{"url_path":"/sec/eltp/10-k/2026/item-10","section_key":"item-10","section_title":"Item 10 DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE**","topic":"sec","document":{"doc_type":"10-K","doc_date":"2026-06-29","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1053369/0001493152-26-031070-index.html","accession_number":"0001493152-26-031070","cik":"0001053369","ticker":"ELTP","issuer_name":"ELITE PHARMACEUTICALS INC /NV/","edgar_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1053369/0001493152-26-031070-index.html","primary_entity_key":"0001053369","primary_entity_name":"ELITE PHARMACEUTICALS INC /NV/"},"word_count":2471,"has_tables":true,"body_markdown":"** **\n\n**ITEM\n10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE**\n\n** **\n\nThe\nfollowing sets forth biographical information about each of our directors and executive officers as of the date of this report:\n\n \n\n**Name**\n** **\n**Age**\n** **\n**Position**\n** **\n**Director/Officer\nSince**\n** **\n**Director\nClass**\n\nNasrat\nHakim\n \n65\n \nChairman\nof the Board of Directors\n \nAugust\n2013\n \nIII\n\nBarry\nDash, Ph. D.\n \n95\n \nDirector\n \nApril\n2005\n \nII\n\nJeffrey\nWhitnell\n \n70\n \nDirector\n \nOctober\n2009\n \nIII\n\nDavis\nCaskey\n \n78\n \nDirector\n \nApril\n2016\n \nI\n\nKirko\nKirkov\n \n58\n \nChief\nCommercial Officer\n \nSeptember\n2022\n \n \n\nDouglas\nPlassche\n \n62\n \nExecutive\nVice President of Operations\n \nAugust\n2013\n \n \n\nCarter\nWard\n \n62\n \nChief\nFinancial Officer\n \nSeptember\n2023\n \n \n\n \n\nThe\nprincipal occupations and employment of each Director and executive officer during the past five years is set forth below. In each instance\nin which dates are not provided in connection with an individual’s business experience, such individual has held the position indicated\nfor at least the past five years.\n\n \n\nPursuant\nto our amended and restated bylaws, our Board of Directors is classified into three separate classes of directors. Each director currently\nholds office until the expiration of the term of his class (each for three years) and until his successor is duly elected and qualified,\nor until such director’s death, resignation, or removal.\n\n \n\n**Nasrat\nHakim**\n\n** **\n\n*Nasrat\nHakim* has served as a Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer since August 2013. He has been a member of the Audit Committee,\nmember and chairman of the nominating Committee and member of the Compensation Committee since September 2016. Mr. Hakim has more than\n30 years of pharmaceutical and medical industry experience in Quality Assurance, Analytical Research and Development, Technical Services,\nand Regulatory Compliance. He brings with him proven management experience, in-depth knowledge of manufacturing systems, development\nknowledge in immediate and extended release formulations and extensive regulatory experience of GMP and FDA regulations. From 2004 to\n2013, Mr. Hakim was employed by Actavis, Watson and Alpharma in various senior management positions. Most recently, Mr. Hakim served\nas International Vice President of Quality Assurance at Actavis, overseeing 25 sites with more than 3,000 employees under his leadership.\nMr. Hakim also served as Corporate Vice President of Technical Services, Quality and Regulatory Compliance for Actavis U.S., Global Vice\nPresident, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance for Alpharma, as well as Executive Director of Quality Unit at TheraTech, overseeing manufacturing\nand research and development. In 2009, Mr. Hakim founded Mikah Pharma, LLC, a virtual, fully functional pharmaceutical company. Mr. Hakim\nholds a Bachelor in Chemistry/Bio-Chemistry and Masters of Science in Chemistry from California State University at Sacramento, Sacramento,\nCA; a Masters in Law with Graduate Certification in U.S. and International Taxation from St. Thomas University, School of Law, Miami,\nFL.; and a Graduate Certification in Regulatory Affairs (RAC) from California State University at San Diego, San Diego, CA. Mr. Hakim’s\nleadership experience (consisting of extensive experience in senior management positions, responsible for 25 global manufacturing/regulatory\nsites with more than 3,000 employees under his leadership), industry experience (comprising more than 30 years of pharmaceutical and\nmedical industry experience served in various quality assurance, analytical research and development/technical services and compliance\npositions) and academic experience (including Bachelor degrees in Chemistry and Bio-Chemistry, Masters degrees in Chemistry and Law,\nwith Graduate Certification in U.S. and International Taxation, and a Graduate Certification in Regulatory Affairs) led to the conclusion\nthat he is qualified to serve as a director.