Item 5.02Item 5.02 - Departure/Election of Directors
Item 5.02.
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Resignation of
Directors and Executive Officers
In accordance with the
Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, Marshall Geller, Howard Goldberg, David Edmonds, and Adam Stedham resigned from
the Board and committees of the Board on which they respectively served, which resignations were not the result of any disagreements with
our company relating to our operations, policies or practices. At the effective time of the Merger, Scott Greenberg resigned as Chairman
of the Board and continued as a director of the Company.
Immediately after closing of the Merger, Adam
Stedham, resigned as our President and Chief Executive Officer and principal executive officer and was appointed by the Combined Company
as President of Precision Logistics, and Jennifer Cola resigned as our principal accounting officer and continued as our Chief Financial
Officer and principal financial officer.
Appointment of
Directors
Effective upon the closing
of the Merger on September 30, 2026, the Board was reconstituted with the following directors: (i) Matthew Shaw, (ii) Scott Greenberg,
(iii) Raghav Chopra, (iv) Thomas Rossiter, and (v) Chantal Schutz. In addition, Matthew Shaw was appointed Chairman of the Board.
Immediately after the
closing of the Merger on September 30, 2026, the Board reconstituted its various standing committees as follows:
Audit Committee
Mr. Greenberg, Mr. Rossiter
and Ms. Schutz were appointed to the Audit Committee of the Board. Mr. Greenberg was appointed chair of the Audit Committee and designated
as the “audit committee financial expert.”
Compensation Committee
Mr. Chopra, Mr. Rossiter
and Ms. Schutz were appointed to the Compensation Committee of the Board. Mr. Chopra was appointed chair of the Compensation Committee.
Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee
Mr. Chopra, Mr. Rossiter
and Ms. Schutz were appointed to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board. Mr. Rossiter was appointed chair of the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Matthew Shaw has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as Chairman of the Board since completion of the Merger. Prior to the Merger, Mr. Shaw served
as Chief Executive Officer of Legacy OpenWorld’s parent since July 2023. Prior to joining Legacy OpenWorld, he founded and served
as Chief Executive Officer of Blimp Homes, a real estate technology company utilizing digital assets, from June 2020 to December 2022.
Mr. Shaw previously founded Protos Asset Management, a Swiss asset manager managing a tokenized cryptocurrency fund. He also previously
worked as General Manager and founder of DEPFA Investment Bank (a joint venture with DEPFA Bank plc) and as Executive Director of UBS
Investment Bank within the firm’s emerging markets fixed income trading group. He was also previously an Executive Director of Carbon
Trade & Finance SICAR, a regulated Luxembourg carbon fund established as a joint venture between Gazprombank and Commerzbank (formerly
Dresdner Bank). Mr. Shaw holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester, and an M.B.A. from the University
of Bradford School of Management. He was previously a member of Argo Blockchain’s board of directors from July 2019 to June 2025,
having served as Chairman beginning in February 2023. Mr. Shaw’s multiple prior corporate leadership roles and extensive experience
in digital asset financing give him the qualifications, skills and financial expertise to serve on the Board.
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Raghav Chopra has served as a director since completion of the Merger. Mr. Chopra is a digital assets and technology investor serving as a Co-Founder
and Managing Partner of a private investment firm since January 2022. He was previously a technology-focused equity hedge fund portfolio
manager for AllianceBernstein LP from August 2019 to December 2021, and before that The Blackstone Group. He began his career as a private
equity associate at The Carlyle Group and an investment banking analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Mr. Chopra holds a B.S. in Electrical
Engineering and Economics with Distinction from Yale University, and an M.B.A. with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School,
where he was named a George F. Baker Scholar. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Club of New York City Foundation. He
is also a member of the Economic Club of New York and The Bretton Woods Committee. Mr. Chopra’s significant experience and expertise
in digital asset finance and related transactional experience give him the qualifications, skills and financial expertise to serve on
the Board.
Thomas Rossiter has served as a director since completion of the Merger. Mr. Rossiter has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of RESAAS Services
Inc. (TSX-V: RSS), a leading provider of technology solutions for the real estate industry, since April 2017. Prior to joining RESAAS,
Mr. Rossiter was Managing Director of Lightmaker, an award-winning global digital agency, where he ran the Vancouver office following
four years at their UK headquarters. During that time, he led relationships and accounts for major global brands including Nike, Sony,
Adobe, Nokia and Samsung. Mr. Rossiter has served on the Board of Directors for the Asian Real Estate Association of America since February
2014, and he volunteers as a Mentor for REACH, a real estate accelerator program from Second Century Ventures. Mr. Rossiter’s executive
leadership experience and technology services knowledge give him the qualifications, skills and financial expertise to serve on the Board.
