0001350102
false
0001350102
2023-05-08
2023-05-08
iso4217:USD
xbrli:shares
iso4217:USD
xbrli:shares
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of
earliest event reported): May 11, 2023 (May
8, 2023)
ASCENT SOLAR
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact name of registrant
as specified in its charter)
| Delaware |
|
001-32919 |
|
20-3672603 |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
|
(Commission File Number) |
|
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| |
12300 Grant Street |
|
| |
Thornton, CO 80241 |
|
| |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
|
| |
(720) 872-5000 |
|
| |
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) |
|
Not Applicable
(Former name, former address,
and former fiscal year, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K
filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☐ Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐ Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐ Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐ Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class |
|
Trading Symbol(s) |
|
Name of each exchange on which registered |
| Common |
|
ASTI |
|
Nasdaq Capital
Market |
Indicate by check mark whether
the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule
12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company,
indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial
accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers:
Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officer; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
| Item 5.02 (c) | Appointment of New Chief Operating Officer and New Chief Financial Officer. |
Effective May 8, 2023, the board of directors of Ascent Solar Technologies,
Inc. (“Ascent” or the “Company”) appointed (i) Bobby Gulati as the Company’s new Chief Operating Officer
and (ii) Jin Jo as the Company’s new Chief Financial Officer.
Paul Warley, the Company’s newly appointed CEO, will no longer serve
as CFO.
New COO
Mr. Gulati, age 58, has over 30 years of executive leadership experience
in engineering and manufacturing roles. Mr. Gulati joined Ascent in February 2012 as Head Equipment Engineer. In March 2014, he was promoted
to Director of Equipment Engineering with emphasis on International Business Development. In 2020, Mr. Gulati was promoted to Chief Information
Officer.
From 2010 to 2012 Mr. Gulati was the Director of Equipment Engineering
for Twin Creeks Technologies, an amorphous silicon solar manufacturing company, and was responsible for the operations of the 5MW solar
cell manufacturing facility in Senatobia, Mississippi. From 2001 to 2010, Mr. Gulati was the co-founder and President of TriStar Systems,
a manufacturer of automated manufacturing and assembly equipment for the solar, aerospace and disk drive industries. From 1992 to 2000,
Mr. Gulati was the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the publicly traded company NexStar Automation, whose focus was designing
and building automated production equipment for the semiconductor and medical disposable industries.
Mr. Gulati earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering with a minor
in Computer Science and Robotics from the University of Colorado, Denver.
New CFO
Ms. Jo, age 45, has over 20 years in accounting. Ms. Jo joined the Company
in June 2021 as Financial Controller.
From 2015 to 2021, Ms. Jo was the head of technical accounting of Empower
Retirement, a financial services company, where her primary focus was accounting research for complex new products, investments and transactions,
and new accounting standards implementation on International Financial Reporting Standards, US GAAP and insurance Statutory Accounting
Principles. From 2011 to 2015, Ms. Jo was an Inspection Specialist at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board where she assessed
auditor compliance with audit professional standards. Ms. Jo started her career in public accounting, spending 11years in the audit and
assurance practice serving both public and private companies.
Ms. Jo is a certified public accountant in the state of Colorado and earned
her B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On May 11, 2023, the Company issued a press release regarding the appointment
of Mr. Gulati and Ms. Jo. This press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
The information set forth under this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1,
of this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated
by reference in any filing made by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set
forth by specific reference in such a filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| |
| |
|
|
|
ASCENT SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| |
|
|
|
| May 11, 2023 |
|
|
|
By: |
|
/s/ Jin Jo |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name: Jin Jo |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Title: Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit 99.1
Ascent
Solar Announces Leadership Team Promotions to Drive Strategic Growth
THORNTON,
CO., May 11, 2023 – Ascent Solar Technologies, (Nasdaq: ASTI) (“ASTI” or the “Company”), the leading
U.S. innovator in the design and manufacturing of featherweight, flexible, and durable CIGS thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, today
announced several leadership appointments to advance the Company’s strategic business goals and position it for sustained value
creation. The Company announced the promotions of Jin Jo as Chief Financial Officer and Bobby Gulati as Chief Operating Officer. These
changes are effective May 8, 2023.
“Ascent
is fortunate to have a deep bench of talented individuals that will help lead us forward as we simultaneously pursue commercialization
and R&D efforts,” said Paul Warley, Chief Executive Officer. “These promotions support our strategic goals and position
the Company for sustainable growth over the long-term. I have had the pleasure of working with Jin and Bobby and have witnessed their
talent and professionalism firsthand. I want to congratulate them both on their promotions and look forward to continuing to work with
them closely to achieve goals for the Company and its shareholders.”
Jin
Jo joined Ascent in 2021 as the Finance Controller. Ms. Jo has over 20 years of accounting experience, including five years as the head
of technical accounting and accounting policies for Empower Retirement. She spent eight years in public accounting with PwC and
Deloitte serving large global and middle market clients where she planned, executed, and supervised audits. Ms. Jo also assisted with
M&A transactions as well as debt and equity offerings.
Bobby
Gulati joined Ascent in 2010 as the Director of Equipment Engineering and Chief Information Officer. He possesses over 30 years of executive
leadership experience in engineering and manufacturing roles. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Gulati was the Director of Equipment
Engineering for Twin Creeks Technologies, an amorphous silicon solar manufacturing company. From 2001 to 2010, he was the founder and
President of TriStar Systems, a producer of automated manufacturing and assembly equipment for the solar, aerospace and disk drive industries.
From 1992 to 2000, he was the founder and Chief Operating Officer for NexStar Automation, an automated equipment manufacturer.
ABOUT
ASCENT SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Backed
by 20+ years of R&D, 17 years of manufacturing experience, numerous awards, and a comprehensive IP and patent portfolio, Ascent Solar
Technologies, Inc. (ASTI) is a leading provider of innovative, high-performance, flexible thin-film solar panels for use in scenarios
where traditional rigid solar panels don’t work. Ascent’s photovoltaic (PV) modules have been deployed on space missions,
multiple airborne vehicles, agrivoltaic installations, in industrial and commercial construction, and in consumer goods, revolutionizing
the use cases and environments for solar power. Ascent Solar’s Headquarters & Perovskite Manufacturing Center of Excellence
are located in Thornton, Colorado and Ascent’s 15MW manufacturing facility is located in Zurich, Switzerland. To learn more, please
visit https://www.ascentsolar.com. Follow Ascent Solar on Twitter and LinkedIn.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Statements
in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results
to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain
terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend,"
"anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. No information
in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of our future revenues, stock price, or results of operations.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time
to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
MEDIA
CONTACT
Spencer Herrmann
FischTank PR
ascent@fischtankpr.com
INVESTOR CONTACT
James Masters
Vallum Advisors
ir@ascentsolar.com