Glenn Short

About Glenn Short

Glenn Short, Ph.D., age 55, is Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of atai (now forming AtaiBeckley) since January 1, 2025, after serving as SVP of Early Development (Aug 2022–Dec 2024) and on atai’s leadership team since 2019 . He leads discovery, nonclinical pharmacology, preclinical development, and CMC, including programs to advance novel non-hallucinogenic 5‑HT2A agonists; he holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry (University of Virginia) and completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Biology at MGH/Harvard Medical School . Recent company disclosures highlighted his promotion as part of a leadership refresh tied to advancing Phase 2 programs (VLS‑01, EMP‑01) and integration with Beckley Psytech .

Past Roles

External Roles

No external public company directorships or board roles were disclosed in company filings reviewed (bio and promotion materials do not list any) .

Fixed Compensation

• Glenn Short was not listed as a 2024 “named executive officer” (NEO) in the latest proxy; as such, individual cash compensation (base salary, target/actual bonus) for Short was not separately disclosed in the 2025 DEF 14A .

Performance Compensation

Company equity award structures (reference for executives; Glenn-specific grants not disclosed):

• Stock options: generally 4-year vesting (25% after 1-year cliff; remaining 75% monthly over 36 months). Certain grants also require achievement of clinical performance milestones before exercise .
• RSUs: representative grants vest 50% on the 1st anniversary and 50% on the 2nd anniversary of vesting start .
• In 2024, executive options granted (example NEOs): CEO 800,000; CFO 550,000; CBO 550,000, illustrating equity-heavy incentives tied to retention and performance (not specific to Short) .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Individual beneficial ownership for Glenn Short was not itemized; the proxy disclosed aggregated holdings: all managing directors, executive officers, and supervisory directors as a group held 55,875,514 shares (26.8%) as of April 2, 2025 .
• Hedging policy: Company prohibits directors, officers, and employees (and entities they control) from hedging company securities (e.g., swaps, collars, exchange funds) .
• Clawback policy: Adopted Oct 2, 2023, requiring recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation from current and former officers after an accounting restatement .
• Pledging: Not indicated for Short. Note: a principal shareholder (Apeiron Investment Group) disclosed 40,569,415 pledged shares, which is a governance consideration at the shareholder level, not tied to Short .

Employment Terms

• No Short-specific employment agreement, severance, or change-of-control terms were filed in the reviewed 8‑Ks/proxy; his promotion was announced via press release/leadership roster without accompanying contract terms .
• Company reference points from filed executive agreements (illustrative, not Short-specific):
  • CEO (Rao): Base salary $629,200; target bonus 55%; severance if terminated without cause/good reason: 12 months base salary and up to 12 months COBRA; upon CIC and qualifying termination: lump sum 18 months base salary + 1.5x target bonus, up to 18 months COBRA, and time-based equity acceleration (board approval) .
  • COO (Kochendoerfer): Base salary $440,000; target bonus 40%; severance 9 months base salary and up to 9 months COBRA; upon CIC and qualifying termination: 12 months base salary, up to 12 months COBRA, and time-based equity acceleration (board approval) .

Performance & Track Record

• Role scope and pipeline context: Short’s CSO remit includes AtaiBeckley’s discovery and preclinical engine, supporting clinical assets VLS‑01 (DMT buccal film, Phase 2; topline 1H 2026) and EMP‑01 (R‑MDMA, Phase 2a; topline 1Q 2026), alongside Beckley’s BPL‑003 program (nasal mebufotenin; Phase 3 design interactions expected; Phase 3 initiation targeted 2Q 2026). These timelines and programs were highlighted as leadership responsibilities were realigned .
• The leadership team listing under the combined AtaiBeckley also identifies Short as CSO, reinforcing continuity post-combination .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• Hedging by officers is prohibited, which supports alignment and reduces hedging-related red flags for executives including Short .
• Company-level pledge: a major shareholder (Apeiron/Angermayer) has pledged a significant block of shares (not tied to Short), a governance consideration for overall capital structure risk .
• Standard lock-ups around the October 2025 equity offering included company and insider restrictions for a 90-day period, which can temper near‑term insider selling pressure; specific signatories are not enumerated in filings reviewed .

Investment Implications

• Transparency: Short is a key scientific leader, but individual cash/equity pay and personal share ownership were not itemized, limiting direct pay‑for‑performance and insider‑alignment analysis for him specifically .
• Alignment safeguards: Company-wide policies (hedging ban, clawback) and equity-heavy incentives with multi‑year vesting and clinical performance conditions indicate structural alignment with shareholders, and typical CIC severance frameworks suggest retention focus during strategic transitions .
• Event risk and selling pressure: The 2025 financing and combination with Beckley feature typical 90‑day offering lock‑ups and company sale/CIC mechanics that can both stabilize near-term insider flows and influence retention economics; however, there is no filing indicating Short‑specific lock‑up or contract terms beyond his role announcement .

Note: Where Glenn Short-specific compensation, equity ownership, or contract terms were not disclosed in the reviewed DEF 14A and 8‑Ks, this report references company-wide policies and other executives’ filed agreements for context and does not infer Short’s personal terms absent filings. All statements above are sourced from the cited SEC filings and company disclosures.