Kristin Stafford joins Zymeworks (Nasdaq: ZYME) as new Chief Financial Officer
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Zymeworks Inc. appointed Kristin Stafford, age 44, as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, 2026. She becomes the company’s principal financial and principal accounting officer. Stafford previously held senior finance and accounting roles at Royalty Pharma, BioPharma Credit, Ernst & Young, iHeartMedia, and Deloitte and serves on Novocure’s board.
She entered into an employment agreement with Zymeworks Biopharmaceuticals Inc. with no fixed term, including change-in-control "parachute" protections structured to avoid excise tax without any tax gross-up from the company. Kenneth Galbraith ceased serving as interim CFO on the start date but continues as Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer.
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8-K Event Classification
Key Figures
Key Terms
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer financial
principal financial officer financial
principal accounting officer financial
parachute payments financial
Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code financial
indemnification agreement financial
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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
On March 31, 2026, Zymeworks Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Ms. Kristin Stafford, age 44, as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective upon her commencement of employment with the Company on April 1, 2026 (the “Start Date”). Effective as of the Start Date, Ms. Stafford has assumed the duties of the Company’s principal financial officer and principal accounting officer.
Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Stafford served as Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer for Royalty Pharma plc, since December 2018. Prior to this position, she served as Vice President, Finance of Royalty Pharma and Chief Financial Officer of BioPharma Credit plc, an affiliate of Royal Pharma, from 2016 to 2018. Previously, Ms. Stafford was a director at Ernst & Young LLP Capital Markets in London, specializing in U.S. transactions involving European life sciences companies. She also previously managed the external SEC reporting for iHeartMedia and was an auditor at Deloitte. Ms. Stafford is currently a board member at NovoCure Limited. She is a CPA and holds a B.Sc. degree in business administration from Sonoma State University.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Ms. Stafford and any other persons pursuant to which she was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. There are also no family relationships between Ms. Stafford and any director or executive officer of the Company, and she has no direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
In connection with Ms. Stafford’s appointment as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Zymeworks Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (“ZBI”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and Ms. Stafford entered into an employment agreement effective as of the Start Date (the “Employment Agreement”). The Employment Agreement does not have a specific term. Pursuant to the Employment Agreement, Ms. Stafford is entitled to the following compensation and benefits:
| • | An annual base salary of $520,000, with eligibility to earn an annual discretionary bonus of an initial amount of up to 45% of her annual base salary, including for 2026, based upon the achievement of certain Company goals determined by the Company. |
| • | A signing bonus of $52,000 to be paid on the first scheduled pay day following the Start Date. |
| • | An award of options to purchase 178,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price per share equal to the fair market value on the date of grant (the “Options”). 25% of the Options will vest and become exercisable on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant, and thereafter 1/36 of the remaining Options will vest on the last day of each month, until all of the Options have vested, subject to Ms. Stafford’s continued service. |
| • | An award of 119,000 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to be settled in shares of common stock. 25% of these RSUs will vest on each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the date of grant, subject to Ms. Stafford’s continued service. |
| • | An award of 50,000 RSUs to be settled in shares of common stock. 1/3 of these RSUs will vest on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of grant, subject to Ms. Stafford’s continued service. |
| • | Eligibility to participate in incentive programs for the Company’s employees, including without limitation share option plans, share purchase plans, profit-sharing or bonus plans. |
| • | Eligibility to participate in the Company’s employee benefit plans generally available to employees of ZBI in accordance with their terms. |
| • | Reimbursement for annual registration and/or professional licensing fees and for reasonable continuing professional development requirements. |
| • | If the Company terminates Ms. Stafford’s employment without cause, then Ms. Stafford will be eligible to receive twelve months of notice or the equivalent of twelve months of base salary as of the date notice is given, or any combination thereof that totals twelve months of combined notice and base salary. If termination of employment occurs on or after the commencement of the fourth year of employment, an additional one month of notice or the equivalent of one month of base salary as of the date notice is given, |
| or any combination thereof, will be provided for each additional completed year of service, up to a total maximum of eighteen months. Ms. Stafford will also be eligible for continuation of group health and dental benefits through the applicable notice period, which may be provided by the Company paying for or reimbursing Ms. Stafford’s COBRA premium costs for continuation coverage. Such payments and benefits will be subject to Ms. Stafford timely entering into a separation agreement and release of all claims on a form provided by the Company following her termination. |
| • | If Ms. Stafford’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause within twelve months following a Change of Control (as defined in the Employment Agreement), Ms. Stafford will be eligible to receive (x) as severance, payment of eighteen months of base salary as of the date of termination (with such severance payable over eighteen months, or to the extent available under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, paid sooner, at the sole discretion of the Company), (y) eligibility for continuation of group extended health and dental benefits provided by the Company paying for her premium costs for COBRA continuation coverage for up to eighteen months following her termination date, and (z) full vesting acceleration of all unvested and outstanding stock options or other equity grants as of the date of termination. Such payments and benefits will be subject to Ms. Stafford timely entering into a separation agreement and release of all claims on a form provided by the Company following her termination. |
The Employment Agreement provides that in the event any payments and benefits (including the severance benefits) provided to Ms. Stafford would constitute “parachute payments” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code and could be subject to the related excise tax, Ms. Stafford would be entitled to receive either the full amount of such payments and benefits or such lesser amount which would result in no portion of the benefits being subject to the excise tax, whichever results in the greater after-tax amount of payments and benefits to Ms. Stafford. The Employment Agreement does not require the Company to provide any tax gross-up payments.
