Guoquan (Paul) Huang
About Guoquan (Paul) Huang
Independent director (Class II) appointed April 2025; term expires at the 2026 annual meeting. Age 45. Huang is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Computer & Information Sciences at the University of Delaware, specializing in robot perception, nonlinear estimation, SLAM, and spatial computing; previously a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT CSAIL, co-led autonomous delivery R&D at Meituan (2020–2022), and serves as Associate Editor for IEEE T-RO, IEEE RA-L, and IET Cyber-Systems & Robotics. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Delaware (UD) | Assistant Professor (ME/CIS) | 2014–2020 | Founded/led Robot Perception and Navigation Group; research in SLAM/visual-inertial systems |
| University of Delaware (UD) | Associate Professor (ME/CIS) | 2020–present | Robotics/XR research; multiple best paper awards/recognitions |
| Meituan (sabbatical) | Co-led autonomous food delivery R&D | 2020–2022 | Translational autonomy efforts |
| MIT CSAIL | Postdoctoral Associate | N/A | Robotics research |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO) | Associate Editor | N/A | Editorial board role |
| IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) | Associate Editor | N/A | Editorial board role |
| IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics (CSR) | Associate Editor | N/A | Editorial board role |
Board Governance
- Board seat: Class II director effective April 16, 2025 (upon Private Placement closing and background check); term to 2026 annual meeting. Appointed pursuant to investor rights in the April 2025 Securities Purchase Agreement; recommended by purchasers holding ≥50.1% of the April 2025 issuance .
- Committee assignments: Not disclosed for Huang in available 2025 filings. As of FY2024, Audit (Delta chair; Jacobson, Sunner), Compensation (Delta chair; Jacobson, Sunner), and Nominating (Sunner chair; Delta, Jacobson) were fully independent and did not include Huang (appointed after the FY2024 disclosure cut-off) .
- Independence: Board classified three incumbent directors as independent in March 2025. Huang’s independence status is not expressly disclosed; however, he is an investor designee under the April 2025 financing, though the Company disclosed no Item 404(a) related-party transactions for him .
- Attendance: In 2024, the Board held 53 meetings; all then-directors attended ≥75% of Board/committee meetings. Huang was appointed in 2025; no attendance data disclosed for him yet .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Policy through 2024 | Updates effective Sep 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Board annual cash retainer | $25,000 | $40,000; per-meeting fees eliminated; paid quarterly in advance |
| Audit Committee chair | $16,000 | $20,000 |
| Audit Committee member | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Compensation Committee chair | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| Compensation Committee member | $2,000 | $5,000 |
| Nominating & Gov. chair | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Nominating & Gov. member | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| Chairman of the Board | N/A disclosed | $15,000 (pro-rated from appointment) |
| Other | Per-meeting: $500 (telephonic beyond 12); $1,000 (in-person beyond 4) | Eliminated |
- Huang “will be compensated for his service as a director in accordance with our director compensation policy” .
Performance Compensation
| Element | Terms | Status/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual equity grant (non-employee directors) | Stock option equal to $75,000 ÷ closing price on grant date; vests one year; change-in-control vests immediately | No equity awards granted in 2024 or 2025 due to insufficient plan share reserve; Board acknowledged obligation to issue owed equity (or pay equivalent cash/consideration acceptable to director) upon change-of-control or if a director ceases service (other than for cause) |
| Performance metrics | None disclosed for directors (service-based options only) | — |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None disclosed for Huang |
| Interlocks/appointment rights | Appointed as an “Investor Designee” pursuant to April 2025 Securities Purchase Agreement; recommended by purchasers with ≥50.1% interest in the financing |
| Related-party transactions | Company states no Item 404(a) transactions involving Huang |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Advanced robotics/AI credentials: nonlinear estimation, SLAM, visual–inertial systems, XR; contributions adopted in real-world systems; multiple top-tier awards (e.g., ICRA Best Paper) .
- Editorial and community leadership: Associate Editor for IEEE T-RO, IEEE RA-L, IET CSR .
- Education: Ph.D./M.Sc. in Computer Science (Univ. of Minnesota); Postdoctoral Associate at MIT CSAIL .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Class A Shares | % of Class A | % of Total Voting Power | As-of Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guoquan (Paul) Huang | 181,818 | 3.58% | 1.51% | Aug 27, 2025 (record date) |
- Breakdown vested/unvested/options: Not disclosed for Huang. Company hedging policy prohibits employees/directors from shorting or entering hedging/monetization transactions in Company securities .
Governance Assessment
Key positives
- Deep domain expertise in autonomy/robotics and XR that is strategically relevant to a gaming/technology business; recognized researcher with editorial leadership .
- No disclosed related-party transactions for Huang; appointment documentation clarifies lack of family relationships and standard director compensation .
Risks and red flags
- RED FLAG: Investor-designee appointment pursuant to April 2025 financing (Purchasers ≥50.1%); may raise perceived independence concerns depending on committee placements; independence status for Huang not explicitly disclosed .
- RED FLAG: Highly concentrated control persists at the Company level (e.g., Driven Lifestyle >80% voting power as of Mar 11, 2025; 70% as of Aug 27, 2025), which can limit minority shareholder influence over board composition/decisions .
- RED FLAG: No director equity grants in 2024–2025 due to plan share constraints; Board acknowledged obligation to issue owed equity or pay cash equivalents upon change in control or upon director departure—creates compensation overhang and potential misalignment timing risk .
- Related-party backdrop (Company-level): historical financing and back-office arrangements with majority stockholder Driven Lifestyle; while not tied to Huang, these relationships present ongoing governance sensitivity that the Board—including Huang—must oversee .
Notes on committee/attendance disclosure gaps
- Committee roles for Huang and attendance post-appointment are not disclosed in available 2025 filings reviewed. Monitoring is warranted in the next proxy to assess independence classification and any committee chair/member assignments .
Citations
- Appointment and background:
- Investor-designee/board composition right:
- 2024 Board independence, committees, meetings/attendance:
- Director compensation policy (through 2024):
- Director cash updates (Sep 2025) and equity grant deferrals/obligation:
- Beneficial ownership (Huang and major holders):
- Hedging policy:
- Related-party transactions (Company-level):