signing this letter, you confirm to Ariba that you are under no contractual or other legal obligations that would prohibit you from performing your duties for Ariba.
2. COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. You will be paid a starting salary at the rate of $300,000 per annum, payable in accordance with Ariba's standard payroll schedule. As a regular employee of Ariba you will be eligible to participate in a number of Company-sponsored benefits. You shall be eligible to be considered for an annual incentive bonus (pro-rated on a fiscal year basis) with a target amount equal to $300,000 each fiscal year. Such bonus (if any) shall be awarded in the reasonable discretion of the Compensation Committee of the Board based on reasonable objective or subjective criteria established in advance by the Committee.
You will be provided with benefit choices, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage for you and your dependents, as well as participation in the 401(k) and Employee Stock Purchase Plans. The provisions of these and other benefits offered by Ariba are explained more fully in the Employee Benefits Summary which you will be receiving shortly.
3. STOCK OPTIONS. Subject to the approval of Ariba's Compensation Committee, you will be granted an option to purchase 875,000 shares of Ariba's Common Stock (the "First Option"). The exercise price per share will be equal to the fair market value per share on the date the First Option is granted or on your first day of employment, whichever is later. The First Option will be subject to terms and conditions substantially similar to those applicable to options granted under Ariba's 1999 Equity Incentive Plan, as described in that Plan and the applicable stock option agreement. The First Option will become exercisable for 25% of the First Option shares after 12 months of continuous service and the balance in equal monthly installments over the next 36 months of continuous service, as described in the applicable stock option agreement.
Subject to the discretion of Ariba's Compensation Committee, you will be granted an option to purchase 100,000 shares of Ariba Common Stock (the "Second Option") at a future date. The exercise price per share will be equal to the fair market value per share on the date the Second Option is granted. The Second Option will be subject to terms and conditions substantially similar to those applicable to options granted under Ariba's 1999 Equity Incentive Plan, as described in that Plan and the applicable stock option agreement. However, the Second Option may vest on an accelerated basis if so determined by the Compensation Committee on the date of grant.
4. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND INVENTIONS AGREEMENT. You will be required to sign the Ariba Employee Agreement. In this document you will be asked to agree to the following: 1) to hold Ariba's proprietary information confidential during and after employment; 2) that you have not brought any former employer's proprietary information or any of their clients' proprietary information with you; and 3) that you will agree to assign to Ariba any patentable inventions that you created through your work with Ariba.
5. EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP. Employment with Ariba is for no specific period of time. Your employment with Ariba will be "at will," meaning that either you or Ariba may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. Any contrary representations that may have been made to you are superseded by this offer. This is the full and complete agreement between you and Ariba on this term. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as Ariba's personnel policies and procedures, may change from time to time, the "at will" nature of your employment may only be changed in an express written agreement signed by you and the Chief Executive Officer of Ariba.
6. OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES. While you render services to Ariba, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting or other business activity without the written consent of Ariba. While you render services to Ariba, you also will not assist any person or entity in competing with Ariba, in preparing to compete with Ariba or in hiring any employees or consultants of Ariba. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may engage in charitable activities, maintain academic affiliations, board memberships, and related activities all with a view toward maintaining and advancing your professional and community relationships to the benefit of Ariba, so long as such activities do not interfere with your performance of responsibilities to Ariba. You are specifically permitted to perform reasonable services for your former employer to assist with the transition of your successor.
7. WITHHOLDING TAXES. All forms of compensation referred to in this letter are subject to reduction to reflect applicable withholding and payroll taxes.
8. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This letter supersedes and replaces any prior understandings or agreements, whether oral or written, between you and Ariba regarding the subject matter described in this letter.
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