Dallas, TX – November 22, 2024 (GlobeNewswire) – Beneficient (Nasdaq: BENF) (“Ben” or the “Company”), a technology-enabled financial services holding company, today announced the appointment of Karen J. Wendel as an independent member of the Company’s Board of Directors as of November 21, 2024. In addition to being an independent director, she was appointed to serve on the Audit, Products and Related Party Transactions and Enterprise Risk committees of the Board.
Ms. Wendel is the President and CEO of TrustChains, a boutique cybersecurity advisory firm based in San Francisco. She is an experienced executive with strong skills in banking, technology M&A, cybersecurity, private equity, corporate governance, risk management, and the emerging blockchain and DeFi space. Her strategic expertise provides unique decision-making skills for board-level strategic and tactical requirements. She has held executive and board roles in US and global private and public companies.
“We have identified a need for a board director with experience in the digital space,” said Beneficient’s CEO and Chairman Brad Heppner. “Karen fits that role perfectly as well as having significant experience counseling public and private companies and has served as CEO of four separate companies, which has provided her insight on blockchain technology for cybersecurity, asset management and other contexts. We are very honored to welcome her to the Beneficient Board.”
Ms. Wendel received Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics and International Relations from Brigham Young University. She has led major transformational projects across multiple geographies and industry segments that range from transaction processing to global cybersecurity and identity platforms to emerging technologies in the insurance, healthcare, and pharmaceutical arenas. She has played critical roles in the development and deployment of regulatory strategies for both banks and banking infrastructure players. She has guided private equity firms and their portfolio companies in developing strategies for the financial services, cybersecurity, and identity management segments.
About Beneficient
Beneficient (Nasdaq: BENF) – Ben, for short – is on a mission to democratize the global alternative asset investment market by providing traditionally underserved investors − mid-to-high net worth individuals, small-to-midsized institutions and General Partners seeking exit options, anchor commitments and valued-added services for their funds− with solutions that could help them unlock the value in their alternative assets. Ben’s AltQuote™ tool provides customers with a range of potential exit options within minutes, while customers can log on to the AltAccess® portal to explore opportunities and receive proposals in a secure online environment.
Its subsidiary, Beneficient Fiduciary Financial, L.L.C., received its charter under the State of Kansas’ Technology-Enabled Fiduciary Financial Institution (TEFFI) Act and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.
For more information, visit www.trustben.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Investors
Contacts
Matt Kreps: 214-597-8200, mkreps@darrowir.com
Michael Wetherington: 214-284-1199, mwetherington@darrowir.com
Investor Relations: investors@beneficient.com
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Certain of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements can be generally identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and, in each case, their negative or other various or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements reflect our views with respect to future events as of the date of this document and are based on our management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts, projections, assumptions, beliefs and information. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control, and could cause future events or results to be materially different from those stated or implied in this document. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. These risks include, but are not limited to, the risk factors that are described under the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this document and in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.