{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"164634","rtpr_id":"nBw4LNhTCa-20261008","ticker":"ADBT","exchange":"NASDAQ","all_tickers":["ADBT"],"title":"ADVASA Appoints William Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-10-08T14:50:00.127Z","article_body":"ADVASA Appoints William Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer\n\nAdvasa Holdings, Inc.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=Advasa+Holdings%2C+Inc.&index=1&md5=c4e13707ff721a9c6e885775c274919e)\n(Nasdaq: ADBT) (“ADVASA” or the “Company”), a fintech payment holding\ncompany delivering Earned Wage Access (“EWA”) and financial infrastructure\nsolutions, announced the appointment of William Witherspoon as Chief Financial\nOfficer, effective October 6, 2026.\n\nMr. Witherspoon has served on the Company's Board of Directors since June 24,\n2026, previously as an independent director. In connection with his\nappointment, Grady Ryther, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, who has\nalso served as interim Chief Financial Officer since the departure of the\nCompany’s prior Chief Financial Officer on August 27, 2026, has stepped down\nfrom his role as interim Chief Financial Officer and continues to serve as\nChief Executive Officer.\n\n“We are pleased to welcome William as our Chief Financial Officer,” said\nGrady Ryther, Chief Executive Officer of Advasa Holdings, Inc. “Having\nserved on our Board since June 2026, William has developed a strong\nunderstanding of our business and brings broad experience in financing, asset\nacquisition, and financial consulting. In his new role, we look forward to\nworking with William to support ADVASA’s continued growth.”\n\nMr. Witherspoon’s professional background includes asset acquisition, real\nestate development, financing, and financial consulting. Since January 2025,\nhe has served as Asset Acquisition Manager for UMcapital, supporting the\nconfirmation and preparation of in-ground and SKR assets for potential\nacquisition. Since January 2020, he has also served as Principal of Hubert\nDevelopment, leading multifamily and commercial real estate projects through\nacquisition, pre-development, financing, construction, and stabilization.\n\nSince January 2017, Mr. Witherspoon has concurrently served as a Financial and\nSettlement Consultant with Forge Consulting, advising high-net-worth clients\non trust, estate, insurance, and long-term financial strategies. He holds an\nM.B.A. from George Washington University and a B.S. in Housing & Community\nDevelopment from the University of Georgia.\n\n“I am pleased to take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at ADVASA,”\nsaid William Witherspoon, Chief Financial Officer of Advasa Holdings, Inc.\n“My time on the Board has given me an understanding of the Company’s\nbusiness and priorities. I look forward to working with Grady and the team to\nsupport the Company’s financial operations and maintain clear and\ntransparent communication with our shareholders.”\n\nMr. Witherspoon continues to serve on the Board of Directors as a\nnon-independent director. In connection with his appointment as Chief\nFinancial Officer, he has stepped down from the Board’s Audit Committee,\nCompensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.\n\nAdditional information regarding Mr. Witherspoon’s appointment and\nemployment agreement is available in the Company’s Current Report on Form\n8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 7, 2026.\n\nAbout ADVASA\n\nAdvasa Holdings, Inc.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=Advasa+Holdings%2C+Inc.&index=2&md5=16b6ad2b4433a1ccfd47c0a6f982a6f5)\nis a fintech company dedicated to delivering financial well-being to all\nworkers. The company operates an Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform that allows\nemployees to access their earned wages in real time. Leveraging a global\npatent strategy, it has established a robust intellectual property foundation\nacross markets such as Japan, the United States, and South Korea. By\nseamlessly integrating with major HR/payroll systems and diverse payment\ninfrastructures—including bank transfers and digital wallets—ADVASA plans\nto expand into global markets where the demand for financial inclusion is\nrapidly growing, such as Indonesia and the UAE.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nAll statements in this press release of ADVASA and its subsidiaries that are\nnot based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” within the\nmeaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the\nprovisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and\nSection 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the\n“Acts”). In particular, when used in this press release, the words\n“estimates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “expects,” “intends,”\n“on-track”, “plans,” “anticipates,” “aim,” “goal,” or\n“may,” derivations of such words, and similar conditional expressions are\nintended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Acts\nand are subject to the safe harbor created by the Acts, although not all\nforward-looking statements are denoted by such words. Any statements made in\nthis press release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event\nor development, are forward-looking statements. In this press release,\nforward-looking statements relate, among other things, to the anticipated\ncontributions of the Company’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer and\nADVASA’s international expansion plans. While management has based any\nforward-looking statements contained herein on its current expectations, the\ninformation on which such expectations were based may change. These\nforward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future\nevents and are subject to a number of significant risks, uncertainties, and\nother factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, that\ncould cause actual results to materially and adversely differ from such\nstatements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not\nnecessarily limited to, those set forth in the Risk Factors sections of the\nCompany’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).\nCopies of such documents are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov and\non the Company’s website at https://adbt.io/. Accordingly, readers should\nnot place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. ADVASA undertakes\nno obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the\ndate of this press release, except as required by law.