Jesper Høiland

About Jesper Høiland

Jesper Høiland was appointed as an independent director of Allarity Therapeutics effective June 30, 2025; his term runs to the 2026 annual meeting. He serves on the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees and entered the company’s standard indemnification agreement; the company disclosed no related-party transactions under Item 404(a) in connection with his appointment . He previously served as President and EVP of Novo Nordisk U.S., CEO of Radius Health, and Global Commercial Officer at Ascendis Pharma; he holds a Master’s in Management from Copenhagen Business School and completed leadership programs at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and IMD .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Appointment and independence: Appointed June 30, 2025; classified as an independent director in the company’s disclosure and compensated under the standard non-employee director program .
• Committee assignments: Member, Audit; Compensation; Nominating & Corporate Governance (no chair roles disclosed) .
• Term: Through the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders (Class I) .
• Related parties: Company disclosed no transactions requiring Item 404(a) disclosure and no arrangements/understandings for his appointment; standard indemnification agreement executed .
• Board and committee activity context: In 2024, the Board met 4 times; Audit 4; Compensation 1; Nominating & Corporate Governance 0. Attendance by individual directors was not itemized; all four then-current directors attended the 2024 annual meeting (pre-dating Mr. Høiland’s appointment) .
• Emerging Growth Company: ALLR is an EGC; exempt from certain Dodd-Frank say‑on‑pay requirements (context for governance practices) .

Fixed Compensation

• Program structure: Non‑employee director annual retainer $50,000; additional annual member fees: Audit $7,500; Compensation $5,000; Nominating & Corporate Governance $4,000. The company’s policy allows payment in cash or equity at the director’s option; Mr. Høiland’s appointment 8‑K specifies cash retainers under standard arrangements .

Performance Compensation

• No performance-based director compensation or equity awards were disclosed in connection with Mr. Høiland’s appointment; the 2025 proxy states no director stock options were granted in 2024 and all outstanding options were forfeited in December 2024 .

Note: Proxy policy references a potential initial grant of 25,000 options for new directors at Board discretion with 12‑month vesting; however, 2024 featured no option grants and a forfeiture of all outstanding options, and Mr. Høiland’s 2025 appointment disclosure did not include an equity grant .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• 30+ years in global pharma commercialization and executive leadership; roles at Novo Nordisk (U.S. President/EVP), Radius Health (CEO), Ascendis Pharma (Global Commercial Officer) .
• Education: Master’s in Management (Copenhagen Business School); executive leadership programs at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IMD .
• Prior advisory relationship: Strategic consultant to Allarity since October 2024, providing commercialization strategy insights prior to joining the Board .

Equity Ownership

• As of the 2025 proxy record date (17,075,338 shares outstanding), the proxy reported that none of the named directors or executive officers then listed beneficially owned any shares; Mr. Høiland joined the Board after the record date, and no specific beneficial ownership was disclosed for him at appointment .

Governance Assessment

• Board effectiveness signal: Immediate assignment to all three key committees (Audit, Compensation, Nominating) suggests reliance on his operating and commercialization expertise; committee roles imply the Board deemed him independent under Nasdaq rules .
• Alignment and incentives: Director pay is cash retainer–heavy; 2024 featured no equity grants and forfeiture of all outstanding director options, which reduces equity alignment relative to typical biotech small-cap practice; policy allows equity but none was utilized in 2024 and none disclosed at his appointment .
• Conflicts: Company disclosed no Item 404(a) related-party transactions tied to his appointment and stated no arrangements or understandings for his selection; prior consulting relationship was disclosed but not characterized as an Item 404(a) transaction. Appointment to independence-requiring committees indicates the Board’s independence determination .
• Attendance/engagement: 2024 meeting cadence (Board 4; Audit 4; Comp 1; Nominating 0) provides baseline workload; individual attendance for 2025 (post-appointment) will be reported in the next proxy .

RED FLAGS to monitor:

• Low equity alignment: absence of director equity grants and explicit forfeiture of all options in 2024 may weaken pay-for-performance alignment unless remedied in future grants .
• Prior consulting tie: while disclosed and not a related-party transaction per Item 404(a), the prior consulting role warrants monitoring to ensure sustained independence perceptions among investors .