\n\n \n\n**Barry\nDash, Ph.D.**\n\n** **\n\n*Dr.\nBarry Dash* has served as a Director since April 2005, member of the Audit Committee since April 2005, member of the Nominating Committee\nsince April 2005 and member and Chairman of the Compensation Committee since June 2007. Dr. Dash has been, since 1995, President and\nManaging Member of Dash Associates, L.L.C., an independent consultant to the pharmaceutical and health industries. From 1983 to 1996\nhe was employed by Whitehall-Robins Healthcare, a division of American Home Products Corporation (now known as Wyeth), initially as Vice\nPresident of Scientific Affairs, then as Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs and then as Senior Vice President of Advanced Technologies,\nduring which time he personally supervised six separate departments: Medical and Clinical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Technical Affairs,\nResearch and Development, Analytical R&D and Quality Management/Q.C. Dr. Dash had been employed by the Whitehall Robins Healthcare\nfrom 1960 to 1976, during which time he served as Director of Product Development Research, Assistant Vice President of Product Development\nand Vice President of Scientific Affairs. Dr. Dash had been employed by J.B. Williams Company (Nabisco Brands, Inc.) from 1978 to 1982.\nFrom 1976 to 1978 he was Vice President and Director of Laboratories of the Consumer Products Division of American Can Company. Dr. Dash\nholds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida and M.S. and B.S. degrees from Columbia University where he was Assistant Professor at the\nCollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences from 1956 to 1960. He is a member of the American Pharmaceutical Association, the American Association\nfor the Advancement of Science and the Society of Cosmetic Chemist, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, Drug Information\nAssociation, American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, and Diplomate American Board of Forensic Examiners. He is the author of\nscientific publications and patents in the pharmaceutical field. Dr. Dash’s extensive education in pharmaceutical sciences and\nhis experience in the development of scientific products, including his experience in regulatory affairs, led to the conclusion that\nhe is qualified to serve as a director.\n\n \n\n56\n\n \n\n \n\n**Jeffrey\nWhitnell**\n\n** **\n\n*Jeffrey\nWhitnell*has served as a Director since October 23, 2009, Chairman of the Audit Committee, member of the Compensation Committee since\nOctober 2009 and designated by the Board as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under applicable rules under\nthe Exchange Act. Since April 2015, Mr. Whitnell has provided financial advisory services, primarily to the healthcare industry. He worked\nfor Southside Master, a specialty pharmacy company from September 2018 to June 2022, where he served as Chief Financial Officer. From\nApril 2015 to August 2018, Mr. Whitnell provided financial advisory services to various Private Equity portfolio companies, including\nLifewatch Services (acquired by BioTelemetry), where he served as Vice President, Finance & Controller. Mr. Whitnell was the Chief\nFinancial Officer for ReliefBand Medical Technologies, a medical device company, from June 2010 to March 2015. From July 2009 to May\n2010, Mr. Whitnell provided financial advisory services to various healthcare companies, including ReliefBand Medical Technologies. From\nJune 2004 to June 2009, Mr. Whitnell was Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance at Akorn, Inc., a specialty pharmaceuticals\ncompany. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Whitnell was Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for Ovation Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck).\nFrom 1997 to 2001, Mr. Whitnell was Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for MediChem Research (acquired by deCODE genetics). Prior\nto 1997, Mr. Whitnell held various finance positions with Akzo Nobel and Motorola. Mr. Whitnell began his career as an auditor with Arthur\nAndersen & Co. He is a certified public accountant and holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of\nBusiness and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois. Mr. Whitnell’s qualifications as an accounting and audit expert\nled to the conclusion that he is qualified to serve as a director.