Adamas CEO Greg Went leaves

  • Push-out Score determined
  • After almost 20 years in the position
  • Praise and thanks for Went
  • Neil McFarlane taking over
  • Went said 72 words

(exechange) — Emeryville, California, September 13, 2019 — Greg Went, chief executive of Adamas, leaves. As announced by Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Friday, September 13, 2019, Gregory T. (Greg) Went leaves his post as Chief Executive Officer at the pharmaceutical company after almost 20 years in the role, effective September 16, 2019.

It is the end of an era.

Among the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in the U.S. based on market capitalization, the average tenure of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.3 years, according to data compiled by exechange. On an accumulated basis, around 10% of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months left their posts after more than 15 years.

Greg Went’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Neil McFarlane, most recently Chief Operating Officer of Retrophin, Inc.

The fact that Greg Went’s successor is brought in from outside suggests that the board may seek to stimulate change with fresh ideas and new initiatives.

“Culmination of a thoughtful succession and transition process”

Greg Went’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Adamas, David Mahoney, said: “Neil’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer and to the Board is the culmination of a thoughtful succession and transition process undertaken by the Board of Directors.”

Precise information regarding Greg Went’s future plans was not immediately available.

“Step down/resigned”

Adamas said: “Neil succeeds Gregory Went, Ph.D. who has been Chairman and CEO of Adamas since the company’s inception.  Greg will step down from the Board of Directors and transition to a strategic advisory role.”

Adamas further said: “On September 11, 2019, Gregory Went, Ph.D., the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Adamas”), resigned as an employee, officer and director of Adamas effective as of the first day of employment of Neil McFarlane as Adamas’s new Chief Executive Officer.”

Share price decline

The announcement follows a decline in Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s share price of 82% since January 2018.

In the position of CEO since 2000

Greg Went became CEO of the Company in January 2000.

Gregory T. Went, Ph.D., has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors since the Company’s inception in 2000.

Previously, Went co-founded CuraGen Corporation in 1992, where he served as an Executive Vice President and director from 1996 to 1999.

Went also has served as a director of Angelica Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, since 2006.

Went holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Push-out Score determined

The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.

exechange reached out to Adamas and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.

Read the full story in the exechange report 37.2019 ($).