Company: OCEA
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001493152-25-006994
Chunk: 15

Company: Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 15
---
 to fill vacancies caused by the resignation and or not standing for reelection at the Annual Meeting, and will seek to identify and have new independent directors appointed to the Board during the balance of the 2025 calendar year to ensure full compliance with SEC and Nasdaq independence standards.

| 12 |

Under applicable Nasdaq rules, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of the listed company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that all members of the Board, except Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, Elizabeth Ng, Dr. Jake Kurtis, Dr. Jack Elias, and Suren Ajjarapu are independent directors, including for purposes of the rules of Nasdaq and the SEC. In making such independence determination, our board of directors considered the relationships that each non-employee director has with us and all other facts and circumstances that our board of directors deemed relevant in determining his or her independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock by each non-employee director. In considering the independence of the directors listed above, our board of directors considered the association of our directors with the holders of more than 5% of our common stock. Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria and Elizabeth Ng are not independent directors under the applicable rules because they are employed as our Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer, respectively. Suren Ajjarapu is not an independent director under the applicable rules due to his prior role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aesther. Dr. Jonathan Kurtis and Dr. Jack Elias are not independent directors under the applicable rules because of their consulting arrangements and their ownership of Elkhart, Inc.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our Board has established three standing committees: an audit committee, a nominations and corporate governance committee, and a compensation committee, which are described below. Members of these committees are elected annually at the regular board meeting held in conjunction with the annual stockholders’ meeting. The charter of each committee is available on our website at www.oceanbiomedical.com.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee members are currently Amy Griffith and William Ownes, with Michael Peterson as Chairman. The Audit Committee has authority to review our financial records, deal with our independent auditors, recommend to the Board policies with respect to financial reporting, and investigate all aspects of our business. All of the members of the Audit Committee