Sohanya Cheng
Karyopharm TherapeuticsAbout Sohanya Cheng
Sohanya Cheng, age 42, serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Business Development at Karyopharm Therapeutics, a role she has held since December 2021 after joining the company in June 2021 to lead Sales and Commercial Operations . She previously led marketing at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (Aug–Dec 2020) and spent ~11 years at Amgen in oncology commercialization leadership (national sales force/contracting, multiple myeloma marketing & sales, chief of staff/strategy) . Cheng holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BSc/MA in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge . Her incentive plan emphasizes pay-for-performance: annual cash bonuses tied 85% to corporate goals and 15% to individual goals (100% individual achievement in 2024), and PSUs linked to revenue, clinical milestones, and relative TSR with threshold/target/maximum outcomes at the 25th/50th/75th percentile, respectively; 2023 PSUs partially vested upon the first clinical milestone (944 shares earned) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amgen | Executive Director, Head of National Sales Force & Oncology Contracting Strategy | 2019–Aug 2020 | Led national oncology sales and contracting strategy |
| Amgen | Executive Director, Head of Marketing & Sales (Multiple Myeloma) | 2018–2019 | Led commercialization for key oncology brands |
| Amgen | Chief of Staff to GM & Strategy & Operations Director (Oncology) | 2017–2018 | Supported oncology business strategy and operations |
| Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals | Vice President, Head of Marketing | Aug–Dec 2020 | Led marketing at a public pharmaceutical company |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carisma Therapeutics Inc. | Director | Since Oct 2024 | Public biopharma board role; external network and governance exposure |
Fixed Compensation
- Employment is “at will”; no guaranteed salary increases .
- No tax gross-ups; executive program includes clawback and hedging/pledging prohibitions (with limited pledge exception under strict approvals) .
Base salary rates:
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $525,000 | $546,000 |
| Change vs prior year | — | 4.0% |
Multi-year compensation (Summary Compensation Table):
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary ($) | $457,333 | $513,688 | $546,000 |
| Stock Awards ($) | $1,019,520 | $450,465 | $315,794 |
| Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) | $193,048 | $202,650 | $214,373 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $13,915 | $26,611 | $18,662 |
| Total ($) | $2,612,718 | $1,193,414 | $1,094,829 |
Performance Compensation
Annual bonus mechanics and outcomes:
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target Bonus (%) | 40% | 40% | 45% |
| Target Bonus Amount ($) | $188,800 | — | $245,700 |
| Company Goal Achievement (%) | — | — | 85% |
| Individual Goal Achievement (%) | — | — | 100% |
| Bonus Received ($) | $193,048 | $202,650 | $214,373 |
| Actual Bonus (% of Target) | 102% | — | 87% |
Long-term equity incentives (grants and vesting design):
| Grant | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs Granted (#) | 100,000 | 13,263 | 68,750 |
| PSUs Granted (# at target) | 85,000 | 5,684 | — |
| Options Granted (#) | — | — | 137,500 |
| Vesting Schedule | RSUs: 3 equal annual installments from 1st anniversary | RSUs: 3 equal annual installments from 1st anniversary | Options: 25% at 1st anniversary, then 1/48 monthly; RSUs: 50% on each of two anniversaries |
| CIC Treatment | Plan uses double-trigger acceleration for time-based awards | Plan uses double-trigger acceleration for time-based awards | Award-level double-trigger immediate vesting/exercisability within 1 year post-CIC upon qualifying termination |
PSU metric design:
- Revenue, clinical milestones (4-year performance period for clinical), and relative TSR (3-year performance period) .
- TSR vesting scale: 25th percentile=50% (threshold), 50th=100% (target), 75th=150% (max) .
- 2023 PSUs: first clinical milestone achieved; shares earned (Cheng: 944) vested on Feb 28, 2024 due to one-year holding since grant .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Beneficial ownership:
| As-of Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 2024 | 262,154 | <1% |
| Apr 10, 2025 | 28,862 | <1% |
Outstanding equity awards (as of Dec 31, 2024):
-
Options | Grant Date | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiry | |---|---|---|---|---| | 6/30/2021 | 7,291 | 1,042 | 154.80 | 6/29/2031 | | 2/28/2022 | 5,099 | 2,101 | 154.95 | 2/27/2032 | | 8/31/2022 | 3,000 | — | 75.90 | 8/30/2032 |
-
Stock awards (unvested and unearned) | Grant Date | RSUs Unvested (#) | RSUs Value ($) | PSUs (Threshold) (#) | PSUs Payout Value ($) | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2/28/2022 | 2,800 | $28,392 | — | — | | 2/28/2023 | 4,444 | $45,062 | 1,889 | $19,154 | | 2/28/2024 | 13,263 | $134,487 | 2,842 | $28,818 |
Note: RSU/PSU market/payout values use $10.14 closing price on Dec 31, 2024 . Option exercise prices listed exceed $10.14, implying no intrinsic value at 12/31/2024 .
Policies and alignment:
- Insider Trading Policy prohibits short sales, hedging, and pledging/margin transactions; limited pledge exceptions require CFO and Audit Committee approval . “What We Don’t Do” reiterates no hedging/pledging .
- Clawback policy (effective Oct 2, 2023) recovers incentive-based compensation for restatements over the prior three completed fiscal years .
Employment Terms
| Provision | Term |
|---|---|
| Employment arrangement | At-will; title, compensation, and benefits per agreement |
| Target annual bonus | Increased from 40% (2023) to 45% (2024) of base salary |
| Severance (pre-CIC) | One month of base salary for each month of service, up to 12 months; COBRA premiums during severance period |
| Severance (within 1 year post-CIC) | Above benefits plus lump-sum payment of 100% of target annual bonus |
| Equity acceleration (plan-level) | Double-trigger acceleration upon qualifying termination within 1 year post-CIC |
| 2025 retention awards | Options (137,500) and RSUs (68,750) with double-trigger immediate vesting/exercisability if terminated for Good Reason or without Cause within 1 year post-CIC |
| Clawback | Dodd-Frank/Nasdaq-compliant compensation recovery policy |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited; limited pledge exception under strict approvals |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage strengthened: PSUs tied to revenue, clinical milestones, and TSR, with 2023 clinical milestone achieved; 2024 cash payout below target driven by 85% corporate score (individual 100%)—suggesting disciplined bonus outcomes aligned to company performance .
- Retention risk mitigated: January 2025 retention grants (options + RSUs) with two-year RSU vesting and double-trigger acceleration indicate the Compensation Committee’s proactive stance to retain key executives through critical clinical milestones .
- Ownership alignment: Direct beneficial ownership is modest (<1%), but substantial unvested RSUs/PSUs provide continued alignment; hedging/pledging prohibitions and a robust clawback reduce misalignment and governance risk .
- Severance economics: Pre-CIC severance capped at 12 months base salary and 100% target bonus only upon qualifying post-CIC termination; absence of tax gross-ups is shareholder-friendly .