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Benzinga

Business

Javier Hasse

A Global List Of Cannabis Operators And Executives To Keep An Eye On In 2022 And Beyond

Nancy Whiteman TILT TILT Holdings Wana Brands Israel Canada United States VIBES

Less than 30 years after Israel became the first nation in the world to allow its citizens to use cannabis for medical purposes, the medical and adult-use cannabis markets have spread across the globe at a dizzying rate.

Scientific research and cultural shifts have legitimized cannabis use, and dozens of countries now have fully-regulated national programs that allow for varying degrees of legal access. The United States, however, remains a notable exception, although currently, 36 states and four territories allow for the medical use of cannabis products.

According to a recent report, the global cannabis market is expected to reach to $42.7 billion by 2024 and shows no sign of slowing down.

While by no means exhaustive, this arbitrary list of executives represents diverse continents and the executives leading some of the most exciting cannabis and hemp ventures around the globe, showing the reach of the industry and its still untapped potential.

Cannabis Operators And Executives To Keep An Eye On In 2022 And Beyond

United States
Europe
Asia
1. Lawrence Lum, Ecargo.com (China)
The Americas
Africa
1. Louisa Mojela, Bophelo Bioscience (Lesotho)
2. Tej Virk, Akanda (Lesotho)
Oceania
1. Joel Latham, Incannex Healthcare (Australia)
2. Fleta Solomon, Little Green Pharma (Australia)

United States

Dr. Oludare Odumosu, Zelira Therapeutics

Oludare “Dare” Odumosu, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer of Zelira Therapeutics (ASX: ZLD) (OTC:ZLDAF), a leading global therapeutic medical cannabis company with access to the world’s largest and fastest-growing cannabis and hemp markets.

Dare plays a pivotal role in the development of Zelira products and formulations – both cannabis-based and over-the-counter brands – and in bringing those brands to US and global markets.

Odumosu sits on the board of the National Cannabis Roundtable, which promotes common-sense federal regulation, tax equality and financial services reform and supports changing federal law to acknowledge states’ rights to regulate and manage cannabis policy.

Nancy Whiteman, CEO, Wana Brands

Heralded as “The Queen of Legal Weed” by Inc. (May 2017) and “The Martha Stewart of Edibles” by Entrepreneur (Jan. 2019), Nancy Whiteman is co-founder and CEO of Wana Brands, a top international brand already available in more than 3,000 dispensaries across the United States and Canada.

In October 2021, Canopy Growth Corp. (NASDAQ:CGC) announced it had purchased the right–upon federal permissibility of THC in the US–to acquire Wana Brands. With proceeds from the deal, Nancy established the Wana Brands Foundation, an organization working to enhance the world by supporting a wide variety of nonprofits in Wana’s communities.

Nancy leads Wana Brands’ strategic vision and has been instrumental in the company’s growth into new and emerging markets. She also directs the development of partnerships and licensing agreements domestically and internationally. Nancy serves on the Marijuana Business Daily Advisory Board and the Benzinga Cannabis Advisory Board.

She has been recognized for numerous awards including Forbes’ Most Influential People in Cannabis (April 2022), High Times 100 (April 2022), Green Market Report’s First Ever Women Leadership Award for Leading Brand (April 2022) and Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business (July 2022). She is a member of the US Cannabis Council, Colorado Cannabis Manufacturers Association, National Cannabis Industry Association, Colorado LEADS and Marijuana Policy Project.

Berner, Cookies

Berner, Born Gilbert Anthony Milam, Jr. (10/27/1983) is a Billboard charting rapper, cannabis trailblazer, documentary filmmaker, cultural ambassador, and one business mogul.

Berner is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cookies, the most recognized cannabis brand in the world. Cookies is headquartered in San Francisco and offers a collection of over 70 proprietary cannabis cultivars, more than 2,000 products, with over 50 retail locations across 5 countries.

Cookies was named one of America’s Hottest Brands of 2021 by AdAge; the first cannabis brand to ever receive this accolade. In addition to Cookies, Berner has released 47 albums to date as an independent artist, and has founded/co-founded the following cannabis-related businesses, establishing himself as one of the most important influencers in the industry: 1212 Ventures, Lemonnade, Cookies SF, Weedmaps, Vibes, Santa Cruz Shredders, Hemp2o Water, Vibes, Bern One Entertainment music label and Social Club.

