Russell Barton
About Russell Barton
Russell Barton, M.S., is Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ Chief Operating Officer (COO), serving in the role since January 2021 after leading Clinical Operations beginning in April 2019 and consulting for the company from December 2018 through April 2019. He is 67 years old as of April 1, 2025, and holds a B.S. in chemistry from Illinois State University and an M.S. in chemistry from Purdue University . Barton spent 1979–2017 at Eli Lilly, including 2007–2017 as COO of Lilly’s Global Alzheimer’s Disease Platform Team, and was an active participant in the design and startup of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform through collaborations with the Global CEO initiative and the New York Academy of Sciences . Acumen’s FY2024 10-K highlights dependency on Barton and other key executives for successful strategy execution, underscoring retention risk in the event of turnover .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acumen Pharmaceuticals | Chief Operating Officer | Jan 2021–present | Operational leadership through clinical development of sabirnetug; named among key executives critical to strategy execution |
| Acumen Pharmaceuticals | Clinical Operations Leader; Consultant | Apr 2019–Jan 2021; Dec 2018–Apr 2019 | Built and led clinical operations capabilities during early program phases |
| AgeneBio, Inc. | Director of Clinical Operations | Oct 2019–Dec 2022 | Advanced external clinical operations experience relevant to AD programs |
| PharmaSagacity Consulting, LLC | President & Independent Consultant | 2018–present | Independent consulting with focus on clinical operations |
| Eli Lilly and Company | Various roles; COO, Global Alzheimer’s Disease Platform Team | 1979–2017; 2007–2017 | Led AD platform team; participant in Global Alzheimer’s Platform design/start-up with external collaborators |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Alzheimer’s Platform (collaborative initiative) | Participant in design/startup via Lilly role | 2007–2017 | Helped design and launch a platform via collaborations with the Global CEO initiative and NY Academy of Sciences |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Value | Effective Date/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $299,040 | Initial base salary in Amended & Restated Employment Agreement effective Jan 1, 2022 |
| Target Bonus (%) | 40% of base salary | Annual discretionary bonus; performance goals set by Board |
| Actual Bonus Paid | Not disclosed | Barton was not listed as a Named Executive Officer in recent Summary Compensation Tables |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Discretionary Bonus | Not disclosed for Barton | Goals set annually by Board; based on corporate and individual performance | Not disclosed for Barton | Not disclosed | Not applicable |
Design note: Barton’s bonus framework is defined in his A&R Employment Agreement with an annual target of 40% of base salary and Board-determined corporate/individual goals . Company-wide 2024 corporate goals were R&D, operational effectiveness, and brand progress, with overall corporate attainment of 119% for NEOs; individual goals for certain NEOs were 100% . Barton’s specific attainment/payout was not disclosed.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (proxy tables) | Barton not itemized in 2023–2025 beneficial ownership tables; NEOs/directors and 5% holders disclosed separately |
| Anti-hedging/short/margin policy | Company prohibits short sales, put/call options, hedging transactions, margin accounts, and other speculative transactions for employees/directors |
| Pledging | No specific pledging disclosure; margin accounts prohibited |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed for executives in proxies reviewed |
Insider transactions (recent):
| Date | Type | Shares | Price ($/sh) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-03 | Sale | 7,636 | 1.86 | |
| 2025-01-21 | Sale | 2,914 | 1.61 | |
| 2024-01-18 | Sale | 2,833 | 3.73 | |
| 2025-01-03 | Form 144 (proposed sale) | 7,636 | 1.86 | |
| 2025-01-21 | Form 144 (proposed sale) | 2,914 | 1.70 |
Reference summary pages: (Form 4 filed 01/07/2025), (Form 4 filed 01/23/2025), and aggregator summaries .
Employment Terms
| Term | Barton’s A&R Employment Agreement (effective Jan 1, 2022) |
|---|---|
| Position | Chief Operating Officer |
| Base Salary | $299,040 initial |
| Target Bonus | 40% of base salary; discretionary, Board-set goals |
| Non-CIC Severance | Substantially similar to CFO A&R terms: 9 months of base salary and up to 12 months COBRA reimbursement upon termination without Cause or resignation for Good Reason outside CIC |
| CIC Severance | 12 months of base salary; 1.0x target annual bonus; up to 12 months COBRA; full acceleration of time-based equity awards; performance-based equity treated per award terms (double-trigger within 3 months pre-/12 months post-CIC) |
| Conditions | Severance subject to release of claims and compliance with restrictive covenants; Section 280G “better-of” cut if beneficial to executive |
| Start at Acumen | Consultant Dec 2018–Apr 2019; Clinical Operations Leader Apr 2019–Jan 2021; COO since Jan 2021 |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: Barton’s compensation structure emphasizes at-risk pay via annual bonus tied to Board-set objectives; equity alignment exists through Company equity practices, with anti-hedging/short/margin policies reducing misalignment risk .
- Retention/change-of-control economics: Standard biotech double-trigger CIC with salary (12 months), 1x target bonus, COBRA, and time-based equity acceleration; non-CIC severance at 9 months salary suggests moderate retention protection but not excessive golden parachute risk .
- Insider selling pressure: Repeated small, open-window sales and Form 144 filings in Jan 2024 and Jan 2025 indicate periodic liquidity events; volumes are modest, limiting signal strength on directional conviction, but bear watching around January equity vesting/annual grant cycles .
- Execution risk: Company explicitly cites dependency on Barton and other senior leaders for clinical execution, highlighting retention/continuity as a lever for value creation in AD programs .