Title: New Era Energy & Digital Appoints Ted Warner as Chief Financial Officer to Accelerate Infrastructure Growth
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI), a developer and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets in the Permian Basin, has announced the appointment of Ted Warner as its new Chief Financial Officer. The appointment became effective on March 16, 2026, marking a strategic leadership addition as the company continues to scale its digital infrastructure and power development initiatives across Texas.
The move reflects the company’s commitment to strengthening its executive leadership team as it pursues ambitious plans to develop large-scale digital infrastructure platforms, particularly high-performance computing (HPC) and data center facilities powered by integrated energy solutions. With the increasing demand for computing power driven by artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data-intensive technologies, companies like New Era are positioning themselves to provide the infrastructure needed to support these rapidly expanding industries.
A Strategic Leadership Addition
Mr. Warner brings nearly two decades of experience spanning energy markets, capital markets, and digital infrastructure financing. His professional background includes senior investment banking roles, advisory work, and executive leadership within the energy sector. His expertise in structuring complex financing arrangements and building relationships across the capital markets ecosystem is expected to play a critical role in supporting New Era’s growth strategy.
Prior to joining New Era, Warner led the Energy, Power, and Digital Infrastructure practice at Northland Capital Markets. In that role, he was responsible for advising companies across the energy and digital infrastructure sectors on capital formation strategies and financial transactions. Under his leadership, Northland structured and served as the sole manager for more than $7 billion in financing solutions since 2023. These transactions primarily supported large-scale data center developments and digital infrastructure projects.
The financing solutions designed by Warner and his team were tailored to meet the needs of early-stage infrastructure platforms. They often included flexible and bespoke capital structures that allowed developers to secure funding while navigating the challenges associated with building energy-intensive computing facilities.
In addition to these transactions, Warner has also participated in billions of dollars of additional advisory and financing deals related to high-performance computing infrastructure across multiple layers of the capital stack. This experience includes debt financing, equity structures, and hybrid funding arrangements designed to support the long-term buildout of computing infrastructure.
Experience Across Energy and Digital Infrastructure
Warner’s professional experience spans both the traditional energy sector and the emerging digital infrastructure industry. Earlier in his career, he worked extensively in the oil and gas industry, focusing on capital markets and advisory services for upstream energy companies and oilfield services firms.
During that period, he developed significant expertise in financing strategies for energy production companies operating in resource-rich basins across North America. He also advised oilfield services companies on mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and operational restructuring.
In addition to his investment banking experience, Warner previously served as Chief Financial Officer of a private-equity-backed oilfield services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company operated across multiple U.S. energy basins, providing services that supported exploration and production activities.
His time as CFO provided hands-on operational and financial leadership experience, including overseeing financial planning, corporate strategy, and capital allocation decisions. That combination of advisory and operational expertise gives Warner a comprehensive understanding of how to finance and manage large-scale infrastructure projects.
Educational Background and Professional Credentials
Warner’s academic and professional credentials reflect his extensive background in finance and capital markets. He holds several securities licenses, including Series 7, Series 79, and Series 63, which are commonly held by professionals involved in investment banking and financial advisory services.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Later, he completed a Master of Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. His academic training, combined with nearly twenty years of industry experience, has helped establish him as a specialist in infrastructure finance and energy markets.
Supporting New Era’s Growth Strategy
According to New Era’s leadership team, Warner’s expertise aligns closely with the company’s long-term strategy. The company is currently focused on developing critical digital infrastructure facilities powered by integrated energy solutions in Texas, particularly in the Permian Basin.
Chief Executive Officer E. Will Gray II emphasized the strategic importance of Warner’s experience in capital markets and digital infrastructure financing.
Gray noted that Warner’s track record in structuring financing for large-scale infrastructure projects makes him well suited to help the company advance its development plans. He also highlighted Warner’s recent work advising on high-performance computing and data center financing as particularly relevant to New Era’s initiatives.
New Era is currently advancing the development of Texas Critical Data Centers, a project designed to support hyperscale computing operations. These facilities are intended to provide large-scale computing capacity powered by integrated energy assets, helping meet the growing energy and infrastructure demands of the digital economy.
Gray also emphasized that Warner’s relationships within financial institutions and capital markets will help the company secure the partnerships necessary to fund the expansion of its infrastructure platform.
Equity Incentives Aligned with Performance
In connection with Warner’s appointment, the company’s compensation committee approved a set of equity awards intended to serve as inducement incentives for his employment. These awards were granted in the form of restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units tied to the company’s common shares.
The equity compensation package includes time-vesting restricted stock units (RSUs) covering 610,673 shares of the company’s common stock. These RSUs will vest gradually over a four-year period, with vesting occurring monthly as long as Warner remains employed with the company.
In addition to the RSUs, Warner received performance-based restricted stock units (PSUs) tied to 1,221,346 shares of the company’s common stock. These PSUs are structured to reward specific operational and financial milestones over the coming years.
The performance period for the PSUs runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030. In addition to meeting performance targets, the awards are also subject to time-based vesting requirements over a four-year period.
Performance Milestones for PSU Awards
The performance-based restricted stock units are divided into several categories, each tied to a key strategic milestone for the company.
One portion of the PSUs will vest when the company enters into a binding commercial agreement with a hyperscale computing customer that involves a minimum power commitment of 200 megawatts. Such agreements are typically signed with large cloud computing providers that operate massive data centers requiring substantial electricity supplies.
Another portion of the PSUs will vest once the company achieves final financial closing related to that commercial agreement at its development site in Ector County, Texas. This milestone represents the successful completion of financing arrangements required to move forward with construction and development.
Additional PSUs are tied to achieving commercial operation at the Ector County site, combined with a stock performance target. Specifically, the company’s common stock must reach a volume-weighted average closing price of at least $15 over a 90-day period during the performance window.
The final portion of the PSU award will vest if the company secures a material credit facility with a major financial institution. The financing arrangement must be completed by June 30, 2026, and must be sufficient to support the company’s project development activities.
Alignment with Long-Term Shareholder Value
The equity compensation structure reflects the company’s broader compensation philosophy, which emphasizes alignment between executive leadership incentives and shareholder interests.
By tying a significant portion of Warner’s compensation to long-term operational milestones and stock performance, the company aims to ensure that executive leadership remains focused on building sustainable value over time.
The RSUs and PSUs granted to Warner are classified as inducement awards under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). As a result, they were issued outside of the company’s existing equity incentive plan, although they remain subject to the general terms and governance provisions of the company’s 2024 Equity Incentive Plan.
Positioning for Future Growth
Warner’s appointment comes at a time when the intersection of energy infrastructure and digital computing is becoming increasingly important. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data-driven industries is creating unprecedented demand for power-intensive data centers.
Companies developing integrated power and computing infrastructure—particularly in energy-rich regions like the Permian Basin—are expected to play a critical role in meeting this demand.
By adding a CFO with deep experience in both energy markets and digital infrastructure financing, New Era Energy & Digital aims to strengthen its ability to secure funding, execute large-scale projects, and expand its position in the evolving digital infrastructure ecosystem.
As the company continues advancing its Texas data center developments, Warner’s expertise in capital markets and infrastructure finance is expected to help guide the next phase of New Era’s growth strategy.
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