Josh Ballard is CEO of USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ: USAR). He is an accomplished leader with more than 20 years of experience as a senior level finance and operations executive in technology and manufacturing firms in the public, private equity and venture capital sectors both domestically and internationally. Prior to joining USA Rare Earth in December 2024, Josh led the financial arm of Energy Recovery Inc (Nasdaq: ERII) as CFO from 2018-2024. In that role, he helped the company increase revenue by nearly 250%, reduce operational expenses from 70% to ~50% of revenue, and shift EBITDA from breakeven to 25-30% margin. During that time, the market value of the company grew by nearly 400% over 3 years and trading volume increased 5-7x. In the year prior to joining ERII, Josh served as Operating Partner for OROX Capital Management, a Dallas-based private equity fund manager focused on providing distressed and growth capital for midcap privately held companies. Josh is an expert in driving innovation and transforming business models, leveraging deep market insights and a results-oriented approach to deliver sustainable value, optimize organizational performance and cultivate strong stakeholder relationships.