Near Intelligence, Inc. appointed Gladys Kong as new CEO

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.


On October 1, 2023, the Board placed Anil Mathews, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Rahul Agarwal, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, and Shobhit Shukla, the Company's President, on administrative leave from their respective positions with the Company pending an internal investigation conducted by outside legal counsel on behalf of the Committee.


On October 1, 2023, the Board appointed Gladys Kong, the Company's Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, to serve as the Company's interim Chief Executive Officer.


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Ms. Kong has served as Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of the Company since March 2023. Ms. Kong joined the Company's predecessor ("Legacy Near") in April 2021 in connection with Legacy Near's acquisition of UberMedia, where she served as Chief Executive Officer from September 2015 to April 2021 and Chief Technology Officer from 2012 to 2017. Ms. Kong served as Chief Executive Officer of Near North America from April 2021 to November 2021 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Legacy Near in November 2021. Prior to 2012, Ms. Kong was Chief Executive Officer of GoInteractive, Inc., a company she founded. Before that, Ms. Kong held senior positions at Idealab and its operating companies since joining in 1999. She is currently on the board of directors for Stellar Lago, a customer cloud platform for the Sports and Live Audience industries, and also serves on the board of trustees for Yo San University, a nonprofit organization that educates students to become exceptional practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoist healing arts. Ms. Kong holds a B.S. degree in Engineering and Applied Science from California Institute of Technology and an M.S. degree in Computer Science from UCLA.


On October 1, 2023, the Board appointed John Faieta, the Company's Controller, to serve as the Company's interim Chief Financial Officer.


Mr. Faieta brings more than 20 years of experience in financial planning and operational finance and has a track record of driving growth and building high-performance finance teams. Mr. Faieta joined Legacy Near in April 2021 as the Controller, with a focus on operations in North America. Mr. Faieta formerly served as the Chief Financial Officer of UberMedia from 2015 until it was acquired by Legacy Near in April 2021. Prior to joining UberMedia as Controller in 2011, Mr. Faieta served as Controller for eSolar, a developer of concentrated solar power projects around the globe. He worked in that capacity from 2008 to 2011, where he was responsible for all accounting, internal controls, cash management, financial reporting and analysis, insurance, and audit. Mr. Faieta holds a B.A. degree in Economics from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management, and is a licensed CPA.


Any compensation arrangements with respect to Ms. Kong's service as interim Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Faieta's service as Chief Financial Officer will be disclosed once approved by the compensation committee of the Board.