The foregoing description of the Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Employment Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. In connection with her appointment, Ms. Stafford will enter into a standard indemnification agreement in the form previously approved by the Company’s board of directors.
In connection with Ms. Stafford’s appointment and effective as of the Start Date, Mr. Kenneth Galbraith ceased serving as interim Chief Financial Officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer of the Company. Mr. Galbraith continues in his roles as Chair of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President, and the compensatory and other material terms of Mr. Galbraith’s employment with the Company remain unchanged. For information regarding Mr. Galbraith’s existing compensation arrangements, please refer to the information contained in the section titled “Item 11. Executive Compensation-Executive Employment Arrangements and Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 2, 2026, which information is incorporated herein by reference.
A copy of the press release announcing Ms. Stafford’s appointment is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 10.1 | Employment Agreement between Zymeworks Biopharmaceuticals Inc. and Kristin Stafford, effective April 1, 2026 | |
| 99.1 | Press Release, dated April 1, 2026 | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded as Inline XBRL document). | |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Date: April 1, 2026 | ZYMEWORKS INC. | |||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||
| By: | /s/ Kenneth Galbraith | |||||
| Name: Title: |
Kenneth Galbraith Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer | |||||
Exhibit 99.1
Zymeworks Appoints Kristin Stafford as Chief Financial Officer
Vancouver, British Columbia (April 1, 2026) – Zymeworks Inc. (Nasdaq: ZYME), a biotechnology company managing a portfolio of licensed healthcare assets, while developing a diverse pipeline of novel, multifunctional biotherapeutics, today announced the appointment of Ms. Kristin Stafford as Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, 2026.
“Kristin brings deep experience across the life sciences industry, with a strong track record in strategic planning, disciplined capital allocation, and executing complex capital markets and strategic transactions, including acquisitions, during her time at Royalty Pharma,” said Kenneth Galbraith, Chair and Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited to welcome her to the team and look forward to her contributions as we continue building a differentiated and durable business at Zymeworks.”
Ms. Stafford recently served as Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer for Royalty Pharma plc, since December 2018. Prior to this position, she served as Vice President, Finance of Royalty Pharma and Chief Financial Officer of BioPharma Credit plc, an affiliate of Royal Pharma, from 2016 to 2018. Previously, Ms. Stafford was a director at Ernst & Young LLP Capital Markets in London, specializing in U.S. transactions involving European life sciences companies. She also previously managed the external SEC reporting for iHeartMedia and was an auditor at Deloitte. Ms. Stafford is currently a Board Member at Novocure. She is a CPA and holds a B.Sc. degree in business administration from Sonoma State University.
“I’m excited to join Zymeworks at such an important moment as the company advances its pipeline and executes on its strategic priorities,” said Ms. Stafford. “Zymeworks has built a strong foundation with a differentiated business model and high-quality assets, and I look forward to partnering with the leadership team to drive disciplined capital allocation, operational excellence, and long-term value creation.”
About Zymeworks Inc.
