Executive Officers

Jeffrey Tirman, 58
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

He  has over 30 years of international investment and corporate management experience, specializing in discrete corporate transactions, senior corporate strategy development and management, turnarounds, and restructurings (operational and financial). Since beginning his career, Mr. Tirman has executed and structured several complex international corporate transactions both on behalf of independent shareholders and as primary shareholder. Mr. Tirman has also negotiated, executed and participated in numerous types of transactions, including public listings, spin-offs, administration proceedings, organizing and leading creditor committees, corporate rationalizations, acquisitions and divestitures, and balance sheet refinancing, as well as analyzing and executing numerous debt and equity investments and capital structure arbitrage positions. Mr. Tirman founded Abri Advisors Ltd, in Bermuda in 2016 and Abri Advisors (UK) Ltd. in the United Kingdom in 2020 to invest across a variety of asset classes, and to provide corporate advisory services focused on corporate turnarounds and restructuring. Since April 2021, Mr. Tirman has served as Chairman and CEO of Abri SPAC I, an Affiliated SPAC. Mr. Tirman is also the managing member and a director of Abri Ventures 2, LLC, our Sponsor, and Chief Executive Officer of Abri Sponsor Company Ltd, and Abri Advisors, Inc., both private equity holding companies. Mr. Tirman also serves as the managing member and a director of Abri Ventures I, LLC, the sponsor to Abri SPAC I, Inc. an Affiliated SPAC. Since January 2016, Mr. Tirman had been the Chairman and CEO, and still serves as CEO of Elan d.o.o., based in Slovenia, and sits on the boards of several Elan subsidiaries. Since May 2019, Mr. Tirman has been the CEO and Director of Luxembourg-based KJK Sports S.A. and sits on the boards of several holdings thereunder including Tahe Outdoors based in France and Estonia, Baltic Vairus based in Lithuania, and Leader 96 based in Bulgaria. As of June 30, 2021, these companies employed more than 3,000 people and generated revenues in excess of €350 million. Mr. Tirman is charged with leading the operational and financial restructuring of these companies with the aim of increasing operational efficiency, financial performance and transparency, along with the implementation of standardized business practices and transparent corporate governance principles. From 2009 through 2014, Mr. Tirman was an adjunct professor of Advanced Corporate Finance for the Master of Sciences in Finance (MScF) program at l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is a joint effort between l’Université de Lausanne (UNIL), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Federal Swiss Banking and Finance Institute. From 2011 through 2013, Mr. Tirman was also a guest lecturer on Credit Markets and Credit Risk for the Asset and Wealth Management Executive MBA (AWEMBA) program at the HEC, which was a joint program between University of Lausanne and the Tepper School of Management at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pennsylvania, USA. Mr. Tirman’s lectures focused on risk assessment and analysis. Mr. Tirman received an MBA in Corporate Tax & Accounting from Tulane University in 1990 and a BA in Economics & Finance from the University of Arkansas in 1987.

Nima Montazeri, 44
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Director

He has more than 21 years of experience in corporate finance and is experienced in matters related to financing public and private companies. Mr. Montazeri has substantial experience in structuring complex financing instruments and private placements for small and mid-cap public companies, including working with many companies to design and implement operational and management restructuring plans. Since September 2021, Mr. Montazeri has served as chief operating officer and a director of Abri SPAC I, an Affiliated SPAC. Mr. Montazeri is also the chief operating officer of Abri Advisors Ltd., in Bermuda, and Abri Advisors (UK) Ltd. Mr. Montazeri has advised numerous small and mid-cap companies on growth strategies with a focus on international business development and expansion. Since March 2017, Mr. Montazeri has been a general partner at Brown Stone Capital, LP., focused on investment management. Previously, from 2008 to 2017, Mr., Montazeri was a Managing Director at Floyd Associates, Inc., leading management and financial consulting efforts and investing across multiple asset classes. Mr. Montazeri is also the President of Hyperion Capital and Silver Rock Associates Inc. Since 2012, Mr. Montazeri has been an active money manager focused on equity, fixed income, real estate, and derivative strategies. Mr. Montazeri has assisted several clean energy and automotive solution companies with their capital development efforts by organizing access to strategic sources of capital, as well as advising on new and expanding markets. Furthermore, he played an instrumental role in raising international capital for a California based concentrated solar power company. In 2003 he led an innovative technology transfer program from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which resulted in the development of a novel biological detection instrument. Mr. Montazeri has an extensive network of international investment and finance relationships providing access to a variety of transactions and differentiated investment opportunities, along with a robust capital raising network. Furthermore, Mr. Montazeri is the author of several research reports related to clean energy, defense, counter terrorism, and natural resources. As an economist, he has conducted extensive research on international trade, openness, and the resulting impact on economic growth. Mr. Montazeri’s research covered the analysis of thousands of historical bilateral trade figures in an attempt to discover statistically significant correlations between openness to trade and real economic growth. Mr. Montazeri received a BA with honors in Economics from the University of British Columbia in 2000 and Master’s in Finance and Accounting from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2003.

