Yujiro Hata
About Yujiro Hata
Yujiro S. Hata, 50, is President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of IDEAYA Biosciences (IDYA), roles he has held since June 2015; he launched IDEAYA as its first employee while an Executive-in-Residence at 5AM Ventures . He holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA in Chemistry from Colorado College . Under his leadership, IDEAYA advanced multiple precision oncology programs (darovasertib, IDE397, IDE161, IDE275/IDE705) and ended 2024 with ~$1.1B in cash/equivalents after significant equity raises, while securing milestones and collaborations with GSK, Merck and Gilead . Pay-versus-performance disclosure shows Company TSR of 183.57 (value of $100) for 2024 and strong cash balance, the key financial measure linking compensation to performance .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDEAYA Biosciences | President & CEO; Director | 2015–present | Launched company; advanced multiple registrational/Phase 2 programs; built collaborations (GSK, Merck, Gilead) and raised capital . |
| Flexus Biosciences / FLX Bio | Chief Operating Officer | 2014–Aug 2015 | Joined at startup; led through Flexus’ acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb (Apr 2015) . |
| Onyx Pharmaceuticals | VP, Corporate Development & Strategy; Head of Strategy/Asset Mgmt; Head of Transactions | 2010–2013 | Corporate strategy and transactions prior to Onyx’s sale to Amgen . |
| Enanta Pharmaceuticals | VP/SVP Business Development; Chief Business Officer | 2002–2010 | Led BD for small-molecule programs . |
| McKinsey; ImClone Systems; Columbia Medical School | Various roles | Prior to 2002 | Early consulting/biopharma/academic experience . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Director | Current | Public company board . |
| Hexagon Bio, Inc. | Director | Current | Private company board . |
Fixed Compensation
| Item | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 570,000 | 598,000 | 646,000 (8% merit increase effective Jan 1, 2024) |
| Target Bonus (% of Salary) | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Actual Annual Bonus ($) | 270,750 | 299,000 | 323,000 (100% corporate achievement) |
| Perquisites | $10,950 (incl. phone, 401k match) | $15,000 | $15,600 |
Notes:
- Hata receives no additional pay for board service .
Performance Compensation
Annual Cash Incentive – 2024 Design and Outcome
| Metric Category | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout Basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical & Preclinical milestones (IDE397, IDE161, Pol Theta, WRN, early discovery) | 70% | Difficult goals set by Board | Achieved (corporate 100%) | CEO bonus 100% tied to corporate goals | Specific sub-goals not disclosed due to competitive sensitivity . |
| Corporate development (launch readiness, balance sheet/investor base, infrastructure) | 30% | As set by Board | Achieved (corporate 100%) | — | Considered in-license deals (IDE849, IDE034) and balance sheet expansion . |
- Result: CEO bonus paid at target (50% of $646,000 = $323,000) .
Equity Awards – Structure and 2024 Grants
| Grant | Grant Date | Shares (Options) | Exercise Price | Vesting | Fair Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual CEO Option | 3/1/2024 | 480,000 | 46.22 | 25% on first anniversary of vesting commencement; then monthly over 36 months; annual grants use Jan 1 as vesting commencement date | 15,946,272 |
- Equity vehicle: stock options under 2019 Plan; exercise price = closing price on grant date; no RSUs/PSUs disclosed for CEO in 2024 .
- Option exercises in 2024: Hata exercised 350,000 options, realizing $13,331,095 of value on exercise (difference between market and strike at exercise) .
Outstanding CEO Options (12/31/2024 snapshot)
| Vesting Commencement | Exercisable | Unexercisable | Exercise Price | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/27/2018 | 49,454 | — | 4.31 | 2/27/2028 |
| 3/13/2019 | 180,862 | — | 11.08 | 3/13/2029 |
| 2/21/2020 | 215,000 | — | 6.92 | 2/21/2030 |
| 2/24/2021 | 190,936 | 4,064 | 19.52 | 2/24/2031 |
| 3/1/2022 | 189,577 | 70,423 | 12.86 | 3/1/2032 |
| 2/24/2023 | 191,664 | 208,336 | 17.04 | 2/24/2033 |
| 3/1/2024 | — | 480,000 | 46.22 | 3/1/2034 |
Clawback and Option Practices
- Compensation Recovery Policy compliant with SEC rules; recoverability on restatement; no disclosed enforcement events .
- No tax gross-ups (280G/4999) provided; Section 162(m) deductibility considered but not determinative .
- Equity grant timing policies prohibit spring-loading/forward-looking timing around material disclosures .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Shares owned (outstanding) | 690,695 |
| Options exercisable within 60 days | 625,640 |
| Total beneficial ownership | 1,316,335 shares |
| % of shares outstanding | 1.5% as of 3/31/2025 |
| Shares pledged | Company policy prohibits pledging; no pledges disclosed |
| Hedging | Prohibited for directors/officers/employees and immediate family |
| Ownership guidelines | Not disclosed |
Insider selling/pressure indicators
- 2024 option exercise activity: 350,000 options exercised; value realized $13.33M . Monitor future Form 4 filings for sales related to vesting of the 2024 480,000-share option grant (starts vesting 25% one year from Jan 1, 2024 commencement; remainder monthly) .
Employment Terms
Structure (CEO)
- Termination without cause / resignation for good reason (outside CIC window): Lump-sum equal to annual base salary; up to 12 months healthcare continuation; no equity acceleration .
- Termination without cause / resignation for good reason during CIC window (3 months pre to 12 months post CIC): Lump sum 1.5x (base salary + target bonus); up to 18 months healthcare; full equity acceleration (double-trigger) .
- Key definitions for “cause,” “change in control,” “good reason,” and “good reason process” detailed in proxy; CIC requires loss of majority ownership/control; salary cut, relocation >75 miles, or material duty reduction can constitute good reason (with notice and cure) .
Illustrative estimated payouts (assuming 12/31/2024 termination)
| Component | Without CIC | With CIC |
|---|---|---|
| Cash severance | $646,000 | $969,000 |
| Target bonus | — | $484,500 |
| Healthcare continuation | $54,715 | $82,073 |
| Equity acceleration (in-the-money value) | — | $15,747,224 |
| Total | $700,715 | $17,282,796 |
Other contractual terms
- Non-compete / non-solicit: Not disclosed in DEF 14A excerpts; see employment agreement for specifics if any (not in proxy summary) .
Board Service at IDYA (Governance overview)
- Board tenure/class: Class I director; term expires at 2026 annual meeting . Years of service since 2015 .
- Independence: Not independent (employee); all other directors independent under Nasdaq rules .
- Leadership structure: Independent Chair (Terry J. Rosen, Ph.D.); CEO and Chair roles separated; independent director executive sessions are held regularly .
- Committees: CEO is not on board committees. Committee composition/chairs: Audit (Chair: Scott W. Morrison), Compensation (Chair: Jeffrey L. Stein, Ph.D.), Nominating & Corporate Governance (Chair: Terry J. Rosen, Ph.D.) .
- Board/committee activity: Board met 5 times in 2024; each member attended ≥75% of applicable meetings; all directors attended 2024 annual meeting .
- Director compensation: Hata receives no additional compensation for board service .
Director Compensation (context for dual role)
- Non-employee director program: annual cash retainer (raised from $40k to $45k effective Jan 1, 2025) plus committee/chair retainers; annual option grants with 1-year vest for annual grant and 3-year monthly vest for initial grant . Hata, as CEO, does not receive director compensation .
Compensation Committee, Peer Group, and Say-on-Pay
- Committee and consultant: Independent Compensation Committee uses Aon as independent advisor; peer data at 25th/50th/75th percentiles considered .
- 2024 peer group: pre-commercial, oncology-focused biopharma comps (e.g., Relay Therapeutics, Revolution Medicines, Syndax, Denali, Arvinas, Nuvalent, Xencor, Vaxcyte, etc.) .
- Positioning: Hata’s 2024 base below peer 50th percentile; total target cash ~peer 50th percentile .
- Say-on-Pay 2024: ~91% approval .
Performance & Track Record
Selected operating and pipeline achievements (2024–early 2025)
- Advanced darovasertib (IDE196) to potential registrational Phase 2/3 in MUM; 230+ pts enrolled by Feb 7, 2025; neoadjuvant/adjuvant data updates including ASCO 2024 oral .
- IDE397 (MAT2A): selected Phase 2 monotherapy expansion dose; preliminary efficacy signals; initiated Trodelvy combo study and expanded Gilead collaboration to NSCLC in Feb 2025 .
- IDE161: selected initial Phase 1/2 expansion dose; initiated IDE161/KEYTRUDA combination with Merck .
- Partnerships/milestones: GSK initiated IDE275 (WRN) Phase 1 and paid $7M milestone .
- Balance sheet: Raised ~$379.9M via ATM plus ~$283.7M follow-on (Jul 2024); YE 2024 cash/equivalents/marketable securities ≈ $1.1B .
Pay-versus-performance context (Company TSR and cash)
| Year | Company TSR – Value of $100 | Peer Group TSR – Value of $100 | Net Loss ($000s) | Cash & Mkt. Secs ($MM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 168.86 | 100.02 | (49,762) | 368.1 |
| 2022 | 129.79 | 89.90 | (58,655) | 373.1 |
| 2023 | 254.14 | 94.03 | (112,961) | 623.6 |
| 2024 | 183.57 | 93.49 | (274,477) | 1,082.2 |
Recent quarterly fundamentals (context)
| Metric | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($) | n/a* | n/a* | 7,000,000* | n/a* | n/a* | 207,834,000* |
| EBITDA ($) | (64,305,000)* | (66,316,000)* | (143,566,000)* | (83,789,000)* | (88,088,000)* | 109,113,000* |
Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Risk Indicators & Red Flags (observed/disclosed)
- Hedging/pledging: prohibited for insiders (positive alignment signal) .
- Clawback: policy adopted (positive governance) .
- Option repricing/modification: not disclosed for 2024; equity timing policy prohibits opportunistic timing .
- Related party transactions: policy in place; no material related party transactions disclosed for 2024 .
- Tax gross-ups: none (shareholder-friendly) .
- Say-on-Pay: strong support at 91% .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: CEO holds ~1.5% beneficial ownership including options and is subject to anti-hedging/anti-pledging policies, supporting alignment with shareholders . Option-heavy grants (e.g., 480,000 in 2024) keep pay-at-risk and tied to value creation but can introduce future selling overhang as vesting progresses; monitor Form 4s around vesting cliffs and liquidity events .
- Pay for performance: 2024 cash bonus paid at target with corporate goals achieved 100%; program emphasizes clinical/regulatory and balance sheet milestones consistent with the company’s stage, and TSR/cash balance trends are included in pay-versus-performance disclosure .
- Retention/CIC: Double-trigger CIC with full option acceleration (1.5x base+target bonus; 18 months healthcare) is market-standard and reduces transaction risk; outside CIC, severance is 1x base salary (12 months healthcare) .
- Governance: Separation of Chair/CEO and independent committees mitigate dual-role concerns; Hata receives no extra director fees; board refreshment and attendance metrics are solid .
- Execution risk: Advancement of multiple programs and strong cash runway are positives; however, losses widened in 2024 as programs invest for growth—outcomes for darovasertib, IDE397, and IDE161 remain the core drivers of long-term value .
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