Chantal Schutz has served as a director since completion of the Merger. Ms. Schutz is a Canadian CPA, CA with over 20 years of experience leading public
and private companies through significant growth, financing, and strategic transformation. She has served as Chief Financial Officer of
myBasePay LLC, a provider of employer of record platforms and workforce advisory services, since January 2025. Ms. Schutz served as Chief
Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at mCloud Technologies Corp., an AI-driven global energy technology company then listed
on Nasdaq, from May 2019 to May 2024. She was a member of the board of directors and chair of the audit committee of Clean Seed Capital
Group (TSX. V: CSX) from 2014 to 2020. Ms. Schutz articled at KPMG and PwC, and earned her Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management
from Royal Roads University, where she was awarded the Nick Rubridge Award. Ms. Schutz’s accounting expertise and significant financial
leadership and public company experience give her the qualifications, skills and financial expertise to serve on the Board.
Except as set forth below
under the heading “Transactions with Related Persons,” none of our newly appointed directors has a direct or indirect material
interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Non-Employee Director
Compensation
Following the closing of the Merger, each non-employee
director will receive compensation for his or her service on the Board in accordance with our non-employee director compensation policy,
which we expect will be amended and restated following the closing of the Merger and may provide for, among other things, annual equity
awards in Restricted Stock Units to be issued pursuant to the VerifyMe, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan and subject to the Form of Restricted
Stock Unit Award Agreement (non-employees) as filed as Exhibit 10.18 to the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2025.
Each of Mr. Greenberg,
Mr. Chopra, Mr. Rossiter, and Ms. Schutz may be eligible to receive additional or changed compensation in respect of their service as
directors of the Combined Company, including under any future director compensation agreements.
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Appointment of
Executive Officers
On September 30, 2026, the Board appointed Matthew
Shaw as our Chief Executive Officer and principal executive officer, Russel McMeekin as our Global Corporate President, and Gerard Hernandez
as our Chief Accounting Officer and principal accounting officer. Jennifer Cola will continue to serve as our Chief Financial Officer
and principal financial officer following the Merger and Adam Stedham was appointed as President of Precision Logistics.
There are no family relationships
among any of our newly appointed executive officers. Except as set forth below under the heading “Transactions with Related Persons,”
none of our newly appointed executive officers has a direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed
pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Matthew Shaw.
Mr. Shaw’s biographical information is disclosed in the section above under the heading “Appointment of Directors.”
Russel McMeekin.
Mr. McMeekin has served as Global Corporate President since completion of the Merger. Previously Mr. McMeekin served as Legacy OpenWorld’s
Global Corporate President from January 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026, after previously acting as an advisor to Legacy OpenWorld beginning
in September 2024. Mr. McMeekin is also the Chairman of OpenWorld Saudi Arabia (formerly mCloudTech), a strategic licensed channel in
the Middle Eastern RWA token market. Prior to joining Legacy OpenWorld, Mr. McMeekin served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director
of mCloud Technologies Corp., then listed on Nasdaq, from 2021 to 2023. He was also a director of Newgioco Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NWGI),
where he served on the compensation and audit committees, from 2020 to 2022. With more than 30 years of experience in technology leadership,
including 11 years at Honeywell International (NYSE: HON), where he served as the President of Digital and Advanced Software on a global
scale, he has a proven track record in the industry. Mr. McMeekin holds a degree in Engineering from Sault College of Applied Technology.
He also completed a Honeywell International Inc. Sponsored Executive Leadership Program through the Harvard Business School and the Stanford
School of Law Executive Director and Governance Program.
Gerard Hernandez.
Mr. Hernandez has served as Chief Accounting Officer since completion of the Merger. Previously, Mr. Hernandez served as Chief Accounting
Officer for Legacy OpenWorld from January 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026 after previously serving as a consultant to Legacy OpenWorld beginning
in August 2024. Since August 2024, Mr. Hernandez has served as Co-Founder of GM Accounting Solutions LLC, a firm providing accounting
services to healthcare organizations, and since April 2023, he has served as Co-Founder of GM Consulting Group Inc., which provides strategic,
accounting and CFO consulting services to Web3 companies. Since May 2023, Mr. Hernandez has served as Chief Financial Officer of ThriveCoin
Inc., a company focused on automating treasury allocations to builders. ThriveCoin has a client referral relationship with OpenWorld.
