Paige Mahaney
About Paige Mahaney
Paige Mahaney, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer of C4 Therapeutics (C4T) since October 28, 2024. She is 55 and holds a B.S. in chemistry from Guilford College and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from MIT, with 25+ years leading discovery at Exelixis and Boehringer Ingelheim and earlier scientific roles at Roche and Wyeth . C4T’s proxy notes her executive officer biography and appointment timing; company-level pay governance and clawback policies apply to executives broadly .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exelixis, Inc. | SVP & Corporate Head of Drug Discovery | Jun 2021 – Oct 2024 | Built discovery team and platform; advanced IND candidates incl. XL309 (USP-1 inhibitor) and XL495 (PKMYT1 inhibitor) . |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | SVP Global Head Biotherapeutics Discovery; Head Small Molecule Discovery; Discovery Research Site Head | Jun 2009 – May 2021 | Delivered multiple clinical candidates; contributed to Spevigo (IL36R mAb), BI 764532 (bi-specific T-cell engager), avenciguat (sGC activator) . |
| Wyeth Pharmaceuticals | Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry | Jun 2002 – Jun 2009 | Discovery research in medicinal chemistry . |
| Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. | Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry | Oct 1995 – May 2002 | Discovery research in medicinal chemistry . |
External Roles
None disclosed .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $510,000 | Annual rate effective on appointment . |
| Target Bonus % | 40% of base salary | Must be employed for the entire preceding calendar year to earn bonus . |
| Sign-on Bonus | $150,000 | Paid as inducement to join . |
| Relocation Allowance | Up to $75,000 | Eligible per appointment terms . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric/Structure | Target/Grant | Vesting / Payout | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Performance Bonus | Company-wide objectives (AIP) | Up to 40% of base | Paid based on corporate performance; eligibility requires full prior calendar year employment . | |
| Inducement Stock Options | Equity value creation (market-priced) | 345,600 shares at market on 2024-10-28 | 25% at first anniversary; remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over 36 months . | Stand-alone inducement grant outside 2020 Plan, per NASDAQ 5635(c)(4) . |
| Inducement RSUs | Time-based retention | 76,800 RSUs | Equal annual tranches over four years, subject to continued service . |
Company AIP design reference (2024 corporate objective weightings used for NEO bonuses):
- Advance clinical programs: 55% weighting; preclinical/partnered pipeline: 30%; operational execution: 15%; 2024 payout factor: 110% of target .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: C4T reports aggregated holdings for “executive officers but not NEOs” (Scott Boyle, Paige Mahaney, Kelly Schick, Jolie Siegel) totaling 429,629 common shares and 955,404 options exercisable within 60 days as of April 22, 2025; individual breakdown for Dr. Mahaney is not separately disclosed .
- Insider trading policy: Prohibits short sales, hedging, and pledging; also disallows use of company securities as collateral in margin accounts, and governs Rule 10b5-1 plans with added limitations .
- ESPP eligibility: Executives can purchase stock at a 15% discount via the 2020 ESPP (standard employee terms) .
Vesting cadence and potential supply:
- Options vest monthly after first anniversary; RSUs settle annually—these schedules can create regular settlement windows, though any trading must comply with the insider trading policy and applicable 10b5-1 plans .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment start | Effective October 28, 2024 . |
| Agreement | Will enter into employment agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit 10.7 to the S-1; also an indemnification agreement per Exhibit 10.6 . |
| Governance policies | No single-trigger CIC benefits or excise tax gross-ups provided to executives; robust clawback policy for financial restatements (Nasdaq-compliant) . |
Company-standard NEO agreements (context):
- Severance if terminated without cause/resign for good reason (outside CIC): 1x base salary; potential pro-rata target bonus (Board/OLCC discretion); up to 12 months COBRA subsidy .
- CIC double-trigger (within 12 months): 1x base + 1x target bonus lump sum; up to 12 months COBRA subsidy; full acceleration of equity awards (performance awards vest at higher of target or actual) . Note: The above are disclosed for NEOs; Dr. Mahaney’s agreement is described as the company’s standard form but specific terms for her are not itemized in filings referenced here .
Investment Implications
- Strong discovery leadership and prior delivery of multiple first-in-class programs suggest execution strength in C4T’s pipeline expansion; Exelixis and Boehringer contributions indicate breadth across modalities and therapeutic areas .
- Compensation alignment: Majority of prospective value is equity-based via market-priced options and multi-year RSUs, with strict anti-hedging/pledging—supportive of shareholder alignment and mitigates financing-related red flags .
- Retention signals: Inducement packages with multi-year vesting and bonus eligibility contingent on full-year service enhance retention; company-wide clawback and no single-trigger terms indicate balanced governance .
- Trading signals: Expect potential periodic 10b5-1 plan activity around monthly option vesting and annual RSU settlement, subject to policy; no pledging allowed reduces forced-sale risk .