Jeff George
Amneal PharmaceuticalsAbout Jeff George
Jeff George (age 51) is an independent director at Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMRX) with over 25 years of global healthcare leadership. He is Managing Partner of Maytal Capital (founded in 2017) and formerly served on Novartis Group AG’s Executive Committee, leading Sandoz (generics/biosimilars) and Alcon (branded eye care). He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a B.A. from Carleton College .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novartis Group AG – Sandoz | Division Head & CEO | 2008–2016 | Led ~$10B generics/biosimilars subsidiary; >25,000 associates across 160+ countries |
| Novartis Group AG – Alcon | Division Head & CEO | 2008–2016 | Led ~$10B branded eye care subsidiary (spun out in 2019) |
| Novartis Pharmaceuticals | Head of Emerging Markets (MEA, SEA, CIS) | Not disclosed | Regional leadership |
| Novartis Vaccines | VP & Head of Western/Eastern Europe | Not disclosed | Regional leadership |
| Gap Inc.; McKinsey & Co. | Various leadership roles | Not disclosed | Strategy/operations experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LENZ Therapeutics | Chairman of the Board | Current | Ophthalmic biotech |
| 908 Devices | Director | Current | Life science diagnostics |
| Dorian Therapeutics | Director | Current | Cellular senescence biotech |
| Lykos Therapeutics | Chairman | 2022–2025 | Late-clinical-stage CNS biopharma |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board’s Conflicts Committee annual review determined Jeff George is independent under Nasdaq rules; AMRX maintains a majority-independent board and all committees are fully independent despite “controlled company” status .
- Committees: Audit Committee member (Audit Committee: John Kiely, Chair; members include Jeff George) ; Compensation Committee member (Compensation Committee: Ted Nark, Chair; members include Jeff George, Paul Meister, Shlomo Yanai) .
- Attendance/Engagement: In FY2024 the Board met seven times; every director attended at least 75% of aggregate board/committee meetings. All directors attended the 2024 annual meeting. Independent directors hold executive sessions at least twice annually, presided by the independent Chairman .
- Leadership: Independent Chairman (Paul Meister). The Board has not designated a Lead Independent Director given independent chair leadership. AMRX is a “controlled company” but opts not to use Nasdaq governance exemptions .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Terms | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $75,000 | N/A | Standard for non-employee directors |
| Annual equity grant (RSUs) | $250,000 target value ($350,000 for Chairman) | 1-year cliff | Grant value based on closing price on grant date; time-based RSUs (no performance conditions) |
| Committee fees – Audit (Chair/Member) | $25,000 / $15,000 | N/A | Per committee service |
| Committee fees – Compensation (Chair/Member) | $20,000 / $10,000 | N/A | |
| Committee fees – Nominating & Governance (Chair/Member) | $15,000 / $7,500 | N/A | |
| Committee fees – Conflicts (Chair/Member) | $25,000 / $15,000 | N/A | |
| Per-meeting stipend (excess meetings) | 1/6th of annual cash stipend per meeting >6/year | N/A | Applies per committee member |
| Jeff George – 2024 Director Compensation | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | $125,000 |
| Stock Awards ($) | $250,002 (RSUs) |
| Total ($) | $375,002 |
| RSUs Outstanding (12/31/2024) | 40,258 |
| Options Outstanding (12/31/2024) | 28,506 |
Ownership Guidelines
- Non-employee directors must hold at least 3x the annual cash retainer; all non-employee directors have achieved or are working toward compliance within the five-year window .
Performance Compensation
- Structure: Non-employee director equity is time-based RSUs with 1-year cliff vesting; no performance-based equity or options are granted as standard director compensation at AMRX .
| Director Equity Terms | Metric/Trigger | Range/Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs (annual grant) | Time-based vesting | 100% after 1 year | Grant date fair value set using closing stock price; no performance metrics |
| Options (legacy outstanding) | N/A | N/A | AMRX does not currently grant new stock options to directors; outstanding options reflect prior cycles |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current boards: LENZ Therapeutics (Chair), 908 Devices (Director), Dorian Therapeutics (Director) .
- Interlocks/conflicts: No related-party transactions disclosed involving Jeff George. Related-party transactions are overseen by the Conflicts Committee under a formal policy; recent disclosures focus on transactions involving co-CEOs (e.g., Kanan leases; Kashiv collaborations) and a pledge by Chirag Patel’s trusts—none implicate Jeff George .
Expertise & Qualifications
- CEO/General Management; Corporate Development/M&A; Investment/Private Equity; International market leadership .
- Academic credentials: MBA (Harvard), M.A. (Johns Hopkins SAIS), B.A. (Carleton) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares (Common) | Options (Exercisable/Exercisable within 60 days) | RSUs (vest within 60 days) | Total | Ownership % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff George (as of 3/14/2025) | 269,537 | 28,506 | 40,258 | 338,301 | <1% of 313,382,260 shares outstanding |
- Anti-pledging/hedging: Non-Amneal Group directors are prohibited from pledging company stock; company policy prohibits hedging instruments. No pledging disclosed for Jeff George .
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Jeff George strengthens financial reporting and compensation oversight via Audit and Compensation Committee memberships—two critical investor-protection committees composed entirely of independent directors .
- Independence & attendance: Independently vetted annually; good attendance and engagement norms, with regular executive sessions under independent chair—positive governance signals .
- Alignment & pay mix: Director pay centered on modest cash retainer plus time-based RSUs; ownership guidelines and disclosed holdings support alignment, with no performance windfalls or complex instruments—low risk of pay-for-performance misalignment at the director level .
- Controlled company context: Despite controlled status, AMRX chooses not to rely on Nasdaq exemptions, maintaining majority-independent board and fully independent committees. Conflicts Committee oversight of related-party transactions is formalized—mitigating control risks .
- Say-on-Pay signal (executive program): 2024 say-on-pay passed with 99.5% support, indicating broad investor approval of compensation governance; while this pertains to executives, it reflects committee stewardship quality—Compensation Committee includes Jeff George .
RED FLAGS
- None disclosed related to Jeff George: no related-party transactions, no pledging, no attendance issues, no committee independence concerns .
- Broader context: Pledged shares by co-CEO (Chirag Patel) via trusts and related-party transactions overseen by Conflicts Committee—these are company-level risks, not attributable to Jeff George; continued Conflicts Committee oversight is key .