Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. 8-K

What Happened

• Lyell Immunopharma (LYEL) announced that its Board approved the appointment of Smital Shah as Chief Financial and Business Officer and principal financial officer, effective March 9, 2026. The appointment was approved March 6, 2026; Lynn Seely, M.D. had been serving as interim principal financial officer.

Key Details

• Base salary: $500,000 annual initial base salary.
• Bonus: target annual bonus up to 50% of base salary.
• Equity: stock option for 140,000 shares under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan; exercise price = fair market value on grant date. Vesting: 25% after one year, then 1/48th monthly thereafter.
• Benefits/agreements: participation in Company’s Officer Severance Plan as a Tier I employee and a standard indemnification agreement. Offer letter dated March 3, 2026 is filed as Exhibit 10.1.
• Background: Ms. Shah (age 49) has consulted for Lyell since Feb 2026, was Chief Business & Financial Officer at ProQR (2014–2022), managed Gilead’s debt/cash/investment portfolios, worked in investment banking (Leerink, J.P. Morgan) and R&D at Johnson & Johnson. Education: B.S. (Univ. of Mumbai), M.S. (Virginia Tech), MBA (UC Berkeley, Haas).

Why It Matters

• The company has filled its principal financial officer role with an experienced biotech finance executive, which clarifies leadership over financial reporting, treasury and business development functions. Compensation combines cash pay and equity incentives, aligning Ms. Shah’s interests with shareholders. Investors should view this as a governance and operational update that may affect execution of financial strategy and investor communications going forward.