UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP /DE/
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On March 12, 2024, the Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (“Comtech” or the “Company”) terminated Ken Peterman as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company for cause due to conduct unrelated to Comtech’s business strategy, financial results or previously filed financial statements. Upon termination of his employment, Mr. Peterman was deemed to have resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors and as a director pursuant to his employment contract.
John Ratigan, age 63, who is currently the Company’s Chief Corporate Development Officer (“CCDO”), will serve as interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Before joining Comtech in November 2023 as the Company’s first CCDO, Mr. Ratigan served as CEO and President of iDirect Government, LLC and as an Executive Committee Member of ST Engineering iDirect, Inc. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ratigan ran East Coast operations for Fairchild Data Corporation and EF Data Corp., which was acquired by Comtech in July 2000. Prior to that, Mr. Ratigan held the position of Senior Vice President of North and South American sales for the start-up BroadLogic Network Technologies, Inc. He began his career in the United States Senate working for Senator Bill Armstrong (R-Colorado) and held multiple sales positions with the Xerox Corporation as a member of the legal sales team. Mr. Ratigan holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Maryland.
Mark Quinlan, who currently serves on the Board of Directors, has been elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Information concerning Mr. Quinlan can be found in, and is incorporated by reference into this Item 5.02 from, the Company’s Proxy Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2023.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information presented herein contains, and oral statements made by our representatives from time to time may contain, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “goal,” “outlook,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding our future performance and financial condition, plans to address our ability to continue as a going concern, plans and objectives of our management and our assumptions regarding such future performance, financial condition, and plans and objectives that involve certain significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors not under our control which may cause our actual results, future performance and financial condition, and achievement of our plans and objectives of our management to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things: our ability to access capital and liquidity so that we are able to continue as a going concern; our ability to successfully implement changes in our executive leadership; the possibility that the expected synergies and benefits from acquisitions and or restructuring activities will not be fully realized, or will not be realized within the anticipated time periods; the risk that acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully; the possibility of disruption from acquisitions or dispositions, making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships or retain key personnel; the risk that we will be unsuccessful in implementing our “One Comtech” transformation and integration of individual businesses into two segments; the risk that we will be unsuccessful in implementing a tactical shift in our Satellite and Space Communications segment away from bidding on large commodity service contracts and toward pursuing contracts for our niche products and solutions with higher margins; the nature and timing of our receipt of, and our performance on, new or existing orders that can cause significant fluctuations in net sales and operating results; the timing and funding of government contracts; adjustments to gross profits on long-term contracts; risks associated with international sales; rapid technological change; evolving industry standards; new product announcements and enhancements; changing customer demands and or procurement strategies; changes in prevailing economic and political conditions, including as a result of Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and escalating attacks in the Red Sea region; changes in the price of oil in global markets; changes in prevailing interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; risks associated with our legal proceedings, customer claims for indemnification, and other similar matters; risks associated with our obligations under our Credit Facility and our ability to refinance our Credit Facility; risks associated with our large contracts; risks associated with supply chain disruptions; and other factors described in this and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: March 13, 2024
| COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Michael A. Bondi |
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| Name: | Michael A. Bondi | |||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |||