Jeffrey Blizard
About Jeffrey Blizard
Jeffrey Blizard, age 56, is President of TELA Bio, effective June 2, 2025, after serving as a Class III director since June 4, 2024 and a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee until his resignation from the Board on June 2, 2025 . He holds a B.A. in English Literature from Saint Michael’s College and brings deep commercial leadership from Abiomed (Global Head of Surgical Sales) and senior roles at Medtronic, HeartWare, Intuitive Surgical, and Boston Scientific . Company performance context: TELA recognized $69.3 million revenue in 2024 (+19% YoY) and reported net income of $(37.8) million in 2024 and $(46.7) million in 2023; cumulative TSR values (fixed $100) were 26.26 in 2024 and 57.57 in 2023 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abiomed (J&J MedTech Segment) | Global Head of Surgical Sales; previously GM Sales – CT Surgery, Heart Failure, ECMO; National Director of Sales – CT Surgery/Heart Failure | 2017–2025 | Led Impella surgical market sales from $16M to $300M over seven years . |
| Medtronic | Senior sales leadership | Not disclosed | Senior leadership experience in medtech commercialization . |
| HeartWare | Senior sales leadership | Not disclosed | Senior leadership experience in cardiac devices . |
| Intuitive Surgical | Senior sales leadership | Not disclosed | Senior leadership experience in robotics-assisted surgery . |
| Boston Scientific | Senior sales leadership | Not disclosed | Senior leadership experience across medtech categories . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SANUWAVE Health, Inc. | Director | Current | Medical technology company in regenerative medicine; concurrent board service disclosed . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary (President) | $475,000 annually | Set in Blizard Employment Agreement dated June 2, 2025 . |
| Target Annual Bonus | 50% of base salary | 2025 target pro-rated; metrics to be established annually . |
| Sign-on Bonus | $150,000 cash | Paid at appointment as President . |
| Non-Employee Director Cash Retainers (2024) | $45,000 Board; $5,000 NCGC member | Under director compensation policy; applied during 2024 Board service . |
| 2024 Director Fees Earned | $16,250 | Reported in 2024 Director Compensation Table . |
Performance Compensation
| Award Type | Grant Date | Shares/Terms | Vesting | Payout/Strike |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Options (President) | Jun 2, 2025 | 154,100 options | 25% on first anniversary; remaining 75% in 36 equal monthly installments; expires Jun 2, 2035; continued service required . | Exercise price = closing price on grant date . |
| RSUs (President) | Jun 2, 2025 | 104,800 RSUs | Four equal annual installments beginning first anniversary; continued service required . | Grant-date fair value not disclosed in 8-K . |
| Initial Director Options | Jun 4, 2024 | 9,300 options | 36 equal monthly installments; service required . | Non-employee director compensation policy . |
| Initial Director RSUs | Jun 4, 2024 | 6,375 RSUs | Three equal annual installments; service required . | Non-employee director compensation policy . |
| Annual Director Equity (future policy) | Beginning at 2025 Annual Meeting | 6,200 options + 4,250 RSUs per year | Vests on earlier of first anniversary, next annual meeting, or change-in-control; service required . | Compensation policy terms . |
| 2024 Director Stock Awards | $36,401 (RSUs); $35,744 (Options) | Aggregate grant-date fair values (FASB ASC 718) . | As per policy vesting above . | Reported totals for 2024 . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | As of | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership (Shares) | Apr 1, 2025 | 2,842 shares | Options exercisable within 60 days; less than 1% ownership . |
| Vested Options (Director, FY-end) | Dec 31, 2024 | 1,550 | Director outstanding awards table . |
| Unvested Options (Director, FY-end) | Dec 31, 2024 | 7,750 | Director outstanding awards table . |
| Unvested RSUs (Director, FY-end) | Dec 31, 2024 | 6,375 | Director outstanding awards table . |
| Pledging/Hedging | Policy | Prohibited: pledging, hedging, shorts, options, margin | Insider Trading Policy . |
| Clawback | Policy | Dodd-Frank compliant; 3-year lookback on incentive comp upon restatement | Applies to current/former executive officers . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Non-Change-of-Control | Change-of-Control Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severance (salary continuation) | 9 months | 12 months | Upon termination without Cause or resignation for Good Reason . |
| Bonus Treatment | Prior year bonus if accrued/unpaid | Pro-rated portion of year-of-termination bonus (based on potential) | As defined in Employment Agreement . |
| Equity | No acceleration | Acceleration of vesting/exercisability of outstanding awards; performance-vesting metrics remain eligible over remainder of period | Service-vesting deemed satisfied; performance vesting based on actuals; double-trigger structure . |
| COBRA Benefits | Health/dental/vision continuation up to 9 months | Health/dental/vision continuation up to 12 months | Earliest of periods specified in agreement . |
| Definitions | “Cause,” “Good Reason,” “Change of Control” as defined | — | Agreement to be filed with Q2 2025 Form 10-Q . |
Related SEC Filings (Insider Transactions & Appointments)
- Form 4 filed June 6, 2024 reflecting initial director equity awards and vesting schedules .
- Form 4 filed June 2, 2025 related to President appointment equity grants .
- 8-K June 2, 2025 announcing appointment as President and summarizing employment agreement terms .
- 8-K June 6, 2024 announcing appointment to Board and initial director awards/retainers .
Additional Governance & Compensation Context
- 2025 Proxy nominates Blizard for re-election as a Class III director (prior to his June 2, 2025 resignation to become President); committee memberships listed and board governance practices described .
- Non-employee director compensation policy (cash and equity elements) and 2024 director compensation table reported .
- Say-on-Pay and Say-on-Frequency proposals introduced in 2025 (recommended “FOR” and one-year frequency) .
- Company performance highlights: 2024 revenue $69.3M (+19% YoY) and cost reduction efforts; corporate developments summarized .
Investment Implications
- Strong equity alignment: significant new President grants (options + RSUs) with multi-year service-vesting and double-trigger acceleration in CoC scenarios, suggesting retention emphasis while preserving performance accountability for any PSUs that may be introduced later .
- Insider selling pressure appears limited near term: vesting begins at first anniversaries (June 2, 2026) with staggered schedules thereafter; pledging/hedging prohibited and clawback policy in place, reducing governance risk around equity monetization .
- Executive cash comp is modest relative to medtech peers (base $475K; 50% target bonus), with explicit severance terms (9–12 months) and pro-rated bonus in CoC; this creates predictable downside protection while tying upside to equity-driven value creation .
- Track record suggests commercial execution capability (Impella surgical sales scaling history) aligned with TELA’s 2024 growth and ongoing commercial investments, but net losses persist; monitoring bonus metric calibration and equity grant mix for pay-for-performance rigor is warranted .