Gary Santo, TILT Holdings

Gary Santo is the visionary Chief Executive Officer of TILT Holdings (OTC:TLLTF), bringing over 25 years of experience leading lean, high-performance teams in Consumer Credit, Financial Services, Gaming and Technology, Higher Education, and Specialty-Pharma.

TILT has quickly emerged as a significant catalyst for change in the cannabis industry, with a portfolio of companies that provides the technology, hardware, cultivation, and production, serving brands and cannabis retailers across 36 states in the U.S., as well as Canada, Israel, Mexico, South America, and the European Union.

Through Santo’s leadership, TILT continues to innovate through its core businesses, including Jupiter Research, a wholly-owned subsidiary and leader in the vaporization segment focused on hardware design, research, development, and manufacturing; and cannabis operations, Commonwealth Alternative Care in Massachusetts, and Standard Farms in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

n addition, Santo and TILT continue to forge ahead on the company’s commitment to creating industry change through unique partnerships, such as with the Shinnecock Indian Nation of Long Island, New York. The Shinnecock formed Little Beach Harvest in partnership with TILT Holdings on its existing vertical operation in New York, starting with a 5,000-square-foot cannabis dispensary located on tribal territory in Southampton, N.Y. Further to Little Beach Harvest, TILT has partnerships with newly launched minority-owned Highsman and Black Buddha cannabis brands. TILT is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Helene Servillon, Journeyone Ventures

Helene Servillon is the Founding Partner of JourneyOne Ventures, a 100% woman and minority-owned early-stage cannabis fund.

The JourneyOne team has 45 years of combined cannabis expertise and is focused on investing in the most venture-scalable sectors of the market which includes tech, tech-enabled services and companies with unique IP. She is also a Senior Advisor to Bowen's cannabis practice, a Boston-based growth tech investment bank with a 20-year track record in capital raise advisory and buy-side and sell-side M&A.

Jessica Passman, Hunter & Esquire

Jessica is the Founder of Hunter + Esquire, the retained executive search and human capital advisory firm specializing in the cannabis and psychedelics industries.

Jessica is the organizational magic masterfully working behind the scenes leading research, recruitment, legal + company operations.

Prior to launching Hunter + Esquire, she worked as an associate attorney at several top law firms, and provided outside general counsel to numerous clients through her own legal practice. Eventually, her passion for business led to her role as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for a global networking organization exclusively for professional women executives and business owners. In her role there, she wore many hats while creating the opportunity to evolve as both an entrepreneur and attorney. And that's precisely what she brings to Hunter + Esquire.

Leah Heise, Gemini Twin Consulting

Leah Heise is an experienced executive, regulatory attorney and thought leader in the cannabis Industry.

Leah has held several C-Level positions (CXO, 4Front Ventures; CAO, Ascend Wellness Holdings; President, Chesapeake Integrated Health Institute; and, CEO, Women Grow) in the industry and has successfully exited four companies; one through acquisition creating more than a 10x return for investors, and two through IPO. She is passionate about creating an inclusive environment for all participants in the industry.

Leah is currently a Constellation advisor to Kearney, at top-tier CPG and transformative management consulting firm interested in bringing their operational expertise to cannabis. At Ascend, where Leah served as the Chief Administrative Officer, her focus on building scalable infrastructure assisted the company to grow its human resources from 73 employees to more than 1300 in less than 18 months and from $19M in revenue in 2019 to a $1.6B market cap on IPO in May of 2021.

Leah entered the cannabis industry in 2015 after being told by her doctor to explore it use medically to reduce the inflammation and pain from a chronic illness called pancreatitis; an illness that resulted in the inability to work and more than 35 hospitalizations. Cannabis has allowed Leah both a career and freedom from regular hospitalization. In the years since cannabis, she has only been hospitalized once with chronic pancreatitis. Her doctors remain enthusiastic about her body’s response to the plant.

Leah is a supporter of many businesses in the industry. In addition to her work scaling companies, she is the Founder and CEO of Gemini Twin Consulting, an LLC helping operators scale their companies and is a Strategic Advisor and part owner in Safe Arbor (a pre-market contactless delivery system) and ProCanna (a software platform providing compliant, operational efficiencies to the industry). She also volunteers for Athletes for Care, Rylie’s Smile and ATTACH’s White House Task Force on Cannabis and Hemp. When Leah isn’t working, which according to her family isn’t often, she loves to travel, hike, sing, sketch, read, and keeps promising herself that she will start doing yoga again.

