Michael Erickson
IDEXX LABORATORIES INC /DEAbout Michael Erickson
Michael Erickson, PhD, is Executive Vice President and General Manager for Point of Care Diagnostics and Telemedicine at IDEXX, a role he has held since January 2024; he is 51 years old and has served in senior leadership roles at IDEXX since 2011 . Prior to IDEXX, he was an Associate Principal in McKinsey’s Global Pharmaceutical Practice; he holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University . During 2024, IDEXX delivered 6% reported and organic revenue growth to $3.9B, diluted EPS of $10.67 (+6% y/y; +12% comparable), and 45.8% ROIC, while shares declined 26% for the year, aligning executives’ equity outcomes with shareholder TSR . His portfolio aligns with key 2024–2025 launches in point-of-care and AI-enabled diagnostics, including the inVue Dx Cellular Analyzer (shipping began in December 2024 with ~1,600 pre-orders) and planned menu expansion in 2025, as well as the Cancer Dx panel launch in March 2025 in U.S./Canada reference labs .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic scope/notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDEXX Laboratories | EVP & GM, Point of Care Diagnostics and Telemedicine | Jan 2024 – present | Global leadership of Point of Care Diagnostics and Telemedicine businesses . |
| IDEXX Laboratories | Senior Vice President | Jan 2020 – Dec 2023 | General Manager of Global Point of Care Diagnostics (Jan 2023–Dec 2023) . |
| IDEXX Laboratories | Corporate Vice President | Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Earlier senior leadership progression; VSS leadership covered 2014–2018 (below) . |
| IDEXX Laboratories | General Manager, Corporate & Strategic Accounts | Oct 2018 – Dec 2022 | Led corporate/strategic accounts; also led Corporate Strategy & Advanced Analytics in 2022 . |
| IDEXX Laboratories | GM, Veterinary Software & Services | 2014 – 2018 | Led VSS business . |
| IDEXX Laboratories | Senior Director & GM (joined IDEXX) | 2011 – 2014 | Joined IDEXX in 2011, rising through leadership roles . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Impact/notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | Associate Principal, Global Pharmaceutical Practice | Pre-2011 | Advised pharma, biotech, and health service companies across commercial, BD, and health tech innovation . |
Fixed Compensation
IDEXX did not disclose Erickson’s individual salary/bonus in the 2024 NEO tables (he was not a Named Executive Officer in 2024). The senior executive program design is as follows:
- Structure and mix (senior executives): base salary, annual performance-based cash bonus, and long-term equity; for “other NEOs,” base salary was ~16% of 2024 target total direct compensation (TDC), annual bonus ~12%, and equity ~72% (84% at-risk on average) .
- 2024 target bonus levels: CEO 130% of salary; “other NEOs” 75% of salary; 2024 actual payout approved at 97% of target across NEOs .
- Program oversight and philosophy emphasize pay-for-performance with rigorous benchmarking and risk controls (cap at 200% of target) .
Performance Compensation
Annual incentive (company-wide plan applied to participating senior executives)
- Weighting: 60% financial factor + 40% non-financial factor; overall 2024 payout approved at 97% of target for NEOs .
- Financial metrics and 2024 outcomes:
| Metric | Weight | 2024 Achieved | 2024 Target | Payout Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Revenue Growth | 40% | 6.4% | 8.5% | 68.2% |
| Operating Profit | 20% | $1,196.0M | $1,215.3M | 76.9% |
| Diluted EPS | 20% | $11.16 | $11.19 | 95.9% |
| ROIC | 20% | 48.9% | 49.1% | 97.8% |
| Financial Performance Factor | — | — | — | 81% |
- Non-financial factor: Committee assessed “strengthening the business” goals; 2024 non-financial earned at 120% of target; combined with the 81% financial factor yielded a 97% overall payout .
Long-term equity (senior executives)
- 2024 award mix (senior executives other than CEO): ~50% stock options, 25% PSUs, 25% RSUs; CEO received 50% options/50% PSUs .
- Vesting mechanics (plan-standard): options and RSUs vest in equal annual installments over four years (first vest on first anniversary); PSUs vest based on relative performance against financial metrics over a three-year period and on the later of certification or third anniversary of grant .
- Governance: one-year minimum vesting; no repricing or “spring-loading”; no dividends until vest; robust grant-date policy .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Policy/Practice | Detail |
|---|---|
| Executive stock ownership guidelines | CEO: 10x salary; Executive Vice Presidents: 4x salary; Senior Vice Presidents: 1x salary; must retain at least 75% of net shares until guideline met; all NEOs in compliance as of 12/31/2024 . |
| Anti-hedging/anti-pledging | Prohibits hedging, short sales, and pledging by directors/executives; also prohibits derivative transactions based on IDEXX stock . |
| Clawback policy | Complies with and exceeds Nasdaq/SEC standards; covers erroneously awarded incentive compensation and certain time-based equity and annual cash tied to non-financial goals in restatement scenarios . |
| Insider reporting note | A Section 16 Form 3 ownership error for Dr. Michael Erickson was corrected in a Form 5 filed on January 21, 2025 (administrative correction) . |
Employment Terms
| Topic | Terms disclosed (senior executives and plans) |
|---|---|
| Employment contracts | No employment contracts with NEOs other than CEO; senior executives generally covered by plan-based arrangements, not individual fixed-term contracts . |
| Change-in-control vesting | No single-trigger cash bonuses; equity provides for 25% vesting upon a change in control; for senior executives, double-trigger (CoC plus qualifying termination) may accelerate options/RSUs/PSUs in full at 100% of target for PSUs per agreements . |
| Severance/CIC economics | IDEXX discloses NEO “as of 12/31/2024” potential payment tables including salary and bonus components, benefits continuation, outplacement, and equity acceleration; EVP-level examples are shown, though Erickson’s specific figures are not disclosed . |
| Insider trading controls | Insider Trading Policy prohibits trading on MNPI; robust procedures and blackout constructs referenced . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: A high share of at-risk pay (options/RSUs/PSUs) and a 2024 bonus payout at 97% of target tie senior executive compensation to revenue growth, profitability, EPS and ROIC, consistent with investor value creation metrics; equity outcomes tracked the 26% share decline in 2024, sharpening alignment with TSR .
- Selling pressure and retention: Four-year pro-rata vesting of options/RSUs and three-year PSU cliffs create recurring vest events; anti-pledging/anti-hedging and a 4x salary ownership guideline (with 75% net-share retention until met) temper discretionary selling and support retention incentives, though tax-withholding transactions at vest are expected .
- Change-in-control protection: Double-trigger equity acceleration (with limited single-trigger 25% vest) and disclosed CIC frameworks for EVPs reduce retention risk in strategic scenarios without single-trigger cash payouts, aligning with governance best practices .
- Execution scope: Erickson’s remit is central to IDEXX’s growth vectors in point-of-care and AI-enabled diagnostics (inVue Dx shipments began Dec 2024 with ~1,600 pre-orders; Cancer Dx launch March 2025), tying his incentives to product adoption and utilization trends that drive recurring revenue .
Note: Erickson was not a Named Executive Officer in 2024; IDEXX did not disclose his individual salary, bonus, equity grant values, or personal ownership totals in the proxy tables. The analysis above references the company’s senior executive program design, 2024 company performance against incentive metrics, and governance policies that apply to executive officers, with explicit citations to IDEXX’s 2025 Proxy Statement.