Sinclair’s One Media Technologies announces retirement of Jerald Fritz as executive vice president-strategic and legal affairs, effective July 1 ... AST SpaceMobile, developer of a space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by “everyday smartphones,” adds Chris Sambar, AT&T head-network, to its board, and assigns him as a member of board’s network planning and spectrum committee; New Providence Acquisition's Alex Coleman departs AST board ... Garmin elevates Patrick Desbois and Brad Trenkle to co-chief operating officers, newly created roles, effective July 1 ... Botmaker, generative AI chatbot platform, taps Christian Martinez, ex-ProfitlogiQ and former Compass, as country director and head-sales, U.S. ... MoneyLion appoints Jon Kaplan, ex-Madhive and former Google, as its first chief revenue officer ... ExpertConnect Litigation Support, expert witness search and placement firm, hires Jay Prabhu as managing director and general counsel; Prabhu previously was chief-cybercrime, U.S. attorney's office, Eastern District of Virginia.
The federal TikTok ban that takes effect Jan. 19 is “unprecedented” because Congress has never “expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum,” said TikTok/ByteDance's opening brief Thursday (docket 24-1113) in the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit challenging the ban’s constitutionality (see 2405070045).
ATSC honors Sung-Ik Park of Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute with its Mark Richer industry leadership medal, and Ali Dernaika of Hewlett Packard Enterprise with its Bernard Lechner outstanding contributor award ... American Advertising Federation announces Jack Bamberger, TikTok U.S. general manager-agency business, as chair, and Jacki Kelley, IPG executive vice president-chief client officer and chief business officer, as vice chair, both effective July 1; Bamberger moves up from vice chair to succeed Helen Lin ... VideoAmp, media measurement company, promotes Sharon Lee to executive vice president-general counsel and Claudia-Celine Schachter to executive vice president-finance and people, and hires former Fox Broadcasting and NBCUniversal executive Melva Goffney Benoit as vice president-content sports and sales ... Redwire, space infrastructure company, taps Virgin Galactic’s Aaron Futch, also former Intelsat, as executive vice president-general counsel and secretary ... Intracom Telecom Group hires Kyriakos Vergos, ex-Codium Networks, as chief commercial officer.
Digital Turbine taps Michael Akkerman, former Uber general manager-mobility advertising, as chief business officer ... Seagate Technology hires Jim Lee, ex-Maxar Technologies, as senior vice president-chief legal officer and corporate secretary ... LG Ad Solutions, connected TV and cross-screen advertising platform, promotes Senior Vice President-Engineering Dave Rudnick to chief technology officer ... Bridge Growth Partners, tech investment firm, taps former Siris Capital Group principal Prosper Vignone, also former IBM vice president-corporate development and business development, as a senior adviser ... Cybersecurity company Sevco Security names Michael Persechini, ex-Interpres Security, senior vice president-global sales ... ICANN selects London Internet Exchange CEO Kurt Lindqvist as president-CEO, effective December; Sally Costerton continues until then as interim president-CEO … Crest Hill Advisors taps Ken Turner, former DOD deputy director-spectrum, as senior adviser … Quadra Partners announces Brian Regan, ex- Aura Network Systems and former National Spectrum Consortium executive committee member, as firm’s first managing director.
The FCC urged the 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court Friday to move the challenge to the FCC’s net neutrality order to the D.C. Circuit (docket 24-3450). The FCC also issued an order declining to stay the rules, which take effect July 22, pending judicial review.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces retirements of Mark Nadel, attorney-adviser, Wireline Bureau, and Diane Burstein, deputy chief, Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau … NAB announces election results, including newly elected to radio board: Collin Jones, Cumulus Media executive vice president-corporate strategy and development/Westwood One president, chair; Kevin Perry, Perry Publishing and Broadcasting president-CEO, first vice chair; and Leonard Wheeler, Mel Wheeler president, second vice chair; to television board: Lynn Beall, Tegna executive vice president-chief operating officer, media operations, first vice chair; Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley, second vice chair; RaMona Alexander, American Spirit Media vice president-general manager, WDBD and corporate programming, third vice chair.; and to designated TV network seat on executive committee: Keith Murphy, Paramount senior vice president-regulatory counsel; NAB also appoints Pilar Ramos, TelevisaUnivision executive vice president-general counsel-corporate secretary, to fill vacancy on TelevisaUnivision’s television board.
