Corporate Governance

Wes Cummins currently serves as the CEO and Chairman of Applied Digital (Nasdaq: APLD) and is one of the company’s cofounders. Mr. Cummins is also the founder and CEO of 272 Capital LP, a registered investment advisor, which focuses primarily on investing in technology hardware, software, and services companies. Wes has been a technology investor for over 20 years and held various positions in capital markets including positions at investment banks and institutional asset management firms. Prior to founding 272 Capital, Wes led technology investing at Nokomis Capital, L.L.C., an investment advisory firm. Mr. Cummins serves as a member of the Board of Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS), a fabless designer, developer and supplier of cellular semiconductor solutions for massive, broadband and critical Internet of Things (IoT) markets. He also serves as a member of the board of Vishay Precision Group (NYSE: VPG) an internationally recognized designer, manufacturer and marketer of resistive foil technology, sensors, and sensor-based systems to niche, industrial applications. Wes holds a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis where he majored in finance and accounting.

Ella Benson brings over a decade of experience in financial services and is a Director at Oasis Management Co., Ltd. (“Oasis”). She has substantial experience working with public companies undergoing strategic transitions. Prior to joining Oasis in 2013, Benson was an analyst at GAM, an independent asset management firm, from 2009 to 2013. Benson holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Chuck Hastings currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of B. Riley Wealth Management. Mr. Hastings also serves as a board member for IQvestment Holdings. Mr. Hastings joined B. Riley Financial in 2013 as a portfolio manager and became Director of Strategic Initiatives at B. Riley Wealth Management in 2018 and President in 2019. Prior to joining B. Riley, Mr. Hastings served as Portfolio Manager at Tri Cap LLC and was Head Trader at GPS Partners, a Los Angeles-based hedge fund, where he managed all aspects of trading and process including price & liquidity discovery and trade execution from 2005-2009. While at GPS Partners, Mr. Hastings was instrumental in growing the Fund with the founding partners from a small start-up to one of the largest funds on the West Coast. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hastings served as a convertible bond trader at Morgan Stanley in New York.

Mr. Hastings holds a B.A. in political science from Princeton University, where he was also captain of the Varsity Football team.

Rachel Lee brings seventeen years of finance and investment experience and nearly a decade of board experience at growth companies.  Most recently, Ms. Lee served as Partner and Head of the Consumer Private Equity practice at Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES).  During her time at Ares, she served on the board of directors at Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants, Floor and Decor (NYSE: FND), and Insight Global, among others.  In this role, she led all aspects of deal activity from origination to monetization including due diligence, debt capital raises, tack-on acquisitions, legal negotiations, and exits via Initial Public Offerings. In addition, she led numerous initiatives at the firm supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Before joining Ares in 2008, Ms. Lee was in the investment banking division at J.P. Morgan, where she participated in the execution of a variety of transactions, including leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity financings across various industries. 

Ms. Lee holds a B.S. in Corporate Finance and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Douglas Miller has served as a member of the board of directors of three public companies over the past nine years including Telenav, Inc and Procera Networks. He has chaired the Audit Committee for each of these companies, and has also served as Lead Independent director and as chair or committee member on Compensation, Nominating and Governance and Special committees. Prior to his roles as board member, Mr. Miller served as senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Telenav, Inc., a wireless application developer specializing in personalized navigation services, from May 2006 until June 2012. From July 2005 to May 2006, Mr.Miller served as vice president and chief financial officer of Longboard, Inc., a privately held provider of telecommunications software. From October 1998 to July 2005, Mr.Miller held various management positions at Synplicity, Inc., a publicly traded electronic design automation company, including senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer. Synplicity was acquired by Synopsys, Inc. Mr.Miller also served as chief financial officer of 3DLabs, Inc., a publicly held graphics semiconductor company, and as an audit partner at Ernst& Young LLP, a professional services organization. Mr.Miller is a certified public accountant (inactive). He holds a B.S.C. in Accounting from Santa Clara University. We believe Mr. Miller’s experience as a chief financial officer and board member of public companies gives him insight and perspective into how other boards function and enables him to be an effective board member.

Dr. Nottenburg brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our board. He is currently on the board of directors of Cognyte a global leader in security analytics software, Verint Systems the customer engagement company serving as chairman of the compensation committee of both companies, Sequans Communications a leading developer and provider of 5G and 4G chips and modules for massive, broadband and critical IoT applications where he serves on both the audit and compensation committees. Dr. Nottenburg is also Executive Partner at OceanSoundPartners LP, a private equity firm, and an investor in various early stage technology companies. Previously, Dr. Nottenburg served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sonus Networks, Inc. from 2008 through 2010. From 2004 until 2008, Dr. Nottenburg was an officer with Motorola, Inc., ultimately serving as its Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer.

Kate Reed is a technology industry veteran with experience in leading and developing teams across several key departments at IBM Corporation from 2014 to 2023. Reed’s areas of expertise include Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, Cyber Security, and Cloud Computing. Most recently, she served as Director of Sales at Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM, from 2021 to 2023. Prior to that, she served as a Strategic Partnership Executive with Watson, the AI solutions arm of IBM, from 2019 to 2021. Ms. Reed has led revenue-generating teams, designing technology strategies that align with organizational goals, ensuring seamless integration, and leveraging the latest advancements to drive business success.