Taking stock: Pet DRx president resigns

Also: Healthways' option buyback tab and J. Alexander's new employment deals

Email | Print By Geert De Lombaerde

Steven Johnson resigned on New Year’s Eve as president, COO and a director of Pet DRx, the Brentwood-based operator of veterinary hospitals. The move was effective immediately.

Johnson, a veteran of Renal Care Group who joined Pet DRx’s predecessor in mid-2007. In a filing with the SEC, Pet DRx (Ticker: VETS) pointed out that he has no beef with the company, which is fighting off an unwanted suitor for some of its clinics.

The 56-year-old will stay on as an advisor for the next three months, for which he will be paid $60,000. In addition, the two parties have agreed to a separation deal that will pay Johnson almost $285,000 by May 1.

Healthways has wrapped up its stock option repurchase program and will pay its employees $736,000 for options to buy more than 1.1 million options. The Franklin-based disease manager (Ticker: HWAY) last month said it had set aside up to $870,000 to relieve its workers of underwater options that no longer “provide the retentive and incentive value that was the basis for their grant.” To read the company’s filing, click here.

J. Alexander’s (Ticker: JAX) has inked three-year employment agreements with its CEO, CFO, comptroller and vice president of HR.

Signed the day after Christmas, the contracts with Lonnie Stout, Greg Lewis, Mark Parkey and Michael Moore come with automatic one-year renewals and were accompanied by amended retirement arrangements that will pay the execs half their salary annually for 15 years. To read the overview, click here. The individual contracts are available via this page.