Neil Kumar
BridgeBio PharmaAbout Neil Kumar
Neil Kumar, Ph.D., is BridgeBio’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, serving as CEO and director since April 2015; age 46 as of March 31, 2025, with B.S./M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford and Ph.D. from MIT . Under his leadership in 2024, BridgeBio achieved a U.S. commercial launch of Attruby, fully enrolled three Phase 3 trials, executed two spin-outs with $500M in private financing, and secured up to $1.5B in financings, while ending 2024 with $681.2M in cash and equivalents . Executive compensation design places 94% of CEO pay “at risk” (cash bonus + time-based equity); pay-versus-performance disclosures show revenue rising to $221.9M in 2024 and CAP alignment broadly tracking TSR trends across the period reported .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| BridgeBio Pharma | Co-founder; Chief Executive Officer and Director | Since Apr 2015 | Built pipeline; led commercialization and financing strategy . |
| Eidos Therapeutics (subsidiary; formerly Nasdaq: EIDX) | Chief Executive Officer; Director | Since Mar 2016 | Led subsidiary governance and operations . |
| MyoKardia (formerly Nasdaq: MYOK) | Interim VP, Business Development | 2012–2014 | Early-stage BD leadership pre-acquisition by BMS . |
| Third Rock Ventures | Principal | 2011–2014 | Company creation and venture building in biotech . |
| McKinsey & Company | Associate Principal | 2007–2011 | Strategy consulting, life sciences focus . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| LianBio (formerly Nasdaq: LIAN) | Director | Since Oct 2019 | Asia partnerships; cross-border development . |
| GondolaBio, LLC | Executive Chair, Board of Managers | Since Aug 2024 | Strategic oversight of spin-out platform . |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $1,106,000 | $742,000 | $987,539 |
| Bonus ($) | $940,100 | $779,100 | $1,038,800 |
| Stock Awards ($, grant-date FV) | $4,571,519 | $6,123,793 | $12,541,433 |
| Option Awards ($, grant-date FV) | — | $4,499,993 | $999,991 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $56,818 | $13,740 | $14,160 |
| Total ($) | $6,674,437 | $12,158,626 | $15,581,923 |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Performance-Based Bonus (2024) | Discretionary, Board-judged against corporate and individual goals | $980,000 (100% of $980,000 base) | $1,038,800 | 106% | Cash paid following year, subject to continued employment |
Equity Grants and Vesting (2024):
- Annual refresh (Mar 12, 2024): 313,588 RSUs and 45,140 options at $28.70 strike; vest quarterly over four years, first vest May 16, 2024, subject to continuous service .
- Retention RSUs (Dec 10, 2024): 121,951 RSUs; vest in two equal annual installments on Dec 12, 2025 and Dec 12, 2026, subject to continuous service .
| Grant Date | RSUs (#) | Options (#) | Strike ($/sh) | Vesting Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2024 | 313,588 | 45,140 | 28.70 | Quarterly over 4 years; first vest May 16, 2024 . |
| Dec 10, 2024 | 121,951 | — | — | Annual on Dec 12, 2025 & Dec 12, 2026 . |
Outstanding Equity Awards (as of Dec 31, 2024):
| Grant Date | Options Exercisable (#) | Options Unexercisable (#) | Strike ($) | Expiration | Unvested RSUs (#) | Market Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2019 | 1,742,882 | — | 17.00 | Jun 26, 2029 | — | — |
| Jun 3, 2020 | 590,551 | — | 28.86 | Jun 2, 2030 | — | — |
| Feb 10, 2021 | 216,555 | 9,416 | 68.87 | Feb 9, 2031 | 2,395 | $65,719 |
| Dec 3, 2021 | 589,554 | 196,518 | 38.62 | Dec 2, 2031 | — | — |
| Feb 10, 2023 | 286,298 | 338,354 | 11.41 | Feb 9, 2033 | 301,896 | $8,284,026 |
| Mar 12, 2024 | 8,463 | 36,677 | 28.70 | Mar 11, 2034 | 254,791 | $6,991,465 |
| Dec 10, 2024 | — | — | — | — | 121,951 | $3,346,335 |
Notes:
- 2024 long-term incentives skew 90% RSUs / 10% options for NEOs (CFO promotion awards matched), aligning retention and shareholder value; no performance-based equity used in 2024 .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 9,821,309 shares; 5.08% of outstanding (189,856,023 shares) as of Apr 1, 2025 . |
| Breakdown | 6,155,851 common shares (211,718 direct; 4,948,447 Kumar Haldea Revocable Trust; 995,686 Kumar Haldea Family Irrevocable Trust; Dr. Kumar disclaims beneficial ownership of trust shares), 3,600,762 options vested/exercisable within 60 days, and 64,696 RSUs vesting within 60 days . |
| Hedging/Pledging | Hedging and pledging prohibited for insiders under company policy . |
| Clawback | Incentive compensation clawback policy adopted Oct 2, 2023, compliant with Nasdaq Rule 10D-1; awards under the plan subject to clawback . |
| Overhang/Share Pool | New 2025 proposal to increase 2021 Plan by 5,000,000 shares; as of Apr 1, 2025, 11,399,451 options outstanding (WAE $25.28) and 13,329,147 RSUs outstanding across plans . |
Implications:
- Quarterly RSU vesting from 2024 refresh and two-year retention RSU schedule could create periodic liquidity windows; anti-hedging/pledging reduces misalignment risk .
