Kraken Announces Addition of Cathy Bennett to Board of Directors

ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland and Labrador, Aug. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX-V: PNG, OTCQB: KRKNF), Canada’s Ocean Company, is pleased to announce that Cathy Bennett, has joined the Company’s Board of Directors.

Ms. Bennett brings more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business executive, and corporate director across private, public and non-profit entities. Her experience crosses multiple sectors including the government, energy, manufacturing, mining, restaurants, telecom, and technology sectors. Ms. Bennett was a Member of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2014 to 2018 as well as Minister of Finance and the Status of Women. A seasoned corporate director, Ms. Bennett holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and currently sits on the Boards of Business Development Canada (BDC) and SheEO, a non-profit supporting and financing female innovators. Her previous public company Directorships include Bell Alliant and New Millenium Iron Corp.

“We welcome Cathy to our Board as a new independent director and look forward to the leadership she will bring,” said Karl Kenny, Kraken President and CEO. “We were looking to add expertise to the Board and Cathy brings extensive operational and strategic leadership across a breadth of sectors. We are thrilled to be welcoming her perspective during our period of rapid growth.” 

“I am excited to join Kraken as the market for marine robotics is on a strong growth curve,” said Ms. Bennett. “The Kraken team has put together an impressive array of industry leading products and formed significant partnerships to propel the company forward. I look forward to contributing to the ongoing development and execution of the Company’s strategy.”

The Board of Directors has approved the issuance of 300,000 options to Ms. Bennett. These options have an exercise price of $0.51 and have a three-year term.

At the Company’s annual general and special meeting of shareholders held on June 26, 2020, an amended and restated stock option plan (the “2020 Plan”) was approved by 99.54% of votes cast by shareholders. The 2020 Plan contains the following amended provisions: (i) an amendment to permit a ten (10) business day extension of the expiry date for an incentive stock option (an “Option”) where the expiry date would otherwise fall during a Blackout Period (as defined in the 2020 Plan); (ii) amendments allowing for the immediate vesting of previously issued Options upon the occurrence of certain events constituting a Change of Control (as defined in the 2020 Plan) and certain other events; and (iii) certain clerical amendments to align provisions of the Company’s previous stock option plan with current policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”) and the terms of the 2020 Plan. The 2020 Plan remains subject to final approval by the TSXV.