GUILFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Quantum-Si Incorporated (Nasdaq: QSI), The Protein Sequencing Company™, today announced the appointment of Jeff Keyes as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective May 15, 2023. Mr. Keyes brings more than 25 years of experience in senior financial positions providing transformational leadership for emerging and evolving public and private companies.
“I am excited to welcome Jeff to our team. He is a high-impact executive and the ideal choice to drive the strategic growth of our organization as we continue to expand the commercialization of Platinum™,” said Jeff Hawkins, CEO of Quantum-Si. “His industry knowledge and operational experience will be vital as we look to position Quantum-Si for sustainable, long-term value creation.”
Previously, Mr. Keyes served as CFO of Spinal Elements, Inc., a medical device company, and CFO of Custopharm, Inc., a developer of generic sterile injectable pharmaceuticals, where he helped lead the company through rapid commercial growth and a successful acquisition by Hikma Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, Mr. Keyes has held a variety of leadership roles across finance, accounting, and mergers and acquisitions support in life science companies. He has also served on the board of directors of CNS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a public clinical stage biotech company, since June 2018. Mr. Keyes holds a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Western Washington University and is a certified public accountant.
“Serving as the CFO of Quantum-Si will provide the opportunity for me to contribute to a company that is leading the way with its protein sequencing technology, a platform that will ultimately improve our understanding of disease while contributing to new diagnostic tools and therapies in the years to come,” said Mr. Keyes. “I look forward to collaborating with the accomplished leadership team to drive growth, optimize shareholder value, and further accelerate the adoption of our transformative technologies.”
Mr. Keyes will succeed Claudia Drayton who has served as the Company’s CFO since April 2021. Ms. Drayton will remain as a senior advisor with the Company until June 30, 2023, to assist with the transition.
Inducement Awards
Subject to Mr. Keyes commencing employment, the Company’s Board of Directors, among other things, authorized the grant to Mr. Keyes on May 15, 2023 of (i) 1,000,000 time-based stock options to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, which will vest as to 25% on the last day of the calendar quarter containing the one year anniversary of Mr. Keyes’ start date, with the remainder vesting in 36 equal monthly installments at the end of each month thereafter; (ii) 500,000 performance-based stock options to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, which will vest in full if within one year of his start date the Class A common stock closing price is at least $10.00 (as adjusted) for 20 out of 30 consecutive trading days; and (iii) 500,000 performance-based stock options to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, which will vest in full if within three years of his start date the Class A common stock closing price is at least $20.00 (as adjusted) for 20 out of 30 consecutive trading days (collectively, the “Inducement Awards”). The Inducement Awards are inducements material to Mr. Keyes entering into employment with the Company in accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4). The Inducement Awards will have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the Company’s Class A common stock on May 15, 2023. The Inducement Awards each have a ten year term and are subject to the terms and conditions of their respective stock option agreements.
About Quantum-Si Incorporated
Quantum-Si, The Protein Sequencing Company™, is focused on revolutionizing the growing field of proteomics. The Company’s suite of technologies is powered by a first-of-its-kind semiconductor chip designed to enable next-generation single-molecule protein sequencing and digitize proteomic research in order to advance drug discovery and diagnostics beyond what has been possible with DNA sequencing. Learn more at quantum-si.com.