Jessica Billingsley, Akerna

Jessica Billingsley serves as Akerna (NASDAQ:KERN)’s Chief Executive Officer. She is an accomplished innovator, executive, and board member in public and private international technology with over 20 years of experience. She co-founded MJ Freeway in 2010, where she served as President until April 2018, and later as the CEO until MJ Freeway was acquired by MTech to form Akerna. Shortly after, as CEO, Jessica led Akerna to become the first cannabis technology company listed on Nasdaq.

Jessica has received multiple prestigious awards and recognitions for her leadership in technology, cannabis, and female entrepreneurship. She is an expert in new markets, growth sectors, advanced technologies, M&A, integration, complex transactions, private and public capital markets, P&L ownership and board governance, cyber security, data privacy, media, and public relations.

Jamie Pearson, Ammba Inc.

Jamie L. Pearson has been a highly respected leader in the cannabis industry for over a decade. Widely considered one of the most influential women in cannabis, Jamie’s industry knowledge, operations experience, and deep relationships led her to be selected twice from over 7,500 nominees as one of High Times’ Most Influential Women in Cannabis.

Simultaneously, Jamie has spent three decades in the real estate investment, finance, and celebrity partnership worlds. An expert in leadership, team building, coaching, and mentoring, she has a successful track record in global operations, deal structuring, negotiation, business development and financial turnarounds.

Most recently, Jamie spent seven years including three as the President & CEO of Bhang Inc. (CSE:BHNG) (OTC:BHNGF), one of the world’s most-awarded and recognized cannabis brands, famous for its eleven-time Cannabis Cup winning line of gourmet chocolate bars.

She led the company’s diverse executive team in the development and execution of Bhang’s aggressive “expansion through licensing” plan, ran the capital markets division, and was the face of the brand – catapulting Bhang from a favorite in California to a multi-national phenomenon distributed in 7 US states and 10 countries. Jamie served four years as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and served on the Board’s audit committee.

Jill Ellsworth, Willow Industries

Jill Ellsworth is the founder and CEO of Willow Industries, the leader in cannabis kill-step and post-harvest microbial decontamination technology.

Fueled by her passion for innovation and dedication to health, Jill has made a career of creating solutions for better living. As a Registered Dietitian with a Master of Science in Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, her passion for pasteurization techniques began in the food and beverage industry. Prior to launching Willow, Jill built and sold Vibrant Earth Juices, a Santa Barbara-based cold-pressed organic juice company, and beverage distribution company, Vibrant Earth Distribution, which launched the first alcoholic kombucha brand in Colorado.

After selling both companies, Jill transitioned into the legal cannabis industry to address the lack of health and safety standards in this emerging market. In 2015, leveraging her science and consumer safety expertise, Jill founded Willow Industries to provide cultivators with a solution to cannabis contamination and ensure patients and consumers have access to consistently clean, safe products.

Since founding Willow, Jill has established herself as a leading voice for consumer safety and integrity in the cannabis industry. She continues to be an innovative trailblazer by standardizing quality and empowering cultivators with the cannabis kill step and quality assurance programs. In 2019, Jill was selected by Greendorphin as one of the 20 Most Influential Women in Cannabis and was named on MJBizDaily's list of Women to Watch in Cannabis.

In 2022, she was named on the Forbes Cannabis 42.0 list as one of the top entrepreneurs and change-makers in the industry. Willow Industries ranked #205 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America, and in 2022 the company made the list again, ranking #1320. Willow Industries was also named a Gold Winner for Achievement in Product Innovation in the 2022 Titan Business Awards and ranked #50 on the Financial Times list of the Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies.

Europe

Todd Boren, Alpen Group (Switzerland)

Todd Boren is the Co-founder and CEO of one of the first vertical multi-country operators in Europe, the Alpen Group. Based in Switzerland, the Alpen Group is vertically positioned to lead the emerging European, Asian and Latin American markets for the globe.

Boren is a seasoned entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and private equity investor with deep expertise in the legal cannabis and psychedelic industries.

