As major cannabis companies look to further expand into 2019, many management teams are seeing their key executive positions getting filled with unorthodox candidates. Canopy Rivers Inc (TSXV: RIV) – a division of Canopy Growth – announced today that they were appointing former venture capitalist Narbe Alexandrian to act as President of the company effective immediately.
Before joining Canopy, Narbe distinguished himself as a venture capitalist at OMERS Ventures, where his achievements included raising half a billion dollars in capital for several of the companies investment funds. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Strategy manager for TELUS’s IoT (Internet of Things) group and also held corporate development roles in both Deloitte and Firmex.
“Narbe has the aptitude, ambition, career pedigree, and professional relationship network that make him ideal for this leadership position at Canopy Rivers,” said Canopy Rivers CEO Bruce Lipton, who also serves as the CEO for the parent company Canopy Growth. “Since joining the Company, he has been critical in developing organizational structures suitable for a platform of this nature, has helped recruit specialized international resources, and has worked with the team in developing a more formalized and thesis-driven approach to building our ecosystem of complementary cannabis businesses.”
With Narbe taking over as president, Lipton will stay and focus on international marketing and lead generation activities as the company looks to further expand internationally. Narbe will also be given options to purchase up to 400,000 shares at a price of $4.35. Markets will be watching closely whether or not he ends up exercising this option or not.
Narbe went on to say that he believes that “Canopy Rivers has developed one of the most attractive and compelling platforms in the cannabis industry today.” He went on to cite the company’s access to deal flow, industry thought leaders, and superb management team has given Canopy Rivers “the ideal structure to attack the market.”
The new executive hire also comes among other announcements for Canopy today. The firm also announced updates regarding their Italian hemp-investments, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new CBD extraction facility. Although not expected to be completed until Fall 2019, the new facility would be the largest in Europe, capable of turning 600 tons of hemp into CBD isolates every year.
Canopy shares didn’t react to much to the news, inching up 2.3 percent in the markets today, while most other cannabis giants moved relatively little as well.
Canopy Rivers Company Profile
Canopy Rivers is a unique investment and operating platform structured to pursue investment opportunities in the emerging global cannabis sector. Canopy Rivers works collaboratively with Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED, NYSE: CGC) to identify strategic counterparties seeking financial and/or operating support. Canopy Rivers has developed an investment ecosystem of complementary cannabis operating companies that represent various segments of the value chain across the emerging cannabis sector. As the portfolio continues to develop, constituents will be provided with opportunities to work with Canopy Growth and collaborate among themselves, which Canopy Rivers believes will maximize value for its shareholders and foster an environment of innovation, synergy and value creation for the entire ecosystem. – Canopy Rivers
