Christopher Twomey
TANDEM DIABETES CAREAbout Christopher Twomey
Independent director at Tandem Diabetes Care since 2013; age 65 as of March 31, 2025. Former Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Biosite (1990–2007), and Audit Manager at Ernst & Young (1981–1990). Serves as Chair of Tandem’s Audit Committee and is designated an audit committee financial expert; holds a B.A. in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara. Also director and Audit Committee Chair at Bionano Genomics (NASDAQ: BNGO) since 2018, with prior audit chair roles at Senomyx and Cadence Pharmaceuticals .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biosite | Senior VP, Finance & CFO | 1990–2007 | Led finance through growth; public-company financial leadership relevance |
| Ernst & Young LLP | Audit Manager | 1981–1990 | External audit experience; controls and reporting rigor |
| Senomyx | Director; Audit Committee Chair | Not disclosed | Public board oversight prior to acquisition |
| Cadence Pharmaceuticals | Director; Audit Committee Chair | Not disclosed | Public board oversight prior to acquisition |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bionano Genomics (BNGO) | Director; Audit Committee Chair | Since July 2018 | Audit leadership; life sciences instrumentation domain |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Chair, Audit Committee; audit committee financial expert; independent director under SEC/Nasdaq rules .
- Committee activity: Audit (4 meetings in 2024); Compensation (7); Nominating & Corporate Governance (4); Privacy & Security Subcommittee (4). Twomey as Audit Chair authored Audit Committee Report .
- Attendance: 2024—each director attended 100% of Board meetings and at least 75% of their committee meetings; 2023—each attended 100% of Board and at least 80% of committee meetings .
- Board structure: Independent Chair (Rebecca Robertson); regular executive sessions of independent directors .
- Independence: Board affirmatively determined Twomey is independent (SEC/Nasdaq) .
Director election support (signal vs peers):
| Metric | 2024 Director Election | 2025 Director Election |
|---|---|---|
| Votes For (Twomey) | 45,464,764 | 47,464,147 |
| Votes Against (Twomey) | 5,049,109 | 8,478,415 |
| Abstain (Twomey) | 35,031 | 74,675 |
| Broker Non-Votes | 4,013,638 | 2,880,693 |
Note: Twomey’s “For” votes were notably lower than several peers in 2025, a potential monitoring point for investor sentiment .
Fixed Compensation
Director fee program (2024):
| Role | Member Annual Retainer ($) | Chair Annual Retainer ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Directors | 55,000 | 115,000 |
| Audit Committee | 11,000 | 25,000 |
| Compensation Committee | 9,000 | 20,000 |
| Nominating & Governance | 7,000 | 17,000 |
| Privacy & Security Subcommittee | 6,000 | 15,000 |
Christopher Twomey—2024 director compensation:
| Component | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | 78,000 |
| Stock Awards (grant-date fair value, RSUs) | 225,448 |
| Total | 303,448 |
Performance Compensation
| Element | Structure | Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Director Equity | RSUs granted at annual meeting; vesting time-based over three years | No performance-based director equity disclosed; RSUs time-based |
| Director Plan Limits | Non-employee director annual cap $750k (includes cash) | 2023 Plan director limit as governance guardrail |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee Interlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Bionano Genomics (BNGO) | Director; Audit Chair | None disclosed at TNDM; Twomey is not on TNDM’s compensation committee; committee interlock statement shows no interlocking relationships among TNDM directors . |
| Prior (Senomyx; Cadence Pharmaceuticals) | Audit Chair | Historical roles; no current interlocks disclosed . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial reporting and audit: Former CFO (Biosite), EY audit manager; designated audit committee financial expert .
- Life sciences sector experience across finance and governance .
- Board skills matrix: Financial Expert competency highlighted on the Board .
Equity Ownership
| Ownership Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficially Owned Shares (as of Mar 14, 2025) | 23,968 (11,288 direct; 5,112 family trust; 7,568 Twomey Family Investments, LLC; with appropriate ownership disclaimers) |
| % of Shares Outstanding | <1% |
| Options Exercisable by May 13, 2025 | 39,132 |
| Aggregate RSUs Outstanding (Dec 31, 2024) | 4,387 |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited by Insider Trading Policy; no pledged shares outstanding |
| Ownership Guidelines | Directors: 3x annual director cash retainer; 5-year phase-in; all directors compliant or within phase-in as measured |
Related-Party Exposure (monitoring)
| Year | Relationship Detail | Compensation Amount (employee) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Brother-in-law employed as manufacturing engineer; Twomey not on comp committee, not involved in decisions; compensation consistent with peers | ~$178,000 |
| 2022 | Same | ~$192,000 |
| 2023 | Same | ~$179,000 |
| 2024 | Same | ~$192,000 |
Controls: Related-Party Transaction Policy with audit committee review; explicit statement of no involvement by Twomey; compensation benchmarked to peers .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
| Meeting | Say-on-Pay For | Against | Abstain | Frequency Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Annual Meeting | 47,949,063 | 2,300,733 | 299,108 | N/A |
| 2025 Annual Meeting | 54,337,934 | 1,598,126 | 81,177 | One Year (55,871,429 votes) |
High approval indicates broad investor support for compensation governance; frequency remains annual, aligned with best practices .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Deep audit and finance expertise; independent status; high attendance; robust committee leadership; explicit anti-hedging/pledging and clawback policies; director ownership guidelines with compliance monitoring .
- Alignment: Director equity in RSUs and ownership requirements support long-term alignment; cash/equity mix within peer norms; director compensation transparent (retainers and annual RSU grants) .
- Signals to monitor:
- Relatively lower 2025 director election support for Twomey vs peers may reflect investor scrutiny; continue monitoring future vote trends and any governance-related feedback .
- Related-party exposure through family employment addressed by policy and controls; repeat disclosures consistent over multiple years; risk appears mitigated but remains a watch item .
- No red flags disclosed regarding legal proceedings, hedging/pledging, option repricing, or consultant conflicts; compensation committee interlocks explicitly denied .