Mitesco Adds eXp Realty Exec to Board Amid AI Pivot and Debt Restructuring

VERO BEACH, Fla. – October 28, 2026 — In the volatile theater of micro-cap corporate turnarounds, board appointments often serve as the clearest leading indicators of a company’s strategic survival plan. For Mitesco, Inc. (OTCQB: MITI), a company attempting a radical pivot from operating healthcare clinics to developing artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, the appointment of Frank Panunto to its Board of Directors signals a definitive doubling down on the real estate technology sector.

The addition of Panunto, effective October 25, brings a seasoned franchise and real estate operator into the highest echelon of Mitesco’s governance. Yet, beneath the surface of this strategic alignment lies a complex narrative of a company battling severe financial headwinds, restructuring its capital table, and racing to commercialize its technology before the runway ends.

Betting the House on PropTech and AI

Frank Panunto is not a new face in the Mitesco ecosystem. For nearly two years, he has served as an advisor steering the development of "Robo Agent," the company’s proprietary AI-powered sales force automation application. His elevation from technical advisor to board member indicates that Mitesco is moving aggressively from the prototype phase toward commercialization, specifically targeting the lucrative and rapidly evolving PropTech market.

Panunto’s resume provides the exact operational blueprint required to scale a real estate-focused software product. Currently serving as Vice President of Growth, U.S. East, at eXp Realty, he has spent three decades in franchise operations, completing more than 1,000 real estate transactions and managing over 25 commercial locations. His prior tenure includes a nine-year stint as Branch Manager for Long & Foster Real Estate and a transformative period at Keller Williams, where he reportedly grew an underperforming office to over 150 agents generating excess of $350 million in sales volume.

"I am honored to join the Mitesco Board," Panunto stated regarding his appointment. "I look forward to continuing to support the technology initiatives already underway with my experience in operations, real estate, and land development. Clearly technology is the necessary component to ensure growth going forward, and I see the software and systems in development have the potential to put the Company in a leadership position."

For Mitesco, the Robo Agent application represents a critical potential revenue engine. Billed internally as "A.I. For Real Estate Professionals," the software is designed to automate sales workflows. By bringing an executive who intimately understands broker adoption, agent training, and franchise scaling onto the board, Mitesco is signaling to the market that its software development is closely tethered to practical, end-user commercialization.

A Radical Pivot from Clinics to Cloud

To understand Mitesco’s current trajectory, one must look at its recent past. As recently as late 2022, the company was primarily focused on operating physical medical clinics. Following a strategic reassessment, Mitesco divested its healthcare operations to reinvent itself as a technology holding company.

Today, alongside the Robo Agent project, the company operates two primary divisions: Centcore and Vero Technology Ventures. Formed in June 2024, Centcore is Mitesco’s dedicated data center business unit, specifically targeting the $26 billion edge computing market. Rather than competing with hyperscalers, Centcore is pursuing a small-format data center model, providing secure, scalable cloud services and application hosting tailored to enterprise and public sector needs.

Vero Technology Ventures acts as the company’s investment and acquisition arm, hunting for opportunities in process automation, analytics, and data center tooling.

"Frank brings extensive hands-on experience building and improving businesses across multiple industries, including those that are key to our target user base," noted Mack Leath, Chairman of the Board of Mitesco. "His background in real estate and development will be a valuable addition to the Board."

The Financial Reality: Navigating a Going Concern

While the strategic pivot to AI and edge computing aligns with macro-economic growth trends, Mitesco’s financial reality paints a picture of a company operating on a razor’s edge. Corporate disclosures reveal a business in a precarious transitional phase, heavily reliant on external financing to keep the lights on.

As of the end of the first half of 2026, Mitesco reported a stark stockholders' deficit of $24.3 million. Total assets sat at roughly $101,500 against total liabilities of $24.4 million. More alarmingly, the revenue engine has yet to start firing. The company reported just $43,700 in revenue for all of 2024, and a mere $20,000 for the first half of 2026—derived entirely from a single completed software development contract. These figures stand in sharp contrast to the $1.75 million net loss recorded in the first six months of this year.

Unsurprisingly, Mitesco has explicitly disclosed substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The company cites its limited scale, highly leveraged balance sheet, and historical losses as primary risk factors. Furthermore, management has identified material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting, specifically noting a lack of segregation of duties and insufficient accounting resources.

Restructuring the Cap Table for Survival

To navigate this financial distress, Mitesco is actively engaging in complex capital restructuring. A major focal point has been its Series A Preferred Stock, which was originally implemented to restructure debt from the defunct healthcare business. Facing slower-than-anticipated amortization and potential negative market impacts from predictable share issuances, Mitesco announced in August 2026 that it was ceasing further redemptions of these Series A shares, leaving $13.6 million in mandatory redemptions in limbo as negotiations continue.

Simultaneously, the company is restructuring its bridge notes to maintain liquidity. Earlier this month, Mitesco entered into a new 10% Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Note with ZSP Capital, LLC for $25,000. This micro-financing, maturing in 12 months and convertible into common stock at $0.15 per share, underscores the immediate, day-to-day cash requirements of the firm's operational buildout.

Panunto’s compensation for joining the board also reflects the company's reliance on equity over cash. In conjunction with his appointment, he will receive an additional two million restricted common shares, bringing his total holdings to three million. More significantly, he has been granted 7,200 Series X Preferred shares. These preferred shares carry super-voting rights—400 votes per share—granting Panunto substantial influence over shareholder decisions.

This consolidation of voting power occurs alongside a shrinking board. Following the recent resignation of Dr. Jordan Ballencic in early October, Mitesco’s board now consists of only three members. Mack Leath currently serves concurrently as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chairman of the Board, a centralization of executive power typical of distressed micro-caps attempting rapid turnarounds.

For investors and market analysts, Mitesco represents a high-risk, high-reward proposition. The addition of an eXp Realty growth executive provides undeniable operational credibility to its PropTech ambitions. However, the ultimate success of the Robo Agent application and the Centcore data center division will depend entirely on Mitesco's ability to untangle its debt, secure sustainable financing, and translate prototype software into recurring enterprise revenue before the capital completely dries up.