Dr. Sotirios J. Vahaviolos is the Founder of MISTRAS Group and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors. He served as the Chairman since he founded MISTRAS in 1978 under the name Physical Acoustics Corp., and served as Chief Executive Officer through August 9, 2017 and President through May 31, 2016. Prior to founding MISTRAS, Dr. Vahaviolos was a scientist and manager at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Dr. Vahaviolos received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and graduated first in his engineering class from Fairleigh Dickinson University and received a Master of Science (EE), Masters in Philosophy and a Ph.D. (EE) from Columbia University School of Engineering. During Dr. Vahaviolos’ career in non-destructive testing, he has been elected Fellow of (1) The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, (2) The American Society of Nondestructive Testing, and (3) The Acoustic Emission Working Group (AEWG). Dr. Vahaviolos is also a member of The American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), where he served as its President from 1992-1993 and its Chairman from 1993-1994, a member of AEWG and an honorary life board member of the International Committee for Nondestructive Testing. Additionally, he was the recipient of ASNT’s Gold Medal in 2001 and AEWG’s Gold Medal in 2005. He was also one of the six founders of NDT Academia International in 2008.

Dr. Vahaviolos brings to the Board his detailed knowledge and unique perspective and insights regarding the strategic and operational opportunities and challenges, economic and industry trends, and competitive and financial positioning of our business. His significant experience and leadership as the company’s founder, Chairman, and CEO for over four decades helped establish MISTRAS as a global leader in the field of nondestructive testing.

Manuel Stamatakis is the Chairman of the Board and chair of the Project Phoenix Steering Committee. He is an Executive Officer of Capital Management Enterprises, Inc., a financial services and employee benefits consulting company headquartered in Pennsylvania, which he sold in 2020. Mr. Stamatakis was also a founding member of First Financial Resources, a national financial services organization with over 120 offices nationwide. Over the years, Mr. Stamatakis has served on the boards of numerous not-for-profit, charitable and for-profit organizations, and currently serves, among others, as Chairman of the Board of Visit Philadelphia, where he is also a member of the audit and finance committees; Chairman of Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation; and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Investment Advisory Board. Mr. Stamatakis received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and received an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from Drexel University.

The Board believes that the vast skills, leadership, business experience and success Mr. Stamatakis has demonstrated as a founder and leader of a successful services business provides the Board with important skills, knowledge and experience, particularly those gained from starting and leading a business. Mr. Stamatakis also provides the Board with knowledge of employee benefits and related matters and with strategic and leadership skills as a founder, President and CEO of a business enterprise and as a board member of numerous not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, some of which are very significant in size and scope.

James Forese is the retired Operating Partner and Chief Operating Officer of HCI Equity Partners, positions he held when he joined the firm in July 2003 until his retirement in 2018. Prior to joining HCI Equity Partners, Mr. Forese served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of IKON Office Solutions, Inc. (formerly Alco Standard Corporation) from 1998 to 2002 and retired as Chairman in 2003. Before IKON, Mr. Forese served as Controller and Vice President of Finance at IBM Corporation and Chairman at IBM Credit Corporation. Mr. Forese was a director and Chairman of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee and environmental, health & safety committee of Progressive Waste Solutions, and non-executive chairman from January 2010 until its merger with Waste Connections, Inc. in January 2017, and serves on the board of directors of several private companies. Mr. Forese also served as a director, audit committee chair and member of the compensation committee of Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. from April 2003 until November 2008 and was on the board of directors of SFN Group (formerly Spherion Corporation) from 2003 until its acquisition by Randstad North America in September 2011, and was its non-executive chairman and chairman of the corporate governance and nominating committee. Mr. Forese was also formerly a director of Lexmark International, NUI Corporation, Southeast Bank Corporation, Unisource Worldwide, Inc. and American Management Systems, Incorporated. Mr. Forese received a B.E.E. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Board believes Mr. Forese, as a result of his vast experience and demonstrated success as an executive, possesses knowledge and experience in various areas, including business leadership, banking, finance, technology, and public and private company board experience, which strengthens the Board’s overall knowledge, capabilities and experience. In addition, Mr. Forese’s experience with audit committees and his financial and executive positions at HCI Equity Partners and IBM provides the Board with an audit committee financial expert which further strengthens key functions of the Board and Audit Committee, such as oversight of financial reporting and internal controls.

Nicholas DeBenedictis served as Chief Executive Officer of Aqua America, Inc. (currently known as Essential Utilities, Inc.) from 1992 until his retirement in July 2015, and has been the Chairman of the Board of Essential Utility since May 1993, becoming the non-executive Chairman of the Board upon his retirement as CEO in 2015 and is now serving on its board as Chairman Emeritus. He also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aqua America’s principal subsidiaries, including Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. Mr. DeBenedictis served as Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs of PECO Energy Company (now known as Exelon Corporation) from 1989 until 1992; as President of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce from December 1986 to April 1989; and as the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources from 1983 to 1986. Mr. DeBenedictis is also a director of Exelon Corporation and P.H. Glatfelter Company, and also serves on the boards of Pennsylvania area non-profit, civic and business organizations. Mr. DeBenedictis received a B.S. in business administration and a M.S. in environmental engineering and science from Drexel University.

