Julie M. Cherrington
About Julie M. Cherrington, Ph.D.
Independent director at Elevation Oncology (ELEV) since February 29, 2024; age 67 as of December 31, 2024, bringing deep oncology R&D and company-building experience (ex-CEO at multiple biotechs) and currently serving as Chair of ELEV’s R&D Committee and member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee . The Board has determined she is independent under Nasdaq and SEC rules; 2024 attendance across the Board and committees met at least the 75% threshold for all incumbents . Education: B.S. Biology and M.S. Microbiology (UC Davis); Ph.D. Microbiology & Immunology (University of Minnesota and Stanford); postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arch Oncology | President, CEO, Director | Oct 2017 – Sep 2020 | Led oncology pipeline development |
| Revitope Oncology, Inc. | President, CEO, Director | Sep 2015 – Apr 2017 | Company leadership in oncology |
| Zenith Epigenetics | President, CEO, Director | 2014 – 2015 | Company leadership |
| Pathway Therapeutics | President, CEO, Director | 2009 – 2013 | Company leadership |
| Phenomix Corporation | President; EVP, R&D | Prior to listed CEO roles | R&D leadership |
| SUGEN (Pharmacia/Pfizer) | VP, Preclinical & Clinical Research | Earlier career | Early kinase oncology leadership |
| Gilead Sciences | Roles of increasing responsibility | Career start | Drug development foundations |
External Roles
| Organization | Public/Private | Role | Start | Status/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syncona Limited | Public | Director | Feb 2022 | Ongoing |
| Actym Therapeutics | Private | Chair | May 2022 | Ongoing |
| Tolremo Therapeutics | Private | Chair | Apr 2023 | Ongoing |
| Sardona Therapeutics | Private | Director | Feb 2021 | Ongoing |
| MycRx | Private | Chair (since Jul 2024); Director (since Feb 2022) | Feb 2022 / Jul 2024 | Ongoing |
| Brandon Capital Partners | N/A | Venture Partner | Feb 2022 | Ongoing |
| Mirati Therapeutics | Public | Director | Jun 2019 – Jan 2024 | Prior role |
| Vaxart, Inc. | Public | Director | Aug 2021 – Aug 2022 | Prior role |
| QUE Oncology | Private | Director; CEO | Jul 2019 – Mar 2022; Sep 2020 – Oct 2021 | Prior roles |
Board Governance
- Independence: Determined independent by ELEV’s Board (6 of 7 incumbents independent) .
- Committee assignments at ELEV (current):
- R&D Committee – Chair
- Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee – Member
- Attendance and engagement: In 2024, the Board held 4 meetings; Audit 4; Compensation 5; Nominating & Corporate Governance 1; R&D 4. No incumbent director attended fewer than 75% of aggregate Board and committee meetings while serving .
- Board leadership: Independent Chair (Steven A. Elms); separate CEO and Chair roles .
- Anti-hedging policy: Directors and officers prohibited from hedging transactions in company stock .
- Compensation committee uses independent consultant (Alpine Rewards) and found no consultant conflicts for FY2024 .
Fixed Compensation (Non-Employee Director – 2024)
| Component | Amount/Policy | 2024 Actual (Cherrington) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $40,000 to each non-employee director | Reflected in cash total (pro-rated due to 2/29/24 start) |
| Committee chair fees | Audit $15,000; Compensation $10,000; Nominating & Corp Gov $8,000; R&D $10,000 | R&D Chair from 4/5/24 (pro-rated) |
| Committee member fees | Audit $7,500; Compensation $5,000; Nominating & Corp Gov $4,000; R&D $5,000 | Nominating & Corp Gov member from 4/5/24 (pro-rated) |
| Meeting fees | Not disclosed | — |
| 2024 cash fees (actual) | — | $43,789 |
Director pay mix signal (2024): Cash $43,789 vs options fair value $245,002 (≈15% cash / 85% equity), total $288,791 .
Performance Compensation (Equity)
| Grant Type | Program Terms | 2024 Actual Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| New director stock options | 70,000 options upon joining; vest monthly over 36 months | Options outstanding as of 12/31/24: 90,000 |
| Annual director stock options | 35,000 options at each annual meeting; vest in full at 1 year | Included within options outstanding as of 12/31/24 |
| Change in control | Director equity vests in full upon a change in control or certain events | Programmatic |
| 2024 option award fair value | FASB ASC 718 grant-date fair value | $245,002 |
| Performance metrics | None disclosed for directors (time-based vesting) | No performance conditions disclosed |
Note: Aggregate options outstanding for Cherrington were 90,000 as of December 31, 2024; the company does not list grant-by-grant share counts or dates in the director table beyond this aggregate and the program’s standard terms .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public company board: Syncona Limited (Director since Feb 2022) .
- Notable network ties: Dr. Alan B. Sandler (ELEV director) served as EVP/CMO at Mirati (Nov 2022–Apr 2024) while Dr. Cherrington served as a Mirati director (Jun 2019–Jan 2024), indicating professional overlap (not a shared directorship) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Therapeutic area: Oncology R&D leadership across big biopharma and venture-backed biotech; executive experience as multi-time CEO .
- Education: B.S. Biology, M.S. Microbiology (UC Davis); Ph.D. Microbiology & Immunology (University of Minnesota and Stanford); UCSF postdoc .
- Board qualification emphasis: Depth in biotech/pharma development; Chair of ELEV R&D Committee .
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Beneficial Ownership (Number) | Percent of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2025 | 22,916 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days | <1% | Footnote (9) specifies option-based beneficial ownership |
| December 31, 2024 | 90,000 options outstanding (aggregate) | N/A | Aggregate options outstanding as of fiscal year-end |
| March 31, 2024 | 4,583 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days | <1% | Early tenure snapshot |
- Anti-hedging: Company policy prohibits hedging transactions by directors/officers .
- Pledging: No pledging disclosed in the proxy .
- Related-party transactions: None above disclosure thresholds since Jan 1, 2023 (and 2022 in prior proxy) .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths and positive signals:
- Independent director with directly relevant oncology R&D leadership; chairs R&D Committee, aligning oversight with domain expertise .
- Strong engagement: no incumbent director below the 75% attendance threshold in 2024; Board and committee cadence disclosed .
- Pay alignment: Director compensation heavily equity-based (≈85% of 2024 total), with time-based vesting and change-in-control vesting consistent with market for small-cap biotech .
- Shareholder-aligned policies: Explicit anti-hedging policy; no related-party transactions reported involving the director .
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Watch items:
- Multiple concurrent external leadership and board roles (chairs, directorships, venture partner). While ELEV’s guidelines consider other commitments, there is no hard cap disclosed; investors may monitor for potential overboarding/time-commitment risk as responsibilities evolve .
- Network overlap with another ELEV director (Dr. Sandler) via Mirati tenure reflects a tight oncology network; not a formal interlock but worth noting for information flow dynamics .
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Red flags:
- None identified in filings regarding conflicts, related-party transactions, hedging/pledging, or low attendance .