Exhibit 99.1
Stephen R. Rizzone to Retire as President and CEO of Energous Corporation
Company Has Initiated Search for New CEO
SAN JOSE, Calif.—July 9, 2021— Energous Corporation (Nasdaq: WATT), the developer of WattUp®, a revolutionary wireless charging 2.0 technology, today announced that the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen R. Rizzone has retired from the Company following a leave of absence due to health reasons earlier this year. Rizzone has also relinquished his seat on the Company’s Board of Directors.
In April 2021, Energous formed an Office of the CEO, comprised of executive officers Brian Sereda, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Cesar Johnston, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Engineering, and Neeraj Sahejpal, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, which reports directly to the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Rizzone will be available to assist the Office of the CEO in a transitional capacity through the end of August 2021.
“Steve dedicated the last seven years to the Company with the goal of bringing RF-based wireless charging to market,” said Dan Fairfax, Chairman of the Board. “On behalf of the Board and all the Company’s employees, we want to thank Steve for his efforts and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
“Throughout my career, I have always been attracted to companies on the cutting-edge of design and technical leadership,” Rizzone said. “I remain very excited for what’s next for the Company and will continue to celebrate the team’s victories.”
A CEO search has been initiated and both internal and external candidates are being considered.
About Energous Corporation
Energous Corporation (Nasdaq: WATT) is the global leader of Wireless Charging 2.0 technology. Its award-winning WattUp® solution is the only technology that supports both contact and distance charging through a fully compatible ecosystem. Built atop fast, efficient and highly scalable RF-based charging technology, WattUp is positioned to offer improvements over older, first-generation coil-based charging technologies in power, efficiency, foreign device detection, freedom of movement and overall cost for consumer electronics, medical devices, retail, military, industrial/commercial IoT, automotive, military, retail and industrial applications. Energous develops silicon-based wireless power transfer (WPT) technologies and customizable reference designs, and provides worldwide regulatory assistance, a reliable supply chain, quality assurance, and sales and technical support to global customers. The company received the world’s first FCC Part 18 certification for at-a-distance wireless charging and has been awarded 239 U.S. patents for its WattUp wireless charging technology to-date.