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Robert Wood

Role: Texas Financier, Equipment Lender Met Date: Prior to 2025 (through Horizon Mining Company financing) Last Interaction: Ongoing crisis as of 2025-06-23

Contact Information​

  • Email: [Update if available]
  • Phone: [Update if available]
  • Based in: Texas

Professional Background​

  • Role: Financier/Financial Services
  • Connections: Represents/connected to Texas billionaire (Jeffrey Pinkett or similar)
  • Credit Profile: Has good personal credit rating, enabling equipment financing

Business Relationship with Horizon Mining​

  • Financial Arrangement: Provided $8M equipment line of credit for Horizon Mining Company
  • Structure: Used his company and credit rating to secure service contracts for employees and equipment
  • Operational Role: Horizon sends money to Wood, who then pays equipment owners and monthly lease payments
  • Current Crisis: Has stopped paying vendors while keeping Horizon's money

Crisis Creation & Hostile Behavior​

  • Vendor Payment Failure: Stopped paying equipment vendors for 5-6 weeks despite receiving funds from Horizon
  • Money Misuse: Using Horizon's money to pay his other bills and projects instead of designated vendors
  • Hostile Takeover Attempt: Demanding substantial equity in exchange for the $5M line of credit
  • Aggressive Tactics: Claiming Horizon "doesn't really have anything" and threatening company operations

Operational Impact​

  • Vendor Relations: Created angry vendor calls demanding payment, damaging Horizon's reputation
  • Equipment Risk: Vendors threatening to withdraw equipment, which would cripple operations
  • Employee Trust: Risk of employee exodus due to operational instability
  • Customer Relationships: Potential failure to deliver to Fortune 500 customers (CSX)

Strategic Manipulation​

  • Timing Exploitation: Knows $2.5M+ payout is coming to Horizon and may be deliberately creating crisis to force equity deal
  • Leverage Tactics: Using operational disruption as leverage for better terms rather than honoring existing agreements
  • Information Advantage: Appears to have inside knowledge of Horizon's financial expectations

Legal & Contractual Issues​

  • Contract Violations: Failing to honor payment obligations under existing agreements
  • Potential Fraud: Misusing designated funds for personal/other business purposes
  • Litigation Risk: Actions create potential for criminal charges or civil liability

Resolution Challenges​

  • Legal Timeline: Lawsuit would take years while company operations would fail in weeks
  • Operational Urgency: Company needs immediate resolution to maintain vendor relationships
  • Reputation Damage: Prolonged crisis damages relationships with Fortune 500 customers

Character Assessment​

  • Business Ethics: Willing to breach agreements and endanger partner company for personal gain
  • Strategic Thinking: Sophisticated understanding of leverage and timing
  • Risk Profile: Represents significant operational and financial risk to partners

Current Status​

  • Payment Resolution: Finally paid vendors after Brent became "very aggressive"
  • Ongoing Threat: Continues to demand equity and threaten operational stability
  • Relationship Status: Adversarial rather than collaborative partnership

Recent Context​

  • 2025-06-23: Hien described Wood's disruptive behavior during conversation with Gary, emphasizing how Wood's actions threaten the company's ability to deliver to major customers and maintain operational stability.

Strategic Implications​

Robert Wood represents the type of financing partner who can destroy operational companies through legal but unethical business practices. His ability to disrupt operations while maintaining legal defensibility demonstrates the importance of careful partner selection and contract structuring in equipment-heavy businesses.

Risk Factors for Future Partnerships​

  • Operational Disruption: Demonstrated willingness to sacrifice partner operations for personal gain
  • Contract Reliability: History of reinterpreting agreements for personal advantage
  • Crisis Creation: Uses operational crises as leverage rather than honoring commitments

Notes​

Wood's situation illustrates how sophisticated financial partners can create existential threats to operational businesses through legally defensible but ethically questionable practices. His case demonstrates why Hien values Trish's approach to partnership structuring and why proper legal counsel at the deal stage is critical for preventing such vulnerabilities.