🧾 What This Document Is

This is an 8-K filing, which companies use to announce major events to investors. It includes two key exhibits:

1. The full employment contract for Zymeworks' new CFO, Kristin Stafford.
2. A press release officially announcing her appointment. 👉 In simple terms, the company is telling the public, "Here's our new financial boss, and here are the exact details of her job offer."

🏢 What Zymeworks Does

👉 In simple terms, Zymeworks is a biotech company with a two-part business:

• Asset Manager: It owns rights to promising drugs developed by others (like Ziihera®) and earns money through royalties and partnerships.
• Drug Developer: It's also actively creating its own new, complex biotherapeutic drugs (like pasritamig) to treat tough diseases like cancer. They use their own technology platforms to design these next-gen medicines, often partnering with bigger companies to bring them to market.

👥 Meet the New CFO: Kristin Stafford

The hiring of a CFO is a major event. Here’s who they brought on board:

• Experience: Comes from Royalty Pharma, where she was Senior VP and Chief Accounting Officer. Her background is heavy in finance, capital markets, and strategic deals within the life sciences industry.
• Other Roles: Serves on the board of Novocure and has past experience at Ernst & Young and Deloitte.
• Education: CPA with a B.Sc. in Business Administration from Sonoma State University. 👉 This hire signals that Zymeworks is prioritizing financial strategy and deal-making as it grows its pipeline.

💰 The CFO's Compensation Package

The employment contract spells out exactly what Kristin Stafford will be paid. This is what it takes to attract top financial talent in biotech:

• Base Salary: $520,000 USD per year.
• Signing Bonus: $52,000 USD (must be repaid if she leaves within the first year).
• Annual Bonus Target: 45% of her base salary (so up to ~$234,000), based on company performance.
• Equity (The Big Incentive):
  • Stock Options: To buy 178,000 shares of Zymeworks stock.
  • Restricted Stock Units (RSUs): 119,000 shares + a special grant of 50,000 more shares.
  • These vest over 3-4 years, meaning she earns them gradually by staying with the company. 👉 The total package is designed to align her long-term success with the company's stock performance.

🚀 Key Terms of the Employment Deal

Beyond pay, the contract outlines important rules and protections:

• "At-Will" Employment: Either side can end the job at any time, for any reason.
• Severance: If fired without cause, she's entitled to:
  • 12 months of base salary (for the first 3 years).
  • This increases by 1 month per year after that, up to 18 months total.
  • Full acceleration of all unvested equity if this happens within 12 months after a "Change of Control" (like the company being sold).
• Protecting Company Secrets: She must keep all confidential information (like research and business plans) private and cannot work for a competitor.
• Dispute Resolution: Any legal disputes must go through binding arbitration, not public court.

📦 What This Signals for Zymeworks

This hiring move reveals the company's current strategic priorities:

• 👍 Financial Discipline: Bringing in a CFO from a royalty-focused firm suggests a focus on managing cash flow from their licensed assets and making smart capital allocation decisions.
• 👍 Experience for Growth: Her background in complex transactions is valuable as Zymeworks advances its pipeline and seeks strategic partnerships.
• ⚠️ Key-Person Risk: As with any executive hire, the company's success becomes partly tied to this individual's performance and retention.

🔮 What's Next

With a new CFO in place, watch for:

1. Strategic Updates: Look for future announcements on financial strategy, potential partnerships, or capital raising.
2. Pipeline Progress: Her role will be crucial in funding and managing the economics of drug development.
3. Investor Confidence: The market will judge the hire based on Zymeworks' subsequent financial performance and strategic execution.

🧠 The Analogy

Hiring Kristin Stafford is like a sports team hiring a star General Manager. The team (Zymeworks) has promising players (its drug pipeline) and valuable stadium rights (its licensed assets). The new GM (Stafford) is brought in with a big contract not to play, but to expertly manage the salary cap (capital), negotiate complex trades (partnerships), and build a championship-caliber roster for the long term. Her past success with a different team's assets (Royalty Pharma) is why she was hired.

📇 Key Contacts & People

New Executive:

• Kristin Stafford, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (Employee)

Company Representatives (from signing):

• Kenneth Galbraith, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (for Zymeworks Biopharmaceuticals Inc.)

Investor & Media Inquiries:

• Shrinal Inamdar, Vice President, Investor Relations | (604) 678-1388 | [email protected]
• Diana Papove, Vice President, Corporate Communications | (604) 678-1388 | [email protected]

🧩 Final Takeaway

Zymeworks is strategically bolstering its leadership team by hiring an experienced finance chief from the royalty and capital markets space. This move underscores a focus on disciplined financial management and strategic deals as the company advances its drug pipeline and manages its portfolio of healthcare assets.