John Abou

About John Abou

John Abou, 51, is President of TTEC Engage and became an executive officer of TTEC on January 1, 2025. He joined TTEC in 2024 after more than 20 years at Sutherland Global Services, where he served as CEO of customer experience management and global head of delivery; he holds a bachelor’s in accounting (Niagara University), an executive MBA (St. John Fisher University), and an advanced management degree from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business . Company context for his tenure: TTEC’s FY2024 revenue was $2.21B (-10.4% YoY), with a loss from operations of $173.5M (-7.9% margin), negative operating cash flow of $(58.8)M, and diluted EPS of $(6.74) .

Past Roles

External Roles

• None disclosed for Abou in the reviewed filings .

Fixed Compensation

• Abou’s specific base salary and cash compensation are not disclosed in the 2024–2025 proxy or 8-K filings reviewed. TTEC’s executive program includes fixed base salary, with peer benchmarking and affordability screens .

Performance Compensation

• TTEC aligns executive incentives to Company performance (revenue, adjusted EBITDA) and segment/business MBOs, with meaningful “at risk” pay and multi-year equity vesting. While Abou’s specific targets and payouts are not disclosed, the 2024 executive incentive funding structure was as follows :

• Equity Programs and Vesting Norms (company-wide constructs often applied to executives):
  • Annual RSUs typically vest 33% per year over 3 years (executive RSUs in 2024 structured with three-year vesting) .
  • Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) uses 3-year performance windows with revenue and adjusted EBITDA metrics; payout ranges of 0–150% in 2024 LTIP (reduced from 200%), with company and segment goals (Digital segment had separate targets) .
  • 2024 LTIP targets (Company and Digital) :

• Clawback policy: mandates recoupment of excess incentive compensation if financials are restated due to material non-compliance; additional remedies may apply .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Stock ownership guidelines: business segment CEOs must hold TTEC stock valued at 4× base salary; CFO 3×; EVP level 2.5×; SVP 1×, generally within five years of role attainment .
• Hedging/pledging: TTEC prohibits hedging and pledging by directors/officers; the CEO (controlling stockholder) may pledge with Board review provided it is not material; no pledging allowance is disclosed for other executives, including Abou .
• Abou’s individual beneficial ownership and vested/unvested equity breakdown are not disclosed in the 2025 proxy tables reviewed (group totals are disclosed but not broken out for him) .

Employment Terms

• Abou’s specific employment agreement was not disclosed. Company practices for executive agreements typically include:
  • Restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicit, confidentiality) effective upon separation .
  • Double-trigger change-in-control acceleration for equity (termination without cause or for good reason within defined windows) across NEOs; severance multiples vary by role (e.g., CFO 2× base in CIC, segment CEO arrangements also provide CIC severance and equity acceleration at target) .
  • Insider trading policy and timing practices caution against grants aligned to undisclosed MNPI; equity awards generally follow annual cycles with occasional off-cycle grants for hires/promotions/retention .

Performance & Track Record (Company Context)

• Segment mix 2024: Digital ~21% of revenue; Engage ~79%, indicating Abou’s Engage portfolio is the majority of company revenue base .
• Company governance underscores risk oversight of AI deployment, liquidity, cybersecurity, and ERM—directly relevant to Engage operations’ scaling and cost structure .

Compensation Peer Group & Say-on-Pay

• Peer group used for 2024–2025 decisions includes Concentrix, Conduent, Genpact, EXLS, Five9, TELUS International, Unisys, Maximus, Perficient, EPAM, Sabre, CSG, 8x8 (with updates across years) .
• Say-on-Pay support: 99% approval at the 2023 meeting; frequency vote supported triennial (71%) .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• Hedging/pledging: prohibited for executives (non-CEO) — alignment preserved by policy .
• Event risk: ongoing evaluation of potential take-private transaction by founder/CEO via Special Committee (independent directors), increasing transition uncertainty for senior leaders including Engage .
• Compensation integrity: clawback policy; independent comp consultant Meridian engaged; peer benchmarking and affordability guardrails .

Investment Implications

• Pay-for-performance alignment likely applies to Abou given TTEC’s executive frameworks: cash incentives tied to revenue/adjusted EBITDA and multi-year PRSU vesting; this should motivate Engage growth, margin improvement, and retention of talent over 2025–2027 .
• Retention risk appears moderated by ownership guidelines and multi-year vesting structures, but heightened by potential corporate transaction (go-private) dynamics and 2024 liquidity challenges; monitoring any disclosed Abou grants, Form 4 activity, and Engage MBOs is warranted .
• Governance and clawback policies reduce compensation-related misalignment risk; prohibition on hedging/pledging (for non-CEO) supports investor alignment; absence of disclosed Abou-specific compensation terms to date is a disclosure gap to watch near next proxy .
• Execution focus: Engage’s majority revenue share and AI-enabled delivery footprint expansion suggest Abou’s levers center on diversification, operational excellence, and MBO attainment; with company-level incentive weighting, outperforming on EBITDA and revenue is key to payout outcomes and investor confidence .