Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.
Canopy Growth announces David Klein as new CEO
Canopy Growth Corporation said Monday it has appointed David Klein as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective Jan. 14, 2020.
Mr. Klein has served in leadership roles in his 14 years at Constellation Brands, which owns a 38-per-cent stake in Canopy following it $5-billion in August,2018. Canopy Growth says current CEO Mark Zekulin with step down on Dec. 20.
The company says Mr. Klein’s experience includes CPG and beverage alcohol industry experience, strong financial orientation, and experience operating in highly regulated markets in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. In his current role as executive vice-president and chief financial officer at Constellation Brands, Mr. Klein oversees all aspects of the company’s finance operations, all mergers and acquisitions, as well as the company’s information technology function. Mr. Klein serves as a member of Constellation Brands’ executive management committee. He has served on the Canopy Growth board of directors for more than a year and is presently chairman of the board.
“Canopy Growth sits at the forefront of one of the most exciting new market opportunities in our lifetime,” Mr. Klein said. “Thanks to the efforts of Mark and the entire team at Canopy Growth, no company is better positioned to win in the emerging cannabis market."
Smiths Falls, Ont.-based Canopy Growth said it intends to appoint a new chairperson upon Mr. Klein’s effective date as CEO.
– Staff
Chairman and director resign from Invictus board
Two directors, chairman Paul Sparkes and Keith Stein, have resigned from Invictus MD Strategies Corp.’s board of directors, the company said on Friday. Mr. Sparkes, a former media executive and political operative, had been an Invictus director since June, 2017, and the company’s chairman since November, 2018. Mr. Stein, a lawyer with Dentons Canada LLP, joined the board in January, 2019. Earlier in the week, Invictus announced that Trevor Dixon had returned to the board, “his health issues having been resolved.” Mr. Dixon, a former CEO of the company one of its largest shareholders, had resigned from the board in January, 2019. Invictus has struggled in recent months, reporting a $12.3-million net loss in its most recent quarter, fuelled by a $4.6-million writedown on intellectual property it acquired from erstwhile spokesman Gene Simmons, and a $4.4-million loss on the sale of Canandia, which it acquired only a year earlier.
- Mark Rendell