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The Front Office

Scouting report · NTRA

Steven L. Chapman

  • Chief Executive Officer, President and Director, NTRA since 2019-01src

Joined Natera in 2010 as a sales VP; CEO and President since January 2019

—thin record

Not ranked yet

Scouting sheet

as of 24 Sep 2026
Delivers guidance—no promises on the record yet
Answers the question—no call reviewed yet
Capital allocation—company not reviewed yet
Pay design5550% performance-conditioned · revenue, margin, fcf, time only · 98% for · company lost money
Skin in the game—no holding or price on file
Age
46src
In the role
8 yr
Promises scored
0
Hit rate
—
Dodges / 100 answers
—
Airtime on calls
—
Every promise, oldest firstno scored promises yet

What to weigh

Watch 5

  • Personal defendant in a certified securities class action (Rule 10b-5, class period 2020-02-26 to 2022-03-14). The complaint alleges he, Brophy and Rabinowitz sold stock while holding material non-public information. These are allegations, not findingssrc
  • On his watch a jury found Natera liable for false advertising against Guardant Health, with $292.5m of damages (Nov 2024). The court largely upheld the verdict in July 2025 and Natera plans to appeal. A 2022 CareDx false-advertising verdict of $44.9m against Natera was set aside, and the Third Circuit affirmedsrc
  • Little skin in the game: 32,401 shares beneficially owned (16,767 held plus 15,634 vesting within 60 days), under 0.1% of the company, after about $94m of stock sales in the last 12 monthssrc
  • 2025 bonus target for revenue was set at $1,883.2m, about 11% growth. Actual growth was 35.9%, so the company element paid 131.1%. His bonus is 100% company metricssrc
  • Total 2025 pay of $14.96m, a 101:1 CEO pay ratio, in a year the company lost $208.2m under GAAPsrc

In their favour 2

  • Say-on-pay passed with about 98% of votes cast for or against at the June 2026 meetingsrc
  • Half of his target pay is performance-based (PSUs on a three-year cumulative revenue goal). Base salary stays below peer median, at the 30th percentile in 2025src

Career

  1. 2019 – now
    Naterasrc
    Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
    Appointed effective 2019-01-02 when co-founder Matthew Rabinowitz stepped down as CEO and became Executive Chairman
  2. 2017 – 2019
    Naterasrc
    Chief Operating Officer (from July 2017); Chief Commercial Officer (from March 2017)
  3. 2010 – 2017
    Naterasrc
    Vice President of Sales; Vice President, Commercial Operations
    Joined December 2010
  4. 2003 – 2010
    Genzyme Genetics Corp.src
    Commercial role (the filings do not give the title)
  5. 2002 – 2003
    UCLA, Department of Human Geneticssrc
    Researcher (first job)
    The proxy gives no dates; the years are inferred from the 2002 class year (WS-ucla) and the 2003 Genzyme start

Not located: Title at Genzyme Genetics (2003-2010) not stated in any filing; UCLA research dates inferred, not stated

Achievements

  • Rose from VP of Sales (2010) through Chief Commercial Officer and COO to CEO in January 2019, an internal successor to the foundersrc
  • Natera revenue grew from $257.7m in FY2018, the year before he became CEO, to $2,306.1m in FY2025src
  • FY2025 revenue grew 35.9% and gross margin reached 64.7%; operating cash flow turned positive at $107.6msrc
  • Named a top healthcare technology CEO by Healthcare Technology Report in 2024 and 2025, and BioTechnology Innovator of the Year 2024src

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles, BS Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics (2002)src

Background

  • Family The 2026 proxy states the only family relationship among directors and executive officers is the Rabinowitz brothers. Director Rowan Chapman, who chairs the human capital committee that sets his pay, is therefore not a relative per the proxysrc
  • Boards Director of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA), the lab-industry trade groupsrc
  • Other A scientist by training who came up through sales: began as a human-genetics researcher at UCLA, then seven years in the commercial organisation at Genzyme Genetics before Naterasrc
  • Legal Named as a defendant, with Natera, Brophy and Rabinowitz, in the securities class action in the Western District of Texas (filed April 2022, amended October 2022) over statements about Prospera and Panorama. The motion to dismiss was granted in part and the court has certified the classsrc

The promise ledger

No promise on the record yet: the research routine has not scored this company's guidance.

Sources

11
  1. Filing Natera DEF 14A for the 2026-06-11 annual meeting (accession 0001104659-26-047770) · 2026-04-23
  2. Filing Natera DEF 14A, 2018 (accession 0001047469-18-002528), Executive Officers section · 2018-04-04
  3. Filing Natera 8-K Item 5.02, Chapman appointed CEO and President; Rabinowitz resigns as CEO (0001104659-19-001251) · 2019-01-08
  4. Filing Natera 8-K Items 5.02/5.07, 2026 annual meeting results (0001604821-26-000003) · 2026-06-16
  5. Filing Natera 10-K for FY2025 (0001104659-26-020881), Legal Proceedings note and risk factors · 2026-02-27
  6. Filing SEC XBRL companyconcept us-gaap/NetIncomeLoss, CIK 1604821 (FY2025 10-K, 0001104659-26-020881) · 2026-02-27
  7. Filing SEC XBRL companyconcept us-gaap/RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax, CIK 1604821 (FY2018 from 0001558370-21-001907; FY2025 from 0001104659-26-020881) · 2026-02-27
  8. Filing Form 4, Steven Leonard Chapman (reporting CIK 1711968), 10b5-1 sale of 2026-09-01 (0001711968-26-000022); window totals summed over all 18 of his Form 4s filed 2025-09-29 to 2026-09-03 · 2026-09-03
  9. Filing Form 4, Steven Leonard Chapman, option exercise and 10b5-1 sale of 2025-11-03 (0001711968-25-000011) · 2025-11-03
  10. Web search result WebSearch: UCLA Alumni class note 'Steve Chapman '02' (Natera CEO) · 2026-09-24
  11. Web search result WebSearch: Kessler Topaz case page and amended complaint, Natera securities class action (W.D. Tex. 1:22-cv-00398); names Natera, Steve Chapman, Michael Brophy, Matthew Rabinowitz among defendants · 2026-09-24