Semper Paratus Acquisition Corporation appointed Francis Knuettel II as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Knuettel has over 25 years of management experience in venture and private equity-backed public companies and has advised public and private companies on financial management and controls, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and operating and financial restructurings. Mr. Knuettel currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of OTEC (since March 2023).

Previously, Mr. Knuettel served as the Chief Executive Officer and director of Unrivaled Brands a vertically integrated company focused on the cannabis sector with operations in California and Nevada, from December 2020 to April 2022. Mr. Knuettel was formerly Director of Capital and Advisory at Viridian Capital Advisors, a position he held from June 2020 to January 2021, following the sale but prior to the close of the acquisition of One Cannabis Group Inc. (“OCG”) by an OTCQX listed company. At OCG, Mr. Knuettel served from June 2019 to January 2021 as Chief Financial Officer of the company, a leading cannabis dispensary franchisor, with over thirty cannabis dispensaries across seven states.

Prior to joining OCG, Mr. Knuettel was Chief Financial Officer at MJardin Group Inc. (August 2018 to January 2019), a Denver-based cannabis cultivation and dispensary management company, where he led the company's IPO on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Following the IPO, Mr. Knuettel managed the merger with GrowForce, a Toronto-based cannabis cultivator, after which he moved to the Chief Strategy Role (January 2019 to June 2019). In his role as CSO, he managed the acquisition of several private companies before recommending and executing the consolidation of management and other operations to Toronto and the closure of the executive office in Denver.

From April to August 2018, Mr. Knuettel served as Chief Financial Officer of Aqua Metals Inc., an advanced materials firm that developed technology in battery recycling. Prior to that, from April 2014 to April, 2018, Mr. Knuettel served as Chief Financial Officer at Marathon Patent Group Inc. a patent enforcement and licensing company. Before that, Mr. Knuettel held numerous CFO and CEO positions at early-stage companies where he had significant experience both building and restructuring businesses.

Mr. Knuettel also holds numerous board positions, at both public and private companies, including 180 Life Sciences, ECOM Medical, Murphy Canyon Acquisition Corp. and Relativity Acquisition Corp. (RACY) (February 2022 to present).

Mr. Knuettel graduated cum laude from Tufts University with a B.A. degree in Economics and from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with an M.B.A. in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management.