Tatjana Mitchell
About Tatjana Mitchell
Tatjana Mitchell, 47, was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Evolus effective September 8, 2025. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and a B.S. in Business Administration from Towson University . Prior to Evolus, she led finance at Experian (SVP Corporate Finance; CFO roles at Experian Consumer Services and Experian Marketing Services) and earlier served as CFO of Zulily, with additional finance roles at Forever 21, Macy’s, Gap Inc., and Marriott International . For context on pay-for-performance alignment, Evolus delivered revenue growth from $202.1M in FY 2023 to $266.3M in FY 2024 and continued quarterly revenues in 2025 around the high-$60M range, while remaining loss-making; Say‑on‑Pay support in 2024 was ~91% .
Company performance snapshot:
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | $202,085,000 | $266,274,000 |
| EBITDA (USD) | -$30,974,000* | -$21,938,000* |
| Net Income (USD) | -$61,685,000 | -$50,420,000 |
| Values with an asterisk (*) were retrieved from S&P Global. |
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | $78,947,000* | $68,522,000 | $69,387,000 | $68,967,000 |
| EBITDA (USD) | $625,000* | -$11,458,000* | -$12,386,000* | -$8,213,000* |
| Net Income (USD) | -$6,791,000 | -$18,892,000 | -$17,142,000 | -$15,737,000 |
| Values with an asterisk (*) were retrieved from S&P Global. |
Say‑on‑Pay 2024 result: approximately 91% support .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experian North America | SVP, Corporate Finance | Apr 2023–Sep 2025 | Led FP&A and capital allocation across six business units >$5B revenue . |
| Experian North America Consumer Services | CFO | May 2019–Mar 2023 | Drove multiple years of double‑digit organic revenue growth and EBITDA margin expansion . |
| Experian Marketing Services | CFO | Years not specified | Finance leadership for marketing services business . |
| Zulily (Qurate subsidiary) | VP Finance & CFO | Dec 2015–May 2019 | Scaled e‑commerce finance; executed and integrated acquisitions . |
| Forever 21; Macy’s; Gap Inc.; Marriott International | Finance leadership roles | Years not specified | Retail/consumer finance operations and transformation experience . |
External Roles
- None disclosed; no related-party arrangements or family relationships reported under Item 401(d)/404(a) .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $490,000 per year | |
| Target Annual Bonus | 55% of base salary; 2025 proration 75% of annual target (service‑year proration) | |
| Sign‑On Bonus | $100,000; 50% earned after 1 year; 100% after 2 years; repay unearned portion if separation before second anniversary (except Co. without Cause / Good Reason) | |
| Initial Equity – Option | Inducement option under 2023 Inducement Incentive Plan; grant date value $750,000 (share count based on Black‑Scholes at start date) | |
| Initial Equity – RSUs | Inducement RSUs; grant date value $750,000 (share count based on 30‑day avg price at start date) | |
| Vesting – Option | Vests in equal annual installments over 4 years | |
| Vesting – RSUs | 50% vests on 3rd anniversary; 50% on 4th anniversary | |
| Clawback | Company‑wide executive compensation recovery policy for restatements (SEC/Nasdaq compliant) | |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited for insiders (no pledging, no hedging, no margin) |
Notes:
- Equity awards are inducement grants under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and are not part of the broad-based plan; share counts determined by the valuation mechanics above .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive | Metric Framework | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting/Timing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Bonus (2025 onward) | Board‑determined Company and individual KPIs | Not disclosed | 55% of salary target | Not yet disclosed | Paid within 2.5 months after year end (employment through payment required) | |
| Long‑Term Equity – Inducement RSUs | Time‑based (retention) | — | $750,000 grant-date value | N/A | 50% at year 3; 50% at year 4 | |
| Long‑Term Equity – Inducement Options | Time‑based (retention; upside alignment) | — | $750,000 grant-date value | N/A | 25% per year over 4 years |
Context on Company incentive design (peer group and metrics, reflecting 2024 program for other NEOs prior to Ms. Mitchell’s start):
- 2024 corporate bonus goals (for NEOs then in place) included Net Revenue and Non‑GAAP Operating Profit plus commercial/clinical milestones; total corporate score was 120% in 2024 .
- Compensation peer group used for benchmarking included aesthetics/biotech/med‑tech and beauty names (e.g., Revance Therapeutics, Glaukos, The Beauty Health Company, Coherus, Establishment Labs, AVITA Medical, Axogen, etc.); the committee reviews 25th/50th/75th percentiles but does not target a fixed benchmark .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Initial Reporting: Form 3 (initial statement) and Form 4 (covering initial inducement grants) were filed around her start date (Sep 8, 2025) .
- Grant Structure and Vesting: Options vest 25% annually over 4 years; RSUs cliff at years 3 and 4 (50%/50%), deferring near‑term selling pressure from RSU vesting until 2028–2029, with options beginning to vest in 2026 .
- Pledging/Hedging: Prohibited under the Company’s insider trading policy (reduces alignment risk from collateral‑pledge or short‑biased structures) .
- Ownership Guidelines: Not specifically disclosed for executives in the cited materials; skip if not disclosed.
Employment Terms
| Provision | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| At‑Will | Yes | |
| Severance (Non‑CIC) | Lump sum: 12 months base salary + pro‑rated annual bonus; COBRA equivalent (12 months) + $15,000 outplacement; release required | |
| Severance (Change‑in‑Control; double‑trigger within 3 months before to 12 months after) | Lump sum: 18 months base salary + 100% of target annual bonus; COBRA equivalent (18 months) + $15,000 outplacement; accelerated vesting of all time‑/service‑based equity | |
| Indemnification | Standard Company indemnification agreement for officers/directors |
Notes: CIC equity acceleration is time-/service-based; any performance-based treatment would be per award agreement (not applicable to Ms. Mitchell’s inducement RSUs/options which are time‑based) .
Investment Implications
- Incentive alignment and selling pressure: The RSU structure (50%/50% at years 3 and 4) concentrates equity unlocks in 2028–2029, limiting medium‑term selling pressure; options vest annually over 2026–2029, creating staggered but modest potential sale windows tied to stock performance .
- Retention and recruitment: The $1.5M inducement package (split between time‑based options and RSUs) and sign‑on cash with a two‑year clawback schedule indicate a strong focus on retention through the initial scale‑up phase .
- Pay governance: Company‑wide clawback policy and prohibitions on hedging/pledging support pay‑for‑performance and alignment standards; 2024 Say‑on‑Pay support (~91%) suggests broad shareholder acceptance of compensation practices .
- Performance lens: Evolus’ revenue expansion (2023→2024) and 2025 quarterly revenue cadence provide a growing yet loss‑making base; Ms. Mitchell’s track record in scaling high‑growth consumer and data businesses and driving EBITDA expansion is thematically aligned with Evolus’ objectives to expand portfolio and shift toward profitability and company financials above.
References:
- Appointment and background: 8‑K and press release announcing appointment, Sept 8, 2025 .
- Employment Agreement details and vesting: 8‑K Item 5.02; 2025 Q3 10‑Q (Ex. 10.1) .
- Insider filings: SEC Form 3/4 links and aggregator pages .
- Governance policies (clawback; pledging/hedging): 2025 DEF 14A .
- 2024 compensation program and Say‑on‑Pay: 2025 DEF 14A .
- Company financials: tables above (values with an asterisk were retrieved from S&P Global).