Executive Officers

Vicki Palmer, 68
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Vicki Palmer will also serve as our director at the closing of this offering. Ms. Palmer is an industry leading operational executive with years of experience. Ms. Palmer is the President of The Palmer Group LLC, a general management consulting company. Her robust public company operational experience provides for strong insight when evaluating core operations of target companies. Prior to her becoming the President of the Palmer Group, Ms. Palmer previously served as the Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration at Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: KO), a Fortune 100 company and one of the world’s most recognizable brands. Ms. Palmer was responsible for overseeing the Treasury Department, which managed the company’s multicurrency debt portfolio and its pension plan and 401(k) plan investments, Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management. Ms. Palmer also served as a member of Coca-Cola’s Executive Leadership Team and liaison to the board of Directors. Ms. Palmer was involved in Coca-Cola’s capital market transactions over her 25-year career, including the acquisition of Energy Brands, the acquisition of FUZE Beverages, the acquisition of Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines, and the acquisition of Inchcape. Ms. Palmer has been a member of the Board of Directors of First Horizon National Corporation, a division of First Horizon Bank that specializes in fixed income sales and trading in addition to other capital market transactions, since 1993, chaired the Audit Committee for 17 years, currently chairs the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Executive & Risk Committee. Ms. Palmer is also a member of the Board of Directors of Haverty’s Furniture Company where she serves on the Audit and Corporate Governance Committees. She also serves on the boards of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Woodward Academy, the Joseph Lowery Institute and the Sophie’s Voice Foundation. In addition, she is a dedicated member of Cascade United Methodist Church, where she is chair of the Executive Board. Ms. Palmer received her B.A. in economics and business administration from Rhodes College and her MBA in finance from the University of Memphis.

Matthew Phelan, 29
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Phelan will facilitate our target sourcing, target evaluation and transaction execution in this process. Since August 2020, Mr. Phelan has been serving as a Vice President at Navigation Capital, SPAC Operations Group, and has led multiple SPAC deals across the Navigation portfolio, including Navigation’s investment in Shelter Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: SHQA), CEA Space Partners I Corp. (NYSE: CEAS), and Tristar Acquisition I Corp. (NYSE: TRIS), as well as PIPE investments in Holicity, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOL), which announced a merger with Astra Space, Inc. and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., which announced a merger with Redwire Space. Previously, from December 2018 to July 2020, Mr. Phelan served as an Associate at Antares Capital in their Leveraged Finance Group, where he led numerous financings in conjunction with leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and add-on acquisitions. Prior to that, from October 2017 to December 2018, Mr. Phelan was an analyst at Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HL), completing dozens of private equity / hedge fund portfolio company valuations on a quarterly basis. Mr. Phelan began his career as a Senior Associate at Grant Thornton in July 2016 working in their Financial Due Diligence group until October 2017. Mr. Phelan currently serves as a board observer for American Virtual Cloud Technologies (NYSE: AVCT) and serves as a board member and founder to the Noonday Foundation. Mr. Phelan is a Certified Public Accountant. He received his Master of Science in Accountancy from Wake Forest University and a B.S. in Finance from the College of Charleston.

Board of Directors

Dr. David Panton, 49
Chairman of the Board

Dr. Panton currently serves as the Chairman of Panton Equity Partners, LLC, a private family office which he founded in June 2012. His robust investment and deal experience across various industries provide for unique insight when evaluating potential targets. Dr. Panton previously served as a co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Pensare Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: WRLS), a $310 million SPAC which successfully completed a business combination with Computex Technology Solutions and renamed to American Virtual Cloud Technologies, Inc. Since May 2020, Dr. Panton has been the managing partner of Navigation Capital Partners SPAC Opportunity Partners, LLC, an investment firm focused on building a diversified portfolio of investments in Special Purpose Acquisition Companies utilizing three strategies: providing sponsor capital, leading investments in SPAC initial public offerings, and investing in and pricing Private Investments in Public Entities (“PIPEs”) for SPACs. Navigation Capital’s SPAC team recruits CEOs to lead SPACs through its SPAC-in-a-Box^® operating system, powered by the NYSE. In February 2002, Dr. Panton co-founded Navigation Capital Partners LP, an Atlanta-based private equity firm that has made growth and buyout investments. In partnership with Goldman Sachs, its portfolio includes investments in many operating companies. Prior to his role at Navigation Partners, Dr. Panton served as Vice President at Mellon Ventures, a $1.4Bn private equity firm, before purchasing the portfolio in a partnership with Larry Mock and Goldman Sachs and founding Navigation Capital Partners. Prior to this, Dr. Panton founded Caribbean Equity Partners, the first private equity firm focused on investments in the Caribbean and Latin America. Since August 2011, Dr. Panton has been an adjunct professor of Finance at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. He has served on private and public boards, including Brand Bank (sold to Renasant Bank), Track Utilities (sold to CIVC Partners) D and Z Media Acquisition Corp (NYSE: DNZ), Exeter Finance (sold to Blackstone), SecureWorks (sold to Dell Technologies), and Ameritech Facility Services. Dr. Panton received his Doctorate in Management Studies from Oxford University, his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and his A.B. from Princeton University.