From January 2023 through June 2025, Mr. Hernandez served as a Special Council Member of the APE Foundation, which acts as the administrative
and legal steward of the ApeCoin DAO, facilitating community-led governance and implementing approved initiatives. From February 2021
through September 2024, Mr. Hernandez served as Chief Financial Officer of JEVB Services LLC, a company providing support services to
acute care hospitals, and from September 2017 through August 2024, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Agathos Support Service Inc.,
which provides support services to skilled nursing facilities. Mr. Hernandez earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of British
Columbia in 2010 and a Diploma of Accounting from the University of British Columbia in 2011. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed
by the Washington State Board of Accountancy and is also a Chartered Professional Accountant in British Columbia, Canada.
Adam Stedham.
Mr. Stedham has served as President of Precision Logistics since completion of the Merger. Previously, Mr. Stedham served as a director
on the VerifyMe Board from April 2022 to September 30, 2026. He also served as VerifyMe’s Chief Executive Officer from June 2023
to September 30, 2026, and as President from August 2023 to September 30, 2026. Mr. Stedham was a senior executive of Learning Technologies
Group plc and was CEO of GP Strategies from June 2020 until June 2023. He also served as President of GP Strategies from November 2017
to October 2021. Mr. Stedham joined GP Strategies in 1997, after 6 years as a nuclear reactor operator in the US Navy. He has held roles
of increasing responsibility during his tenure, including leading operational service lines, directing acquisitions and divestitures,
heading business development, and managing the Asia-Pacific region. He was on the board of directors of GP Strategies from June 2020 until
June 2023. Mr. Stedham has significant expertise in business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, learning and performance innovation,
global operations, and strategic relationship management. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Anderson University, Masters
of Education from University of Pennsylvania, and Master’s in Adult & Community Education from Ball State University.
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Executive Officer
Employment Agreements
Shaw Employment Agreement
In connection with the
Merger, we have assumed the Employment Agreement, dated May 13, 2026, between Open World Inc. and Matthew Ian Shaw (the “Shaw Employment
Agreement”), pursuant to which Mr. Shaw served as Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Open World, effective as of January 1, 2026.
Pursuant to the Shaw Employment Agreement, Mr. Shaw receives an annual base salary of $600,000, which is reviewed at least annually by
the Board and may not be decreased during the term, and is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus of up to 100% of his base salary,
based on individual and Company performance goals set by, and actual achievement of any such performance goals determined by, the Board
(or an authorized committee thereof) in its sole discretion. Mr. Shaw is subject to non-competition and non-solicitation covenants during
his employment and for six (6) months following termination, as well as confidentiality, non-disparagement and intellectual property assignment
covenants. The foregoing description of the Shaw Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified
in its entirety by reference to, the full text of the Shaw Employment Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.2 to this Current Report
on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
New Hernandez Employment
Agreement
In connection with the
Merger, we have entered into an Employment Agreement, dated September 30, 2026 (the “New Hernandez Employment Agreement”),
that replaces the Amendment to Consulting Agreement, dated May 13, 2026, between Open World Inc. and GM Consulting Group Inc. (“GM
Consulting”), which itself amends the Consulting Agreement, dated August 24, 2024, between Open World Inc. and GM Consulting (as
amended, the “GM Consulting Agreement”). Pursuant to the New Hernandez Employment Agreement, Mr. Hernandez will receive a
base salary equal to $300,000 per year, an annual bonus of up to 50% of the base salary, based on performance goals determined by the
Board, and shall serve as Chief Accounting Officer of the Combined Company. The foregoing description of the New Hernandez Employment
Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the full text of the New
Hernandez Employment Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.3 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
New McMeekin Employment
Agreement
In connection with the
Merger, we have entered into an Employment Agreement, dated September 30, 2026 (the “New McMeekin Employment Agreement”) that
replaces the Amendment to Consulting Agreement, dated May 13, 2026, between Open World Inc. and Russel McMeekin, which itself amends the
Consulting Agreement, dated August 1, 2025, between Open World Inc. and Mr. McMeekin (as amended, the “McMeekin Consulting Agreement”).
