John C. Bombara
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary at 
Horizon Technology Finance
Horizon Technology FinanceExecutive
About John C. Bombara
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary of Horizon Technology Finance Corporation; age 61 (as of April 17, 2025) . Bombara has served as GC/CCO/Secretary since July 2010 and became Executive Vice President in June 2021; he is an original member of the team that founded the predecessor of the Adviser in May 2003, overseeing all legal and compliance functions . HRZN is externally managed; executive officers receive no direct compensation from the Company, limiting traditional pay-for-performance levers at the issuer level . Revenue and net income context for HRZN are provided below to frame governance and alignment discussions.*
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Technology Finance Corp. | Senior Vice President | 2010–Jun 2021 | Built legal/compliance infrastructure for BDC operations |
| Horizon Technology Finance Corp. | Executive Vice President | Jun 2021–present | Executive leadership over legal/compliance; corporate secretary |
| Horizon Technology Finance Management LLC (Adviser) | Founding team member | May 2003–present | Co-founded predecessor of Adviser; institutionalized venture lending platform |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | Not disclosed in Company proxies; no public external directorship noted for Bombara |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Company-paid base salary | None; as an externally managed BDC, HRZN does not pay executive officer compensation directly |
| Company-paid bonus | None; no issuer-paid bonuses to executive officers |
| Reimbursement to Administrator | Company reimburses allocable portion of compensation for the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer and their staffs per Administration Agreement (Bombara is CCO); amounts not itemized by individual |
| Director fees | Not applicable; Bombara is not a director |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company-level incentive-based compensation (Rule 10D-1 scope) | — | — | — | Not applicable; Company did not pay incentive-based compensation to covered executives as of Apr 19, 2024 | — |
| Clawback policy | — | — | — | Implemented Oct 2, 2023; operative if incentive-based compensation existed, which it did not as of Apr 19, 2024 | — |
The Company has adopted a hedging policy prohibiting directors and executive officers from hedging Company securities (e.g., trading in publicly traded options, puts, calls, or other derivatives on Company stock or debt) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Date (Record) | Shares Beneficially Owned | Ownership % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2024 | 13,585 | Less than 1% | Executive officer; record/beneficial ownership |
| Dec 26, 2024 | 14,758 | Less than 1% | Executive officer; record/beneficial ownership |
| Apr 11, 2025 | 15,466 | Less than 1% | Executive officer; record/beneficial ownership |
- Shares outstanding: 35,020,774 (Apr 19, 2024) ; 39,875,847 (Dec 26, 2024) ; 40,331,962 (Apr 11, 2025) .
- Pledging: No specific pledging disclosures; hedging prohibited per policy .
- Section 16 compliance: Company reports timely filings in 2024; one late Form 4 by another officer (Gerald A. Michaud); no late filings noted for Bombara .
Employment Terms
- Titles and tenure: GC/CCO/Secretary since July 2010; Executive Vice President since June 2021 .
- Employment agreement terms (severance, non-compete, change-of-control, tax gross-ups): Not disclosed at the issuer level; HRZN is externally managed and does not report individual executive employment contracts or severance economics in proxies .
- Change-of-control at Adviser: In late 2024/early 2025, Wendel SE agreed to acquire 75% of Monroe (indirect parent of the Adviser); HRZN sought and received stockholder approval for a new investment management agreement with identical terms to avoid disruption; board committed to Section 15(f) safe harbor (no “unfair burden,” ≥75% independent board for 3 years) .
Company Performance Context
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | 1,825,000* | 3,345,000* | 2,948,000* |
| Net Income (USD) | 21,151,000* | -17,185,000* | -5,633,000* |
- Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
- Purpose: Provide backdrop for assessing incentive alignment in an externally managed structure.
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Beneficial ownership is modest and under 1%; combined with a strict anti-hedging policy, this reduces hedging-related misalignment but does not materially increase “skin in the game” at the issuer level .
- Compensation levers: As HRZN pays no executive compensation directly, traditional pay-for-performance tools (salary/bonus/PSUs at the issuer) are absent; analysis should focus on Adviser-level incentives (base management fee and incentive fee mechanics), which can affect portfolio risk posture and distribution coverage .
- Retention risk: No issuer-level severance or non-compete disclosures; continuity risk mitigated by stable roles since 2010 and the Board’s Section 15(f) commitments during the Adviser change-of-control process .
- Trading signals: No red flags on Section 16 timeliness for Bombara; hedging is prohibited; monitor Form 4 activity and upcoming vest/settlement events at the Adviser (not disclosed at issuer) for selling pressure; ownership trend shows incremental increases 2024→2025 .
- Governance: Bombara serves as Secretary and CCO, central to compliance oversight; the Company’s independent board and committee structure, with the Compensation Committee confirming no issuer-paid executive compensation, supports governance consistency under the externally managed model .