Romil Bahl to step down and
Ronald Totton named as Interim
President and CEO
ATLANTA, April 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- KORE Group Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE: KORE) ("KORE," the "Company," "we" or "our"), a
global leader in Internet of Things ("IoT") Solutions and
pioneering IoT hyperscaler, and provider of IoT Connectivity,
Solutions and Analytics, announced today that Romil Bahl will be stepping down as President
and Chief Executive Officer and that the Company's Board of
Directors (the "Board") has named Ronald
Totton as the Company's Interim President and Chief
Executive Officer, effective May 3,
2024.
Romil Bahl has served as KORE's
President and CEO since 2017. He has led the KORE 3.0 Vision
and Growth Strategy that has enabled the Company to triple the
number of IoT Connected Devices it supports globally, expanded its
portfolio of services, and guided KORE to five consecutive years in
the Gartner Leaders quadrant for IoT-managed services. Mr. Bahl
also led the transformation of the Company resulting in KORE's
listing on the New York Stock Exchange. In mutual agreement with
the Board, he will transition from his role as President and CEO on
May 3, 2024.
"Romil has been a fantastic leader for us," said Tim Donahue, Chairman of the Board. "From our
first meeting back in 2020, I have had the utmost respect for
Romil's work ethic and integrity, his strategic thinking, and his
focus on the customer value proposition."
"It has been an honor and a privilege to lead KORE over the last
six and a half years," said Mr. Bahl. "I would like to thank
our global team of IoTers, without whom none of our successes would
have been possible. KORE is now well positioned for the Decade of
IoT, with an industry-leading eSIM proposition, pre-configured
solutions in health, fleet, and high bandwidth applications, and a
one-stop shop of services that help simplify IoT deployments."
Mr. Totton, who will succeed Mr. Bahl, brings nearly three
decades of strategy, finance, sales, and leadership experience to
the President and CEO role at KORE, including many years in the
Technology, Media, and Telecoms sector. Prior to joining KORE, Mr.
Totton served as Chief Executive Officer of ST Telemedia Cloud
(Temasek Holdings) and Executive Vice President, Corporate
Development at ST Telemedia Group. He previously held
leadership roles at BT Global Services, including Chief Executive
Officer, Northern, Central and Eastern
Europe, and Russia as well
as Managing Director, South East Asia. In addition to his
executive roles, Totton held a number of Directorship roles for
both ST Telemedia Group and BT Global Services.
"Ron is an accomplished executive in the telecom sector and
beyond," said Mr. Donahue. "He has a track record of leading
innovative businesses toward growth and transformation, and he will
serve KORE's stakeholders well. We are very fortunate to have a
leader of Ron's caliber join the KORE team."
Mr. Totton stated, "KORE has long been recognized as a pioneer
in the IoT space – an innovative and flexible partner that creates
meaningful impact for customers. KORE's next chapter builds
on this foundation to even better serve our customers and deliver
enhanced value for stockholders. There are incredible
opportunities ahead for the company and this team." Mr.
Totton today joins the Company as an executive advisor until
May 3, 2024, when he will assume the
role of interim President and CEO.
KORE's management change is not the result of any material or
unexpected financial events.
About KORE
KORE is a pioneer, leader, and trusted advisor delivering
mission critical IoT solutions and services. We empower
organizations of all sizes to improve operational and business
results by simplifying the complexity of IoT. Our deep IoT
knowledge and experience, global reach, purpose-built solutions,
and deployment agility accelerate and materially impact our
customers' business outcomes. For more information, visit
korewireless.com.
Grant of Inducement Equity Award
In connection with his employment, today the Company made a
grant to Mr. Totton of 250,000 restricted stock units ("RSUs"),
where each RSU represents the right to receive one share of the
Company's common stock upon the terms and conditions of the related
RSU award agreement (the "Award Agreement"). The grant of RSUs was
offered as a material inducement to Mr. Totton's hiring.
The RSUs were granted by the Compensation Committee of the
Board, in reliance on the employment inducement exemption under the
NYSE's Listed Company Manual Rule 303A.08, which requires public
announcement of inducement awards. The Company is issuing this
press release pursuant to Rule 303A.08. The RSUs were granted
outside the KORE Group Holdings, Inc. 2021 Long-Term Stock
Incentive Plan (the "Plan") but will be governed by the terms of
the Plan as if they were issued under the Plan.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Award Agreement, the
RSUs shall vest in full on the earlier of (i) the one-year
anniversary of the grant date subject to Mr. Totton's continuous
service from the grant date until the one-year anniversary of the
grant date or (ii) the date Mr. Totton's service with the Company
terminates (other than a termination by the Company for Cause (as
defined in the Plan) and other than by Mr. Totton's voluntary
resignation that is not in connection with the Company's
appointment of a permanent successor President and Chief Executive
Officer other than Mr. Totton).
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the federal securities laws, which involve risks and
uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include the Company's
statements with respect to expected future performance, stockholder
return, the management transition and other statements and
projections that do not relate solely to historical facts.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words
such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"may," "goal," "plan," "will," "would," "prospects," "future," or
"strategy" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or
similar references to future periods, although not all
forward-looking statements include these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements are not assurances of future
performance. Instead, they are based only on the Company's current
beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding future events,
which in turn are based on information currently available to the
Company. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future,
they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in
circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are
outside of the Company's control. Actual results may differ
materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.
Important factors that could cause our actual results, performance,
liquidity or achievements to differ materially include our ability
to transition to a new interim President and CEO, our ability to
successfully identify and engage a permanent President and CEO and
the other factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31,
2023, and the Company's other filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. In light of the significant risks and
uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, investors
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
which reflect the Company's views only as of the date of this press
release. Except as required by law, neither the Company nor any of
its affiliates or representatives undertake any obligation to
provide additional information or to correct or update any
information set forth in this release, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise.
KORE Media Contact
Jack Kennedy, Chief Legal
Officer
+1 470 482 6820
jkennedy@korewireless.com
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SOURCE KORE Group Holdings, Inc.