Daseke Inc. - Corporate Governance

Don R. Daseke , , , Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

Don R. Daseke has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Daseke since he founded the company (formerly named Walden Smokey Point, Inc.) in November 2008. He also served as President of Daseke from November 2008 through January 2018, when that role was transitioned to CFO Scott Wheeler. Mr. Daseke has served as the President and sole director on the board of directors of The Walden Group for more than 30 years. Mr. Daseke also has served as the chairman of the board of directors of both Liquid Motors, Inc. and East Teak Fine Hardwoods, Inc. since June 2005 and March 2006, respectively. Mr. Daseke has been active in the non-profit sector throughout his career, having served in leadership roles for a number of non-profit institutions, including the WaterTower Theatre, DePauw University, the Dallas Chapter of the World Presidents Organization and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society. Additionally, Mr. Daseke currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Cattle Barons Ball in Dallas, Texas. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Daseke was a Commissioner on the Planning and Zoning Commission for Addison, Texas, and in May 2009, he was elected to a two-year term on the Addison Town Council. Mr. Daseke served as Mayor Pro Tempore of Addison, Texas in 2010. Mr. Daseke was the Regional Winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014. In April of 2018, he was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans, joining names like U.S. presidents Eisenhower, Ford and Reagan. Mr. Daseke received his B.A. from DePauw University, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, and the Presidents Program in Leadership from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Daseke is a Certified Public Accountant (retired).

Daniel J. Hennessy , , , Vice Chairman, Independent Director

Daniel J. Hennessy served as Chairman and CEO of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. II which merged with Daseke, Inc. in February of 2017 (NASDAQ: DSKE), from May, 2015 to February of 2017. He is also the Managing Partner of Hennessy Capital LLC, an alternative asset investment firm he established in 2013. From September 2013 to February 2015, Mr. Hennessy served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp., which merged with School Bus Holdings Inc. in February 2015 and is now known as Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD), and since February 2015, has served as its Vice Chairman. From 1988 to 2016 Mr. Hennessy served as a Partner at Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC (n/k/a CHS Capital or “CHS”), a middle market private equity investment firm which he co-founded. Prior to forming CHS, Mr. Hennessy was employed by Citicorp from 1984 to 1988 as head of the Midwest Region for Citicorp Mezzanine Investments and Vice President and Team Leader with Citicorp Leveraged Capital Group. He began his career in 1981 in the oil and gas lending group at Continental Illinois National Bank (now Bank of America) where he was a Banking Officer. Mr. Hennessy holds a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Mr. Hennessy is well qualified to serve as director due to his experience in private equity and public and private company board governance, as well as his background in finance and his experience with HCAC and HCAC II.

Brian Bonner , , , Independent Director

Mr. Bonner has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2015. Mr. Bonner served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Texas Instruments, a publicly traded company, from January 2000 to May 2014. In this role, Mr. Bonner managed the business and technology aspects of IT operations. Prior to being appointed Chief Information Officer, Mr. Bonner served Texas Instruments for over 33 years in a number of strategic leadership roles and positions in general management, mass marketing and global IT operations. Mr. Bonner has served as a member on the board of directors of Copper Mobile since June 2012 and is currently an advisory board member for Southern Methodist University’s Computer & Electrical Engineering Department. Mr. Bonner also served as an advisory board member for Gemini Israel Funds from June 2004 to May 2015. Mr. Bonner holds an M.B.A. in Marketing and Finance from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, an MSEE and BSEE from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Physics from Kalamazoo College. He received the Minority & Women Business Development Award from Texas Instruments, the Transformational CIO Award from HMG Strategies and the Most Innovative User of Technology from Information Week Magazine.

Mr. Bonner has significant experience serving as an executive officer and in other leadership positions in a large public company setting, including 14 years as chief information officer, and he has more than three years of experience serving on the board of directors of a private technology company. He has extensive experience in management, finance, operations and marketing. We believe his background and skill set make Mr. Bonner well-suited to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Ron Gafford , , , Independent Director

Mr. Gafford has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2015. From November 2012 to October 2014, Mr. Gafford served as a consultant to the chief executive officer and the board of directors of Austin Industries, Inc., a U.S.-based construction company. Prior to that, Mr. Gafford served Austin Industries, Inc. as president from March 1996 to November 2012, as chief executive officer from March 2001 to November 2012 and as chairman from March 2008 to November 2012. Mr. Gafford earned his B.S. from Texas A&M University in 1972 and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University School of Business in 1987.

Mr. Gafford brings more than 40 years of professional experience in the construction industry. He has significant experience serving in leadership positions in a large company setting, including 11 years as chief executive officer. He has extensive experience in management, finance and operations. We believe his background and skill set make Mr. Gafford well-suited to serve as a member of our board of directors.

