Tobin Schilke
About Tobin Schilke
Tobin “Toby” Schilke, age 50, is Chief Financial Officer of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, effective February 28, 2025 . He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering (Lafayette College), an M.S. in chemical engineering (UC Berkeley), and an MBA (Cornell University) . Prior roles include CFO at Revance Therapeutics (2018–2025), CFO at Achaogen (2016–2018), and over a decade at Roche/Genentech in corporate development, commercial finance, marketing, and global operations, where he executed over $1.5B in equity and debt financings and supported two product launches at Revance with ~650 employees and >$700M cumulative revenue . Company context: Crinetics’ FY 2024 TSR was 203.79 with net loss of $298.4M; pay-versus-performance disclosures emphasize equity value alignment rather than formulaic financial measures .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revance Therapeutics, Inc. | Chief Financial Officer | Nov 2018 – Feb 2025 | Led finance, IR, IT, and technical operations; supported transformation to commercial company with two product launches; executed >$1.5B in financings; >$700M cumulative revenue . |
| Achaogen, Inc. | Chief Financial Officer | 2016 – 2018 | Built FP&A, accounting, procurement, IT, and facilities to support first product approval and launch . |
| Roche/Genentech | Corporate roles in BD, commercial finance, marketing, global ops | ~2000s–2010s (over a decade) | Progressively senior roles across finance and operations; broad commercial and global execution experience . |
Fixed Compensation
| Element | Value | Effective Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $540,000 | Feb 21, 2025 agreement; role effective Feb 28, 2025 | Per Employment Agreement; eligible for relocation reimbursement . |
| Target Annual Cash Incentive | 40% of base salary | Feb 21, 2025 | Target bonus percentage set in Employment Agreement . |
Performance Compensation
Annual Incentive Program Design (Company Program)
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting/Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Performance (2024) | 75% for NEOs, 80% for CEO | 100% | 115% | Scales to payout framework | Paid following year per program; 2025 plan caps payouts at 150% of target . |
| Individual Performance (2024) | 25% for NEOs, 20% for CEO | n/a | 105–108% for NEOs in 2024 | Integrated into cash incentive | Discretionary assessment by Compensation Committee . |
Inducement Equity Grants (CFO)
| Award Type | Shares | Grant Plan | Vesting Schedule | Key Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs | 52,000 | 2021 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan | Vests over four years in equal annual installments beginning on the one-year anniversary of the vesting commencement date | Granted March 10, 2025; continued employment required; Nasdaq 5635(c)(4) inducement . |
| Stock Options | 80,000 | 2021 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan | 25% vests at one-year anniversary of vesting commencement date; remainder vests in 36 equal monthly installments | Exercise price at grant-date fair market value; 10-year term typical by plan; continued employment required . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership | Individual share ownership not disclosed in the 2025 proxy for Mr. Schilke; inducement awards disclosed above . |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited for officers and employees; no margining, short sales, or public options trading in company stock . |
| Blackout/Preclearance | Quarterly and event-specific trading restrictions; preclearance required except under approved 10b5‑1 plans . |
| Stock Ownership Guidelines | Adopted Feb 20, 2025: CEO 3x base salary; designated executive officers 1x base salary; directors 3x cash retainer; 5 years to comply; retain 50% of net shares until met . |
| Clawback Policy | Recovery of erroneously paid incentive compensation for Section 16 officers upon accounting restatement (from Oct 2, 2023) . |
Employment Terms
| Provision | Terms |
|---|---|
| Employment Agreement | Effective Feb 21, 2025; CFO start Feb 28, 2025; base salary $540k; 40% target bonus; relocation reimbursement eligibility . |
| Severance (No CIC) | If terminated without cause or for good reason: Accrued amounts; lump sum equal to 9 months base salary; pro rata target bonus; up to 9 months health coverage . |
| Severance (Within 12 months post‑CIC, double‑trigger) | Accrued amounts; lump sum equal to 12 months base salary plus target bonus; up to 12 months health coverage; pro rata target bonus; time‑based equity fully vests; performance‑based equity remains outstanding per award terms . |
| Death/Disability | Accrued amounts; pro rata annual bonus based on achievement; all unvested equity fully vests (performance awards deemed vested at target) . |
| Equity Treatment | Inducement RSUs and options subject to service-based vesting; acceleration as noted above . |
| Clawback & Policies | Employment Agreement references company clawback policy; insider trading/hedging/pledging prohibitions apply . |
Performance & Track Record
- Transformational CFO experience: At Revance, led finance and operations functions through commercialization with two product launches, executed >$1.5B in financings, and supported growth to ~650 employees and >$700M cumulative revenue .
- Build-out and launch support: At Achaogen, built core G&A and operations functions to enable first product approval and launch .
- Broad pharma platform experience: Over a decade at Roche/Genentech across BD, commercial finance, marketing, and global operations .
Compensation Committee & Peer Benchmarking
- Independent consultants Aon and Pearl Meyer advised 2024 program design and 2025 plan updates; annual risk assessment performed .
- Peer group targets: Cash compensation at ~50th percentile; annual equity value between 50th–75th percentile; 2024 peer group focused on pre‑commercial biopharma in Phase III with $400M–$4B market caps; companies listed include Cytokinetics, IDEAYA, Vaxcyte, Xenon, etc. .
- 2024 say‑on‑pay approval ~97.3% indicates strong shareholder support .
Company Financial Context
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $4.737M* | $4.013M* | $1.039M* |
| EBITDA ($USD) | $(166.899)M* | $(221.510)M* | $(336.069)M* |
| Net Income ($USD) | $(163.918)M* | $(214.529)M* | $(298.408)M* |
| Values retrieved from S&P Global.* |
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Multi‑year vesting on inducement RSUs and options, new stock ownership guidelines (1x base for designated executive officers), and a robust clawback policy enhance pay‑for‑performance alignment and reduce misalignment risk .
- Retention: Standardized severance (9 months base; double‑trigger CIC at 12 months base + target bonus and equity acceleration) plus vesting schedules create retention hooks; hedging/pledging prohibitions and blackout windows manage trading behavior and selling pressure .
- Execution leverage: CFO’s commercialization and financing track record is well‑matched to CRNX’s transition with PALSONIFY™ launch and a deep late‑stage pipeline, potentially improving capital efficiency and launch execution quality .
- Governance support: High 2024 say‑on‑pay approval and use of independent consultants signal disciplined compensation oversight, mitigating pay inflation and misaligned incentives risk .
Notes: All employment, compensation, and policy details cited from CRNX 8‑K and DEF 14A; company operating policy excerpts from 10‑K Insider Trading Policy. Inducement awards, severance, and CIC terms are from Mr. Schilke’s Employment Agreement summary in the 8‑K, with full agreement to be filed with the Q1 2025 10‑Q .