Fortitude Appoints Kimberly Pittman as Chief Legal Officer

Kimberly Pittman Brings More Than 25 Years of Corporate, Securities, Governance and Compliance Experience to Fortitude

FAIRPORT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fortitude Mining Holdings, Inc. (“Fortitude” or the “Company”), a vertically-integrated digital asset mining platform anchored in Zcash, today announced the appointment of Kimberly Pittman as Chief Legal Officer, effective September 28. Pittman joins Fortitude’s executive leadership team as the Company prepares for its previously announced proposed business combination with HeartSciences Inc. (Nasdaq: HSCS) (“HeartSciences”). In her role, Pittman will work alongside Fortitude’s executive leadership team and Board of Directors, overseeing the Company’s legal function and advising on corporate governance, securities, regulatory, compliance, commercial and strategic matters. Pittman’s appointment as Chief Legal Officer further strengthens Fortitude’s management team, joining CEO Jaime Leverton, COO Andrea Childs, CFO Erik Ellingson, and CHRO Stephanie Marchioni as the Company advances toward the public markets.

Pittman brings more than 25 years of experience in corporate and securities law, governance and compliance across technology, media and consumer sectors. Most recently, she served as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of ReserveOne. Prior to ReserveOne, Pittman served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at HubSpot, where her responsibilities included corporate governance, board advisory, mergers and acquisitions, compliance and regulatory matters. She has also held senior legal roles at SmileDirectClub and CBS Corporation.

“Kim brings deep legal, governance and public company experience that will be invaluable as we continue to scale Fortitude,” said Jaime Leverton, CEO of Fortitude. “As we look to strengthen our leadership team and corporate infrastructure, Kim’s experience advising companies through growth, transformation and increasingly complex regulatory environments will be an important addition to Fortitude.”

“I’m excited to join Fortitude at an important point in the Company’s growth,” said Kimberly Pittman. “I look forward to working alongside Jaime, the leadership team and the Board to strengthen the Company’s legal and governance foundation and support Fortitude as it continues to scale.”

About Fortitude

Fortitude, currently wholly-owned by DCG, is an institutional-scale, vertically integrated venture mining platform operating across the Proof-of-Work ecosystem and anchored in Zcash. Fortitude pairs self-mining operations with an owned data center footprint, a diversified power portfolio backed by competitive long-term contracts, and disciplined capital allocation to identify and scale high-conviction opportunities in emerging Proof-of-Work ecosystems, beginning with its leadership position in the Zcash network. Fortitude is led by an experienced team of operators, capital markets professionals, and digital asset specialists with a track record of identifying and scaling high-conviction opportunities and building privacy-preserving digital asset infrastructure.

For more information, visit www.fortitudemining.com and follow Fortitude on X at @FortitudeCrypto

In the ordinary course of business, Fortitude currently sells or otherwise monetizes all the digital assets that it mines, including ZEC. In addition, Fortitude and its affiliates and subsidiaries, including DCG, from time to time sell, pledge or otherwise monetize their digital asset holdings, including ZEC. The funds received from such sales, pledges, or other monetization activities are used to fund operating expenses and capital investments, as well as for other purposes, including to hedge exposures and realize investment gains.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “design,” “plan,” “will,” “would,” “believe,” “estimate,” “goal,” "intend," and other words of similar meaning, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied statements relating to Fortitude and its plans and expectations concerning the previously announced proposed business combination with HeartSciences (the “Proposed Transaction”) and Fortitude’s leadership team. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, without limitation, the following: the risk that the Proposed Transaction may not be completed on the anticipated timeline or at all; the failure to satisfy the conditions to the closing of the Proposed Transaction, including obtaining the requisite approval of the HeartSciences shareholders; market, macroeconomic, or other conditions that could adversely affect either HeartSciences or Fortitude, or the combined company; risks related to the integration of the two companies and the management of a newly public company; risks relating to Fortitude’s operations and business, including the highly volatile nature of the price of Zcash and other cryptocurrencies; and risks relating to significant legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty regarding digital assets generally. Additional factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in the amended preliminary proxy statement filed on Schedule 14A by HeartSciences with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the Proposed Transaction on September 18, 2026 (the “Preliminary Proxy Statement”), HeartSciences’ 2026 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on July 23, 2026, HeartSciences’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2026, filed with the SEC on September 14, 2026, and other HeartSciences’ reports filed with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Each of HeartSciences and Fortitude expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release.

Additional Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It

This press release may be deemed solicitation material in respect of the Proposed Transaction. In connection with the Proposed Transaction, HeartSciences has filed the Preliminary Proxy Statement and may file additional relevant materials with the SEC. Following the filing of a definitive proxy statement with the SEC, HeartSciences will mail the definitive proxy statement and a proxy card to each shareholder entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the Proposed Transaction. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF HEARTSCIENCES ARE URGED TO READ THESE MATERIALS (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION THAT HEARTSCIENCES HAS FILED OR MAY FILE WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HEARTSCIENCES AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONTAIN ALL THE INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED CONCERNING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR ANY INVESTMENT DECISION OR ANY OTHER DECISION IN RESPECT OF SUCH MATTERS. The preliminary proxy statement, the definitive proxy statement and other relevant materials in connection with the Proposed Transaction (when they become available), and any other documents filed by HeartSciences with the SEC, may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC or by sending a request to the HeartSciences Investor Relations Department at [e-mail].

Participants in the Solicitation

HeartSciences and Fortitude, their respective directors and executive officers, and certain executive officers of DCG may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from HeartSciences’ shareholders with respect to the Proposed Transaction. Information regarding the identity of the potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests in the Proposed Transaction, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the Preliminary Proxy Statement and other materials that have been or may be filed with the SEC in connection with the Proposed Transaction.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release and the information contained herein is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer or invitation to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Proposed Transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. The Proposed Transaction will be implemented solely pursuant to the terms and conditions of the merger agreement, which contain the full terms and conditions of the Proposed Transaction.