Item 5.02Item 5.02 - Departure/Election of Directors
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On February 15, 2026, the Board of Directors of AtaiBeckley Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Michael Faerm as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer,
effective as of the date Mr. Faerm commences employment with ATAI Life Sciences US, Inc. (“ATAI US”), which is expected to occur on March 9, 2026 (the “Appointment Date”). In connection with his appointment, effective as of the Appointment Date, Mr.
Faerm has been designated as the Company’s principal financial officer. Mr. Faerm succeeds Anne Johnson, who will cease serving as Chief Financial Officer, and will serve as the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer and remain designated as the
Company’s principal accounting officer, in each case effective as of the Appointment Date.
Michael Faerm, 59, most recently served as a consulting Chief Financial Officer to various biopharmaceutical companies through his firm, MEF
Consulting LLC, from February 2025 to February 2026. From May 2024 to February 2025, Mr. Faerm served as Chief Financial Officer of Viracta Therapeutics, Inc., a precision oncology company. From October 2023 to March 2024, Mr. Faerm served as Interim
Chief Financial Officer of Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc., an immunotherapy company. From April 2021 to March 2023, Mr. Faerm served as Chief Financial Officer of Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc., a natural killer (NK) cell-based therapy company. From 2019
to 2021, Mr. Faerm served as a consulting and interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer to various biopharmaceutical companies through his firm, MEF Consulting LLC. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Faerm served as Chief Business Officer of
Innoviva, Inc. (formerly Theravance, Inc.), a biopharmaceutical company, and earlier, worked in business development and strategic finance roles at biopharmaceutical companies Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to
these roles, Mr. Faerm served as a senior pharmaceuticals equity research analyst at Wells Fargo Securities and at Credit Suisse, and as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Faerm earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in civil
engineering from Stanford University and a BS in civil engineering from Columbia University.
In connection with Mr. Faerm’s appointment as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Faerm entered into an Executive Employment Agreement with
ATAI US, effective as of the Appointment Date (the “Faerm Employment Agreement”). Pursuant to the Faerm Employment Agreement, Mr. Faerm is entitled to an initial annual base salary of $525,000 and an annual discretionary bonus award targeted at 40%
of his then-current base salary.
In accordance with the Faerm Employment Agreement, Mr. Faerm was granted an option (the “Faerm Option”) to purchase 1,275,000 shares of Company
common stock at an exercise price per share equal to the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The Faerm Option will vest in accordance with the Company’s standard four-year vesting schedule, subject to Mr. Faerm’s
continued service through each applicable vesting date. Mr. Faerm was also granted restricted stock units covering 285,000 shares of Company common stock (the “Faerm RSUs”). The Faerm RSUs will vest in equal annual installments over a four-year
period, subject to Mr. Faerm’s continued service through each applicable vesting date.
Pursuant to the Faerm Employment Agreement, Mr. Faerm is also entitled to a one-time cash sign-on bonus of $85,000, which sign-on bonus is only
earned if Mr. Faerm remains actively employed for a period of one year, and is subject to repayment if Mr. Faerm’s employment is terminated for “cause” or he resigns without “good reason” (as these terms are defined in the Faerm Employment Agreement)
within one year of the date he commences employment.
The Faerm Employment Agreement further provides that if ATAI US terminates Mr. Faerm’s employment without “cause” or he resigns for “good reason,”
subject to his timely executing a release of claims and his continued compliance with certain covenants, he is entitled to receive (i) an amount equal to 0.75 times his then-current base salary, payable in the form of base salary continuation for a
period of nine months; (ii) payment for any earned but unpaid annual bonus for the year prior to the year of termination; and (iii) reimbursement for continued health coverage pursuant to COBRA for up to nine months following termination.
If such a termination of employment occurs on or within 12 months following a “change in control” (as defined in the Faerm Employment Agreement),
then, in lieu of the severance payments and benefits described above, subject to his timely executing a release of claims and his continued compliance with certain covenants, Mr. Faerm is entitled to receive (i) a lump-sum payment equal to the sum of
his then-current base salary and target bonus; (ii) payment for any earned but unpaid annual bonus for the year prior to the year of termination; (iii) reimbursement for continued health coverage pursuant to COBRA for up to 12 months following
termination; and (iv) accelerated vesting of all unvested equity or equity-based awards that vest solely based on the passage of time, with any such awards that vest based on the attainment of performance-vesting conditions being governed by the
terms of the applicable award agreement, and the time period that Mr. Faerm may have to exercise any stock options may be extended for up to 12 months.
The foregoing description of the Faerm Employment Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the
Faerm Employment Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
In connection with his appointment, Mr. Faerm will also enter into the Company’s standard form of indemnification agreement for directors and
officers. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Faerm and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Faerm was appointed as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Faerm has no family relationships subject to disclosure under Item 401(d) of
Regulation S-K or any direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Biographical information for Ms. Johnson, 57, was included on page 18 of the Company’s definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on April 21, 2025, and is incorporated by reference herein.
The material terms of Ms. Johnson’s employment with the Company will remain unchanged. There are no arrangements or understandings between Ms.
Johnson and any other person pursuant to which Ms. Johnson was appointed as Chief Accounting Officer. Ms. Johnson has no family relationships subject to disclosure under Item 401(d) of Regulation S-K or any direct or indirect material interest in any
transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.