1.1 Introduction. AEON has adopted this Code of Ethics and Conduct (the “Code”) to advise all AEON Employees of the ethical and legal standards that we expect you to observe when dealing with AEON, your AEON colleagues, our customers and our vendors. When you encounter ethical or legal issues where you are not certain about the correct course of action, you should apply the principles described in this Code as guideposts in deciding how to proceed. We have adopted this Code to give you guidance for resolving these questions. When you are in doubt about the correct or best course of action, you should always consider consulting your manager or our Chief Financial Officer or Human Resources director for guidance. AEON expects all AEON Employees to adhere to this Code and to comply with all legal requirements. Accordingly, we have established a procedure for reporting suspected violations of the Code. Any violations of the Code may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment. These matters are described in more detail below. Throughout this Code, we use the terms “AEON Employees”, “you” and “your” to refer to all AEON employees, directors and independent contractors, and the terms “AEON”, the “company”, “we” and “our” to refer to AEON and its subsidiaries.
1.2 Administration
1.2.1 Ongoing Review of Compliance. We require all AEON Employees to comply with this Code. Upon your receipt of this Code, and also from time to time as we deem to be necessary, we may require you to sign an acknowledgment that you have read and understood this Code and agree to comply with its provisions. We reserve the right to monitor the ongoing compliance by any or all AEON Employees with this Code and to investigate any suspected violations. If substantiated, these violations could result in disciplinary action, including immediate termination of employment.
1.2.2 Reporting of Suspected Violations. All AEON Employees are to report information about suspected violations of this Code by any other AEON Employee, regardless of the identity or position of the person who is the subject of such report, to the attention of our Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources director or Audit Committee. If you suspect improper accounting or auditing matters, you should bring such information to the attention of our Chief Financial Officer or a member of our Audit Committee. To contact our Audit Committee or to submit a report to them, please contact Audit Committee Chairman. With respect to any suspected violation, you may make an anonymous report through the Assistant to the President.
AEON will treat all information in a confidential manner and will not take any acts of retribution or retaliation against any AEON Employee for making a report. As the failure to report wrongful conduct may be interpreted as condoning such actions, the failure to report knowledge of wrongdoing may result in disciplinary action against any AEON Employee who fails to report.
1.2.3 Non-Retaliation. Retaliation in any form against an AEON Employee who reports a violation of this Code (even if the report is mistaken but was submitted in good faith) or who assists in the investigation of a reported violation is a serious violation of this Code. Acts of retaliation should be reported immediately and may result in severe disciplinary action.
1.2.4 Investigation of Suspected Violations. Suspected violations will be investigated under the supervision of our Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources director or Audit Committee as deemed appropriate. All AEON Employees are expected to cooperate in the investigation of reported violations. In order to protect the privacy of persons involved in investigations, persons investigating a suspected violation will use their best efforts to keep confidential, the identity of anyone reporting a suspected violation or participating in an investigation, unless disclosure is required by law or is otherwise in the company’s best interests. Persons involved in an investigation are obliged to act in the best interests of AEON as a company and not on behalf of any AEON Employee, including executive officers. Our Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for final interpretation of this Code and for determining whether any violations of this Code have occurred.
1.2.5 Disciplinary Action. If we determine, in our good faith discretion, that any AEON Employee has violated any provision of this Code, such AEON Employee may be subject to disciplinary action, including termination of employment, without prior warning.
1.2.6 Amendments to this Code; Disclaimers. This Code may be revised, changed or amended at any time by our Board of Directors. Following any material revisions or updates, an amended version of this Code will be distributed to you, and will immediately supersede the prior version of this Code. We may ask you to sign an acknowledgment confirming that you have read and understood the revised version of the Code, and that you agree to comply with its provisions. This Code reflects general principles to assist AEON Employees in making ethical decisions and cannot, and is not intended to, address every specific situation in which we may find it appropriate to take disciplinary action. This Code is not intended to create any contract (express or implied) with you, including without limitation any employment contract, and is not a promise that your employment will be not terminated except for cause.
1.2.7 Special Provisions Applicable to AEON Employees with Financial Reporting Obligations. Given the important position of trust and authority that they occupy, our Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officer, the heads of our subsidiaries and operating divisions and AEON Employees involved in the Company’s financial reporting function (collectively, the “Financial Reporting Personnel”) should use the utmost of discretion and caution in interpreting and applying this Code. In the event that any Financial Reporting Personnel wishes to engage in a proposed action that is not consistent with the Code, such person must obtain a waiver of the relevant Code provisions in advance from our Audit Committee. U.S. federal law requires AEON to make public disclosure of our Financial Reporting Personnel’s compliance with the Code. Therefore, we will publicly report on a Current Report on Form 8-K any waivers of any provision of the Code granted by our Board of Directors to any Financial Reporting Personnel. Similarly, violations of the Code by our Financial Reporting Personnel may also be immediately reported on Form 8-K. Additional provisions of this Code pertaining solely to Financial Reporting Personnel are set forth in Section 5.