William White
About William White
William White, M.P.P., J.D., is an independent Class III director of Disc Medicine (IRON), serving since December 2020; he is age 52 as of April 15, 2025, and currently chairs the Audit Committee and has been designated by the Board as an “audit committee financial expert.”
He is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Head of Corporate Development, and Treasurer at Akero Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKRO) since April 2019, and previously held senior investment banking roles at Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs; he holds an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.P.P. from Harvard University, and a J.D. from Columbia University.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Bank | Managing Director, Head of US Life Sciences Investment Banking | Sep 2017 – Mar 2019 | Led U.S. life sciences coverage in IB; capital markets and M&A experience |
| Citigroup | Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking | May 2006 – Sep 2017 | Senior coverage within healthcare IB; transaction execution |
| Goldman Sachs | Associate/Vice President, Healthcare Investment Banking | Nov 2000 – Mar 2006 | Healthcare IB execution roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akero Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKRO) | EVP, CFO, Head of Corp Dev & Treasurer | Apr 2019 – Present | Public-company CFO with capital allocation/finance oversight |
| Ventyx Biosciences (Nasdaq: VTYX) | Director; Audit Committee Chair | Current (date not specified) | Oversees financial reporting and audits as Audit Chair |
Board Governance
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Board class/term | Class III; term expires at 2026 annual meeting |
| Independence | Audit, Compensation, and Nominating committees comprised of independent directors per Nasdaq/SEC rules; Mr. White serves on the Audit Committee and is independent under applicable standards |
| Committee assignments | Audit Committee (Chair); Board-designated “audit committee financial expert” |
| Meetings in 2024 | Board: 4 meetings; Audit Committee: 4; Compensation Committee: 4; Nominating & Corporate Governance: 1 |
| Attendance | Each director attended at least 75% of aggregate board and applicable committee meetings in 2024; all directors attended the 2024 annual meeting |
| Executive sessions | Independent directors meet in executive session at least annually; non-management directors have regularly scheduled executive sessions |
| Related-party oversight | Audit Committee charter includes review of related-party transactions; Board maintains formal RPT approval policies |
| Risk oversight | Audit oversees financial/liquidity/compliance risk; N&G oversees independence and conflicts; Compensation oversees comp-related risk |
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Component | Non-Chair Annual Retainer ($) | Chair Annual Retainer ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Directors | 40,000 | 150,000 |
| Audit Committee | 10,000 | 20,000 |
| Compensation Committee | 7,500 | 15,000 |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Other | Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed | — |
Note: Mr. White served as Audit Committee Chair in 2024, so he would be eligible for the Board retainer and Audit Chair fee under the policy; the proxy describes the policy but does not disclose individual cash amounts earned by director.
Performance Compensation (Director Equity)
| Equity Element | Grant Size | Vesting | Change-in-Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Option Grant | 20,000 options | Monthly over 3 years with 1-year cliff (continued service) | Full acceleration upon sale of the Company | Granted upon initial board election |
| Annual Option Grant | 10,000 options each annual meeting | 100% on earlier of 1st anniversary or next annual meeting (continued service) | Full acceleration upon sale of the Company | For continuing non-employee directors |
| Unexercised Options (12/31/2024) – William White | 11,804 options | — | — | Aggregate unexercised options outstanding as of 12/31/2024 |
No performance-vesting metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue, EBITDA) are applied to director equity grants; director equity consists of time-vested stock options per the policy.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Interlock/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ventyx Biosciences (Nasdaq: VTYX) | Director; Audit Committee Chair | Additional audit leadership role at a public biotech |
| Compensation Committee interlocks | None disclosed | No executive officer of IRON served on a board/compensation committee of an entity with IRON executives on its board/comp committee |
- Related parties/board-affiliated investors: Certain board-affiliated funds participated in 2024–2025 equity offerings (e.g., Access/AI DMI with director Ratcliffe; Atlas with director Bitterman; OrbiMed with director Ashiya). These are disclosed and fall under the company’s related-party policies and Audit Committee oversight.
Expertise & Qualifications
- Capital markets and M&A expertise from senior investment banking roles (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank) in healthcare/life sciences.
- Public-company CFO with deep finance, audit, and capital allocation experience (Akero Therapeutics).
- Board-designated audit committee financial expert; Audit Committee Chair at IRON and VTYX.
- Academic credentials: A.B. (Princeton), M.P.P. (Harvard), J.D. (Columbia).
Equity Ownership
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (as of 4/15/2025) | 11,204 shares; “<1%” of outstanding common stock (34,632,936 shares outstanding) |
| Unexercised options (as of 12/31/2024) | 11,804 options |
| Hedging policy | Hedging transactions prohibited for directors |
| Pledging policy | Pledging and margin accounts prohibited for directors |
Beneficial ownership reflects SEC rules, including shares issuable upon exercise of options exercisable within 60 days of April 15, 2025.
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with robust finance background; Board-designated audit committee financial expert and Audit Chair, enhancing financial reporting oversight.
- Strong governance architecture: independent committees, executive sessions, and explicit prohibitions on hedging and pledging to align directors with shareholders.
- No Section 16(a) delinquencies reported for Mr. White in 2024; all directors attended at least 75% of meetings and the 2024 annual meeting.
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Potential Watch Items
- Director equity is time-based options (no performance conditions); while aligning with upside, lack of performance-vesting could be viewed as weaker pay-for-performance linkage for directors.
- Multiple audit chair responsibilities (IRON and VTYX) and a public-company CFO role imply a high workload; boards should continue monitoring time commitments and meeting attendance (company reports aggregate ≥75% compliance for 2024).
-
Related-Party and Conflicts
- No related-party transactions disclosed involving Mr. White; company discloses RPTs tied to certain other directors’ affiliated investors in equity offerings, overseen per formal RPT policies and Audit Committee remit.
-
Say-on-Pay/Comp Committee Practices
- Compensation Committee comprised of independent directors; uses independent compensation consultants and assesses advisor conflicts.
- Say-on-pay provided annually per Section 14A; no adverse voting outcomes are noted in the proxy excerpts provided.
RED FLAGS: None specific to Mr. White identified in the proxy. Company-wide prohibitions on hedging/pledging mitigate alignment risks; continue to monitor any future related-party dealings, attendance trends, and director equity design evolution.