STEPAN COMPANY
2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE Compensation PLAN
(As amended and restated effective APRIL 29, 2025)
1.
Purpose. The purpose of this Plan is to permit award grants to non-employee Directors and officers, other employees and service providers of the Company and its Subsidiaries and to provide to such persons incentives and rewards for service and/or performance.
2.
Definitions. As used in this Plan:
(a)
“Appreciation Right” means a right granted pursuant to Section 5 of this Plan.
(b)
“Base Price” means the price to be used as the basis for determining the Spread upon the exercise of an Appreciation Right.
(c)
“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(d)
“Cause” means, unless such term or an equivalent term is otherwise defined by the applicable Evidence of Award or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or a Subsidiary, any of the following, as reasonably determined by the Company: (i) conviction of, or plea of nolo contendere to, a felony (excluding motor vehicle violations); (ii) theft or embezzlement, or attempted theft or embezzlement, of money or property or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary; (iii) illegal use of drugs; (iv) material breach of any employment-related undertakings provided in a writing signed by the Participant; (v) gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of the Participant’s duties to the Company or any Subsidiary; (vi) breach of any fiduciary duty owed to the Company or any Subsidiary including, without limitation, engaging in competitive acts while employed by the Company or any Subsidiary; or (vii) the Participant’s willful refusal to perform the assigned duties for which the Participant is qualified as directed by the Participant’s supervising officer or the Board; provided, that in the case of any event constituting Cause within clauses (iv) through (vii) that is curable by the Participant (as reasonably determined by the Company), the Participant has been given written notice by the Company or a Subsidiary of such event said to constitute Cause, describing such event in reasonable detail, and has not cured such action within ten (10) days of such written notice as reasonably determined by the Company. For purposes of this definition of Cause, action or inaction by the Participant shall not be considered “willful” unless done or omitted by the Participant (x) intentionally or not in good faith, and (y) without reasonable belief that the Participant’s action or inaction was in the best interests of the Company or any applicable Subsidiary, and shall not include failure to act by reason of total or partial incapacity due to physical or mental illness. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Participant is eligible for retirement, but grounds exist to terminate the Participant’s employment with the Company or a Subsidiary for Cause, then for purposes of this Plan, the Participant will not be treated as having retired from the Company or a Subsidiary, but will instead be treated as having been terminated by the Company or a Subsidiary for Cause.
(e)
“Change in Control” has the meaning set forth in Section 12 of this Plan.