June Lee
About June Lee
June Lee, M.D., age 59 as of March 31, 2025, has served as an independent director of Tenaya Therapeutics since November 2021. She is a physician–executive with deep translational science and clinical development leadership, including roles as CEO of Alumis (Esker Therapeutics), CDO/COO of MyoKardia, therapeutic area head at Genentech, and Director of Translational Research at UCSF; education includes a B.S. in chemistry (Johns Hopkins) and M.D. (UC Davis) with internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care training at UCLA and UCSF .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alumis Inc. (formerly Esker Therapeutics) | Founder & Chief Executive Officer | Feb–Nov 2021 | Built precision medicine platform in autoimmune disease |
| MyoKardia, Inc. | Chief Development Officer; Chief Operating Officer | Jan 2017–Jun 2020 | Led precision cardiovascular pipeline development |
| UCSF School of Medicine | Professor of Medicine; Director of Translational Research | Apr 2011–Jan 2017 | Founded UC Drug, Device, Discovery & Development Group |
| Genentech | Therapeutic Area Head, Early Clinical Development (CV/metabolism/respiratory/infectious diseases) | Mar 2004–Apr 2011 | Early development leadership across multiple TAs |
| 5AM Ventures | Part-time Venture Partner | Jul 2022–Nov 2024 | Investment/portfolio advising |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes/Committees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (public) | Director | Current | Public company board service |
| Abivax S.A. (public) | Director | Current | Public company board service |
| GenEdit (private) | Director | Current | Private biotech board |
| CinCor Pharma (public) | Director | Jan 2022–Feb 2023 | Board service until acquisition by AstraZeneca in Feb 2023 |
| ElevAAte Biotech | Co-Founder & Director | Current | Company co-founder and board member |
| Council of Korean Americans | Chair of the Board (prior) | Prior | Non-profit leadership |
| Johns Hopkins CTT Advisory Board | Advisor | Current | Advisory role |
| MOGAM Research Institute TRAC; Univ. of Michigan MTRAC | Advisory/Oversight roles | Prior/current | Scientific advisory positions |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined Dr. Lee is independent under Nasdaq rules; 8 of 9 directors are independent .
- Board leadership: Chair separate from CEO (Chair: Dr. R. Sanders Williams) .
- Committees: Compensation Committee (Chair), Science & Technology Committee (Member) .
- Attendance: In FY2024, board held seven meetings; each director attended at least 75% of board and committee meetings; all directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Committee engagement: Compensation Committee held six meetings; Science & Technology Committee held three meetings in 2024 .
- Interlocks: No compensation committee interlocks or insider participation in FY2024 .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY 2024 Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Cash fees paid or earned | $50,000 |
| Total director option award grant-date fair value | $50,823 |
| Total | $100,823 |
Director retainer policy (current):
| Role | Annual Cash Retainer (USD) |
|---|---|
| Base non-employee director retainer | $40,000 |
| Board Chair (non-executive) | $30,000 |
| Lead Independent Director | $20,000 |
| Audit Committee Chair | $15,000 |
| Audit Committee Member | $7,500 |
| Compensation Committee Chair | $10,000 |
| Compensation Committee Member | $5,000 |
| Governance & Nominating Chair | $8,000 |
| Governance & Nominating Member | $4,000 |
| Science & Technology Chair | $10,000 |
| Science & Technology Member | $5,000 |
Performance Compensation
- Equity form: Director compensation uses stock options (not RSUs) via Outside Director Compensation Policy .
- Grant sizing and vesting:
- Initial Award: Options with grant-date fair value ≈ $320,000; vest monthly over 36 months; max 68,000 shares subject to award cap .
- Annual Award: Options with grant-date fair value ≈ $160,000; vests in full by first anniversary or before next annual meeting; max 34,000 shares subject to award cap .
- Change-in-control: Full acceleration of outstanding director equity upon change in control if serving through the transaction .
- Performance metrics: None disclosed for non-employee director equity (awards vest time-based; no TSR/financial metrics for directors) .
| Equity Award Feature | Terms |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Stock options (10-year max term; strike = FMV on grant date) |
| Initial Award FV | ~$320,000; monthly vest over 36 months; share cap 68,000 |
| Annual Award FV | ~$160,000; vests by next annual meeting/first anniversary; share cap 34,000 |
| Change-in-control | 100% vesting acceleration for director awards |
| Performance linkage | None for directors (time-based vesting) |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public boards: Eledon Pharmaceuticals; Abivax S.A. .
- Prior public board: CinCor Pharma until Feb 2023 acquisition .
- Interlocks/conflicts: Company discloses related party financings primarily involving Column Group and RA Capital; no transactions disclosed with entities tied to Dr. Lee . Compensation Committee interlocks absent in FY2024 .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Medical and translational science expertise; leadership in cardiovascular drug development and precision medicine .
- Prior executive experience (CDO/COO, CEO) and academic translational leadership (UCSF) .
- Board experience across public and private biopharma companies .
- Board deemed independent under Nasdaq and contributes to risk oversight via Compensation and Science & Technology committees .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Shares beneficially owned | 88,196 (all via options exercisable within 60 days) |
| Ownership % of common shares outstanding | <1% |
| Total options held (Dec 31, 2024) | 122,196 |
| Vested/exercisable within 60 days (Mar 31, 2025) | 88,196 |
| Unvested/unexercisable (derived) | 34,000 (122,196–88,196; calculated from cited figures) |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Prohibited under policy; none disclosed |
| Hedging of company stock | Prohibited for directors |
| Section 16(a) filings | No delinquencies reported for FY2024 |
Governance Assessment
- Independence and engagement: Independent director with strong attendance (≥75%) and active committee leadership as Compensation Chair; Science & Technology member .
- Alignment: Director equity is at-risk stock options; hedging and pledging prohibited, supporting alignment with shareholders .
- Compensation oversight: Chairs Compensation Committee; committee met six times in 2024 and uses independent consultant (Pearl Meyer) for benchmarking—supports robust pay governance .
- Related-party exposure: No related-party transactions disclosed involving Dr. Lee’s affiliated entities; major financings involved Column Group and RA Capital; Audit Committee reviews related-party transactions .
- RED FLAGS to monitor:
- Change-in-control acceleration for non-employee director equity (full vesting) can be viewed as a potential misalignment if it reduces long-term retention incentives around transactions .
- Ownership concentration: Column Group affiliates own ~47.6% and have board representation (Dr. Goeddel), which increases control influence; not specific to Dr. Lee but relevant board-level governance context .