11/16/2011
This week: Catch the Wind Announces Executive Appointments
CHANTILLY, VA, Nov. 15, 2011 - Catch the Wind Ltd. (TSXV: CTW), providers of laser-based wind sensor products and technology, announced today the appointments of John Green as Chief Financial Officer and Frederick Belen to Vice President of Technology and Product Line Management.
Mr. Green has been supporting Catch the Wind as a financial and operational consultant since early September, 2011 to help with the transition to a manufacturing company from a R&D focused company. He has over 20 years of executive experience, primarily in Silicon Valley based high technology companies. In addition to being the senior financial executive during this time, he has been heavily involved in driving operational process improvements domestically and internationally. Mr. Green's expertise has contributed to the rapid growth of early revenue manufacturing companies including as Chief Financial Officer of Corsair Memory Inc. and CFO/COO/VP-HR of Strategy Manufacturing, Inc. Mr. Green holds a Bachelor of Science from Pepperdine University, a Master's of Science from Northeastern University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
"We are delighted to add John to the team. He has a deep knowledge of both operations and finance and is playing an instrumental role in our corporate transformation," said Jo Major, Chairman and interim CEO of Catch the Wind. "John got his initial corporate experience in the financial analysis of semiconductor wafer facilities at Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. His corporate roles include running the Multichip Technology subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor, reporting to T. J. Rogers, with his most recent role being the CFO at Corsair Memory, which grew in annual revenues from $20 to $400M during his time with the company. We would also like to thank Robin for her contributions as interim CFO and look forward to her continuing role with the Company."
Mr. Belen has been a consultant with Catch the Wind since 2008. Mr. Belen has broad civilian and military experience developing and procuring complex systems. During his federal career, Mr. Belen held positions, ever-increasing in responsibility, from the research laboratory to the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and the Office of Naval Research managing programs in shipbuilding, communications & electronics, sensors, weapons systems and vehicles. Since 2003, Mr. Belen ran a consultant firm serving a wide variety of customers, including Lockheed, General Dynamics, and Textron. Mr. Belen holds a Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and has completed post-graduate work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, the Defense Systems Management College, the Federal Executive Institute, and George Washington University. Mr. Belen has also served as a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University.
"We are very excited about Fred and his contribution to the team," added Jo Major. "Fred has a unique combination of deep technical understanding, great business acumen, and extensive management experience. In his new role, Fred now has responsibility for both product development and product line management, placing him in a great position to help guide corporate strategy as the Company continues growing in scale. Both John and Fred are tremendous assets that have skill sets required to execute our growth and corporate development plans."
Both Mr. Green and Mr. Belen were issued stock option grants on November 14, 2011. Mr. Green was issued 890,000 options and Mr. Belen was issued 280,000 options, each at an exercise price of C$0.16. One quarter of these options vest on the first anniversary of the date of grant, with 1/36th of the remaining grant vesting each month over the subsequent 36 months. The expiry date of the options is November 14, 2021.
Shipping Guidance Update
As previously disclosed, Catch the Wind is currently requesting the return of certain property, including inventory, from Optical Air Data Systems, LLC ("OADS"). The Company now believes that this property will not be returned by OADS in a timely fashion. This property included certain components and circuit cards required for shipments in this quarter. Although Catch the Wind has ordered all needed parts to manufacture its products, the Company's supply chain cannot provide the components rapidly enough for certain deliveries this quarter. As such, the Company anticipates that shipments for the quarter will now be between $0.9M and $1.1M compared to $1.2M and $1.6M as previously expected.
"While we are disappointed that we do not have the parts to build all of the products to meet customer demand this quarter, we believe that we now have all of the technical, manufacturing and supply chain assets in place such that our operational ability to take orders and ship products is no longer dependent upon the actions of OADS," stated Jo Major. "We are very proud that the number of units shipped this quarter is very strong, and is the largest shipment quarter in corporate history. We've already started booking orders for next quarter and look forward to exciting growth going forward."
Falcon Fifty Update
The Company also announced today that, in connection with the Complaint filed by the Company in the Delaware Chancery Court against Falcon Fifty LLC ("Falcon Fifty"), Tristar Aviation LLC (the other member of Falcon Fifty), Apogee Holdings LLC (the sole member of Tristar Aviation LLC, which is owned by Philip Rogers and Alisa Rogers), and Philip Rogers and Alisa Rogers personally, seeking to compel Falcon Fifty to disclose to the Company certain contractual, operational and financial information regarding Falcon Fifty, it has received a copy of a Complaint filed by Philip Rogers and Alisa Rogers against the Company in the Circuit Court for Prince William County, Virginia. Pursuant to the Complaint, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have asserted a claim for confirmation of the validity of the indemnity agreement executed by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers for any claims made against the Rogers' in the event of a default under security granted by the Company to VFS Financing, Inc. for the financing of the Falcon Fifty aircraft. If the indemnity agreement is held to be valid and binding on the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, the Company believes that its potential exposure under the indemnity agreement is approximately USD$4.2 million, less the proceeds from the eventual sales of the aircraft, plus any applicable interest, penalties and costs associated therewith.