Zymeworks is a global biotechnology company managing a portfolio of licensed healthcare assets and developing a diverse pipeline of novel, multifunctional biotherapeutics to improve the standard of care for difficult-to-treat diseases, including cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune disease. Zymeworks’ asset and royalty aggregation strategy focuses on optimizing positive future cash flows from an emerging portfolio of licensed products such as Ziihera® (zanidatamab-hrii) and other licensed products and product candidates, such as pasritamig. In addition, Zymeworks is also building a portfolio of healthcare assets that can generate strong cash flows, while supporting the development of innovative medicines. Zymeworks engineered and developed Ziihera, a HER2-targeted bispecific antibody using the Zymeworks’ proprietary Azymetric™ technology and has entered into separate agreements with BeOne
Medicines Ltd. (formerly BeiGene, Ltd.) and Jazz Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited granting each exclusive rights to develop and commercialize zanidatamab in different territories. Zymeworks is rapidly advancing a robust pipeline of product candidates, leveraging its expertise in both antibody drug conjugates and multispecific antibody therapeutics targeting novel pathways in areas of significant unmet medical need. Zymeworks’ complementary therapeutic platforms and fully integrated drug development engine provide the flexibility and compatibility to precisely engineer and develop highly differentiated antibody-based therapeutics. These capabilities have been further leveraged through strategic partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies. For information about Zymeworks, visit www.zymeworks.com and follow @ZymeworksInc on X.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” or information within the meaning of the applicable securities legislation, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to Zymeworks’ expectations regarding implementation of its strategic priorities and long-term strategy to maximize value creation; the expected contributions of personnel to Zymeworks’ strategic goals and long-term shareholder value; the anticipated benefits of strategic partnerships; Zymeworks’ and its partners’ clinical development of product candidates; future regulatory filings and approvals; the commercial potential of technology platforms and product candidates; and other information that is not historical information. When used herein, words such as “plan”, “believe”, “expect”, “may”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “potential”, “will”, “on track”, “progress”, “preserve”, “intend”, “could”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based upon Zymeworks’ current expectations and various assumptions. Zymeworks believes there is a reasonable basis for its expectations and beliefs, but they are inherently uncertain. Zymeworks may not realize its expectations, and its beliefs may not prove correct. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: any of Zymeworks’ or its partners’ product candidates may fail in development, may not receive required regulatory approvals, or may be delayed to a point where they are not commercially viable; Zymeworks may not achieve milestones or receive additional payments or royalties under its collaborations; regulatory agencies may impose additional requirements or delay the initiation of clinical trials; the impact of new or changing laws and regulations; market conditions, including the impact of tariffs; potential negative impacts of FDA regulatory delays and uncertainty around recent policy developments, changes in the leadership of federal agencies such as the FDA, staff layoffs, budget cuts to agency programs and research, and changes in drug pricing controls; the impact of global and regional geopolitical or public health developments on Zymeworks’ business, research and clinical development plans and timelines and results of operations; zanidatamab may not be successfully commercialized; Zymeworks’ business strategy related to anticipated and potential future milestones and royalty streams and existing and potential new partnerships may not be successfully implemented; Zymeworks’ evolution of its business strategy may not deliver meaningful shareholder returns; Zymeworks may be unsuccessful in actively managing and/or aggregating revenue-generating assets alongside its active R&D operations; ongoing and future clinical trials may not demonstrate safety and efficacy of any of Zymeworks’ or its collaborators’ product candidates; data providing early validation of our antibody drug conjugate platform
and next generation pipeline programs may not be replicated in future studies; Zymeworks’ assumptions and estimates regarding its financial condition, future financial performance and estimated cash runway may be incorrect; inability to maintain or enter into new partnerships or strategic collaborations; and the factors described under “Risk Factors” in Zymeworks’ quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (copies of which may be obtained at www.sec.gov and www.sedarplus.ca).
Although Zymeworks believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance they will prove to be correct. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The above assumptions, risks and uncertainties are not exhaustive. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as may be required by law, Zymeworks undertakes no obligation to update, republish, or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrences of unanticipated events.
Contacts:
Investor Inquiries:
Shrinal Inamdar
Vice President, Investor Relations
(604) 678-1388
ir@zymeworks.com
Media Inquiries:
Diana Papove
Vice President, Corporate Communications
(604) 678-1388
media@zymeworks.com