Michael Huang

About Michael Huang

Zhenqiang (Michael) Huang is Richtech Robotics’ co-founder, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and a director, serving since the company’s founding in July 2016; he is 47 years old with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Nanjing University (June 2000) and a German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology management training certificate (2012) . As CFO, he oversees finance, accounting, reporting, and procurement; prior roles include co-founder/CFO at Richtech System Ltd. (2007–2016) and co-founder at Nanjing Rich Digital Technology Co. Ltd. (2003–2007), leading international expansion and partnerships . Company performance during FY2024 reflected a strategic pivot to RaaS, with revenue declining to $4.240 million from $8.759 million in FY2023 (-51% YoY) as leasing growth offsets lower product revenue . Governance context: Richtech is a controlled company under Nasdaq rules; CEO Zhenwu (Wayne) Huang holds ~59.1% voting power and Michael ~15.4%, with the brothers serving together on the board, which raises independence considerations despite a majority of independent directors and independent-only membership on board committees .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

• CFO compensation details were not included among “named executive officers” in the latest proxy; Richtech’s NEOs for FY2024 were CEO, President, and COO, with the CFO excluded from the Summary Compensation Table .
• CEO base salary: $120,000; COO and President roles show cash compensation and select equity grants; these do not apply to CFO and are noted only to indicate disclosure scope .

Performance Compensation

• No CFO-specific annual or long-term incentive metrics (e.g., revenue/EBITDA targets, TSR hurdles) or payouts were disclosed in the proxy or 10-K; NEO plan details pertain to CEO/COO/President only .
• Company adopted an Executive Compensation Clawback Policy (effective October 2, 2023) compliant with Nasdaq Rule 5608; applies to current/former executive officers upon any required accounting restatement and covers the prior three completed fiscal years regardless of misconduct .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Vested/unvested breakdown, options (exercisable/unexercisable), and any in-the-money values for CFO were not disclosed; outstanding awards table lists no options/RSUs for listed NEOs (CFO not listed) .
• Pledging: No disclosure indicating any shares pledged as collateral by Michael Huang .
• Ownership guidelines: No executive stock ownership guideline framework or compliance status disclosed .

Employment Terms

• Role start date and tenure: Co-founder, CFO, and director since July 2016 .
• Contract terms: CFO-specific employment agreement terms (term length, severance multiples, non-compete, change-in-control triggers, auto-renewal) were not disclosed; comparable terms for other executives reference limited severance “as required by applicable law” and non-solicitation periods (CEO: six months; COO: six months; President: 12-month non-compete/non-solicit), suggesting light contractual severance economics across management rather than robust multi-year CEO/CFO packages .
• Change-in-control treatment under the Amended & Restated 2023 Stock Option Plan: administrator may continue/assume/substitute awards or accelerate vesting with a limited exercise period prior to closing .

Board Governance

• Board service: Director since founding (2016); currently in the third class of directors alongside CEO, with staggered three-year terms (third class expires at the third annual meeting) .
• Independence: Michael Huang is non-independent; majority of the board is independent (Shigley, Markscheid, Factor) .
• Committee roles: Audit (Shigley chair; Markscheid; Factor), Compensation (Markscheid chair; Factor), Nominating & Corporate Governance (Factor chair; Markscheid); CFO is not a member of any committee .
• Attendance: Eight board meetings and four audit committee meetings in FY2024; all directors attended the meetings of the bodies on which they served; compensation committee met once; nominating committee held no meetings .
• Director compensation context (non-employee directors): 12,000 Class B shares granted July 1, 2024 (grant value $14,640 per director) ; on October 29, 2025, board approved cash retainers ($60,000 per independent director, plus $10,000 audit chair, $5,000 compensation committee membership) and for FY2026, an additional 24,000 RSAs vesting quarterly beginning Nov 17, 2025 .

Related Party Transactions

• Bison Systems LLC (100% owned by CEO Zhenwu and CFO Zhenqiang Huang): prior amounts due fully repaid by September 30, 2024, alongside repayment of loans due to CEO and COO; legacy balances to/from former subsidiaries also repaid .

Company Performance Context

• Commentary: FY2024 reflected the RaaS transition—product revenue declined while leasing revenue increased (from $197k to $786k); management highlights multi-year revenue recognition and recurring profile .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• Controlled company and dual-class governance concentrate voting power in CEO/Founders (CEO ~59.1%, CFO ~15.4%), potentially limiting minority shareholder influence and raising independence concerns with brothers on the board .
• Section 16(a) reporting: late Form 4s were noted for three independent directors; no late reports were cited for Michael Huang .
• Legal proceedings: AC Sunshine Securities LLC issued a Notice of Breach (Dec 13, 2024) regarding an engagement letter exclusivity; the company is assessing the claim .
• Clawback policy in place (SEC/Nasdaq-compliant), mitigating misstatement-related incentive risk .

Compensation Structure Analysis

• Lack of disclosed CFO-specific pay details limits pay-for-performance evaluation; the absence of defined CFO incentive metrics, severance multiples, and change-of-control economics suggests low contractual leverage and limited guaranteed payouts vs. typical peer CFO constructs .
• Equity alignment is strong via significant Class A ownership and voting power; however, concentrated insider voting control is a governance overhang that can offset market-aligned signaling from share ownership .

Investment Implications

• Alignment vs. control: Michael Huang’s sizeable voting stake (15.4%) aligns interests with equity holders but, combined with CEO control and family ties, increases governance risk, reduces takeover optionality, and can dampen responsiveness to minority holders .
• Compensation/retention: Sparse CFO compensation disclosures and light severance frameworks imply modest retention economics; equity ownership is the primary retention lever; low reported insider pledging reduces immediate forced-selling risk, but high insider control and volatility history raise trading risk .
• Execution risk: FY2024’s revenue decline reflects the RaaS transition; cash flow durability depends on scaling leases and enterprise wins; Michael’s finance/procurement oversight is central to funding growth and managing supply-chain risk under the plan’s change-in-control provisions and clawback regime .