- After about five and a half years in the position
- Praise for Mackay
- Steve Uden taking over
- Mackay will remain as Executive Chairman at Rallybio
- Mackay spoke at length and said 156 words
(exechange) — New Haven, Connecticut, June 29, 2023 — Martin Mackay, chief executive of Rallybio, leaves his position. As announced by Rallybio Corp. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Thursday, June 29, 2023, Martin W. Mackay leaves his post as chief executive officer at the clinical-stage biotechnology company, after about five and a half years in the role, effective August 1, 2023.
Martin Mackay’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Stephen (Steve) Uden, currently President, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder at Rallybio Corp.
“Carefully considered succession plan”
Rallybio did not give an explicit reason for Martin Mackay’s departure from the CEO post. Mackay stated: “The Board’s appointment of Steve as Rallybio’s next CEO is the result of a carefully considered succession plan.”
Mackay will remain as Executive Chairman at Rallybio
Rallybio stated: “[Uden] will succeed Martin Mackay, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board, and Co-Founder, who will assume the role of Executive Chairman. As Executive Chairman, Dr. Mackay will remain a full-time employee and continue to be actively involved with the Company, with a particular focus on company strategy, investor relations and related activities.”
Share price decline since June 2022
The announcement follows a decline in Rallybio Corp.’s share price of 57% since June 2022.
In the position of CEO since 2018
Martin Mackay became CEO of the Company in 2018.
Mackay co-founded Rallybio and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2018.
Mackay has over 30 years of R&D and leadership experience with leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
He has served as Executive Vice President and Global Head of Research & Development at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., President of Research & Development at AstraZeneca PLC, and President, Head of Pharmatherapeutics Research and Development at Pfizer. Mackay also has extensive experience serving on boards of public companies.
Since 2017, he has served on the board of directors of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., where he is currently a member of the Science & Technology and Finance committees.
He also has served on the board of directors of Novo Nordisk A/S since 2018, where he is currently Chair of the Research & Development Committee and serves on the Remuneration Committee.
Mackay is a Senior Advisor at New Leaf Ventures and previously served as a director of 5AM Acquisition Co.
Mackay earned a BSc First Class in microbiology from Heriot-Watt University and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of Edinburgh.
156 words by Martin Mackay
In the news release announcing his departure as CEO of Rallybio Corp., Martin Mackay received praise.
In announcing his departure, Martin Mackay spoke at length and said 156 words.
“Advance our broad portfolio of product candidates”
Martin Mackay stated: “Steve is a gifted leader with a deep commitment to Rallybio’s values and stakeholders. Since the inception of Rallybio, Steve has touched all aspects of Rallybio’s business and has been a leader in setting the company’s direction and overseeing the day-to-day operations. I am truly excited to continue our partnership and share in the future success of Rallybio. The Board’s appointment of Steve as Rallybio’s next CEO is the result of a carefully considered succession plan which I am confident will best serve patients, our employees and our shareholders, as we collectively advance our broad portfolio of product candidates. Since the inception of Rallybio, Steve has cemented its mission, and set our vision. Steve has proven himself as a leader and played an integral role in the development of the Company. The Board is confident in his ability to lead the Company as we continue our work to establish Rallybio as a premiere rare disease company.”
40% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 317 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (June 29, 2022, to June 28, 2023), the average Push-out Score was 6.1, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When performance issues, time with family or pursuit of other opportunities were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 40% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, two in five departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Push-out Score for Martin Mackay’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Martin Mackay’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to Rallybio and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 27.2023 ($).