Diane C. Earle
Horizon Technology FinanceAbout Diane C. Earle
Diane C. Earle (age 65) serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN), a role she has held since February 2020. She is responsible for underwriting and portfolio management, bringing prior leadership in life sciences and venture lending from J.P. Morgan (Credit Executive, Life Sciences), Square 1 Bank (EVP & Chief Credit Officer), Hercules Technology Growth Capital (Senior Credit Officer), and GE Capital (Risk Leader – Life Science Finance). She earned a B.A., magna cum laude, in Economics from Fairfield University . HRZN is externally managed; the company states none of its executive officers receive direct compensation from HRZN, which limits company-level disclosure of individual pay-for-performance metrics for Ms. Earle .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.P. Morgan | Credit Executive, Life Sciences | Mar 2019 – Dec 2019 | Underwrote and managed transactions for life science companies . |
| Square 1 Bank (PacWest) | EVP & Chief Credit Officer | Aug 2010 – Dec 2018 | Led credit risk and portfolio oversight for venture lending platform . |
| Hercules Technology Growth Capital | Senior Vice President, Senior Credit Officer | — | Senior credit leadership in venture lending . |
| GE Capital | Risk Leader – Life Science Finance | — | Led life sciences credit risk function . |
External Roles
- None disclosed in company filings for public-company directorships or committee roles .
Fixed Compensation
HRZN is an externally managed BDC and discloses that none of its executive officers receive direct compensation from the Company; services are provided by employees of the Adviser (Horizon Technology Finance Management LLC) and Administrator. HRZN reimburses the Administrator only for the allocable portion of compensation for the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer and their staffs; no company-level compensation is disclosed for the Chief Credit Officer (Ms. Earle) .
| Component | FY Disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by HRZN | Executive officers are compensated by the Adviser, not the Company . |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed by HRZN | Not reported at the Company level for executive officers . |
| Actual bonus paid | Not disclosed by HRZN | Not reported at the Company level for executive officers . |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed by HRZN | No perquisites disclosed for executive officers . |
Performance Compensation
No company-level disclosure of performance incentive structures (RSUs, PSUs, options, performance metrics, vesting schedules) for Ms. Earle, as executive compensation is paid by the external Adviser, not HRZN .
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs/PSUs/Options | Not disclosed | — | — | — | — | — |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (common shares) | — (no reportable holdings for Ms. Earle as of April 11, 2025) . |
| Ownership % of outstanding | — (less than 1% or not applicable) . |
| Vested vs. unvested | Not disclosed . |
| Options (exercisable vs. unexercisable) | Not disclosed . |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Company policy prohibits pledging of Company securities by directors, officers, and employees, with limited pre-cleared exceptions . |
| Hedging policy | Company hedging policy prohibits directors and executive officers from hedging HRZN securities or using derivative instruments tied to HRZN stock/debt . |
| Trading controls | Pre-clearance required for directors and executive officers; quarterly/event-driven blackout periods apply . |
| Section 16 filings | Form 3 on file for Ms. Earle; third-party aggregator shows no subsequent Form 4 transactions observed (investors should confirm directly on SEC’s EDGAR) . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Employment start date | Appointed Chief Credit Officer on February 28, 2020 . |
| Contract term/expiration | Not disclosed; Company indicates executives are employees of the Adviser/Administrator . |
| Severance provisions | Not disclosed at the Company level for Ms. Earle . |
| Change-of-control | Company disclosed change-of-control events at the Adviser and related board-composition measures under Section 15(f) of the 1940 Act; no executive-level severance or accelerated vesting terms disclosed for Ms. Earle . |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed . |
| Clawbacks / tax gross-ups | Not disclosed . |
Performance & Track Record
- Core responsibilities: Underwriting and portfolio management for HRZN since February 2020, following senior credit leadership roles across J.P. Morgan, Square 1 Bank, Hercules Technology Growth Capital, and GE Capital .
- Company-level performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue or EBITDA growth) are not linked in filings to Ms. Earle’s incentive pay because HRZN’s executive compensation is paid by the external Adviser and is not disclosed by the Company .
Governance, Trading, and Alignment Controls
- Hedging prohibited for directors and executive officers; margin accounts and pledging of HRZN securities are prohibited (with limited, pre-cleared exceptions) .
- Pre-clearance and blackout policies apply to directors and executive officers for trading HRZN securities .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance transparency risk: Because HRZN is externally managed, HRZN does not disclose Ms. Earle’s compensation structure, targets, or payouts; investors lack visibility into incentive alignment (e.g., credit quality, loss rates, realized yields, TSR), which can obscure retention and risk-taking incentives .
- Insider selling pressure: Proxy data show no reportable ownership for Ms. Earle as of April 11, 2025; combined with anti-hedging/anti-pledging and pre-clearance/blackout policies, near-term insider selling pressure appears minimal from her account, though ongoing monitoring of Section 16 filings is prudent .
- Retention/continuity: Ms. Earle has deep, specialized credit experience across venture and life sciences lending and has served as HRZN’s CCO since 2020, supporting underwriting rigor and portfolio oversight; no employment/severance terms are disclosed at the Company level, so retention incentives reside at the Adviser (non-public) .
- Change-of-control at Adviser: Recent changes at the Adviser prompted board-composition steps to comply with Section 15(f); no executive-level change-in-control economics for Ms. Earle were disclosed, but governance shifts at the Adviser warrant monitoring for any downstream impacts on investment process or senior personnel .