Executive Officers

Scott W. Absher, 61
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 

Since June 2015, Mr. Absher has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and director of ShiftPixy, a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq and the corporate parent of our sponsor, ShiftPixy Investments, Inc. Since February 2010, he has also been President of Struxurety, a business insurance advisory company. He is a graduate of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.

Domonic J. Carney, 55
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Mr. Carney began his career at Deloitte & Touche where he audited high tech startups in Palo Alto, CA. Mr. Carney brings substantial experience in high-growth companies as well as over fifteen years of C-Level experience in public companies. Between 1994 and 2001, Mr. Carney worked for various high-tech startups in Silicon Valley, CA, including software development, internet, and internet service providers in increasing levels of responsibility. From 2001 until 2004, Mr. Carney was the Finance Director in San Diego, CA providing finance support for the Western half of the US Operations of Danka Office Imaging. From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Carney served as the Chief Financial Officer for Composite Technology Corporation, an energy equipment and technology company that grew from pre-revenue to over $75 million a year between 2005 and 2008. Between 2012 and 2014, Mr. Carney provided C-Level finance and accounting consulting services to manufacturing, health care, energy, and technology companies in San Diego and Irvine, CA. From 2014 until 2019, Mr. Carney served as the Chief Financial Officer for Ener-Core, Inc., an energy technology company located in Irvine, CA. Mr. Carney holds a Master in Accounting degree from Northeastern University, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Dartmouth College, and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (inactive status) in the State of California.

Steven Sims, 68
Chief Operating Officer

From 2019 to 2020, Mr. Sims served as President of Convelo Insurance Group, which specializes in providing a variety of insurance products to the nonprofit sector, including workers’ compensation, property, and general liability coverage. Prior to joining Convelo, Mr. Sims led the formation and capital fundraising process, and served as President and a member of the Board of WRM America Indemnity Company, formerly Alliance Assurance Company, (“WRMAI”), an A.M. Best A- rated property and casualty carrier which provided a variety of integrated insurance programs to education, government and not-for-profit institutions. Mr. Sims also co-founded and served as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of WRMAI’s parent holding company.  Mr. Sims holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Public Administration from the University of Alabama, and has completed post-graduate studies in Capital Syndication and Finance at New York University.

Robert S. Gans, 56
General Counsel and Secretary

Since June 15, 2020, Mr. Gans has served as General Counsel of ShiftPixy, Inc., a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq and corporate parent of our sponsor, ShiftPixy Investments, Inc, having spent the past 30 years as a litigator specializing in securities fraud, accountants’ liability and corporate governance. Prior to joining ShiftPixy, from 2009 to 2020, Mr. Gans maintained his own law office, where his activities included advising corporate boards with respect to their fiduciary duties and disclosure obligations. Previously, Mr. Gans was a partner at the law firm of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and began his career at the law firm of Schulte, Roth & Zabel. Mr. Gans holds a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law, a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Dartmouth College, and is an active member of the Bars of New York and California.

Board of Directors

Bennet Tchaikovsky, 51
Director

Since January 2020, Mr. Tchaikovsky has been a member of the board of directors for Oriental Culture Holding Group, Ltd., where he serves as a member of the audit committee, chair of the compensation committee and a member of the corporate governance and nominating committee. Since August 2014, Mr. Tchaikovsky has been a full-time professor at Irvine Valley College, and has been a part-time accounting instructor at Long Beach City College since September 2020. From August 2018 to May 2019, Mr. Tchaikovsky was a part-time instructor at Chapman University. From November 2013 to August 2019, Mr. Tchaikovsky served as a board member and chair of the audit committee of Ener-Core, Inc., an energy technology company located in Irvine, CA. Prior to 2013, Mr. Tchaikovsky served as chief financial officer and as a director of four public companies listed on Nasdaq. Mr. Tchaikovsky is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California and is an active member of the California State Bar. Mr. Tchaikovsky received his Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and his Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

John A. Quelch, 69
Director Nominee

Since July 2017, Mr. Quelch has served as the Dean of the Miami Herbert Business School at the University of Miami. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Quelch served as the Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (where he continues to hold the title of Professor Emeritus), and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Prior to receiving this joint appointment, Mr. Quelch served as the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for International Development at Harvard Business School from 2001 to 2011. He served as Dean, Vice-President and Distinguished Professor of International Management at CEIBS from 2011 to 2013. Mr. Quelch began his academic career at the University of Hawaii and the School of Business Administration of the University of Western Ontario. In 1979, he accepted a position as assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, where he later became the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing and Co-Chair of the Marketing department in 1994. He left Harvard Business School in 1998 upon being appointed Dean of the London Business School, returning to Harvard Business School in 2001. Mr. Quelch has served as a non-executive director of several publicly traded companies both in the United States and the United Kingdom over the course of his career, including the following: WPP plc, a marketing and media services company, (from which he retired in 2013 after 25 years of service, including 7 years as chair of its audit committee); Alere, a global manufacturer of rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests; Aramark Corporation, a food services, facilities, and uniform services provider; easyJet plc, a British multi-national low-cost airline group; Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., the primary bottler of Pepsi-Cola beverages; and Reebok International Ltd., a footwear and clothing company. Mr. Quelch also served as the chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Port Authority from 2002 to 2011, with oversight responsibility for three airports, waterfront real estate and the seaport of Boston. He is the author or co-author of 20 books and 17 Harvard Business Review articles, including a widely recognized paper on corporate governance entitled “Bringing Customers Into The Boardroom.” Mr. Quelch holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science from the Harvard School of Public Health, a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Exeter College, Oxford University.

Heath Hawker, 48
Director Nominee

Since June 2002, Mr. Hawker has been Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of Synaptix, Inc., a California based company engaged in the business of information technology and project management staffing and services consulting, serving clients ranging from $50 billion dollar healthcare companies to mid-size high growth financial services firms. Prior to joining Synaptix, Mr. Hawker served as President of supply chain software firm Elario, Inc., where he negotiated the sale of the company’s intellectual property to a Fortune 250 corporation. Mr. Hawker has extensive additional experience in the information technology industry, having previously served in senior management positions with AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., and Deloitte & Touche Management Consulting LLP, among others. He received his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.