Pursuant to the New McMeekin Employment Agreement, Mr. McMeekin will receive a base salary equal to $500,000 per year, an annual bonus
of up to 100% of the base salary, based on performance goals determined by the board, and shall serve as Global Corporate President of
the Combined Company. The foregoing description of the New McMeekin Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject
to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the full text of the New McMeekin Employment Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit
10.4 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Cola Employment Agreement
As previously disclosed,
in connection with the Merger Agreement, we entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Jennifer Cola (the “Cola
Employment Agreement”), to continue in her position as Chief Financial Officer following the Merger. The Cola Employment
Agreement became effective at the closing of the Merger on September 30, 2026, pursuant to which Ms. Cola will receive an annual base
salary of $180,000 and be eligible for an annual bonus for each calendar year ending during the employment period, with a potential up
to 50% of her base salary based on performance goals set by the Board each year. Ms. Cola shall be eligible to receive equity-based compensation
award(s), as determined by the Board (or a subcommittee thereof), from time to time. The Cola Employment Agreement is for an initial term
of one year and will thereafter be “at-will,” and may be terminated by either party during the initial term. If terminated
by Ms. Cola for good reason, or by the Company without cause prior to September 30, 2027, then Ms. Cola shall be entitled to an amount
equal to her base salary that would have otherwise been paid until the conclusion of the initial term. If the qualifying termination occurs
after September 30, 2027, then Ms. Cola shall be entitled to an amount equal to six (6) months of her base salary. The foregoing description
of the Cola Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to,
the full text of the Cola Employment Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.5 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated
herein by reference.
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Stedham Employment
Agreement
As previously disclosed,
in connection with the Merger Agreement, we entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Adam Stedham (the “Stedham
Employment Agreement”), to serve as President of Precision Logistics following the Merger. The Stedham Employment Agreement
became effective at the closing of the Merger on September 30, 2026, pursuant to which Mr. Stedham will receive an annual base salary
of $300,000 and be eligible for an annual bonus for each calendar year, with a potential up to 50% of his base salary based on performance
goals set by the Board each year. Mr. Stedham shall be eligible to receive equity-based compensation award(s), as determined by the Board
(or a subcommittee thereof), from time to time. The Stedham Employment Agreement is for an initial term of one year and will thereafter
be “at-will”, and may be terminated by either party during the initial term. If terminated by Mr. Stedham for good reason,
or by the Company without cause prior to the 6-month anniversary of September 30, 2026, then Mr. Stedham shall be entitled to an amount
equal to his base salary that would have otherwise been paid until the conclusion of the initial term. If the qualifying termination occurs
after the 6-month anniversary of September 30, 2026, then Mr. Stedham shall be entitled to an amount equal to six (6) months of his base
salary. The foregoing description of the Stedham Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified
in its entirety by reference to, the full text of the Stedham Employment Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.6 to this Current
Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
To the extent required
by this Item, the information set forth below under the heading “Indemnification Agreements” is incorporated herein by reference.
Closing Restricted
Stock Award Grants
As previously disclosed,
on February 11, 2026, the Compensation Committee of the Board approved the grant to Ms. Cola of 130,000 restricted stock awards under
the VerifyMe, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with the closing of the Merger. As a result, at the closing of the Merger
on September 30, 2026, Ms. Cola received a restricted stock award of 130,000 shares of our common stock which immediately vested.
In addition, the Compensation
Committee of the Board approved the accelerated vesting of certain outstanding equity awards to be payable in shares of Company common
stock upon the earliest to occur of (i) the effective time of the Merger or (ii) September 30, 2026, regardless of whether any performance
conditions of such awards had been met. As a result, at the closing of the Merger on September 30, 2026, each of the following outstanding
equity awards vested and became payable in shares of common stock: 550,000 performance-based restricted stock units granted to Mr. Stedham
on June 19, 2023; 24,000 restricted stock units granted to Ms. Cola on May 19, 2025; 75,000 performance-based restricted stock units granted
to Fred G. Volk, III on June 30, 2024; and 120,000 performance-based restricted stock units granted to Nancy Meyers on July 20, 2023.
Indemnification
Agreements
On September 30, 2026,
the Combined Company entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers. Each indemnification
agreement provides that the Combined Company will indemnify the director or executive officer to the fullest extent permitted by Nevada
law, including Chapter 78 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (the “NRS”), against all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and
amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding arising
by reason of such person’s service as a director or officer of the Combined Company or, at its request, of another enterprise, including
any proceeding in which such person participates as a witness. Each indemnification agreement also requires the Combined Company to advance
expenses incurred in connection with any such proceeding within 30 days after receipt of a written request, subject to an undertaking
to repay any amounts advanced if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification.
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The foregoing description
of the indemnification agreements does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to,
the full text of the form of indemnification agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.7 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated
herein by reference.
Transactions with
Related Persons
The following is a summary
of transactions since January 1, 2024 to which we have or will be a party in which the amount involved exceeded the lesser of $120,000
or one percent of the average of the Company’s total assets at the end of the last two completed fiscal years and in which any of
our newly appointed directors or executive officers had or will have a direct or indirect material interest during the specified period
for which disclosure is required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, other than compensation arrangements.