The Company believes that the claims made by Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are without merit and the Company intends to take appropriate action to defend this matter.
Mr. Green has been supporting Catch the Wind as a financial and operational consultant since early September, 2011 to help with the transition to a manufacturing company from a R&D focused company. He has over 20 years of executive experience, primarily in Silicon Valley based high technology companies. In addition to being the senior financial executive during this time, he has been heavily involved in driving operational process improvements domestically and internationally. Mr. Green's expertise has contributed to the rapid growth of early revenue manufacturing companies including as Chief Financial Officer of Corsair Memory Inc. and CFO/COO/VP-HR of Strategy Manufacturing, Inc. Mr. Green holds a Bachelor of Science from Pepperdine University, a Master's of Science from Northeastern University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
"We are delighted to add John to the team. He has a deep knowledge of both operations and finance and is playing an instrumental role in our corporate transformation," said Jo Major, Chairman and interim CEO of Catch the Wind. "John got his initial corporate experience in the financial analysis of semiconductor wafer facilities at Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. His corporate roles include running the Multichip Technology subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor, reporting to T. J. Rogers, with his most recent role being the CFO at Corsair Memory, which grew in annual revenues from $20 to $400M during his time with the company. We would also like to thank Robin for her contributions as interim CFO and look forward to her continuing role with the Company."
Mr. Belen has been a consultant with Catch the Wind since 2008. Mr. Belen has broad civilian and military experience developing and procuring complex systems. During his federal career, Mr. Belen held positions, ever-increasing in responsibility, from the research laboratory to the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and the Office of Naval Research managing programs in shipbuilding, communications & electronics, sensors, weapons systems and vehicles. Since 2003, Mr. Belen ran a consultant firm serving a wide variety of customers, including Lockheed, General Dynamics, and Textron. Mr. Belen holds a Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and has completed post-graduate work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, the Defense Systems Management College, the Federal Executive Institute, and George Washington University. Mr. Belen has also served as a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University.
"We are very excited about Fred and his contribution to the team," added Jo Major. "Fred has a unique combination of deep technical understanding, great business acumen, and extensive management experience. In his new role, Fred now has responsibility for both product development and product line management, placing him in a great position to help guide corporate strategy as the Company continues growing in scale. Both John and Fred are tremendous assets that have skill sets required to execute our growth and corporate development plans."
Both Mr. Green and Mr. Belen were issued stock option grants on November 14, 2011. Mr. Green was issued 890,000 options and Mr. Belen was issued 280,000 options, each at an exercise price of C$0.16. One quarter of these options vest on the first anniversary of the date of grant, with 1/36th of the remaining grant vesting each month over the subsequent 36 months. The expiry date of the options is November 14, 2021.
Shipping Guidance Update
As previously disclosed, Catch the Wind is currently requesting the return of certain property, including inventory, from Optical Air Data Systems, LLC ("OADS"). The Company now believes that this property will not be returned by OADS in a timely fashion. This property included certain components and circuit cards required for shipments in this quarter. Although Catch the Wind has ordered all needed parts to manufacture its products, the Company's supply chain cannot provide the components rapidly enough for certain deliveries this quarter. As such, the Company anticipates that shipments for the quarter will now be between $0.9M and $1.1M compared to $1.2M and $1.6M as previously expected.
"While we are disappointed that we do not have the parts to build all of the products to meet customer demand this quarter, we believe that we now have all of the technical, manufacturing and supply chain assets in place such that our operational ability to take orders and ship products is no longer dependent upon the actions of OADS," stated Jo Major. "We are very proud that the number of units shipped this quarter is very strong, and is the largest shipment quarter in corporate history. We've already started booking orders for next quarter and look forward to exciting growth going forward."
Falcon Fifty Update
The Company also announced today that, in connection with the Complaint filed by the Company in the Delaware Chancery Court against Falcon Fifty LLC ("Falcon Fifty"), Tristar Aviation LLC (the other member of Falcon Fifty), Apogee Holdings LLC (the sole member of Tristar Aviation LLC, which is owned by Philip Rogers and Alisa Rogers), and Philip Rogers and Alisa Rogers personally, seeking to compel Falcon Fifty to disclose to the Company certain contractual, operational and financial information regarding Falcon Fifty, it has received a copy of a Complaint filed by Philip Rogers and Alisa Rogers against the Company in the Circuit Court for Prince William County, Virginia. Pursuant to the Complaint, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have asserted a claim for confirmation of the validity of the indemnity agreement executed by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers for any claims made against the Rogers' in the event of a default under security granted by the Company to VFS Financing, Inc. for the financing of the Falcon Fifty aircraft. If the indemnity agreement is held to be valid and binding on the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, the Company believes that its potential exposure under the indemnity agreement is approximately USD$4.2 million, less the proceeds from the eventual sales of the aircraft, plus any applicable interest, penalties and costs associated therewith.
The Company believes that the claims made by Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are without merit and the Company intends to take appropriate action to defend this matter.
- Source:
- Catch the Wind Ltd.
- Email:
- cjaques@catchthewindinc.com
- Link:
- www.catchthewindinc.com/...
