Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointments of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On September 8, 2023, Kristian Humer, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”), resigned, effective September 12, 2023. In connection with his resignation, the Company intends to enter into a standard separation and release agreement with Mr. Humer, pursuant to which he is entitled to receive certain severance benefits consistent with an “Involuntary Termination” under his employment agreement dated June 9, 2021, a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 9, 2023.
In connection with the foregoing, on September 12, 2023, Seth Harmon, the Company’s Senior Vice President of Finance, assumed the role of the Company’s principal financial and accounting officer. Mr. Harmon, age 44, joined the Company in May 2023. Prior to joining the Company, from May 2020 to May 2023, Mr. Harmon served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Administration for the U.S. subsidiary of BioNTech SE, a biotechnology company, where he oversaw the general and administrative functions for BioNTech SE’s US subsidiary and served as a member of the BioNTech US management team. Prior to BioNTech US, he was the Vice President of Finance and Accounting at Neon Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, where he served from April 2017 to May 2020. From July 2014 to April 2017, he served as Controller at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Mr. Harmon held several roles of increasing responsibility at Ernst & Young LLP where he obtained his certified public accountant license. Mr. Harmon holds an M.S. in Accounting and Business from Northeastern University and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Bowdoin College.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Harmon and any other persons pursuant to which he was selected as an officer; he has no family relationships with any of the Company’s directors or executive officers; and he 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 the foregoing, Mr. Harmon’s base salary was increased to $410,000. Mr. Harmon is also entitled to a severance period of twelve months in the case of an involuntary termination. The Company also intends to enter into its standard form of indemnification agreement with Mr. Harmon.