Kim Kelderman

About Kim Kelderman

Independent director at CONMED (appointed September 8, 2025) with deep operating and commercial leadership across life sciences; currently President, CEO, and director of Bio‑Techne (NASDAQ: TECH) since February 2024. Prior roles include COO of Bio‑Techne (Nov 2023–Jan 2024), President of Diagnostics & Genomics at Bio‑Techne (since April 2018), senior leadership at Thermo Fisher Scientific across Genetic Sciences (Applied Biosystems/Affymetrix brands), and segment leadership at Becton Dickinson; B.S. from Hogeschool Heerlen of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) . The CONMED Board determined he is independent under NYSE and company standards; no related‑party transactions or family relationships disclosed; appointed to the Corporate Governance & Nominating and Strategy Committees .

“Kim brings extensive global leadership experience across life sciences… valuable additions to the board,” said LaVerne Council, Chair of CONMED’s Board; CEO Pat Beyer added, “We are excited to benefit from his extensive experience…” .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Appointment and independence: Appointed to CONMED’s Board on September 8, 2025; Board determined he meets NYSE and company independence standards; no Item 404(a) related‑party transactions; no familial relationships disclosed .
• Committee assignments: Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee; Strategy Committee .
• Committee independence: All standing CONMED Board committees are 100% independent, and independent directors meet in executive session during each Board meeting .
• Board structure context: CONMED limits director tenure to ~12 years and rotates committee chairs every 3–5 years to support refreshment and oversight quality .

Fixed Compensation

• Director stock ownership guideline: 4× annual board retainer; compliance required within five years; retention requirements apply until met .
• Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for directors (no hedging, no pledging, no margin) .

Performance Compensation

Directors receive time‑based equity (no performance metrics). The standard program targets ~$185,000 in annual equity value (80% options, 20% RSUs), with 2025 target value “consistent” with 2024; 2024 grant example per director: 5,503 options and 479 RSUs (vest over ~1 year for that cycle) .

• Change‑in‑control: Proxy states director equity under the non‑employee plan follows stated vesting; no director‑specific CIC single‑trigger acceleration disclosed in director program; equity plan forbids option repricing without shareholder approval .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Global life sciences operating leadership across diagnostics, genomics, and medical consumables (Bio‑Techne, Thermo Fisher, BD) .
• Product/portfolio, P&L, and commercialization expertise in genetic sciences; exposure to instrumentation, software, consumables, assays .
• Education: B.S., Hogeschool Heerlen of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) .

Equity Ownership

Insider filings:

• Form 3 (Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership): filed Sep 9, 2025; reported 0 common shares; relationship checked “Director” .

Governance Assessment

• Strengths

  • Clear independence determination with no Item 404(a) related‑party transactions or familial ties disclosed at appointment; assigned to governance‑critical committees (Governance & Nominating; Strategy) .
  • Director compensation structure aligns with shareholders via meaningful equity mix; prohibitions on hedging/pledging and robust director ownership guidelines support alignment .
  • Board‑level governance practices (100% independent committees; executive sessions; term limits; committee chair rotation) promote oversight quality .

• Watch items / potential conflicts

  • Concurrent public‑company CEO role (Bio‑Techne) increases time demands; ongoing monitoring warranted for potential conflicts should business relationships arise; Board disclosed none and affirmed independence at appointment .
  • New appointee (Sep 2025): attendance and engagement records will become available in the next proxy; prior year board attendance (100% in 2024) predates his tenure .

• Shareholder context

  • Say‑on‑pay support at CONMED was strong in 2024 (96.2%), indicating broad investor confidence in compensation governance; while this pertains to executive pay, it reflects the Compensation Committee and board’s governance approach .

Appendix: CONMED Director Compensation Program (Context)

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