Five Prime CEO Aron Knickerbocker leaves

  • Push-out Score determined
  • After less than two years in the position
  • Praise, thanks and good wishes for Knickerbocker
  • Bill Ringo taking over in the interim
  • Search for a successor

(exechange) — South San Francisco, California, September 19, 2019 — Aron Knickerbocker, chief executive of Five Prime, leaves. As announced by Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Thursday, September 19, 2019, Aron M. Knickerbocker leaves his post as Chief Executive Officer at the clinical-stage biotechnology company after less than two years in the role, effective immediately.

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 15% of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months left their posts within two years, and 26% left their posts within three years.

Five Prime will undertake a search for a successor.

Aron Knickerbocker’s duties as CEO will be taken over in the interim by William R. (Bill) Ringo, currently Chairman of Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

It is a reverse generational change. Bill Ringo is about 24 years older than Aron Knickerbocker.

“To pursue new challenges and opportunities”

Aron Knickerbocker’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Five Prime said: “Mr. Ringo will succeed Chief Executive Officer and Board Member Aron Knickerbocker, who has resigned from the company to pursue new challenges and opportunities.”

Precise information regarding Aron Knickerbocker’s future plans was not immediately available.

“Resigned”

Five Prime said: “On September 19, 2019, Aron Knickerbocker resigned as (i) President and Chief Executive Officer and employee of Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) and (ii) a member of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”).”

Share price decline

The announcement follows a decline in Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc.’s share price of 76% since January 2018.

In the position of CEO since 2018

Aron Knickerbocker became CEO of the Company in January 2018.

Aron M. Knickerbocker has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer since January 2018 and as a member of the Company’s Board since October 2013.

Knickerbocker also served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer from September 2016 to December 2017, Executive Vice President from August 2015 to September 2016, Chief Business Officer from April 2012 to September 2016, Senior Vice President from April 2012 to August 2015, and Vice President, Business Development from September 2009 to April 2012.

From 2001 to September 2009, Knickerbocker served at Genentech in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Senior Director, Business Development from 2005 to September 2009.

Prior to 2001, Knickerbocker served as Director of Commercial Development at ALZA Corporation, a pharmaceutical company acquired by Johnson & Johnson, as Senior Manager, Corporate Development at Amgen, Inc., or Amgen, a public biotechnology company, and as a scientist at BMS, a public biopharmaceutical company.

Knickerbocker received an A.B. in biology from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

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 Five Prime and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.

Read the full story in the exechange report 38.2019 ($).