Current Boards & Committees

Nasdaq: Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. Chair of the Compensation Committee; Member of the Audit Committee; Member of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

What is the last book, podcast, article, or show you watched that really stuck with you?

Book: Zealot by Reza Aslan

Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience with Elon Musk

Coffee or tea?

Hot Coffee and Iced Tea.

If you could give yourself advice on your first day as a board member, what would it be?

Relax, listen, and confidently express your views when the time is right. You're there because someone valued your ability, experience, and personal nature needed to help the company compete and achieve success.

What's the most memorable trip you've ever taken?

From 2016 to 2019, I visited many countries in West Africa to oversee programs and negotiate telecom agreements there. From Mauritania to Equatorial Guinea. Each is so different Geo-politically, historically, culturally, and visually. The consistent memory was how welcoming the people were in the real back drop of various levels of personal danger.

As a teenager I visited Lebanon, Syria, Hungary, and France with my globetrotting father and State Dept. uncle. Still very memorable.

From your perspective, what are some key traits that the most effective board members possess?

Prepare and prepare some more. Ask the questions that aren't being asked. Attempt to dig into the "I don't know what I don't know" in order to understand the full spectrum of risks and decision making. Listen and ask as many questions as it takes to get full answers.

If you could instantly become an expert in any skill or subject, what would it be?

The ability to dissect financial statement issues as quickly as I find typos in written words.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Typically, nothing is ever wrong; something is missing. At our level what is missing is usually a conversation. So it is the quality of our conversations that both discover what is missing and allow us to compete at a high level.

What's the most interesting or unusual job you've ever had?

I operated (solo) four Raytheon seismic processing scientific computers on a midnight to 8am shift as my first professional job. It was there I learned to read technical manuals to keep job flows moving, as well as having my first cup of black coffee.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

Milton Friedman. The man was a genius as it relates to free market vs mixed market vs. closed market economics, political structures, and human behavior. He also seemed like a genuinely good man. My professor advisor in university was a Friedman "disciple" at The University of Chicago. It was the next best thing and I learned a lot from him, but dinner with Friedman would have been glorious.

What's your favorite way to relax and unwind?

Travel. Putting your feet in the many landscapes in the world is a constant reminder of both its beauty and the time and complex processes needed to create it. Experiencing different cultures allows us to experience a vast array of culinary and artistic delights, as well as find common understanding. Returning from travel you feel washed of the overrated minutia that may have been bothering you when you left.