Spectrum Effect, provider of RF interference analysis and mitigation solutions to the wireless industry, hires former Nokia North America President Shaun McCarthy as president and chief revenue officer ... AST SpaceMobile, developer of space-based cellular broadband network accessible from “everyday smartphones,” adds former Vodafone and Ericsson executive Johan Wibergh to its board; Wibergh also will chair AST board’s newly formed network planning and spectrum committee ... Martello Technologies Group announces resignation of former BT Group Managing Director Mike Galvin from its board for personal reasons ... Everbridge, supplier of national public warning software solutions, hires Pamela Larson, ex-Twilio, as chief security officer, North America ... Cyble, AI-driven cybersecurity solutions provider, adds former EY executive Steve Ingram to its advisory board ... Boomi, intelligent integration and automation platform, promotes Chief Accounting Officer Jessica Soisson to chief financial officer.
Akin adds former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, as a senior consultant in its D.C. office ... Newly added to Paley Center for Media board of trustees: Omar Abbosh, Pearson CEO; Kristin Dolan, AMC Networks CEO; Brad Karp, Paul Weiss chairman; and Dennis Mathew, Altice USA chairman-CEO; joining the Paley Los Angeles board of governors are Jesse Collins, Collins Entertainment founder-CEO; Sharb Farjami, GroupM North America CEO; Daryl Lee, McCann Worldgroup global CEO; Christian Muirhead, William Morris Endeavor co-chairman; and Ben Samek, Banijay Americas CEO ... Changes to Cogeco’s leadership roles, effective Sept. 1 with the combining of the U.S. and Canadian telecommunications businesses into a single North American organization: Sean Brushett to chief operating officer; Nancy Audette to senior vice president-growth initiatives; Marie Ginette Lepage to senior vice president-transformation; and Paul Cowling joins Cogeco July 2 from Xplore as chief legal and corporate affairs officer.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court is considering for an upcoming oral argument calendar in Phoenix plaintiff-appellant Jacob Howard's appeal to reverse the dismissal of his Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint against the Republican National Committee (see 2402080021), said a text-only docket notice Thursday (docket 23-3826). The 9th Circuit is weighing sitting dates for September or October, said the notice. Howard alleges the RNC violated the TCPA when it texted him with an embedded video that used an artificial or prerecorded voice. The RNC argues that only voice calls can violate the TCPA because an MMS text message can never have a voice.
Plaintiff Lee Thompson seeks to recover “compensable damages” caused by Luna Innovations’ violations of the Securities Exchange Act on behalf of himself and others who owned Luna stock between May 2022 and April 19, said his securities fraud class action Wednesday (docket 2:24-cv-04068) in U.S. District Court for Central California in Los Angeles. Thompson alleges that the fiber-optic company, former CEO Scott Graeff and former Chief Financial Officers Eugene Nestro and George Gomez-Quintero made “materially false and misleading statements” about the company’s performance during the class period. The financial statements that Luna and its top executives issued for the first three quarters of 2022 and for Q1 of 2023 failed to disclose that they contained “unearned revenues that should not have been recognized,” and that the company would need to restate those financial statements, said the complaint. The reports also failed to mention that Luna’s disclosure controls and procedures didn’t provide “reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles,” it said. The statements also omitted mention that Luna’s disclosure controls and procedures weren’t effective, and that as a result, the company’s statements about its business, operations, and prospects “were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times,” it said. The truth began to emerge March 12, after the markets closed, when Luna filed an 8-K with the SEC announcing that it would need to restate its financial statements for the second and third quarters of 2023 because the company “improperly recognized” revenue during those periods, the complaint said. The same day, Luna also filed notice that its annual 10-K report would be delayed so that a special committee of its board could investigate the circumstances under which the faulty quarterly financial statements were released to the investing public in the first place, it said. The notice of the late 10-K disclosed that the company anticipated reporting “material weaknesses in internal controls related to evaluating customer arrangements for proper revenue recognition and other controls,” and that the company would be “working to remediate these issues.” The news sent Luna shares plummeting nearly 36% the next trading day, March 13, said the complaint. Then on March 25, after the markets closed, Luna filed another 8-K with the SEC disclosing that CEO Graeff had retired, effective immediately, said the complaint. Upon information and belief, it said, defendant Graeff “retired as a result of the misconduct detailed in this complaint.” In early May came the termination, for cause, of Chief Technology Officer Brian Soller and the resignation of CFO Gomez-Quintero, it said. Luna also disclosed that CEO Graeff’s misconduct had triggered clawback provisions in his separation agreement, including the cancellation of all future severance payments, it said.