Surna Announces Appointment of New CFO
July 10, 2018 – Boulder, Colorado – Surna Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCQB: SRNA) announced today that the Board of Directors (the “Board”) has appointed Mark E. Smiens as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Smiens (age 48) is a seasoned financial executive with over 25 years of experience in financial reporting, profit and loss responsibility, financial and operational strategy, and mergers and acquisitions in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. He has also managed areas outside of finance including sales, operations, human resources, and information technology.
Since August 2017, Mr. Smiens was the Chief Financial Officer of US Fence Solutions, LLC, a private equity-backed residential fencing company. From April 2015 to August 2017, he was the Chief Financial Officer of private equity-owned Wildcat Minerals, LLC, an oilfield services company which was sold to a public company in 2017.
From January 2010 to April 2015, Mr. Smiens was the Chief Financial Officer (North America) for SMA Solar Technology AG, a German publicly-traded company specializing in the manufacture and distribution of high-tech solar equipment. At SMA Solar Technology, he was a member of the North American executive management team where he was directly responsible for all general and administrative functions, including inside sales, customer service and contract management.
From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Smiens was the Finance Director (Worldwide Operations) for Advanced Energy, Inc., a publicly-traded, global high-tech equipment manufacturer with operations in the U.S., China, Germany, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Smiens held various controller-level positions with Lextron, Inc. (2004-2007), Veeco, Inc. (2000-2003), and United Agri Products (1992-2000).
Mr. Smiens holds an MBA from Colorado State University and obtained a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Northern Colorado. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Colorado and a Certified Management Accountant.
Commentary from the Chief Executive Officer
“We are delighted to welcome Mark Smiens to the Surna executive management team,” stated Chris Bechtel, Chief Executive Officer. “We believe Mark will be able to make immediate contributions to the Company in financial reporting, operations and other areas. We are equally confident that Mark will provide the executive management leadership necessary as the Company improves its operating infrastructure and internal processes and controls, to support the Company’s anticipated growth,” added Mr. Bechtel.
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