Christopher Hardt, 55
Chief Financial Officer and Director Nominee

He has more than 30 years of Big 4 audit, compliance, reporting and international corporate advisory experience. Since September 2021, Mr. Hardt has served as chief financial officer of Abri SPAC I, an Affiliated SPAC. In 2021, Mr. Hardt retired from PwC LLP where he was an audit partner since 2000. Mr. Hardt is also the chief financial officer of Abri Advisors Ltd, in Bermuda, and Abri Advisors (UK) Ltd. Mr. Hardt has been based previously in PwC’s offices in London, England, Lausanne, Switzerland and Tokyo, Japan in addition to several offices in the United States. During his tenure at PwC, he was a lead partner on several large multinational audit clients in the Consumer Markets, Technology, Media, Automotive, Banking and Insurance industries and has conducted business in over 40 countries. Mr. Hardt has also served as a leader in PwC’s SEC Services group in the firm’s National Office where he was responsible for oversight of both foreign and domestic registrant client SEC filings including both debt and equity IPOs. Through his prior roles at PwC, Mr. Hardt has extensive experience with companies preparing to go public including the financial statement and internal controls requirements of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, interacting with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the financial reporting implications of executing growth strategies involving mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Hardt also has many years of experience interacting with public company boards and their audit/finance committees. Mr. Hardt is an investor and adviser to Cavan & Co. LLC, an early-stage American made lifestyle apparel brand. Mr. Hardt received a BA in Business Administration from Furman University in 1988 and is a CPA licensed in Ohio, Georgia and New Jersey. Mr. Hardt serves on the President’s Advisory Council of Furman University and is a member of the Parents Board at The Georgia Institute of Technology.

Peter Bakker, 67
Vice President of Business Analytic

He has more than 30 years of experience in high-yield debt finance, portfolio management, secured lending, and SME trade finance. Since April 2021, Mr. Bakker has served as Vice President of Business Analytics for Abri SPAC I, an Affiliated SPAC. Mr. Bakker has been a Vice President at Abri Advisors Ltd. since June 2019 where he focused on corporate evaluation and M&A. From January 2015 to June 2019, Mr. Bakker was the Chief Risk Officer at Channel Capital Advisors, where he oversaw risk management. Mr. Bakker has extensive knowledge of credit analysis and debt service capacity of corporate borrowers; the turnaround/workout/recovery process; financial restructuring; valuation and analysis of highly levered and distressed capital structures; and arranging financing for SME’s. Mr. Bakker’s extensive international experience includes bank lending to finance leveraged buyouts, distressed investing on behalf of institutional clients, advising a leading Canadian hedge fund on its leveraged loan portfolio, and managing risk and workouts for a European FinTech platform providing financing to SME’s. He has also directly led the restructuring of several distressed SME’s, and he has raised significant leveraged acquisition financing and arranged several pre-pack bankruptcies in order to facilitate financial restructuring. Mr. Bakker received an MBA in Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University in 1979 and an MS in Economics from Erasmus University in 1977.

Amy Wall, 47
Vice President of Operations

She has more than 20 years of experience in financial controlling, international operations, and back-office administration. Since April 2021, Mrs. Wall has served as Vice President of Operations of Abri SPAC I, an Affiliated SPAC. Mrs. Wall has been VP of Operations for Abri Advisors Ltd. since its founding in 2016, where she manages all corporate organizational matters as well as financial reporting and controlling. From 2013 to 2016, Mrs. Wall was the financial accountant and controller for FCA/SEC regulated Rhodium Capital based in London. From 1998 to 2016, Mrs. Wall served as the financial accountant, controller and back-office operations manager for SEC regulated Talisman Capital. Mrs. Wall and Mr. Tirman have worked together since 1998.

Board of Directors

Robert Small, 52
Director Nominee

Mr. Small co-founded and built Miniclip SA into an international digital games and entertainment company, that develops, publishes and distributes multiplayer mobile games (“Miniclip”). Since its inception in 2001, Miniclip has become a top five mobile-games publisher on devices worldwide, which currently is generating over 3 billion downloads, 45 million daily active users, and 250 million monthly active users. In 2020, Mr. Small stepped into the role of President, after serving as Chief Executive Officer for nearly two decades. Mr. Small sits on the Miniclip Board of Directors. Miniclip games are played on six continents and in 195 countries around the world. During his tenure at Miniclip, Mr. Small was awarded the Ernst & Young London Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2008. Over the last decade, Miniclip became a prominent European mobile game company. In 2015, Miniclip was acquired by one of China’s largest tech companies, Tencent. Mr. Small has a degree in Management from the University of Gloucestershire which he received in 1999.

