Riot Platforms appointed Doug Mouton to its board of directors on Feb. 12, 20251. Two other new directors joined Riot's board in the same Feb. 12, 2025 announcement. Mouton had spent his career building data centers for Meta and Microsoft. Riot's filing said the three new directors brought experience “directly overseeing the conversion of Bitcoin mining assets for potential artificial intelligence (AI)/high-performance computing (HPC) uses”. Reuters, reporting on Feb. 12, 2025, tied the board change to pressure from two activist investors already holding Riot stock2.
The third board appointment at Riot Platforms on the record since 2025
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Riot Platforms, by year
- 2025: 6
- 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 | 2 |
20 board appointments on the record in 2025
Board appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 20
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 29 |
The move
Riot's exhibit filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission described Mouton as senior engineer lead for data center design and construction at Meta1. Before that he was vice president of global data center delivery at Microsoft. He brought 33 years of leadership experience, including service in the U.S. Army National Guard. Jason Les, Riot's chief executive, connected the board additions to the company's evaluation process. “We are excited to continue to advance our AI/HPC evaluation process as we seek to maximize value for our entire portfolio of assets,” Les said. Reuters reported that D.E. Shaw had built a position in Riot and was pushing for change2. Starboard Value had taken an undisclosed stake the year before and urged Riot to allot power capacity to AI. D.E. Shaw declined to comment, and Starboard stayed silent on the record.
The board before and after
Benjamin Yi, Riot's executive chairman, said in the Feb. 12, 2025 filing that directors Hannah Cho and Hubert Marleau were retiring as Mouton, Jaime Leverton and Michael Turner joined1. The changes grew Riot's board to six seats. Riot also disclosed that it had engaged investment bank Evercore and Northland Capital Markets to evaluate AI and HPC partnerships for its Corsicana, Texas facility. A consultant, Altman Solon, had already been hired for the same evaluation. Reuters put Riot's market value at about $3.8 billion in February 20252. The outlet noted that Riot had tried to acquire rival miner Bitfarms the year before, and settled instead for changes to Bitfarms' own board.
What came next
Mouton remained on Riot's board in the middle of 2026. A Form 4 filing described by Stock Titan showed Riot granting him 8,347 restricted shares on July 6, 2026, for board service running through June 30, 20273. The grant lifted his direct holdings to 44,834 shares. Its vesting schedule begins Sept. 30, 2026, tying his compensation to board service well past the two-year mark from his original appointment.
Sources
- SEC EDGAR (Riot Platforms exhibit), "Riot Platforms Announces Changes to Its Board of Directors and Provides Update on Formal Evaluation of AI/HPC Uses," Feb. 12, 2025, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1167419/000155837025000909/riot-20250212xex99d1.htm
- Reuters (via Investing.com), "Riot Platforms appoints new directors to board with inputs from Starboard, D.E. Shaw," Investing.com, Feb. 12, 2025, https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/riot-platforms-appoints-new-directors-to-board-with-inputs-from-starboard-de-shaw-3866304
- Stock Titan, "Riot Platforms (RIOT) director awarded 8,347 restricted shares for board service," Stock Titan, July 6, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisgFBVV95cUxPamUzS3g2dXAwM3VHRHlZUjZER1Y2TlJ0d1hfSDBDcHA4SU5mM1FZUkxlaUd4Zm1UUkdmZXlOLVZiMXNYRXBhN2J2TWFRYzE1eVllaVpOYWJFUFBCbnV2a2xRekhzTmRTcWplanotbU9EeUhoMUM5blRJai1HTjZtWUFSSXRuMVpTRzdfZ0hjUWVrckJxSnlKVFR6VExtZVFuSzV6ZGhMU1FfX3dWUmNQZ1l3?oc=5