Executive agrees that the Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, use, make available, sell, disclose or otherwise communicate to any person, other than in the course of Executive’s duties and for the benefit of Ascena, either during the period of the Executive’s employment with Ascena or at any time thereafter, any business and technical information or trade secrets, nonpublic, proprietary or confidential information, knowledge or data relating to Ascena whether the foregoing shall have been obtained by Executive during Executive’s employment by Ascena (or any predecessors) or otherwise. The foregoing shall not apply to information that (i) was known to the public prior to its disclosure to Executive; (ii) becomes generally known to the public subsequent to disclosure to Executive through no wrongful act of Executive or any representative of Executive; or (iii) Executive is required to disclose by applicable law, regulation or legal process (provided that Executive provides Ascena with prior notice of the contemplated disclosure and cooperates with Ascena at its expense in seeking a protective order or other appropriate protection of such information). Pursuant to the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, Executive shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that: (i) is made (A) in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney; and (B) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (ii) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal.