Heidi Hunter
About Heidi Hunter
Independent director at IO Biotech (IOBT) since August 2023; age 67. Serves on the Audit Committee and the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. She is deemed independent under Nasdaq and SEC rules. Education: B.A. from the University of Michigan; M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Health | President, Specialty Solutions Business | Not disclosed | Led the Specialty Solutions Business |
| UCB | Senior Vice President, Global Immunology Business Unit | Sep 2015 – Sep 2020 | Senior leadership in immunology |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | Senior Vice President & General Manager, Biosimilars | Not disclosed | Business unit leadership in biosimilars |
| IQVIA | Vice President, Global Business Partnerships, Commercial Solutions | Not disclosed | Global partnerships, commercial solutions |
| Centocor (J&J) | Senior leadership in commercial & strategic marketing for biologics and oncology | Not disclosed | Commercial and strategic marketing |
| Wyeth (Pfizer) | Led U.S. oncology business | Not disclosed | U.S. oncology leadership |
| Novo Nordisk | Led Women’s Health (Denmark) | Not disclosed | Business leadership in Women’s Health |
| Ciba‑Geigy (Novartis) | Led sales and marketing in neuroscience | Early career | Neuroscience commercial leadership |
External Roles
| Company | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bavarian Nordic A/S | Director | Not disclosed | Current public company board |
| Vicore Pharma Holdings AB | Director | Not disclosed | Current public company board |
| Sutro Biopharma, Inc. | Director | Not disclosed | Current public company board |
Board Governance
- Independence: The board determined all directors except the CEO are independent; Hunter is independent under SEC and Nasdaq rules .
- Committees: Audit Committee member; Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee member. Audit Committee chaired by Kathleen S. Glaub; Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee chaired by David V. Smith. Audit Committee Financial Experts are Ms. Glaub and Mr. Smith (Hunter is not designated as a financial expert) .
- Meetings/attendance: The board met 6 times in 2024; each incumbent director attended at least 75% of aggregate board and committee meetings. Audit Committee met 4 times; Nominating & Corporate Governance met 3 times .
- Leadership structure: Independent Chair (Peter Hirth); CEO is separate (Mai‑Britt Zocca) .
- Risk oversight: Audit oversees financial reporting, compliance, and cybersecurity; Nominating & Corporate Governance oversees governance practices, human capital and ESG; Compensation oversees compensation risk .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Fees Earned or Paid in Cash (Heidi Hunter) | $51,500 | Actual cash paid for 2024 |
| Cash Retainer – Board Member | $40,000 | Standard annual cash retainer |
| Committee Member – Audit | $7,500 | Additional annual cash for Audit membership |
| Committee Member – Nominating & Corporate Governance | $4,000 | Additional annual cash for N&CG membership |
Performance Compensation
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2024 Option Awards (fair value) – Heidi Hunter | $42,068 (aggregate grant date fair value) |
| Annual Director Option Grant (from Jan 2024 policy) | Option to purchase 45,642 shares; vests in full at 1‑year anniversary; service required |
| Appointment Grant (from Jan 2024 policy) | Option to purchase 70,593 shares; vests monthly over 3 years; service required |
| Change-in-Control Treatment | All then-outstanding director equity vests in full upon change of control if service continues until the event |
| 2025 Program Revision (Feb 2025) | Reduced appointment grant to 54,357 shares and annual grant to 35,144 shares |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Type | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | Bavarian Nordic A/S; Vicore Pharma Holdings AB; Sutro Biopharma, Inc. |
| Compensation Committee interlocks (FY2024) | None. No IOBT executive served on another company’s comp committee/board where an IOBT director/officer served, and IOBT comp committee members were not company officers |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep commercial leadership across immunology, oncology, biosimilars, specialty distribution, and global partnerships (Cardinal Health, UCB, Boehringer Ingelheim, IQVIA, J&J/Centocor, Wyeth, Novo Nordisk, Ciba‑Geigy) .
- B.A. (University of Michigan); M.B.A. (University of Chicago Booth) .
- Board experience across multiple public biopharma companies .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Amount | As-of / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (shares) | 83,114 | Exercisable within 60 days of Apr 11, 2025; beneficial ownership <1% |
| % of outstanding shares | <1% | As reported in beneficial ownership table |
| Stock options held (total) | 109,880 | Options held as of Dec 31, 2024 |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited for directors by policy |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director with extensive commercialization and biopharma leadership; sits on two governance-related committees; board-level prohibition on hedging/pledging supports alignment; no related‑party transactions involving directors/officers since Jan 1, 2023; each director met ≥75% attendance threshold in 2024 .
- Watch items: Multiple external public company directorships (three) indicate meaningful outside commitments to monitor alongside committee obligations; she is not designated an Audit Committee Financial Expert (committee has two other designated experts) .
- Compensation signals: 2024 director pay is balanced between cash ($51,500) and options ($42,068 fair value); 2025 program reduced share counts for director option grants, signaling equity pool preservation and cost discipline .
- Conflicts: Company reports no related‑party transactions over $120,000 involving directors/officers/5% holders since Jan 1, 2023; comp committee interlocks absent in FY2024 .