BOULDER, Colorado, May 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA) ("Surna" or the "Company"), a
manufacturer of a proprietary line of optimized lighting,
environmental control and air sanitation systems for
state-regulated cannabis cultivation facilities as well as
traditional indoor agricultural facilities, announced today the
appointment of J. Taylor Simonton,
age 73, and Chris Bechtel, age 57,
as Independent Directors. These appointments fill two vacancies on
the Board, including the vacancy created by the recent resignation
of Morgan Paxhia.
"Morgan was instrumental in helping Surna transition to its
public company status and our go-to-market strategy," said Surna
CEO Trent Doucet. "Morgan's industry
insights and experience were invaluable in our early years, and
we're grateful for his many contributions that have helped
establish our solid foundation for future growth," added
Doucet.
"Taylor brings a wealth of valuable experience to Surna, both
from his decades of experience in public accounting as well as his
participation on a variety of public company boards, and Chris has
a deep understanding of the cannabis industry, is experienced in
operating and growing both small and large businesses, and can
bring strategic value to Surna," said Doucet.
"These appointments are an unmistakable confirmation of our plan
to create a strong and independent board of directors," added
Doucet.
The Company also announced the establishment of an Audit
Committee. Messrs., Simonton and Bechtel, together with
Timothy J. Keating, the Company's
Chairman of the Board and an Independent Director, were appointed
to serve as members of the Audit Committee. Mr. Simonton was
appointed as the Chair of the Audit Committee.
Biographical Information on J. Taylor
Simonton
Mr. Simonton is serving or has served on eight corporate boards
of directors, including six other public companies since 2003 where
he has served as the Chair of the Audit Committee. His board
service has included Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., and currently
includes Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. He also has extensive
experience in corporate governance and nominating and governance
committees.
Mr. Simonton served for 10 years until 2015 on the Board of
Directors of the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of
Corporate Directors (NACD), where he served over time as its
Treasurer, President, and Chairman. He is a Board Leadership
Fellow, NACD's highest director credential, and was honored as
Colorado's 2014 Outstanding Public
Company Director by the Denver Business Journal and
NACD-Colorado. Simonton spent his
entire professional career, including 23 years as an Assurance and
National Office SEC Services Partner, at PricewaterhouseCoopers,
LLC (PwC). He has extensive experience with SEC filings, including
assistance with over 100 IPOs during his PwC career. His last seven
years with PwC were in the SEC Services of the firm's National
Professional Services Group, which handles the firm's SEC,
corporate governance, accounting and auditing, risk management and
quality matters. He is admitted as an expert witness in accounting,
auditing, and corporate governance in U.S. District Court, Colorado
Division.
Mr. Simonton is a 1966 graduate of the University of Tennessee - Knoxville with a B.S. in
Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in
Colorado.
Biographical Information on Christopher Bechtel
Mr. Bechtel has over 30 years' experience, as an executive,
entrepreneur and consultant, managing and advising businesses from
start-ups to divisions of large Fortune 500 companies. Since 2015,
Mr. Bechtel has been the principal of Bechtel Consulting, LLC,
which provides consulting services in mergers and acquisitions,
financial and investment analysis, capital markets, turnarounds and
special situations. Mr. Bechtel became involved in the cannabis
industry about three years ago as a private investor, consultant
and advisor.
In September 2014, Mr. Bechtel
joined the advisory board of Supreme Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a
Canadian publicly traded company committed to becoming a leading
supplier of affordable medical cannabis. In November 2014, Mr. Bechtel was appointed as an
Independent Director and the Chairman of Supreme, where he served
in such positions until resigning in April
2016. From October 2014 to
April 2016, Mr. Bechtel also served
as a Director of ebbu, llc, a privately-held, Colorado-based company offering a line of
branded cannabis products and a bulk oil extraction service for
cannabis producers.
In 1983, Mr. Bechtel co-founded Omni Laboratories, Inc., a
privately-held company that provides geologic services for oil and
gas companies, where he was initially responsible for all business
development activities, including a number of business
acquisitions. From January 1995 to
September 2006, as the owner and
President, Mr. Bechtel was responsible for leading the organic
growth initiative as well as expanding Omni's service offerings,
eventually employing 175 people with 14 laboratory locations in six
countries. In September 2006, Mr.
Bechtel sold Omni to Weatherford International, Inc. (NYSE: WFT),
one of the largest global providers of innovative mechanical
solutions, technology and services for the drilling, completion and
production sectors of the oil and gas industry. Mr. Bechtel was
appointed Group Vice President responsible for managing and growing
the former Omni business, which was renamed Weatherford
Laboratories, and in 2011, he was promoted to lead the worldwide
operations of Weatherford's Surface Logging Systems division. Mr.
Bechtel retired from Weatherford in March
2015.
Mr. Bechtel is a 1981 graduate of Michigan
State University with a B.A. degree in Marketing.
About Surna, Inc.
Surna Inc. ( www.surna.com ) develops innovative technologies
and products that monitor, control and or address the energy and
resource intensive nature of indoor cannabis cultivation.
Currently, the Company's revenue stream is based on its main
product offerings - supplying industrial technology and products to
commercial indoor cannabis grow facilities.
Headquartered in Boulder,
Colorado, Surna's diverse engineering team is tasked with
creating novel energy and resource efficient solutions, including
the company's signature water-cooled climate control platform. The
company's engineers continuously seek to create technology that
solves the highly specific demands of the cannabis industry for
temperature, humidity, light and process control.
Surna's goal is to provide intelligent solutions to improve the
quality, the control and the overall yield and efficiency of
controlled environment agriculture. Though its customers do, the
Company neither produces nor sells cannabis.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain statements of a
forward-looking nature relating to future events. These
forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent
uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions.
These statements reflect Surna's current beliefs, and a number
of important factors could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in this press release, including
the factors set forth in "Risk Factors" set forth in Surna's
Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), and subsequent filings with the SEC.
Please refer to Surna's SEC filings for a more detailed
discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with its
business, including but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties
associated with Surna's provision of equipment and
services to the cannabis industry. Except as required by the
federal securities laws, Surna undertakes no
obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. The reference to Surna's website
has been provided as a convenience, and the information contained
on such website is not incorporated by reference into this press
release.
Media Contact:
Surna Marketing
Jamie English,
Marketing Manager
jamie.english@surna.com
+1-303-993-5271
SOURCE Surna, Inc.