Stephen Moore
PersonalisAbout Stephen Moore
Stephen Moore (age 53) is Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Personalis (PSNL). He has served as SVP & CLO since February 2024, Corporate Secretary since May 2020, and previously Vice President & General Counsel from April 2020 to February 2024; education includes a B.A. in Political Science (San Jose State University) and J.D. (University of California, Davis) . Company-level performance during his recent tenure shows TSR improvement (value of a $100 investment rose from 14.72 in 2023 to 40.50 in 2024) and narrower net losses (from $108.3M in 2023 to $81.3M in 2024) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personalis, Inc. | Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer | Feb 2024 – Present | Executive legal leadership through commercialization, reimbursement, and strategic agreements . |
| Personalis, Inc. | Corporate Secretary | May 2020 – Present | Governance leadership supporting Board and shareholder communications . |
| Personalis, Inc. | Vice President & General Counsel | Apr 2020 – Feb 2024 | Built legal function; supported commercial, IP, and compliance scaling . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. | General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Oct 2014 – Apr 2020 | Public company legal leadership in advanced genomics . |
| Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. | Assoc. GC; Sr Director, Commercial Legal Affairs; VP, Legal Affairs | Jan 2010 – Oct 2014 | Commercial contracting, product, and corporate legal operations . |
| Navigenics, Inc. | General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Jun 2007 – Dec 2009 | Consumer genomics legal leadership . |
| Affymetrix, Inc. | Various legal roles including Associate General Counsel | Jan 1999 – Jun 2007 | Microarray industry legal operations and IP/commercial support . |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary Earned ($) | $409,229 | $424,985 |
| Base Salary Level ($) | $415,600 | $428,100 |
| Target Bonus (%) | — | 40% |
| Actual Bonus Paid ($) | $68,341 | $169,990 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $3,000 (401k match) | $3,000 (401k match) |
Performance Compensation
| Metric (2023) | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Revenue vs Budget | 60% | N/A | Achieved | Included in 100% plan funding | Corporate goals only . |
| Launch NeXT Personal Dx (LDT) | 10% | N/A | Achieved | Included in 100% plan funding | — |
| Turnaround Time Reduction (strategic customer) | 10% | N/A | Achieved | Included in 100% plan funding | — |
| Peer-reviewed publication submissions | 10% | N/A | Achieved | Included in 100% plan funding | — |
| Expense Reduction vs Budget | 10% | N/A | Achieved | Included in 100% plan funding | — |
| Overall Company Goal Achievement | — | 100% plan funding | 100% | 100% of target | NEO bonuses tied fully to corporate goals . |
| Payout Detail (2023) | Value |
|---|---|
| Target Bonus % | 40% of salary earned |
| Company Goal Achievement | 100% |
| Actual Bonus Paid | $169,990 |
The company adopted a clawback policy in November 2023 (Nasdaq Rule 5608-compliant), filed as an exhibit to the 2023 Form 10-K .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Beneficial Ownership (as of Mar 20, 2024) | Shares | % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Moore | 218,379 | <1% |
| Outstanding Equity Awards (as of Dec 31, 2023) | Grant Date | Vesting Commencement | Exercisable Options (#) | Unexercisable Options (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration | Unvested RSUs (#) | RSU Market Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSU | 4/29/2020 | 4/29/2020 | — | — | — | — | 12,500 | $26,250 |
| Stock Option | 4/29/2020 | 4/29/2020 | 91,666 | 8,334 | 10.81 | 4/29/2030 | — | — |
| Stock Option | 5/15/2021 | 5/15/2021 | 16,145 | 8,855 | 19.74 | 5/15/2031 | — | — |
| RSU | 5/15/2021 | 5/15/2021 | — | — | — | — | 4,500 | $9,450 |
| RSU | 12/14/2021 | 12/14/2021 | — | — | — | — | 8,334 | $17,501 |
| Stock Option | 8/15/2022 | 5/15/2022 | 15,147 | 13,553 | 5.32 | 8/15/2032 | — | — |
| RSU | 8/15/2022 | 5/15/2022 | — | — | — | — | 9,300 | $19,530 |
| Stock Option | 3/15/2023 | 3/15/2023 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 2.76 | 3/15/2033 | — | — |
- Vesting mechanics: 25% cliff + 36 monthly installments for new-hire options; 36 or 48 monthly installments for annual options; RSUs vest in annual installments over 4 years or in 6–8 semiannual installments, subject to continuous service .
- Insider Trading Policy prohibits hedging and pledging, and holding stock in margin accounts, reducing alignment risk from collateralization .
Employment Terms
| Provision | Non-Change-in-Control | Change-in-Control (within 12 months) |
|---|---|---|
| Severance Cash | 6 months base salary | 9 months base salary + 75% of then-current target annual bonus |
| COBRA Health Premiums | Up to 6 months | Up to 9 months |
| Equity | No special acceleration disclosed outside CoC | Full acceleration of unvested outstanding equity (performance awards vest at target) |
| Conditions | Timely execution/non-revocation of general release | Timely execution/non-revocation of general release |
- Employment is at-will; initial offer letter dated February 13, 2020; eligible for annual bonus plan; executed proprietary information and inventions assignment agreement .
- Clawback policy adopted November 1, 2023 and maintained in 2025 program .
- No tax gross-ups or perquisites provided to named executive officers; 401(k) company match is $3,000 (as applicable) .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Moore’s 2023 cash incentive was fully tied to corporate goals with 100% achievement and payout, consistent with the company’s at-risk pay philosophy; his target bonus remained modest (40%), indicating appropriate risk-sharing for a legal executive .
- Retention risk: Non-CoC severance at 6 months base salary and regular monthly/semiannual vesting (options/RSUs) create continuing retention hooks without excessive guaranteed pay; CoC terms include nine months salary, partial bonus, and full acceleration—standard but not overly rich .
- Ownership/pledging risk: Beneficial ownership is <1% and company policy prohibits pledging and speculative transactions, reducing misalignment or forced-sale risks from collateralized positions .
- Governance/comp oversight: Strong shareholder support (96.7% say-on-pay approval in 2024) and active Compensation Committee with independent consultant (Aon) signal disciplined compensation governance and benchmarking against relevant diagnostics/life sciences peers .
- Disclosure risk indicator: One late Section 16 Form 3 filing in 2022 attributed to EDGAR code delays (administrative), with no pattern of violations disclosed; monitor Form 4 activity as vesting events occur .