Vinayak Doraiswamy
About Vinayak Doraiswamy
Vinayak Doraiswamy, Ph.D., is AtriCure’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) (since March 2021), after serving as SVP of Clinical, Regulatory, Medical and Scientific Affairs beginning March 2017; he is 53 years old and holds a B.S. and M.S. in Zoology (Presidency College, Chennai), an MBA (Wisconsin School of Business), and a Ph.D. (North Dakota State University) . In 2024, the company delivered 16.5% revenue growth to $465.3M and positive adjusted EBITDA of $31.1M (up ~$11.7M YoY), alongside multiple product launches and regulatory milestones—key operating performance context for incentive outcomes tied to revenue and long‑term metrics .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AtriCure | Chief Scientific Officer | Mar 2021–present | Leads clinical, regulatory, medical and scientific affairs; tenure aligned with major product launches and clinical program advancement . |
| AtriCure | SVP, Clinical, Regulatory, Medical and Scientific Affairs | Mar 2017–Mar 2021 | Built and scaled clinical and regulatory capabilities pre‑CSO . |
| St. Jude Medical | VP, Global Clinical Operations | Not disclosed | Oversaw operations for 100+ clinical trials; managed >300 staff . |
| Boston Scientific; Guidant; Promega | Various roles | Not disclosed | Leadership across marketing, field clinical engineering, IDE and post‑market studies . |
External Roles
- No outside public company directorships or external roles for Dr. Doraiswamy are disclosed in recent proxies .
Fixed Compensation
- Dr. Doraiswamy is not listed among named executive officers (NEOs) in the 2024 or 2025 proxies; thus, recent base salary, target bonus %, and actual cash bonus amounts are not itemized for him. NEOs in 2024 were CEO, CFO, COO, CLO, and Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer . In 2023 the NEO set likewise did not include him .
Performance Compensation
Company incentive architecture (relevant to CSO-level incentives) emphasizes pay-for-performance tied to revenue growth and multi‑year value creation:
- Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) 2024: 70% weight on worldwide revenue growth; 30% on Pillar & People objectives (innovation, clinical science, education/adoption, people). Actual 2024 results produced 101.4% payout of target (Revenue growth: 16.5% vs 17.1% target; Pillar goals 7 of 10 achieved) .
- Long-term incentives: Mix of time‑based RSAs and Performance Share Awards (PSAs). PSAs since 2021 blend two metrics over three years: 75% Revenue CAGR (performance condition) and 25% relative TSR vs NASDAQ Health Care constituents (market condition; capped at target if company TSR is negative) .
Doraiswamy’s most recent award details disclosed (2021 new‑NEO year):
| Grant Type | Grant Date | Metric/Condition | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Shares/Units | Target Value | Fair Value Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSAs | 3/1/2021 | 3‑yr Revenue CAGR (75%) + Relative TSR (25%) | 3,204 | 6,409 | 12,818 | Units | $425,000 | Revenue‑CAGR portion at stock price; TSR via Monte Carlo ($112.41 for TSR vs $66.31 for rev CAGR in 2021 cohort) . |
| RSAs | 3/1/2021 | Time‑based vesting | — | — | — | 6,409 shares | $425,000 | Grant date market value; vests over 3 years . |
Vesting schedules and payout guardrails:
- RSAs vest 33.3% annually over three years from grant .
- PSAs vest after the three-year performance period; 2022‑granted PSAs across recipients vested at 96% on 12/31/2024 (plan‑level result) .
2024 AIP structure and outcome (plan‑level):
| Objective | Weight | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Actual 2024 | Achievement | AIP Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide Revenue Growth | 70% | 14.0% | 17.1% | 24.0% | 16.5% | 91.3% | 63.9% |
| Pillar & People Goals (10 total) | 30% | 4 goals | 6 goals | 10 goals | 7 goals | 125.0% | 37.5% |
| Total | 100% | — | — | — | — | — | 101.4% of target |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Ownership snapshot and alignment policies:
| Date | Title of Security | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/24/2021 (Form 3) | Common Stock | 24,119 | Includes 15,568 unvested RSAs; 879 shares via ESPP; remainder vested common . |
- Stock ownership guidelines: Specified officers must hold >1x annual base salary (CEO 6x); non‑employee directors 3x annual cash retainer (attain in 3 years) .
