Jim Allen
BioCardiaAbout Jim Allen
Jim Allen (age 70 as of November 3, 2025) has served as an independent director of BioCardia, Inc. since October 2019. He is CEO and President of Sea Star, Inc., a real estate development company he founded in February 1989, with a track record of founding multiple ventures, six of which were sold to publicly traded companies. He consults for TransCore Atlantic LLC (a Roper Technologies company) and is a named inventor on 29 issued and pending patents; Allen studied business at Troy University and Auburn University at Montgomery .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Star, Inc. | CEO & President | February 1989–present | Founder; multiple venture exits to public companies |
| Multiple technology ventures | Founder | Various (pre-2019) | Six ventures resulted in sales to public companies |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TransCore Atlantic LLC (Roper Technologies, Inc.) | Consultant | Current | Consulting capacity following sale of one of Allen’s companies to Roper Technologies |
Board Governance
- Independence: All directors except the CEO (Peter Altman, Ph.D.) are independent; Jim Allen is independent .
- Committees:
- Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee: Member (committee chaired by Andrew Blank) .
- Audit Committee: Not a member .
- Compensation Committee: Not a member .
- Attendance:
- Board meetings: 10 meetings in FY2024; each director attended at least 75% of board/committee meetings during their service period .
- Annual meeting attendance: None of the non-employee directors attended the 2024 annual meeting; same pattern disclosed for 2023 and 2022 annual meetings .
- Committee activity:
- FY2024: Audit (7 meetings), Compensation (1), Nominating & Corporate Governance (0) .
- FY2023: Audit (6), Compensation (1), Nominating & Corporate Governance (3) .
- FY2022: Audit (7), Compensation (1), Nominating & Corporate Governance (1) .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer ($) | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Committee member fee – Nominating & Corporate Governance ($) | $3,750 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Fees earned (cash) ($) | $45,000 | $45,000 | $45,000 |
Notes:
- Fee schedule adopted by the board provides base retainer and committee member fees; in 2025 schedule: base $40,000; Nominating & Corporate Governance member $5,000; chair $9,000 (Allen is a member, not chair) . In 2024 schedule, same amounts applied .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option awards (grant-date fair value, $) | $15,800 | $4,288 | $1,966 |
| Annual director equity grant (type/#) | RSUs: 12,434 (granted June 10, 2022; vested June 10, 2023) | Options: 12,434 (granted Oct 18, 2023; vest Oct 18, 2024) | Options: 829 (granted Oct 11, 2024; vest Oct 11, 2025) |
| Outstanding director options at year-end (#) | 24,868 (vested/immed. exercisable) + 12,434 (vest Oct 18, 2024) = 37,302 | 37,302 | 3,313 (fully vested & exercisable, post 1-for-15 reverse split) |
- Vesting terms: Director equity awards are time-based; no performance-based vesting metrics disclosed for directors .
- Change-in-control: For non-employee directors, options/SARs fully vest and restrictions on RSU/restricted stock lapse; performance-based awards (if any) deemed achieved at 100% upon change-in-control .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Public company? | Potential interlock/conflict |
|---|---|---|---|
| TransCore Atlantic LLC (Roper Technologies, Inc.) | Consultant | No (subsidiary of a public company) | Relationship to Roper Technologies via consulting; no related-party transactions with BCDA disclosed . |
No other public company directorships for Allen are disclosed in BCDA proxies .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Operational expertise in founding, scaling, and exiting technology businesses; six ventures sold to public companies .
- 29 patents (issued and pending) as a named inventor .
- Business education: Troy University and Auburn University at Montgomery .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | As of Sep 1, 2023 | As of Mar 31, 2024 | As of Oct 15, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (shares) | 1,419,795 | 1,419,795 | 162,974 |
| Ownership (%) | 6.4% | 5.2% | 1.5% |
| Common shares (direct) | 894,345 | 894,345 | 109,623 |
| Options exercisable within 60 days (#) | 24,868 | 24,868 | 3,313 |
| Warrants held (#) | 500,000 | 500,000 | 50,000 |
| Small shared holdings (family) (#) | 582 (398+92+92) | 582 (398+92+92) | 38 (26+6+6) |
Notes:
- The significant decline in reported shares and percentages in 2025 reflects a 1-for-15 reverse stock split effective May 29, 2024 and changes in outstanding shares .
Insider Trades
| Year | Late Section 16 filings for Jim Allen? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Yes | One Form 4 filed late (reported Sept 30, 2022) |
| 2023 | Not disclosed as late for Allen | No late filings attributed to Allen in FY2023 section |
| 2024 | No | Company states all Section 16 filings timely except one for Edward Gillis (Allen not listed) |
Governance Assessment
- Alignment: Allen is a long-tenured independent director (since 2019) with material personal ownership and repeated participation in BCDA capital raises ($150,000 in June 2023 registered direct; $250,000 in Dec 2023 private placement; $150,000 in August 2024 registered offering), signaling financial alignment with shareholders .
- Committee effectiveness: As a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee, Allen participates in oversight of independence, conflicts, and board composition; committee activity varied (0 meetings in 2024; 3 in 2023; 1 in 2022), suggesting episodic governance workload .
- Independence & conflicts: No related-party transactions involving Allen (beyond standard participation in offerings) are disclosed; a historical litigation funding agreement involved another director (Andrew Blank), not Allen .
- Attendance: Board disclosure indicates minimum 75% attendance for FY2024 and prior years; however, non-employee directors (including Allen) did not attend the 2024 and 2023 annual stockholder meetings, which may be viewed as reduced engagement with shareholders .
- Compensation design: Director pay is modest and largely fixed (base $40k + committee fees), with small, time-based annual equity grants; no performance-based metrics for director awards. Change-in-control provisions accelerate director equity, which is standard but should be noted in assessing potential entrenchment incentives .
- Policy safeguards: Insider Trading Policy prohibits pledging, hedging, and short sales by directors, supporting alignment and risk control .
Overall, Allen’s significant historical ownership and participation in capital raises are positive alignment signals; governance participation is focused on nominations and conflicts. The absence of annual meeting attendance and time-based director equity (no performance metrics) are neutral-to-minor concerns for investor engagement and pay-for-performance alignment .