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007317390/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007317390/en/)\n\nADVASA Investor Relations \n\nEmail: ir@advasa.co.jp \n(mailto:ir@advasa.co.jp) \nWebsite: https://adbt.io/ \n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&index=3&md5=607085f857ee1ad5b27ff7cc06d2f13f)\n\nInvestor Relations: https://ir.adbt.io \n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fir.adbt.io&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fir.adbt.io&index=4&md5=eea14383515a50310a4c1304a63700f3)\n\nX: @AdvasaHoldings (https://x.com/AdvasaHoldings\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FAdvasaHoldings&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FAdvasaHoldings&index=5&md5=ab0b1447c196b5fe18f5f7e6188eaed0)\n)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw4LNhTCa-20261008","title":"ADVASA Appoints William Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"ADBT","created":"2026-10-08T14:50:00.127Z","tickers":["ADBT"],"exchange":"NASDAQ","article_body":"ADVASA Appoints William Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer\n\nAdvasa Holdings, Inc.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=Advasa+Holdings%2C+Inc.&index=1&md5=c4e13707ff721a9c6e885775c274919e)\n(Nasdaq: ADBT) (“ADVASA” or the “Company”), a fintech payment holding\ncompany delivering Earned Wage Access (“EWA”) and financial infrastructure\nsolutions, announced the appointment of William Witherspoon as Chief Financial\nOfficer, effective October 6, 2026.\n\nMr. Witherspoon has served on the Company's Board of Directors since June 24,\n2026, previously as an independent director. In connection with his\nappointment, Grady Ryther, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, who has\nalso served as interim Chief Financial Officer since the departure of the\nCompany’s prior Chief Financial Officer on August 27, 2026, has stepped down\nfrom his role as interim Chief Financial Officer and continues to serve as\nChief Executive Officer.\n\n“We are pleased to welcome William as our Chief Financial Officer,” said\nGrady Ryther, Chief Executive Officer of Advasa Holdings, Inc. “Having\nserved on our Board since June 2026, William has developed a strong\nunderstanding of our business and brings broad experience in financing, asset\nacquisition, and financial consulting. In his new role, we look forward to\nworking with William to support ADVASA’s continued growth.”\n\nMr. Witherspoon’s professional background includes asset acquisition, real\nestate development, financing, and financial consulting. Since January 2025,\nhe has served as Asset Acquisition Manager for UMcapital, supporting the\nconfirmation and preparation of in-ground and SKR assets for potential\nacquisition. Since January 2020, he has also served as Principal of Hubert\nDevelopment, leading multifamily and commercial real estate projects through\nacquisition, pre-development, financing, construction, and stabilization.\n\nSince January 2017, Mr. Witherspoon has concurrently served as a Financial and\nSettlement Consultant with Forge Consulting, advising high-net-worth clients\non trust, estate, insurance, and long-term financial strategies. He holds an\nM.B.A. from George Washington University and a B.S. in Housing & Community\nDevelopment from the University of Georgia.\n\n“I am pleased to take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at ADVASA,”\nsaid William Witherspoon, Chief Financial Officer of Advasa Holdings, Inc.\n“My time on the Board has given me an understanding of the Company’s\nbusiness and priorities. I look forward to working with Grady and the team to\nsupport the Company’s financial operations and maintain clear and\ntransparent communication with our shareholders.”\n\nMr. Witherspoon continues to serve on the Board of Directors as a\nnon-independent director. In connection with his appointment as Chief\nFinancial Officer, he has stepped down from the Board’s Audit Committee,\nCompensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.\n\nAdditional information regarding Mr. Witherspoon’s appointment and\nemployment agreement is available in the Company’s Current Report on Form\n8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 7, 2026.\n\nAbout ADVASA\n\nAdvasa Holdings, Inc.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=Advasa+Holdings%2C+Inc.&index=2&md5=16b6ad2b4433a1ccfd47c0a6f982a6f5)\nis a fintech company dedicated to delivering financial well-being to all\nworkers. The company operates an Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform that allows\nemployees to access their earned wages in real time. Leveraging a global\npatent strategy, it has established a robust intellectual property foundation\nacross markets such as Japan, the United States, and South Korea. By\nseamlessly integrating with major HR/payroll systems and diverse payment\ninfrastructures—including bank transfers and digital wallets—ADVASA plans\nto expand into global markets where the demand for financial inclusion is\nrapidly growing, such as Indonesia and the UAE.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nAll statements in this press release of ADVASA and its subsidiaries that are\nnot based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” within the\nmeaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the\nprovisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and\nSection 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the\n“Acts”). In particular, when used in this press release, the words\n“estimates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “expects,” “intends,”\n“on-track”, “plans,” “anticipates,” “aim,” “goal,” or\n“may,” derivations of such words, and similar conditional expressions are\nintended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Acts\nand are subject to the safe harbor created by the Acts, although not all\nforward-looking statements are denoted by such words. Any statements made in\nthis press release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event\nor development, are forward-looking statements. In this press release,\nforward-looking statements relate, among other things, to the anticipated\ncontributions of the Company’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer and\nADVASA’s international expansion plans. While management has based any\nforward-looking statements contained herein on its current expectations, the\ninformation on which such expectations were based may change. These\nforward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future\nevents and are subject to a number of significant risks, uncertainties, and\nother factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, that\ncould cause actual results to materially and adversely differ from such\nstatements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not\nnecessarily limited to, those set forth in the Risk Factors sections of the\nCompany’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).