Tia Bush
About Tia Bush
Tia Bush is Centessa Pharmaceuticals’ Chief Technology and Quality Officer (since March 2023) after joining as Chief Quality Officer in May 2021. She previously spent nearly three decades at Amgen, culminating as Chief Quality Officer and SVP, Global Quality/EHSS. She holds a B.A. in Biological Sciences (minor in Chemistry) from USC (1992). At Centessa, she oversees Quality, CMC, Supply Chain, and Drug Formulation, bringing large-cap biopharma manufacturing and GxP quality leadership to a clinical-stage pipeline. Age and TSR/financial performance metrics for her tenure are not disclosed.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centessa Pharmaceuticals | Chief Technology & Quality Officer | Mar 2023–Present | Oversees Quality, CMC, Supply Chain, Drug Formulation; enterprise manufacturing/formulation readiness for programs |
| Centessa Pharmaceuticals | Chief Quality Officer | May 2021–Mar 2023 | Built and led enterprise quality systems post-IPO; supported pipeline scale-up |
| Amgen, Inc. | Chief Quality Officer & SVP, Global Quality/EHSS; prior site ops and quality leadership roles | 1993–May 2021 | Led global GxP Quality and EHSS; accountability for quality/EHSS management systems; site operations leadership in RI and Puerto Rico |
External Roles
No public company directorships or external board roles were disclosed for Ms. Bush.
Fixed Compensation
Specific 2024–2025 base salary, target bonus %, and actual bonus for Ms. Bush were not disclosed; she was not listed as a Named Executive Officer in the 2025 proxy (NEOs were CEO, CFO, and General Counsel).
Performance Compensation
- Annual bonus framework: The Compensation Committee sets operational/strategic objectives annually; measures may include operational, financial, and qualitative goals. Company-specific targets are commercially sensitive and not disclosed in advance. (Illustratively, the CEO’s 2024 bonus was 135% of target based on program advancement, people/culture, and finance goals.) Stock options for directors currently lack explicit performance conditions (time-based vesting and at-the-money strike used for alignment).
- Clawbacks/malus: The company adopted a Compensation Recovery Policy in Oct 2023 under SEC/Nasdaq rules; bonus and equity awards made after the 2022 AGM are subject to malus and clawback for misstatement, miscalculation of performance, or serious misconduct.
Specific incentive metrics, weightings, vesting, and payouts for Ms. Bush are not disclosed.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | 767,054 ordinary shares (0.57% of shares outstanding as of April 24, 2025) |
| Vested vs. unvested | Not broken out for Ms. Bush in public filings |
| Options/RSUs detail | Individual grant sizes, strikes, expirations, and vesting schedules for Ms. Bush not itemized; company-level RSU activity shows 1,035,401 unvested RSUs outstanding at 9/30/2025 with $6.115m unrecognized expense and ~2.5 years expected recognition period (company-wide, not Ms. Bush-specific) |
| Hedging/pledging | Insider trading policy expressly prohibits derivative transactions (including instruments with economic equivalence); filings highlight risks of margin/pledged shares but do not explicitly state a blanket pledge prohibition |
| Lock-up (Nov 2025 offering) | Ms. Bush signed the underwriter lock-up for the November 2025 ADS offering; lock-up included a 60-day restricted period and customary carve-outs (e.g., tax-withholding net share settlements, pre-existing Rule 10b5-1 plan sales, with specific footnote disclosures). This reduces near-term selling pressure. |
Employment Terms
| Provision | Summary |
|---|---|
| Executive Severance Plan (company-wide framework) | Outside of change-in-control period: CEO—12 months base and 12 months benefits; Tier 2 officers—12 months base and benefits; Tier 3 officers—6 months base and benefits (installments). Within 1 year post-change-in-control: CEO—18 months base + 150% target bonus + 18 months benefits (lump sum) and full acceleration for time-based equity; Tier 2—12 months base + 100% target bonus + 12 months benefits and time-based equity acceleration; Tier 3—9 months base + 75% target bonus + 9 months benefits and time-based equity acceleration. Payments are subject to release and covenants; 280G cutback if beneficial. (Plan participants/tier assignments are determined by plan administrator; Ms. Bush’s specific tier is not disclosed.) |
| Employment agreement (individual) | Ms. Bush’s individual agreement terms (non-compete, non-solicit, garden leave, auto-renewal) are not detailed in the proxy; standard proprietary information and inventions agreements apply to executives. |
| Clawback/forfeiture | Company-level Compensation Recovery Policy and malus/clawback mechanics apply as noted above. |
Board Governance (if applicable)
Ms. Bush serves as an executive officer, not as a director; therefore, board committee memberships, director compensation, and meeting attendance are not applicable to her.
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (context for compensation governance)
- 2024 AGM remuneration report approval: 85.91% votes in favor; 0.04% against; 14.04% withheld.
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: A 0.57% beneficial stake indicates meaningful skin-in-the-game for a non-NEO operator; the Nov-2025 lock-up (60 days) further dampens near-term selling pressure. Lack of disclosed pledging and a strict anti-derivatives policy support alignment.
- Pay-for-performance calibration: Company disclosures emphasize operational/strategic annual bonus goals and robust clawback/malus; however, equity for directors and many grants rely on time-based vesting without explicit performance conditions, which can dilute direct performance linkage compared to PSU-heavy designs. Monitoring future shifts toward performance-conditioned equity would be prudent.
- Downside protection and CIC economics: The Executive Severance Plan provides market-standard cash and benefits, with time-based equity acceleration on CIC terminations. Ms. Bush’s tier is not specified, but the framework suggests reasonable protection without egregious tax gross-ups (280G cutback provision applies).
- Trading signals: No Form 4 activity for Ms. Bush was identified in 2025 filings reviewed; her inclusion as a lock-up party during the November 2025 equity offering reduces immediate insider supply risk. Continue to monitor for future 10b5-1 plan disclosures and vesting-driven tax sales post lock-up expiry.
References:
- Executive bio and role scope; education; executive roster
- Beneficial ownership table (Ms. Bush shares and %)
- Company-wide RSU roll-forward and expense (not Ms. Bush-specific)
- Insider trading policy (hedging/derivatives and pledging risk discussion)
- Compensation Recovery Policy; malus/clawback language
- Severance Plan and CIC terms
- November 2025 offering lock-up and carve-outs; Ms. Bush lock-up party listing
- Say-on-pay voting results