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Robert Piconi is co-founder of Energy Vault, Inc., has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as our director since 2022. Mr. Piconi has also served as the chairman of the board for Chronos Imaging LLC since 2017 and as member of the board of directors of Healthcare AI Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: HAIA) since November 2021. Prior to Energy Vault, Mr. Piconi was founder and CEO of Medical Equipment Solutions & Applications (MESA) Group Holdings, which was acquired by London-based Private Equity firm Permira in 2014, becoming Pantheon Healthcare Group and later Althea Group where he served as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of its board from 2014 to 2016. Prior to Pantheon Healthcare Group, Mr. Piconi served as Group Executive for the Network Software and Security Platform group companies at Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) from 2012 to 2014. Mr. Piconi’s earlier experience included roles of increasing responsibility at large Fortune 500 public companies, including the diversified energy group Amoco Corporation and British Petroleum (NYSE: BP) after its merger with Amoco in 1998, followed by executive leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Bell Labs Lucent Technologies (now Nokia, NASDAQ: NOK) and as President and Chief Operating Officer at Spirent Communications (LSE:SPT) within the telecommunications network infrastructure industry.  Mr. Piconi holds a B.S./B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Energy Vault believes Mr. Piconi is qualified to serve as a member of the Board of Directors due to his extensive executive management and leadership experience across a variety of energy and technology companies. We believe Mr. Piconi is well qualified to serve as a director because of his prior leadership roles in Fortune 100 public companies.

Bill Gross is co-founder of Energy Vault, Inc. and has served as our a director since 2022. Mr. Gross co- founded Idealab Studio, LCC and has served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 2018. Mr. Gross also served as Chief Executive Officer of Idealab, a technology incubator he founded, from February 1996 to December 31, 2017. Mr. Gross has served as Chairman of the board for Heliogen, Inc. (NYSE: HLGN) since 2015 and has served as a member of its board since 2013. In addition, Mr. Gross has served as the Chief Executive Officer for Heliogen, Inc. since 2013. Mr. Gross has more than 40 years of experience in conceiving and starting new technology companies, including GoTo.com/Overture.com, Energy Vault, Inc., Carbon Capture, Inc., and CarsDirect.com/Internet Brands, Inc. In addition to continuing to serve as Idealab’s board chairman since 1996, Mr. Gross serves on the boards of directors of numerous companies and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Caltech. We believe Mr. Gross is well qualified to serve as a director because of his substantial business, leadership and management experience.

Zia Huque has been a member of Energy Vault’s Board of Directors since 2022. Mr. Huque is a General Partner of Prime Movers Lab where he focuses on growth-stage investing. Zia brings a wealth of experience in later-stage financing, having been in the business of risk investment and risk management across credit, rates, equities, and derivatives asset classes for the vast majority of his career. Zia also brings his operational expertise to Prime Movers Lab, having had vast executive, strategic and operational responsibilities across multiple businesses and regions of a top-five global investment bank managing tens of billions of dollars and thousands of employees. He serves on the boards of multiple Prime Movers Lab portfolio companies. We believe Mr. Huque is well qualified to serve as a director due to his vast executive, strategic and operational experience across multiple businesses.

Prior to Prime Mover Labs, Zia served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc, the US Broker Dealer of Deutsche Bank, from early 2018 until his departure from Wall Street in 2019. At Deutsche Bank, Zia was also Head of Equities, Fixed Income & Currencies for the Americas from 2016 to 2018 and Global Co-Chief Operating Officer of Corporate Banking and Securities from 2012 until 2016. During Zia’s 30-year finance career on Wall Street, he held multiple executive positions in the United States, Europe and Asia while leading investment banking, sales and trading functions spanning many industries, products, and clients. Zia received his BA in Economics and in Political Science from Williams College. He resides in Wyoming with his wife and two daughters and is active in the local community.

Theresa Fariello joined the Energy Vault Board of Directors on February 1, 2023. Theresa serves as Executive Vice President of Government Affairs & Global Public Policy for United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL). In this role, Theresa leads the company’s federal, state, local and international government engagement including environmental affairs, and is based in Washington, D.C.  Under Terri's direction, United has set a course to be 100% green by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions 100% without relying on traditional carbon offsets and has invested in the future production of over three billion gallons of SAF – the most of any airline in the world. Before joining United, she served as vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Washington, D.C. office and led the company’s federal and state government affairs operation.

In her 16-year tenure at Exxon Mobil, Theresa advised the company’s senior leadership on key issues before Congress, the Executive Branch and state governments. Prior to joining Exxon Mobil, Theresa served as deputy assistant secretary for International Energy Policy in the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy and held senior leadership positions at Occidental Petroleum Corporation. 

Theresa also served as a Congressional aide to two members of Congress. Throughout her career, Theresa has been recognized for leadership in government relations, including being named to the Washingtonian Magazine’s list of “Most Powerful Women” and The Hill’s “Top Lobbyists.” 

