Marathon Digital Holdings Announces Executive Chairman’s Retirement and Succession Plan
16 December 2021 - 8:30AM
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc.
(NASDAQ:MARA) ("Marathon"
or "Company"), one of the largest enterprise Bitcoin
self-mining companies in North America, announced that Merrick
Okamoto, Executive Chairman, plans to retire at the end of 2021.
The board of directors has appointed Fred Thiel, Marathon’s current
CEO, to succeed Okamoto on January 1, 2022, at which time, Thiel
will maintain the responsibilities of both chairman and CEO.
Okamoto joined Marathon as a member of the board of directors in
2017 and, during his tenure with the Company, served as Marathon’s
chairman and CEO. In April 2021, Thiel replaced Okamoto as CEO, as
part of a strategic succession plan and in preparation of Okamoto’s
eventual retirement. The Company is currently evaluating candidates
to fill Okamoto’s vacancy on its board of directors.
“On behalf of the board of directors and our entire
organization, I would like to thank Merrick for his vision, his
leadership, and the impact he has had on Marathon during his tenure
with the Company,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO. “When Merrick
joined Marathon in 2017, the Company was near insolvency and lacked
a clear path to recovery. While serving as a board member and later
as the Company’s CEO, Merrick was instrumental in restructuring and
redefining the business. It is in large part due to his prescience
and decision making that Marathon has grown from a $10 million
market cap company at the start of 2020 into a $4 billion
enterprise today that is commonly regarded as one of the leading
bitcoin miners in North America. We are incredibly grateful for the
significant contributions he has made to Marathon, and we wish him
and his family all the best in his retirement.”
Merrick Okamoto commented, “With Marathon transformed and the
foundation solidly laid for the Company to flourish in its new life
as a large, efficient, and well-capitalized bitcoin miner, the
board of directors and I concluded that it was time to complete the
transition that began when Fred became CEO in April of this year.
Fred’s strategic thinking and his track record of effectively
leading organizations has already proven valuable as he has
repositioned Marathon to be asset light, agile, and uniquely
capable of scaling with one of the largest renewable energy
providers in North America.
“In its current position, Marathon has approximately $1.1
billion in liquid assets, ample opportunities to expand with
renewable power, and a proven, forward-thinking leadership team. It
has been a great privilege to have played an integral role in
Marathon’s evolution, and I look forward to watching the Company
continue to thrive under Fred’s and the rest of the team’s guidance
in 2022 and beyond.”
Investor Notice Investing in our
securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an
investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks,
uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk
Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any of these
risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results
of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our
securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of
your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not
the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us
or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business
operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be
a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends
should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future
changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or
Bitcoin hash rate may also materially affect the future
performance of Marathon's production of Bitcoin. Additionally, all
discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as
of December 2021. The total network’s hash rate data is calculated
from a third-party source, which is available here:
https://www.blockchain.com/charts/hash-rate. Data from third-party
sources has not been independently verified. See "Safe Harbor"
below.
Forward-Looking Statements Statements made
in this press release include 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.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words
such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such
forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks,
trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict
with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even
anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above
together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk
Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be
supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement
forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent
events, new information or
otherwise. About Marathon Digital
Holdings Marathon is a digital asset technology
company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain
ecosystem and the generation of digital assets.
Marathon Digital
Holdings Company Contact: Charlie
SchumacherTelephone:
800-804-1690Email: charlie@marathondh.com
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