TORONTO, May 24, 2022
/PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill" or "the Company")
(TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF) announces that John Karnes has been appointed Chief Financial
Officer ("CFO") of the Company effective June 6, 2022. Mr. Karnes will replace
Steve Thompson, Wi-LAN Inc.'s CFO,
who is currently interim-CFO of Quarterhill.
Mr. Karnes is an experienced technology executive with more than
20 years spent in CFO roles within both publicly traded and private
equity enterprises. Specifically, he has extensive experience in
CFO roles with public companies listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ,
including Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME), The Houston Exploration
Company (NYSE: THX), CyberCash, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCH) and KiOR, Inc.
(NASDAQ: KiOR), where he led during periods of transformation
characterized by acquisition and integration, while ensuring
regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. Mr. Karnes will
be based in Dallas, Texas.
"John's skills and experience are an excellent fit for
Quarterhill at this stage in our evolution," said Bret Kidd, CEO of Quarterhill. "His strategic
leadership, extensive capital markets experience and lengthy
M&A track record combined with the requisite focus on
disciplined planning, execution and compliance are well suited to
help drive our ITS growth plans. Further, he brings a foundation in
technology and SaaS along with a keen understanding of customer
service in complex, project-based relationships, which are both
well-suited to our current business as well as to new growth
opportunities we are pursuing."
Most recently, Mr. Karnes was CFO of Ontellus, a leading US SaaS
health record exchange network connecting over 190,000 national
physician groups and hospital systems to some of the country's
largest insurance carriers. Previously, he was CFO at Vertafore, a
SaaS provider to the insurance industry with more than US$500 million in revenue, and Alert Logic, a
national leader in cybersecurity. Mr. Karnes began his career as an
attorney with Kirkland & Ellis LLP where he specialized in
securities offerings and compliance, as well as M&A. Mr. Karnes
has an accounting degree from The University
of Texas at Austin and a law degree from Southern Methodist University.
Mr. Kidd added: "In addition to welcoming John, I also want to
thank Steve for stepping into the interim-CFO role in January. His
attitude, commitment and knowledge of the business made him an
ideal partner and a steady hand during my early months as
Quarterhill's CEO. Steve reflects the deep pool of talent at Wi-LAN
Inc. and I look forward to continuing to work with him as he
resumes his full-time CFO role there."
About Quarterhill
Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement
solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry,
as well as, through its Wi-LAN Inc. subsidiary, a leader in
Intellectual Property licensing. Our goal is global leadership in
ITS, via organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants,
LLC (ETC) and International Road Dynamics, Inc. (IRD) platforms,
and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that
capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its
adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol
QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more
information, visit www.quarterhill.com
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/quarterhill-appoints-john-karnes-as-cfo-301552643.html
SOURCE Quarterhill Inc.