Theresa holds an LLM in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center and a juris doctorate from George Mason University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree in political science from George Washington University.

Theresa serves as the Chair, Board of Directors, of the Humane Rescue Alliance. She contributes to her community by serving on the boards of a number of groups including the National Archives Foundation, Public Affairs Council, Business Council for International Understanding, the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., the Carlton Club and Ford’s Theatre.

Mary Beth Mandanas has served as a member of our Board of Directors since 2022. Ms Mandanas currently serves as Chief Executive Officer for Onyx Renewable Partners L.P., having begun this role in January 2022. Since July 2021, Ms. Mandanas has served as an Independent Director, Audit Chair, on the Board of TortoiseEcofin Acquisition Corp III. From August 2020 to August 2021, she consulted and served as Chief Investment Officer for Sol Systems, LLC, a renewable energy infrastructure and impact investment company based in Washington, DC. Previously, from the fall of 2015 to May 2020, Ms. Mandanas held the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, of CleanChoice Energy, Inc., a company engaged in renewable energy retail supply and community solar, where she led strategic planning and was responsible for raising capital, banking/investor relations and establishing protocols for risk management and financial reporting. Prior to joining CleanChoice Energy in 2015, Ms. Mandanas worked in corporate and investment banking for more than 20 years, principally focused in the power and utility sector and executing across multiple facets of corporate finance/strategic advisory transactions, which included capital raising, structured financings, liability/interest rate/commodity risk management, treasury operations, capital allocation strategies, dividend policy and mergers and acquisitions. From 2013 to the fall of 2015, she served as Head of the Power/Utility Group in Corporate Banking at RBC Capital Markets, LLC, where she helped form the renewable tax equity business and grow the renewable loan portfolio. Prior to RBC Capital Markets, Ms. Mandanas served as Managing Director in Citigroup’s North American Power/Utility Corporate and Investment Banking Group from 2007 to 2013. From 1998 to 2007, Ms. Mandanas held various roles at Credit Suisse in the Power and Utility Investment Banking Group and in the Leveraged Finance/Financial Sponsors Group. She has worked across many industries, including companies in the power and utilities, textiles, chemicals, general industrials and education sectors. Additionally, Ms.Mandanas also spearheaded various diversity initiatives at Credit Suisse and was successful in establishing an annual leadership conference for female clients. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, she was a Vice President at NationsBank in New York. Additionally, Ms. Mandanas served on the Board of Trustees for the Business Partnership Foundation for the University of South Carolina for five years. Ms. Mandanas earned her M.B.A degree from Vanderbilt University and graduated, magna cum laude, with a B.S. from the University of South Carolina. We believe Ms. Mandanas is well qualified to serve as a director because of her significant experience and knowledge in finance, risk management, investment banking, business and work with companies involved in renewable energy and other areas of the energy industry.

Thomas Ertel has been a member of our Board of Directors since 2022.He was a Partner at Ernst & Young, LLP, an accounting firm, from June 2002 until his retirement from full-time employment in June 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Ertel spent 25 years, including 13 years as Partner, with Arthur Andersen, LLP, an accounting firm. Since October 2017, Mr. Ertel has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Strada Education Network, a nonprofit organization that strengthens America’s pathways between education and employment. From December 2017 through September 2021, he served as a director on the board of directors of Blackbaud, Inc. He holds a BS in Accounting from Ball State University and has maintained an active CPA license in the State of Indiana since 1980. We believe Mr. Ertel is well qualified to serve as a director because of his management skills and because of his knowledge and experience in accounting and corporate transactions.

Larry Paulson has served as Novus’s non-executive Chairman since its inception. Mr. Paulson co-founded Novus Capital Corporation and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and a director since its inception in March 2020 until its business combination with AppHarvest, Inc. in January 2021. Mr. Paulson has served as a managing member of Novus Capital Associates, LLC since its formation in October 2020. He has also served as principal and founder of Rancho Santa Fe Solutions, a wireless industry consulting company he founded in February 2010. From 2013 to January 2020, Mr. Paulson was with Qualcomm (Nasdaq:QCOM) where he served as Vice President of Product Management (2013-16), Vice President and President India and SAARC (2016-2018) and Vice President Sales NA and Australia (2018-Jan 2020). Prior to Qualcomm, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Brightpoint, Inc., a provider of worldwide distribution and integrated logistics services to the wireless communications industry, from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that he served with Nokia (NYSE:NOK) from 1987 to 2009 where he had numerous roles including global Senior Vice President and General Manager CDMA Product line. Mr. Paulson holds a BA in Communications from Point Park University. We believe Mr. Paulson is well qualified to serve as a director because of his more than thirty years of global senior management positions in the tech industry with expertise in wireless communications.