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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 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): January 27, 2023
 
 
astrotech01.jpg
Astrotech Corporation
 
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
 
 
Delaware
  
001-34426
  
91-1273737
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)
  
(Commission
File Number)
  
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
   
2105 Donley Drive, Suite 100, Austin, Texas
  
78758
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
  
(Zip Code)
 
(512) 485-9530
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code
 
(Former Name or Former Address, 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 (see General Instruction A.2. below):
 
 
☐
Written communication 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 communication pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
 
 
☐
Pre-commencement communication 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 Stock, $0.001 par value per share
  
ASTC
  
NASDAQ Stock Market, LLC
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).
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 Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
 
On January 27, 2023, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Astrotech Corporation (the “Company”) increased the size of the Board from four to five directors and appointed Bob McFarland as a director of the Company, effective as of January 27, 2023. The Board has determined that Mr. McFarland is independent in accordance with Nasdaq rules. Mr. McFarland has not yet been named to a Board committee. In connection with his appointment, Mr. McFarland was granted 2,150 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock under the Company’s 2021 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, vesting in three equal annual installments on January 27, 2024, January 27, 2025, and January 27, 2026. Mr. McFarland will receive the standard compensation package for the Company’s non-employee directors as described in the section entitled “Director Compensation” in the Company's definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 26, 2022.
 
Mr. McFarland brings extensive executive management experience with domestic and international enterprises, with a focus on information technology. Mr. McFarland served as an Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) from January 2004 through his retirement in 2006. Prior to his tenure at the VA, Mr. McFarland served as Vice President of Governmental Relations for Dell Computer Corporation. He joined Dell in 1996 as Vice President and General Manager of the Federal Business segment. He held several senior executive positions at Dell, including managing its global segment, large corporate accounts, and government sector. Mr. McFarland currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Veterans Advantage. He has previously served as Director for Xplore Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: XPLR), CSIdentity Corporation, Ezenia! Inc. (OTC: EZEN), and Isothermal Systems Research Inc. Mr. McFarland has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.
 
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. McFarland and any other person pursuant to which Mr. McFarland was appointed as a director. There are no transactions to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party and in which Mr. McFarland has a direct or indirect material interest subject to disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
 
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
 
On February 1, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing Mr. McFarland’s appointment to the Board.  A copy of the press release is furnished hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
 
The information in this Item 7.01 of Form 8-K (including Exhibit 99.1) shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liability of such section, nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, regardless of the general incorporation language of such filing, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
 
Item 9.01         Financial Statements and Exhibits.
 
(d) Exhibits
 
Exhibit No.
Description
99.1
104
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).
 
 
 
 
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.
 
 
Astrotech Corporation
  
       
 
By:
   /s/ Thomas B. Pickens III
  
 
 
Name:
Thomas B. Pickens III
  
 
Title:
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
  
 
Date: February 1, 2023
 
 

Exhibit 99.1

 

astrotech01.jpg

 

ASTROTECH APPOINTS BOB MCFARLAND TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

Austin, Texas – February 1, 2023 – Astrotech Corporation (Nasdaq: ASTC) announced today that it has increased the size of its Board of Directors from four to five directors and has appointed Bob McFarland as a director of the Company. Mr. McFarland brings to Astrotech’s Board extensive executive management experience with domestic and international enterprises, with a focus on information technology.

 

Mr. McFarland stated, “I am honored to join the Board of Astrotech. I look forward to working closely with my fellow Board members to support the Company’s strategic objectives as it continues to advance its mass spectrometry pipeline of opportunities.”

 

Mr. McFarland served as an Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) from January 2004 through his retirement in 2006. In this role, he advised the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on matters pertaining to acquisition and management of IT systems. He was also responsible for overseeing operation of the VA’s computer systems and telecommunication networks for medical information, veterans’ benefits payments, life insurance programs, and financial management systems.

 

Prior to his tenure at the VA, Mr. McFarland served as Vice President of Governmental Relations for Dell Computer Corporation. He joined Dell in 1996 as Vice President and General Manager of the Federal Business segment. He held several senior executive positions at Dell, including managing its global segment, large corporate accounts, and government sector. Under his leadership, Dell became a leading supplier of computer systems to the federal government. In 1998, Mr. McFarland was named to the “Federal 100,” a joint government and industry award designating the top 100 executives in the federal marketplace.

 

Mr. McFarland currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Veterans Advantage. He has previously served as Director for Xplore Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: XPLR), CSIdentity Corporation, Ezenia! Inc. (OTC: EZEN), and Isothermal Systems Research Inc. Mr. McFarland has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

 

“We are pleased to welcome Bob to the Astrotech Board. Bob’s extensive background in working with and for the federal government, particularly from his role at the VA, will prove valuable as we continue the development of Astrotech’ s mass-spec breath analysis device, the BreathTest-1000, and navigate the numerous steps required to receive FDA approval,” stated Thomas B. Pickens III, Chairman and CEO of Astrotech.  “As Astrotech continues executing on its next phase of growth, we are confident that Bob’s successful track record of developing and overseeing information technology strategies for global businesses will complement the skill sets already on our Board. We look forward to Bob’s guidance and perspective as the Company continues to pursue its goals in the mass-spec industry.”

 

About Astrotech

 

Astrotech (Nasdaq: ASTC) is a mass spectrometry company that launches, manages, and commercializes scalable companies based on its innovative core technology through its wholly-owned subsidiaries.  1st Detect develops, manufactures, and sells trace detectors for use in the security and detection market. AgLAB is developing chemical analyzers for use in the agriculture market.  BreathTech is developing a breath analysis tool to provide early detection of lung diseases. Astrotech is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For information, please visit www.astrotechcorp.com.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the U.S. and worldwide economy, the timing, scope and effect of further U.S. and international governmental, regulatory, fiscal, monetary and public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company’s use of proceeds from the common stock offerings, whether we can successfully complete the development of our new products and proprietary technologies, whether we can obtain the FDA and other regulatory approvals required to market our products under development in the United States or abroad, whether the market will accept our products and services and whether we are successful in identifying, completing and integrating acquisitions, as well as other risk factors and business considerations described in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in light of these important risk factors. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable and are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these assumptions are accurate or that any of these expectations will be achieved (in full or at all) or will prove to have been correct. Moreover, such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views only as of the date of its publication and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company assumes no obligation to correct or update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

 

Company Contact: Jaime Hinojosa, Chief Financial Officer, Astrotech Corporation, (512) 485-9530