Jerome Bettis, 49
Director Nominee

Mr. Bettis is a Pro Football Hall of Famer, Super Bowl Champion, and entrepreneur with an illustrious career on and off the field. Mr. Bettis ranks sixth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 13,662 yards and is one of eight players in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards for 8 or more seasons. Mr. Bettis is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Bettis Brothers Sand & Gravel, a tier 1 diver supplier for the oil and gas industry and the Chief Executive Officer of IntegrServ LLC, a trucking and logistics provider. Mr. Bettis has received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and the BBSG “The Innovative Spirit” award from the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council.

John Carlos, 66
Director Nominee

Mr. Carlos is an executive leader in the distribution industry with extensive experience. Mr. Carlos is a current director and the former President and Chief Operating Officer of the Republic National Distribution Company, one of the nation’s leading wholesale beverage and alcohol distributors. As President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Carlos was instrumental in expanding the firm’s operations into South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. Previously, Mr. Carlos ran several branch operations for the firm in Florida and Georgia. Mr. Carlos has served on the boards of Georgia State University, Nixon Corporation, and is currently a trustee for the Shepherd Center Foundation as well as a board member for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Mr. Carlos received his Bachelor’s degree from Emory University.

Johanna Ellis-Reisinger, 41
Director Nominee

Ms. Ellis-Reisinger is an entrepreneur, investor and community activist with extensive experience in the Retail Automotive industry. Ms. Ellis-Reisinger is currently the co-founder of ActionECO, a nonprofit organization which raises environmental awareness and advises corporations and government agencies for environmentally friendly practices. Ms. Ellis-Reisinger is the former owner, President and Principal of multiple dealerships within the Southeast, including Atlanta Classic Cars and Infiniti of Memphis. Ms. Ellis-Reisinger began her entrepreneurial career by founding ParkIt Here, a 24/7 airport parking service. From July 2013 to July 2019, Ms. Ellis-Reisinger served on the board of directors of Goodwill of North Georgia. Since 2021, Ms. Ellis-Reisinger has served on the boards of the nsoro Educational Foundation and Open Hand Atlanta. Ms. Ellis-Reisinger received her B.A. in communications from Tulane University.

Kimberly Johnson, 62
Director Nominee

Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in the finance industry. Ms. Johnson is currently the Vice President of Technical Operations at Nestlé Professional, a division of Nestlé U.S.A, which specializes in food and beverage solutions for out-of-home foodservice channels. Ms. Johnson serves on the 12-person internal board of directors (Leadership Team), which reports to the Nestlé Professional CEO. From March 2012 to August 2014, Ms. Johnson was the Vice President of Integration at Nestlé Professional. From December 2009 to March 2012, Ms. Johnson was the Vice President of Finance at Nestlé Professional. Ms. Johnson is the former Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Vitality Foodservice, Inc., which was an international distributor and manufacturer of non-carbonated beverages, primarily through dispensing machines in the foodservice industry in North America and to a lesser extent in Europe. The company was acquired by Nestlé in December 2009. Ms. Johnson received her B.S. in accounting from the University of Florida.

Burt Jordan, 54
Director Nominee

Mr. Jordan brings significant automotive and supply chain experience to the Board. Currently, Mr. Jordan is the President of Atlantic Coastal Acquisition Corp., a newly organized $300 Million SPAC focused on mobility. Previously, Mr. Jordan worked at Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) as a Vice President of Global Purchasing Operations and Supply Chain Sustainability. At Ford, Mr. Jordan was responsible for the commodity-related purchasing and supplier sourcing program around the world for 10 years. Mr. Jordan was a longtime Ford executive, with a career in purchasing that began back in 1999. Prior to joining Ford in 1999, he spent 10 years working in the automotive and industrial industries with stints at General Motors, Toyota, and United Technologies. Mr. Jordan has been instrumental in leading various mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures in the automotive supply industry. Mr. Jordan was elected in 2019 to the Michigan Minority Business Hall of Fame, and in 2020, he was named CPO of the Year by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). Mr. Jordan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Alma College.