What makes the most sense is making the previous CTO of Prairie...

What makes the most sense is making the previous CTO of Prairie Ian Ireland the new CTO of AZL. He pretty much developed a DLE tech with his bare hands. Prairie is the project going into production next year, thats where the focus and expertise needs to be.

"Ian Ireland, of Prairie Lithium, holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Alberta. He has more than 20 years of industrial experience in fields ranging from ultra-high sensitivity analysis of biomolecules, large scale organic synthesis, and GMP manufacture of cancer vaccines, bioremediation, environmental consulting, waste to energy systems, and industrial wastewater treatment. He has particular expertise in analytical chemistry, as well as product, technology, and process development. In his capacity as lead scientist and corporate officer, he has successfully developed multiple technologies from lab scale to commercial deployment for industrial applications."

Brett always had a bit of rain man factor about him. I don't know if an anvil dropped on his head or the fumes from the burning Nikola truck affected him. But we were probably due for a CTO upgrade.