Tomohiro Higa
About Tomohiro Higa
Tomohiro (“Hiro”) Higa, age 56, is Senior Vice President, Finance and serves as Tenaya Therapeutics’ Interim Principal Accounting Officer effective February 6, 2025; he previously served as Vice President, Finance from January 2020 to January 2025 . He holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business , and led the establishment of key financial systems and processes including Tenaya’s transition from private to public . Tenaya’s FY2024 backdrop included net loss of $111.1 million, R&D expense of $86.7 million and G&A expense of $29.2 million, with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $61.4 million at year-end, and additional offering proceeds expected to fund operations into mid-2026 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenaya Therapeutics | SVP, Finance; Interim Principal Accounting Officer | Jan 2025–present | Promoted to SVP; assumed Interim PAO; continuing under existing compensation arrangement |
| Tenaya Therapeutics | VP, Finance | Jan 2020–Jan 2025 | Led establishment of key financial systems/processes; supported private-to-public transition |
| CytomX Therapeutics (public biopharma) | Senior Director, Finance | Jan 2018–Jan 2020 | Finance leadership in a public biopharma context |
| OncoMed Pharmaceuticals (public biopharma) | Senior Director, Finance | Dec 2014–Apr 2017 | Senior finance role; increasing responsibility |
| Amgen | Various finance roles culminating in Director, Finance – Global Operations | 2006–Oct 2014 | Progression to global ops finance leadership |
| Abgenix | Associate Director, Corporate Finance | Pre‑Amgen (dates not disclosed) | Corporate finance role |
| Ventro (Chemdex) | Manager, FP&A | Pre‑Amgen (dates not disclosed) | FP&A role |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2020 Initial Terms |
|---|---|
| Base Salary (USD) | $265,000 |
| Target Bonus (% of Base) | 25% |
Notes:
- At appointment to Interim PAO (Feb 6, 2025), Higa continued under his existing compensation arrangement; no new amounts were disclosed .
Performance Compensation
- Executive Incentive Compensation Plan: Tenaya’s plan allows the compensation committee to set performance goals for incentive awards (generally cash), including R&D and regulatory milestones, financial metrics, operating margin, product timelines, cash flow, leadership development, capital raising, and individual objectives; awards may be adjusted at the committee’s discretion and require employment through payment date .
- Clawback policy: Adopted to comply with SEC and Nasdaq rules; in the event of an accounting restatement, Tenaya must recover excess incentive-based compensation received by covered executive officers over the prior three completed fiscal years, including stock-price/TSR-linked awards based on reasonable estimates; no tax gross-ups and no indemnification for clawed-back amounts .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Equity Award | Grant Details | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Option (2016 Equity Plan) | 135,000 shares; exercise price = FMV at grant (first board meeting after start) | 25% at 1‑year anniversary; remaining 75% vests 1/48 monthly over 36 months, subject to continued service | Standard NSO under 2016 plan documents |
Additional alignment and trading controls:
- Hedging and pledging prohibited: Employees, executives, and directors are barred from short sales, publicly-traded options on company stock, hedging transactions (e.g., forwards, swaps, collars), pledging company securities as collateral, and holding Tenaya stock in margin accounts .
- Pre-clearance: Covered persons (including officers) must obtain compliance pre-clearance before trading; special or quarterly blackout periods may be imposed; 10b5‑1 plans permitted under specified conditions (cooling‑off period, minimum term, good‑faith, etc.) .
- Offering lock-up: In connection with equity offerings, Tenaya’s form lock-up restricts insiders from selling/pledging or hedging for 60 days post-prospectus unless consented by underwriters, reducing near‑term insider selling pressure; specific signatories are not disclosed in the cited exhibit .
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Employment start date | Offer accepted Nov 26, 2019; employment began no later than Jan 13, 2020 |
| Employment nature | At‑will; standard At‑Will Employment, Confidential Information, Invention Assignment, and Arbitration Agreement required |
| Indemnification | Company plans to enter into standard form director/officer indemnification agreement with Higa |
| Interim Principal Accounting Officer | Effective Feb 6, 2025; no new arrangements/understandings; continued under existing compensation |
| Severance / Change‑in‑Control | Tenaya’s Executive Change in Control and Severance Plan covers named executive officers and certain other key employees via participation agreements. For plan participants: outside CIC—9 months base salary and 9 months COBRA (12 months for CEO); within CIC period (three months prior to and 12 months after CIC)—12 months base, 100% of target bonus (150% for CEO), 12 months COBRA (18 months for CEO), and 100% acceleration of all equity (performance awards vest at 100% of target), subject to release; payments reduced to avoid 280G excise tax if more favorable after‑tax . Higa’s participation status is not disclosed. |
| Equity plan CIC treatment | If awards are not assumed/substituted, all awards fully vest; performance goals deemed achieved at 100% of target; unexercised options may terminate after a specified exercise window . |
Investment Implications
- Strong finance operator with public-biopharma experience and interim PAO designation: Promoted to SVP Finance and appointed Interim PAO in 2025, with prior leadership in Tenaya’s transition to public company—supportive of execution on internal controls and financing processes .
- Trading pressure mitigants: Companywide prohibitions on hedging/pledging and margin accounts, plus pre-clearance and blackout policies, reduce the risk of forced or opportunistic insider selling; offering lock-up periods constrain near-term sales post-offerings .
- Equity exposure and vesting cadence: Legacy 135,000‑share option grant vests monthly after the first anniversary; potential periodic sell‑to‑cover activity is permitted only under policy exceptions and with constraints, limiting discretionary disposal timing .
- Severance/CIC structure: For plan participants, single-trigger equity acceleration if awards are not assumed at a transaction and robust double‑trigger cash/bonus/Cobra benefits in CIC period; this can reduce retention risk through a change in control, but increases payout obligations; Higa’s participation is not disclosed .
- Transparency gap: As a non‑NEO, detailed annual compensation and beneficial ownership disclosures for Higa are limited, constraining pay-for-performance analysis specificity; ongoing reliance should incorporate company‑wide incentive plan and clawback mechanics .
Related signals: CEO/employee option repricing in Jan–Feb 2025 suggests board willingness to adjust underwater options in adverse market conditions; Higa was not identified among repriced awards in the cited filings .