Laurie Smaldone Alsup
About Laurie Smaldone Alsup
Laurie Smaldone Alsup, M.D., age 71, has served on Arvinas’ board since November 2019. A medical oncologist, she is Senior Vice President, Regulatory Science and Practical Lead at SSI Strategy Holdings LLC (since January 2024), following prior senior roles at NDA Group, PharmApprove, Phytomedics, and over 20 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb leading global regulatory science and business risk management. She holds an M.D. from Yale School of Medicine and a B.A. in Biology from Fordham College .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDA Group (merged with SSI Strategy) | Chief Scientific Officer & Chief Medical Officer | Mar 2016 – Jan 2024 | Led regulatory and drug development consulting |
| PharmApprove (Taft and Partners division) | President & Chief Scientific Officer | Aug 2011 – Mar 2016 | Regulatory communications leadership |
| Phytomedics, Inc. | President & Chief Executive Officer | 2008 – 2011 | Early-stage arthritis/inflammation therapeutics |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Science; Head of Business Risk Management; prior clinical development roles | ~20+ years (prior to 2011) | Led global regulatory portfolio to approvals across multiple disease areas; enterprise risk management |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSI Strategy Holdings LLC | SVP, Regulatory Science & Practical Lead | Jan 2024 – Present | Life sciences consulting across medical affairs, PV, regulatory, clinical |
| Theravance Biopharma, Inc. | Director | Current | Public company board service |
| BlackBerry Ltd. | Director | Prior | Former public board |
| Kalobios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Director | Prior | Former public board |
| Kinnate Biopharma Inc. | Director | Prior | Former public board |
| Pardes Biosciences Inc. | Director | Prior (company acquired by MediPacific) | Former public board |
Board Governance
- Independence: The board determined in March 2025 that Dr. Smaldone Alsup is independent under Nasdaq rules; she serves on the Compensation Committee and Science & Technology Committee, both meeting SEC/Nasdaq independence standards .
- Committee assignments: Member, Compensation Committee (Chair: John Young); Member, Science & Technology Committee (Chair: Sunil Agarwal) .
- Attendance: In 2024, each current director attended at least 75% of board and applicable committee meetings; all then-serving directors attended the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders .
- Lead Independent Director: Briggs Morrison, M.D.; independent directors meet in executive session at least twice per year per governance guidelines .
- Committee activity in 2024: Audit (8 meetings), Compensation (5), Nominating & Corporate Governance (4), Science & Technology (2) .
Fixed Compensation
- Cash retainers (effective May 2024): Board member $45,000; incremental Chair $40,000; Lead Independent Director $30,000; Audit Committee member $10,000 (Chair +$10,000); Compensation Committee member $7,500 (Chair +$7,500); Nominating & Corporate Governance member $5,000 (Chair +$5,000); Science & Technology member $7,500 (Chair +$7,500) .
- 2024 cash earned by Dr. Smaldone Alsup: $56,360 .
| Director Cash Fees | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | $56,360 |
Performance Compensation
- Annual equity for non-employee directors: Grant-date fair value $375,000, 2/3 in options and 1/3 in RSUs; vests in full on the earlier of first anniversary or first board meeting after the following annual meeting; options struck at FMV on grant date .
- Initial director grant (program amended June 2023): $750,000 grant-date fair value (2/3 options, 1/3 RSUs); 3-year vest; accelerates on change-in-control .
- 2024 equity for Dr. Smaldone Alsup: Stock awards $200,189; Option awards $199,976 .
| Director Equity Awards | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Stock Awards ($) | $200,189 |
| Option Awards ($) | $199,976 |
| Annual Director Equity Program (structure) | $375,000 total; 2/3 options, 1/3 RSUs; 1-year vest |
Performance metrics
- No director-specific performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue) tied to director pay disclosed; awards are time-based per program descriptions .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public board: Theravance Biopharma, Inc. .
- Compensation committee interlocks: None—no Arvinas executive serves on boards/compensation committees of companies where a director is an executive; no compensation committee members are company officers .
- Related-party transactions: No transactions involving Dr. Smaldone Alsup were disclosed for 2024–2025; related-person transactions are overseen under the audit committee policy .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Medical oncologist with deep regulatory and clinical development leadership; headed global regulatory science at Bristol-Myers Squibb .
- Board service across biotech and tech; regulatory and risk management expertise aligns with Science & Technology and Compensation committee oversight .
- Education: M.D. (Yale), B.A. Biology (Fordham) .
Equity Ownership
| Ownership Detail | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership (shares) | 87,426 |
| Ownership as % of Shares Outstanding | <1% |
| Options Outstanding (as of 12/31/2024) | 77,406 |
| RSUs Outstanding (as of 12/31/2024) | 5,899 |
- Beneficial ownership includes shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days per SEC rules; outstanding common shares used for % calculation: 72,983,588 as of March 31, 2025 .
- Hedging/pledging: Company practices indicate “No hedging or pledging of company stock”; insider trading policy prohibits executive officer hedging/pledging; board-wide governance summary includes no hedging/pledging .
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Independent director with specialized regulatory and clinical expertise; active roles on Compensation and Science & Technology committees enhance board effectiveness .
- Solid engagement: ≥75% meeting attendance; presence at annual meeting; committees active through 2024 .
- Transparent, market-aligned director pay structure; equity/time-based vesting balances alignment and retention; change-in-control terms disclosed for initial grants .
- No related-party transactions disclosed; compensation committee interlocks absent; independent compensation consultant (Aon) with no conflicts .
-
Watch items
- Ownership alignment: beneficial stake <1%—typical for biotech directors but modest “skin in the game”; continued annual equity helps alignment .
- External commitments: service on Theravance’s board; monitor for potential information flow/conflicts as pipelines evolve, though no interlocks/transactions disclosed .
-
Broader investor signal
- Say-on-pay support for executives was >93% at the 2024 annual meeting, indicating general shareholder confidence in compensation governance frameworks .
-
Policies supporting investor confidence
- Prohibition on option repricing without shareholder approval; clawback policy compliant with Dodd-Frank; periodic governance education; independent director executive sessions .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed—no related-party transactions, no hedging/pledging policy concerns cited, attendance thresholds met, and independence validated .