Company: WHWK
Filing Date: 2025-01-31
Form Type: DEFM14A
Source: 0001193125-25-018470
Chunk: 193

Company: Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-31
Form: DEFM14A
Chunk 193
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 over the longer term, and reduce the incentive of employees to remain employed with us during the equity award vesting period. Our current practice is to provide equity awards to selected key employees that includes certain new hires, members of the management team, senior executive team members, non-employee directors, and other key contributors. We believe that equity compensation is an important component of our long-term employee incentive and retention plan and has been very effective in enabling us to attract and retain the talent critical for our business. Our practice is to primarily grant only stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”). If the Company’s stockholders do not approve the Equity Plan Increase, then the current share limit will continue in effect, and we will continue to make awards, subject to such share limit. However, the Company’s plans to operate its business could be adversely affected as reduced equity awards could increase employee turnover, make it more difficult to motivate and retain existing employees, make us less competitive in hiring new talent into the Company to grow our business. Additionally, as a consequence, we may need to increase the cash-based compensation incentives in hiring and retaining top talent, which could adversely impact our financial results of operations, cash flows and balance sheet. Design of Our Amended and Restated Plan and Grant Practices Our Amended and Restated Plan design is set up to conform to best current compensation practices and implement strong governance-related protections for our stockholders, which include:

| • |     | Administration. Our Amended and Restated Plan will be administered by our board of directors or the                  
 Compensation Committee of our board of directors, which is comprised entirely of independent non-employee directors. |

| • |     | Annual Limits on Compensation to Non-Employee Directors. The Amended and Restated Plan sets reasonable                
 annual limits as to the cash compensation and awards that non-employee directors may receive during each fiscal year. |

| • |     | Limited transferability. Awards under the Amended and Restated Plan generally may not be sold, assigned, 
 transferred, pledged, or otherwise encumbered, unless otherwise approved by the administrator.           |

| • |     | Forfeiture Events. Each award under the Amended and Restated Plan will be subject to any clawback policy                                                                                                                                                
 that, in the future, the combined company is required by applicable stock exchange rules or applicable laws to adopt (including any such clawback policy that is adopted after the grant of the award), and the administrator may require a participant 
 to forfeit, return, or reimburse the combined