On August 25, 2023, VerifyMe
entered into a Convertible Note Purchase Agreement with certain investors for the sale of convertible promissory notes for the aggregate
principal amount of $1,100 thousand of which $475 thousand was purchased by related parties and entities related to related parties at
the time of sale and who are considered a “related person” during the specified period for which disclosure is required under
Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, including Adam Stedham, the Company’s past President and Chief Executive Officer, and Scott Greenberg,
the Company’s past Chairman. On August 25, 2026, VerifyMe repaid all outstanding principal and interest on the Convertible Note
Purchase Agreement, and no further obligations remain on the notes.
On January 5, 2026, Legacy
OpenWorld entered into a term loan agreement with its parent company, Webslinger Holdings, Inc. (“WSH”), which beneficially
owns approximately 45.2% of Legacy OpenWorld's outstanding equity interests. Matthew Shaw, Legacy OpenWorld's Chief Executive Officer
and Chairman of the board of directors, beneficially owns in excess of 30% of the equity interests of WSH, including the sole management
share of the entity, which entitles Mr. Shaw to all voting power. The loan was initially made in the principal amount of $750,000 for
general working capital and liquidity purposes, bears interest at a fixed rate of 5.0% per annum, and was originally scheduled to mature
on April 5, 2026. The maturity date was subsequently extended to June 5, 2026 and the loan was subsequently upsized to $1,500,000. As
of June 30, 2026, $1,500,000 of principal remained outstanding under the loan, and Legacy OpenWorld had not paid any accrued interest
thereunder.
Effective as of November
2, 2025, Legacy OpenWorld entered into a Master Loan Agreement for Digital Assets with Mosaic, an entity in which Matthew Shaw, Legacy
OpenWorld's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors, beneficially owns in excess of 20% of the outstanding equity
interests and serves as a director and Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors. Pursuant to the Master Loan Agreement, Legacy
OpenWorld and Mosaic entered into a Loan Confirmation, effective as of November 2, 2025, for the lending of digital assets by Legacy OpenWorld
to Mosaic for trading purposes (the “Mosaic Loan Confirmation”). Under the Mosaic Loan Confirmation, interest on digital asset
payments to Mosaic accrues at a variable rate equal to 100% of the change in the aggregate U.S. dollar fair market value of the outstanding
balance from November 2, 2025 through the applicable maturity date, less (i) 10% of the premiums collected pursuant to the principal trading
strategy agreed upon by Legacy OpenWorld and Mosaic and (ii) 0.5% of any cash or stablecoins collected as a result of spot trade executions
pursuant to such principal trading strategy. Legacy OpenWorld may call for repayment of the outstanding loan balance upon not less than
five business days' prior written notice setting forth the maturity date. Mosaic may also repay the outstanding balance by exercising
a repayment right, subject to the same interest payment mechanics described above. In addition, Mosaic has the option to satisfy repayment
of the outstanding balance through the delivery of in-kind digital assets resulting from the agreed-upon principal trading strategy. As
of June 30, 2026, the outstanding principal balance owed to Legacy OpenWorld under the Mosaic Loan Confirmation was $7,237. Since November
2, 2025, the maximum principal balance owed to Legacy OpenWorld has been $790,544, and a net total of $2,280,230 has been repaid to Legacy
OpenWorld, none of which constituted interest payments.
On December 22, 2025,
Legacy OpenWorld also entered into a Referral Agreement with Mosaic whereby Legacy OpenWorld is entitled to receive 10% of any performance,
management or service fees received by Mosaic, an asset manager, directly as a result of any party introduced to Mosaic by Legacy OpenWorld.
This arrangement is limited to non-U.S. customers and is conducted outside the United States. Mosaic is registered as a Registered Person
with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and as a Registered Investment Adviser with the SEC. No payments have been made to Legacy OpenWorld
under the Referral Agreement to date.
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On January 20, 2026,
Legacy OpenWorld entered into a strategic partnership agreement with mCloud Technologies Saudi Arabia, an entity for which Matthew Shaw,
Legacy OpenWorld’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors, and Russel McMeekin, Legacy OpenWorld’s
Global Corporate President, serve as directors. The collaboration is focused on supporting the development of a regional platform focused
on RWA tokenization initiatives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and establishes a framework for collaboration on technology development,
marketing, and commercial activities. In connection with the partnership, Legacy OpenWorld may in the future provide financing through
a convertible promissory note and participate in revenue sharing arrangements, subject to the execution of definitive agreements and satisfaction
of certain conditions. As of the date hereof, no payments have been made related to the agreement nor further definitive agreements signed.