Kevin Craig
Atai BeckleyAbout Kevin Craig
Kevin Craig, M.D., age 52, is Chief Medical Officer at ATAI (AtaiBeckley) since January 1, 2025, after serving as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development from July 2023; he leads clinical-stage R&D, patient safety, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, and biostatistics . He previously headed Early Clinical Development at Jazz Pharmaceuticals (formerly GW Pharmaceuticals), designing and executing rapid decision-making neuroscience trials, and held a faculty appointment at the Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cambridge; he earned his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MPhil from Cambridge, and is a UK board-certified psychiatrist . Public filings reviewed for 2024 compensation list other named executive officers and do not include Kevin Craig (he became CMO in 2025), so TSR, revenue, EBITDA performance linkages for his pay are not disclosed in the available proxy materials .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| atai Life Sciences (AtaiBeckley) | Chief Medical Officer | 2025–present | Leads clinical-stage R&D, safety, clinical ops, regulatory affairs, biostatistics |
| atai Life Sciences | SVP, Clinical Development | Jul 2023–Dec 2024 | Led clinical development and all clinical functions |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals (formerly GW Pharmaceuticals) | Head of Early Clinical Development | Not disclosed | Designed/executed rapid decision-making trials across early neuroscience pipeline |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Cambridge, Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute | Faculty appointment | Not disclosed | Published on cognition and brain imaging in mental health |
Fixed Compensation
- The 2024 Summary Compensation Table lists other named executive officers; Kevin Craig is not included and his base salary, target bonus, and cash compensation elements are not disclosed in the 2024 proxy because he became CMO effective January 1, 2025 .
- Company context: 2024 target bonuses for listed NEOs were 50% for CEO/co-CEO and 40% for CFO/CBO, with payouts at 90% of target based on corporate, clinical, and financing goals; this provides program design context but does not specify Craig’s terms .
Performance Compensation
Equity Awards and Vesting Schedules (as disclosed in Kevin Craig’s Form 3)
| Award Type | Quantity (shares) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration Date | Vesting Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Option | 494,267 | 7.66 | 01/03/2032 | 25% on 12/06/2022; remaining 75% in 36 equal monthly installments thereafter |
| Stock Option | 10,000 | 5.54 | 02/11/2032 | 25% on 01/01/2023; remaining monthly over 36 months |
| Stock Option | 50,400 | 2.86 | 10/21/2032 | 25% on 09/01/2023; remaining monthly over 36 months |
| Stock Option | 114,360 | 1.18 | 03/14/2033 | 25% on 03/14/2024; remaining monthly over 36 months |
| Stock Option | 388,000 | 1.84 | 03/13/2034 | 25% on 01/01/2025; remaining monthly over 36 months |
| RSU | 20,000 | 0.00 | — | Vests on 03/14/2025 (one-for-one common shares upon vesting/settlement) |
- Company-level annual bonus metrics for 2024 covered corporate, clinical, and financing goals (achieved at 90% of target for NEOs), but specific metric weightings or payouts tied to Craig are not disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Category | Status |
|---|---|
| Non-derivative common shares beneficially owned | 0 (Form 3 states: “No securities are beneficially owned.”) |
| Derivative holdings | Options and RSUs as detailed above |
- Insider Trading Compliance Policy prohibits hedging (e.g., collars, swaps, exchange funds) and short sales; pledging of company stock is prohibited except in limited, pre-cleared cases with demonstrated repayment capacity and explicit pledgee agreement to policy terms .
- Officers’ transactions require pre-clearance by the General Counsel, with a five-business-day execution window and blackout restrictions to prevent trading on material nonpublic information .
Employment Terms
- Kevin Craig’s specific employment agreement and severance terms are not disclosed in available filings. For context, ATAI US employment agreements in effect during 2024 for other executive officers (CEO, CFO, CBO) provided the following severance and change-in-control protections:
| Scenario | Cash Severance | Bonus Treatment | Health Benefits | Equity Treatment | Option Exercise Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination without cause / resignation for good reason (non-CIC) | Base salary continuation for 9 months | Prior-year earned but unpaid bonus paid | COBRA reimbursement up to 9 months | No acceleration specified (time-based acceleration applies only in CIC scenario) | Not extended beyond standard terms |
| Termination without cause / resignation for good reason within 12 months post-CIC | Lump-sum equal to 1x annual base salary + target bonus | Prior-year earned but unpaid bonus paid | COBRA reimbursement up to 12 months | Accelerated vesting of all time-based unvested equity; performance-based awards governed by award agreements | Extended until earlier of 12 months post-termination or option’s original expiry |
Note: The table summarizes terms disclosed for other executives; Kevin Craig’s specific agreement was not disclosed in the reviewed filings .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Craig’s compensation skews toward long-term equity with multi-year, monthly vesting and expirations into 2032–2034, aligning incentives with durable value creation and potentially moderating near-term selling pressure due to staggered vesting .
- Risk controls: Strict anti-hedging/anti-pledging policies and mandatory pre-clearance reduce misalignment and lower the risk of opportunistic trading, supporting governance quality for executive transactions .
- Transparency gap: Lack of disclosed base salary, target bonus, and pay-for-performance metrics for Craig limits granular pay-performance analysis; investors should monitor future proxy and 8-K/DEF 14A disclosures for CMO-specific compensation structure updates .
- Execution capability: His prior leadership at Jazz/GW and Cambridge faculty background, combined with current remit overseeing clinical and regulatory functions at AtaiBeckley, indicates strong clinical development expertise—a lever for value realization as programs advance to Phase 3 .