In general the CEO has the ability to award equity however they want. It's fairly common for exercise windows to be extended, awards to be increased as a part of a severance package, cashless exercise to be allowed, etc. You may need to get sign off from the board, but that's usually easily justifiable.
As stated above, after that, the communication to the rest of the team is key.
As stated above, after that, the communication to the rest of the team is key.