ABcann Global Appoints New Independent Chair
NAPANEE, Ontario, Oct. 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ABcann Global Corporation (TSX-V:ABCN) (“ABcann” or the “Company”) today announces that Ken Clement, founder and Executive Chair, has decided to step down from his position as Executive Chair, but will continue as a member of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”). As a result, the Board has unanimously appointed Paul Lucas as Chair of the Board. Mr. Lucas is an independent director of the Company and Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Mr. Lucas previously served as President and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Canada (“GSK”) from 1994 until 2012, where he was responsible for all pharmaceutical operations in Canada. Prior to joining GSK in 1986, he held progressive management positions at Eli Lilly Canada and McNeil Pharmaceutical. Mr. Lucas previously served as chair of the board of TM Bioscience, a member of the boards of directors of Biochem Pharma, the Toronto Regional Research Alliance, Montreal inVivo and AllerGen, and the board of trustees of Queen’s University. Currently, Mr. Lucas is a member of the board of directors of Rna Diagnostics Inc. and chair of the boards of directors of EcoSynthetix Inc. and Induran Ventures Inc.
The appointment of Mr. Lucas as independent Chair, together with the recent appointment of Barry Fishman as Chief Executive Officer, represent important steps in the Company’s enhancement of its operational oversight and corporate governance standards. The focussing of responsibility for the Company’s strategic vision and operations under their strong leadership is expected to further the advancement and efficient execution of ABcann’s business plan.
Mr. Clement said, “The past few years at ABcann have been among the most exciting and rewarding times of my life. However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests, and I lend my full support to Paul and Barry, along with the entire Board and leadership team, to guide ABcann into a successful future as an industry leader.”
Ken’s visionary leadership has given ABcann a great foundation to build upon and we appreciate his years of dedicated service and contributions. Having him maintain his position on the Board will help the Company maintain continuity of leadership and historical knowledge.
Paul Lucas, ABcann Chairman
I am thrilled to take on the Chair position as we enter the next phase in our evolution. I very much look forward to helping to shape ABcann’s future under Barry’s leadership as CEO. He is uniquely qualified, with his experience in complex, highly-regulated pharmaceutical organizations with international operations, to capitalize on the significant opportunities in the rapidly growing regulated cannabis market.
Mr. Fishman said, “In my first few weeks, I have been impressed with our advanced technology, superior products and passionate team. My vision for ABcann is to build on our great foundation to create a successful long-term business that creates superior products for customers, value for shareholders and a great workplace for our team. I have known Paul for many years and have great respect for his business acumen and strategic thinking. I look forward to working with him in his role as Chair.”
About ABcann:
ABcann, which holds production and sales licenses from Health Canada, is based in Napanee, Ontario. Its flagship facility contains proprietary plant-growing technology, centred on its specially designed, environmentally-controlled growing chambers. This approach and the systems in place allow ABcann to produce organically grown and pesticide-free, high-yielding plants, which, in turn, can generate high-quality products. ABcann is able to control environmental and nutrient demands, tailor-made for a particular strain of cannabis, without the variation that is typical when producing large quantities in less-controlled, larger rooms and greenhouse-type structures. ABcann’s modular approach to systems technology eliminates scale-up risk and enables ABcann to expand anywhere in the world and maintain consistency and quality of product.
ABcann is expanding capacity in its current facility to approximately 30,000 sq ft and concurrently undertaking its expansion into a new 150,000 sq ft facility in Napanee. ABcann is pursuing opportunities in Germany, Australia, Israel and other jurisdictions as well as exploring the development of multiple delivery vehicles.
