Serge Saxonov
10x GenomicsAbout Serge Saxonov
Serge Saxonov, Ph.D., co-founded 10x Genomics in 2012 and has served as Chief Executive Officer and director since July 2012; he is 48 years old and holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics from Stanford and an A.B. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard . Under his leadership in 2024, 10x launched major products (Chromium GEM-X, Visium HD, Xenium Prime 5K) while revenue declined ~1% YoY to $611M; stock price at 12/31/24 was $14.36 and the five-year indexed TSR measured from a 2019 base ended 2024 at $18.83 versus peer index $118.20, indicating underperformance relative to peers . The board maintains independent oversight with a separate, independent chair (John Stuelpnagel) and committees composed solely of independent directors; Saxonov is not independent due to his executive role .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10x Genomics | Co-founder; CEO; previously President | 2012–present | Led commercialization of single-cell and spatial platforms; stewarded major product launches in 2024 (GEM‑X, Visium HD, Xenium Prime 5K) . |
| QuantaLife (acquired by Bio‑Rad) | VP, Applications | 2010–2012 | Helped scale applications for digital PCR; pre-10x operating experience . |
| 23andMe | Founding Architect & Director of R&D | 2006–2010 | Built early consumer genomics tech stack and R&D capability . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No current public-company directorships disclosed beyond 10x board seat . |
Board Governance and Director Service (dual-role focus)
- Role and tenure: CEO and director since 2012; employee-director, therefore not independent .
- Chair/CEO split: Independent chair (John Stuelpnagel); policy preference to keep roles separate, enhancing oversight and mitigating CEO+Chair concentration risk .
- Committees: Audit, Compensation, and Nominating/Governance committees are fully independent; Saxonov does not serve on any board committees .
- Attendance: The board met 5 times in 2024; each director attended at least 75% of board and assigned committee meetings .
- Governance practices: No poison pill; stock ownership policies for directors and executive officers; clawback policy; prohibition on hedging and short sales; pledging requires preclearance (effectively discouraged) .
- Director pay: Employee directors receive no additional director compensation (compensated solely as executives) .
Fixed Compensation
| Element | 2024 Detail | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $625,312 earned; annualized salary increased to $650,000 effective Apr 1, 2024 | CEO salary remains below 25th percentile of peer cash benchmarks per comp committee disclosure . |
| Target annual bonus (AIP) | 100% of base salary | CEO payout is 100% tied to corporate performance (no individual modifier) . |
| 2024 actual bonus paid | $325,000 (50% of target) | Corporate funding at 50% based on 2024 results (revenue below threshold; strong adjusted FCF; 6/9 SBOs) . |
Performance Compensation
2024 Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) – Metrics, Targets, Results
| Metric | Weight | Threshold | Target | Max | 2024 Result | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 60% | $650M | $725M | $775M | $611M | 0% |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow | 20% | ($30M) | $9M | $30M | $41M | 175% |
| Strategic Business Objectives | 20% | 4 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 75% |
| Total corporate funding | — | — | — | — | — | 50% |
- 2024 payout for CEO: 50% of target AIP (100% corporate weighting for CEO) → $325,000 .
- Say-on-pay support (2024 meeting, for 2023 program): ~83% approval, with shareholder feedback driving PSU design changes (relative TSR and multi‑year periods) .
2024 Equity Awards (granted March 21, 2024)
| Type | Units | Vesting / Performance | Grant-date fair value |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs | 88,854 | Time-based: 1/16th quarterly on Feb 21, May 21, Aug 21, Nov 21 (first tranche 3 months post Feb 21, 2024), subject to service | $3,325,805 |
| PSUs – 3-year Relative TSR (50% of PSU target) | Target 44,427 (0.5x of 88,854) | TSR vs Russell 3000 Medical Equipment & Services (closed cohort), 1/1/24–12/31/26; 25th/55th/90th percentile = 50%/100%/200% payout; if absolute TSR negative, max 100% | $1,990,330 |
| PSUs – 2-year Revenue CAGR (50% of PSU target) | Target 44,427 (0.5x of 88,854) | 2-year revenue CAGR with extra 1-year time vest; 4.9%/13.5%/22.1% → 25%/100%/175% payout | $1,662,903 |
| Total 2024 equity grant | — | — | $6,979,037 . |
- Legacy performance awards: 2022 performance stock options and PSUs vest upon stock price hurdles ($60/$80/$105 VWAP over 20 trading days); none of 2022 or 2023 performance stock goals have been met to date, reinforcing at‑risk design .
Compensation Committee and Peer Group
- Committee: Independent; members in 2024 were Chair John R. Stuelpnagel and Kimberly Popovits; 6 meetings in 2024 .
- Consultant: Alpine Rewards LLC; independence affirmed .
- Peer group: 2024 peers emphasized life sciences (examples: Repligen, Bio‑Techne, Natera, Exact Sciences, iRhythm, Shockwave, etc.); peers updated per investor feedback .
