Akintunde Bello
About Akintunde Bello
Akintunde (Tunde) Bello, Ph.D., is a non-employee Class II director of Xilio Therapeutics appointed on June 10, 2025, with a term expiring at the 2026 annual meeting; he was concurrently appointed to the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee . He brings 25+ years of oncology drug development experience, including senior leadership at Bristol Myers Squibb (head of clinical pharmacology, pharmacometrics and bioanalysis until his 2025 retirement) and prior oversight of late-stage oncology clinical pharmacology at Pfizer; his education includes a B.Sc. (Portsmouth Polytechnic), M.Sc. (University of Manchester), and Ph.D. (King’s College London) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Scope/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Myers Squibb | SVP, Head of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacometrics & Bioanalysis | Until 2025 (retirement) | Oversaw clinical pharmacology across multiple therapeutic areas, including immuno-oncology . |
| Pfizer | Oversight of clinical pharmacology for late-stage oncology programs | More than a decade | Led clinical pharmacology for late-stage oncology development . |
External Roles
- No other current public company directorships disclosed by the company at time of appointment .
Board Governance
- Committee memberships: Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (appointed June 10, 2025) .
- Independence: Non-employee director; Nasdaq rules require committee members to be independent, and the company discloses its committees are composed to meet Nasdaq/SEC independence standards .
- Attendance: The full board met 7 times in 2024, and each director then on the board attended at least 75% of meetings; six of eight directors attended the 2024 annual meeting (Bello joined in 2025—no personal attendance data disclosed yet) .
- Committee charter access: Company posts committee charters on its investor website .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual board retainer (cash) | $40,000 | Standard for non-employee directors effective April 14, 2025 . |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee member fee (cash) | $4,000 | Chair receives $8,000; Bello is a member (not chair) . |
Performance Compensation
| Award Type | Grant Date | Shares/Units | Strike Price | Expiration | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock option (initial director grant under 2021 Plan) | 2025-06-10 | 62,000 | $0.70 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed (standard initial grant; policy provides initial option to purchase 62,000 shares for new directors) . |
- Award evidence: Form 4 shows an A-type award of stock options (right to buy) for 62,000 at $0.70 on June 10, 2025; Form 3 filed same day .
- Equity program guardrails: Company discloses clawback policy application to option participants (2025 Plan), no evergreen, no discounted options, and no repricing without stockholder approval; double-trigger acceleration applies to certain employee options under the 2025 Plan (directors excluded from contingent grants) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee Roles | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No interlocks or related-party ties disclosed involving Bello; major related-party transactions involve Gilead/AbbVie and institutional investors, not Bello . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep expertise in translational medicine and clinical pharmacology across complex biologics and immunotherapies (anti-CTLA-4, PD-1, T cell engagers, tumor-selective molecules) .
- Senior leadership track record at BMS; late-stage oncology clinical pharmacology leadership at Pfizer; advanced scientific training (B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.) .
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Shares Owned | Right to Acquire (≤60 days) | Total (Owned + Right to Acquire) | % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | <1% (“*”) . |
- Post-transaction position: Following the 2025-06-10 initial grant, reported beneficial position of 62,000 options (director, direct ownership) per Form 4; these were not exercisable within 60 days as of October 1, 2025 .
- Pledging/hedging: No pledging or hedging of company stock disclosed; company maintains an insider trading policy .
Insider Trades
| Filing Date | Transaction Date | Form | Type | Security | Quantity | Price | Post-Transaction Ownership | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-12 | 2025-06-10 | 4 | A (award) | Stock Option (right to buy) | 62,000 | $0.70 | 62,000 options | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840233/000141588925016962/0001415889-25-016962-index.htm |
| 2025-06-12 | 2025-06-10 | 3 | Initial | — | — | — | — | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840233/000141588925016961/0001415889-25-016961-index.htm |
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Independent consultant: Aon’s Human Capital Solutions (Radford) advised the Compensation Committee on executive and director pay in 2024; committee assessed Aon’s independence and found no conflicts; Aon reported to and attended executive sessions of the committee .
- Committee independence and responsibilities: Audit and Compensation Committees are composed of independent directors under Nasdaq/SEC rules; responsibilities include related-person transaction oversight and preparation of audit reports .
Governance Assessment
-
Positives:
- Independent, domain-relevant expertise added to governance via Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee membership .
- Standardized, modest cash retainers and initial equity grant align incentives without excessive guaranteed pay; independent comp consultant used and vetted .
- Related-party transaction policy administered by Audit Committee; major transactions disclosed with external counterparties (Gilead, AbbVie); no Bello-related transactions reported .
-
Watch items:
- Very new tenure; no personal attendance metrics disclosed yet (monitor 2025–2026 proxy for engagement) .
- Company-wide equity overhang and 2025 employee option repricing proposal signal retention pressures and dilutive risk, though non-employee directors were excluded from contingent grants under the 2025 Plan .
- Beneficial ownership <1% and options not exercisable within 60 days as of Oct 1, 2025—alignment will depend on future vesting and holding behavior .
-
Red flags observed: None specific to Bello—no related-party exposure, pledging, or compensation anomalies disclosed; the company’s plan prohibits repricing without stockholder approval and codifies clawback policy for option participants .