Louis Lavigne
AlectorAbout Louis J. Lavigne, Jr.
Independent Chairperson of Alector’s Board since June 2023; director since 2018. Age 76, with a finance and governance background as former Genentech CFO (1988–2005), EVP (1997–2005), and prior senior roles; education includes a B.S. in Business Administration (Babson College) and an M.B.A. (Temple University). Previously Lead Independent Director (Oct 2018–Jun 2023) and Audit Committee Chair (2019–May 2023); designated Audit Committee financial expert.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genentech, Inc. | CFO; EVP; SVP; VP; Controller | 1983–2005 | Led finance and strategy at a large-cap biotech; extensive public company governance experience. |
| Zynga Inc. | Director | 2015–May 2022 | Audit committee member (former chair); nominating & governance committee member. |
| Accuray, Inc. | Director; Chairman of the Board | 2009–Jun 2021 | Chair of compensation committee; nominating & governance committee member. |
| Rodan + Fields, LLC (private) | Director; Lead Director | Jun 2015–Jul 2021 | Audit committee chair (Dec 2019–Jul 2021); lead director (Aug 2020–Jul 2021). |
| NovoCure Limited | Director | 2013–Oct 2018 | Audit committee chair. |
| Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. | Director | Jul 2013–May 2019 | Compensation committee chair; audit committee member. |
| DocuSign Inc. | Director | Jul 2013–May 2020 | Audit committee chair and compensation committee member. |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laman Partners, LLC | Managing Partner | Since 2019 | Finance, strategy, and management consulting. |
| Lavrite, LLC | Managing Director | Since 2005 | Investment/management; holds shares of ALEC. |
| UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals & Foundation | Former Chairman/Board Member | N/A | Non-profit leadership. |
Board Governance
- Current roles: Independent Chairperson; member, Audit Committee; member, People, Culture, and Compensation Committee. Audit Committee financial expert designation.
- Independence: Board determined Lavigne is independent under Nasdaq rules; seven of nine directors independent.
- Attendance: Board held 7 meetings in FY2024; all directors attended at least 75% of board/committee meetings. Audit (5), Compensation (7), Governance (4) meetings held. Executive sessions of independent directors typically after each regular board meeting.
- Chair leadership: Independent chair presides over executive sessions, liaises between CEO and independent directors; no Lead Independent Director while chair is independent.
- Committee transition: After the 2025 annual meeting, Audit Committee members will be De Souza, Lavigne, and Altmeyer; Altmeyer to chair.
- Risk oversight: Audit oversees financial reporting, ERM, cybersecurity, and conflicts; Compensation oversees pay risk; Governance oversees board independence and ESG.
Fixed Compensation (Non-Employee Director)
| Component | Amount (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $92,500 | Reported total cash fees. |
| Policy Retainers (reference) | $45,000 | Annual director cash retainer. |
| Policy Chair Retainer (reference) | $30,000 | Non-executive chair retainer. |
| Policy Audit Committee Member (reference) | $10,000 | Annual audit member retainer. |
| Policy Compensation Committee Member (reference) | $7,500 | Annual compensation member retainer. |
Per policy and his committee roles (chair; audit member; compensation member), the listed retainers align to the reported $92,500 cash fees.
Performance Compensation (Equity; Non-Employee Director)
| Grant/Policy | Units | Vesting | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Annual RSU Award (granted 6/12/2024) | 35,000 RSUs | Vests on earlier of 1-year anniversary or next annual meeting | Time-based vesting for outside directors. |
| Outside Director Annual RSU Policy | 28,700 RSUs | Vests on earlier of 12 months or next annual meeting | Standard annual grant framework. |
| Outside Director Annual Option Policy | 9,450 options | 1/12 monthly; full by next annual meeting/12 months | NSO; time-based vesting. |
| Change-in-Control (Outside Directors) | N/A | Full acceleration | All director equity fully vests upon change in control. |
- 2024 Director Stock Awards value for Lavigne: $164,500 (grant-date fair value, ASC 718).
- No meeting fees; reasonable travel reimbursements; annual director grant limit $750,000 ($1,000,000 in initial year).
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector | Role | Overlap/Interlock Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zynga Inc. | Consumer tech/gaming | Ex-director; audit and nom/gov committees | No direct biotech overlap; low conflict. |
| Accuray, Inc. | MedTech oncology | Ex-chair; comp chair; nom/gov | Oncology adjacencies; no related-party dealings disclosed at ALEC. |
| NovoCure Limited | Oncology | Ex-director; audit chair | Sector adjacency; no ALEC transactions disclosed. |
| Assertio Therapeutics | Pharma | Ex-director; comp chair; audit member | No ALEC related-party transactions disclosed. |
| DocuSign Inc. | Software | Ex-director; audit chair; comp member | No overlap with ALEC operations. |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial leadership: Former CFO and EVP at Genentech; deep experience in finance, accounting, strategy, and public company governance.
- Audit oversight: Designated audit committee financial expert; extensive chair/member roles across public boards.
- Education: B.S. Babson College; M.B.A. Temple University.
Equity Ownership
| Category | Shares | % Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 212,522 | <1% | As of March 31, 2025. |
| Directly held (individual) | 35,709 | — | Common stock in Lavigne’s name. |
| Held via Lavrite, LLC | 10,552 | — | Lavigne is Managing Director. |
| Options exercisable ≤60 days | 166,261 | — | Included in beneficial ownership. |
| Unvested RSUs (granted 6/12/2024) | 35,000 | — | Annual director grant. |
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for employees and non-employee directors under Insider Trading Policy.
- Ownership guidelines: Not specified for directors; director grants are time-based; change-in-control acceleration applies.
Governance Assessment
- Strengths
- Independent Chair enhances oversight; regular executive sessions of independent directors.
- Audit Committee financial expert; deep CFO background supports robust financial and risk oversight.
- Clear independence determination; strong attendance across board and committees.
- Transparent director compensation policy with defined cash retainers and equity framework; capped annual director compensation.
- Anti-hedging/anti-pledging policy aligns incentives with shareholders.
- Strong shareholder support for executive pay in 2024 say-on-pay (over 98% approval), signaling broader confidence in governance and compensation practices.
- Watch items / potential red flags
- Single-trigger change-in-control acceleration for director equity may be viewed as shareholder-unfriendly by some governance investors.
- Related-party transactions exist (consulting agreements with another director, Dr. Scheller), though subject to Audit Committee oversight; continued vigilance required given Lavigne’s Audit Committee role.
- Equity-heavy director pay (RSUs plus options per policy) can incentivize alignment but warrants monitoring for potential short-termism; annual caps mitigate risk.
Overall, Lavigne’s independent chairmanship and audit expertise, combined with defined compensation frameworks and anti-hedging/pledging policies, support board effectiveness and investor confidence; the change-in-control equity acceleration is the primary governance caveat to monitor.