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Phunware board appoints venture capitalist Eric Manlunas as chairman

Published: 09:57 10 Dec 2019 EST

Phunware Inc - Phunware Inc board of directors has appointed venture capitalist Eric Manlunas of Wavemaker Partners chairman
His appointment comes as Phunware announced the results of its 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on December 5 in Miami

Phunware Inc (NASDAQ:PHUN) said Tuesday that its board of directors has appointed venture capitalist Eric Manlunas as its chairman. 

Manlunas, who is the founder and managing partner of early-stage venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners, also was named the chair of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee, according to a statement. 

“We are very thankful to have added Eric Manlunas of Wavemaker Partners and Draper Venture Network (DVN) as chairman of our board of directors,” said Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski. “Eric is an exceptional leader, entrepreneur and investor and we expect his global network of companies and investors to be instrumental to the scale and success of our business rolling forward.” 

READ: Phunware brings brands and advertising platforms closer with blockchain-enabled data exchange integration

Wavemaker Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm dual headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore. Since its founding in 2003, it has invested in over 350 portfolio companies and consistently delivered top quartile returns to investors.

Combined, their Los Angeles and Singapore offices have raised more than $360 million across multiple funds and special purpose vehicles. Its portfolio is broad, with an investment thesis and specialization in enterprise software, marketplaces, fintech, industrial technology and marketing and sales software. 

Wavemaker is the regional partner for Southern California and Southeast Asia of the Draper Venture Network (DVN), the world's leading VC collective comprising 10 firms across five continents. 

Manlunas serves as a member of the DVN board of directors alongside its chairman and founder, Tim Draper, who also founded renowned Silicon Valley investment firms Draper Associates and Draper Fisher Jurgenson, and has served previously on the Phunware board from December 2015 until December 2018.

“I am extremely honored and excited to have been named the new chairman of Phunware,” said Manlunas. “We have been active investors in the company since shortly after its founding while privately held and are eager to work again with both the board and the executive leadership team as we move into the new year and scale shareholder value in the public markets on Nasdaq.”

Annual meeting

The appointment of Manlunas comes as Phunware announced the results of its 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on December 5 in Miami. Stockholders of record at the close of business on October 14 were eligible to vote at the meeting. 

Highlights of the meeting included the three-year appointment and renewal of Manlunas and Keith Cowan, respectively, to the company’s board as Class I Directors, and the ratification and appointment of Marcum LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm.

In addition, Cowan was reappointed as chair of the nomination and governance committee and a member of the audit committee, with all remaining board positions and committee memberships remaining the same.

Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham

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