THORNTON, CO, Sept. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (“Ascent Solar”, “Ascent” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ASTI), a developer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art, lightweight, flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, today announced a transition of its leadership at the board and executive levels.
Four new directors have been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors: Louis Berezovsky, Mike French, Felix T. Mantke, and Forest Reynolds. These directors will serve as part of the new leadership team that will help guide the Company in its efforts to develop long-term revenue and business opportunities, as Ascent continues its transition as a newly listed company on Nasdaq.
As part of the board transition, four previous directors (Amit Kumar, Kim J. Huntley, Will A. Clarke and Victor Lee) agreed to resign from the board. David Peterson continues as a member of the board and has been appointed board chair.
In addition, Victor Lee has resigned as the Company’s CEO. The Company has commenced a search for a new CEO and expects to make an announcement about new executive leadership in the near future.
David Peterson, board chair, stated, “We very much appreciate the work and stewardship of our departing directors and CEO. Their efforts have sustained the Company through some very difficult financial and operating conditions. Our recent listing on Nasdaq in August was a major accomplishment that would not have been possible without the efforts of Victor, Amit, Kim and Will.”
Information on our new directors:
Louis Berezovsky currently leads the Finance and Accounting, M&A, Human Resources, Legal and IT functions at Eagle Infrastructure Services. Mr. Berezovsky has over 25 years of experience in senior financial management positions across a variety of industries, including private equity sponsored portfolio companies. His accomplishments include the completion of more than 60 acquisitions, as well as multiple recapitalizations and successful sale processes. Mr. Berezovsky, who has served as the Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota, received his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
Mike French is currently the Vice President of Space Systems at the Aerospace Industries Association, where he advocates for policies, regulations, and investments that build strong industry partnerships across the civil, commercial, and national security sectors. Mr. French’s experience in the space industry includes developing market forecasts and assessments for space industry executives and analyzing major space investments for companies and banks. He served as NASA’s Chief of Staff, where he advised the NASA Administrator, the White House, and various government leaders on national space policy issues. Mr. French holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Felix T. Mantke is currently the CFO at TubeSolar AG, which is an investor in and customer of Ascent Solar. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in the fields of accounting, controlling and auditing and has particular expertise in the areas of M&A and capital markets. Prior to joining TubeSolar in 2022, Mr. Mantke spent five years working at Deloitte in Germany. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director at Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Munich, after having worked at BDO AG in Frankfurt. At the beginning of his career, Mr. Mantke held various positions at EY in Berlin, Boston, Moscow and Munich and moved to H.C. Stark GmbH in 2012 as Head of Group Accounting/Capital Markets.
Forrest Reynolds has over 28 years of business and management experience and is currently the Managing Partner of CalTex Capital, LLC, a privately held investment firm, as well as a Managing Director of The Vortex Group Family Office, LLC, a private family office, both of which are based in Texas. Previously, Mr. Reynolds served as the Chief Restructuring Officer for Centaur Gaming, LLC, a gaming development company located in Indianapolis Indiana. In this capacity, Mr. Reynolds managed a $1 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for the company. Prior to that, Mr. Reynolds worked in the investment banking industry for over 14 years, holding various positions with several multinational investment banks including Credit Suisse, BT Alex Brown (later Deutsche Bank) and UBS. Mr. Reynolds sits on the board of several private companies and is actively involved with several charitable organizations. Mr. Reynolds graduated from The University of Texas at Austin where he received a B.B.A. in Finance and a B.A. in Economics.
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., is a developer of thin-film photovoltaic modules using flexible substrate materials that are more versatile and rugged than traditional solar panels. Ascent Solar modules were named as one of the top 100 technologies by R&D Magazine, and one of TIME Magazine's 50 best inventions. The technology described above represents the cutting edge of flexible power and can be directly integrated into consumer products and off-grid applications, as well as other aerospace applications. Ascent Solar is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado. More information can be found at www.AscentSolar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of our future revenues, stock price, or results of operations. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
