William Young
About William Young
William Young (age 80) is an independent Class III director of Praxis Precision Medicines, serving since December 2016; his current term runs to the 2026 annual meeting . He is a Senior Advisor with Blackstone Life Sciences (since November 2018), former CEO/Chair of Monogram Biosciences, and former COO of Genentech. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (Purdue), an MBA (Indiana University), an honorary doctorate in Engineering (Purdue), and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1993 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackstone Life Sciences | Senior Advisor | Nov 2018–Present | Strategic life sciences investing/advisory |
| Clarus Ventures (acquired by Blackstone) | Venture Partner/Senior Advisor; portfolio company board member | Mar 2010–2018 | Venture investing; portfolio governance |
| Monogram Biosciences | Chairman & Chief Executive Officer | 2000–2009 | Led company to sale to Labcorp (2009) |
| Genentech | Chief Operating Officer; earlier roles over 20 years | COO 1997–1999 | Senior operating leadership at leading biotech |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: AUTL) | Director | Current |
| Annexon, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANNX) | Chairman | Mar 2017–Feb 2021 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) | Director | May 2015–Jun 2020 |
| BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) | Director | Sep 2010–Nov 2015 |
| Theravance Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBPH) | Director | Oct 2013–Feb 2023 |
| NanoString Technologies, Inc. | Director/Chair (prior) | Not specified (prior service) |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined all directors except the CEO are independent; this includes Mr. Young .
- Committees: Chair, Compensation Committee; Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee .
- Attendance: In 2024 the Board held four meetings; each director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings on which they served; five of seven attended the 2024 annual meeting .
- Board structure: Independent chair (Dean Mitchell); separate CEO/Chair roles .
- Term/class: Class III; term expires at the 2026 annual meeting .
Fixed Compensation
Director pay policy (effective May 31, 2024 changes noted):
| Component | Annual Retainer (pre-5/31/2024) | Annual Retainer (post-5/31/2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Board member cash retainer | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Non-executive chair additional retainer | $35,000 | $35,000 |
| Audit Committee chair/member | $16,000 / $8,000 | $20,000 / $10,000 |
| Compensation Committee chair/member | $12,000 / $6,000 | $15,000 / $7,500 |
| Nominating & Governance chair/member | $8,000 / $4,000 | $10,000 / $5,000 |
| Science & Technology chair/member | $8,000 / $4,000 | $8,000 / $4,000 |
Mr. Young’s reported director compensation:
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash fees | $58,418 | $58,341 |
| Option awards (grant-date fair value) | $20,866 | $303,099 |
| Total | $79,284 | $361,440 |
| Mix (Cash vs Equity) | 74% / 26% (calc. from disclosed amounts) | 16% / 84% (calc. from disclosed amounts) |
- Equity program for directors: Initial option equal to 0.1% of shares outstanding at grant; annual option equal to 0.05%; vests monthly; full vesting on sale of company .
Performance Compensation
- No performance-conditioned metrics apply to non-employee director compensation; director equity grants are time-based under the policy noted above .
- Clawback: Awards under the company’s plan are subject to clawback/forfeiture to comply with company policy and applicable law .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Relationship to PRAX | Interlock/Conflict Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Autolus Therapeutics plc | Unrelated (separate biotech) | No PRAX-related transactions disclosed |
| Vertex, BioMarin, Theravance, Annexon, NanoString (prior) | Unrelated (separate biopharmas) | No PRAX-related transactions disclosed |
- Related party transactions: PRAX discloses none involving Mr. Young; the only related-party item noted concerns the General Counsel’s outside entity (RogCon) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep operating and board experience in biotech (former COO of Genentech; former CEO/Chair of Monogram Biosciences) .
- Investment and portfolio governance expertise (Clarus/Blackstone Life Sciences) .
- Technical credentials: Chemical engineering degree; National Academy of Engineering (1993) .
Equity Ownership
Beneficial ownership as of April 28, 2025:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Common shares owned | 1,898 |
| Options exercisable within 60 days | 20,312 |
| Total beneficial ownership (shares) | 22,210 |
| Ownership as % of outstanding | <1% |
| Director option holdings (Dec 31, 2024 reference) | Options to purchase 20,312 shares |
- Hedging/derivatives in company stock are prohibited for officers and directors under PRAX’s Insider Trading Policy .
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths:
- Independent director with significant compensation oversight experience; serves as Compensation Committee Chair .
- Board independence affirmed; separation of Chair/CEO; active committees; engagement evident via ≥75% meeting attendance in 2024 .
- Use of independent compensation consultant (FW Cook), with independence assessed and no conflicts reported .
- Director equity program aligns incentives; change-of-control equity acceleration is fully disclosed; awards subject to clawback provisions .
-
Watch items:
- Age/tenure considerations (age 80; director since 2016) suggest ongoing board refresh planning is prudent .
- 2024 option award value increased materially year over year (from ~$21k to ~$303k) due to equity program economics and market value; monitor equity grant sizing relative to performance and shareholder outcomes .
- No pledging disclosure; hedging is prohibited, reducing alignment risk .
-
Conflicts/related parties:
- No related-party transactions disclosed involving Mr. Young; no interlocks with PRAX customers/suppliers disclosed .