ENZO BIOCHEM INC appointed Kara Cannon as new CEO

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.


On September 5, 2023, Enzo Biochem, Inc. (the "Company") entered into a Separation Agreement and General Release (the "Separation Agreement") with Hamid Erfanian, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, which provides for Mr. Erfanian's separation of employment, resignations from his positions as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company and the payment of severance benefits as described below. Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, Mr. Erfanian's resignations as Chief Executive Officer and as a director are effective immediately and his final date of employment with the Company shall be November 18, 2023 (the "Separation Date").


Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, Mr. Erfanian will be entitled to the following severance benefits: (i) a payment equaling twelve (12) months of his annual base salary of $624,000, subject to standard payroll deductions and withholdings; (ii) a lump-sum payment of $187,200, representing his annual bonus; (iii) a grant of restricted shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Stock"), in an amount equal to $1,502,488 with 50% of the restricted Common Stock granted as soon as reasonably practicable after September 13, 2023, and the remaining 50% granted on the earlier of July 24, 2024 and a Change in Control of the Company (as defined in Mr. Erfanian's employment agreement with the Company); and (iv) the vesting on the Separation Date of a restricted stock unit award of 260,000 shares of Common Stock and an option to purchase 700,000 shares of Common Stock that were previously granted to Mr. Erfanian. The foregoing will be subject to continued compliance with existing restrictive covenants under Mr. Erfanian's employment agreement with the Company and execution of a reaffirmation attached as Exhibit A to the Separation Agreement.


The foregoing summary of the Separation Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Separation Agreement, a copy of which will be filed as an exhibit to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2023.


On September 5, 2023, the Company's board of directors appointed Kara Cannon, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective immediately upon Mr. Erfanian's resignation as Chief Executive Officer. In connection with her appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Cannon's base salary will increase from $308,000 to $350,000.


Ms. Cannon's biography is set forth in the Company's definitive proxy statement for its 2022 annual meeting of shareholders, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 21, 2022.


Ms. Cannon has no family relationships with any of the Company's directors or executive officers, and is not a party to, and does not have any direct or indirect material interest in, any transaction requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.