Rick Perry booted from board of Fermi, the massive planned data center company he co-founded

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry lost reelection to his seat on the board of directors for the massive planned power and data center company he co-founded called Fermi, according to a transcript of the vote from an annual meeting Friday obtained by The Texas Tribune.

Fermi, which has ambitions to become the largest data center and power generation campus in the U.S., has had a tumultuous first couple years – from quickly garnering massive industry hype and going public within six months, to a turbulent ownership battle and struggle to find a major tenant that has sent company stocks toppling by more than 90% from its peak price.

Perry, who formerly served as energy secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, co-founded the company after former CEO and co-founder Toby Neugebauer approached him. 

The Tribune couldn’t immediately reach Perry for comment, nor did Fermi immediately respond to questions. 

Neugebauer, who was on the shareholder call Friday, said Perry failed to receive the votes to keep his board position. In an interview, he said he did not campaign to have Perry removed.  

Perry’s son, Griffin, is also a shareholder, owning about 60 million shares through Caddis Holdings LP — giving him just under 10% ownership of the company.

Neugebauer was also removed for cause as CEO this April after company leadership pointed to several instances of public outbursts that they said affected their ability to secure tenants.

Neugebauer told the Tribune the company’s leadership, including Perry, should be blamed for refusing to entertain a sale that he believes would have been a better outcome for shareholders. He backed down on an effort earlier this year to call a special shareholder meeting at which he planned to elect a new board majority, including himself, that would pursue a sale, while continuing to seek out a tenant.

The company, which is leasing about 5,000 acres of land from Texas Tech University System in Amarillo, has advertised that it will bring its own power as a way of addressing concerns that data centers broadly are threatening to sap energy from the state grid.

Fermi, whose data center project is known as Project Matador, plans to create a massive private “HyperGrid” using a combination of power sources, including natural gas, nuclear, solar and batteries. Its still-pending U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license application for a large light-water reactor is the first since the late 2000s.

After reportedly securing a tentative deal with Amazon that fell through late last year, Fermi announced its first tenant, a smaller company and AI cloud computing startup called TensorWave in August.

Friday’s election leaves just one co-founder still on the board: Larry Kellerman, the company’s head of power who is also managing partner at Twenty First Century Utilities.

Perry retains less than 5% of company shares – about 16 million – worth roughly $41 million at current prices, down from a peak value of about half a billion last fall.

Also at Friday’s annual meeting, Perry’s reelection was considered in tandem with director Jeffrey S. Stein. The proposal to extend both of their terms until the 2029 annual meeting, which was endorsed by the board of directors, failed. 

The transcript did not include vote tallies but said its inspector of election will ensure the counts are included in an upcoming filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That form with preliminary results must be filed within four business days, according to agency rules.

Disclosure: Amazon and Texas Tech University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.