- CEO pay positioning: target total compensation below 50th percentile; base/target cash below 25th percentile of peers .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | 1,882,717 Class A shares (1.7% of Class A); 3,031,865 Class B shares (21.6% of Class B) . |
| Voting power | 12.6% of total voting power (Class B at 10 votes/share) . |
| Components (as of 3/31/25) | Includes direct holdings, trustee holdings across multiple 2018 trusts, 801,715 Class A options exercisable within 60 days, and 25,782 RSUs vesting within 60 days . |
| Outstanding awards (12/31/24) | Unvested RSUs: 72,194; 2024 PSUs (CAGR) target 44,427; 2024 PSUs (RTSR) target 44,427; 2023 PSUs: 72,773; 2022 PSUs (price hurdles): 213,112; 2022 performance options unearned: 142,075 . |
| Ownership guidelines | CEO required minimum = 5x base salary; directors and officers “satisfy or are making timely progress” toward thresholds by 1/25/2029 . |
| Hedging/pledging | Hedging and short sales prohibited; pledging prohibited without preclearance; no pledging disclosed for Saxonov . |
| Vesting cadence and potential selling pressure | RSUs vest quarterly (Feb 21/May 21/Aug 21/Nov 21), creating regular supply; PSUs vest contingent on performance/time; additional potential supply if stock price triggers for 2022 PSUs/options are achieved . |
| 2024 equity activity | Exercised 12,000 options ($162,360 value realized) and 46,583 RSUs vested ($1,133,977 value realized) in 2024 . |
Employment Terms
- Employment arrangement: Co-founder; no current individual employment contract on file; compensated per company programs .
- Change-in-control (CIC) severance policy: Double trigger; upon termination without cause/for good reason within 24 months post-CIC, benefits include 6 months base salary, 6 months COBRA subsidy, and full acceleration of unvested time-based equity (PSU/performance awards generally assumed at target unless otherwise specified) .
- Estimated CIC severance economics (as of 12/31/24): Cash $325,000; benefits $12,251; equity acceleration $6,997,499; total $7,334,750 (assumes $14.36 stock price and target performance for PSUs) .
- Clawback: SEC/Nasdaq-compliant policy for recovery of erroneously awarded incentive compensation .
- Non-compete/non-solicit: Standard employee IP/confidentiality and non-solicit forms are used generally; no standalone non-compete terms disclosed for Saxonov .
Performance & Track Record
Financial trajectory (FY)
| Metric | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($) | 490,490,000 | 516,409,000 | 618,727,000 | 610,785,000 |
| EBITDA ($) | -31,795,000* | -138,376,000* | -164,237,000* | -156,580,000* |
| Net Income ($) | -58,223,000 | -166,000,000 | -255,099,000 | -182,627,000 |
| Cash from Operations ($) | -21,373,000 | -33,606,000 | -15,197,000 | 6,664,000 |
| Capital Expenditure ($) | -101,278,000 | -131,661,000 | -48,601,000 | -12,393,000* |
Values marked with an asterisk (*) were retrieved from S&P Global.
- 2024 operational highlights: Multiple launches (GEM‑X, Visium HD, Xenium Prime 5K); spatial consumables +104% YoY; ended 2024 with $393M in cash and securities (up $4.7M) .
- Stock performance snapshots: Year-end stock prices: 2021 $148.96; 2022 $36.44; 2023 $55.96; 2024 $14.36; Company indexed TSR value at 2024 year-end $18.83 vs peer index $118.20 .
- Leadership transitions: CFO change in 2024 (CFO resignation effective Aug 2024); Chief Legal Officer retirement announced Nov 2025 with internal successor (institutional continuity) .
Compensation Structure Analysis (signals)
- Mix and risk: CEO compensation >90% at-risk in 2024; continued reduction vs 2023 ($356,700 lower) driven by smaller equity grants and lower AIP payout .
- Equity vehicle shift: No stock options granted to NEOs in 2024; emphasis on RSUs and performance-based PSUs with multi‑year metrics (relative TSR and revenue CAGR) replacing prior absolute share-price hurdles after shareholder feedback—a governance-aligned improvement .
- No repricing/tax gross-ups: Company prohibits option repricing without stockholder approval; does not provide excise-tax gross-ups .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- 2024 say-on-pay (for 2023 program): ~83% approval; management outreach covered ~48% of outstanding shares; program changes (relative TSR, longer performance periods, more detailed disclosure) aligned with investor feedback .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: The AIP and PSUs are tied to measurable financial (revenue, adjusted FCF, revenue CAGR) and market (relative TSR) metrics, with multi-year horizons and negative TSR caps—supportive of long-term alignment. 2024 AIP funded at 50% due to revenue miss despite strong cash generation, evidencing downside sensitivity .
- Ownership and control: Saxonov’s 12.6% voting power through dual-class shares provides durable control alignment but concentrates governance; mitigated by independent chair and fully independent committees .
- Vesting cadence/trading pressure: Quarterly RSU vesting and potential unlocking of sizeable 2022 performance awards upon price triggers can create episodic supply; monitor 2/21, 5/21, 8/21, 11/21 vest dates and any 10b5‑1 activity relative to blackout windows .
- Retention/CIC risk: Double-trigger CIC with modest 6‑month cash and COBRA and full equity acceleration at target; estimated CIC value $7.33M as of year-end 2024—material but not excessive versus peer norms, with no single-trigger windfall .
- Execution risk/track record: 2024 product milestones were strong, but revenue declined and multi-year TSR underperformed peers; PSU designs put meaningful upside at risk, requiring outperformance vs sector and growth reacceleration to vest at or above target .