CompBrief BY VELARION

Companies Verona Pharma plc

Verona Pharma (VRNA): executive pay, fiscal 2024

Free brief. Every figure links to the company’s own filing.

Email me Verona Pharma plc’s executive pay brief as a PDF

It arrives in about 2 minutes, with every figure cited to its filing.

After the PDF, up to three short notes on the deeper reports for this company. Reply “unsubscribe” to any of them, any time.

CEO total pay$19,456,473CEO David Zaccardelli · source
CEO vs. named peers93rd pct.Of 15 peer CEOs
CEO pay ratio44:1To the median employee · source

CEO pay, last three years

  • $5,183,140FY2022
  • $6,597,473FY2023
  • $19,456,473FY2024

CEO total pay was $19,456,473 in fiscal 2024, up from $6,597,473 in fiscal 2023.

FY2024: salary $873,015 · bonus $0 · stock awards $18,089,500 · option awards $0

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
David Zaccardelli$873,015$0$18,089,500$0$480,158$0$13,800$19,456,473
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mark Hahn582,010018,089,5000320,105013,80019,005,415
Chief Financial Officer
Andrew Fisher352,55706,783,5633,516,179155,833013,80010,821,932
General Counsel
Kathleen Rickard504,16706,783,5630221,833007,509,563
Chief Medical Officer
Claire Poll326,023000000326,023
Former General Counsel

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2024 totalFY2023 totalFY2022 totalΔ FY2023→2024
David Zaccardelli$19,456,473$6,597,473$5,183,140↑ +12,859,000
Mark Hahn19,005,4156,182,2944,767,880↑ +12,823,121
Andrew Fisher10,821,932———
Kathleen Rickard7,509,5631,981,8331,518,001↑ +5,527,730
Claire Poll326,023———

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The key objective is to attract, motivate, and reward leaders who have the skills and experience necessary to successfully execute on the strategic plan to maximize shareholder value. The program is designed to align the long-term interests of NEOs with those of shareholders by emphasizing performance-based, at-risk compensation and weighting the pay mix towards incentive compensation.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantAon
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2024

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Andrew FisherRSU2024-10-30——37,500—$1,262,625
Andrew FisherPSU2024-12-1356,250112,500—140,6255,520,938
Andrew FisherOPTION2024-04-01——300,000—3,516,179
Mark HahnRSU2024-10-30——100,000—3,367,000
Mark HahnPSU2024-12-13150,000300,000—375,00014,722,500
Kathleen RickardRSU2024-10-30——37,500—1,262,625
Kathleen RickardPSU2024-12-1356,250112,500—140,6255,520,938
David ZaccardelliRSU2024-10-30——100,000—3,367,000
David ZaccardelliPSU2024-12-13150,000300,000—375,00014,722,500

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Andrew Fisher$1,262,625$5,520,938$3,516,17953.6%
Mark Hahn3,367,00014,722,500081.4%
Kathleen Rickard1,262,6255,520,938081.4%
David Zaccardelli3,367,00014,722,500081.4%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2024

