Ping Rawson
About Ping Rawson
Independent director at MGO Global Inc. since November 2023; age 49. She is a seasoned public-company finance executive and audit committee financial expert who currently serves as CFO of Dyadic International. Education includes an MBA in Finance and an M.S. in Accounting (SUNY Buffalo) and a B.S. in Economics (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies). The Board has determined she is independent under Nasdaq rules.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyadic International, Inc. (Nasdaq: DYAI) | Chief Financial Officer | June 2019–present | Public-company CFO; finance, SEC reporting, IR leadership |
| Dyadic International, Inc. | Chief Accounting Officer | Mar 2018–Jun 2019 | Led accounting policy and reporting |
| Dyadic International, Inc. | Director of Financial Reporting | Jun 2016–Mar 2018 | SEC reporting build-out |
| ADT | Technical accounting management | Prior to 2016 | Led accounting and financial reporting workstream for acquisition, integration and restructuring |
| NextEra Energy (FPL) | Accounting research principal | Prior to ADT | Accounting research, new standards implementation |
| Deloitte (NYC) | Manager; subject matter specialist | Earlier | Derivatives, financial instruments, valuation; audit/SEC/capital markets advisory |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nerds on Site Inc. (CSE: NERD.CN; OTC: NOSUF) | Director; Audit Committee Chairperson | Current | Oversees audit committee; governance oversight |
| Dyadic International, Inc. (Nasdaq: DYAI) | Chief Financial Officer | Jun 2019–present | Executive role (not a directorship) |
Board Governance
- Independence: Determined independent by MGOL’s Board under Nasdaq rules.
- Committee leadership and expertise: Audit Committee Chair; designated “audit committee financial expert” under Item 407(d) of Reg S‑K; financially literate under Nasdaq standards.
- Other committee service: Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (committee members are Ping Rawson and Jeff Lerner; Chair: Jeff Lerner; advisor: Julian Groves).
- Attendance and engagement (FY2023): Each director attended at least 100% of Board and applicable committee meetings; Board met 5 times; Audit Committee met 6 times.
| Metric | FY2023 |
|---|---|
| Board meeting attendance (Rawson and all directors) | 100% |
| Board meetings held | 5 |
| Audit Committee meetings held | 6 |
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Year | Cash Compensation | Equity Compensation (Grant-Date FV) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $5,918 | $658 (2,000 RSUs granted 11/11/2023) | $15,518 |
Notes:
- 2023 RSU grant: 2,000 RSUs on November 11, 2023; none vested in 2023.
- The proxy describes the Compensation Committee’s authority to set director cash/equity but does not disclose a standard annual retainer or chair fees schedule.
Performance Compensation (Director Equity Detail)
| Award Type | Grant Date | Shares Granted | Grant-Date Fair Value | Vesting Status in 2023 | Vesting Terms (if disclosed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSU | 11/11/2023 | 2,000 | $658 | None vested in 2023 | Not specified in proxy |
No performance-based director metrics (e.g., TSR, EBITDA) were disclosed for non-employee directors.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee Roles | Potential Interlocks/Conflicts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nerds on Site Inc. | Director | Audit Committee Chairperson | None disclosed with MGOL customers/suppliers/competitors |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Audit and financial expertise: Audit committee financial expert; deep technical accounting experience (derivatives, financial instruments, valuation) from Deloitte; public company accounting leadership at Dyadic, NextEra, ADT.
- Education: MBA (Finance), M.S. (Accounting) — SUNY Buffalo; B.S. (Economics) — Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
- Governance: Chair of MGOL Audit Committee; Chair of Nerds on Site Audit Committee.
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 2024 | 12,019 | 0.41% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 12,019 | <1% |
Additional alignment and risk controls:
- Pledging/hedging: MGOL insider trading policy prohibits pledging and hedging; no pledges known in ownership tables.
- Ownership guidelines: No director stock ownership guidelines disclosed in the proxy.
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Independent director with relevant CFO background; serves as Audit Committee Chair and is an SEC-defined “financial expert,” bolstering financial oversight credibility.
- Documented full attendance in FY2023 Board/committee meetings; Audit Committee met six times, indicating active oversight cadence.
- No related-party transactions disclosed involving Ms. Rawson; related-party reviews reside with the Audit Committee she chairs.
- Insider trading policy bans pledging/hedging; no pledges noted in ownership disclosures.
-
Watch-items (context, not findings of fault)
- Concurrent CFO role at Dyadic International may increase time demands but brings current public-company finance expertise to MGOL’s audit oversight.
- Director equity exposure is modest (12,019 shares; ~0.41% as of Nov 18, 2024), which may limit economic alignment versus larger holders, though still positive skin-in-the-game.
-
Red flags
- None identified specific to Ms. Rawson: no attendance issues, no disclosed related-party transactions, no legal proceedings.
Board Governance (Detail)
| Committee | Role | Notable Designations/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee | Chair | Independent; “audit committee financial expert”; financially literate under Nasdaq |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Member | Members: Ping Rawson and Jeff Lerner (Chair); advisor: Julian Groves |
| Compensation Committee | Not listed as member | Committee composed of independent directors; Chair: Obie McKenzie |
Related-Party & Conflicts Review
- Policy: Audit Committee reviews and approves related-person transactions; factors include arm’s-length terms and independence impacts.
- Disclosures: The proxy enumerates related transactions with certain executives in 2022–2024; no transactions involve Ms. Rawson.
Compliance & Risk Indicators
- Legal/Regulatory: Company reports no applicable legal proceedings for current directors/officers in the past 10 years.
- Section 16: Proxy notes certain late Form 3 filings for other insiders; no such note for Ms. Rawson.
- Clawback: Company adopted a Dodd-Frank-compliant clawback policy covering current/former executive officers for restatements (director roles generally excluded; still a positive governance signal).