Volato Group Appoints Alan D. Gaines to Board of Directors

Veteran Investment Banker and Energy Industry Leader to Serve as Audit Committee Chairman

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Volato Group, Inc. (the “Company” or “Volato”) (NYSE American: SOAR), today announced the appointment of Alan D. Gaines to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Gaines will also serve as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Mr. Gaines is an accomplished investment banker, strategic advisor, and entrepreneur with more than four decades of experience in global capital markets, energy, critical minerals, and infrastructure development. Over his career, he has led or participated in more than 200 major transactions, raising over $100 billion in aggregate capital.

He is the Executive Chairman, CEO, and Founder of ALG Corp., ALG Media, Inc., Tidal NRG, and Innov8 Gases Corp., and previously co-founded Gaines, Berland Inc., a full-service energy investment bank serving small and mid-cap companies. Mr. Gaines also served as Chairman of Dune Energy, Inc., where he led a $540 million acquisition that resulted in a pro forma valuation of approximately $1 billion. Earlier in his career, he was Chief Strategic Advisor to financier Carl C. Icahn, overseeing investments in leading energy companies such as Gulf Oil, Texaco, Phillips Petroleum, and Marathon Oil.

Mr. Gaines’ extensive background in finance, energy, and critical mineral development complements Volato’s pending merger with M2i Global, Inc. (OTC: MTWO), which is focused on building a vertically integrated supply chain for critical minerals serving U.S. industrial and defense markets.

“We are honored to welcome Alan Gaines to the Volato Board. His deep experience in complex financial transactions, energy market dynamics, and board governance will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our financial oversight and strategic direction. His leadership as Audit Committee Chair will further enhance our governance structure as Volato advances its business combination with M2i Global and expands into the critical minerals and technology sectors,” said Mark Heinen, Chief Financial Officer of Volato.

Major General (Ret.) Alberto C. Rosende, Chief Executive Officer of M2i Global, added: “Alan Gaines’ decades of leadership in capital formation and strategic oversight directly support the mission of the combined company. His expertise will enhance our ability to scale operations responsibly and accelerate our plans to deliver a secure and sustainable critical minerals supply chain for the U.S. and allied partners.”

Mr. Gaines holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Baruch College (CUNY) and an M.B.A. in Finance (Valedictorian) from the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University.

About Volato

Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR) is a technology company focused on building scalable software and data solutions that improve the reliability and intelligence of high-stakes business decisions. The Company’s existing Parslee Document Intelligence platform enhances the performance of leading large language models (LLMs) by adding deterministic structure and auditability to complex documents such as contracts and SEC filings. Through its pending merger with M2i Global, Volato Group is expanding into the critical minerals sector—leveraging its software expertise to bring greater transparency, traceability, and operational intelligence to supply chains essential for U.S. national security and advanced technologies. For more information visit www.flyvolato.com.

About M2i Global, Inc.

M2i Global, Inc. integrates people, technology, and solutions from across sectors to ensure access to critical minerals and metals for national defense and economic security. M2i Global aims to establish a Critical Mineral Reserve, creating a resilient supply chain that addresses the global shortage of essential minerals and metals. For more information, please visit: www.m2i.global