Ecoark Names New CEO, CFO

Ecoark Holdings Inc. of Rogers on Thursday announced the appointment of Jay Puchir as CEO and the election of former Walmart treasurer Charles Rateliff as CFO and treasurer.

The company said the restructuring will help it prepare to complete its application for uplisting on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Ecoark also announced the appointment of COO Roshan Weerasinghe as CEO of its subsidiary, Pioneer Products; and senior vice president of business development Gregg Hames as SVP of implementation for another of its subsidiaries, Zest Labs.

The company’s board has voted to add two members as well, bringing its membership from seven to nine. The search for the new directors will begin immediately.

As part of the restructuring, Puchir will replace founder Randy May, but May will remain chairman of the board.

The company said its CFO position has remained vacant since Yash Puri resigned in January.

May said in a news release, “During his time as director of finance, secretary and treasurer, Jay has been invaluable in helping Ecoark and our subsidiaries begin to adopt industry best practices. I’m looking forward to continuing to work closely with him as we enter this exciting next phase of the company’s maturation.”

Puchir said in the release, “Ecoark has rapidly and successfully transitioned from the development stage to a highly valuable collection of revenue-producing subsidiaries that solve major business challenges. We’re currently focused on improving our fundamentals, increasing sales through growth and acquisitions and attaining profitability to maximize shareholder value.”

He also said Rateliff coming out of retirement to serve as CFO demonstrates the new CFO’s confidence in the company and the market opportunity available to it.

Puchir most recently led Ecoark’s financial planning and analysis, treasury and secretary functions, and worked with the corporate controller on financial reporting.

He began his career as an associate at accounting firms PwC and was later promoted to senior associate.

Puchir was also director of finance/controller at four-year public college The Citadel and associate chief financial officer of Trident Health.

A licensed certified public accountant, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master’s in business administration from Rutgers University.

Rateliff retired in 2005 as senior vice president for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville after a 25-year career there. He has since served as an independent consultant to several private investment groups.

Rateliff received his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas, was hired as an internal auditor for Wal-Mart and, within five years, was promoted to assistant treasurer. He was later named the retail giant’s treasurer.

Rateliff has also been an independent member of the Ecoark Board of Directors since May 2016.