Harminder Sehmi
About Harminder Sehmi
Harminder Sehmi, 63, is Chief Financial Officer of Blaize Holdings, Inc. (BZAI) since January 2025; he previously served as Legacy Blaize CFO from November 2023 and VP Finance from July 2019 to October 2023, overseeing Finance, Legal, and HR . He is an ACA (ICAEW), with Accounting qualifications from Oxford Brookes University and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management; prior roles include Finance Director at Truphone (2011–2016) and various operational, group, and global roles at Vodafone Group PLC . Company operating trajectory under his finance leadership: revenue ramped through 2025 with continuing negative EBITDA; see table below for near-term trends (TSR not disclosed) .
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (USD) | $1,000* | $1,006,999* | $1,982,000* | $11,867,000* |
| EBITDA (USD) | $(16,742,999)* | $(25,795,000)* | $(21,427,000)* | $(22,221,000)* |
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaize Holdings, Inc. (New Blaize) | Chief Financial Officer | Jan 2025–present | Principal financial officer post-business combination; SOX 302 certification in FY2024 10-K . |
| Legacy Blaize | Chief Financial Officer | Nov 2023–Jan 2025 | Led finance function pre- and through business combination . |
| Legacy Blaize | Vice President of Finance | Jul 2019–Oct 2023 | Oversaw Finance, Legal, and HR; built finance infrastructure during scale-up . |
| Truphone (UK) | Finance Director | Oct 2011–May 2016 | GSMA-accredited global network; finance leadership across global ops . |
| Vodafone Group PLC | Various operational, group and global roles | N/A | Broad finance/operations roles at a blue-chip telecom . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Grant Date | Shares/Units | Exercise/Strike | Vesting | Performance Metrics | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock options (2025 Incentive Award Plan) | Sep 1, 2025 | 200,000 | $3.57 | Time-based: one-eighth of shares on each of the first eight quarterly anniversaries of Sep 1, 2025 (25,000 per quarter), continuous service required | None disclosed (time-based) | Granted for CFO’s ongoing significant contributions; Form of option agreement filed as Ex. 10.1 to 8-K . |
• Compensation Committee charter authorizes establishing stock ownership guidelines and approving/modifying clawback policies, but company-specific CFO performance metrics, clawback triggers, and guideline multiples are not disclosed in the proxy .
• Insider trading policy prohibits short sales, options trading in puts/calls/derivatives, hedging transactions, margin accounts, and pledging of company securities .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Snapshot Date | Beneficial Ownership Detail | Quantity | % of Shares Outstanding | Status/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2025 | Options exercisable within 60 days (beneficially owned) | 1,020,626 | <1% (shown as “—” with footnote) | As disclosed in Security Ownership table . |
| Aug 31, 2024 (Legacy Blaize options) | Vested options | 341,065 | N/A | Pre-combination option holdings . |
| Aug 31, 2024 (Legacy Blaize options) | Unvested options | 689,371 | N/A | Pre-combination option holdings . |
| Policy | Shares pledged as collateral | Prohibited | N/A | Insider trading policy prohibits pledging . |
• Ownership guidelines: Compensation Committee may establish such guidelines, but no specific executive numeric requirement or compliance status is disclosed .
• Anti-hedging: Prohibited, supporting alignment .
Employment Terms
• Appointment: Effective at closing of the business combination (Jan 13, 2025), Blaize appointed Dinakar Munagala as CEO and Harminder Sehmi as CFO; committee structures established (Audit, Compensation) .
• SOX 302 certification: Sehmi executed the principal financial officer certification for FY2024, attesting to disclosure controls and ICFR responsibilities and communications to the Audit Committee .
• Prior letter agreement (as VP Finance): Definitions for “Cause,” “Separation,” “Termination Without Cause” and Section 409A payment timing constructs were documented; the agreement references the Nov 15, 2018 offer letter remaining in effect, but severance multiples and change-in-control economics for Sehmi are not disclosed in available excerpts .
• Insider trading policy: Pre-clearance procedures, regular blackout periods, and prohibitions on hedging/pledging mitigate trading-related risk .
Fixed Compensation
Not disclosed for the CFO in the 2025 proxy or other available filings. The 2024 NEO compensation table covers CEO and other executives, not the CFO .
Vesting Schedules and Potential Selling Pressure
• 2025 CFO option grant vests 25,000 shares quarterly across eight quarters starting from Sep 1, 2025, which can create recurring vesting events and potential Form 4 activity; trading is subject to blackout/pre-clearance and anti-hedging/pledging restrictions .
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (USD) | $1,000* | $1,006,999* | $1,982,000* | $11,867,000* |
| EBITDA (USD) | $(16,742,999)* | $(25,795,000)* | $(21,427,000)* | $(22,221,000)* |
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
• Management commentary from filings highlights formation of new Board and committee oversight post-combination; CFO role formalized at closing .
• Negative EBITDA persists while revenue ramps, implying focus on cost discipline, cash runway, and capital allocation under the CFO’s stewardship .
Investment Implications
• Alignment: Sehmi’s compensation is option-heavy and largely time-based, with prohibitions on hedging/pledging; absence of disclosed PSU metrics or ownership guideline multiples limits visibility into pay-for-performance alignment .
• Selling pressure: Quarterly vesting cadence (25,000 shares per quarter for the 200,000-shares grant) could create periodic liquidity events; mitigated by blackout/pre-clearance protocols .
• Retention/COC economics: Specific CFO severance or change-in-control terms for Sehmi are not disclosed in the available filings, increasing uncertainty on retention costs and exit incentives; consider monitoring future proxies/8-Ks for definitive terms .
• Execution risk: Despite revenue improvement, EBITDA remains negative; investors should watch cash burn, margins, and funding strategy alongside CFO-led internal control rigor (SOX certification) .