On March 23, 2018, the Board of Directors of Net Element, Inc. increased the number of directors on the Board of Directors from current 6 members to 7 members in order to create a new vacancy for a qualified director candidate, and immediately after such increase becoming effective, appointed, effective March 23, 2018, Mr. Jonathan Fichman as a Director of the Company to fill such newly-created vacancy until the next annual stockholders' meeting of the Company and when his successor is elected and shall qualify. Mr. Fichman, who is 47 years old, is an accomplished financial industry veteran with more than 20 years of domestic and international finance experience. Since 2013, Fichman has served as a managing director of C-Anax Ventures & Advisory, where he assists early-stage companies with corporate strategy, streamlining operations, and financial analysis. From 2005 to 2015, Fichman served as a senior vice president of International Business Strategy & Initiatives at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. From 2003 to 2004, he served as a director of Operations, Procurement and Insurance at the Township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. From 1999 to 2003, Fichman was a vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Actrade Financial Technologies, where he helped create B2B banking products that were at the forefront of commercial payments. From 1997 to 1999, he was a senior analyst consultant with Carson Group. The Board of Directors of the Company concluded that Mr. Fichman should serve as a Director of the Company in light of his experience in the financial and capital markets industry. Mr. Fichman was also appointed to serve as a member of the Company’s Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee. The Company’s Board of Directors determined that Mr. Fichman is an independent director for purposes of the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and under the applicable NASDAQ listing standards, and that he has the other qualifications required for service on the Company’s Audit Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee.