Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (TPST) · Oct 30, 2026 · Exec change
CFO departure
Tempest’s CFO change adds finance-leadership churn just as its in vivo CAR-T pipeline approaches first clinical dosing.
Tempest is a capital-sensitive clinical-stage biotech shifting toward in vivo CAR-T programs, with TPST-4003 expected to enter an investigator-initiated study in the fourth quarter of 2026 and TPST-2003 advancing through partner-supported development. The immediate issue is leadership churn, not a disclosed strategy change. Constance Ames is leaving after only about five weeks as CFO, following her September 2026 appointment, and the filing says the resignation is for “personal considerations unrelated to the Company.” 〔0〕 Replacing her immediately limits a near-term reporting gap, but the structure is notably temporary and outsourced. Stephanie Horn-Warnock assumes the CFO, principal financial and accounting officer, treasurer, and secretary roles, but will serve as a consultant rather than a conventional full-time executive, at $450 per hour plus expenses and a 5% indirect-cost allocation. That matters more for execution confidence than for the pipeline itself. Tempest is approaching important clinical milestones while operating with limited financial flexibility—the company reported $0.8 million of cash at June 30, 2026 and substantial doubt about continuing as a going concern—so another abrupt finance transition creates avoidable administrative and oversight risk even though the filing discloses no misconduct or company-related reason for Ames’s departure. Bottom line: This is a modest setback to corporate stability, not a change to Tempest’s CAR-T programs. The immediate replacement keeps finance operations covered, but a second CFO transition in roughly five weeks makes the leadership bench look unsettled at a sensitive point in the development cycle.
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