Cameron Turtle
About Cameron Turtle
Cameron Turtle, D.Phil., age 35, is Chief Executive Officer and a Class I Director at Spyre Therapeutics (SYRE), appointed CEO and director in November 2023 after joining as COO in June 2023 . He holds a B.S. with honors in Bioengineering from the University of Washington and a D.Phil. in Cardiovascular Medicine from the University of Oxford (St. John’s College), and is a Rhodes Scholar, Goldwater Scholar, and Forbes 30 Under 30 awardee . During his tenure, SYRE reported cumulative total shareholder return of $20 on an initial fixed $100 investment by 2024 and a 2024 net loss of $208,018 thousand, consistent with early-stage biotech investment cycles . Management cites substantial value creation in 2023 from a reverse merger pivot to IBD assets, taking market cap from under $50 million pre-merger to well over $1.0 billion by year-end 2023 and through 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spyre Therapeutics (SYRE) | Chief Operating Officer | Jun 2023–Nov 2023 | Operational leadership during post-merger transformation to IBD pipeline . |
| Foresite Labs | Venture Partner | Jul 2022–May 2023 | Life sciences investing and incubation oversight . |
| BridgeBio Pharma (BBIO) | Chief Strategy Officer | Jan 2021–Apr 2022 | Corporate strategy, BD and operations at commercial-stage biotech . |
| Eidos Therapeutics (EIDX) | Chief Business Officer | Nov 2018–Jan 2021 | Led BD, IR, and ops advancing investigational cardiology medicine . |
| McKinsey & Company | Consultant | Prior to 2018 | Pharma and medtech projects in M&A, growth strategy, clinical trial strategy, sales force optimization . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oruka Therapeutics (ORKA) | Director | Aug 2024–present | External board experience in biotech; network and insight sharing . |
Board Governance
- Board service: Class I Director; not a member of Audit, Compensation, or Nominating committees .
- Independence: Not independent (CEO); Board has an independent Chair (Jeffrey W. Albers), with separate Chair/CEO roles; independent directors meet in executive session at each regular Board meeting, mitigating dual-role concerns .
- Board activity: The Board met seven times in 2024; all directors met ≥75% attendance; independent committees met 5 (Audit), 5 (Compensation), and 2 (Nominating) times in 2024 .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $625,000 | Established for 2024 by Compensation Committee. |
| Target bonus % of salary | 55% | CEO target under annual bonus program. |
| Actual annual bonus | $412,500 | Paid at 120% of target based on 2024 performance. |
| 2023 Total comp (CEO partial year) | $15,919,545 | Primarily new-hire option awards in transformation year. |
| 2024 Total comp | $6,960,186 | Includes salary, annual bonus, and 2024 option grant accounting value. |
Performance Compensation
Annual Bonus Program Structure and Outcomes (2024)
| Metric category | Weighting | Target/result summary | Timing | Achievement | Payout outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio: Advance SPY programs | 60% | Protocols & filings enabling SPY001/002 FIH, SPY001 FIH data release in 2024, Phase 2 UC initiation in 2025 | Q2–Q4 | 100% | Corporate payout factor achieved 120% of target . |
| Platform: Strategic pillars | 25% | Initiate preclinical work for combination candidates, assess precision medicine in IBD trials, device strategy/partners | Q2–Q4 | 100% | |
| Corporate: Establish/Resource Spyre | 15% | IR, Finance, HR, Compliance, Legal/IP plans to support growth | Q1–Q4 | 100% | |
| Stretch: Phase 2 readiness | +10% | Preclinical/regulatory activities incl. early SPY002 IND submission | Q3–Q4 | 100% | |
| Stretch: Partnership/collaboration/investment | +10% | Validation of external support | Q4 | 100% |
- 2024 payout factor: 120% of target; CEO bonus paid $412,500; CFO pro-rated results also paid; CMO pro-rated due to start date .
Equity Awards (structure and vesting)
| Grant date | Instrument | Shares/options | Exercise price | Grant-date fair value | Vesting schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2024 | Stock options | 277,750 | $25.86/sh | $5,914,353 | Equal monthly vesting through 4th anniversary . |
| Nov 22, 2023 | Stock options | 374,000 (101,291 ex.; 272,709 unex.) | $10.39/sh | — | 25% at 1st anniversary, then monthly to 4th anniversary . |
| Jun 22, 2023 | Stock options | 1,891,887 (709,457 ex.; 1,182,430 unex.) | $7.50/sh | — | Equal monthly vesting through 4th anniversary . |
| Converted restricted common (legacy Spyre) | Restricted stock | 333,893 | — | $7,773,029 market value at $23.28 | Equal monthly vesting through Nov 22, 2026 . |
- Grant timing policy: Adopted Dec 2024 to avoid blackout periods and MNPI windows; disclosure shows CEO and CFO grants on Feb 1, 2024 occurred before policy adoption; MNPI window change in stock price around disclosure was -0.8% .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Ownership detail | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (shares) | 1,804,041 | DEF 14A beneficial ownership table. |
| Ownership (% of outstanding) | 2.94% | 60,275,561 shares outstanding basis. |
| Direct common shares held | 747,540 | CEO line item detail. |
| Options exercisable within 60 days | 1,056,501 | CEO line item detail. |
| Unvested options outstanding | 1,675,025 (aggregate from 2023 and 2024 grants) | Outstanding awards table. |
| Restricted shares unvested | 333,893, vesting monthly to Nov 22, 2026 | Outstanding awards table. |
| Hedging/derivatives policy | Hedging, short sales, publicly traded options prohibited | Insider trading policy. |
| Pledging | No pledging disclosure found in proxy; no item disclosed . |
Option moneyness reference at 12/31/2024: With market price $23.28, options at $7.50 and $10.39 were in-the-money, while the Feb 1, 2024 grant at $25.86 was out-of-the-money at year-end; implied intrinsic values reflect disclosed exercise and market prices .