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Kathleen RickardRSU18,749—$870,704
Andrew FisherRSU37,500—1,741,500
Kathleen RickardRSU37,500—1,741,500
Kathleen RickardRSU43,750—2,031,750
Kathleen RickardRSU50,000—2,322,000
David ZaccardelliRSU75,000—3,483,000
Mark HahnRSU75,000—3,483,000
David ZaccardelliRSU100,000—4,644,000
Mark HahnRSU100,000—4,644,000
Andrew FisherPSU112,500—5,224,500
Kathleen RickardPSU112,500—5,224,500
David ZaccardelliRSU175,000—8,127,000
Mark HahnRSU175,000—8,127,000
David ZaccardelliRSU225,000—10,449,000
Mark HahnRSU225,000—10,449,000
David ZaccardelliPSU300,000—13,932,000
Mark HahnPSU300,000—13,932,000
Andrew FisherOption300,00016.09—
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
David Ebsworth, Ph.DIndependent · Board Chair · Remuneration · Nomination and Corporate Governance (Chair) · Commercial Committee$180,739—$328,117——$508,856
Vikas SinhaIndependent · Audit and Risk (Chair) · Nomination and Corporate Governance77,818—328,117——405,935
Christina AckermannIndependent · Audit and Risk · Commerical Committee66,161—328,117——394,279
Kenneth Cunningham, M.DIndependent · Remuneration (Chair)65,267—328,117——393,384
James BradyIndependent · Audit and Risk62,757—328,117——390,874
Lisa DeschampsIndependent · Nomination and Corporate Governance · Commerical Committee58,991—328,117——387,109
Mahendra Shah, Ph.DIndependent · Audit and Risk57,736—328,117——385,853
Martin Edwards, M.DIndependent50,205—328,117——378,323
Anders Ullman, M.D., Ph.DIndependent50,205—328,117——378,323
Michael AustwickIndependent · Commerical Committee (Chair)55,435—237,392——292,827
Rishi GuptaIndependent · Departed during FY4,184—0——4,184

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$40,000
Annual equity retainer—
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)18,000 / 12,000 / 10,000
Stock ownership guideline—

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2024
Cash retainers and fees$729,498
Equity awards (grant-date value)$0
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$729,498

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names Verona Pharma as a peer

Companies that benchmark against VRNA

2 companies name VRNA as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses VRNA in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named VRNA in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2024

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Verona Pharma plc names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer’s own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer’s filing. A dash means the peer’s current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Verona Pharma plc.

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1TG Therapeutics2025Michael Weiss$875,000$23,550,000$0$1,146,250$25,571,250
2Verona Pharma plc2024David Zaccardelli873,01518,089,5000480,15819,456,473
3Madrigal Pharmaceuticals2025Bill Sibold918,53112,297,8504,537,1461,438,81419,206,341
4Rhythm Pharmaceuticals2025David Meeker807,6928,274,7857,688,560759,48817,544,525
5SpringWorks Therapeutics2024Saqib Islam760,0007,899,7606,689,100798,00016,153,317
6BioCryst Pharmaceuticals2025Jon Stonehouse728,466011,132,4581,052,63312,951,082
7Immunocore Holdings2025Bahija Jallal765,0002,819,9926,579,990688,50010,885,268
8Akero Therapeutics2024Andrew Cheng686,0002,879,1556,489,100411,60010,465,855
9Axsome Therapeutics2025Herriot Tabuteau835,0005,533,5542,833,237876,75010,283,492
10Xenon Pharmaceuticals2025Ian Mortimer786,0001,774,0006,065,255550,2009,221,712
11Phathom Pharmaceuticals2025Steven Basta525,0001,986,6003,983,144455,7016,968,070
12Viridian Therapeutics2025Stephen Mahoney700,0001,058,0984,381,713630,0006,776,249
13Tarsus Pharmaceuticals2025Bobak Azamian726,3332,648,2842,651,487555,7006,617,979
14Aurinia Pharmaceuticals2025Peter Greenleaf822,8771,965,3212,193,189864,0215,858,590
15Agios Pharmaceuticals2025Brian Goff846,8641,291,6802,627,252592,8045,370,389
16Heron Therapeutics2025Craig Collard689,431946,2541,352,917517,1893,516,291

Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Verona Pharma plcnot disclosedPRSU 75 · RSU 25not disclosedAon
Agios Pharmaceuticals100%Option 40 · PSU 40 · RSU 20NoAon
Akero Therapeutics100%not disclosednot disclosedPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Aurinia Pharmaceuticalsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedWTW
Axsome Therapeutics150%RSU 33 · Options 33 · PSU 33NoFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticalsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedAon
Heron Therapeuticsnot disclosedOption 66.67 · RSU 33.33not disclosedCompensia, Inc.
Immunocore Holdings120%Option 70 · RSU 30not disclosedAon Human Capital Solutions practice, a division of Aon plc
Madrigal Pharmaceuticalsnot disclosedPSU 33.33 · RSU 33.33 · Option 33.33Yes — Relative TSR vs Nasdaq Biotechnology IndexCompensia, Inc.
Phathom Pharmaceuticals124%not disclosedNoPay Governance LLC
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals120%Options 50 · RSU 50NoPay Governance
SpringWorks Therapeutics140%not disclosedYes — Relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR)Aon
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals108%Options 50 · RSU 50NoPay Governance
TG Therapeutics131%RSU 100NoCompensia, Inc.
Viridian Therapeutics150%Options 75 · RSU 25not disclosedCompensia
Xenon Pharmaceuticals100%not disclosedNoAon

Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio

No say-on-pay vote is on file for this company.

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)44 : 1
CEO total compensation$19,456,473
Median employee compensation$444,444
Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (59 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, David Zaccardelli. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES”. As printed: 19,456,473. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Mark Hahn. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES”. As printed: 19,005,415. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Andrew Fisher. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES”. As printed: 10,821,932. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Kathleen Rickard. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES”. As printed: 7,509,563. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Claire Poll. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES”. As printed: 326,023. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Andrew Fisher RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Andrew Fisher PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Andrew Fisher OPTION. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Mark Hahn RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Mark Hahn PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Kathleen Rickard RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Kathleen Rickard PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, David Zaccardelli RSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, David Zaccardelli PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 07, pay ratio. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 44 : 1. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, David Ebsworth, Ph.D. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 508,856. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Vikas Sinha. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 405,935. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Christina Ackermann. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 394,279. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Kenneth Cunningham, M.D. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 393,384. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, James Brady. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 390,874. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Lisa Deschamps. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 387,109. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Mahendra Shah, Ph.D. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 385,853. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Martin Edwards, M.D. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 378,323. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Anders Ullman, M.D., Ph.D. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 378,323. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Michael Austwick. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 292,827. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Rishi Gupta. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 4,184. View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 729,498 + equity 0 + all other 0 = 729,498, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • TG Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in TG Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 25,571,250. View filing ↗
  • Verona Pharma plc (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-03-18. CEO total compensation as printed in Verona Pharma plc's own proxy. As printed: 19,456,473. View filing ↗
  • Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-28. CEO total compensation as printed in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 19,206,341. View filing ↗
  • Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-29. CEO total compensation as printed in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 17,544,525. View filing ↗
  • SpringWorks Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-04. CEO total compensation as printed in SpringWorks Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 16,153,317. View filing ↗
  • BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-23. CEO total compensation as printed in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 12,951,082. View filing ↗
  • Immunocore Holdings, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-16. CEO total compensation as printed in Immunocore Holdings's own proxy. As printed: 10,885,268. View filing ↗
  • Akero Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2025-04-28. CEO total compensation as printed in Akero Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 10,465,855. View filing ↗
  • Axsome Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Axsome Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 10,283,492. View filing ↗
  • Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in Xenon Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 9,221,712. View filing ↗
  • Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-07. CEO total compensation as printed in Phathom Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 6,968,070. View filing ↗
  • Viridian Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-17. CEO total compensation as printed in Viridian Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 6,776,249. View filing ↗
  • Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-28. CEO total compensation as printed in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 6,617,979. View filing ↗
  • Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-21. CEO total compensation as printed in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 5,858,590. View filing ↗
  • Agios Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Agios Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 5,370,389. View filing ↗
  • Heron Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Heron Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 3,516,291. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Agios Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. Agios Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Heron Therapeutics reciprocity. DEF 14A. Heron Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Akero Therapeutics reciprocity. DEF 14A. Akero Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Immunocore Holdings reciprocity. DEF 14A. Immunocore Holdings's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, TG Therapeutics reciprocity. DEF 14A. TG Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Viridian Therapeutics reciprocity. DEF 14A. Viridian Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, SpringWorks Therapeutics reciprocity. DEF 14A. SpringWorks Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Axsome Therapeutics reciprocity. DEF 14A. Axsome Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗
  • Section 10a, Xenon Pharmaceuticals reciprocity. DEF 14A. Xenon Pharmaceuticals's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Verona Pharma plc. View filing ↗