Mary Beth Dooley
About Mary Beth Dooley
Mary Beth Dooley (age 44) is Synlogic’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, serving as PEO since January 1, 2025 and PFO since March 18, 2024; she previously served as Head of Finance (November 2023) and Controller (since June 2018). Her background spans FP&A leadership at Idera Pharmaceuticals (2014–2018), audit/assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (2012–2014), and earlier banking experience at Boston Private Bank & Trust Company; she holds a B.S. in Economics (Bates College) and an M.B.A. plus M.S. in Accounting (Northeastern University) . For 2024, her compensation featured a $325,000 base salary and a 30% target bonus ($97,500 paid), with a retention bonus structure tied monthly to tenure through change-in-control events; detailed performance metrics were described as “pre-established performance criteria” without line-item disclosure .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idera Pharmaceuticals | Senior Manager, FP&A | 2014–2018 | Built planning/analysis capabilities supporting biotech operations |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Associate | 2012–2014 | Audit/assurance foundation; financial controls experience |
| Boston Private Bank & Trust Company | Assistant Vice President (Investment Management & Trust) | Not disclosed | Institutional trust and investment administration exposure |
External Roles
No current public company directorships or external board roles disclosed for Ms. Dooley .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 303,125 | 325,000 |
| Target Bonus (%) | — | 30% |
| Actual Bonus Paid ($) | 85,800 | 97,500 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | 9,900 (401(k) match) | 10,350 (401(k) match) |
| Total Compensation ($) | 433,502 | 486,490 |
2025 onward: Ms. Dooley is not eligible for annual bonuses under her amended agreement .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Bonus Framework | Pre-established corporate/individual goals per employment agreement (specific KPIs not disclosed) | Pre-established corporate/individual goals per employment agreement (specific KPIs not disclosed) |
| Target (% of Salary) | Not disclosed | 30% |
| Actual Payout | $85,800 (paid) | $97,500 (paid; equals 100% of 30% target on $325,000) |
| Equity Performance Awards | Options with performance-vesting criteria introduced in 2023; general approach described (criteria: clinical/regulatory milestones); grant specifics for other NEOs disclosed; Dooley’s 2023 awards were time-based plus RSUs | 2024 performance RSU awards for other NEOs were cancelled after program changes; Dooley received 12,000 RSUs time-based (not performance-tied) |
Specific performance metric targets (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR percentile) and weightings were not itemized for Ms. Dooley; cash bonuses are described as based on pre-established criteria, determined by the Board per her employment agreement .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership as of October 31, 2025: 25,664 shares; represents less than 1% of outstanding shares (11,698,919 outstanding) .
- Insider trading policy prohibits short sales, margin pledging, hedging (collars/derivatives), and transactions in publicly traded options; trades require pre-clearance and are subject to blackout windows; clawback policy adopted September 20, 2023 for recovery of excess incentive compensation upon restatement .
- Repricing history: One-time option repricing in November 2023 reduced exercise prices to $1.85 (including certain NEO options), indicating prior underwater options across the organization .
Outstanding Equity Awards (as of December 31, 2024)
| Grant Date | Instrument | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Exercise Price ($) | Expiration | Unvested RSUs (#) | Market Value of RSUs ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/29/2018 | Stock Option | 333 | — | 1.85 | 6/29/2028 | — | — |
| 11/30/2018 | Stock Option | 200 | — | 1.85 | 11/30/2028 | — | — |
| 3/5/2019 | Stock Option | 466 | — | 1.85 | 3/5/2029 | — | — |
| 3/10/2020 | Stock Option | 625 | — | 1.85 | 3/10/2030 | — | — |
| 3/10/2020 | Stock Option | 500 | — | 1.85 | 3/10/2030 | — | — |
| 3/10/2021 | Stock Option | 1,909 | 174 | 1.85 | 3/10/2031 | — | — |
| 3/10/2021 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 67 | 94 (at $1.40/share) |
| 2/4/2022 | Stock Option | 2,312 | 943 | 1.85 | 2/4/2032 | — | — |
| 2/4/2022 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 406 | 568 (at $1.40/share) |
| 9/30/2022 | Stock Option | 2,212 | 1,704 | 1.85 | 9/30/2023 | — | — |
| 10/28/2022 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 533 | 746 (at $1.40/share) |
| 3/16/2023 | Stock Option | 1,508 | 2,104 | 1.85 | 3/16/2033 | — | — |
| 3/16/2023 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 678 | 949 (at $1.40/share) |
| 1/2/2024 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 12,000 | 16,800 (at $1.40/share) |
RSU market value uses $1.40 closing price on December 31, 2024 (proxy footnote); most option exercise prices were $1.85, implying options were out-of-the-money at that date .
