The former CFO of Halliburton Co., Chris Weber, will draw severance from the company in exchange for a number of limitations, from a non-compete and non-solicitation clause to an agreement on what he can say publicly about the company going forward.
Halliburton will pay Weber a one-time $1.4 million severance payment, and his restricted stocks awarded under the company’s stock and incentive plan will vest, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Weber had $3.16 million in unvested shares at the start of the year, according to Halliburton’s most recent proxy statement.
Halliburton will also pay Weber $15,000 in lieu of outplacement or financial planning services, according to the SEC filing.
In return, Weber agreed not to work for a number of prominent oil field service companies — including Baker Hughes, a GE Company (NYSE: BHGE), National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) and Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT), all of which have headquarters or significant presences in Houston — for the next two years, according to the agreement.
He also can’t solicit Halliburton employees or customers, publicly speak negatively about the company, its employees or leadership, according to the agreement.
Weber can’t talk about the negotiations leading up to the separation agreement with anyone outside his immediate family, according to the agreement.
Halliburton put stricter non-compete agreements in place with several of its executives in 2018, indicating in its proxy statement that other oil field services companies tend to aggressively recruit its executives for their own leadership teams.
More than 25 of its former executives left the company to become senior executives at other such companies, according to the proxy.