| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election Of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers |
(d) On August 13, 2020, following the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (“Stoke” or the “Company”) elected Garry Menzel, Ph.D., to serve on the Board as a Class I director and as a member of the Compensation Committee, effective immediately. Dr. Menzel shall hold office for a term expiring at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stoke’s stockholders, which is the next stockholder meeting at which Class I directors will be elected. There is no arrangement or understanding between Dr. Menzel and any other persons pursuant to which Dr. Menzel was selected as a director. Dr. Menzel is not a party to and does not have any direct or indirect material interest in any transaction with Stoke required to be disclosed under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. The Board determined that Dr. Menzel qualifies as an independent director pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market, in each case as currently in effect. Dr. Menzel also entered into Stoke’s standard form of indemnity agreement for its directors and executive officers, which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Stoke’s S-1 Registration Statement, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 7, 2019.
In connection with his appointment to the Board, and in accordance with the Company’s non-employee director compensation program, Dr. Menzel will receive an annual cash retainer of $35,000 for serving on the Board and a $5,000 annual cash retainer in connection with his service on the Compensation Committee. In addition, in accordance with the Company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), on the effective date of his appointment, Dr. Menzel will be granted an initial stock option to purchase 29,555 shares of the Company’s common stock, which will vest in twelve substantially equal quarterly installments on each quarterly anniversary of the date of grant. Dr. Menzel will also be entitled to an annual stock option grant in accordance with the Plan.
On August 17, 2020, the Company issued a press release regarding Dr. Menzel’s appointment, which is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K. The information in Exhibit 99.1 is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section. The information in Exhibit 99.1 shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