Vesting Schedules (Selected Awards)
- 1/2/2024 RSUs (12,000): Vest in equal annual installments on Jan 31, 2025 and Jan 31, 2026 .
- 3/16/2023 RSUs (678): Equal annual installments from Apr 1, 2024 through Apr 1, 2027 .
- 3/10/2021 RSUs (67): Equal annual installments from Apr 1, 2021 through Apr 1, 2025 .
- Time-based options generally vest in equal monthly installments over four years; specific end dates provided per grant in proxy (e.g., through Apr 1, 2025; Feb 4, 2026; Sep 16, 2026; Apr 1, 2027) .
Employment Terms
- Base salary and bonus eligibility: $325,000 base; 30% target for 2024; not eligible for any bonus in 2025 or subsequent years .
- Retention bonus: Equal to 75% of base salary per month of service from March 1, 2024 to the earlier of (i) month of Change in Control, or (ii) month of termination without Cause or resignation for Good Reason; payable upon separation agreement execution; intended to retain leadership through transition/CIC .
- Severance (non-CIC termination): 9 months of base salary continuation; Company-paid COBRA up to 9 months or until eligible with a subsequent employer; retention bonus payable if not yet triggered by CIC .
- Change-in-control and acceleration: Upon the earlier of corporate dissolution filing, closing of a Change in Control, or termination without Cause/resignation with Good Reason, all unvested portions of equity awards accelerate and become fully vested/exercisable (single-trigger acceleration at CIC, and acceleration on qualifying termination) .
- Equity award amendments (Dec 2024): Extended post-termination option exercise to 90 days; permitted share withholding to cover taxes; codified acceleration triggers above .
- Clawback and compliance: Company clawback policy (adopted Sep 20, 2023) enables recovery of excess incentive compensation upon accounting restatement; equity plan references Section 409A/422 compliance and clawback integration .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: The monthly retention bonus (75% of base per month) strongly incentivizes continuity through a transaction or wind-down; coupled with single-trigger acceleration at CIC, this structure prioritizes deal execution speed over long-term operating targets and may create near-term selling pressure once awards vest/accelerate .
- Pay-for-performance visibility: Cash bonus determinations tie to pre-established criteria but lack disclosure of specific KPIs/weights; 2024 payout at full target (30%) indicates Board-approved achievements during a strategic retrenchment, but the cancellation of performance RSUs in 2024 highlights reduced use of at-risk equity linked to clinical milestones .
- Option economics and repricing: Broad option repricing in Nov 2023 to $1.85 signals prior underwater grants; with RSUs valued at $1.40 at 2024 year-end, most options remained out-of-the-money then, diminishing immediate exercise incentives and concentrating value in time-based RSUs and CIC acceleration provisions .
- Ownership and trading risk: Low direct ownership (<1%) and strict prohibitions on hedging/pledging reduce governance red flags, but limited “skin-in-the-game” may temper alignment absent CIC-linked accelerations; pre-clearance and blackout policies mitigate opportunistic trading, lowering near-term insider-selling signals outside CIC/separation events .
- Governance and oversight: Compensation decisions overseen by an independent committee with external consultants (Alpine Rewards in 2024; Radford historically), supporting market benchmarking; however, KPI opacity for NEO bonuses limits investor evaluation of pay-for-performance rigor .
No related-party transactions for Ms. Dooley, no family relationships with directors/executives, and her appointment had no arrangements or understandings with third parties .
Appendix: Source Highlights
- Role/biography/age/education and executive roster .
- 2024/2023 Summary Compensation Table .
- RSU and option grants, vesting schedules, repricing detail .
- Employment agreement amendment: salary, bonus ineligibility, severance, retention bonus, equity acceleration, exercise extension .
- Insider trading, hedging/pledging prohibition; clawback policy .
- Beneficial ownership (as of Oct 31, 2025) .