Christopher Robert Burch
About Christopher Robert Burch
Independent director of Ispire Technology Inc. since July 2023; age 56 as of the record date covered by the latest proxy . Career spans 15+ years in finance and venture capital with CFO roles in China and fundraising/strategy experience; designated an Audit Committee Financial Expert by the Board . Education: MBA (Technology Management) from Tsinghua University (2006); BBA in Decision Sciences (Georgia State University, 1993); BBA in Finance (University of Georgia, 1991) . Tenure on ISPR’s board began in July 2023; re-elected June 24, 2025 with strong shareholder support (39,961,889 votes for; see vote table below) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braun Bio-Technology (Shan Dong) Co. Ltd. (China) | Chief Financial Officer | Sep 2020 – May 2022 | Led fundraising and corporate strategy |
| Waton Corporation Limited | Chief Financial Officer | Jan 2020 – Sep 2020 | Fundraising, financial planning, IR, banking relations, licensing, strategy |
| Zhejiang Panshi Information Technology Co. Ltd. | Vice President | Jul 2019 – Nov 2019 | Corporate strategic investment |
| Feiyang Group Co. Ltd. (HK & China) | Managing Director | Mar 2017 – Jul 2019 | Fundraising and advisory services |
| KeenHigh Technologies Limited (TW:3651) | Director (Board) | Oct 2008 – Oct 2014 | Listed on Taiwan Emerging Stock Market; prior public board experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bioglobal Inc. | Consultant | Current (as of proxy date) | Biopesticides company; advisory capacity |
| KeenHigh Technologies Limited (TW:3651) | Director | Oct 2008 – Oct 2014 | Prior public company directorship; committees not disclosed |
Board Governance
- Committees: Audit (member), Compensation (member), Nominating & Corporate Governance (member) .
- Audit Committee Financial Expert designation: Brent Cox and Christopher Robert Burch qualify; Audit Committee members are independent under Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 .
- Independence: Board determined Burch is independent under Nasdaq Rule 5605(a)(2) .
- Controlled company: ISPR is a controlled corporation; CEO (non-independent) chairs Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee under Nasdaq Rule 5615(a)(7) .
- Meetings/attendance: From Jul 1, 2023 to Jun 30, 2024, Board met telephonically 7 times; Audit met 6 times; Nominating & Corporate Governance did not meet; Compensation did not meet; all directors attended the prior annual meeting .
Fixed Compensation
| Director | Year | Cash Fees ($) | Stock Awards ($) | Option Awards ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Robert Burch | FY ended Jun 30, 2024 | 48,000 | 36,000 | — | 84,000 |
| Shares granted (stock awards) | As of Jun 30, 2024 | — | 3,631 shares | — | — |
- Korn Ferry engaged May 2024 to benchmark compensation; Board adopted comprehensive compensation structure based on survey results .
Performance Compensation
| Component | Structure | Value Basis | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board service equity | Quarterly fully-vested shares | $41,250 per quarter | Fully vested at grant | Shares equal retainer/VWAP of prior quarter; granted under 2022 Equity Plan |
| Audit Committee service equity | Quarterly fully-vested shares | $2,500 per quarter | Fully vested at grant | Additional grant for Audit members |
| Compensation Committee service equity | Quarterly fully-vested shares | $1,875 per quarter | Fully vested at grant | Additional grant for Compensation members |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee service equity | Quarterly fully-vested shares | $1,250 per quarter | Fully vested at grant | Additional grant for Nominating members |
- Cash retainer: $50,000 annual for outside directors (prorated by quarter) effective Oct 1, 2024 .
- No director performance metrics disclosed (e.g., TSR/EBITDA targets) for equity; awards are time-based and fully vested .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Current/Prior | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|---|
| KeenHigh Technologies Limited (TW:3651) | Director | Prior (2008–2014) | No interlocks with ISPR disclosed |
- Related-party ecosystem: Significant transactions with Shenzhen Yi Jia (controlled by CEO), reviewed/approved by Audit Committee, on “most favorable market price” terms; Audit Committee also approves certain pricing matters under supply agreements .
- Controlled-company governance: CEO chairs Nominating Committee (non-independent), which can weaken independent oversight; mitigated by independent Audit Committee with financial experts .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Finance and operations: CFO experience across China-based firms; fundraising, cash management, investor relations, and strategy .
- Audit and governance: Designated Audit Committee Financial Expert; experience with public-company operations .
- Education: MBA (Tech Mgmt) Tsinghua; dual BBA degrees (Decision Sciences, Finance) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Class | As-of Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Robert Burch | 14,480 | <1% (*) | May 9, 2025 |
| Stock awards received (cumulative) | 3,631 shares | — | Jun 30, 2024 |
(*) Less than 1% per proxy footnote; total shares outstanding 57,145,455 on May 9, 2025 .
- Hedging/pledging: Insider Trading Policy requires pre-clearance and discourages short sales, puts/calls; no explicit prohibition on hedging by directors; no pledging disclosures specific to Burch in proxy .
Shareholder Vote Results (2025 Annual Meeting)
| Proposal/Nominee | Votes For | Votes Against | Abstain | Broker Non-Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election – Christopher Robert Burch | 39,961,889 | 157,598 | 0 | 9,468,851 |
| Election – Tuanfang Liu | 39,613,578 | 503,255 | 2,654 | 9,468,851 |
| Election – Jiangyan Zhu | 39,168,159 | 951,328 | 0 | 9,468,851 |
| Election – Brent Cox | 40,012,218 | 107,124 | 145 | 9,468,851 |
| Election – John Fargis | 39,778,673 | 340,654 | 160 | 9,468,851 |
| Ratify Marcum Asia LLP (FY 2025) | 49,580,681 | 7,657 | 0 | 0 |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with Audit Committee Financial Expert designation; enhances financial oversight .
- Strong shareholder support in 2025 director election (39.96M votes for) .
- Audit Committee explicitly reviews/approves related-party transactions and pricing with Shenzhen Yi Jia; structured oversight against conflicts .
-
Risks and RED FLAGS
- Controlled company: CEO and spouse collectively hold significant ownership; CEO chairs Nominating Committee (non-independent), weakening independent control of nominations .
- Significant related-party dependency: Purchases from Shenzhen Yi Jia ($91.3M in FY2024; related-party payables $67.0M at FY2024), continuing into FY2025; persistent large related-party balances can raise conflict and pricing fairness concerns .
- Internal control material weaknesses and multiple restatements disclosed for 2023–2024 periods; auditor changes from Marcum to CBIZ CPAs to Marcum Asia within months; signals ongoing remediation needs in reporting controls .
- Committee activity: Compensation and Nominating Committees did not meet during FY2024 period; potential deficit in compensation/governance oversight cadence .
- Hedging policy: No explicit prohibition on hedging by directors; alignment risk if hedging occurs despite pre-clearance requirements .
-
Compensation structure signals
- Shift to quarterly, fully-vested stock grants and modest cash retainers at roughly 25th percentile of peer group; equity is not performance-conditioned, lowering pay-for-performance sensitivity for directors .
-
Independence and engagement
- Burch is independent and serves across all three committees; attendance not individually quantified, but committee meeting frequencies disclosed; all directors attended prior annual meeting .
-
Overall
- Burch’s financial expertise is accretive to board effectiveness, particularly given control and related-party dynamics. However, the controlled-company structure, heavy related-party transactions, control remediation history, and limited committee meeting cadence are governance risks that investors should monitor for sustained independent oversight and improved internal controls .