Fermi America has terminated Toby Neugebauer’s employment with the company, effective Thursday, April 30, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s co-founder, Neugebauer had stepped down as CEO on April 17.
According to the SEC filing, on April 30, Fermi “terminated Mr. Toby Neugebauer’s employment for Cause pursuant to his Employment Agreement as a result of conduct in violation of the terms of such agreement and of Company policies. As a result of his termination for Cause, Mr. Neugebauer was automatically removed from the Company’s board of directors.”
Neugebauer said in a statement: “As a co-founder and the largest shareholder who has yet to sell a single share, no one believes more in the future of what we built at Fermi than I. These actions by the board are completely misguided. I will continue to fight vigorously to maximize value for all shareholders.”
Additionally, on April 29, the Board of Directors of Fermi Inc. appointed Robert L. Masson as Interim Chief Financial Officer and the principal financial officer of the company until a permanent successor is named. Miles Everson had resigned from that position on April 19.
Masson was previously the chief financial officer of Noble Supply and Logistics, LLC from 2023 through 2025, and at Latham Group, Inc. from 2022 to 2023. He also served in executive positions at Hypertherm, Inc., Flowserve and Raytheon Technologies.
As previously reported, Fermi saw other major changes in its leadership recently in its strategic evolution, including a new board chairman, a new office location in Dallas, two co-presidents and other moves.
According to another SEC filing, on April 17, the company’s board of directors voted to remove Neugebauer from the positions of president and chief executive officer, but he remained an employee and a director. On April 30, the company terminated his employment and his position on the board. The board created an Interim Office of the CEO, which includes Jacobo Ortiz Blanes, the company’s chief operating officer, and Anna Bofa, an observer on the board.
According to the filing, Larry Kellerman serves on the board as head of power, Mesut Uzman as chief nuclear construction officer, and Charlie Hamilton as chief site development officer. Marius Haas serves as chairman of the board of directors, which also includes Everson, Rick Perry, Cordel Robbin-Coker, Lee McIntire, and Jeffrey S. Stein. Neugebauer’s seat on the board is currently vacant.
Fermi has been working on its private power hypergrid and AI data center campus, Project Matador, near Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle over the past year, steadily obtaining multiple agreements and permits for land, energy and water since the project was first announced in June 2025.
“The Investor Group includes certain entities controlled by Griffin Perry, Toby Neugebauer, and Mr. Neugebauer’s wife. Upon consummation of the initial public offering, TMNN designated Toby Neugebauer as its director designee and Caddis Holdings LLC designated Rick Perry as its director designee,” the filing states.
Co-founder and former Texas Gov. Perry has served as a director on the board of Energy Transfer since January 2020. As U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2017 to 2019, he oversaw the DOE’s $30 billion annual budget and led policy initiatives to modernize the U.S. nuclear energy sector. During his tenure, he helped launch DOE programs that expanded support for nuclear innovation, LNG export infrastructure, and gas-fired baseload power.
The company also said in the filing that “There are no family relationships between our directors and any of our executive officers. Toby Neugebauer’s two sons, Nathan Neugebauer and Noah Neugebauer, were employees of the Company in 2025. Mesut Uzman’s wife, Sezin Uzman, and son, Berk Uzman, are employees of the Company.”
In addition, Fermi said its board has established an audit committee, a compensation committee, and a risk and disclosure committee.
This story has been updated with additional information.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Fermi America fires co-founder Toby Neugebauer ‘for cause’
Reporting by Kristina Wood, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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