Odyssey Marine Exploration Appoints Jones as CFO

U.S.-based subsea mining company Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. announced it has expanded its executive and legal teams. On Monday, the firm's Board of Directors appointed Christopher "Chris" E. Jones as Chief Financial Officer and reappointed Jay Nudi as the company’s Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer.

“As we evaluated our strategic plans and every part of our business over the past year, it became clear that we needed to add specific expertise to our executive team to allow Odyssey to execute on its strategic plan,” commented Mark D. Gordon, Chairman and CEO of Odyssey. “Chris brings extensive experience in international business development, finance and investment banking both on the sell-side and on the buy-side, and I’m excited to welcome him to the team.

“We’re also pleased to continue to provide uninterrupted continuity in our financial reporting with Jay Nudi remaining Odyssey’s Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer, positions he has excelled in for the past 15 years.

“As we continue to achieve milestones laid out to reach our one year and three-year goals, it was evident we had to add new skill sets and bandwidth to evaluate and consummate complex financial deals including potential strategic asset sales and/or acquisitions. In the near term, we also expect to sell minority stakes in our projects to fund operations and continue development of the projects, which we believe will lead to increased valuations,” Gordon said. “With his financial analysis and deal modeling experience as well as strategic planning and strong market communication skills, we believe Chris is the perfect person to lead these initiatives, as well as a reinvigorated investor relations program.”

Prior to joining Odyssey, Jones was Vice President of Corporate Finance and Development at Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment since 2017 where he led International Financial Development and Investor Relations; Managing Director, Equity Research – Gaming, Lodging & Leisure at Buckingham Research Group from 2016-2017; Managing Director, Equity Research – Americas Gaming at Union Gaming from 2014-2016; Managing Director, Equity Research – Gaming, Lodging & Leisure at Telsey Advisory Group from 2008-2014. He has also held positions at Oppenheimer & Company, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.

Odyssey has also brought on additional litigators and expert consultants to augment its legal team as preparations ramp up for a hearing before the NAFTA Tribunal. The company says it did not receive fair and equitable treatment by Mexico which resulted in the denial of the ExO Phosphate Project Environmental Permit. “Making strategic adjustments to a legal team is common in large international arbitrations. Adding specialized resources at this time to advance our multi-billion-dollar damages claim bolsters our arguments in our June 29 reply to Mexico’s Counter Memorial. Furthermore, expanding the team provides additional firepower to support the hearing phase of the NAFTA case scheduled early next year,” Gordon said.