Adele Gulfo
About Adele Gulfo
Adele Gulfo (age 62) joined NewAmsterdam Pharma’s Board as an independent non-executive director in April 2025 and was formally elected at the June 4, 2025 AGM for a term through the 2029 AGM. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Seton Hall University and an MBA in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and brings deep biopharma commercialization leadership including launch experience for LIPITOR and CRESTOR and multiple recent brands at Roivant/Sumitovant/Sumitomo .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumitomo Pharma America | CEO, Biopharma Commercial Unit | Most recent prior role; dates not disclosed | Led significant revenue growth and profit improvement across oncology, rare disease, urology, neurology, women’s health |
| Sumitovant Biopharma | Chief Commercial & Business Development Officer | 2020–2023 (until integration into Sumitomo) | Commercial leadership across portfolio; integration into Sumitomo |
| Roivant Sciences | Chief Commercial Development Officer | Prior to Sumitovant | Formation of Sumitovant; launch prep for ORGOVYX, GEMTESA, RETHYMIC, MYFEMBREE |
| Pfizer | President & GM, U.S. Primary Care; Country Manager, U.S. Biopharma; Senior Director/Launch Lead for LIPITOR | Earlier career | Led large-scale commercial ops; LIPITOR scaled to top-selling brand within two years |
| AstraZeneca | Multiple VP roles including Cardiovascular BU, Commercial Readiness, BD | Earlier career | CRESTOR launch and growth to multi-billion-dollar brand |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyra Biosciences, Inc. | Director | Current | Public biotech board |
| Enpro Inc. | Director | Current | Public industrial technology board |
| Mass General Brigham | Innovation Growth Board Member | Current | Largest U.S. hospital-based research enterprise |
Board Governance
- Appointment and election: Appointed April 15, 2025 as temporary non-executive director; elected at 2025 AGM with 79,603,736 votes for, 126,719 against, 19,577 abstain; term to 2029 AGM .
- Independence: Board determined all directors other than Drs. Davidson, Kastelein, and Topper are independent; Gulfo is independent under Nasdaq and Exchange Act standards .
- Committee assignments: As of the 2025 proxy, Audit Committee (Smither, Lewis, McKenna), Compensation Committee (Lange, Lewis, McKenna), Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee (van der Kamp, Lewis, Downing, Lange); Gulfo was not listed on committees at that date .
- Attendance and engagement: Board met 4 times in 2024; no directors attended fewer than 75% of Board or committee meetings .
- Governance policies: Related party transactions require independent review; Dutch law conflict-of-interest protocols enforced; hedging/pledging/short sales prohibited for directors and employees .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Policy | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $43,000 | Non-employee directors |
| Committee fees | $5,000–$20,000 | Chair/member fees for Audit and Compensation Committees |
| Service agreements | Non-compete, non-solicit, IP assignment; no compensation | Applies to all directors except James N. Topper |
| Indemnification | To fullest extent permitted by law | Standard director indemnification agreements |
Performance Compensation
| Award Type | Grant Date | Quantity | Terms | Valuation / Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Options | 04-15-2025 | 50,700 | Exercise price $16.06; 33% vests on first anniversary; remaining vests in equal monthly installments over next 2 years, subject to continued service | $16.06 exercise price (closing price at grant) |
| RSUs | 04-15-2025 | 10,860 | One-third vests on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of vesting start date (April 15, 2025), subject to continued service | Time-based RSUs |
| Performance Metrics Tied to Director Compensation | Disclosed? |
|---|---|
| Revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR percentile, ESG goals | Not disclosed for directors; awards are time-based vesting |
- Clawback policy: Company maintains a clawback compliant with SEC/Nasdaq for executive officers upon restatements; not specifically applied to director equity awards .
- Hedging/pledging prohibition: Directors prohibited from short sales, options trading, pledging, and hedging in company shares .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector | Role | Interlocks/Conflicts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyra Biosciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | No related-party transactions disclosed with NAMS; independent status affirmed |
| Enpro Inc. | Industrial Technology | Director | No related-party transactions disclosed with NAMS; independent status affirmed |
- Potential conflicts or related-party exposure: Company disclosed no material interest by Gulfo in transactions requiring Item 404(a) disclosure; no family relationships or selection arrangements; standard indemnification only .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Commercialization expertise: Led and scaled multiple blockbuster launches (LIPITOR, CRESTOR) and recent brands at Roivant/Sumitovant/Sumitomo, with mass-market drug launch experience .
- Strategy and operations: Track record of revenue and profit improvement across diverse therapeutic areas; deep market access and commercial operations leadership in primary care, specialty, and oncology .
- Governance and innovation: Serves on boards of public companies and MGB Innovation Growth Board, adding health system innovation perspective .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adele Gulfo | — | — | As of April 15, 2025 beneficial ownership table shows “—”; no pledge reported |
| Award Inventory (Director Equity Grants) | Quantity | Vested vs Unvested (per schedule) |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Options (4/15/2025) | 50,700 | 33% vests at 4/15/2026; remaining monthly over following 24 months, subject to service |
| RSUs (4/15/2025) | 10,860 | One-third vest annually at 4/15/2026, 4/15/2027, 4/15/2028, subject to service |
- Shares pledged as collateral: None reported for directors; policy prohibits pledging .
- Ownership guidelines: Not disclosed for directors in the 2025 proxy .
Governance Assessment
- Strong independence and shareholder mandate: Gulfo’s election carried overwhelming support, reinforcing investor confidence in bolstering commercialization expertise ahead of potential obicetrapib launch .
- Alignment via equity grants: Director pay structure combines modest cash retainer with multi-year time-based equity (options and RSUs), promoting longer-term alignment though lacking explicit performance-conditional metrics for directors .
- Committee role expectations: As of the proxy, Gulfo was not assigned to standing committees; given her profile, future placement on Compensation or Nomination/Governance committees could enhance board effectiveness in launch readiness and human capital strategy .
- Risk controls: Robust policies on related-party review, conflicts, hedging/pledging prohibitions, and executive clawbacks support governance quality; no Item 404(a) related-party exposure disclosed for Gulfo .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Gulfo. No low attendance, no related-party transactions, no hedging/pledging, and strong shareholder approval for her appointment .