Exhibit 10.19
EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This Executive Employment Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into, effective as of January 1, 2026 (the “Effective Date”), by and between Jason Les (“Employee”), an individual resident of California, and Riot Platforms, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“Riot” and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company”). Employee and the Company are sometimes referred to herein collectively as the “Parties” and each, individually, as a “Party” to this Agreement.
WHEREAS, the Company wishes to employ Employee as its Chief Executive Officer, and Employee wishes to accept such employment with the Company, in each case subject and pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, promises, and obligations contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of such consideration is hereby acknowledged, the Parties agree as follows:
| 1. | Position, Duties and Scope of Employment. |
however, with prior written consent from the Chief Executive Officer (which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld), serve on one corporate board as a board member and serve on one civic or non-profit board as a board member at any given time during Employee’s employment with the Company; provided, however, that Employee engages in such outside activities only during Employee’s personal time.
| 3. | Exclusive Employment; Place of Services. |
| 4. | Compensation and Benefits. |
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Awards granted under the LTIP generally will consist of a Service-Based Award and a Performance-Based Award, both of which shall vest over a three-(3)-year period; however, the granting, term, composition, and amount of any Equity Awards granted under the LTIP and the Equity Plan are subject to the discretion of the Compensation Committee (who administers the Equity Plan and all Equity Awards granted thereunder), and nothing herein is, nor should it be interpreted or construed as being, an offer or a guarantee that Employee will be granted any Equity Award, including under the LTIP and the Equity Plan, at any time, or in any amount. For the avoidance of doubt, except as otherwise agreed by the Company in writing, Employee shall not be guaranteed any minimum Equity Award at any time during the Employment Term.
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| 6. | Termination of Employment. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may not terminate Employee’s employment or service under this Agreement for Cause under this Section 6.a without first providing Employee written notice of the event or condition(s) constituting Cause. Such notice must be given no later than Thirty (30) days after the date on which the event or condition(s) constituting Cause is first reasonably discovered by the Board. Upon the giving of such notice, and only if the event or condition is reasonably capable of being remedied by Employee, Employee shall have a period of Thirty (30) days during which Employee may remedy the event or condition(s) and, if so remedied, the Company may not terminate Employee’s employment under this Agreement for Cause for the event or condition that was remedied.
6.e below. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company may, in its sole and absolute discretion, advance the Employee’s termination date to an alternate termination date of the Company’s own choosing provided, however, that Employee shall be paid Employee’s Base Salary from the date that the Company provides written notice of termination through the end of the 30-day notice period provided for in this Section 6.b.
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| ii. | A material breach of this Agreement by the Company; |
| v. | The Company permanently ceases its business operations; and/or |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Employee may not terminate Employee’s employment under this Agreement for Good Reason without first providing the Company advanced written notice of the event(s) and/or condition(s) constituting Good Reason, which notice must be given no later than Thirty (30) days after the date on which the event(s) and/or condition(s) constituting Good Reason first occurs. Upon the Company’s receipt of such notice, the Company shall then have Thirty (30) days during which it may remedy the event(s) and/or condition(s) (the “Company Notice Period”) and, if so remedied, Employee may not terminate his employment under this Agreement for Good Reason. If Employee fails to comply with the immediately preceding two sentences of this Section 6.c, such termination shall not be considered a termination for Good Reason. If the Company fails to cure the event(s) and/or conditions during the Company Notice Period, then the termination shall occur Thirty (30) days after the expiration of the Company Notice Period unless the Company, in its sole discretion, chooses to advance Employee’s termination date to an alternate termination date of the Company’s own choosing.
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continuous period of at least Thirty (30) days; or (iii) endanger the Employee and/or others if Employee were to continue to perform Employee’s duties with the Company.
(C) individuals who were members of the Incumbent Board will constitute at least a majority of
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the members of the board of directors of the corporation resulting from such Corporate Transaction; or
| iv. | A complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company. |
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, however, in any circumstance or transaction in which compensation resulting from or in respect a Change in Control would result in the imposition of an additional tax under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, (the “Code”) were to apply, but would not result in the imposition of any additional tax if the term “Change in Control” were defined herein to mean a “change in control event” within the meaning of Section 1.409A-3(i)(5) of the Treasury Regulations promulgated under the Code, as amended, (the “Treasury Regulations”) then “Change in Control” shall mean a “change in control event” within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5), but only to the extent necessary to prevent such compensation from becoming subject to an additional tax under Section 409A of the Code (“Section 409A”).
