PLANO, Texas, U.S. — NuZee, Inc., a leading U.S. producer and co-packer of specialty single serve pour-over coffee pouches and pour over drip cups, has announced that Nobuki Kurita and David G. Robson have been nominated by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) as independent directors for election at NuZee’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on March 3, 2021 (the “Annual Meeting”).
The Company has filed its definitive proxy statement for the Annual Meeting, pursuant to which stockholders will be asked to elect five directors to the Board, consisting of the two new director nominees and current directors Masateru (Masa) Higashida, Kevin J. Conner, and J. Chris Jones.
NuZee also announced that current directors Shanoop Kothari (who also serves as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer) and Allen S. Morton were not nominated for re-election, and their terms will expire at the Annual Meeting if their successors are elected. As previously disclosed, the Company has planned to identify a suitable candidate as a fourth independent director on the Board. Accordingly, Mr. Kothari will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
Nobuki Kurita’s background includes serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of Restar Holdings Corporation, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and a manufacturer of semiconductor products, from September 2017 until his retirement in March 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Kurita served as President of Sony China Co., Ltd from April 2012 to June 2016.
David G. Robson has served on the board of directors of Payference, a software business, since February 2020. Mr. Robson served as the CFO and Chief Compliance Officer of Farmer Brothers Co., a publicly traded national distributor of coffee, tea, and culinary products from February 2017 to November 2019.
Previously, Mr. Robson served as the CFO of PIRCH, a curator and retailer of kitchen, bath, and outdoor home brands, from September 2014 to September 2016. From January 2012 to September 2014, Mr. Robson was the CFO of U.S. AutoParts. Prior to that, he served as the EVP and CFO of Mervyns LLC, a former discount department store chain, from 2007 to 2011.