As a veteran in the private equity and venture capital space, Boren has crafted multiple exits for companies he has created including International Assets Advisory, Pinnacle Financial Group, two US FINRA Broker-Dealers and Richmond Investments LTD. Bermuda, an international capital management firm.

Boren has raised and deployed over a half a billion dollars in equity and debt. Including being the lead and managing partner of three different Arena Football League teams The Orlando Predators, The Arizona Rattlers and the Tampa Bay Storm, winning four World Championships. He served on the executive board of the league with Jerry Jones, Jon Bon Jovi, John Elway, Arthur Blank and Casey Wasserman.

Six years ago, Boren launched one of the first fund in the Legal Cannabis Industry. Boren is the founder managing partner of the MacArthur Funds. Between all of the funds, Boren has deployed close to 200 million USD into the space. Now exclusively focused and dedicated to the industry he has launched 7 companies and invested in 19 more, across the value chain.

Boren is responsible and credited with the largest exit in the Cannabis space, at the time, selling Form Factory to Acreage Holdings, a publicly traded company, for 160 million USD.

He lives in Austin Texas with his wife Mistine and is a committed father to his six children. He is on the leadership team of YPO (Young Presidents Organization) and is the current Regional Chair for the Southeast US and Caribbean.

Benedikt Sons, Cansativa (Germany)

Benedikt is a pioneer in building new business models and in taking them to scale.

He is the co-founder and CEO of the Germany-based tech & distribution network, Cansativa. Benedikt has several years of experience in both strategy consulting and industry for groups such as Volkswagen. He will continue to blaze the path for efficient distribution for Europe, starting with Germany.

James Storie-Pugh, mellow (United Kingdom)

James, together with his business partner, Neil Tunbridge, launched a CBD-exclusive wellness marketplace, mellow, in the middle of the pandemic. In just a few short months the platform has evolved from a trusted CBD marketplace into a global eCommerce company.

mellow now boasts an ever-expanding series of B2C (mellow talks and mellow eats) and B2B (grow by mellow and mellow Asia) sub-brands designed to offer knowledge and education to its community, as well as provide a comprehensive suite of operational and marketing services to CBD brands looking to enter emerging and lucrative global markets.

In tandem, James is a director of Pivot International, the successful eCommerce marketplace agency he and Neil co-founded in 2015. Pivot is a fast building a high-growth marketplace trading and financial services agency offering a suite of business growth tools.

James has 20 years of experience and expertise working with international eCommerce marketplaces on strategic expansion and operational processes spanning the UK, France and the U.S.A.

Prior to founding Pivot and mellow, James held strategic digital and eCommerce in-house positions at Microsoft, vente-privee.com (pioneer of the online flash sales business model) and Global Brands Group (a top 10 global branding company and a member of the Fung Group).

Stephen Murphy, Prohibition Partners (United Kingdom)

Stephen is Co-Founder & CEO of Prohibition Partners, a global leader in cannabis tech, data and media.

Stephen is a highly regarded cannabis thought leader, who frequently contributes to Bloomberg, Financial Times and The Economist on the industry and is a regular public speaker, having presented at over 100 events including – SXSW and Adweek.

He collaborates with investors, entrepreneurs and regulators to identify, qualify and maximize the opportunities in the global cannabis industry. With a background in technology, digital media and corporate finance, Stephen has worked with clients such as Unilever, Sony Pictures and Universal Music.

Asia

Lawrence Lum, Ecargo.com (China)

Lawrence has spent over the last 10 years bringing international brands and retailers into Asia, specifically Greater China, through eCommerce and digital activation. His experience spans across business strategy, finance, brand marketing, eCommerce, IT development, cross-border logistics and market activation.

Lawrence was part of the founding team at eCargo having joined in 2014 as Business Development Director. He helped set up the cross-border store operations, marketing and IT functions within the group, and since supported over 35+ international brands (including, Woolworths, La Perla, Ted Baker, Juicy Couture, Giuseppe Zanotti and more) with their entry into China via online platforms and generated over USD100m in sales for its principals. He was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in 2016, and to the role of Chief Executive Officer in October 2020. Prior to taking up the role to lead eCargo, he spent a few years in Investment Banking, Digital Banking and Asset Management in Hong Kong and China, with J.P. Morgan, HSBC and Value Partners. He also has an entrepreneurial spirit having started multiple ventures including his last one called Zingly in 2013, a SaaS platform focused on helping brands capture and utilize user-generated content. He strongly believes in driving a customer-centric business that ensures the company’s principals are capturing all opportunities available to generate value.