Employment Terms
| Provision | Base case termination (without cause/for good reason) | Change-in-control (3 months before to 12 months after) |
|---|---|---|
| Salary severance | 12 months of base salary | 18 months of base salary . |
| Bonus | Prior year earned but unpaid | Prior year earned but unpaid plus 1.5× target annual bonus (CEO) . |
| COBRA | Up to 12 months partially subsidized | Up to 18 months fully subsidized . |
| Equity vesting | Accelerate time-based awards scheduled to vest in next 12 months | Full acceleration of all equity awards; performance awards at greater of target or determinable actual . |
| Restrictive covenants | Standard invention assignment, confidentiality, non-competition, non-solicitation | Same . |
| Clawback policy | Nasdaq 5608/Rule 10D-1 compliant; restatement review in 2024 resulted in no recovery due to no impact on incentive comp post Oct 2, 2023 | Same . |
Compensation Program Governance
- Say-on-Pay: 62% approval at 2024 annual meeting; investor outreach to top 25 institutions post-vote; concerns included clarity of performance goals, outreach, and magnitude of awards; Company emphasized 2023 transformation rationale and moved to more calibrated annual grants for 2024 .
- Peer group: Pre/early-clinical US biotechs $250mm–$2bn market cap; list includes ACELYRIN, Arcellx, Kymera, Alpine Immune Sciences, Celldex, RAPT, Ventyx, Vera, Apogee, etc.; updated in Sept 2024 for 2025 compensation decisions .
- Committees and consultant: Independent Compensation Committee; engaged Alpine Rewards LLC; determined no conflicts of interest .
Multi‑Year Compensation Summary (CEO)
| Year | Salary ($) | Bonus ($) | Stock awards ($) | Option awards ($) | Non‑equity incentive ($) | Other ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 625,000 | — | — | 5,914,353 | 412,500 | 8,333 | 6,960,186 |
| 2023 | 272,850 | 141,000 | — | 15,500,492 | — | 5,203 | 15,919,545 |
Outstanding and Unvested Equity Detail (12/31/2024)
| Grant date | Exercisable options (#) | Unexercisable options (#) | Exercise price ($) | Expiration | Unvested stock (#) | Market value of unvested stock ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2023 | 709,457 | 1,182,430 | 7.50 | 6/22/2033 | — | — |
| Nov 22, 2023 | 101,291 | 272,709 | 10.39 | 11/22/2033 | — | — |
| Feb 1, 2024 | 57,864 | 219,886 | 25.86 | 2/1/2034 | — | — |
| Legacy restricted stock (converted) | — | — | — | — | 333,893 | 7,773,029 |
Note: Market value computed at $23.28 closing price on 12/31/2024 .
Performance & Track Record
- Strategy execution: 2024 objectives across Portfolio, Platform, Corporate all achieved, plus both stretch goals, yielding 120% bonus payout factor .
- Value creation: Company describes market cap expansion from < $50mm pre-merger to > $1.0bn by end-2023 and throughout 2024 following IBD pipeline pivot and leadership refresh .
- Pay versus performance disclosure: Compensation Actually Paid (CAP) for CEO was $12,324,760 in 2024; TSR measured at $20 on $100 base for 2024; net loss of $208,018 thousand .
Related Party Networks and Transactions (Governance context)
- Fairmount Funds beneficial ownership ~9.99% and two Board seats (Harwin, Kiselak); Paragon/Parapyre agreements supporting antibody discovery with milestone obligations; warrants issued to Parapyre representing 1% of fully diluted shares for 2023 and 2024; none exercised as of 12/31/2024 .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Significant personal equity exposure (approx. 1.8 million beneficial shares, 2.94% of outstanding) with multi-year, predominantly option-based vesting schedules aligns incentives with long-term value creation; hedging and short sales prohibited, reducing misalignment risk .
- Selling pressure: 2024 CEO option grant is out-of-the-money at year-end ($25.86 vs $23.28), while 2023 grants are deeply in-the-money ($7.50, $10.39), potentially creating future exercise windows but with monthly vesting smoothing supply over time .
- Retention and change-in-control economics: Robust CIC protection (18 months salary, 1.5× target bonus, full equity acceleration) enhances retention but increases takeover bid costs; base-case severance is moderate (12 months) with partial vest acceleration, balancing retention and shareholder interests .
- Governance: Dual role (CEO + Director) mitigated by independent Chair, strong committee independence, and clawback policy; 2024 restatement involved EPS methodology but did not trigger compensation recovery; 62% Say-on-Pay indicates lukewarm support—Company’s expanded disclosure and recalibrated equity mix address investor feedback .
- Peer benchmarking and performance metrics: Program references peer group calibration; 2024 bonus metrics tied to tangible pipeline milestones and corporate build-out—all achieved—supporting pay-for-performance narrative, though continued transparency on metric rigor will be important for future Say-on-Pay outcomes .