\n\n \n\n**Davis\nCaskey**\n\n** **\n\n*Davis\nCaskey* has served as a Director since April 2016, and a member of the Audit Committee, the nominating Committee and the Compensation\nCommittee since September 2016. He brings more than 40 years of pharmaceutical industry experience to this position. Mr. Caskey is currently\nPresident & CEO of Caskey LLC, which he formed in 2013 to serve as an umbrella to manage his pharmaceutical consulting and other\nbusiness interests. From 1990 to 2013, Davis served as the operating officer of ECR Pharmaceuticals (“ECR”), of which he\nwas a founding member. HiTech Pharmacal acquired the privately held ECR in 2009 and Mr. Caskey continued in his role until retiring in\n2013. At ECR, Mr. Caskey was credited with the establishment of the company’s sales and marketing structure, its product distribution\nformat, and the development and management of the firm’s internal organization. His responsibilities included the oversight of\ndrug development and regulatory filings, product acquisitions, and acquisition of other companies. A primary focus was to conceive and\ndevelop, with the assistance of key strategic partners, unique dosage forms and extended release formulations of products which enhance\npatient compliance and safety. Prior to ECR, Mr. Caskey was employed by A.H. Robins for 18 years in various field and home office management\npositions. His experience brings critical insight into the marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products in a rapid and ever-changing\ncompetitive marketplace, and this experience led to the conclusion that he is qualified to serve as a director. Mr. Caskey attended the\nUniversity of Texas (Austin) and Lamar University, and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees.\n\n \n\n**Kirko\nKirkov**\n\n \n\n*Mr.\nKirkov* joined Elite in September 2022, as an accomplished and multi-faceted leader with more than twenty years of in-depth business\ndevelopment skills across international pharmaceutical organizations. Before joining Elite, Mr. Kirkov served as General Manager of Vertice\nPharma, a specialty generics pharmaceutical company, from February 2020 to August 2022. From April 2008 to February 2020, Mr. Kirkov\nwas employed by Sandoz and served in positions of increasing responsibilities beginning with Country Head & Managing Director of\nBulgaria from 2008 to 2011. From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Kirkov served as Sandoz’s Business Unit Head, Branded Prescription Generics\nin Russia, and most recently, from January 2013 to February 2020, served as Sandoz’s Executive Director, Commercial Operations.\nMr. Kirkov brings with him a broad range of experience in the areas of business development, operationalization of commercial strategy,\nand implementation of retail and wholesale channel sales operations, having overseen sales portfolios consisting of 400+ product families,\nand 1,500+ SKUs covering both generic and branded products.\n\n \n\n57\n\n \n\n \n\nMr.\nKirkov has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering/Engineering Management from the University of Ottawa, two Masters of Science\ndegrees in Naval Architecture and Ocean Systems Management, respectively, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of\nScience in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching from the University of East London, and an MBA from the University of Durham.\n\n \n\n**Douglas\nPlassche**\n\n** **\n\nDouglas\nPlassche has served as the Company’s Executive Vice President of Operations since August 2013. Prior to joining the Company, from\n2009 to 2013, Mr. Plassche served as the Managing Director of the New Jersey Solid Oral Dose Operations of Actavis, overseeing 450 employees\nand the production of more than 100 products. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Plassche was the Senior Director of Manufacturing for PAR Pharmaceuticals,\noverseeing 200 employees and the production of more than 70 products. From 1990 – 2007, Mr. Plassche was employed by Schering-Plough,\nprogressing steadily through multiple disciplines, locations, and technical operations sectors with increasing levels of responsibility.\nMr. Plassche has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Rochester University.