Mark Sinclair , , , Independent Director

Mark Sinclair was appointed to the Daseke, Inc. Board of Directors effective as of January 1, 2017. At the end of 2017, Mr. Sinclair completed a 46 year career in public accounting with over 38 years at Ernst & Young (EY) where he served as an Audit Partner, as Partner in Charge of Human Resources and Partner in Charge of the Strategic Growth Markets Practice in North Texas. After retirement from EY, Mr. Sinclair served 8 years as a Partner at Whitley Penn LLP, a Texas regional accounting firm. Mr. Sinclair primarily served and advised high growth public and venture/private equity backed companies from early stage to multi billion dollar revenue companies, often with global operations, in a wide variety of industries including technology, manufacturing, service and mining. He worked closely with management and reported to the Boards of his clients with a heavy focus on the governance aspects of internal controls and overall enterprise risk management. Mr. Sinclair is currently Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is also on the Board of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), North Texas Chapter and has achieved the NACD Board Leadership Fellow designation. Mr. Sinclair is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant. Mr. Sinclair qualifies as a “financial expert” for the audit committee under SEC guidelines. Because of his strong financial and accounting background, Mr. Sinclair is well-qualified to serve on our Board.

Kevin M. Charlton , , , Independent Director

Kevin M. Charlton, Hennessy Capital President and Chief Operating Officer since May 2015 and one of Hennessy’s directors since our initial public offering, is also is the Managing Partner of River Hollow Partners, a private equity firm he founded in July 2013 to focus on the lower mid-market. From October 2013 to February 2015, Mr. Charlton served as President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Hennessy 1, which merged with School Bus Holdings Inc. in February 2015 and is now known as Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD), and since from January 2014 to February 2015 as a director. Prior to that, from August 2009 to June 2013, Mr. Charlton was a Managing Director in the Principal Transactions Group of Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., and led a team that oversaw its existing portfolio of North American investments. Prior to joining Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. in August 2009, Mr. Charlton worked as Managing Director at Investcorp International, a mid-market private equity firm, from August 2002 to June 2009. Prior to joining Investcorp International in August 2002, he worked for JPMorgan Chase and McKinsey & Company and as a contractor in the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. Mr. Charlton has served on the boards of over 20 private and public companies and their subsidiaries in a variety of roles, with significant industrial experience in businesses such as FleetPride, a distributor of aftermarket heavy duty truck parts, Neptune Technologies, a manufacturer of water meters and metering systems, Synthetic Industries, a manufacturer of industrial fabrics, and Brek Manufacturing, an aerospace components manufacturer. Since January 2010 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Spirit Realty Corporation (NYSE: SRC), a triple net real estate investment trust that went public in September 2012, where he is a member of the Compensation and Governance Committees. Since March 2014, Mr. Charlton has served on the board of The Addison Group, a privately-owned staffi ng business. Since August 2014, Mr. Charlton has served on the board of Dancing Deer Baking Company, a manufacturer of branded baked goods and a portfolio company of River Hollow Partners. Since March 2015, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Macro Energy, an advisory firm focused on high-efficiency lighting retrofits for commercial tenants and a portfolio company of River Hollow Partners. He received a Masters in Business Administration with honors from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in June 1995, a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering with Distinction from the University of Michigan in June 1990, and a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Cum Laude from Princeton University in June 1988. Mr. Charlton is well-qualified to serve as director due to his experience in private equity and public and private company governance, as well as his background in industrial business and his experience with Hennessy 1.

Jonathan Shepko , , , Independent Director

Jonathan Shepko is a Co-founder and Managing Partner of EF Capital Management, LP, which makes direct debt and equity investments (generally between $20MM and $100MM), in both public and private companies, across the United States. He is currently a Director, and Chairman of the Compensation Committee, for Shipston Equity Holdings, which, under the Busche Performance Group umbrella, is a Tier 1 supplier of “crash critical” chassis components, largely to the automotive OEM’s. From 2015 to 2016, Mr. Shepko served as a Director, Chairman and CEO of Ameriqual Group Holdings, LLC, a global leader in shelf-stable food processing for the military, consumer and food service markets. Prior to founding EF Capital, Mr. Shepko was a Managing Director with Ares Management (~$100B AUM), where he focused on originating and structuring debt financings in the energy industry. From 2009 until 2014, Mr. Shepko co-headed, and served as Managing Director of, CLG Energy Finance (an affiliate of Beal Bank), which focused on providing senior-stretch and uni-tranche facilities to the energy and infrastructure industries. Prior to forming CLG Energy Finance, Mr. Shepko was a Vice President with EnCap Investments, LP, where his responsibilities included originating, structuring and managing private equity investments in the oil and gas sector, while also serving on the boards of several of these companies. Collectively, Mr. Shepko has underwritten and managed nearly $2 billion in direct equity and debt financings, spanning multiple industries, including investments in high-growth, as well as mature companies. Mr. Shepko graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Finance from Texas A&M University.

R. Scott Wheeler , , , Director and President

R. Scott Wheeler has served as Daseke’s President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2018. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company from February 2015 to January 2018 and as a director on Daseke’s board of directors since December 2016. Mr. Wheeler was previously Daseke’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from August 2012 to February 2015. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Wheeler served as Chief Financial Officer of OneSource Virtual, Inc., and from 2003 to 2008, Mr. Wheeler was the Managing Director of VCFO, a chief financial officer and controller focused consulting firm focused on high growth companies. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Wheeler served as Chief Financial Officer of Malibu Entertainment Worldwide, a publicly-traded location-based entertainment company. Mr. Wheeler currently sits on the Advisory Board of the College of Business at Texas A&M University — Commerce, where he also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Finance. Mr. Wheeler was Mayor of Addison, Texas from 1999 to 2005 and served on the Advisory Board of BBVA Compass Bank Dallas from 1994 to 2008. Mr. Wheeler earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University — Commerce in 1980 and his M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1985.


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