Lawrence graduated with Honours with dual specializations in Finance and Strategic Management from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada.

The Americas

David Klein, Canopy Growth (Canada)

David joined Canopy Growth in January 2020 after a long stint as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Management Committee at Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ).

David joined Constellation in 2004 as Vice President of Business Development. He also held roles as CFO, Constellation Europe; SVP, Treasurer & Controller; and CFO, Beer Division. While CFO at Constellation, David was also responsible for corporate strategy and Constellation’s venture organization. As part of that work, David was instrumental in making the first major CPG investment in the Cannabis space with Constellation’s 2017 investment in Canopy Growth. He has served on Canopy’s Board of Directors since November 2018.

David holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from State University of New York at Geneseo and an MBA from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Irwin D. Simon, Tilray Brands Inc. (Canada)

Irwin D. Simon is Chairman and Chief Executive officer at Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY). He is an executive with over 30 years of experience building industry-leading, disruptive consumer packaged goods companies ranging from organic and natural foods, dietary supplements, personal care, and cannabis. Before Tilray, Mr. Simon transformed Aphria Inc. into a profitable global cannabis company with leading market share brands.

Mr. Simon founded The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN), a leading organic and natural products company, in 1993. As Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman, he led Hain Celestial for more than 27 years and grew the business from scratch to $3.5 billion in net sales with operations in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life™.

Irwin is also the Executive Chairman of Whole Earth Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), a global industry-leading platform focused on the “better for you” consumer packaged goods and ingredients space. He is also Lead Director at Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW), a digital-first global marketing network that delivers scalable, seamless solutions through a unique combination of culture-moving creativity and leading-edge technology.

Mr. Simon serves on the board of directors at Tulane University and the Board of Trustees at Poly Prep Country Day School. A true entrepreneur, Irwin is also the majority owner of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team, and co-owner of St. John’s Edge of the National Basketball League of Canada. He is also the co-owner of the iconic Lobster Roll Restaurant, also known as “Lunch” in the Hamptons.

Gastón Morales, Cannava (Argentina)

Gastón is a lawyer and specialist in Environmental Law from the University of Buenos Aires.

Prior to being appointed by the Executive Power of the province of Jujuy as president of Cannava, he served as Secretary of Legal and Institutional Affairs of the Government, from where he participated in the design of social and environmental public policies, drafting numerous legislative initiatives of the provincial Executive Power.

As the author of the provincial Law of scientific and medicinal use of the cannabis plant and its derivatives No. 6,012, he led the subsequent development of the institutional legal platform for the provincial strategy to promote the cultivation and production of cannabis and its derivatives for scientific, medicinal and therapeutic purposes.

He was a member of the Solar Group of the Government of Jujuy, which led the missions to the People's Republic of China, for the construction of "Cauchari Solar", the largest photovoltaic solar park in South America.

Ezequiel Ugarte, Universal Growing (Argentina)

Ezequiel Ugarte is an Argentine entrepreneur who manages Dread Mar I, the most-streamed reggae artist in the world.

He started in the cannabis space securing exclusive distribution for Volcano's products in Argentina. He's since founded Universal Growing, a company focused on grow equipment - working exclusively with world-leading brands in the space, as well as facility advisory.

Ezequiel also co-founded Leafy, a shop that offers high-end cannabis accessories, and works with several government agencies and local governments in Argentina to develop industrial-scale grow operations.

Jose Bacellar, Verdemed (Brazil)

José Bacellar is uniquely qualified to lead efforts across multiple jurisdictions, having assisted a number of North American companies to expand into Latin America.

He brings extensive professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has relevant experience in the medical cannabis industry. Prior positions he has held include Head of Business Development for Canopy Latam; Interim COO at Canopy Health (UK); Head of Business Development at ACIC Pharmaceuticals (Canada); CEO at Vetnil (Brazil); and CEO & President at Bombril S/A (Brazil).

Simón Espinosa, En Volá (Chile)

Simón is the Chief Executive Officer at En Volá, a media company and agency that generates creative resources to educate, activate and finally connect the Latin American cannabis industry.

The En Volá YouTube channel gets more than 1 million monthly views.

