Sally A. Lynch
About Sally A. Lynch
Sally A. Lynch (65) is a Vice-President at General American Investors Company, Inc. (GAM), serving as the biotechnology/pharmaceuticals analyst; she has been an officer since 2005 and an employee since 1997 . In 2024, she was among the three highest-paid executive officers, with aggregate compensation of $750,000 and $45,000 in pension/retirement accruals; her 2024 base salary was $375,000 with 27 years of credited service in the Retirement Plan . The proxy discloses aggregate and plan-level details but does not present individual bonus targets, formulaic performance metrics, or TSR/revenue/EBITDA metrics linked to Ms. Lynch’s compensation .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General American Investors Company, Inc. | Vice-President; Analyst – Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals | Officer since 2005; Employee since 1997 | Coverage of biotech/pharma within GAM’s research team |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | No public company directorships disclosed |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric (USD) | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Base Salary | $375,000 |
| Aggregate Compensation | $750,000 |
| Pension/Retirement Accruals | $45,000 |
| Years of Credited Service (Retirement Plan) | 27 |
Plan context (company-wide): Thrift Plan match equals 150% of employee contributions up to 8% of salary; company contributions are invested in GAM common stock; vesting is full after six years with partial vesting beginning after two years . Defined Benefit Retirement Plan pays based on final average earnings and years of credited service (with a Social Security offset and an additional $150 per year of service) .
Performance Compensation
| Element | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual incentive/bonus | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
- The Compensation Committee bases year-end supplemental compensation on the Company’s operations and performance, officer contributions, external comparative data, and an external data provider; no formulaic metric targets or weightings are disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| As of | Beneficial Common Shares | % of Common Outstanding | Beneficial Preferred Shares | Vested vs. Unvested | Shares Pledged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2024 | Not listed among officers with beneficial ownership (suggests none) | 0.00% (not listed) | Not listed (suggests none) | Not applicable (no equity awards disclosed) | Not disclosed |
- Stock-based compensation (RSUs/PSUs/options) is not disclosed for executives; alignment is primarily via salary/bonus and participation in retirement/thrift plans (thrift contributions invested in GAM stock, six-year vesting) .
- The proxy provides no stock ownership guidelines or compliance status for officers .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current Title/Function | Vice-President; Analyst – Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals |
| Employment Start | Employee since 1997 |
| Years in Current Officer Role | Officer since 2005 |
| Contract Term/Expiration | Not disclosed |
| Severance/Change-of-Control | Not disclosed (no multiples or CoC triggers disclosed) |
| Non-compete/Non-solicit/Garden Leave | Not disclosed |
| Clawback Provisions | Not disclosed |
| Deferred Compensation | Not disclosed for Ms. Lynch (Excess plans noted for select executives; Ms. Lynch not listed) |
| Pension Eligibility | Participant in Defined Benefit Retirement Plan; 27 credited years and 2024 base salary of $375,000 included in plan context |
| Thrift Plan | Company match 150% up to 8% of salary; invested in GAM stock; six-year full vesting |
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Composition and independence: Arthur G. Altschul, Jr. (Chair), Spencer Davidson, and Rose P. Lynch; all independent; the committee met once in 2024 (Dec 4, 2024) .
- Methodology: Reviews Company operations/performance, officer contributions, comparable company data, and information from an external data provider to recommend year-end supplemental compensation and next-year compensation; no independent compensation consultant is named .
- Governance cadence: Board met eight times in 2024; all directors attended at least 75% of meetings/committees .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Ms. Lynch’s compensation appears predominantly cash-based, with retirement benefits and thrift plan participation; no RSU/PSU/option awards are disclosed, and she is not listed with beneficial ownership, indicating limited direct equity alignment beyond plan holdings .
- Retention: Long tenure (employee since 1997; officer since 2005) plus defined benefit accruals and a six-year vesting thrift plan create structural retention incentives; credited service in 2024 was 27 years .
- Selling pressure from vesting: Absence of equity award grants (RSUs/options) reduces typical vesting-driven selling pressure; thrift plan contributions vest, but the proxy discloses no individual award schedules that would force near-term sales .
- Disclosure gaps: Lack of disclosed severance/change‑of‑control terms, clawbacks, or explicit performance metric targets/weightings limits pay-for-performance transparency for investors .
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