Alston

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Arbitration Agreement Alston founded GB in 1990. The company sold refrigeration systems and power generation control systems for use in a range of industries. In 2006, Alston entered into an agreement with New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a private equity firm, to take an equity position in exchange for an investment to help build the company. Both NEA and Alston received stock in GB under this arrangement. Initially, Alston was chief executive officer (CEO) and NEA had Hoge take a seat on the board of directors. Due to disagreements about the company’s direction, Alston left the CEO position in 2007 and became GB’s chief technology officer (CTO). In February 2009, Alston resigned as CTO and began to work on ideas for a new company. He remained a shareholder of GB,1 and continued to serve as a director on its board. In March 2009, Alston entered into a “Transition and Consulting Agreement” (the Agreement) in conjunction with his resignation as CTO. The Agreement touched upon a range of issues concerning the termination of Alston’s employment and his future relationship with GB. The parties agreed on the end date of Alston’s employment relationship with GB and…