M2i Global finalizes Volato merger to advance blockchain supply chain strategy - ICYMI

M2i Global (OTC:MTWO) earlier this week confirmed the finalization of its merger with Volato, a deal aimed at strengthening its blockchain-based supply chain strategy and advancing its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

CEO Alberto Rosende joined Proactive to discuss the merger.  

Proactive: All right. Welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. And joining me now is Alberto Rosende. He is the CEO of M2i Global. And Alberto, it's good to see you again. How are you?

Alberto Rosende: Excellent, excellent. Great to see you. Been busy.

Well, last time you and I talked, we discussed that you had signed a letter of intent to get into a merger with Volato, and that is now a definitive deal. So, first off, congratulations on that. Maybe take us back a step and remind everyone a bit about why this deal was so important to the company.

Well, there were several reasons. One of those is, obviously, we're looking to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and so that was one of the drivers. But one of the big drivers really is how their capabilities round out some of the requirements that we have — especially when it comes to blockchain and being able to support our tracking and tracing technology through a blockchain ledger system. They bring a lot of experience and technical expertise. They've been coding and working with blockchain for quite some time. That was one of the really big pulls that drew us together.

And that important part — the blockchain part — really sits at the heart of the company you're with, obviously M2i Global. The fact that you're trying to create this supply chain within the United States, and that is enabling you with this blockchain to really move this forward at light speed.

Absolutely. I've been working within M2i for over two years now. What we've been focused on is building a wide range of partners to be able to source material that we can then bring to the United States and build the capability to process and refine critical minerals. We want to make sure that we have a very dependable, resilient, and transparent supply chain of critical metals for the U.S. That's what we've been building. One of the areas we've really focused on is the technology aspect — being able to ensure that we can always track the source of that material throughout its lifecycle. That was one of the big things that we needed — a technological solution. We were looking at an application through the blockchain process that would allow us to have that dual track — making sure we knew exactly where that material came from as it builds our strategic mineral reserve, which is one of our initiatives.

Alberto, this new company will have some divisions in it. Obviously, what you're doing with that side of it, but also they have an aviation part as well. Can you talk about what the makeup of the new company is going to look like?

Yes, that’s one of the things we’re still working on, Steve. We need to really see what it's going to look like going forward. But they do have a couple of software applications. One manages logistics for private aircraft. Another is a membership service that allows people to access private aircraft and fly that way. Those divisions will obviously continue on. As we project right now, the current CEO of Volato will step down, and we’ll continue to run those divisions.

Okay. Obviously, there has to be a vote with all the shareholders and staff. If that gets through, you will become the CEO of this new company. So, what will be your plans moving forward to see things grow over the next six months to a year?

Our key focus will be to get the logistics and tracking and tracing technology in place. Forward-looking as well is our portfolio of projects that fills the gap we currently have in processing and refining key critical materials. We've prioritized some of those projects to go after the ones we really need in the United States — based on actions from suppliers of those materials to the U.S. That’s what we’ll be focused on now, and obviously continuing to grow the side of the business. We’re going to be really busy.

Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style