Communications Systems, Inc. highlighted steps to enhance the composition of its board of directors following the closing of the proposed merger with Pineapple Energy LLC. Following the completion of the proposed merger with Pineapple, CSI will be renamed “Pineapple Holdings, Inc.” will trade under the new Nasdaq ticker symbol “PEGY,” and will be focused on the growing home solar industry, primarily operating through its Hawaii Energy Connection and E-Gear subsidiary businesses.
The CSI post-merger board of directors will be comprised of seven members, four of whom will be independent directors. To enhance the post-merger board, Pineapple and CSI have agreed on the addition of Marilyn Adler and Tom Holland to the board concurrently with the closing of the merger.
Roger Lacey, CSI’s Executive Chair and Interim CEO stated, “Ms. Adler and Mr. Holland bring more than 60 years of combined experience in finance and the residential solar industry. We are excited to be adding their talents to the post-closing board and we look forward to leveraging their deep business, management and industry experience. The identification of Ms. Adler and Mr. Holland for the post-closing board is just one of the steps CSI and Pineapple have taken to position the post-closing company for success. The post-closing board and management team will implement Pineapple��s strategy to capitalize on the growing demand for consumer energy solutions by providing homeowners with an end-to-end portfolio of product offerings spanning energy secure solar, battery storage, electric vehicle connections, and managed grid services via organic growth and strategic acquisitions.”
As we prepare to ‘hit the ground running’ after the proposed merger closes, the highly experienced management team and diverse board of directors post-closing will help us pursue our objective of transforming Pineapple Holdings into one of the largest rooftop solar and storage companies in the U.S.”
Kyle Udseth, Co-Founder and CEO of Pineapple
A special meeting of CSI shareholders has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time to vote on the proposed Pineapple merger transaction, among other things. Beginning on February 4, 2022, the notice of the special meeting and a proxy statement/prospectus was sent to CSI shareholders as of the January 27, 2022 record date.
Post-Closing Board of CSI (Pineapple Holdings)
Kyle Udseth, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pineapple, who previously served in multiple executive roles at leading national residential solar companies SunRun and Sunnova.
Roger Lacey, Executive Chairman of the CSI board of directors, who also served as CSI’s chief executive officer or acting chief executive officer from February 2015 through November 30, 2020 and from August 2, 2021 until the present. Mr. Lacey has served as a CSI director since 2008. Previously he served in executive positions at 3M Company, a multinational industrial and consumer products company.
Scott Honour, Managing Partner of Northern Pacific Group, a Wayzata, Minnesota based private equity firm, where he has served since 2012. Northern Pacific is a significant investor in Pineapple Energy. Previously, he was a Senior Managing Director of The Gores Group, a Los Angeles based private equity firm, and before that was an investment banker at UBS Warburg and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Marilyn Adler (independent director), founder of Mizzen Capital, a private credit fund, and has been a Managing Partner there since March 2019. Prior to launching Mizzen, Ms. Adler held senior management roles with several Small Business Investment Company funds. Prior to that, she worked in the fixed income group at Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, a Fortune 100 financial services organization, and before that was an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Ms. Adler earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 and a BS with distinction from Cornell University in 1987.
Tom Holland (independent director), Chief Operating Officer of Homebound Inc., a California-based housing company. Previously, he had two stints as a partner with management consultant Bain & Company, from 2018 to 2021 and 1989 to 2013. Holland also has significant operating experience: he was the CEO of Century Snacks, LLC, a California-based food manufacturing company, and was COO and later President of SunRun Inc., an industry leading provider of residential solar panels and home batteries. Mr. Holland holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Randall Sampson (independent director), CSI director since 1999 and lead independent director since December 2018. Since 1994, Mr. Sampson has been the president, chief executive officer, and a board member of Canterbury Park Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: CPHC), which owns and operates Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Casino in Shakopee, Minnesota.
Michael Zapata (independent director), director of CSI since June 2020. Mr. Zapata has led Schmitt Industries, Inc. since December 2018. Mr. Zapata is also the founder and Managing Member of Sententia Capital Management, LLC, an investment management firm. Prior to Sententia, Mr. Zapata served nearly 10 years in the U.S. Navy.
About Communications Systems, Inc.
Communications Systems, Inc., has operated as an IoT intelligent edge products and services company.