BOULDER, Colorado, August 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
- New CEO: Chris Bechtel
- New CFO: Paul Kelly
- New Head of Sales: Camille Lupton
Surna Inc. ("Surna" or the "Company") (OTCQB: SRNA) introduced
today a new senior management team to lead the company, execute its
growth plan and increase revenue.
New Chief Executive Officer: Chris
Bechtel
The Board of Directors (the "Board") appointed Chris Bechtel as the Company's new President and
Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Bechtel joined Surna's Board of
Directors (the "Board") on May 31,
2017. Mr. Bechtel succeeds and replaces former CEO and
President Trent Doucet, who has
assumed a new role with the Company.
Mr. Bechtel (age 58) 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 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 additionally 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.
New Role for Trent Doucet: Vice President
Business Development - West Coast
Effective August 17, 2017, Mr.
Doucet resigned as a director and as the Company's Chief Executive
Officer and President.
Effective immediately, Mr. Doucet will assume a new role as the
Company's Vice President Business Development - West
Coast. Mr. Doucet will focus his efforts and use his industry
knowledge to assist the Company in developing the significant
market opportunities resulting from the recent legalization of
cannabis for recreational use in in the State of California.
New Chief Financial Officer: Paul Kelly
The Board also appointed Paul
Kelly as the Company's Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer.
Mr. Kelly (age 62) has over 30 years of senior financial
experience including significant experience with both emerging and
larger companies. He has provided financial and transactional
services to emerging companies including: strategic and business
planning, debt and equity financing, government contracting,
accounting and IT systems analysis, operations and supply chain
management, financial planning, program management, and other
senior management services.
Since 2004, Mr. Kelly has been a consultant to numerous smaller
private companies, mostly in fractional or interim Chief Financial
Officer, Controller, and other senior financial and accounting
roles, at the following companies: Wave Solar Technologies,
Inc. (2016 to 2017); Bluenergy Solar Wind, LLC (2015 to 2017);
Novinda, Inc. (2011 to 2014); ION Engineering (2012 to 2015),
Anzode, Inc. (2010 to 2014); and Firefly Energy, Inc. (2004 to
2008).
Mr. Kelly was the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and
Secretary of Visual Products Corporation ("VPC") from 2001 to
2004. VPC was a private equity-backed manufacturing roll-up in
the highly fragmented sign industry. In addition, Mr. Kelly
was Chief Financial Officer of Bolder Technologies Corporation
("Bolder") from 2000 to 2002. Bolder was an advanced energy
storage company that manufactured high power rechargeable battery
products for consumer and backup power applications. He also served
as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
Secretary of CET Environmental Services, Inc. in 1999. Both Bolder
and CET Environmental Services, Inc. were public companies listed
on the NASDAQ exchange. Mr. Kelly was the VP Finance for Technology
Management Advisors from 1997 to 1999, a boutique venture capital
firm specializing in early-stage investments in the advanced
materials and industrial products sectors.
From 1985 through 1997, Mr. Kelly was employed by the Adolph
Coors Company and its affiliated companies in various senior
financial management positions including the Controller for the
Membrane Separations and Engine Components Unit of Golden
Technologies Company. Mr. Kelly was also the Director of
Strategic Planning and Finance for the Coors Advanced Electronics
Group and began his career at Coors as the Internal Audit Manager
at the parent company. Prior to that, Mr. Kelly was employed as an
Audit Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
A Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Kelly earned a BS in
Accounting from Eastern Michigan
University and a Masters in Accounting from Colorado State University.
New Head of Sales: Camille
Lupton
The Company hired Camille Lupton
as its new Vice President of Sales and Project Management.
Ms. Lupton (age 59) has over 30 years of sales, sales
leadership, project management and operational management
experience. She has spent the last 26 years in the oil and gas
services sector, starting as a Regional Sale Representative in
New Orleans for Omni Laboratories
in 1990. Over the next 16 years, until Omni's sale to Weatherford
International in 2006, her client-focused efforts in sales and
project management were a key contributor to Omni's growth.
Following the Weatherford acquisition, Ms. Lupton held
leadership roles within the Weatherford Labs Product Line, serving
as U.S. Operations/Sales Director, Western Hemisphere Director and
Director of Global Business Development & Strategic
Development. She was part of an executive team that was responsible
for the integration of 13 acquisitions into a unified organization
under a single banner.
Other New Management Hires
Jaime Loos joined the Company as
its new Director of Project Management. Ms. Loos (age 41) is a
seasoned project manager with over 15 years' experience with
companies such as Omni, Weatherford International and NASA.
James Holmstead was hired as the
Company's Director of Operations and Product Development. Mr.
Holmstead (age 46) has worked operations and production for over 15
years, most recently with Eaton Corporation's lighting and
hydraulics divisions
Commentary from the Chairman
"We are delighted to welcome Chris
Bechtel and his new management team to Surna," stated
Timothy J. Keating, Chairman of the
Board. "And we thank Trent
Doucet for his many contributions over the past two years
and, equally importantly, for his desire to help the company grow
through the expansion of sales activities in California," added Mr. Keating.
Mr. Keating further noted that each of the new members of the
management team is a seasoned executive with deep experience
growing businesses. The Board expects the current leadership to
install the sales infrastructure in place to increase the number of
geographic markets, the number of customers and the average size of
each customer order over the next eight quarters. Moreover,
there is an expectation of improved project management and internal
processes and controls, with the clear goal of achieving profitable
growth in the same time frame.
About Surna, Inc.
Surna, Inc. is a Boulder,
Colorado-based 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
(http://www.surna.com). We develop innovative technologies and
products that monitor, control and or address the energy and
resource intensive nature of indoor cannabis cultivation. Our goal
is to provide intelligent solutions to improve the quality, the
control and the overall yield and efficiency of controlled
environment agriculture. Though our customers do, we neither
produce nor sell 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 ability to monetize service components,
Surna's support of premium prices for existing
products, commercialization of research and development efforts and
continued expansion of legal cannabis markets. Other risks
and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to new
products, services, and technologies, government regulation and
taxation, and fraud. In addition, the current global
economic climate amplifies many of these risks. 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.
Statement about Cannabis Markets
The use, possession, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis
is prohibited by federal law. This includes medical and
recreational cannabis. Although certain states have legalized
medical and recreational cannabis, companies and individuals
involved in the sector are still at risk of being prosecuted by
federal authorities. Further, the landscape in the cannabis
industry changes rapidly. What was the law last week is not the law
today, and what is the law today may not be the law next week. This
means that at any time the city, county, or state where cannabis is
permitted can change the current laws and/or the federal government
can supersede those laws and take prosecutorial action. Given the
uncertain legal nature of the cannabis industry, it is imperative
that investors understand that the cannabis industry is a high-risk
investment. A change in the current laws or enforcement policy can
negatively affect the status and operation of our business, require
additional fees, stricter operational guidelines and unanticipated
shut-downs.
Surna Contact:
Jamie English
Marketing Manager
Jamie.english@surna.com
+1-303-993-5271
SOURCE Surna, Inc.