Executive Officers

Richard J. Hendrix, 59
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Hendrix has worked extensively with issuers and investors focused on companies in the financial services, real estate, energy, industrial, and business and consumer services sectors. He has led dozens of initial equity offerings, raising funds for founder-led and sponsor-backed companies. Additionally, Mr. Hendrix has considerable experience advising chief executives, boards of directors, and large shareholders regarding corporate strategy, capital structure, and capital access. Mr. Hendrix has served as the Chief Executive Officer of four Live Oak-sponsored SPACs, including vehicles that merged with Danimer Scientific (NYSE: DNMR) and Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NVTS), as further discussed below. Mr. Hendrix currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Danimer and as Chair of the Audit Committee of the Board of Navitas. Mr. Hendrix has significant leadership experience in the financial industry. Prior to founding Live Oak, Mr. Hendrix served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FBR & Co., or FBR (formerly NASDAQ: FBRC), a middle-market focused investment banking and brokerage firm. He assumed that role in January 2009, and subsequently oversaw 12 strategic transactions, including six acquisitions. Under his leadership, FBR ultimately executed a merger with B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: RILY) in 2017. Following the merger, Mr. Hendrix served as director of B. Riley Financial. Prior to serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FBR, Mr. Hendrix was President and Chief Operating Officer for FBR’s parent company, Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (former NYSE: AAIC), where he managed day-to-day operations for the firm, as well as served as its Chief Investment Officer. He oversaw both FBR’s carveout from AAIC and its subsequent IPO as an independent company. Prior to his roles as President and then Chief Executive Officer, he was Head of Investment Banking, and prior to that role headed FBR’s real estate and industrials investment banking groups. Over his tenure, he helped to grow FBR into a leading bookrunner for initial common stock offerings for middle market U.S. companies. Prior to FBR, Mr. Hendrix was a Managing Director in PNC Capital Markets’ investment banking group and headed PNC’s asset-backed securities business. Mr. Hendrix is an Operating Executive at Crestview Partners, a middle-market focused private equity firm. He is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RJH Management Co, a privately held investment management business. Mr. Hendrix graduated from Miami University with a BS in Finance. He is well qualified to serve as director due to his extensive operating, investing and financial experience.

Adam J. Fishman, 45
President, Chief Financial Officer and Director

Mr. Fishman joined the firm from Jefferies LLC, where he was a Managing Director from February 2018 to November 2020 and started the firm’s Permanent Capital Group. Mr. Fishman originated and executed SPAC transactions, including initial public offerings, assisting management in evaluating targets for merger consideration, and structuring and executing PIPE investments to support mergers. He was also responsible for originating and marketing pre-IPO private placements for companies across all industries. Prior to joining Jefferies, Mr. Fishman was an Executive Vice President and Head of Institutional Brokerage at FBR & Co. (“FBR”) (formerly NASDAQ: FBRC), a middle market focused investment banking and brokerage firm. At FBR, he led the collective Research, Sales and Trading organizations. Mr. Fishman was responsible for relationship management for a broad range of investors such as Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Alternative Asset Managers, Pensions, Endowments, Insurance and Family Offices. During his tenure, FBR was a top 3 lead-left bookrunner for Initial Common Stock Offerings for small and mid-cap companies, including late-stage private placements executed under Rule 144A and IPOs. Mr. Fishman also served on FBR’s Commitment Committee, where he was responsible for analyzing, structuring and selling all public and private investment offerings, and was a Named Executive Officer for FBR. As a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Mr. Fishman was a key contributor to the firm’s strategic vision and execution, including evaluating and executing numerous corporate acquisitions, divestments and partnerships. Mr. Fishman began his career as an Associate Director in the New York office of CIBC World Markets. He graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A in Sociology, cum laude.

Board of Directors

Ashton Hudson, 52
Director nominee

Mr. Hudson practiced law with the firm of Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP, from 1997 to 2000, where his legal practice was primarily focused on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, general corporate law and securities law. Mr. Hudson previously served as a director of Forestar Group, Inc. (NYSE: FOR), where from February 2016 to August 2019 he sat on the Audit, Compensation and Corporate Governance Committees, and as a director of the Jacksonville Electric Authority, one of the largest municipally owned utilities in the United States, where from March 2008 to April 2013 he chaired the Audit and Finance Committees and served a two-year term as Chairman of the Board. Since February 2020 he has served on the Florida Region board of directors of Fifth Third Bank. Until its sale to Anticimex in February 2018, Mr. Hudson was the majority owner and Executive Chairman of Turner Pest Control, one of the largest and fastest growing pest control providers in the United States. Mr. Hudson earned his B.S., cum laude, in business and accountancy, from Wake Forest University. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was a Cooke Foundation Scholar, Articles Editor of the Law Review, member of the Moot Court Board and Order of the Coif. Mr. Hudson is well qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive operational, legal and investing experience.

Jonathan R. Furer, 67
Director nominee

His background includes extensive experience on Wall Street and as private equity executive. Currently he is investing his own capital as a private investor in both start-ups and multi-family real estate opportunities. From May 2020 to December 2020, he was a director of Live Oak Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: LOAK), previously a blank check company which announced on October 5, 2020 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to consummate a business combination transaction with Meredian Holdings Group, Inc., a Georgia corporation d/b/a Danimer Scientific, a leading developer and manufacturer of biodegradable plastic materials, which transaction closed in the fourth quarter of 2020. From December 2020 to October 2021, he was a director of Live Oak Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: LOKB), a blank check company which completed a business combination with Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NVTS), the industry leader in Gallium Nitride (GaN) Power integrated circuits, which closed in the fourth quarter of 2021. He has over 30 years of private equity, operating and capital markets experience and has served as chairman, advisor, investor and active board member to businesses across a wide range of industries, including: healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and consumer products. Mr. Furer co-founded Arcade Partners, a private equity firm providing equity capital from family office funds. Mr. Furer was a co-founder and Director of Stone Arcade, a blank check company that completed its initial business combination with KapStone in 2007. Mr. Furer was primarily responsible for recruiting the executive team and, together with management, assisted in the identification and evaluation of business combination opportunities which led to the successful acquisition of the assets from International Paper (NYSE: IP) by KapStone. In 2007, KapStone became public through the merger with Stone Arcade. This initial business combination represented one of the first corporate carve-out transactions completed by a blank check company. Following the initial business combination, Mr. Furer joined the KapStone Board of Directors and remained on the Board for 11 years where he also served as Charmain of the Compensation Committee and served in those capacities until KapStone was acquired in 2018 by WestRock Company (NYSE: WRK), in a transaction valued at approximately $4.9 billion. Mr. Furer was also the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Arcade Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company that announced a business combination in 2008 and subsequently liquidated in 2009 during the global financial crisis. Prior to KapStone, Mr. Furer was a Partner at Washington and Congress Advisors, a private equity firm. He oversaw a number of portfolio companies, including several with significant operational and financial challenges that required a “hands-on” approach to deal with lender, co-investor and employee issues. Mr. Furer was also a Co-Founder of Meridian Capital Partners, where he completed the “buy and build” strategy of SWF Machinery, a West Coast based manufacturer of packaging machinery equipment that was sold to Dover Industries. He began his career as an analyst in the corporate finance department with Jesup & Lamont, a merchant bank. During his 10 years at Jesup, Mr. Furer rose from analyst to President and Chief Executive Officer, prior to his retirement from the firm. He graduated from the George Washington University with a B.B.A. in International Business. He is well-qualified to serve on our board due to his extensive investment, operational and finance background.

Andrea Tarbox, 74
Director nominee

Ms. Tarbox has served on the board of directors of Solo Brands Incorporated (NYSE:DTC), and served as its interim Chief Financial Officer from December 10, 2023 until February 5, 2024. Previously, Ms. Tarbox served as CFO and a member of the board of directors for Live Oak Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (formerly NYSE: LOKB), from December 2020 until October 2021 and as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the board of directors of Live Oak Acquisition Corp. (formerly NYSE: LOAK), a special purpose acquisition company, from May 2020 until December 2020. Before that, Ms. Tarbox served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of KapStone Paper & Packaging (formerly NYSE: KS), from 2007 until 2018. Previously, Ms. Tarbox held positions at various companies, including Uniscribe Professional Services, Inc., a provider of paper-and technology-based document management solutions, Gartner Inc., a research and advisory company, British Petroleum, p.l.c., (NYSE:BP) and Fortune Brands, Inc., a holding company with diversified product lines. Ms. Tarbox earned a B.A. degree in Psychology from Connecticut College and an M.B.A. from the University of Rhode Island. She is well-qualified to serve on our board due to her extensive accounting and financial experience, operational background, and her significant experience in acquiring and integrating companies.