Jennifer Michaelson
About Jennifer Michaelson
Jennifer Michaelson, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of CGEM; she has served as an executive officer since 2018, becoming CSO in June 2023 after roles as Chief Development Officer and VP of Preclinical Research and Early Development. She holds a B.A. in Biology (Princeton), a Ph.D. in Cell Biology (Albert Einstein College of Medicine), and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Genetics at Harvard Medical School; age 58 as of April 25, 2025. Company-level performance context during her recent CSO tenure: Total Shareholder Return (TSR) value of a $100 initial investment improved from 96.59 in 2023 to 115.45 in 2024; net loss was $(155,101) in 2023 and $(167,575) in 2024. There are no material legal proceedings involving CGEM executive officers.
Company performance (context)
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| TSR – value of $100 initial investment | 96.59 | 115.45 |
| Net income (loss) ($) | (155,101) | (167,575) |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullinan Therapeutics (CGEM) | Chief Scientific Officer | Jun 2023 – Present | Executive leadership of R&D strategy; ascended from CDO roles, providing continuity from preclinical to development. |
| Cullinan Therapeutics (CGEM) | Chief Development Officer | Feb 2022 – Jun 2023 | Led clinical development; transition from biologics CDO to full CDO scope. |
| Cullinan Therapeutics (CGEM) | Chief Development Officer, Biologics | Jan 2020 – Feb 2022 | Oversaw biologics development programs. |
| Cullinan Therapeutics (CGEM) | VP, Preclinical Research & Early Development | Jan 2018 – Dec 2019 | Led preclinical and early development activities. |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celsius Therapeutics | Head of Biologics (consultancy) | Jul 2017 – Dec 2017 | Led biologics efforts at early-stage biotech. |
| Jounce Therapeutics | Senior Director & Executive Program Leader; previously Director, Tumor Immunology and consultant | Sep 2012 – Jul 2017 | Program leadership and immuno-oncology expertise. |
| Biogen Idec | Project leader (oncology and immunology monoclonal/bispecific antibody programs) | ~10-year tenure (prior to 2012) | Led antibody programs across oncology/immunology. |
Fixed Compensation
- CGEM’s 2024–2025 proxies disclose Named Executive Officer (NEO) compensation for the CEO, CFO, CMO, and former CFO; Dr. Michaelson (CSO) was not an NEO in these filings, so her base salary, target bonus, and actual bonus amounts are not disclosed.
Performance Compensation
- CGEM’s plan provides annual bonuses tied to pre-defined Company and individual performance metrics and equity incentives (options and RSUs) with multi-year vesting to promote retention and alignment; however, award metrics/weights for Dr. Michaelson are not individually disclosed.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Principal stockholder tables enumerate directors and NEOs; Dr. Michaelson is not listed individually. Executives and directors as a group owned 7.16% as of April 1, 2025 (58,698,919 shares outstanding). No pledging by Dr. Michaelson is disclosed.
- Insider trading/hedging policy: prohibits derivative transactions and purchases of derivative securities that provide the economic equivalent of ownership; it highlights pledging/margin risks.
- Insider activity reference: a late Section 16(a) Form 4 was filed for Dr. Michaelson reporting the sale of 238 shares on March 20, 2023 (filed March 27, 2023).
Insider transaction (proxy-reported)
| Date | Type | Shares | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2023 | Sale | 238 | Reported via late Form 4 (filed Mar 27, 2023). |
Equity plan/vesting context
- Under CGEM’s 2021 Stock Plan, executive equity awards typically vest over multi-year schedules (e.g., options vest monthly over 48 months; RSUs vest in four annual installments), reinforcing retention; Dr. Michaelson’s specific grants/vesting are not itemized in the 2023–2025 proxies.
Employment Terms
- Executive officers (non-directors) biographies indicate no arrangements/understandings for officer selection and no material legal proceedings involving executive officers.
- Employment agreements are described for NEOs (not specific to Dr. Michaelson), including base salary, target bonus, confidentiality, and one-year post-termination non-solicitation; severance and double-trigger change-in-control equity acceleration are features in NEO agreements. Michaelson’s specific employment agreement terms are not disclosed.
- Compensation committee (independent; advised by Compensia) oversees pay, grants, and clawback policy administration.
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: Michaelson’s progression from VP (2018) to CSO (2023) provides continuity across discovery-to-development; CGEM’s equity program is designed with multi-year vesting, which generally mitigates near-term attrition risk for senior R&D leaders. Specific CSO grant data are not disclosed, limiting precision on overhang and vesting-driven sell pressure.
- Trading signals: The only proxy-noted insider activity is a small 238-share sale in March 2023 associated with a late filing—too small to infer sustained selling pressure, but useful to monitor through ongoing Form 4s.
- Governance/risk: Company prohibits derivatives/hedging and highlights pledging risks, reducing misalignment concerns; the comp committee’s use of an independent consultant and clawback oversight further supports pay governance. Lack of CSO-specific disclosure (not an NEO) reduces transparency into incentive metric rigor and severance economics at the individual level.
- Performance context: Company TSR improved from 2023 to 2024 while net losses persisted, underscoring the biotech profile where value creation hinges on clinical execution; execution risk remains tied to advancing pipeline programs under Michaelson’s scientific leadership.