- Hedging/pledging prohibited; no margin pledges allowed—reduces alignment and liquidity risk red flags .
- Clawback/recoupment applies to equity awards; policy aligns with SEC/Nasdaq rules .
- Options repricing without shareholder approval is not permitted .
Employment Terms
| Provision | Doraiswamy Terms | Company Policy Context |
|---|---|---|
| Change-in-control (CIC) severance | If terminated during CIC period (other than death, disability, cause, or good reason as defined), severance equals six months of then‑current base salary plus target bonus for the severance period . | Company maintains double‑trigger CIC agreements (i.e., requires qualifying termination in CIC window for severance) . |
| Equity treatment | Post‑termination option exercise windows follow plan terms; unvested equity generally forfeited absent plan‑specified acceleration . | Minimum one‑year vesting on awards with limited exceptions; acceleration may apply for CIC, death, disability, retirement as provided . |
| Clawbacks | Subject to recoupment policy . | Policy aligned to SEC/Nasdaq . |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited . | Applies to all insiders . |
| Tax gross‑ups | Company does not provide excise tax gross‑ups in new contracts . | Shareholder‑friendly practice . |
Performance & Track Record
- 2024 operating scorecard: Revenue +16.5% to $465.3M; International +25.6%; adjusted EBITDA +$11.7M YoY to $31.1M; numerous launches (cryoSPHERE+ and MAX probes; AtriClip FLEX‑Mini in U.S.; EnCompass clamp in EU) and EU MDR clearances across substantially all products .
- Clinical programs: LeAAPS IDE trial surpassed 4,200 enrolled by end‑2024 (target up to 6,500); BoxX‑NoAF IDE protocol approved in Q4’24 with site initiation expected by end‑2025 .
- Societal guidelines: ESC/EACTS (2024) and U.S. ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS upgrades support left atrial appendage management and hybrid AF therapy—tailwinds for adoption of company therapies that CSO leadership supports via evidence generation .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Strong at‑risk mix with multi‑year PSAs and revenue‑centric AIP suggest tighter alignment to growth milestones (2024 AIP weighted 70% revenue; PSAs 75% revenue CAGR/25% relative TSR) .
- Company disallows pledging/hedging and option repricing; maintains clawbacks—mitigating behavioral risk and signaling governance quality .
- Share plan refreshed (2025 proposal: +1.7M shares; prior +1.8M in 2024) to sustain equity-based incentives; key for retention in competitive med‑tech talent markets .
Compensation Peer Group (Benchmarking Context)
- 2024 peer set used for executive pay assessments includes med‑tech growth names such as Insulet, Penumbra, Shockwave Medical, Inspire Medical, iRhythm, Glaukos, LivaNova, STAAR Surgical, Inari, Tandem, etc. .
- Third‑party consultants engaged (KF 2024) to calibrate target pay versus market and performance .
Say‑on‑Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- 2024 say‑on‑pay approval 84.6% (May 2024), indicating broad support of pay design and outcomes .
Investment Implications
- Incentive design centers on revenue growth and three‑year value creation (revenue CAGR and relative TSR), aligning CSO incentives with commercialization pace, clinical execution, and product pipeline delivery .
- Governance safeguards (double‑trigger CIC, clawbacks, no hedging/pledging, no repricing) limit misalignment/agency risks; CIC economics for Doraiswamy (six months salary+bonus) are moderate versus med‑tech norms, reducing parachute overhang while supporting retention through equity .
- Near‑term insider selling pressure risk appears governed by standard three‑year RSA vesting and PSA performance periods; no pledging permitted. The absence of recent Form 4 detail here limits real‑time assessment, but 2021 holdings included sizeable unvested RSAs consistent with ongoing equity vesting cadence .
- Execution risk remains tied to clinical timelines (e.g., LeAAPS, BoxX‑NoAF), regulatory expansion, and competitive dynamics; however, 2024 operating momentum and guideline upgrades support the incentive framework’s focus areas .