RedBalloon founder Naomi Simson joins Weebit Nano's all-blokes board

ASX-listed semiconductor business Weebit Nano is adding entrepreneur Naomi Simson to its board as a non-executive director (NED).

Simson, who founded online experiences marketplace RedBalloon in 2001, is already busy as a company director, sitting on several boards, including Big Red Group, RedBalloon’s parent company, as well as Australian Payments Plus, Colonial First State, University of Melbourne Economics and Business Faculty, and Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation.

She’ll join Weebit Nano on September 1.

The Israeli tech company has been on the hunt for local director to comply with the Corporations Act since the sudden and immediate resignation of Fred Bart after five years in June. The Act requires at least two Australian resident directors and Bart’s departure saw the ASX suspend trading in Weebit Nano (ASX: WBT) shares at the time, catching the business unawares.

Company secretary Mark Licciardo was appointed an interim NED two days later, but by then the damage had been done to the company’s somewhat volatile share price, which has risen 46% this year, having fluctuated between $9 and $2 over the last 12 months.

It closed Thursday trade up 4.7% at $5.09.

The semiconductor components company’s product Resistive RAM (ReRAM) is designed for next generation technology such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smartphones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, 5G communications and artificial intelligence. It allows semiconductor memory elements to be significantly faster, less expensive, more reliable and energy efficient than existing Flash memory solutions.

Simson’s appointment also brings the company up to speed when it comes to having a woman on its board, having been one of a dozen businesses on the ASX 300 without a female director.

Weebit Nano chair Dadi Perlmutter praised Simson as bringing a new perspective to the table.

“Her significant go-to-market knowledge and leadership in corporate marketing will complement our board’s existing technical expertise and startup and large tech company management experience,” she said.

“She will provide valuable insight as we ramp up our commercialisation phase.”

Simson said she was “drawn to the company’s relentless commitment to innovation and its reputation as a global leader in the non volatile memory space, and look forward to helping to accelerate Weebit Nano’s next stage of customer growth.”