Nadine Watt, 52
Director Nominee

Since August 2021, Ms. Watt has served on the board of directors of Abri SPAC I, an Affiliated SPAC. Since December 2019, Ms. Watt has served as the CEO of Watt Companies and has more than 20 years of management and investment experience. She oversees the day-to-day activities and strategic planning for all commercial investment activities including acquisitions, development, and asset management for the Watt Companies’ 6 million-square-foot portfolio. Previously, Ms. Watt served as President of Watt Companies from 2011 to 2019. In 2011, she led a strategic reorganization of the company that moved the firm beyond traditional property management and leasing to a focus on acquisitions and real estate development, as well as joint venture opportunities. Ms. Watt played a key role in launching Watt Companies’ acquisition division — Watt Investment Partners — that now actively invests $60 million in a variety of property types across the Western United States. Ms. Watt has served on the Board of Directors of Fisker, Inc. since June 2020. Fisker, Inc. is an eco-friendly electric vehicles manufacturer. Throughout her 20-year tenure at Watt Companies, Ms. Watt has touched all facets of the company’s operations, including the development of hundreds of apartment units and multiple shopping centers. Ms. Watt was also responsible for a widely celebrated multi-million-dollar renovation program at Watt Plaza, a 920,000 square foot, Class-A office building in Century City, Los Angeles, California. The building was certified Platinum LEED and was recognized by BOMA International with an award for Outstanding Building of the Year. Ms. Watt is a member of the University of Southern California Board of Governors and the Sol Price School of Public Policy Board of Councilors and serves on the Executive Committee of the Lusk Center for Real Estate as well as the USC Associates Board of Directors. She was the first woman to be named Chair of the Los Angeles Business Council, a position she still holds. She is a Board Member of Visionary Women and the City of Hope Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council. Ms. Watt received the Century City Citizen of the Year award in 2017 and the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2018. Ms. Watt is a 1990 graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and received a Master of Arts degree from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California in 1994.

Jurgen Post, 65
Director Nominee

Mr. Post has more than 35 years of experience in Videogames and Entertainment Media. Mr. Post has served as Chief Executive Officer at Miniclip (UK) Ltd. (Miniclip) since 2020. Miniclip develops, publishes and distributes engaging games to an audience which currently is generating over 3 billion downloads, 45 million daily active users, and 250 million monthly active users. Miniclip games are played on six continents and in 195 countries around the world. From 2017 to 2020, Mr. Post served as President of International Partnerships at Tencent EMEA, one of the world’s largest Videogames and Social Media platforms, where he led the acquisition or investment in 10+ Videogame studios. From April 2012 to June 2017 he was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Sega EMEA and from April 2010 to April 2012 he was Senior Vice President of Sega EMEA. Under Mr. Post’s leadership, Sega EMEA grew from $50 million to $500 million USD of revenues. At Sega he also launched leading IPs such as “Mario and Sonic at the Olympics” and reinvigorated the Sonic the Hedgehog brand with over 50 million unit sales. At Sony Computer Entertainment, Mr. Post was part of the original team that launched PlayStation1 in EMEA. From November 2006 to April 2010, he was Managing Director of Sega EMEA and from January 2001 to October 2006 he was the General Manager for Sony/BMG’s Benelux region. Mr. Post currently is a member of the board of Hiro Metaverse Acquisitions SPAC. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Logistical management from the University of Utrecht in 1991.

Michael Krupin, 59
Director Nominee

Mr. Krupin has spent the last 40 years ranked among the top 1% of life insurance producers in the United States. He has handled cases worth well over $100 million and his clients include the nation’s leading A-list individuals in entertainment, sports, business and healthcare. In 2012, Mr. Krupin formed Krupin Partners LLC to serve clients throughout the country from the firm’s Beverly Hills, Richmond and New York offices. He has served as the managing partner of Krupin Partners LLC since its formation. In 1995, Mr. Krupin founded Gilbert-Krupin Insurance Services LLC, the successor to Krupin Associates, and served as its principal until 2012. Mr. Krupin graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, VA in 1969. Mr. Krupin is a highly sought speaker with an interest in fostering the next generation of insurance and estate planning professionals. He regularly leads discussions for the nation’s top law firms, business managers and financial advisors on the nuances of utilizing life insurance for wealth management.