Splash Beverage Group, Inc. announced the appointment of John Paglia, Ph.D., CFA, CPA, NACD.DC to the Company?s Board of Directors and Chair of Audit Committee, effective February 26, 2024. Dr. Paglia brings over fifteen years of corporate governance experience as an independent director, including more than ten years as audit committee chair and designated financial expert. Dr. Paglia, age 56, is a tenured Professor of Finance at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School where he teaches graduate level classes on the topics of corporate finance, business valuation, and mergers and acquisitions.

He also serves as an independent board member and audit committee chair at Simulations Plus, Inc., a leading provider of modeling and simulation software and consulting services supporting drug discovery and development; and Aeluma, Inc., a leading-edge semiconductor company specializing in high performance sensors. He is also an advisor for a number of startup companies and venture funds, and sits on the advisory council for Pepperdine?s Most Fundable Companies competition. While at Pepperdine University, he also held a number of leadership positions since joining the faculty in 2000, including as Senior Associate Dean where he had oversight for the business school faculty and key strategic projects, and, prior to that, as executive director of Graziadio Business School?s entrepreneurship institute.

He was also engaged by the Library of Congress as a venture capital and private equity expert to study the impacts of the SBA?s SBIC private equity program and subsequently provided expert testimony to U.S. Congress?s Committee on Small Business. Dr. Paglia is a recipient of several prestigious awards for his contributions to the business valuation profession and work on the financing and capital markets. His research has been published in a number of journals and covered in major media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur and others.

Dr. Paglia holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Kentucky, an MBA and B.S. in Finance from Gannon University, and is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst, and is NACD Directorship Certified?.