The En Volá Cannabis HUB, is a mainstream cannabis media, distribution, e-commerce and product development company that connects the cannabis industry (brands, products and services) with the final consumer, from factory to point of sale, through creative digital content, to educate consumers and turn products into commercial trends.

José Lugardo, Grupo Sativa Health (Mexico)

After years in the private healthcare industry, José developed a deep interest in innovating healthcare and pharmaceutical development in difficult-to-treat chronic diseases. In this effort, he founded the Mexican startup Grupo Sativa Health, which focuses on advancing medical attention, healthcare processes, the use of technology, and education, as well as promoting public policies to improve the well-being of the Mexican population.

José, who is serving as General Secretary of the Mexican Medical Cannabis Society (SOMEXCANN) since 2020, currently also advises multiple start-ups, researchers, and healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations, and has developed close relationships with legislators to advance public policy.

His experience has helped regulators, journalists, and other organizations in understanding a disruptive sector: medical cannabis, from a public health, human rights and sustainable development perspective through conferences, interviews, classes and forums. His startup, Grupo Sativa Health, developed Sativa Care, well known as the first medical cannabis clinic in Mexico.

Isiah Thomas, One World Products (Colombia)

Isiah Thomas, while forever known for his Hall of Fame career as a 12-time NBA All Star, two-time NBA champion, and inclusion as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, is an accomplished and highly regarded international business executive and investor with a portfolio of companies he has developed via Isiah International Inc. Mr. Thomas has previously served on the Chicago Stock Exchange’s Board of Governors, was a co-founder of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, Popcorn Indiana, and is a member of the Board of Get-in Chicago, an organization focused on preventing gang violence in Chicago, since 2013.

His business interests include sports and entertainment, real estate, waste management, his cannabis and CBD products company, VESL Oils, and more. Notably, Mr. Thomas has developed a highly successful champagne business with Cheurlin Champagnes, where he has cultivated an excellent relationship with both the grower, employees and the French government.

Mr. Thomas now uniquely owns genetics for the grapes produced for the champagne and has perfected an international import/export system for international distribution of the product.

Mr. Thomas inherits the reins of an ascendant international cannabis company that has seen significant development and progress, including the establishment of highly scalable farm and production facilities in Colombia, a portfolio of fully registered elite and government approved genetic strains, and a state sanctioned THC quota.

Africa

Louisa Mojela, Bophelo Bioscience (Lesotho)

Louisa is the Founder, Group CEO and Chairman of Women Investment Holdings Limited (WIPHOLD). She also worked at he Development Bank of Southern Africa and World Bank in Washington DC as Business and Entrepreneurial Manager, and at the Lesotho National Development Corporation as Project Manager.

In 2000, she was selected as one of 40 women for “The Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World.” In the years that followed, she was recognized as one of South Africa’s most influential women in business and government, and won the Inaugural African Business Leadership Award in Dakar, Senegal by the African Development Bank, among many other distinctions she's received.

Tej Virk, Akanda (Lesotho)

Tej Virk became the CEO and Director of Akanda (NASDAQ:AKAN) in July 2021 following his previous role as President of Europe at Khiron Life Sciences (OTC: KHRNF), where he established the company's European medical and consumer packaged goods business from scratch.

Tej started his career in investment banking, spending 15 years with BMO Capital Markets, with his final year focusing heavily on the cannabis industry. He transacted on over 100 IPOs and follow-on capital raises earning a reputation for industry-leading innovation and successful execution in the global cannabis space.

Oceania

Joel Latham, Incannex Healthcare (Australia)

Joel Latham is the CEO and Managing Director of Incannex Healthcare (NASDAQ:IXHL) and is responsible for the company’s commercial operations, strategic decision-making, and oversight of all clinical development assets.

Joel has over 15 years commercial management and executive experience, working for a range multi-national publicly traded companies.

Fleta Solomon, Little Green Pharma (Australia)

Fleta drives the strategic vision of the business and as CEO of Little Green Pharma has grown the company from a medicinal cannabis startup to an industry-leading medicinal cannabis brand in Australia.

Fleta has over 20 years’ experience in corporate and consumer health markets. Over ten years, Fleta established, grew and sold one of Australia’s largest providers of workplace health services. She has since been involved in several start-ups including a water treatment technology business and a digital health engagement company based in Singapore. Fleta is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), holds a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA from the University of Western Australia.