The Board of Directors of PeerNova, Inc. (PeerNova) today announced the appointment of Jonathan E. Johnson to the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Johnson joins six other directors: S. Atiq Raza (Chairman), Naveed Sherwani, Jalil Shaikh, David Bell, Howard Mergelkamp, and Gangesh Ganesan.
“PeerNova continues to make significant progress in bringing decentralized ledger technology to the financial services sector,” said Patrick M. Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, Inc. “Jonathan’s appointment to the PeerNova board is well aligned with our continued collaboration with PeerNova since our initial investment in 2015.”
“Jonathan is an established business leader, who shares PeerNova’s vision of bringing blockchain-inspired technology to the financial industry,” said Dr. Naveed Sherwani, PeerNova’s President, and CEO. “Jonathan’s wide-ranging executive and board experience further strengthens our team and helps us bring our Cuneiform Platform to more banking partners.”
Johnson is president of Medici Ventures, Overstock’s subsidiary that oversees a portfolio of blockchain technology and fintech businesses, including PeerNova. Johnson joined Overstock in 2002, and has served as the chairman of Overstock’s board of directors since April 2014, transitioning to the position after five years as the company’s president, and later, as the acting CEO and executive vice chairman of the board.
He has been an integral part of Overstock’s meteoric growth from a small start-up to a publicly traded company with over $1.8 billion in sales and over 1,700 employees. Prior to Overstock, he served various positions with TenFold Corporation, including Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, and General Counsel.
Johnson received a Bachelor’s Degree in Japanese from Brigham Young University, studied at Osaka University of Foreign Studies in Japan as a Ministry of Education Scholar, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
“PeerNova has a great board and management team,” said Johnson. “I’m excited to be part of such an innovative blockchain technology company that continues to lead in the fintech space.”
“I am pleased to welcome Jonathan to the PeerNova Board of Directors,” said S. Atiq Raza, PeerNova’s Chairman of the Board. “Jonathan is an excellent addition to our board, bringing significant industry expertise and business insight to the table.”