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accordance with the Severance Agreement; provided, however, neither Party shall be obligated to enter into the Severance Agreement if Employee’s employment with the Company is terminated: (i) by the Company for Cause; or (ii) by Employee without Good Reason and Employee fails to provide the advance written notice required by Section 6.d of this Agreement. The Severance Payments shall not become due and payable unless and until the Severance Agreement between the Company and Employee has become effective, binding, and irrevocable on the parties thereto; provided, however, that if the Company (or applicable successor-in-interest to the Company) fails to execute and deliver the Severance Agreement in accordance with this Section 6.h within Twenty (20) business days following the Termination Date, the Company shall be deemed in material default of its obligations under this Agreement, and the applicable Severance Payments that would have been due to Employee had the Severance Agreement been entered into in accordance with this Section 6.h shall immediately become due and payable to Employee, without further action by, or agreement of, the Employee. Accordingly, pursuant to the Severance Agreement, Employee shall be entitled to receive the following Severance Payments:
6.d of this Agreement, then the Employee (or Employee’s estate or beneficiaries, as the case may be) shall not receive any Severance Payments and shall only be entitled to receive payment of the Accrued Obligations; therefore, upon payment of such amounts, Employee shall not be entitled to receive any additional remuneration from the Company under this Agreement with respect to Employee’s employment with the Company.
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is terminated by the Company without Cause or by the Employee for Good Reason in accordance with Section 6.c hereof (other than incident to a Change in Control), then Employee (or Employee’s estate or beneficiaries, as the case may be) shall receive payment of the Accrued Obligations and the following Severance Payments, subject to Employee timely entering into the Severance Agreement: (A) the Incentive Bonus to which Employee would have been entitled under Section
4.b of this Agreement had Employee remained employed with the Company through the end of the calendar year in which the Termination Date occurs, as if Employee had continued employment with the Company through the date on which such Incentive Bonus would have been paid, calculated assuming achievement of One Hundred Percent (100%) of the performance targets of such Incentive Bonus for the applicable fiscal year, prorated through the Termination Date; (B) payment of an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) One Hundred Percent (100%) of the sum of Employee’s then-effective Base Salary that would have be paid to Employee through the end of the Employment Term (or then-applicable Renewed Term) had Employee’s employment with the Company not ceased; and (2) Twelve (12) months of the Employee’s then-effective Base Salary;
(C) acceleration of the vesting of that portion of all outstanding Service-Based Awards granted to Employee under the Equity Plan that would have vested within Twelve (12) months following the Termination Date but for the cessation of Employee’s employment with the Company, such that such Equity Awards shall be deemed vested immediately as of the Termination Date; and (D) continuation of the vesting of all outstanding Performance-Based Awards granted to Employee under the Equity Plan as if Employee’s employment with the Company had not ceased prior to the end of the applicable performance period with such vesting calculated based on actual performance; provided, however, if the applicable performance period is extended or the vesting or performance conditions are materially changed to Employee’s detriment or the Company fails to certify the performance achievement with respect to any such outstanding Performance-Based Awards within Sixty (60) days following the end of the applicable performance period, then such Performance-Based Awards will vest immediately upon the occurrence of any such event assuming achievement of the maximum level of performance.
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20 business days following the Employee’s entry into the Severance Agreement, with the remainder payable 6 months and 1 day following the Termination Date; (B) any Service-Based Awards entitled to pro rata vesting that would have otherwise become vested and been settled solely based on the performance of service will be settled no later than Five (5) business days following the date of the Employee’s entry into the Severance Agreement; and (C) any Performance-Based Awards entitled to accelerated vesting that would otherwise have become vested and been settled, in whole or in part, based on performance for which the applicable performance period has not ended on or prior to the Employee’s Termination Date will be settled no later than Five (5) business days following the date of the Employee’s entry into the Severance Agreement. All payments and benefits under this Agreement shall be subject to, and made net of, applicable deductions and withholdings.
i.Treatment of Equity. Other than pursuant to the Severance Agreement as set forth in the foregoing Sections 6.h.i through 6.h.v., and except with respect to applicable regulatory, tax, and legal requirements described under Section 7.p of this Agreement, any Equity Awards granted to Employee shall remain governed by the Equity Plan and the applicable Equity Award Agreement between Employee and the Company.
