The Albany Gazette - NWPG Names Frank Genovese CTO to Bring NFI Empire's Digital Platform to Launch

NORTH EAST, PA / ACCESS Newswire / August 18, 2026 / Newport Gold, Inc. (OTCID:NWPG), operating through its subsidiary NFI Empire (NFIEmpire.com), a custom automotive build and restoration company building a digital marketplace for buying and selling cars online, today announced the appointment of Frank Genovese as Chief Technology Officer. NFI Empire's digital platform is largely built; Genovese's mandate is to lead it through final development and into a successful launch.

Genovese joins NFI Empire after a 25-year career at the intersection of technology and marketing, including senior sales and marketing leadership roles and seven years as CEO of Paramount Lists, Inc. and its sister company, Great Lakes List Management, where he architected the company's custom CRM and led its web platforms end to end. He now works at the leading edge of AI-assisted development and marketing automation.

"It's exciting to take what NFI Empire has already proven in the physical world and translate that into the digital experience," said Frank Genovese, Chief Technology Officer, NFI Empire. "We've built a platform engineered to solve the real pain points in this industry, and I'm excited to be leading the final phase, honing the user experience until it matches the caliber of what NFI Empire already delivers in person."

At NFI Empire, Genovese will lead the platform through its final stretch: refining UI/UX, improving operational efficiencies, building out API integrations with other platforms, and applying AI-based tools across both the buyer experience and the business itself. That includes AI-assisted vehicle inspection and verification technology, a fast-maturing category, with computer vision systems now achieving 95-99% defect detection accuracy and the AI vehicle-inspection software market growing roughly 16% annually. This gives new entrants like NFI Empire a chance to build AI-native tools that older platforms would need to retrofit. On the marketing side, Genovese will apply his data and CRM background to sharpen customer acquisition costs and improve conversion using data- and AI-driven tools, a blend of deep technical and marketing expertise that is an ideal fit for NFI Empire execution roadmap.

"Frank's background is a rare combination. He's built and scaled digital infrastructure from the ground up, run the P&L on the other side of it as a CEO, and brings a real feel for design, user experience, and using data to drive growth," said Chris Nichols, NWPG Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, NFI Empire. "The core engine of what we've built is already exceptional. Frank is who takes it the rest of the way and gets it in front of buyers fast."

Key Development Milestones

Management expects to provide updates against the following milestones as development continues:

• UI/UX finalization across the platform

• API integrations connecting NFI Empire to other platforms and marketplaces

• AI-assisted vehicle inspection and verification tools

• Customer acquisition and conversion optimization ahead of launch

About NFI Empire

NFI Empire (NFIEmpire.com) is the wholly owned operating subsidiary of Newport Gold, Inc., a North East, Pennsylvania-based custom automotive company known for exclusive builds, high-performance vehicles, and deep technical and digital expertise across both traditional and digital automotive sectors. Newport Gold is now a holding company whose operations are conducted entirely through NFI Empire. NFI Empire's stated goal is to become the first publicly traded automotive enthusiast company to integrate a brick-and-mortar business model with a proprietary technology platform.

Investor Relations: [email protected]

Forward‑Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "may," "continue," "predict," "potential," "project" and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements and include statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans, objectives, expectations and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control), assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for the Company's common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in the Company's filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Newport Gold Inc.

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(S.Perez--TAG)