\nCopies of such documents are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov and\non the Company’s website at https://adbt.io/. Accordingly, readers should\nnot place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. ADVASA undertakes\nno obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the\ndate of this press release, except as required by law.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007317390/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007317390/en/)\n\nADVASA Investor Relations \n\nEmail: ir@advasa.co.jp \n(mailto:ir@advasa.co.jp) \nWebsite: https://adbt.io/ \n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fadbt.io%2F&index=3&md5=607085f857ee1ad5b27ff7cc06d2f13f)\n\nInvestor Relations: https://ir.adbt.io \n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fir.adbt.io&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fir.adbt.io&index=4&md5=eea14383515a50310a4c1304a63700f3)\n\nX: @AdvasaHoldings (https://x.com/AdvasaHoldings\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FAdvasaHoldings&esheet=54617551&newsitemid=20261007317390&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FAdvasaHoldings&index=5&md5=ab0b1447c196b5fe18f5f7e6188eaed0)\n)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-10-08T14:50:00.182298227Z","server_sent_at_ms":1791471000182},"received_at":"2026-10-08T14:50:00.233Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007317390/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"153046","press_release_id":"164634","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Financial Services","sector":"Financials"},"redFlags":["New CFO's background is in real estate and asset acquisition consulting rather than public-company financial leadership","CFO appointed while remaining a non-independent board member; stepped off the Audit Committee he now oversees as finance chief","CEO served as interim CFO for over a month following prior CFO's departure"],"eventType":"executive_change","narrative":"Advasa Holdings (Nasdaq: ADBT) appointed William Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer, effective October 6, 2026, ending CEO Grady Ryther's stint as interim CFO that began after the prior CFO's August 27 departure.\n\nWitherspoon has served on the company's board since June 24, 2026, and remains a non-independent director after stepping down from the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.\n\nHis background spans asset acquisition, real estate development, financing, and financial consulting at UMcapital, Hubert Development, and Forge Consulting, rather than public-company finance leadership.\n\nDetails of the employment agreement are in the company's Form 8-K filed October 7, 2026.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Small-cap fintech fills CFO seat with a sitting director; audit-committee transition worth monitoring."},"keyFigures":{},"quotedText":"Having served on our Board since June 2026, William has developed a strong understanding of our business and brings broad experience in financing, asset acquisition, and financial consulting.","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"William Witherspoon","role":"Chief Financial Officer (newly appointed); Board director since June 2026"},{"name":"Grady Ryther","role":"Chief Executive Officer; stepped down from interim CFO role"}],"products":["Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform"],"companies":[{"name":"Advasa Holdings, Inc.","ticker":"ADBT","relationship":"filer"},{"name":"UMcapital","relationship":"CFO's current employer (Asset Acquisition Manager)"},{"name":"Hubert Development","relationship":"CFO's current employer (Principal)"},{"name":"Forge Consulting","relationship":"CFO's current employer (Financial and Settlement Consultant)"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":2,"reasoning":"Appointment of a new CFO fills a seat that had been held on an interim basis by the CEO since the prior CFO's departure in August 2026. Routine governance event; the appointee is a recent board member from a non-finance-industry background rather than a marquee hire."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"ADBT"},"globalImportance":15,"audienceRelevance":12,"eventTypeSecondary":["board_change"],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"routine-cfo-appointment","issuerAuthored":true,"governanceNuance":"new CFO transitioned from board including audit committee"}},"event_type":"executive_change","event_type_secondary":["board_change"],"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":2,"narrative":"Advasa Holdings (Nasdaq: ADBT) appointed William Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer, effective October 6, 2026, ending CEO Grady Ryther's stint as interim CFO that began after the prior CFO's August 27 departure.\n\nWitherspoon has served on the company's board since June 24, 2026, and remains a non-independent director after stepping down from the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.\n\nHis background spans asset acquisition, real estate development, financing, and financial consulting at UMcapital, Hubert Development, and Forge Consulting, rather than public-company finance leadership.\n\nDetails of the employment agreement are in the company's Form 8-K filed October 7, 2026.","key_figures":{},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"William Witherspoon","role":"Chief Financial Officer (newly appointed); Board director since June 2026"},{"name":"Grady Ryther","role":"Chief Executive Officer; stepped down from interim CFO role"}],"products":["Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform"],"companies":[{"name":"Advasa Holdings, Inc.","ticker":"ADBT","relationship":"filer"},{"name":"UMcapital","relationship":"CFO's current employer (Asset Acquisition Manager)"},{"name":"Hubert Development","relationship":"CFO's current employer (Principal)"},{"name":"Forge Consulting","relationship":"CFO's current employer (Financial and Settlement Consultant)"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:5c812bd9e28b810d","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-10-08T14:50:08.039Z","global_importance":15,"audience_relevance":12,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"routine-cfo-appointment","issuerAuthored":true,"governanceNuance":"new CFO transitioned from board including audit committee"}},"durationMs":7795,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flashx"}}