The Board believes that Mr. DeBenedictis is a qualified candidate because of his knowledge, experience and demonstrated success from serving for over 20 years as the chairman and chief executive officer of a substantial public company. He has also served as an executive of a major electric utility, the head of Pennsylvania’s environmental regulatory agency, and as a director of two other public companies in addition to his role as Chairman at Aqua America, including, from time to time, as a member of the corporate governance, audit, finance and compensation committees of those companies. The Board believes that the experience, insights and knowledge Mr. DeBenedictis possesses from his leadership roles in business and community activities are important qualifications, skills and experience that will provide valuable assistance to the Board and greatly contribute to the overall knowledge of the Board and its ability to address the issues the Board and we confront.

Richard Glanton is the Founder and has served as Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Electedface Inc., a website that connects voters to the elected and appointed officials who represent them in political districts where they serve. From May 2003 to May 2007, Mr. Glanton served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Exelon Corporation and from 1986 to 2003, he was a partner in the law firm of Reed Smith LLP in Philadelphia. Mr. Glanton previously served on the board of directors of Aqua America, Inc. from 1995 until 2018 and the board of directors of The GEO Group from 1998 until 2022. Mr. Glanton has more than 25 years of legal experience in law firms, over a decade of executive experience and has over 20 years of continuous experience serving on boards of publicly traded companies. Mr. Glanton received a B.A. in English from West Georgia College and a J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law.

The Board believes Mr. Glanton’s experience and knowledge in acquisitions, the power utility industry, legal and general business matters, his extensive experience as a director of publicly traded companies and his demonstrated leadership roles in other business activities are important qualifications, skills and experience that benefits the Board. His extensive corporate finance and legal knowledge also contribute to the Board's collective knowledge, capabilities and experience.

Ms. Lohmeier operates her own consulting firm since her retirement in April of 2021 as a strategic advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of Spirit AeroSystems. She served in this role upon her retirement in 2019 from her position as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Airbus Programs at Spirit AeroSystems, a position she held since June 2015. Prior to joining Spirit AeroSystems, Ms. Lohmeier held many senior positions during her years at Raytheon Company, her last position being Vice President of the Land Warfare Systems product line at Raytheon Missile Systems. In that position, Ms. Lohmeier had responsibility for the development and production of all Army and U.S. Marine Corps missile programs. Previously, Ms. Lohmeier was the program director at Raytheon for the design, development and production implementation of the Standard Missile-6 weapon system for the U.S. Navy. Ms. Lohmeier also served as the production chief engineer for the AMRAAM Program. In addition, Ms. Lohmeier directed Software Engineering at Raytheon, where she was responsible for software development, software quality and configuration management for all Missile Systems programs. She began her career with Hughes Aircraft Company as a system test engineer. Ms. Lohmeier is a director of Kamen Corporation, where she serves on the Audit Committee and the Finance Committee, and Nammo Defense Systems, Inc. Ms. Lohmeier earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Arizona. 

The Board believes that Ms. Lohmeier’s extensive knowledge and experience in the aerospace industry, business acumen and the leadership and executive skills she has demonstrated by serving in senior positions with Spirit AeroSystems and Raytheon along with her public and private company board experience provide an operational perspective that is valuable to the Board and the Company. In addition, Ms. Lohmeier’s extensive aerospace industry knowledge provides the Board with important insight into one of the Company’s strategic growth areas. Ms. Lohmeier’s experience as an operational leader involved in technology development and strategic initiatives also provides a valuable perspective for the Board.

Charles Pizzi served as the President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as a director, of Tasty Baking Company from October 2002 until the company’s sale in May 2011. Mr. Pizzi served as President and Chief Executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce from 1989 until October 4, 2002. Mr. Pizzi is a director of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (serving as Lead Director and Chair, Nominating and Governance), has been a Trustee of Brandywine Realty Trust since 1996 (currently chair of the Corporate Governance Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee and Executive Committee), a member of the Advisory Board (Philadelphia) of PNC, and serves on a variety of civic, educational, charitable and other boards, including the boards of Drexel University (serving on the Audit, Property and Facilities Committee), WHYY, Franklin Square Energy Fund (serving on the Audit and Nominating and Governance Committees) and Independence Health Group (serving as Chairman). Mr. Pizzi served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from 2006 through 2011, including as Chairman from 2010 through 2011. Mr. Pizzi received his bachelor’s degree from La Salle University and a master’s degree from University of Pennsylvania.

The Board believes Mr. Pizzi’s knowledge and experience in finance; financial reporting, accounting and controls; capital markets; risk management; extensive financial and risk oversight experience; and public policies adds to the skills and knowledge of the Board. In addition, Mr. Pizzi’s executive leadership and experience as a CEO will assist the Board when making decisions and overseeing the Company’s strategy.