Name: Gerardo Hernandez
New title: CFO, Transmedics
Previous title: Vice president of finance, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Transplant device manufacturer Transmedics has appointed a new CFO, hiring Gerardo Hernandez to replace Stephen Gordon. Hernandez started this week, but Gordon will continue as a non-executive employee through the end of March and serve as a senior adviser for one year after.
Hernandez has worked in the biopharma industry since 2010. During almost a decade at Shire, Hernandez rose to lead corporate financial planning and analysis and played a role in the company’s integration into Takeda after it was acquired for $62 billion. Most recently, the executive was vice president and head of corporate financial planning and analysis at the biotech company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
William Blair analysts said in a note to investors Monday that they view Hernandez’s appointment as a positive development for Transmedics because of the executive’s significant experience. The analysts said “the CFO transition comes as a bit of a surprise to us,” but Gordon’s ongoing involvement offers reassurance that “the organization is setting up this transition to be quite smooth.”
Transmedics management told the analysts “the appointment is to help the company during its next wave of growth, with Hernandez focusing on operational excellence and margin improvements, while Gordon continues to assist in more strategic functions with the organization.” Gordon joined Transmedics in 2015 and was CFO when the company went public in 2019.
The company shared news of the CFO transition alongside a change to its financial outlook for 2024. Transmedics now expects full-year revenues of $428 million to $432 million, down from $425 million to $445 million under its earlier forecast. The analysts said the change “should not come as much of a surprise to investors, as consensus was already largely in line with the new outlook.”
Transmedics has not provided revenue guidance for 2025, but the William Blair analysts got “the impression that management was largely comfortable with the consensus outlook for the upcoming year.” The analysts added that consensus estimates “point toward” $541 million in revenue next year.
However, Needham analysts said in a note to investors “that 2025 consensus estimates are likely too high.” The analysts see the lower 2024 outlook as evidence that “intensifying competition” is slowing Transmedics’ growth.
Organox and Xvivo Perfusion sell rival single-organ warm perfusion systems for the liver and lung, respectively. Other companies sell cold storage and perfusion products to preserve organs for transplantation.
