Cheryl Gault
About Cheryl Gault
Cheryl Gault, age 46, is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Rapport Therapeutics, serving since September 2023. She previously held senior roles in corporate strategy and operations at Cyclerion Therapeutics and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and holds a B.S. in Marketing from Boston College . Company operating performance in her tenure has remained loss-making with negative EBITDA across recent quarters (see table below). The company’s insider trading policy prohibits hedging and pledging, and it adopted a clawback policy in 2024, aligning executive incentives with shareholder protections .
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA ($USD) | -19,981,000* | -24,063,000* | -26,732,000* | -26,925,000* |
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclerion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CYCN) | Vice President, Head of Strategy | Apr 2019–May 2020 | Led corporate strategy initiatives |
| Cyclerion Therapeutics | SVP, Strategy & Corporate Development | May 2020–Jan 2021 | Drove strategy and BD/corporate development |
| Cyclerion Therapeutics | Chief Operating Officer | Jan 2021–Jul 2023 | Oversaw company operations |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals | VP, Commercial Strategy & New Product Planning | Feb 2017–Apr 2019 | Led commercial strategy and NPP |
| Rapport Therapeutics | Chief Operating Officer | Sep 2023–present | Responsible for operations; signed HQ sublease and office relocation |
External Roles
- None disclosed in company filings for Ms. Gault .
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed for Ms. Gault. Rapport is an emerging growth company and provided “smaller reporting company” executive compensation detail for NEOs (CEO, CFO, former CMO) only in FY2024; COO compensation specifics are not included .
Performance Compensation
- Company framework: Annual cash bonuses for executives are determined by Board discretion based on corporate goals including advancing RAP-219 R&D, scaling the organization, and securing funding; detailed metrics/weightings were disclosed for the program but only NEO outcomes are presented, not COO-specific payouts .
- Equity award mechanics (company-standard terms): Options generally vest 25% at 1-year, then monthly over 3 years; restricted stock vests 25% at 1-year, then monthly over 3 years; acceleration applies upon qualifying termination in a CIC period for NEOs; COO-specific equity grant terms were not disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | Not individually disclosed for Ms. Gault; executives/directors as a group: 5,078,519 shares (13.57%) . |
| Hedging / Pledging | Prohibited by insider trading policy for executive officers and directors . |
| 10b5-1 plan adoption | Ms. Gault adopted a Rule 10b5-1 plan on Dec 11, 2024 for the sale of up to 10,000 shares over ~8 months . |
| Lock-up constraints | September 2025 offering included a 90-day lock-up restricting sales, pledging, and hedging with typical permitted exceptions and 10b5-1 plan conditions . |
| Ownership guidelines | No executive stock ownership guidelines disclosure identified . |
| Clawback policy | Adopted May 29, 2024 (effective June 6, 2024) to recover incentive pay tied to financial measures upon restatement within preceding 3 years . |
Employment Terms
- Appointment: COO since September 2023; executive officer biography confirms role and background .
- Contract terms: No specific employment agreement, severance multiple, or change-of-control terms disclosed for the COO in the proxy; NEO agreements only are described .
- Operational responsibilities: Signed the company’s Boston HQ sublease with Bristol Myers/Ceravel as sublandlord on June 3, 2025, acting as Subtenant signatory; rent schedule and relocation addresses list Ms. Gault as the contact, evidencing oversight of facilities and office move to 99 High Street, Boston .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and selling pressure: Hedging and pledging prohibitions reduce misalignment risk, while Ms. Gault’s pre-established 10b5-1 plan for 10,000 shares indicates programmatic sales rather than discretionary selling; September 2025 lock-up further constrained short-term sales activity .
- Disclosure gaps: COO-specific compensation (salary, bonus targets/payouts, equity grant sizes, severance/CIC terms) are not disclosed, limiting pay-for-performance assessment at the individual level; analysts should monitor future proxies and Item 5.02 8-Ks for updates .
- Execution context: Company remains loss-making with negative EBITDA across recent quarters, typical of a clinical-stage biotech; operational actions (HQ sublease, relocation) signed by Ms. Gault suggest active scaling of the organization to support pipeline goals referenced in incentive frameworks .
Note: Where company-level programs and vesting mechanics are summarized, they reflect disclosures applicable to NEOs and standard plan terms; Cheryl Gault-specific award sizes and severance/CIC economics were not disclosed in available filings.