Employment Terms
| Scenario | Cash Severance | Equity Acceleration | Health Benefits | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination without Cause / Good Reason (non-CiC) | $980,000 (12 months base) | — | $46,355 (12 months COBRA) | $1,026,355 |
| Termination without Cause / Good Reason (in connection with CiC) | $980,000 | $24,111,360 (value of time-based award acceleration) | $46,355 | $25,137,715 |
Key terms:
- Company CiC Policy provides full acceleration of time-based equity upon qualifying termination within 12 months post-sale event (double trigger) .
- 2021 Plan also accelerates time-based awards upon a “sale event” if awards are not assumed/substituted/continued by a successor (single-trigger fallback) .
- No excise tax gross-ups; no option repricing without shareholder approval; dividends/dividend equivalents only paid if awards vest .
Board Governance and Director Service
- Director service: Class III director nominee; term to the annual meeting following FY 2027 if re-elected .
- Committee roles: Neil Kumar serves as CEO and director; committee memberships are populated by independent directors (Audit, Nominating & Governance, Compensation) with listed members; CEO receives no additional director compensation .
- Governance checks: Lead Independent Director (Fred Hassan) and Lead Director (Charles Homcy) roles in place; independent Compensation Committee (Daniels, Hassan, Satvat, Cook; 4 meetings in 2024) with independent consultants Compensia (2024) and Aon (appointed Sep 2024 for 2025) .
Director Compensation (Policy Overview; CEO-specific note)
- Outside Directors (2024): $50,000 annual cash retainer; annual non-statutory stock option grant valued at $550,000; initial option grant at $1,200,000 upon election; no additional meeting fees; full acceleration upon sale event per the plan .
- CEO director compensation: No additional compensation for serving as a director .
Compensation Peer Group and Say-on-Pay
- Peer group used for 2024 decisions included biotech peers like BioMarin, Ionis, Jazz, Neurocrine, Sarepta, Ultragenyx, among others; committee references 25th–90th percentile ranges; annual review of composition .
- Say-on-Pay: 93.6% approval of 2023 compensation program at the 2024 annual meeting; no significant changes made for 2024 following vote .
Pay-versus-Performance (PEO and Company)
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PEO SCT Total ($) | 10,054,909 | 25,626,959 | 6,674,437 | 12,158,626 | 15,581,922 |
| PEO Compensation Actually Paid ($) | 151,056,692 | (132,750,009) | (11,343,340) | 70,060,160 | (2,656,829) |
| Company TSR ($100 initial) | 203 | 48 | 22 | 115 | 78 |
| Peer Group TSR ($100 initial) | 126 | 126 | 114 | 119 | 118 |
| Net Loss ($000s) | (505,488) | (586,454) | (484,652) | (653,251) | (543,347) |
| Revenue ($000s) | 8,249 | 69,716 | 77,648 | 9,303 | 221,902 |
Additional Policies and Risk Indicators
- Anti-hedging/anti-pledging: Prohibited for directors, officers, and designated employees .
- Clawback: Adopted Oct 2, 2023; awards subject to recovery upon restatement; embedded into plan terms .
- Compensation governance “What we don’t do”: No excise tax gross-ups; no significant perquisites beyond those available to all employees; no retirement programs beyond 401(k); no hedging/pledging .
- Option repricing: Prohibited without shareholder approval .
Investment Implications
- Strong alignment: CEO holds ~5.08% beneficial stake with material vested options; anti-hedging/pledging and clawback policy strengthen governance alignment .
- Near-term selling pressure: Quarterly RSU vesting from large 2024 refresh grant and two-year retention RSUs may drive regular Form 4 activity; monitor vest dates (quarterly through 2028; Dec 12, 2025 & Dec 12, 2026) .
- Change-in-control economics: Significant time-based equity acceleration ($24.1M) plus 12 months salary and COBRA could influence strategic optionality; single-trigger plan acceleration if awards are not assumed .
- Pay-for-performance: 2024 bonus paid at 106% of target on strong operational execution; long-term incentives weighted heavily to RSUs (90/10) reflecting retentive and value-creation orientation at current stage .
- Share pool increase: Proposed 5,000,000 share increase to equity plan supports ongoing talent retention; evaluate dilution and overhang vs peer median (company notes overhang at/below peer median) .