Donald Landry
SENSIENT TECHNOLOGIESAbout Donald W. Landry
Dr. Donald W. Landry (age 70) has served as an independent director of Sensient Technologies Corporation since 2015. He is Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and serves on the Compensation and Development Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee. Landry is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University, Founding Director of Columbia’s Center for Human Longevity, and previously served as Chair of Medicine at Columbia and Physician-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia (2008–2023); he holds a B.S. in Chemistry (Lafayette), a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (Harvard), and an M.D. (Columbia). The Board has affirmatively determined he is independent under NYSE and SEC rules.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons | Professor of Medicine | 2004–present | Senior academic and clinical leadership; research and innovation leadership |
| Columbia University | Founding Director, Center for Human Longevity | 2023–present | Leads longevity-focused research initiative |
| NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center | Physician-in-Chief | 2008–2023 | Led clinical operations as department chair |
| Columbia University Medical Center | Director, Division of Experimental Therapeutics | 1998–2021 | Directed translational therapeutics research |
| Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (subsidiary) | Founding Director | 2007–2011 | Start-up formation and public registration experience |
| Vela Pharmaceuticals (private) | Co-founder | Not disclosed | CNS drug development |
| Tegrigen Therapeutics, LLC (private) | Co-founder | Not disclosed | Novel integrin antagonists for inflammation/fibrosis/oncology |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (NASDAQ) | Director | 2011–2019 | Public company directorship (prior); CNS therapeutics focus |
| President’s Council on Bioethics | Member | George W. Bush Administration | Federal bioethics advisory role; awarded Presidential Citizens Medal (2008) |
| National Academy of Inventors | Elected Fellow | 2016 | 51 patents as inventor/co-inventor; 125 peer-reviewed articles |
Board Governance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Committee assignments | Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (Chair); Compensation & Development Committee (Member); Scientific Advisory Committee (Member) |
| Independence | Independent under NYSE/SEC and company criteria (Board determined) |
| Attendance | 100% of Board and committee meetings attended by each director in 2024 (except one director missed one Executive Committee meeting; Landry is not on Exec Committee) |
| 2024 meeting cadence | Board: 6; Audit: 9; Compensation & Development: 6; Finance: 4; Nominating & Corporate Governance: 5; Scientific Advisory: 2 |
| ESG/sustainability oversight | As Chair, Nominating & Corporate Governance oversees ESG, approves Sustainability Strategy and Report |
| Independent director sessions | Four executive sessions of independent directors in 2024 |
Fixed Compensation
Program structure (non-employee directors):
- Annual cash retainer: $91,600 (unchanged since 2018). Committee chair retainers range from $8,000 to $25,500; committee member retainers range from $2,000 to $13,500; Lead Director retainer $25,000. Equity retainer increased to $111,000 effective at the 2025 annual meeting.
- Stock ownership/holding: Directors must hold at least 75% of net shares from future awards until separation; strong ownership guidelines apply (see “Equity Ownership”).
2024 director compensation (Dr. Landry):
| Component | 2024 Amount |
|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | $108,600 |
| Stock Awards ($) | $100,003 |
| Change in Pension/Nonqualified Deferral ($) | $0 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $0 |
| Total ($) | $208,603 |
Performance Compensation
Directors do not receive performance-based cash or option awards; equity is granted as time-vested restricted stock.
| Equity Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2024 RSU/Restricted Stock grant value | $100,003 grant-date fair value (awarded 4/25/2024) |
| Grant-date price | $69.64 per share |
| Implied shares granted (2024) | 1,436 shares (calculated: $100,003 ÷ $69.64) |
| Vesting | One-third vests at each of the first, second, and third annual shareholder meetings after grant |
| Options | No option awards outstanding for directors |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company directorships | None disclosed |
| Prior public company directorships | Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp., Director (2011–2019) |
| Compensation Committee interlocks | None in 2024 (no interlocking relationships; no Item 404 related-party relationships among committee members) |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Medical, pharmaceutical, and chemistry expertise; start-up formation and public company experience (Tonix), and commercialization/R&D leadership; 51 patents, 125 peer-reviewed publications.
- Governance: Chairs the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee, with oversight of director selection, governance guidelines, and ESG strategy/report approval.
- Recognitions: Presidential Citizens Medal (2008); National Academy of Inventors (2016).
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (shares) | 9,021 |
| Unvested restricted stock (as of 12/31/2024) | 2,603 |
| Options outstanding | 0 (no director option awards outstanding) |
| Shares outstanding (for % calc) | 42,437,618 (as of Feb 27, 2025) |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | ~0.02% (calc: 9,021 ÷ 42,437,618) |
| Implied market value of beneficial shares | ~$642.6k at $71.23/share on Feb 14, 2025 (calc: 9,021 × $71.23) |
| Pledging/hedging | Prohibited for directors under policy; no pledging or hedging allowed |
| Director ownership guidelines | Hold shares ≥ 5× annual retainer within 5 years; must hold at least 75% of net shares from future awards until separation |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director; 100% attendance; Chairs Nominating & Corporate Governance with explicit ESG/sustainability oversight; deep scientific and commercialization background that strengthens SAC oversight; no related-party transactions disclosed; no hedging/pledging permitted; director pay structure includes meaningful equity and strong holding requirements.
- Shareholder alignment signals: Director equity grants with multi-year vesting and hold-to-retirement features; 2024 Say-on-Pay support of 92.6% indicates a constructive governance environment.
- Potential watch items (not red flags): Co-founding roles in life sciences ventures present theoretical conflict risk if Sensient were to transact with those entities; the company discloses no such related-party transactions for 2024. Combined CEO/Chair roles at Sensient may be viewed skeptically by some investors, though mitigated by a Lead Independent Director and frequent executive sessions.
Notes:
- All committee meeting counts and attendance reflect 2024 activity; committee roles reflect current as of the 2025 proxy.