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hereunder for any reason, Employee agrees: (i) to immediately deliver to the Company all Property (as that term is defined in the CNCA) and records (including all copies thereof) of the Company; (ii) that the Company shall have the right, without limitation, to withhold and retain any amounts that might otherwise be owed to the Employee to offset any amounts or debts owed by Employee to the Company; and (iii) that the Company shall, subject to applicable laws, further have the right to withhold the payment of any amounts that might otherwise be owed to Employee until such time as the Company determines, to its reasonable satisfaction, that any and all proprietary and confidential information, regardless of the medium on which it is embodied (e.g., laptop computer), has been returned to the Company and that Employee has not retained copies thereof. Furthermore, except as specifically agreed by the Company in writing, upon the cessation of Employee’s employment with the Company, Employee shall be deemed to have resigned and/or been removed from all positions that the Executive holds (or previously held) with the Company or any of the Company’s affiliated and/or related entities, effective immediately as of the Termination Date.
| 7. | Miscellaneous. |
| b. | Representations by Employee. The Employee represents and warrants to the Company that: |
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subject matter hereof. The Parties are not relying upon any representations or promises not set forth in this Agreement. Except as provided here, this Agreement may not be amended or modified except in a writing signed by both Parties.
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the State of Colorado without giving effect to conflict of law principles. Except as otherwise may be required by the Company to obtain equitable injunctive relief under this Agreement, the CNCA, and/or any other agreement between the Parties, jurisdiction for all actions or proceedings arising under this Agreement (including the CNCA) shall be exclusive to a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction located in or with jurisdiction for the City of Castle Rock in the County of Douglas, Colorado, USA. The Parties hereby irrevocably subject and consent to the jurisdiction of such courts and waive the defense of inconvenient forum related to any action or proceeding in such venue. Should an action be commenced for a breach of and/or to enforce the terms of this Agreement (including the CNCA), the prevailing party in such an action shall be entitled to recover from the non-prevailing party, in addition to all other legal and/or equitable remedies, all costs of litigation, including reasonable attorneys’ fees.
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with the requirements of, or an exemption or exclusion to, Section 409A and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, as well as any applicable equivalent State law. To the extent any provision or term of this Agreement is ambiguous as to its compliance in this respect, such provision or term and all payments hereunder shall be interpreted to comply with the requirements of, or an exemption or exclusion to, Section 409A, as well as any applicable equivalent State law. For the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if Employee is a “specified employee” (as defined in Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(i)), then, to the extent required under Treasure Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(2), any payments that constitute a “nonqualified deferral of compensation” that become due upon the Participant’s “Separation from Service” (other than due to the Employee’s death) and that would have been made under the terms of the Plan within the six-month period commencing on the Employee’s Separation from Service shall be delayed and instead be made as soon as practicable after the earlier of the end of such six-month period or Employee’s death. For purposes of this Section 7.p, the terms “specified employee”, and “nonqualified deferral of compensation” have the meanings given to them under Section 409A. Any provision that would cause this Agreement or a payment, distribution, or other benefit hereunder to fail to comply with the requirements of, or an exemption or exclusion to, Section 409A, as well as any applicable equivalent State law, shall have no force or effect and the Parties agree that, to the extent an amendment would be effective, this Agreement shall be amended to comply with the requirements of, or an exemption or exclusion to, Section 409A, as well as any applicable equivalent State law. Such amendment shall be retroactive to the extent permitted by law. For purposes of this Agreement, Employee shall not be deemed to have terminated employment unless and until a Separation from Service within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(h) has occurred. Each payment under Section 6.g and 6.h of this Agreement shall be treated as a separate payment for purposes of Section 409A. Any expense reimbursements required to be made under this Agreement shall be made not later than December 31st of the year following the year in which Employee incurs the expense; provided that in no event shall the amount of expenses eligible for payment or reimbursement by the Company in one calendar year affect the amount of expenses to be paid or reimbursed in any other calendar year. The Executive’s right to expense reimbursement shall not be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit.
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Counsel”), whose determinations shall be conclusive and binding on the Company and Employee for all purposes. The Company and Employee shall furnish the Tax Counsel with such information and documents as requested by the Tax Counsel to make its determinations under this Section 7.p.iii, and the Company shall bear all costs incurred by the Tax Counsel under this Section 7.p.iii.
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[Signature Page to Riot Platforms, Inc. Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, intending to be legally bound, have executed this Executive Employment Agreement, effective as of the Effective Date set forth herein.
/s/ Jason Les ![]() Jason Les Date: January 1, 2026 | RIOT PLATFORMS, INC. By: /s/ Lance D’Ambrosio Name: Lance D’ Ambrosio Title: Independent Director, Chairperson of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee Date: January 1, 2026 |
Attachments/Exhibits:Exhibit “A” CNCA
Exhibit “B” Form of Severance Agreement
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