Peyton Howell
TANDEM DIABETES CAREAbout Peyton Howell
Peyton Howell (age 58) is an independent director of Tandem Diabetes Care, serving since August 2020. She is the CEO of Parexel (since May 2024) and previously served as Parexel’s Chief Operating & Growth Officer (from September 2022) and Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer (from May 2018). She holds a B.A. in Health Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MHA from The Ohio State University .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parexel | Chief Executive Officer; Director | CEO since May 2024 | Leads a global CRO; governance experience at board level |
| Parexel | Chief Operating & Growth Officer | Sep 2022 – May 2024 | Scaled operations and growth |
| Parexel | Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer | May 2018 – Sep 2022 | Strategic planning, commercialization |
| AmerisourceBergen (now Cencora) | President, Health Systems & Specialty Care Solutions | Prior to 2018 (dates not specified) | Executive leadership in reimbursement and patient access |
| Lash Group (founded) | President | Nearly 10 years following acquisition by AmerisourceBergen | Patient access services; scaling complex organizations |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parexel | Board Director | Since May 2024 | Private CRO; industry leadership |
| Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) | Board Director | Not specified | Industry association governance |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board affirmed Howell meets SEC/Nasdaq “independent director” standards .
- Committee assignments: Chair, Compensation Committee (2024 committee met 7 times) .
- Attendance: In 2024, each director attended 100% of Board meetings (six meetings) and at least 75% of meetings of committees on which they served .
- Board leadership: Separate independent Chair (Rebecca Robertson); declassified board; executive sessions of independent directors held regularly .
- Compensation Committee governance: Uses independent consultant (WTW); no interlocks or related-party relationships requiring disclosure; all members independent .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Board cash retainer (member) | $55,000 | 2024 schedule |
| Compensation Committee chair fee | $20,000 | 2024 schedule |
| Total cash fees paid to Howell (2024) | $73,500 | Actual fees earned |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Component | Grant Value (2024) | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual RSU grant | $225,448 | Annual vesting per director program | Directors receive RSUs; no performance-based equity |
| Program parameters | Onboarding RSUs: $300,000; Annual RSUs: $180,000 | Onboarding vests over 3 years; annual grants vest annually | 15-day average price methodology for share count |
No director PSUs or option awards were granted in 2024; director equity is time-based RSUs, not tied to PSU performance metrics .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Entity | Relationship to TNDM | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|
| Parexel (private CRO) | Industry adjacency (clinical research) | No related-party transactions with TNDM disclosed over $120,000; none involving Howell disclosed |
| ACRO (industry association) | Policy/industry body | No conflicts disclosed |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Strategic planning, scaling complex organizations, reimbursement/market access, patient access .
- Board experience in healthcare services; CEO of global CRO; relevant to oversight of commercialization and clinical studies .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | RSUs Vesting within 60 days | Options Exercisable within 60 days | % Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peyton Howell | 16,690 | — | — | Less than 1% |
| Director RSU awards outstanding (aggregate) | 4,387 | N/A | — | RSU count as of Dec 31, 2024 |
- Ownership guidelines: Non-employee directors must hold 3x annual director cash retainer; all directors and executive officers, except the CEO (who achieved compliance in Feb 2025), were in compliance or within phase-in periods as measured .
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited by insider trading policy; no pledged shares outstanding .
Insider Trades
| Date | Type | Shares | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed in provided company documents | — | — | — | No Form 4 insider transactions for Howell are disclosed in the proxy materials; no related-party transactions involving Howell reported . |
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths:
- Independent director and Chair of Compensation Committee with deep healthcare services experience; committee composed solely of independent directors and uses an independent consultant with no conflicts .
- Full Board attendance and active committee oversight; strong governance practices (declassified board, majority voting, clawback policy, stock ownership guidelines, prohibition on hedging/pledging) support investor alignment .
- Director compensation balanced with cash retainer and time-based RSUs; no director options or performance equity that might misalign incentives .
-
Potential risk considerations:
- External role as CEO and director of Parexel (a CRO) implies industry adjacency; while no related-party transactions are disclosed, investors should monitor for any future vendor relationships to ensure independence and avoid conflicts .
- As Compensation Committee Chair, oversight quality is critical; current practices reflect responsiveness to shareholder feedback (e.g., increased PSU weighting for executives, addition and increased weighting of TSR metrics, and lower benchmark percentile), which is positive for pay-for-performance alignment .
-
Red flags: None disclosed specific to Howell. No attendance shortfalls, no related-party transactions, no hedging/pledging, and no interlocks requiring disclosure .
Context signals for investor confidence: High say-on-pay support (95.42% in 2024), strengthened PSU design with TSR, and adherence to stock ownership/clawback policies indicate constructive compensation governance under Howell’s committee leadership .