\n\n \n\n**Carter\nWard**\n\n \n\nCarter\nWard has served as Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of the Company since September 5, 2023. This is Mr. Ward’s\nsecond tenure with the Company, previously serving in the same positions from July 2009 through May 2021. In between Mr. Ward’s\nroles with the Company, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Mirror Biologics, a privately held biotech organization from September\n2022 to July 2023 and as CFO of Enveric Biosciences, a NASDAQ listed biotech company, from May 2021 to September 2022. Prior to initially\njoining the Company, from July 2005 to April 2009, Mr. Ward filled multiple finance and supply chain leadership roles with the Actavis\nGroup and its U.S. subsidiary, Amide Pharmaceuticals. From September 2004 to June 2005, Mr. Ward was a consultant, mainly engaged in\nimproving internal controls and supporting Sarbanes Oxley compliance of Centennial Communications, Inc, a NASDAQ listed wireless communications\nprovider. Mr. Ward began his career as a certified public accountant in the audit department of KPMG. Mr. Ward holds a B.S. in Accounting\nfrom Long Island University from where he graduated summa cum laude.\n\n \n\nThere\nare no family relationships between any of our directors and executive officers.\n\n \n\n**Committees\nof the Board**\n\n \n\nThe\nBoard of Directors has an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, and a Nominating Committee.\n\n \n\nAudit\nCommittee\n\n \n\nThe\nmembers of the Audit Committee are Mr. Jeffrey Whitnell (Chairman of the Audit Committee), Dr. Barry Dash, Mr. Davis Caskey and Mr. Nasrat\nHakim. The Board of Directors has determined that Messrs. Whitnell, Caskey and Dr. Dash are independent and Mr. Whitnell is qualified\nas an audit committee financial expert. The Board of Directors has determined that Messrs. Whitnell, Caskey and Dr. Dash are independent\ndirectors as (i) defined in Rule 10A-3(b)(1)(ii) under the Exchange Act and (ii) under Sections 803A(2) and 803B(2)(a) of the NYSE American\nLLC Company Guide (although our securities are not listed on the NYSE American LLC or any other national exchange).\n\n \n\nNominating\nCommittee\n\n \n\nThe\nmembers of the Nominating Committee are Mr. Nasrat Hakim (Chairman of the Nominating Committee), Dr. Barry Dash, and Mr. Davis Caskey.\nThere were no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors since the\nfiling of our last Annual Report on Form 10-K.\n\n \n\nCompensation\nCommittee\n\n \n\nThe\nmembers of the Compensation Committee are Dr. Barry Dash (Chairman of the Compensation Committee), Jeffrey Whitnell, Davis Caskey and\nNasrat Hakim.\n\n \n\n**Delinquent\nSection 16 Reports**\n\n \n\nSection\n16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s officers and directors, and persons who own more than ten percent of a registered\nclass of the Company’s stock, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Officers, directors and greater\nthan ten percent stockholders are required by SEC regulation to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) reports they file.\n\n \n\nBased\nsolely on its review of copies of such reports and upon written representations from each of the Company’s officers and directors,\nthe Company believes that, for the year ended March 31, 2026, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to the Company’s\nofficers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders were complied with on a timely basis.\n\n \n\n58\n\n \n\n \n\n**Code\nof Conduct and Ethics**\n\n** **\n\nAt\nthe first meeting of the Board of Directors following the annual meeting of stockholders held on June 22, 2004, and as further updated\neffective July 2009, the Board of Directors adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that is applicable to the Company’s directors,\nofficers, and employees. A copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on our website at www.elitepharma.com, under\nInvestor Relations.\n\n \n\nInsider\ntrading policy\n\n \n\nThe\nCompany has adopted insider trading policies and procedures governing the purchase, sale and/or other dispositions of its securities\nby directors, officers and employees of the Company, that are reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules\nand regulations and any listing standards applicable to the Company. Such policies are described in our Code of Business Conduct and\nEthics filed as Exhibit 14.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K."}